MASERU - The Principal Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Public Service has urged the newly employed public servants to avoid being influenced by party politics when they implement service delivery. Mr. Ts'eliso Lesenya said this on Monday May 14 when officially opening a nine-day Graduate Induction Programme workshop held in Maseru. He revealed that the ministry has made several policies and regulations to ensure that there is good service delivery. The policies, he explained, are tools aimed at guiding public officers on how to conduct themselves in the public service environment. Mr. Lesenya urged fresh civil servants to always show dedication, sympathy and love when they serve the public. “And you can achieve these when you are united, otherwise you will not be able to reach your objective of serving the public efficiently,” he said. According to Mr Lesenya, poor service delivery and politicised public servants have been a great concern to the government. He said: “I wish you well in your different duties. It is vital to always bear in mind that you will be able to deliver quality service only if you serve the public without any political bias”. Speaking on the side line of the occasion, the Director of Training and Development, Mr. Sankoela Mohoanyane, explained that the induction course is part of the graduate placement programme which was re-launched in November last year. The training is meant to acclimate new-comer civil servants with the mandate of the Ministry of Public Service, government policies and regulations guiding service delivery, behaviour, welfare and training of civil servants. Mr. Mohoanyane advised that civil servants must know that while they are expected to implement regulations and policies of the government, they must also know that public service is a calling guided by basic conditions of good practice regardless of the power of the day. He said every Mosotho needed to be served with dignity and public officers have an obligation to uphold government's secrets to the best of their abilities. According to the Acting Director General of Lesotho Institute of Public Administration and Management (LIPAM), Mrs. Masechaba Thamae, the institute is but a department within the Ministry of Public Service mandated to build the capacity of public servants with knowledge of policies, laws and regulations that govern the public service. She revealed that the induction is held for newly employed public servants in order to give them early guidance on what to expect and what is expected of them, their rights and code of conduct, among others. There were 27 participants at the induction course which will end on Thursday May 24. Lena