CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The role of staff welfare and institutions in the path of service delivery cum development in the process of governance cannot be overemphasized. In Nigeria, as in other developing countries, governments are carrying the bulk of the burden of institutional development. With a heterogeneous social environment characterized by powerful contenders for state authority, Nigeria, perhaps more than any other country in Africa, faces greater challenges of institutional development (Okereke & Daniel, 2010).
In Nigeria, the role of staff welfare services on the performance of civil service is a subject of great concern. For instance, in Lagos State incidents of neglect of welfare services of civil servants has been reported due to the absence of a comprehensive and sustainable welfare policy, inadequate and improper budgetary allocations by the government and corruption both in the budgeting and expenditure processes, making the performance of the Lagos State civil servants to remain sub-optimal as their welfare is not given due attention (Alemika, 2008).
On its right, staff welfare is a corporate attitude or commitment reflected in the expressed care for employees at all levels, underpinning their work and the environment in which it is performed (Cowling & Mailer, 1992).
The nature of staff welfare among civil servants in Lagos State is held as very critical and important for quality service delivery to the public. Specifically, Coventry and Barker (1988) assert that staff welfare includes providing social club and sports facilities as appropriate, supervising staff and works’ canteens, running sick clubs and savings schemes; dealing with superannuation, pension funds and leave grants, making loans on hardship cases; arranging legal aid and giving advice on personal problems; making long service grants; providing assistance to staff transferred to another area and providing fringe benefits (such as payment during sickness, luncheon vouchers and other indirect advantages).
These services if inadequate, will negatively impact on the performance of service delivery in the civil service. Hence proper mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that welfare services are adequately provided for to the civil servants (Kemboi, Thomas & Keter, 2013).
In Lagos State, the wider society looks up to the civil service not only to implement development goals and administer government policies on a day-to-day basis, but also to play significant roles in formulating development strategies, policies and programmes in such a way that will stimulate and accelerate a grand institutional development. Such desired institutional development are naturally expected to include reduced cost of delivering public services, increased efficiency and present a sustainable system that can stand on its own regardless the government in power (Lawal & Oluwatoyin, 2011).
The Lagos State Civil Service (LSCS) was established on May 27th 1967. The unique role Lagos occupies in the economic and industrial sustenance of the nation has made it a place of abode for people from different parts of the country. This development makes the rate of population growth to be estimated at 300,000 persons per annum with a population density of about 1,308 persons per sq kilometer. This situation placed enormous responsibility on the LSCS to build a strong institutional mechanism capable of delivering the much-needed social services to the people (LSORD, 2006).
1.2Statement of the Problem:
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