Accra, July 8, GNA – The Emerging Public Leaders (EPL) of Ghana, a non-profit organisation specialising in building young professionals for public service, has graduated the Sixth Cohort of its Public Service Fellowship, challenging them to strive to become change makers in their respective organisations.
Held on the theme: “Staying to Build: Re-Imagining Public Service Leadership,” the event honoured 33 young leaders who completed a year of service in some government and civil society institutions in the country.
The Fellows served in organisations including the Ministry of Finance, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Commodity Exchange, Ghana Enterprises Agency, National Development Planning Commission, and the Millenium Development Authority.
Ms Juliet Amoah, the Country Director of Emerging Public Leaders (EPL) Ghana, said young people should not perceive public service as an alternative career plan but serve with purpose, innovation and accountability when given the opportunity to lead institutions.
Addressing the graduates in Accra, Ms Amoah noted that the trainees must be agents of transformation despite the challenges of public service.
“To re-imagine public service is to break free from the tired script of inefficiency, bureaucracy, and mistrust. It is to see public service not as a fallback career, but as a platform of purpose,” she said.
“It means we don’t just change policy; we change mindsets. We don’t just digitise services, we humanise governance…We don’t just fill vacancies; we fill them with values.”
Ms Amoah said the training sessions and related programmes enabled the Fellows to gain hands-on experience and contribute to reforms, operational improvements, and innovation in their respective institutions.
Highlighting other aspects of public service, Ms Amoah encouraged the graduates to build institutions that “survive change” and workplace cultures that “protect the vulnerable, elevate merit, and dignify service.”
“Re-imagining public service means making room for young people with fresh ideas and honest convictions, creating public systems where integrity is not an exception, but the standard, fostering a culture where collaboration across sectors is normal, not novel, and leveraging technology to deliver services that are faster, smarter, fairer.”
Ms Amoah urged them to stay and help build the country, adding: “…Staying is not passive. It is not a resignation. It is a decision. It is an active hope. It is declaring with your feet, your heart, your skill, and your integrity that this nation is worth it.”
Ms Amoah hailed the impact of the EPL programme and commended the partners for the continued support for the programme since its inception.
Mrs Elizabeth-Zionita Akorfa Dzah, the Head of Programmes at EPL Ghana, shared the story of how some trainees found their “leadership voice” despite initial setbacks.
“Public service isn’t always about fast wins or dramatic change. Sometimes, it’s about showing up consistently. Asking thought provoking questions. Starting small but thinking big,” she stated.
The ceremony featured the EPL Ghana Special Awards, recognising outstanding Fellows in the period under review.
Ms Charity Ama Yekple received the Public Service Fellowship Excellence Award while Mr Abel Buertey Okudzeto was decorated with the “Innovation in Leadership Award.”
The EPL Values Ambassador Award went to Naomi Tiyumba Joseph.
The “Founders’ Awards” were presented to Priscilla Elorm Akrong and Mohammed Napare Abdul Hakam, of Cohort VII, who were selected to serve as cohort representatives on the EPL Ghana Board and as liaisons.
The Cohort VI Fellows were decorated and inducted into the EPL Alumni Network. The group presented citations of appreciation to members of the EPL Ghana team and honoured peers whose contributions elevated the group experience.
EPL Global, facilitators, mentors, and supervisors feature prominently as Mr Michael Agbenyegah, a member of the graduating cohort, delivered a stirring poetry, which captured the spirit of public service.
The Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana is a not-for-profit public service leadership organisation working with partners to strengthen public service delivery through carefully curated programmes and public service fellowship.
It is to equip and raise ethically conscious young Ghanaians to drive systemic change in the public service.
Fellows from the Ghana Programme become members of the wider EPL Alumni network of more than 500 young public service professionals.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe