The Public Sector Reform for Results Project (PSRRP) and the Public Sector Reform Secretariat (PSRS) have held the third quarterly progress review and networking engagement with public sector institutions in Akosombo.
The objectives of the three-day engagement were to review the progress of planned activities from September 2022 to February 2023 and to assess the progress of implementation of the seven Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs).
The engagement also discussed findings and recommendations from the first report of the Independent Verification Agent (IVA) and the observations in the Aide Mid-Term Review Aide Memoire cum Implementation Support Report issued by the World Bank.
The Project Implementation Team (PIT) member at the Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS), Madam Elizabeth Obeng-Yeboah, disclosed that the Civil Service Awards and Week Celebration was slated for May 2023.
“It has been a platform to motivate hard-working staff of the civil service who are desirous of improving their performance on daily basis. Other activities such as the strengthening compliance reporting on Client Service Charters and preparation of Institutional Gender Action Plan were ongoing activities under the Project,” she added.
Also, she said OHCS gave an array of support and improvement in its institutional performance through a service-wide promotion of staff by clearing the backlog of staff promotions through an online process, reducing the cost and risk of travelling of candidates and the comfort of conducting interviews from preferred locations.
“In 2022, OHCS facilitated 5007 promotion interviews; service-wide recruitment exercise by assessing an average of over 20,000 applicants via online process; improvement of performance management system by facilitating the smooth operations of the electronic staff appraisal system; and improvement in virtual discussions, workshops, training and interactions for staff of the civil service across the country,” she added.
On her part, the Project Implementation Team (PIT) member at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Madam Lilian Sevor, cited some success stories regarding the procurement of six minibuses for a Tertiary Drive (TertDrive) initiative.
“The buses produced positive results and were allocated to the DVLA offices in Takoradi, Cape Coast, Accra, TertDrive (Head Office), Mobile Service (Head Office) and Ho in September 2020. The following services are being provided: Renewal of license, roadworthy renewal, missing license, replacement and acquisition of a new license for outreach.
“As a result of the use of buses by DVLA under the PSRRP implementation, Takoradi recorded 88.49%; Cape Coast, 89.63%; Accra – 37.74%; TertDrive (Head Office), 74.49%; and Ho – 99%,” she noted.
Other public sector institutions presented a positive account of their activities since the implementation of the project. They provided notable reform success stories relating to the various information communication technology equipment, capacity-building activities and consultancy services being undertaken on the major reforms’ agenda under the project.
The third progress review to a large extent provided a great opportunity for the institutions to share the status of ongoing activities and success stories of the various reforms identified in their institution. They recognized the need to expedite action for ongoing activities to be implemented timeously this year.
The progress review brought together the World Bank Team overseeing the Project implementation, members of the Project Management Unit and other officials from the OSPA/PSRS and the Project Implementation Team (PIT) coordinators and members from the thirteen selected entities.
The selected entities were, the Public Services Commission (PSC), Office of the Head of Civil Service (OHCS), Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice(CHRAJ), Ministry of Transport (MoT), Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD), Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI), Passport Office (PO), Births and Deaths Registry (BDR), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Monitoring and Evaluation Secretariat (MES) and the PSRS.
Patience Anaadem, ISD
