By Hannah Dadzie and Magdalene Kwakyewaa Owusu
Speakers at this year’s Africa Union Public Service Day, held in Accra, have highlighted the need to remove barriers that hinder African trade, with a focus on The Africa Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA. At the event, the Kenyan High Commissioner, Eliphas Barine said to address the challenges faced as a continent, there is the need for an efficient, effective and competent public service. This, he said, will help to achieve the goals of AfCFTA. He appealed to governments to institute measures to make trade grow.
The United Nations General Assembly and African Union have designated 23rd June every year as United Nations Public Service Day. The day is to reflect on the values of public service to society and to recognize the contribution of public service institutions to national development. It also serves as a platform for exchanging best practices, promoting collaboration, and fostering partnerships among African countries to improve public service delivery and governance system across the continent.
Speaking on the importance of Public Service for successful implementation of AfCFTA, the Guest Speaker who is the Kenyan High Commissioner in Accra, Eliphas Barine, said to achieve the agenda 2063, the African We Want, the public sector must be resourced to help build the African market to address poverty which has become a challenge on the continent.
“We need an introspection for the African Public Service, to package itself better to make it fit for purpose. I, therefore, submit that the public service is a scorecard in determining a nation’s state and then the African Continental Free Trade Area provides us that great opportunity to scale up and be able to deliver our people from bondage, poverty and shame.” Ambassador Barine indicated.
Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Professor Victor Kwame Agyeman called for a collective approach to build the Africa we want.
“This year’s event is very very important because we are focusing on the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is expected to lift 30 million people from extreme poverty. The Role that the Public Service plays in upholding the agenda of government cannot be overemphasized. Our Public Service over the years has succeeded in reinventing and adapting itself to meet challenges as they emerge and I am sure that we are all well placed to support the government in ensuring that we achieve the ideals of the AfCFTA,” Professor Agyeman said.
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr Eric Nkansah said through the various reforms in the Ghana Education System, Ghana will be positioned as a prominent place of progress under AfCFTA.
“Let us embrace the spirit of the UN African Union Public Service Day, and reaffirm our commitment to building an AfCFTA ready public sector. Through the reforms in our education system, we will position Ghana as a beacon of progress and prosperity within the African Continental Free Trade Area to this noble course. Together we will create a brighter future for our nation and contribute to the collective success of African,” Dr. Nkansah noted.
This year’s Africa Public Service Day is under the theme: “building on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Ready Public Sector”.
