Celebrating Civil Service Week
The times when some civil servants have gotten national recognitions among other public servants are Republic Day celebrations, where senior citizens who have worked with dedication for the growth and development of the nation are acknowledged.
To the credit of the Head of the Office of the Head of Civil Service, Nana Kwasi Agyekum Dwamena, a series of three Civil Service Week Celebrations, namely in 2019, 2020 and 2021 were held.
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Indeed, the Civil Service Week celebrations have been on track, awarding both the young and old across all sexes and categories of the service, such as chief directors, directors, professionals and sub-professionals for the crucial roles they have played for the country’s sustained growth and development prospects, and for the prosperity of current and future generations.
The recognition of both the young and the old civil servants at these events are appropriate and in tune with section 88 of the Civil Service Art, 1993, Act 327 which states, “there shall be instituted awards for meritorious performance in the Civil Service”.
This law thus makes it mandatory to recognise civil servants while they work, instead of waiting for them to retire and recognise them as senior citizens.
Machinery
The Civil Service as the machinery of government has taken major strides to implement policies and reforms over the years.
Inspite of these strides, the service still faces challenges that leadership have demonstrated their commitment to resolving by several initiatives.
The awards instituted for civil servants is one such effort to motivate staff to think outside the box to accelerate the government’s economic recovery programmes for a Ghana Beyond Aid.
It is in this light that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo admonished Ghanaians in his inaugural speech to the nation on January 7, 2017, to be citizens and not spectators.
That is worth mentioning in connection with Civil Service Week celebrations and awards.
Anonymity
Indeed, civil servants since independence have played the critical role of citizens in the development of the country.
However, the principle of anonymity attached to the work of civil servants have relegated their recognition in development to the background of spectators in nation-building.
Our hearts are gladdened that the Civil Service Week is re-introduced and Civil Servants are witnessing unprecedented rate of steady increase in award winners in the series of the celebrations to incentivise and energise them to work harder for continuous national progress before retirement.
The Head of Civil Service was right when he said in his 2021 Civil Service Week celebration speech at the Accra International Conference Center on Friday, August 13, 2021 that it was not fair for some institutions not to present staff for consideration for awards.
Event
This year’s event which was celebrated on the them; “Economic Transformation amid COVID-19 Pandemic: The Responsibilities of an Adaptive Civil Service,” gave the Civil Service a unique opportunity to interact with the general public for a feedback on service delivery and to take stock of how the service performed.
The commemoration of the week also attracted exhibitions.
The year’s event also had exhibitions from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as agencies the Ghana Health Service, National Identification Authority and the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The clean-up exercise at the ministries and some strategic places of the Central Business District of Accra was the social responsibility contribution by civil servants to keep Ghana clean.
The events also provided avenues to highlight differences between the Civil Service and Public Service.
Particular events brought to the fore concerns of the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) in their rejoinder of June 18, 2021, in which the association noted that some seemed not to know the difference between Civil Servants and Public Servants and referred them to the provisions in Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution, where all the services are classified under the Public Service of Ghana.
The writer is the Corporate Affairs Officer, Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority. E-mail: [email protected]