AFRICA PUBLIC SERVICE DAY CELEBRATIONS UNDERWAY
The opening ceremony of the 4th Biennial Africa Public Service Day [APSD] Celebration has taken place in Accra with a call on Africa Union leadership to play crucial role in making Africa a better continent.
Delivering her keynote address, Ghana's Sector Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Hannah Serwaa Tetteh, urged Africans not to downplay with the recognition given to the celebration since 1994.
The APSD Day she said is an endorsement by the leadership of the continent of the significant contributions by public service organizations in ensuring a livable and habitable continent, where humankind develop their potentials to the fullest in peace and security.
All Governments in Africa are currently faced with new challenges of governance and are making concerted efforts at different levels to forge partnerships with non-governmental and civil society organizations, business communities, labour unions amongst others.
In a speech she read on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, Miss Hannah Serwaa Tetteh urged African leaders to create the necessary and enabling environment for its citizens to participate in open and transparent governance.
For proper participation she said there is the need for giving voice and political space to our citizens through effective citizen engagement in order to reconcile their multiple interests with national aspirations.
This engagement helps to deepen democracy, strengthen social capital, promote pro-poor initiatives, sustainable growth and socio-economic development, equity and social justice as well as to facilitate efficiency.
Ghana's Governments' have made steady progress within the last two decades of its multi-party democracy practice in terms of enhancing accountability, transparency and integrity as the country continues to exhibit strong leadership in the area democratic governance in Africa.
She underscored the recent peaceful 2012 General Elections with the introduction of biometric voters register and verifications, reviewing of criminal offences Act aimed at redefining corruption, approval by cabinet of the Right to Information Bill, development of service charters by public service organizations as some of the measures being put in place by Government to ensure citizens participation in governance.
She called on African leaders and participants to use the weeklong deliberation to propose measures that will lead to more transparency in governance and a more open public sector community in Africa.
'' This meeting should spur us to face the future with greater determination, personal sacrifice and a renew commitment for a better Africa'' she urged.
On her part, Miss Celina Ompeshi Kombani, Chairperson for AU Conference of African Ministers of Public -Civil Service [AU-CAMPS], said the Day provides a unique opportunity for Africans to deliberate on emerging trends, issues, challenges and solutions to governance and public administration.
It also provides the chance for African Nations to strengthen cooperation, learning of new innovations in service delivery and understanding the new tools for enhancing the capacity of public service institutions.
Miss Celina, who doubles as Tanzania's State Minister in-charge of Public Sector Reforms, describes the event's Theme and sub-themes as very relevant to Africa, given the challenges bedeviling the continent in the realization of the vision that it wants its future generation to inherit.
In his welcome address, Ghana's Sector Minister for Public Sector Reforms, Hon. Alhassan Azong, indicated that the AU commemorates the day in different ways with a single common objectives of ''celebrating the value and virtue of service to the community''.
'' In view of this, we hope to explore, share knowledge and experience about the new innovations, policies and practices for rejuvenating public administration, including the delivery of public services with citizen-centered focus '' he noted.