Mr Kizito Ballans, Chief Director for the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, has been adjudged as the Overall Best Chief Director for the 2023 Civil Service Awards ceremony on Friday at the Accra International Conference Centre.

He was awarded for his achievements as a chief director, dedication, and commitment to work.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Ballans commended the civil service for nominating him for the modest achievements to his ministry during the course of the year.

He commended his Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah; colleagues, and management for their total support and cooperation. To the team of workers, he recognized them as the ‘unsung heroes’ and lauded them for their selflessness, sacrifices, and dedication in pursuing the mandate of the ministry.

“This award should serve as an inspiration to all of us in building a formidable and resilient Civil Service,” he added.

The Minister for National Security, Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah, speaking on the theme: “Combating threats to sub-regional peace and security: perspectives of the civil service,” declared that, in a legal bureaucratic system, the security of the state would be guaranteed when the government works with the civil service to meet the needs of the people in the provision of public goods and services.

According to him, the civil service was essential in the course of providing goods and services. He added that the provision of infrastructural development and enhancing the economic expectations of the people was dependent on the efficiency and effectiveness of the civil service.

Mr Kan-Dapaah stated that the civil service plays a critical role in government and members of the service whose works are defined by values such as patriotism, transparency, diligence, and professionalism should be considered as the real technical persons in governance.

In his welcome address, the Head of Civil Service, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh indicated that the commitment to enhancing the capacity of the Civil Service was unwavering, because of the pivotal role it plays in driving national progress.

He added that, “We strive to imbue the Civil Service with greater productivity, resourcefulness, and a results-oriented approach while ensuring accountability to foster good governance and sustainable development.

We know that the economic revival and reform of our nation hinge significantly upon the effectiveness of the Civil Service.”

Dr Aggrey-Darkoh stated that the essence of the 2024 Civil Service Week celebration was to engage the public in soliciting feedback for policy formulation, plan the strategic importance of the Civil Service to national development, and sensitize the private sector as well as citizens on the activities of the Ghana Civil Service and identify areas of collaboration/partnership.

Also, the event was to celebrate hard-working Civil Service staff and show appreciation for their dedication to work consistent with section 89 of the Civil Service Law, 1993 PNDCL 327. To deepen the trust of citizens in the Civil Service and the public sector, allow staff to network, exchange experiences/ideas, and upgrade their skills on emerging public sector reforms and development policy, foster unity and togetherness among staff, build teamwork, unity, and the spirit of solidarity among staff.

On the Awards Ceremony, Dr Aggrey-Darkoh indicated that it has provided the opportunity to reflect on the previous year and share the achievements and successes chalked up by the Civil Service. To him, it serves as source of motivation to other Civil Service staff to derail from any institutional apathy and be energized to improve upon their work performance.

“Today, we have gathered here not just to celebrate our accomplishments, but also to recognize excellence for the 2023 reporting year,” he added.

He encouraged all Chief Directors and Heads of Department to ensure that their staff were nominated for awards, and the critical requirements were followed during the call for nominations.

Awards were given to chief directors, directors, professional and sub-professional workers.

The 2023 Awards Ceremony climaxed the 2024 Civil Service Week Celebration which began from the 24th of April to the 3rd of May, 2024. Some of the activities during the celebration were an Inter-ministerial football, t-able Tennis tournaments, a float, a press launch, a clean-up exercise, Christian and Muslim thanksgiving services, a public lecture, a policy fair, an informative policy dialogue session, “Know the Civil Service Quiz” and a cooking competition.

There were also on-the-spot services from the Passport Office, Birth & Deaths registry, NHIS, NIA, DVLA, and Ghana Health Service.