GIMPA briefs President Koroma on public sector reform
FREETOWN: The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) delegation has briefed President Koroma on its capacity building training of Public Servants in West Africa.
The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) started the Programme of Public Servants capacity building training in 2006.
In a brief presentation to the President at State Lodge in Freetown, the Head of the delegation, Professor Yaw Agyeman Badu said the objective of the programme is to train Civil Servants in the West African Region which he notes has lasted for five years successfully.
Professor Badu said a lot of Civil Servants who are in high levels of governance are being trained by GIMPA under the African Capacity Building Foundation funded programme.
He informed President Koroma that the programme is to capacitate middle and senior level civil servants in Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and in The Gambia.
‘Taking into cognizance people they have trained, it will be realized that, the programme is of vital importance to the West African Sub-Region’ the GIMPA delegation told President Koroma.
Professor Badu further stated that the funding Agency is contemplating on how to cut down their funding due to internal problems saying; ‘we want to see our countries benefiting and become actively involved in the entire process’.
However taking into cognizance of the importance of the programme, Professor Badu said they acquainted their President with the developments and he committed himself to support the programme as he promised to encourage his colleagues to also support the initiative.
He also disclosed that the team has trained about a hundred and seventy five individuals with Masters Degrees throughout the region. He added that if they could continue with the programme for the next ten years, they will have a critical mass of senior Public Civil Servants in the region who have gone to the same institution and will build on the network to really improve on the Public Sector regional integration in all the things that they know the Heads of States have been working on in the region.
The Head of Delegation said in addition to the Masters Degree programme, they also have a programme to build the capacity of partner. Institutions such as IPAM, Management Involvement Institute in the Gambia and those of Nigeria and Liberia, disclosed Prof. Badu.
These Institutions he noted have also benefited from the programme in terms of their all faculty involvement capacity building so that they could offer such courses in the Public Sector Management trainings.
According to the Sierra Leonean Representative Dr. Oludolapo Gbonda Deputy Head Programmes, IPAM, twenty five Sierra Leonean Public Servants have benefited from the capacity building training since 2006.
She added that eighteen of the trainees were men and the remaining eight were women most of whom are now serving as Permanent Secretaries in ministries.
Welcoming the team, President Koroma demonstrated his fervent belief that as a nation, Sierra Leone has benefited directly from the training programmes that have been provided by GIMPA over the years.
The President said it is their desire of government to continue to train their civil servants adding that the sector is currently going through a Public Sector Reform Programme.
He maintained that government is trying to ensure that civil servants are trained not only at the top level but also at the middle level as his administration believe that there is a strong need to avoid the existing missing middle level of civil servants which has to be quickly supported.
President Koroma also expressed his profound appreciation to the GIMPA delegation for the support given to Sierra Leone through IPAM, geared to continue with the training process.
The President affirmed that IPAM has also been playing a significant role in the of training not only the civil servants but the private sector as well.
He assured them that every effort will be made by him to ensure that they sustain the programme.
President Koroma reiterated that he will study the letter closely after which he will hold discussions with the relevant officials to ensure that the programme is sustained because it not only trains the civil servants but build up relationships within the sub-region.
Joseph Kamanda
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