European Union Support Civil Service Reform

In June 2011 the GOSL entered into an agreement with the EU for support to Civil Service Reform (valued at Euro 10 million). This Project includes support to staffing rationalization and institutional support to the key human resource management agencies in the public service. The HRMO is a key beneficiary of the intervention.

Overall Objective:

To support the GoSL in building a transparent, accountable, performance-oriented and disciplined Civil Service with the highest standard of professionalism, and the necessary capacity to efficiently and effectively deliver quality services for the improvement of poor people’s lives.

Purpose:

To support the Government of Sierra Leone in actualizing it objective of right-sizing, rationalization and professionalization of the Civil Service, and in developing the necessary institutional capacity for attracting, retaining and motivating the required skills for policy formulation and implementation, and the efficient delivery of public services. The Project seeks to address, inter alia, the following:

A mismatch between skills and function in the Civil Service which greatly hamper effective policy design and implementation for the efficient service delivery and poverty reduction;
weaknesses in the human resource management structures and institutions of the civil service of Sierra Leone;
low levels of integrity in the administration and management of the pay and compensation system of the public sector;
Low levels of morale and discipline in the public service due partly to weak institutional structures and partly to low pay and conditions of service; and
The need to further strengthen democracy and the rule of law by ensuring effective separation of powers through enhanced independence of the judiciary

Project Components:

Component 1: Training and Staff Development: This component aims to augment the GoSL’s Competitive Recruitment, Pay Reforms and Performance Management efforts with an enhanced training and staff development programme.
Component 2: Institutional Support to Human Resource Management and Oversight Institutions: This is geared towards strengthening the recruitment, staff selection and discipline functions in the Civil Service
Component 3: Mainstreaming Anti-Corruption into the Civil Service Reforms:
Component 4: Right-Sizing the Civil Service: supporting the GoSL’s policy on the rationalization of staff numbers and removal of obsolete positions and redundant staff from the Government payroll by providing the resources required to meet the financial implications of implementing the policy
Component 5: Audit and External Evaluation and Visibility:

European Union Support Civil Service Reform