- Lagos Improves Productivity Through Waste Reduction – Ambode
The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has said that the state civil service has been able to reduce waste in the state and boost its productivity.
In a statement, he said this was partly the result of the extensive investments in knowledge and skills by the administration.
Ambode, represented by the Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr Akintola Benson,spoke during a training programme tagged, ‘Effective management strategies for repositioning and higher responsibilities,” organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in Lagos.
While noting that the importance of eliminating waste could not be over-emphasised, he said that countless studies had shown that with good and sound processes relating to management of time and resources, meagre resources could be extended to produce outstanding results.
He stated, “In other words, organisations and individuals can achieve more with less. Just like governments around the world, we want to deliver better education, better health care, better pensions, and better transportation services because they know that impatient electorate expect to see change, and fast.”
He said he expected the participants to have improved skills and enhanced capacities to improve the capacity of the state civil service.
“The state wants the workers to embrace a lean culture approach to projects and other establishments’ matters. I believe that the training will make the civil service more productive, efficient, and goal-oriented. Ultimately, it will make the Lagos State Civil Service more suited to support the government of Lagos State to realise its core objective of promoting and enhancing the social and infrastructural objectives of the good people of Lagos State.
“The team work and synergy hold the key to maximum and ultimate performance. There are some who underestimate the value and importance of synergy and team work. Synergy is everywhere in nature. Synergies are not only about cost reduction. Synergies can be access to markets, exchange of products, avoiding overlaps, and exchange of best practices.
“Also, since the onset of the great recession, ‘doing more with less’ has become a policy mantra. However, this mantra has not translated into actual implementable policies in most segments of the public service in Nigeria.
“I believe that the impact of today’s rapidly changing economic and technological landscape has made government’s task of delivering public service more complex. More than ever before, governments all over the world have increasingly come under serious public scrutiny and fiscal pressure to deliver better outcomes to citizens, and to do so more efficiently.”
