By Sheku Sackoh Turay
The ball has been set rolling as the government continues its sensitisation process to introduce the much-awaited public service reforms.
One of the latest legs to enlighten the public about the reforms was done by the Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs (MoPAPA) Amara Kallon.
Charged with the rollout of the process, Mr Kallon, who was speaking to students at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), spelt out elements of the reform ranging from digital recruitment to training.
President Julius Maada Bio stated in his manifestation few years ago about the “Big Five Game Changers” and one of them is the Revamping of the Public Service Architecture (PSA), which is about delivering efficiency and professionalism.
The Minister emphasises to the students that the transformation process will commence with the professional aspect, where public servants will have to attend days, weeks and months courses at the Civil Service Training College which will also be transformed to a Public Service Academy to augment the professional skills of employees to merge with international standards.
On accountability matters, the Minister reaffirms his commitment towards strengthening checks and balances for all public servants in the MDAs and to ensure all procurement procedures are adhered to appropriately. “Because the issue of accountability is always coming up and it must be prohibited within the public service,” Kallon acknowledged.
Furthermore, he spoke of the issues of recruitment processes. Kallon stated that, very soon all recruitment processes of the government of Sierra Leone will be done digitally as we are living in a global and digital world where everything is going online including governance – ranging from application to shortlisting and interviews all will be done digitally. The Minister admonished all the students to familiarise themselves with technology and be part of the digital drive globally.
Additionally, a new Civil Service Codes and Rules has been developed, the minister disclosed, and there must be compliance in order to enhance accountability and transparency that will provide an effective and efficient service delivery in the Public Service.
“Legal and regulatory management is the systematic framework through which governments define authority, set binding rules, ensure compliance, and create accountability mechanisms that govern the conduct of public servants and the delivery of public services,” he reveals.
“The law is very essential in any reform processes. It will enhance a successful compliance of systems and procedures in governance.
“Legal rules is binding in any management setting and where there is no law, there’s no trust.”
The public lecture ended with questions and answers, where students were given the opportunity to ask questions and get answers to their diverse questions. The Student Union body of IPAM on behalf of all the students appreciated the Public lecture and presented a gift to the Minister after his presentation.
