23 June marks the UN Public Service Day
There has never been a better time to understand how important the public service is to a country, and what difference one can make to society and to each individual through a career in public service.
This was stated by the Principal Permanent Secretary Mr Mario Cutajar during a visit to the President of Malta George Vella on the occasion of the World Public Service Day, celebrated today, 23 June. On this visit, Mr Cutajar was accompanied by the permanent secretaries.
The Principal Permanent Secretary said that public officers have always been at the forefront of serving the country, in every challenging moment. He paid tribute to all the public officers who over time, made a difference in people’s lives through their work.
“I think of nurses and frontliners, the public officers who never left our patients alone in recent months. The police, soldiers and members of the Civil Protection who are always ready to risk their lives. But also, other public officers who were instrumental in any change in the country, including those who worked on the Presidency of the European Council or Malta’s entry into the European Union. Even on these occasions we had a public service that made a positive impact on people’s lives”, said the Principal Permanent Secretary.
He argued that all this does not mean that the public service has been faultless, but that it managed to renew itself through a well-thought process of renewal in recent years that led to the implementation of 1,070 simplification measures, along with a change in the way the service is provided.
The Principal Permanent Secretary concluded by saying that after the renewal, the strengthening of the public service must follow. This will be possible through a new five-year strategy, the first of its kind. The strategy, which will start next year, will link the three key elements of technology, people, and the service, for public services to continue to affirm the level of excellence it wants to provide for the Maltese and Gozitan people.
During the visit, the Principal Permanent Secretary presented to the President of Malta the last two publications issued by the public service. These include a diary of all the bulletins issued by the Department of Information during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the publication entitled Il-Ħidma, which encompasses all the work done by the public service in the last year.
