ONE YEAR OF ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC SERVICE REFORMS (BPSR) - ( AUGUST 2013 - AUGUST, 2014) - Part 5

Dr Joe Abah, the Director General of BPSR.

Here is the concluding part of one year of achievements at the Bureau of Public Service reforms (BPSR) under the tenure of Dr Joe Abah, the Director General of BPSR.

10 Consultancy Support for the Development of Governance and Operational Guidelines for the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF).

The Nigeria Government viewed the solid mineral industry as a profit-oriented sector, and became involved in exploration, exploitation and marketing of solid minerals through the setting up of the Nigeria Mining Corporation (NMC) in 1973. The Nigeria Mining Corporation could not achieve much as petroleum continued to dominate the mining industry and the national economy. In an attempt to reverse the reliance on petroleum, a bold step was taken to revamp the solid mineral industry through the establishment of the then Ministry of Solid Mineral Development in 1995, which today is known as the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has been restructured and a new law, the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act was enacted in 2007, and also a National Minerals and Metals Policy and Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations were put in place in 2008 and 2011 respectively. Similarly several agencies under the Ministry have been restructured to ensure better performance in the sector.

In order to ensure continued development of the solid mineral industry, the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 established a fund to be known as the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF). The Fund will be utilized for the following:

• Development of both human and physical capacity in the sector;

• Funding for geo scientific data gathering storage and retrieval to meet the needs of private sector led mining institutions to enable them perform their statutory functions;

• Equipping the mining institutions to enable them perform their statutory functions;

• Funding for the extension services to small scale and artisanal mining operators pursuant to Section 91 of the Act; and

• Provision of infrastructure in mines land.

To guarantee the protection and rehabilitation of the environment during and after mining operations, the Act mandated the Minister to establish an Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Fund (EPRF). The fund is for the purpose of guaranteeing the environmental obligations of holders of Mineral titles as provided in the Act.

In order to ensure that the management structure for the SMDF is properly situated to deliver on its mandate, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development approached the Bureau of Public Sector Reforms (BPSR) to require consultancy support to assist the Ministry to develop the Governance and Operational Guidelines for the Fund. The Bureau provided the support requested by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.  The essential elements of the Report included:

Development of a Governance and Operational Guidelines for the Solid Minerals Development Fund;

• Linking the Operational Structure of Solid Mineral Development Fund with the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Fund to be established by the Minister;

• Development of the Organisational structure for the Fund (SMDF and EPRF);

• Development of Job Description for its personnel; and

• Development of Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Fund’s Management Agent.

11   Information, Education and Communication (IEC) of Reform Programme.

The Bureau has embarked on an effective dissemination of information on all aspects of public service reform activities. The Bureau has achieved this objective through internal communication across the Public service using the BPSR website, newsletters and the BPSR 'Reformer' Blog. There is also a consistent alignment with external communication including television talk shows, radio talk shows and magazine which is aimed at changing the narrative about Nigeria.

12   Documentation of the Reforms of the immediate past Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

The Bureau compile all the key reform measures that the immediate Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, OON has undertaken in the fifteen (15) months that he has been at post in a book captioned “The Challenges of Transforming the Civil Service: The Reforms of Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, oon, Head of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation”. The book describes the situationnecessiating the reforms, the actions that were taken, why they were taken and where things got to by 24^th August, 2014 when the immediate past Head of Service retire.

The publication of the book is important for the Bureau for three main reasons. Firstly, it provided a public record of the reform efforts in one of the most important parts of the Nigerian Public Service. Secondly, it explains why some actions were taken and the difficulties, challenges and consequences that taking those decisions inevitably encountered. Thirdly, it set out where things have got to and suggest next step actions, without attempting to tie the hands of the incoming Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

Immediate former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Buka Aji

Some of the key reforms efforts of the immediate Head of the Civil Service of the Federation included:

• Restructuring the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation;

• Creation of the Pension Transition Arrangement Department;

• Divestment of the non-core functions of the OHCSF

• Creation of two new Departments; and

• Institution of the Peer Review Mechanism for Federal Permanent Secretaries.