The Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dasuki Arabi, says the review of the 2019-2021 Public Service Reform Strategy is to fast track the reform of the Service.
Arabi, who made this known yesterday in Abuja at the validation and review meeting on the strategy, said the aim is to inculcate service culture and values in line with international best practices.
“Our aim is to achieve the desired outcomes in improving quality service delivery to the citizens of our great country.
“It is a normal practice in all works of life to improve on the existing norms in relation to policies made by individuals, groups and organisations, more especially, the public policies of the government,” he said.
He recalled that the 2019-2021strategy was developed under the leadership of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS).
“The Vice-Chairperson of the Steering Committee on Reform (SCR) championed the strategy development process, while the Bureau of Public Service Reform facilitated the development of the strategy.
“An Inter-Ministerial Team (IMTT) of senior public servants with the support of internationally-experienced advisers and consultants, were responsible for drafting the initial strategy.
“There are many areas where significant changes have occurred since the NSPSR was developed, first under Jonathan’s administration, and secondly under the Buhari administration,” he added.
It was to fully reflect the stronger reform focus particularly in the areas of anti-corruption, its socio-economic priorities through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), and the imperatives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was effectively and inclusively carried out and validated.
The Director-General said in 2013, the BPSR was mandated to update and refresh the strategy to fully reflect the current Nigerian environment and priorities.
“This was done by BPSR and validation held; again, with the coming of the President Buhari’s administration, there was the need to carry out further reviewing and updating of the NSPSR in 2017.
“It was to fully reflect the stronger reform focus, particularly in the areas of anti-corruption, its socio-economic priorities through the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), and the imperatives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which was effectively and inclusively carried out and validated,” he said.
Arabi said in 2021, the Federal Government approved the process of reviewing and updating of the NSPSR with the inauguration of an IMTT drawn across MDAs to reflect the current environment of the Public Service.
“Members of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team were carefully chosen based on their wealth of experience. And, I have no doubt that they have carried out the assignment in line with the terms of reference with all diligence, passion and commitment in the interest of our fatherland,” he said.
He commended the team for their support, and the Steering Committee on Reforms, chaired by the SGF and Co-Chaired by the HoS for approving the constitution of the IMTT, thanking them for granting approval to carry out the review.
The SGF, Boss Mustapha, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Politics and Economic Affairs, Office of the SGF, Shehu Ibrahim, described the review as apt.
“It is a known fact to all of us that the Public Service under this administration has been undergoing a lot of reforms.
“A lot of changes and a lot of strategies have been brought in, in order for the Service to be giving good service delivery to the public. This particular validation is the last stage from the different stages the document went through.
“We are expecting that in the next few days, we should have the final copy from this particular group, so that we’ll present it for final consideration,” the SGF said.
He said the review was delayed due to COVID-19 challenges, as it was supposed to be carried out every three years.
A lot of changes and a lot of strategies have been brought in, in order for the Service to be giving good service delivery to the public. This particular validation is the last stage from the different stages the document went through.
Monitoring and evaluation
The Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Lawal Zakari, commended the Bureau and expressed satisfaction with the document presented for review.
Zakari said: “The framework has integrated monitoring and evaluation, to ensure the strategy is being tracked, to know what is working and what is not working.
“We need to understand what we are doing going forward, it is one thing to put up a strategy and another to track it,” and the Ministry will continue to work with the Bureau to ensure the delivery of the Strategy.
The representative of Global Knowledge Consulting, Steve Ogidan, in his overview of the draft NSPSR, said: “A lot of things have taken place in the Buhari administration. What we are doing is to capture the essence of the reforms that have taken place between 2019 and 2021.
“We are to reinvigorate the Civil Service, so they can perform better especially when it comes to monitoring and evaluation,” without which even the best method will not achieve success.
“So we are trying to bring in a lot of effort when it comes to monitoring and evaluation and self-assessment and in terms of performance management.
“These are strong fillers when it comes to the Public Service reform, and to make the Public Service to be able to serve Nigeria better,” the consultant added.
Ogidan assured that the reviewed document would be presented to the SGF by the end of June. (NAN)
