By George M.O. Williams
Officials from the labour and human resource departments have laid out clear plans to revamp the public sector. The Deputy Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs, Philip Tondoneh said, “President Bio is very determined to revamp the public sector.”
Deputy Minister Tondoneh told a regular government press briefing on Tuesday that they have developed a strategic plan to revamp the public sector. He said the plan had been developed on key frameworks.
“This strategic master plan will address structural alignment issues. If you go to some ministries or agencies, their roles almost overlap. This plan will deal with that,” the Deputy Minister said.
Director of the Public Service Reform Unit, Sulaiman Phoray Musa said the goal of the strategy is to have “efficient, accountable and inclusive public service in the country”.
The Deputy Minister said plans also include transitioning the public service delivery to a digitalised system.
“Gender and social inclusion is also a pillar, leaving no one behind,” he added.
Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Khalil Bah said revamping the public sector is a necessity given the growing demand for service delivery. “We are revamping to meet the current service delivery demand of our population. For example, there is a lot of lapses and variations with the salary structure across government,” Chairman Bah said.
In addition to the number of reforms, Bah said for the first time, stakeholders in the sector are trying to put together a Public Service Act to “streamline everything we are doing in the public sector”.
Despite the enormous progress the government has made, Chairman Bah also struck a note of caution. “Reform is not a one-day journey; it is an ongoing process”
Revamping the public sector is one of the five big game changers President Bio had promised during the campaigns. One year on, reforms have started.