Minister deplores lateness of public servants
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, has taken a swipe at public servants who always attend public functions late.
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According to him, such attitude casts a slur on the image of the public service and affects the collective efforts being made towards national development.
Alhaji Limuna, who expressed a strong indignation for the lateness of public officials to functions in the region, has directed the Regional Co-ordinating Director to begin to query and sanction public officials, especially Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the region who always attend public functions late.
MMDCEs attending public functions late
The Northern Regional Minister, who was addressing the mid-year performance review meeting of MMDCEs in the region in Tamale recently, cited the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Savelugu, Alhaji Abdulai Red, and the Sagnarigu DCE, Mr Alhassan Mohammed Sorugudoo, as habitual latecomers.
"I think if we begin to name and shame such public officials and also sanction them for lateness, others will change their attitude," he stated.
Alhaji Limuna noted that henceforth, he was not going to tolerate lateness at any public function by MMDCEs in the region, adding that he was using the meeting to kickstart a campaign against lateness of public officials in the region.
"The programme was supposed to start at 9 a.m. prompt but as of the time I arrived, about nine DCEs were present at the hall. How can we, as a nation, develop with such attitude?" Alhaji Limuna asked.
Redouble efforts
Alhaji Limuna urged the MMDCEs to redouble efforts in addressing the various development challenges confronting their people to improve on their living conditions.
"We have to bear in mind that the expectations of the people on MMDAs are quite high and, therefore, we have a responsibility to meet these expectations or at least manage them," he added.
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Alhaji Limuna also expressed concern about the attitude of some MMDCEs who often stayed away from their offices as a result of the expectations and demands of the people, adding that it was common to find that some MMDCEs were not in their offices, on the pretext of avoiding those pressures.
"That certainly is not the solution and you wonder how long you can continue to avoid them and also how productivity is affected by your absence from the office. We must address the concerns of the people by letting them appreciate what we have, what we can do for now and what we can flag for the future,” Alhaji Limuna advised the MMDCEs.
Alhaji Limuna stated that he and his co-ordinating director were in Accra recently to sign a performance agreement and so it was his responsibility to ensure that all those who worked under him also performed.
Poor sanitation
The Northern Regional Minister expressed concerns about the low performance of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the area of sanitation.
According to him, 70 per cent of the population in the region still practised open defaecation. He, therefore, urged the various MMDAs to redouble their efforts to help halt that unhealthy practice among the citizenry in the region.
"The situation is unacceptable and all efforts should be made to halt the practice," he added.