On the occasion of International Public Service Day which is celebrated on 23rd June each year, President Wavel Ramkalawan yesterday, Monday 21st June 2021, hosted a virtual meeting under the theme: “Empowering the Public Service for Greater Efficiency”. Participants of the forum included Principal Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers of Ministries, Departments, Agencies and State-owned Enterprises.
Since his inauguration, President Ramkalawan has placed great emphasis on a public service that is efficient and working for the betterment of the country. In his keynote address yesterday afternoon, the President thanked all the civil servants for their hard work and dedication. He highlighted the importance of encouraging civil servants to perform to the best to their abilities and to rebuild trust in public institutions.
The Head of State also noted that there are high expectations from the public and how crucial it is for all public servants to collectively work together as a team. He highlighted that as leaders, they need remain focused on the primary objective of Seychelles’ public sector entities to achieve outcomes geared towards enhancing and maintaining the well-being of citizens.
“As leaders you have the responsibility to manage and show empathy towards all workers under your supervision. As we look for greater efficiency, we should also feel empowered to see how you can further empower our staff. You should at all times give your utmost, lead by example and display a high level of professionalism with your colleagues and the public,” said President Ramkalawan.
Speaking, the President highlighted how invaluable the work of public servants is and how we should celebrate their tireless efforts to provide services that ensure that the people whom they serve have access to uninterrupted services.
“Every civil servant has the ability and the potential to contribute to the process of a productive Seychelles. We need to enhance communication and practice greater empathy with one another and those under our leadership. Our actions must promote a conducive work environment that ensures our staff's wellbeing. I believe that strong leadership influences the efficiency of the public service,”
President Ramkalawan also touched upon service delivery and called upon all Principal Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers to reflect on how to further improve service delivery at all levels. He urged them to be creative, to initiate and propose how the public service can implement more robust procedures and introduce mechanisms to strengthen administrative practices.
In respect to discipline, President Ramkalawan stressed on the need to strengthen the ethical competence of civil servants and strengthening mechanisms to support “professional ethics”. Strengthening such administrative practices and processes which will in return promote ethical values and integrity to discourage public officials and civil servants to engage in corruption and unethical practices.
“We want to see a public service that is professional, that promotes ethical values that can act with consistency and impartiality placing public interests over personal agenda. That will provide an apolitical and non-partisans service with transparency,”
The Principal Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers also got the chance to share their views and put forward their concerns.
Also present at the virtual meeting was the Vice-President Ahmed Afif and Ministers.