Being effective public servants to the people
The public servants’ primary role is to work for the government and serve the citizenry, thus making them responsible for elected government. Every so often, dissatisfaction with public services is pervasive in the public sector, and the vast majority can attest to this countless times.
One enraging question we should always ask ourselves is, are we really putting the public interests foremost ahead of our personal interests?
Being at the frontline of service delivery, we should work hard for a noble purpose to serve with principle and confidence in public service delivery. Some of the public servants took an oath of employment.
This should serve as a reminder that the onus is upon them to serve impartially, ethically, objectively and most importantly to uphold the highest degrees of integrity beyond reproach.
The aforementioned principles should be the same across the board. At the same time, public servants should accept to be held accountable. We have had so many instances we can relate to, where cases of mismanagement and venality transpired without probing the matter and being answerable.
Good communication skills are integral in the public service delivery system. One has to communicate effectively to get the point across. To be effective, civil service needs welldefined organisational structures, be it educational intuitions, government agencies and many others, where the chain of command is clearly enforced.
We should also reflect on our leadership styles whether it is serving the purpose and benefitting the intended citizens optimally.
Worth mentioning is that public service is continually changing, and we should adopt flexible approaches to change and progress capably. In view of that, we should identify areas that need change, and address them accordingly.
The services we are delivering are also informing policymaking to meet current and ongoing needs of the public, even in the most challenging situations we are faced with presently. There are evident challenges in various sectors, but public servants should strive to work honourably, diligently and most importantly with dedication to sustain trust in public services.