By Staff Writer
Hundreds of public servants will be marching along Beach Road tomorrow morning, Friday 20 September 2022, to the selected theme beat of ‘In Spirit Of Service’.
It is Public Service Day in Samoa, and the marchers will gather early at the open compound of the Ministry of Police for the short parade to the Government FMFM II building to mark the occasion.
The morning formalities with the Deputy PM speaking on the occasion should wrap up the official activities around mid-morning.
Civil servants would then have to head back to their respective Ministries to put in a few hours of work on what is left of the morning.
It will be a short working day for everyone with each Ministry or State Owned Enterprise organizing their own office celebrations from 1.00pm till knockoff time at 5.00pm to finish up the day.
It is understood the last time the Day was celebrated in Samoa was before the COVID 19 lockdown.
The Friday parade appeared to be at short notice with several Ministries reportedly unaware.
Relations between the FAST Government and the civil service have been under a lot of strain, since they went on a CEO cleanup after a pre-election promise to ‘empty the swamp.’
CEOs were either dismissed outright because Cabinet Ministers cannot work with them, or contracts were not renewed or re-applied but were not re-appointed.
The Public Service Association were briefly involved to consider worker rights, but nothing came out of it.
It is this backdrop in the civil service that the Public Service Day is to be celebrated on Friday.