UNITED KINGDOM
Red faces over rabid children
There were red faces at the UK Cabinet Office after Public Servants compiling an internal magazine mistakenly used a spoof poster that suggested parents should shoot children if they had rabies.
The image appeared in a feature on the history of Government communications.
It was originally produced in a parody of life in the fictional town of Scarfolk, which should have been obvious to anyone visiting the website.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said the image was a parody of 1970s public information campaigns and was mistakenly used in the publication for illustrative purposes.
London, 22 July 2018
CAMBODIA
PS Healthcare plan popular
Cambodia’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) says nearly 10,000 current Public Servants and retirees had been treated in hospital in the first six months after healthcare insurance for them came into effect.
Director of the NSSF, Ouk Sam Vichea said the Fund had registered 1,325 state hospitals and clinics to provide free healthcare services.
This follows the decree by King Norodom Sihamoni establishing the social security healthcare fund for current public officials and those who had retired.
The edict covers more than 300,000 PS employees, including those who work in Ministries, institutions and national as well as subnational units.
Phnom Penh, 24 July 2018
UNITED STATES
Sacked staff keep jobs
Twenty-two Californian Public Servants who received notices last month indicating they may be sacked because their employer made a mistake in how it hired them are to keep their jobs after all.
Their positions were in jeopardy because an audit discovered that some had been asked leading questions during job interviews that gave them an unfair advantage against other candidates.
However, the work safety inspectors did not do anything wrong in answering those questions when they applied for jobs at the Department of Industrial Relations.
As a result, the State backed off its initial move to dismiss them less than a year after they were hired.
Sacramento, 20 July 2018
ZAMBIA
PS latecomers locked out
The Minister in charge of Zambia’s Lusaka Province, Bowman Lusambo has personally turned away Public Servants who arrived late for work.
He said he would write to the Ministry of Finance ordering it to deduct salaries from the 45 workers.
“I closed the main gate of the Lusaka Provincial Administration Office at 8 am,” Mr Lusambo said.
“It is sad that we have this bad working culture.”
He said Civil Service guidelines stipulate that work starts at 8 am, but it is worrying that some staff report for work closer to 9 am.
“This frustrates the delivery of public services to our people and for me this is tantamount to stealing public funds,” Mr Lusambo said.
Lusaka, 25 July 2018
BHUTAN
PS workers get health checks
Bhutan’s Ministry of Health has announced that all Public Servants will be subject to health checks, beginning next month.
It said the initiative was aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle through advocacy and early detection of disease among PS employees.
Chair of the Royal Civil Service Commission, Dasho Karma Tshiteem said the outcome would be healthier lives for all PS staff, enabling them to better serve the nation.
Program Officer with the Ministry of Health, Karma Jurmin said the PS staff would be subjected to a range of tests, including physical examinations such as assessments of body mass index.
Thimphu, 22 July 2018
NIGERIA
Senate claims job bias
Nominations to the Nigerian Federal Civil Service Commission encountered angry opposition in the country’s Senate as lawmakers claimed they favoured the heartland of President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Senators said the appointments continued a trend apparent in the appointments to Government boards, which were heavily lopsided towards the north of the country.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki moved that the list be referred to a screening committee that would report back after the August break.
His motion was adopted.
Abuja, 20 July 2018
SOUTH AFRICA
Graduates targeted for recruitment
The South African Public Service Graduate Recruitment Scheme, which aims to achieve a more professional bureaucracy, has been launched at the University of Johannesburg.
Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Ayanda Dlodlo said the initiative was part of the country’s National Development Plan.
“In order to achieve a professional Public Service, working for the state needs to be a career of choice, attracting the best graduates and youth with potential to its employment service,” Ms Dlodlo said.
“We need to strengthen the talent pipeline, especially in scarce occupations and critical areas of service delivery such as those demanding technical skills and specialisation.”
Pretoria, 25 July 2018
SAINT LUCIA
PS modernisation declared critical
The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Allen Chastanet has declared modernisation of the Caribbean island’s Public Service is critical, with an increasing emphasis on e-government.
Speaking after he announced he was relinquishing the Public Service portfolio, Mr Chastanet said there was a need for a “day-to-day Minister” to oversee the sector.
He said the job would go to Ubaldus Raymond, who was previously with the Ministry of Finance.
“We want to be able to modernise the Civil Service,” Mr Chastanet said.
“We want to ensure that people are getting paid well … [and] that we can keep expanding and meeting the needs of the general public.”
Castries, 26 July 2018
