Committee to plan 2013 APSD

A 23-member committee has been commissioned in Accra to plan and implement all activities that will lead to a successful celebration of the 2013 African Public Service Day (APSD).

The objective of the APSD is to give recognition to and make known the importance of the civil service, its positive contribution and benefits to public servants, civil society, the private sector and government.

The Minister at the Presidency responsible for the Public Services Commission, Alhassan Azong, urged the committee to develop a marketing strategy for the APSD celebration to further raise the country’s image.

He also asked them to develop a work-plan for implementing the event and devise strategies and mechanisms for implementation.

“I urge you all to put up your best to ensure the success of the event, and I trust that you will not allow the confidence that African continent has in the country to be diminished,” he said.

Kwame Adorbor of the Public Sector Reform Secretariat said the APSD is a special day for public-service organizations across African Union (AU) members-countries.

He said the day is celebrated on 23rd June every year to mark and recognize the role of public-service organizations and their positive contribution and benefits to civil society.

“As a procedure, one country among the AU member-states volunteers to host the event and other countries assemble in the host country to celebrate the APSD event at continental level. At the 7th AU Conference of African Ministers of Public Service (Extended Bureau Meeting), Ghana was unanimously nominated to host the 2013 APSD”.

“During celebration of the day, three major events are organized: a week-long exhibit their products and as such get the opportunity to obtain feedback from citizens; a national public sector reform convention involving Chief Executive Officers of public-service organizations and academia; as well as an awards ceremony wherein the best- performing public-service organizations are awarded prizes in various categories.”

He said several months prior to the APSD celebration, the office responsible for public service will call for entries from public-service organizations – which will compete in various categories such as The Best Managed Organisation award, The Most Accountable and Transparent Organisation awards, and The Best Pavilion award.