FG moves to reinvigorate Federal Civil Service

The Federal Government on Monday reiterated its commitment to revitalise the nation`s public service through Performance Management System (PMS) initiative, new system designed to re-engineer and reinvigorate the service performance.

Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF) made this known, when she declared open, a three-day “Train the Trainers“ Workshop on Job Objectives, organised for officers in the office of the HOCSF.

Yemi-Esan said the workshop organised by the office of the HOCSF, in collaboration with Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM), was meant to acquaint participants with the requisite knowledge and skills in setting job objectives.

According to her, the initiative is due to the inherent weakness of the current Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER), use currently to assess the civil servants in the country.

“As you are aware, the PMS is one of the eight priority areas in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP 2017 to 2020) which is designed to re-engineer the Federal Public Service for increased productivity and quality service delivery.”

“It would be noted that at several fora, we have informed on efforts being made by the office to develop a new Performance Management System due to the inherent weakness of the current Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER).”

“It is therefore worth stating that the new PMS is based on the principles of accountability, transparency, equity and ownership.’’

She further explained that when the new PMS is fully operational, every individual, unit, department and institution in the public service shall be held accountable on a continuous basis to ensure that national development goals were met.

“PMS will eventually replace the unverifiable and moribund Annual Performance Evaluation Report APER forms currently used to assess the performance of officers in the Public Service.”

Other objectives of the PMS, HOS said was to provide a platform for continuous enhancement of performance with regards to national development programmes and also to serve as a vehicle for the actualisation of national goals.

In addition, Yemi-Esan said the new PMS had been designed to institutionalise performance based culture that enabled recognition and reward of high performance at all levels within the Federal Public Service.

The HOS said it was also to ensure effective measurement and outcomes of performance at all levels in Federal Public Service.

Also speaking, Mr Wale Adediran, President CIPM, charged the participants to take the workshop serious, saying that the success of the workshop was critical, not only for the office of the HOCSF but to the country.

Adediran gave assurance that the cultural transformation desired and the dream in the Federal Civil Service of the nation would be achieved in the course of the workshop.

“This is the life skill, it goes beyond our service to the nation, this will transform not only our country but will transform our families, it`s about getting the best productivity out of every situation,” he said.