Lagos State civil servants must be transparent with the citizenry on government activities and finances as well as simplify bureaucracy, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said.
The governor urged public servants to comply with global best practices to meet the needs of the people. He made this statement while speaking on global best practice with journalists in Lagos.
Ambode, who was represented by the commissioner for establishments, training and pensions, Benson Oke, said the state had embarked on massive training sessions for workers on how to deliver value per excellence in the state through global best practice.
He called on the workers to provide citizens with information they need on how to process a request.
He stressed that this would enable the citizens to complete their transactions and processes in swiftly.
The Governor also ask workers in the state to exhibit good interpersonal relationship in the discharge of their responsibilities to enable members of the public to have hitch-free transactions.
He said: “Indeed, the delivery of value to citizens is the fundamental objective of any democratically-elected government. In today’s world, however, the delivered value must be delivered per excellence. This is chiefly because citizens have become sophisticated and exposed to the standards of governance in other climes such that their expectations have been conditioned to demand and insist on compliance with global best practices at all levels of governance. Meeting these expectations is the central challenge for governments in the developing world.
“Thankfully in Lagos State, we have a government that has boldly embraced this challenge and is, in fact, executing a reasoned-out plan to transform governance and its processes in such a way that the ever-changing and complex expectations of citizens can be admirably met. The present administration in Lagos State is poised to examine those areas, processes and institutions and practices that need to be overhauled or remodelled in order to achieve this end.
It is a vision of a the State where government objectives, processes and services meet the global standards-conditioned expectation of citizens.
“Providing the necessary information for common processes and procedures in an easy-to-use resource can reduce the number of people in lines at government offices and allow government workers to spend more time helping citizens complete processes, and less time providing instructions. As a result, government workers can be more efficient and productive. By creating opportunities to inform and discuss public finances with citizens, the government can foster an informed and involved citizenry. Providing citizens with information regarding government budgets can make them feel they are part of a community development process.”
Ambode noted that citizens had become exposed to the standards of governance in other climes, and urged public servants to comply with global best practices to meet the needs of the people,” he added.
