By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, Oct. 13, GNA – The Fourth cohort of Emerging Public Leaders (EPL) of Ghana have been urged to be solution oriented and agents of change in the public service to help build a prosperous nation.
The 20 graduates have undergone a two-year Public Service Fellowship programme where they were trained, mentored and integrated into the civil service with the needed skills, knowledge and ethics to improve government capacity and accelerate growth.
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu, who made the call at the fourth graduation ceremony of EPL, said they ought to acknowledge that there could be no greater honour than to serve masses, communities and the nation.
“In the public service, the lives, destinies of millions are in your hands. Just think about it. With one policy or decision, you can destroy so many lives. One misstep means you have destroyed the lives of millions and the thriving of private sector businesses depends on the Public sector,” he said.
The MP asked them to eschew the notion “this is not my father’s job” in their line duty but exhibit high sense of responsibility and patriotism, adding that “don’t accept impossibility, you might be frustrated and either they defeated you and you become part of the bad nuts or you can be that agent of change and change the status quo.”
He said though the fellows needed to be innovative, firm, assertive and not timid, they must be humble, modest, have respect for seniority and learn under the experienced and good directors.
“Lastly, If you have personal integrity, you will survive. Don’t take that lightly for your own sanity, peace of mind and freedom and you come out refined as gold. Once you loose that, you can’t even retire in peace. You will face one enquiry or the other or you will go into hiding or go into exile,” Mr Ablakwa said.
He said EPL Fellowship programme which had been embraced by the Civil Service had been a laudable one, especially as it filled the vacuum of ethical and responsible leadership from the youth, adding that he would alert his colleague MPs for their support.
Madam Juliet Amoah, Country Director, EPL Ghana, urged the graduates to ” uphold the virtues instilled in you, for they were the cornerstone of effective public service. Remained steadfast in your commitment to building a nation that is responsive and accountable.”
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), she said it was exciting to select a group of brightest young people, train them on public policy, groom them to think more critically about service delivery, work efficiently within the public sector and to see their work being recognised by their superiors was refreshing.
“We understand what it takes to train someone to work and deliver on public services. For the five years of doing these, we have got the craft, we know where the gaps are, we understand where the challenges emanate and so we have built their resilience and empowered them to deliver for the public service of Ghana,” the Country Director said.
Mrs Dora Dei-Tumi, Principal, Civil Service Training Centre, said they use case studies to strengthen and sharpen the competence of the participants whilst visit them at their duty post to find out the extent at which they had been able to implement the knowledge and information gotten.
“We have learn from these young people and that has made us to review certain curriculum we have designed for the bigger Civil Service. And so it’s been a positive relationship we have had EPL,” she said.
Miss Gertrude Akosah, a cohort four fellow, told the GNA she had enjoyed the specialized training given her on public financing and policy planning and also learnt how to build good network with people and work as a team to achieve a common purpose.
GNA