He advised them to display professionalism, seriousness and commitment towards their work to promote Government’s development agenda. Dr Ato Arthur was addressing newly recruited professionals staff of the LGS at an orientation conference organised by the Service in Accra.

The newly recruited staff, which include Engineers, Assistant Statisticians and Programmers, Procurement officers, Human Resource Personnel and Drivers, were taken through the ethics, conditions and professionalism of the Service.

The orientation was simultaneously held in four selected locations across the country; namely Accra, Elmina, Kumasi and Koforidua. He said recruited staffs were many times not taken through orientation and hence have no adequate knowledge on the services to render.

“I think that we need to do things differently and on the basis of that all the newly 1,050 staffs that are recruited have been grouped to undergo this orientation”. The Head of Service said President Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo Addo deserved praise for administering the financial clearance through the Ministry of Finance for the recruitment of the new 1,050 staff.

“As we speak now, processes are on going to recruit 1,500 agricultural officers whose services are also needed by the LGS”.  He expressed the hope that financial clearance would be given for recruitments of the officers.

Mr Ishmael Ashitey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, said the orientation programme was to increase participants’ knowledge of Ghana’s Local Governance framework, legislations, policies and regulations and specified roles and responsibilities.

He said the programme would go a long way to help achieved transparency and accountability in the management of the MMDAs, strategically positioning MMDAs for the implementation of the government’s development agenda and interventions such as One-District-One-Factory programme.

“It is also to empower Regional Coordinating Councils and MMDAs on the best practices in administration, development planning and management and to improve revenue mobilisation through workable Information Communication Technology units in the MMDAs”.

Mr Ashitey said the orientation was to equip participants with the requisite skills, knowledge and appropriate attitudes necessary for effective service delivery at the local level.  He said he would be part of a team that will see to the effective mobilisation, creative exploitation and utilisation of the available financial and material resources in the local environment while also being directly accountable to the people for whom they work.