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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
It will not be business as usual for unproductive civil servants as there are sanctions for incompetence, Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment Festus Keyamo has warned.
Keyamo spoke Thursday, at the occasion of the Ministerial Service Award for Labour Sector, in recognition of outstanding performance of staff of both the Ministry and the Agencies under her supervision.
15 staff were rewarded with cash prizes and awards for excellent performance.
Speaking at the event which was held to mark the 2022 Africa Day for civil service, the Minister said It was heart-warming that the Ministry was recognizing the outstanding performance of officers who have tirelessly worked to help it achieve its mandate in the course of the year.
“This is an opportunity to inform you all that enhanced performance for productivity must be encouraged and so this platform is to celebrate and recognize excellence in service delivery by some carefully selected officers of the Ministry. With the performance Management process in place, it will not be business as usual for unproductive civil servants. There are sanctions for incompetence. “The Ministry will provide the enabling environment for competitive performance in rendering quality services, thereby staff aspiring to put in their best in the discharge of their duties, will be encouraged.
“Quite a number of these staff have been able to discharge their duties under unfriendly and challenging environment yet these officers’ demonstrated zeal and passion in attending to their schedules. The courage and bravery displayed by these officers is what has recommended them for these awards, that would be conferred on them today. The different categories of awardees are drawn from different departments of the Ministry and the Agencies ranging through different grade levels.
Also speaking, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Kachollom Daju said the Office of Head of Civil Service had taken the lead in ensuring that civil servants were duly compensated for their contribution to the service in general.
He stressed that the importance of performance management cannot be over emphasized as it will Improve organizational performance, employee retention and loyalty, improve productivity thereby overcoming the barriers to communication, clear accountability, and cost advantages.
“The issue resolved by management would be reduced cause of bridging of communication gap between management and staff and this will Saves time and reduce conflicts generated with Labour Union while it will also ensures efficiency and consistency in performance.
“Indeed Recognition of hard work and performance is all about giving positive feedback based on results. award, a bonus, a promotion etc are means to demonstrate appreciation of contributions to achieving goals.
“The Ministry had carefully and genuinely selected deserving officers through a credible process with inputs from all the Departments to come up with the list of officers being awarded today. Also the Agencies under the Ministry’s supervision constituted Award committees to further strengthen a trust worthy process for selecting awardees.
“This occasion is seen as motivating and exciting for everyone cause we all desire that our good work be applauded. Therefore, Today’s Ministerial Service Award is to celebrate some of the Ministry’s staff and selected staff of the Agencies who have exhibited exceptional commitment and dedication to service.
“This year’s Ministerial Award is unique in the sense that those that would be conferred service award are those whose services were not hindered in any significant way by the challenges and any attendant risk faced in course of rendering their services.
In his remarks, Dr. Micheal Akabogu, Managing Director Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) lauded the initiative and applauded the Minister and the Ministry team for recognizing officers for their “productivity and Adherence to the core values of the service”.
