ABUJA (Office of the Vice President News) – Nigeria’s Vice President, Namadi Sambo has lauded the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) for creating the avenue for brainstorming on the stratagem that would be beneficial to Nigerian citizens in line with the Transformation Agenda.
He was speaking at the BPSR’s inaugural seminar series tagged: “New Directions for Public Service Reform” held at the uuditorium of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affair in Abuja on Thursday June 26, 2014. The Vice President who was represented by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Goni Aji said that the reforms undertaken by the present administration represent the deepest set of reforms ever undertaken in this country as it focuses and delivers on the targets of Nigeria’s Vision 20:20 which puts the ordinary Nigerians at the centre of all reform initiatives.
Namadi Sambo also disclosed that the lives of Nigerian citizens have significantly improved through the reform efforts of the Federal Government. He mentioned such improvements to include: elimination of fertilizer fraud, repair of major roads, refurbishing of airports and re-instituting the railway lines to allow for the movement of large numbers of people and goods quickly, safely and cheaply.
While lamenting the misfortune of the Public Service, the Vice President promised that with the implementation of the white paper on Steve Orosanye’s report, updating of the National Strategy for Public Service Reforms and the re-establishment of the National Steering Committee on Public Service Reforms, the Civil Service will become the toast of the times as it was during the Commonwealth of Nations at Independence in 1960.
During the presentation of the opening remark, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim Pius (Senator) noted that the upgrade of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms into an independent agency headed by a Director-General and the setting up of the Steering Committee on Public Service Reforms have helped to reinvigorate the Public Service. Pius Anyim, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Ferdinand Agu said that the seminar series will provide the platform for exchange of ideas and harvesting of inputs from all stakeholders.
In his welcome address at the occasion, the Director – General of BPSR, Joe Abah stated that the thrust of the seminar series is to provide the forum for active exchange of innovative ideas, knowledge and practices, adding that it will seek to address topical issues and share experiences about what has worked and what has not worked well both within the Nigeria Public Service and in other countries. The talk was preceded by a minute silence for those who lost their lives in the Emab bomb blast in Abuja on June 25, 2014.
According to him, it is hoped that lessons from the seminar series will help to enrich debate about the future of the Nigerian Public Service and its role in the delivery of the Transformation Agenda.
Presenting a goodwill message on behalf of the World Bank, the country Director and Head of Office for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly noted that for reform to succeed there must be collaboration for collective action among key stakeholders. She added that the World Bank will continue to deepen engagement by partnering with Government and different administrations. While promising that the World Bank will continue to be a trusted partner in the movement and revitalization of the Civil Service in Nigeria, she called on political leaders to show resolve and courage and lead by example. She also proposed a culture of delivery which will ensure that all reforms rolled out will be based on result and delivery. “By focusing on delivery, I mean the end goal of service reaching the citizens to ensure that reforms are implemented,” she said.
In his goodwill message, the representative of the Federal Public Administration Reform Programme (FEPAR), Ben Arikpo revealed that FEPAR is essentially designed to support the Nigerian Government in the implementation of its Public Administration Reforms in the areas of policy making, planning, financial management, monitoring and evaluation. Ben Arikpo further said that FEPAR commends and supports the BPSR to hold the seminar series quarterly as it provides opportunity for scholars, programme designers and implementers of reforms to reflect on the challenges as well as imbibe new lessons.
Also presenting a goodwill message, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bukar Goni Aji on behalf of the Civil Service said that a number of reforms have taken place, but there is a disconnect somewhere as it has not impacted directly on the lives of public servants. He intensified that the journey to world-class service delivery has started as agencies like PENCOM, FIRS, NAFDAC, the Debt Management Office among others now provide service records comparable to any in the world.
The seminar also acknowledged the goodwill message from the representative of the Department for International Development (DFID), Ben Mellor which was screened from a projector as he was absent from the inauguration.
In the first seminar paper titled: Public Services and Economic Transformation – What History Teaches and its Possible Relevance to Nigeria,” David Booth (Dr), a reform expert disclosed that influential thinkers have been advocating for the World Bank and donors to stop promoting a general set of “best practices” and instead to support countries in devising solutions towards achieving “good fit” with their needs and possibilities. He noted also that this is what successful countries have done throughout history.
He further advised that reforms should begin by identifying a few problems that many people, including powerful people want to resolve; adding that use should be made of what exists and what people care about now without trying to invent institutions from the scratch. While admonishing reformers not to commit themselves to implementing a blueprint on an unrealistic timetable, he advised them to give time to learning from trial and error as was the case with China.
In his presentation titled: Models of Public Service Reform – A Problem Solving Approach, Willy McCourt (Dr) also a reform expert looked at six models of public service reforms that have been practiced in developing countries over the past half century. In discussing the six models which include: Public Administration, Decentralization, Pay and Employment Reforms, New Public Management, Integrity and Corruption Reforms and Bottom-up Reforms, he indicated that they have failed and resolved from their failure that successes can be derived in the future.
The paper reviewers at the occasion – Goke Adegoroye (Dr), the pioneer Director-General of BPSR, Tunji Olaopa (Dr) and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communication Technology as well as two Directors of Reform Coordination in the Civil Service praised the scholarly presentations, observing that it was not situated in the Nigerian context. The reform seminar series which will be a quarterly event was sponsored by the World Bank, DFID and FEPAR.
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