On December 20, 2002, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 57/277, designating June 23rd of each year as United Nations Public Service Day. The day was created for four specific reasons:
1. to celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the community;
2. highlight the contribution of public service in the development process;
3. recognize the work of public servants;
4. and encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector
In Anguilla, Public Service Day will be marked by the hosting of the Anguilla Public Service Recognition Awards 2017 at Government House on Thursday 22nd June. On this occasion, we recognize and celebrate the achievements of worthy public servants for their exceptional efforts and contributions. It is important to give credit where credit is due and I look forward to celebrating positive contributions made by Anguilla’s public service.
As we continue to celebrate Anguilla at fifty (50), let us not forget the important role played by the public service in getting Anguilla to this point. One of my favorite and often told stories about the Father of the Nation, the Hon. James Ronald Webster is that during the turbulent and uncertainly days of the revolution, he would use his own personal funds to ensure that the public servants were paid. This clearly demonstrates our revolutionary leader’s commitment to the public.
Undoubtedly, high quality public services are essential to the growth and development of Anguilla as we look ahead to the next fifty years. This requires the continued hard work and dedication of public servants throughout the length and breadth of Anguilla, who make sacrifices on daily basis, to keep us safe and secure.
At this point, I would like to offer and heartfelt “thank you” to each and every public servant. Your service is appreciated and your hard work matters.
As we look ahead to the next fifty years, the public service will continue to play a vital role in Anguilla’s growth and development. There is no need for me to dilate on the challenges ahead for Anguilla; we know them all too well. We cannot be naïve to the complexity of these challenges but I’m convicted that if work together, we will overcome then. As novelist and social critic James Baldwin wrote so long ago, “[not] everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” I am hopeful because as I look around the public service, it confirms what I already know and that is the fact that we have some of the best and brightest people that Anguilla has to offer. They come to work every single day trying to make a genuine and positive difference to lives of all Anguillians.
Again, I say thank you to all our public servants.
Perin bradley, Deputy Governor of Anguilla
