Welfarism, training and career progression our top priorities for public servants in Lagos – HOS
By Rasaq Adebayo
The Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri- Okunola, has assured the entire public servants in the state of continuous welfare packages, training and career progression as top priorities of the state government in motivating the workforce towards effective and efficient service delivery.
Muri-Okunola stated this while presenting his scorecard at the Year 2021 Ministerial Press Briefing in commemoration of the second year in office of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo- Olu, held at the Bagaulda Kaltho Press Centre.
He said the present administration acknowledged the impacts of the public servants in the state and their swift responses in ensuring that the Head of Service delivers on his mandate towards the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda of the Sanwo- Olu’s administration.
Muri-Okunola stated that in no small measure, the office of the Head of Service has provided leadership and direction for all Public Servants in the state just as it plays advisory role to the government and facilitates appointments, promotions, postings and deployment of Permanent Secretaries, Chief Executives of Parastatals in the various Ministries, Department and Agencies of the State Government.
In demonstrating the commitment of the present administration to staff welfare, the HOS added that apart from increasing the loan disbursement to officers on different grade levels, 10 new 56-seater buses were recently approved for release and handing over by the governor to public servants in different arms of government to ease the challenges faced by workers in commuting to and fro homes to their various offices.
He noted that other welfare incentives by the governor include the continuous granting of approval for the procurement and allocation of official vehicles as well as utility vehicles for use of MDAs, State Government appointees and Principal Officers of the State Public Service, in fulfilment of the governor’s promise to strengthen institutional capacity of MDAs.
Speaking further, Muri-Okunola reiterated that during the period under review, to ensure that there is reduction in housing deficit, the present administration provides soft loans, through the means of housing loan subvention, adding that his own office, through the Staff Housing Board, received a total sum of N408,100,000.00 yearly loan subvention from the governor and had already been disbursed to 2,097 beneficiaries.
He maintained that there is ongoing monumental renovation as well as face lift witnessed in various Staff Quarters across the state which had immensely added to the aesthetics of Resilient Mega City “Lagos”, just as 821 apartments were renovated and 526 maintained in Amuwo Odofin, Badagry, Alausa, Ogba, Surulere, Ajah, Ikoyi, and Ikorodu axis in the State.
He further stated that his office, in conjunction with the office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation, has carried out Customer Service Training for all Citizensgate Resolvers in the area of professional etiquette on how to handle citizens’ queries, saying the soft skill training will enable to promote professionalism across the State Public Service, thereby promoting the platform as an alternative mode of access to government services as opposed to visiting Alausa, Secretariat.
In another development, he reiterated that in other to strengthen the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, the present administration, under the leadership of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had signed the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency Law 2021 to assist the Agency overcome some of the challenges militating against its activities and enhance the capacity of contractors awarded contracts to deliver their jobs, thereby facilitating effective and efficient delivery of public goods and services to the people of the state.
He maintained that the law aimed at making more resources available to contractors was aimed to encourage timely delivery of projects, adding that with the new development, the incidence of contractors abandoning project sites due to lack of funds will be drastically reduced, adding that it is also targeted at empowering the Agency to discharge its functions, increasing inclusiveness and also encouraging improved compliance with the Procurement Law by stakeholders.
