Africa Public Service Day and UN Public Service Day celebrated in Namibia

The event took place in Otjiwarongo at Vooruit Primary School.

The commemoration of UN Public Service Day coincides with the APSD and fulfills the visionary aspirations of African Public Service Ministers to celebrate the contribution of the Public Service in spearheading national and continental development, in line with the fulfillment of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

The official ceremony was hosted by Right, Honourable Saara-Kuugongelwa Amadhila, Prime Minister  of the Republic of Namibia in partnership with Sen Pang, Resident Coordinator for UN Namibia under the theme: ‘Enhancing the resilience of the African Public Administration to support and facilitate the realization of Africa’s nutritional needs during and post COVID-19 Pandemic.’

“We need to develop resilient solutions for public service delivery, these include reducing reliance on foreign supplies by developing local industries and promoting the use of technologies to deliver services,” said Right, Honourable Saara-Kuugongelwa Amadhila, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia during her keynote address at the event, delivered by Honourable George Simataa, Secretary to the Cabinet of the Republic of Namibia.

“In this respect, Government programmes such as business process re-engineering, customer service charter and the reintroduction of online e-government services must be championed to fruition in order to support the achievement of Harambee Prosperity Plan and Vision 2030”, Simataa added on behalf of the PM.

“Public Service is a noble cause, it provides a unique opportunity to make positive contributions to the institutions and the communities we serve, and inspire young people to follow suit by pursuing careers in the public sector,” said Sen Pang, United Nations Namibia Resident Coordinator.

“As we mark this important day, let us celebrate not only the work of public servants worldwide, but their commitment to working in partnership to build a better future for all people.”

He commended the strong partnership between the UN System in Namibia and OPM, highlighting the extraordinary work the UNDP Accelerator Lab spearheads facilitating learning governance, social innovation frameworks, policies and processes to enhance professionalism, trust and integrity in public service.

The celebration kickstarted with a three-part series of learning sessions facilitated by the innovative experts from the United Nations Development Programme’s Accelerator Lab: Session 1: ‘Policy Lab for Public Sector Innovation Champions, Session’ 2: ‘A User Experience for Integrity Champions’, Session 3: ‘Public Sector Innovation Mini bootcamp for learning: trends and tools on public sector innovation.’

The learning sessions were followed by ‘The Amazing Race: Public Service Edition’ which saw participants moving around the town of Otjiwarongo led by strategically positioned QR codes  and geotags of public sites where the public receive services. The participants had to collect data clues with the first to collect all the clues being announced as winner.

Exhibitions demonstrating innovative collaboration with the public sector was on display and included UN agencies like WFP and an array of private sector businesses and entrepreneurs showcasing their niche products and services.

The official event highlight was notably a special prizegiving ceremony in honour of the Innovation and Integrity Champions who received recognition certificates from Hon. George Simataa and Alka Bhatia, UNDP Representative.

‘Public Service’ is a fundamental component of Government delivering critical services like education, health and welfare on a national scale. As the implementing arm of Government services, public servants play an instrumental role in efficient service delivery, responding to people’s needs and making efficient use of resources to implement mandates.

Raising public awareness on ASPD and UN Public Service Day creates a platform to reflect on the role of public service, avenues to share practical recommendations on improved ethical and innovative service delivery as outlined in the African Charter for the values and principles for public administration nationally and across the African continent.

About ASPD:

The ASPD is driven within the Agenda 2063  and aims to discover innovations, reward excellence in the public sector, motivate public servants to further promote innovation, enhance  professionalism in the public service, raise the image of public service, enhance trust and integrity in government, collect, document and share best practices for possible replication with a country as well as across the African continent.

About UN Public Service Day:

On 20 December 2002, the General Assembly designated 23 June as Public Service Day by adopting resolution 57/277. UN Public Service Day celebrates the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlights the contribution of public service in the development process; recognizes the work of public servants, and encourages young people to pursue careers in the public sector.