Local Gov�t Service Warns Workers

The Head of the Local Government Service, Dr Callistus Mahama, has cautioned administrative officers of the Local Government Service (LGS) against absenteeism and lateness to work. He warned �officers found culpable of such offences will have their appointments terminated immediately.� Dr Mahama made these remarks at the opening of a Functional Administrative Skills Course for 533 administrative officers of the Local Government Service (LGS) at the Civil Service Training Centre (CSTC) in Accra. According to the Head of the Local Government Service, due to the vast number of officers to be trained, the course was being organised concurrently in nine zones till August, 2013. Dr Mahama noted that the Civil Service of Ghana had considerable experience in public service administration and as such the Local Government Service had no option than to choose the CSTC to train its officers. He told the 533 administrative officers that the administrative class of the Local Government Service formed the largest class in the service and that the efficient running of the districts in Ghana would largely depend on them. As such, he urged them to be proactive and think outside the box, noting that the efficient running of the districts would depend on efficiency, effectiveness and economy, which were essential tools any administrator should possess. In her welcome address, the Principal of the CSTC, Mrs Dora Dei Tumi, said the CSTC trained personnel to be change agents. Participants, she added, would be taken through training activities to facilitate the transfer of skills from facilitators to participants to ensure that they are functionally effective and efficient for improved service delivery to their clients. She said the CSTC training did not end in the classroom, �it is just the beginning of the process of effective positive change in the office�. To consolidate the effort, Mrs Dei Tumi said, the trainers would assist participants to design action plans to effect relevant changes in their workplace. She added that CSTC would liaise with the human resource directors at LGS to assist trainees in implementing their action plans. The training module, the principal noted, had been recognised by the Japan International Training Agency (JICA), and had impacted positively on Sierra Leonean and Liberian civil services. CSTC, she added, conducted training needs assessment and provided corresponding solutions.