The Head of the Civil Service, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, has urged public servants to strengthen teamwork, discipline and effective time management as part of efforts to improve productivity and support Ghana’s development agenda.
He said a productive Civil Service required not only technical competence but also a healthy and collaborative workforce capable of working together to achieve institutional targets.
Dr Aggrey-Darkoh made the call at the close of a cooking competition and health fair organised for staff of various Ministries as part of this year’s Civil Service Week.
The Civil Service Week is a service-wide programme involving Ministries and Departments and coordinated by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service (OHCS).
This year’s celebration is being held on the theme: “The Resetting Agenda for Sustainable Development in Ghana: The Civil Service’s Responsibilities.”
According to Dr Aggrey-Darkoh, the recreational and health-focused activities were designed to give staff an opportunity to ease workplace pressure, build relationships and strengthen cooperation across institutions.
“From time to time we need to organise things like these. People are under pressure. Today I saw people dancing, networking and working as a team. That spirit is what we need to drive the Service forward,” he said.
He urged public servants to translate the spirit of teamwork demonstrated during the activities into their daily responsibilities.
The Head of the Civil Service also emphasised the importance of discipline and time management, describing effective use of time as an important measure of institutional and national development.
“Management of time is also an indicator of how developed a country is. Let’s manage our time very well,” he stated.
Dr Aggrey-Darkoh also used the cooking competition to highlight the importance of food safety and personal wellbeing among workers.
He said hygiene and food quality were key considerations in judging the competition, stressing that the quality of food consumed had a direct bearing on people’s wellbeing.
“If the food environment is not hygienic, you are literally taking poison. We must be conscious about what we consume both at work and at home,” he said.
Drawing on his previous experience as a supervisor in the food industry in the United Kingdom, he urged staff to pay greater attention to food preparation and hygiene.
He said the Civil Service Week activities were consistent with the Government’s reset agenda and formed part of broader efforts to build a stronger, more innovative and productive public service.
Dr Aggrey-Darkoh urged staff to take ownership of the Government’s development targets and contribute meaningfully to their achievement.
“It should not be said that when we were in charge, we did not deliver. We need everyone on board to achieve the targets we have set for ourselves,” he added.
Sports and Youth Ministries Win Cooking Competition
Team Two, comprising the Ministry of Sports and Recreation and the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, emerged winners of the cooking competition after preparing Tuo Zaafi with Ayoyo soup.
Team One, representing the Ministry of Works and Housing and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, placed second with the same dish.
Team 10, made up of the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Social Welfare, took third place with mashed plantain, locally known as “3to”.
The week-long Civil Service Week celebration featured a range of activities, including a policy fair and exhibition, health screening, clean-up exercise, sporting activities, the cooking competition and an awards ceremony.
