Five Civil Servants Awarded for Integrity and Hardwork -High sense of public accountability produces good governance : Danish Envoy

“These Icons not only give us hope about the bright future of the country, but also provide our youth with the role models that they need to emulate in their own careers”. Waqar Ahmed

ISLAMABAD: Feb 1st, 2023 – In a high-profile ceremony attended by the diplomats, senior civil servants, representatives of the civil society, media and youth from academia; five civil servants were decorated with awards in recognition of their excellent work, integrity and improving service delivery in their respective departments.

Dr. Vivek Anad, District Surveillance Officer, Health Department, Kashmore, Sindh, Omer Saeed, City Police Officer (CPO) Faisalabad, Ghulam Ali Mallah, CEO/ Secretary Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC), Islamabad and Samina Altaf, Chairperson Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Kohat, Dr. Shair Zaman, Endocrinologist Bolan Medical Hospital, Quetta were crowned at the annual award ceremony of the Integrity Icon Campaign.

The Integrity Icon is an annual campaign to celebrate the most honest and hardworking government employees from all over the country. The Integrity Icon campaign has completed its seven years in Pakistan and this time the campaign received more than 100 entries from across the country, which were examined by a jury comprising of most capable and credible professionals from civil service, academia and civil society. Every year 5 Icons are honored and celebrated for their public service spirit and honest work.

“What else could be the greatest satisfaction when you are responsible to serve the citizen and citizens feel satisfied that you are always there to bring some kind of hope, some kind of relief, some kind of justice some kind of equality into their lives” said Mr. Waqar Ahmed, Secretary to the President of Pakistan, who was the chief guest of the ceremony.

 Ali Imran, Chairman, Accountability Lab said that “the values of leadership (honesty, humility, curiosity, collaboration, and innovation) are universal and if we can connect these values to the ultimate goal for the existence of public service; civil servants will become more effective and capable of readily creating solutions to address public’s grievances leading to more public trust in state institutions”.

Member governance, innovation of reforms planning commission of Pakistan, Dr. Adnan Rafiq said that ‘supporting, highlighting and celebrating the people who not worked with the best of social traits but also inspired others is important work to do.

Executive Director Accountability Lab Global Pakistan, Blair Glencorse stated that Integrity Icons started as a small campaign and is now a global campaign that helped citizens in 13 countries to know about the wonderful work their civil servants are doing.

Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Jakob Linulf stated “For a nation to lessen corruption, honesty must be internalized by a majority of its citizens. This can be inflected by changes in laws, wealth, democracy, economic freedom, appreciation of diversity, and stability. A high sense of public accountability produces good governance and strengthens the trust and openness among people. I appreciate initiatives like Integrity Icon Award that encourage honest officials in Pakistan to engage in constructive and transparent ways.”

Maria Ana Petrera, Head of Green Growth and Sustainability, Embassy of Denmark said that “Green Transition requires active collaboration and innovation across all sectors including with current and future decision-makers. Youth is the future of Pakistan and the world. They represent a huge resource and are valuable democratic agents of change – as entrepreneurs and active citizens. We need their ambition and engagement to make the green transition a success in Pakistan. The Young Integrity Summit provides an important platform for stimulating such indispensable youth action.”