CEO of Mastercard Foundation, Reeta Roy engaged with fellows of the Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana (EPL Ghana) on Friday in Accra.
The motive of the engagement was for Reeta to share her experience in the work environment with the fellows, motivate and equip them with the requisite tools to be efficient and ethical public servants. Also to give them a chance to ask questions concerning any aspect of her career or the work world from different perspectives.
Reeta stated that the fellows were fortunate to be beginning their careers in public service at the point their services were greatly needed.
She advised fellows to learn from those ahead of them, ask them to share their mistakes so that they don’t make the same mistakes. “You can make your own, but you should make new mistakes,” she said.
“Invest in a group, a group called your peers. People who are also travelling the same path, moving more or less the same speed. Those who will be there to celebrate victories, pick you up when you are down, people who will keep you true to your beliefs, your values,” she advised.
She went on to say, “Start to think of the people who are following you or just coming up. Sometimes we forget that we serve as role models and others look to us for inspiration. We are sometimes so caught up with what we are doing and forget. But when we remember that there are others, make them know that quitting is not an option.”
Encouraging the fellows on maintaining resilience she said, “We have to remember that we stand on the shoulders of people who have come before us, who cleared the path, who have done a lot of work and they’ve tossed the baton to us. So while we may be running a marathon, we need to think about our marathon as a relay and we have to maintain a sense of urgency while we are holding that baton. Because the issues that we are working on affect your lives and anything this important, anything this unique and this profound, means that it is also incredibly consequential.”
This engagement was part of the EPL’s ‘By the Fireside’ series where fellows meet a prominent person in the work industry to share their stories and experiences that inspire and motivate them. EPL’s By the Fireside has previously hosted the MD/CEO of Ecobank Ghana, Mr Daniel Sackey, renowned journalist “Over To You” Mr Joe Lartey and Mr George Owusu, scientist, businessman, and philanthropist in Ghana’s energy industry.
About EPL
Launched in 2018, Emerging Public Leaders of Ghana (EPL Ghana) is a two-year fellowship that equips high-achieving university graduates of Ghanaian nationality with transferable leadership skills to effect change into the public sector and beyond.
EPL Ghana provides an opportunity for top-performing graduates and young professionals to join the public service in a prestigious role that includes monthly professional trainings, robust supervision and mentoring, and ongoing career support and development.
Through its Public Service Fellowship, EPL recruits Africa’s most promising future leaders and places them into meaningful civil service positions. Over a period of two years, fellows are provided with the supervisory support, rigorous training and mentorship they need to launch and build a successful career in Public Service.
With a footprint in Liberia and Ghana, EPL’’s short-term vision is to expand its Public Service Fellowship Program and create a pan-African network of 500+ fellows by 2023.
By providing a merit-based pathway for competent and ethical talent to work in government, EPL is helping to improve Civil Service performance in Africa.
