Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday received the United Nations global award for public service from UN Under-secretary General Wu Hongbo at a glittering ceremony in Bahrain’s National Theatre, attended by representatives from various countries.
A large number of people from the Malayali diaspora were present on the occasion to greet Chandy who brought international recognition to Kerala government by winning the coveted honour.
Chandy was presented the award during the plenary session of a four-day UN convention on e-governance and administrative reforms, an official press release from the Chief Minister’s office said.
Leaders and senior officials from over 80 countries participated in the convention. A total of 600 entries were received by the UN from various countries for innovative reforms carried out in the field of governance.
The UN had earlier acknowledged that the Chandy’s mass contact programmes played a huge role in strengthening democracy and lauded it as a model for the world to emulate.
Speaking on the occasion, Chandy said that democracy can be strengthened only if the distance between the people and the government is bridged. ‘’When an administrator comes close to the people, it leads to transparency in governance and helps prevent corruption,’’ Chandy said.
The Chief Minister said that the next phase of his mass contact programme will be driven by e-governance. This will increase the reach of e-governance in the state, he said adding that people can submit petitions online from now on.
The Chief Minister assured that complaints from people which cannot be addressed by officials or the ministers concerned will be handled by him.
Bahrain Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad bin Mubarak al Khalifa was the chief guest of the function. Bahrain’s Transport Minister Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed also received the UN award amid a huge applause. Minister for Non Resident Keralites Affairs K C Joseph was also present on the occasion.