2015 World Public Service Day

ACKNOWLEDGING THE REWARD OF STEWARDSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY AS THE WORLD PUBLIC SERVICE DAY IS CELEBRATED TODAY TUESDAY JUNE 23, 2015

      

         

A public service is a service provided by government to the people living within its ambit or jurisdiction, either directly through the public sector or by financing provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus usually expressed via democratic elections that certain services ought to be available to all, irrespective of their income.

        

Even where public services are neither publicly provided nor publicly financed, for social and political reasons, they are usually subject to regulation going beyond that applying to most economic sectors. More so, public service is a course that can be studied at the tertiary institutions of learning. Common examples of public services units include the schools, armed forces, paramilitary bodies, fire brigade, health centres, and paramedics.

        

Public services are regarded as very important services, that for moral reasons, their universal provision ought to be guaranteed. They may be linked to fundamental human rights such as the right to water and the right to electricity, just as ‘service’ simply implies helping others with their specific need or want.

        

The term ‘Public services’ or ‘Services of general interest’ often includes education, health care, environmental protection, security, public utilities, law enforcement, postal service, public broadcasting, public library, public transportation, public housing, social services, telecommunications, town planning, and public sanitary services, just to mention but a few.

        

Any public servant, regardless of his or her status, is expected to stick strongly and passionately to the basic ethics or modus operandi of public service. A public servant, in any circumstance, is required to be sincere, trustworthy, transparent, punctual to duties, humble, respectable, serious-minded, vision-driven, accountable, unbiased, hardworking, and above all god-fearing.

         

For instance, government officials serve the people thereby managing the resources of others as stipulated by the law. With respect to the nature of this kind of stewardship, there is an expectation from the public that in conducting daily activities, the officials will practise fairness and equity. They are also expected to maintain openness in their activities to ensure that they are operating within the public’s perception of what is right and in line with the mandate of the constitution guiding their services.

        

Public officials are meant to see themselves as stewards rather than masters, as well as treat their respective jobs as means of helping people instead of dominating them. Public servants ought to note at all times that even a small percentage of misbehaviour on their part can cause a vast amount of harm or damage to the society they are serving.

         

Most importantly, public office holders should understand that certain absolute principles, such as honesty and transparency, are meant to be obeyed regardless of the consequences. Honesty or transparency is the primary product of one’s conscience. It is obvious that one who has cheated on his/her conscience has equally cheated nature; needless to say that the person must surely be visited by the law of karma, which states that ‘every work/action has a reward’ or ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’.

        

It is appalling and pathetic that currently, several public servants in Nigeria, especially the political office holders are not just cheats, but wolves in sheep clothing. The persons/officers in question are yet to realize that stewardship and accountability, which have an eternal reward, are meant to be the watchword of any public servant at all cost. This set of people is not just cankerworm to the treasury of the society/community involved, but remains the only nightmare faced by the society.

        

Most disturbingly, they see embezzlement of public funds, truancy, or lateness to duties, as a way of life. They often consider time management as an unreasonable and inconsequential factor in their everyday life. Most of them parade themselves like people who are beyond punishment, forgetting that no one escapes the consequences of his/her actions. This action of impunity is the singular reason they invariably litter the workers’ payroll with names of nonexistent beings widely known as ‘Ghost workers’.

        

Today Tuesday June 23, the international community is celebrating the 2015 World Public Service Day. In its resolution, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated 23^rd June each year as World Public Service Day. The Day intends to celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community, highlight the contribution of public service in the development process, recognize the work of public servants, as well as encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector. The annual observance of the Public Service Day highlights the invaluable contributions of public servants and administrators in our efforts to build a better world for all.

        

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate the World Public Service Day, I enjoin every public servant as well as the prospective ones in the country to acknowledge that the reward for unalloyed stewardship and accountability lasts for eternity, hence ought not to be overlooked for posterity sake. Think about it!

COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)

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frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056