Stem corruption and bribery - Bani urges public institutions
The Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Mr Prosper Douglas Bani, has called on the leadership of public service institutions to put in place appropriate measures to stem the canker of corruption and bribery.
The perception of corruption and bribery in the public service, he said, suggested that leadership was unable to put in place appropriate checks to stop the menace.
“The sordid audit report on the accounts of public institutions is a sign of leadership ineffectiveness,” Mr Bani stated.
He was speaking at a training workshop for chief directors and chief executives of the public services in Accra yesterday.
The one-day workshop, intended to share experiences and sharpen the competence of the leaders of the public service, was organised by the Public Service Commission in collaboration with the Australian Public Service Commission with funding from the Australian Aid Programme.
Mr Bani further encouraged public service leaders to avoid conflict among themselves and work as a team to ensure that government policies and programmes were efficiently managed.
According to him, observations regarding the waste of resources in the public service called for the awakening of the leadership of the public service from its slumber and for them to be responsible and accountable for their actions.
The use of ICT
Mr Bani stressed that it was necessary for the public services to be innovative and upgrade their skills, particularly Information Communication Technology (ICT) and electronic systems, to make them more efficient.
This, he said, would also help to minimise the bureaucratic inertia that had characterised the public service and also reduce the volumes of paper work.
He disclosed that plans were well advanced to better equip cabinet ministers as well as the presidency to maximise the use of ICT.
New model for public administration
For her part, the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Mrs Bridget Katsriku, said the public service was expected to foster innovation and promote partnership with the private sector, civil society and stakeholders.
She added that there was high demand for good governance, which required a new type of the requisite skills and knowledge to give good results to the demands of accountability, transparency and quality service delivery.
However, she said, the public perception about the public service did not reflect the practice of the new model of public service management.
“The perception is that we are corrupt, inefficient, ineffective, wasteful with poor work ethics and perpetrating unethical behaviour” she lamented.
Effective leadership with the sense of stewardship, she said, was crucial to change the public perception about the public service.
The Australian High Commissioner, Mrs Joana Adamson, called on the public service leaders to remind themselves of their duties and what was expected of them.
She encouraged them to take advantage of the workshop and ensure that the critical issues around the stewardship role of modern public sector leadership was addressed effectively.
By Salomey Appiah/Daily Graphic/Ghana