George Simataa, Secretary to the Cabinet of the African Public Service, has applauded the Zambezi Regional Council for hosting the African Public Service Day (APSD) commemoration.
African Public Service Day is being celebrated under the theme ‘The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will require a fit for purpose African Public Administration to succeed’ at Katima Mulilo this week.
The four-day commemoration started on Tuesday.
In a media statement, Simataa encouraged all public sector institutions to institutionalise effective mechanisms for good governance, performance, and compliance in preparation for the next APSD celebration and awards.
He said the awards are in line with the Harambee Prosperity Plan II, which mandates public institutions to introduce innovation, performance, and productivity awards.
“It is important to note that the public service of Namibia will be giving awards for the first time this year, as a starter while proper mechanisms are under consideration for fully fledged awards and recognitions during the next celebration in 2024,” Simataa said.
He explained that the day emanates from the declaration of the First Pan-African Conference of Ministries of Public Service in Tangier, Morocco in 1994, where the ministries agreed that 23 June should be set aside as Africa Public Service Day to recognise the values and virtues of the public service.
Simataa said it is possible that some people are not aware of the scope of the APSD, which is meant to cover all public service institutions, government offices, ministries, agencies (OMAs), regional councils, and public enterprises.
“It is a unique event that brings all government institutions together to share information and learn from each other, showcase their services and innovations as per the adopted theme and sub-themes, and celebrate the public sector successes,” Simataa said.
He added that Namibia has no choice but to find its niche and optimise its benefits by building capacity for competency across the board, quality products and services, and competitiveness to survive.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency