Dr Avea Ephraim Nsoh, Upper West Regional Minister, has advised heads of departments and agencies to maintain their offices to standards that reflect the positions they occupy.
Dr Nsoh, who gave the advice when he paid a surprise visit to the offices of some departments and agencies in Wa, expressed dissatisfaction at the odd look of some offices he entered.
The Minister said it was not only institutions with Internally Generated Funds (IGF) that should maintain their offices, emphasizing that heads of departments and agencies must think outside the box and find innovative ways of generating funds to maintain the offices they worked in.
According to him, the office was the second home for every worker and must equally be given the same treatment given to the first home, adding that a good looking office attracted seriousness, integrity and respect for the occupant.
Dr Nsoh explained that the visit formed part of the President’s directive to all ministers not to be deskbound ministers but ministers that would take their offices closer to the people so they could work together as a team to achieve a common goal.
He said the visit was also aimed at letting people who worked in those offices know that they formed part of the team he was working with and also to encourage them to feel free to share their problems with him so as to work together to find solutions.
Dr Nsoh said he observed during the visit that the youth were fast loosing respect for the elderly as most of them often sat on their seats looking unconcerned as the elderly rose up to welcome him into their offices.
According to him, if the youth needed help from their parents or from other people outside the home then they must learn to respect the elderly in society.
He, therefore, appealed to the National Youth Authority and other departments that had direct links with the youth to try and inculcate into them discipline and respect of the elderly.
The Regional Minister took time to inspect sanitary facilities used by those offices and expressed worry about the poor sanitary conditions he saw inside these facilities.
Some of the offices had broken furniture that had been abandoned on some of the verandas for a long time making the place untidy.
As a result, the Minister directed heads of those departments and agencies to ensure the broken furniture was cleared and the sanitary facilities constantly cleaned to prevent the bad smell that emanated from them.
Dr Nsoh also expressed worry about the abandoned Regional Office of the Ghana Journalists Association and appealed to both the regional and national executives to take steps towards revitalizing it or release it for use.
