LATEST ACTIVITIES OF THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC SERVICE REFORMS (BPSR)
1. Restructuring
of Ministries
BPSR
was part of the Committee on the Review of the Structure of Ministries,
Departments and Agencies, inaugurated by the Head of the Civil Service of the
Federation on 17th November 2015. The Committee submitted its report
in January 2016, with a recommendation that BPSR should lead a team of
organisational development experts from Office of the Secretary to the Government
of the Federation and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation
to deepen the work on restructuring all Ministries.
The
deepening of the work already undertaken on the 7 Ministries affected by merger
commenced on 15th March 2016.
These are the Ministries of Transport, Power, Works and Housing, Youth and
Sports, Budget and National Planning, Interior, Environment, and Information
and Culture
2. Restructuring
and Rationalisation of Agencies, Parastatals and Commissions.
The
Secretary to the Government of the Federation has approved the reconstitution
of the White Paper Implementation Committee on the Restructuring and
Rationalisation of Agencies, Parastatals and Commissions. The members are Secretary
to the Government of the Federation (Chairman), Attorney General and Minister
for Justice, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Ministers of
Transport, Education, Finance, Health, Industry, Trade and Investment, Science
and Technology, and Information and Culture, the Minister of State for
Transport (Aviation), Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission and DG,
BPSR (Secretary).
3. Update
of the Draft National Strategy on Public Service Reforms
The
Steering Committee on Reforms chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation has led the development of a 10-year strategy for reforming
Nigeria’s public service. The strategy is founded on 4 Pillars, each led by a
named organisation. These are: Improving the Governance and Institutional
Environment (led by Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation);
Improving the Social-Economic Environment (led by the Ministry of Budget and
National Planning; Improving Public Finance Management (led by the Ministry of
Finance; and Improving Civil Service Administration (led by the Office of the Head
of the Civil Service of the Federation).
BPSR
is leading the update of the strategy to ensure that it captures the
aspirations of the current Administration. In this regard, it has organised
interactive sessions with each Pillar leader to ensure that they are able to
lead the review and update of the Strategy. The interactive sessions are taking
place in the week commencing 21st March 2016.
Following
the review of all the pillars, a revised and updated National Strategy for
Public Service Reforms will be presented to the Steering Committee on Reforms
for consideration and forwarding to the Federal Executive Council.
4. Improving
the Performance of Agencies and Parastatals
BPSR
has developed a guide on “How to Manage and Reform Government Agencies and
Parastatals.” This document provides practical guidance to Chief Executives of
agencies and parastatals on best practice in managing government
establishments. It covers issues such as Managing Boards, Procurement, Human
Resource Management, Financial Management, Service Delivery and Change
Management.
Interestingly,
the guide includes a web-based Self Assessment Tool with which agencies can
assess their own performance and set out ways to improve. BPSR has already
successfully piloted the tool in the Federal Road Safety Commission and the
Nigeria Communications Commission. BPSR is briefing Chief Executives of
Agencies and Parastatals about the tool at a retreat holding in Lagos on 16th March 2016, with a view
to wider roll out soon afterwards.
BPSR
has entered the Agency Improvement Tool in these years Public Service
Innovation Award for the 2016 Commonwealth Association of Public Administration
and Management (CAPAM) biennial conference holding later this year.
5. Legal
Status of BPSR
BPSR
was established by Presidential directive in 2003 and was meant to be staffed
by a mixture of technical experts and civil servants. As law did not set it up,
it has not been possible to recruit its own staff and attract the calibre of
people it needs to effectively discharge its functions. BPSR has therefore
received the support of the Federal Ministry of Justice to draw up a draft
Establishment Bill for BPSR. The draft has been sent to the Secretary to the
Government of the Federation for his consideration. Once he approves it, it
will go to the Federal Executive Council for consideration before it is sent to
the National Assembly.
SOURCE - Office of the DG.
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