President’s Public Service Day Address-President calls for moral path in civil service |19 July 2004

In his message on the occasion of Public Service Day, which falls Monday July 19, the President said that although humans by nature have both spiritual and material needs, some individuals in modern society have come to believe material accumulation is the measuring stick for success, regardless of the means of such acquisitions.

“Today, we see that many in our society are inspired by a system of values which begins and ends with the pursuit of what is materially beneficial to themselves, with no sense of what is morally correct,” he said. “And so our youth grow up believing that to be deemed a success in our society, one most possess luxury cars, one must have a big and expensive house and dress in the finest garments available on the market.”

The President said that for many of these people, how such worldly goods are acquired is immaterial, and there needs to be acceptance that beyond the law, there is what is morally right and morally wrong.

“Clearly, whatever it is that we have to do to address the issue of moral renaissance, we must, at the same time, ensure that we have a law enforcement system which gives no quarter to corrupt practice, whoever might be involved in such practice,” he said.

President Michel said that honesty and integrity above private interests, accountability, impartiality and political neutrality in conducting official duties were some of the core attributes for a civil service that the government should aspire to put in place.

He also called on leaders in government offices to lead by example, noting that leadership and ethics go hand in hand.

“The first responsibility of leaders is to reinforce core values and to lead by personal example,” he said. “Values are the conscience of any society. They must be lived and not just preached.”

“When I addressed chief executives in government earlier this year, I expounded my vision of a public service inspired by a system of values where there is no misuse of government assets,” President Michel said. “We are now going to put in place the necessary mechanisms to ensure this vision becomes a reality.”