THE government is boosting public servants in various areas to enhance efficiency, accountability and transparency across public institutions.

George Simbachawene, the Public Service Management and Good Governance state minister in the President’s Office, made this observation at a press conference here towards the end of last week.

A key achievement is recruiting 102,610 public servants to bolster staff numbers in critical sectors such as health and education, he said, specifying that of these recruited, 46,192 were deployed to fill urgent gaps in service delivery.

This will help to ensure that members of the public receive better and more accessible public services, he stated, pointing at government efforts in the past four years were focused on addressing long-standing challenges in the public sector.

In addition to recruitments, the government has worked to resolve a backlog of pending promotions, advancing 318,098 public servants in their careers, while confirming 159,097 employees in their positions, delayed for years, he stated.

The government has also scrutinized the public payroll system, identifying 19,708 instances of irregularity leading to the recovery of 9.8bn/- thus helping to prevent misuse of public funds, he remarked.

“In fighting corruption and promoting accountability, transparency and integrity have been central to the government’s agenda,” he said, insisting that the ministry had taken a strong stance against corruption.

The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) investigated 5,934 cases of corruption in the public service, securing a remarkable 95.4 percent conviction rate and recovering 33.2bn/- earlier misappropriated, he declared.

Over 322,000 complaints from the public regarding delays and inefficiencies in government services were received, with nearly 97 percent of those complaints, totaling 312, 913 ‘resolved to the satisfaction of citizens,’ he affirmed.

 “These efforts demonstrate the government's commitment to responsive leadership and citizen engagement.” He further noted, highlighting that 26,114 public servants senior officials filed their mandatory wealth declarations, with actions taken against those failing to comply,.

This would reinforce a culture of accountability, he said, citing the need to strengthen oversight institutions, with the government bolstering institutions responsible for ensuring ethical governance.

Key bodies, such as the Ethics Secretariat and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) had received increased funding to enhance their operations, he said, citing elevation of funds for the Ethics Secretariat from 9.1bn/- in 2020/21 to 16.4bn/- in 2023/24, while PCCB was lifted from 75.3bn/- to 118.1bn/-.

These achievements are just the beginning, he specified, underlining that the goal is to build a public service that is efficient, transparent and committed to serving the people, as fighting corruption would enable every citizen to feel the benefits of good governance.

“Through these sustained efforts, the government has set a strong foundation for a more transparent and accountable public sector capable of meeting the challenges of the future,” the minister added.