Mr. John Tia Akologu, Minister of Information, on Monday called on heads of departments of Civil and Public Services to get more active and work harder so as to contribute to the 'Better Ghana' agenda. He asked them to ensure that they and their subordinates committed themselves and work diligently to create a meaningful impact in their fields of endeavour. He said this would make the people to know exactly what they were doing either through the direct benefits they would enjoy or through education to make them appreciate and participate in the work that was meant to improve their lives. Mr. Akologu said this during a meeting with heads of departments in Bolgatanga as part of his three-day working visit to the Upper East Region to familiarise himself with the operations of the agencies under the Ministry and communicate government policies and programmes to the people. He asked them to see to it that their departments collaborated with each other to enable them to carry out their work efficiently. He noted that all civil and public servants were duty bound to be loyal to the government of the day by remaining impartial in carrying out their duties so as to contribute to the development of the nation and not to satisfy their parochial interests. "You are duty bound to be impartial and non-partisan in your work. We have a saying that governments come and go but the public and civil servant is always there. It is particularly true that you demonstrate your impartiality on the job because those who are partial sometimes go with the governments," he said. Mr. Akologu said government was committed to all its promises and was showing true fatherly leadership by giving every one in the civil and public sector a chance to prove themselves as loyal citizens who would work impartially in the interest of the people and the nation. He asked the heads of departments to make good use of their budgetary allocations and educate the people on their activities so that they would know better and take part in the programmes and projects being carried out by government in their communities. This, he said, would sound more credible to the people than what the politicians tell them. As an example, he said the Regional Director of Education would sound more sincere when he talks about the free school uniforms, textbooks and the capitation grant that had saved parents the trouble of paying fees among other things. Also the Director of Health Services would sound more credible talking about the one-time premium payment for health insurance. Mr. Akologu said the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) would soon be implementing its programmes and would need the cooperation of all civil and public servants to make it successful and beneficial to the people. Commenting on the challenges and constraints of the civil and public service, he said: "The Single Spine Salary Structure currently being implemented shows the government's resolve in trying to address some of these issues. I note here that even though this new salary scheme is bringing its own challenges they are not insurmountable". Mr. Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister, noted that the region was rather poor and needed hard working people to improve its condition. He therefore called on the workers to stop thwarting each others efforts and work together to develop the area. Source: GNA