Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Mr Nuha Touray called on his colleagues in the Civil Service to be result oriented and proactive to strengthening good governance. He made the remarks at the beginning of a two-day virtual retreat of Government technocrats, moderated by the Secretary to Cabinet, Mr Ebrima Ceesay, on Monday.
Secretary General Touray emphasised the importance of the mid-term evaluation exercise on the National Development Plan (2018-2021) by the Ministry of Finance, which resulted in the formulation of a new long term vision of government.
“The mid-term evaluation will establish the degree of fulfilment of strategic priorities and critical enablers of the NDP in the consideration of their relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability,” Mr Touray told the retreat. He added that they will also assess the initial impact of Covid-19 on the implementation and attainment of the NDP objectives, identifying opportunities to quickly respond to challenges. “It is the outcomes of these assessments that will inform the reprioritised National Development Plan,” he added.
The session also serves as a validation meeting for the just-concluded Pay and Grading Review exercise which forms an important part of the Civil Service Reform Programme 2018-2027. As part of this programme, the Personnel Management Office undertook a job evaluation exercise with the aim of reviewing the current pay and grading structure of the Civil Service.
Permanent Secretary at the Personnel Management Office, Mr Lamin Jawara in his remarks reminded his colleagues that the sessions will avail them the opportunity to conduct an assessment of the challenges confronting them in the various sectors of government.
“As a team of technocrats, we will also be engaged in an information and experience sharing exercise, interrogate the status quo of the NDP and come up with sound solutions to obstacles impeding the deliverables of the goals for the good of the country,” he said.
As a quarterly event, the first-virtual session will avail opportunity to the Permanent Secretaries and Planners to collectively take stock of government activities vis-à-vis the successes and challenges, with the view to devising strategies to accelerate attainment of the 2021 NDP goals. It also looks at challenges affecting the effective implementation of the institutional arrangements, especially the sector working groups.
During the opening ceremony, Secretary General Touray welcomed the New Director General of the Department of Strategy Policy and Delivery, Professor Jainaba ML Kah to the meeting.
Professor Kah will lead her team on leadership, strategic management, innovations, talent management and functionality at the Department in liaison with the Office of the Secretary General, the Cabinet Office and other MDAs and stakeholders in government. She brings with her a wealth of work experience on strategy, management and policy from both international and national institutions and organisations.