Accra – Friday June 27, 2018: The Head of the Local Government Service, Ing. Dr. Nana Ato Arthur has attended the 2018 United Nations/African Union Public Service Day held at the Nathan Quao Memorial Hall, Accra. The programme was themed “Combating corruption in Public Service Institutions through Stakeholders participation and promotion of Ethical Leadership to realise the objectives of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
The United Nations General Assembly and African Union have designated 23rd June of each year as United Nations/African Union Public Service Day to commemorate and reflect on the values and virtues of the Public Service to the Society, and also to recognize the contribution of Public Service Institutions to national development.
At the event in Ghana, heads of public service institutions and anti-corruption agencies took turns to emphasize the strategic role of the Public Service in national development and efforts being made to rid it of corruption. The Guest Speaker, Prof. Bill Buenar Puplampu (Vice Chancellor, Central University) spoke on the adverse effect of corruption on the delivery of social services. The open forum session gave heads of institutions and resource persons present the opportunity to clarify concerns raised by participants.
Addressing the gathering, the Head of the Local Government Service, Dr. Arthur said, the fight against corruption must be collective as such the Local Government Service had put in place measures to minimize the canker. He said, the decentralized level offered enormous opportunity for citizen’s participation and the use of various social accountability tools to promote transparency and accountability. He stated that through these efforts, corruption in its various forms would be brought to its barest minimum.
Some dignitaries who graced the occasion were the Chairman of the Public Services Commission, Mrs. Janet Ampadu Fofie and the Commissioner for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr. Joseph Whittal among representatives of various institutions.