PSRU Concludes Second Segments of Symposium at the Eastern Technical University

In his address, the Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs, Mr. Amara Kallon, said the engagement with students is part of the government commitment to reach out to the wider public so that they may be abreast with the governance process and the activities of the government.

The Minister noted that 62% of the population of Sierra Leone comprised of youths and makes it imperative for government to open the space by creating the platform for them to show case their talents or they will be a burden to the state, citing the kush pandemic.

Minister Kallon further stated that 51% of the population of the country are women prompting the government to enact the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Act, to ensure 30% representation of women in decision level so that they too may contribute to national development.
He said the government of President Julius Maada Bio believes in inclusivity by leaving no-one behind, and the reasons why the enabling environment is created to target women and youths as they are critical players in the governance landscape.

The Director of the Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU), Mr. Sulaiman Phoray-Musa, who served as the moderator, said the idea behind the symposium for the universities is to present a unique opportunity for students to take stock of the governance systems which includes, the public administration structures, the gains that have been made, the challenges faced and lessons learnt. He stated that the symposium is also geared towards bringing students together with different backgrounds, expertise and perspectives to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and intellectual exchange and at the same time creating a platform to facilitate discussions and feedback that can contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

Sharing his thoughts on what the Public Service should look like 63 years after Independence, the Presidential Adviser on Governance, Dr. Emmanuel Gaima, said, there is a policy shift that are geared towards revitalizing and reenergizing the public service to meet the aspirations of the state especially in deepening and strengthening service delivery.

Speaking on the modalities the government has put in place to attract and retain the best brains in the public and civil service, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Mr. K. O. Bah, said that the salaries of workers in grade 7 and above has been improved and harmonized as a motivation for attraction and retention of quality personnel.

He encouraged students to take their academic work seriously and should not be afraid to apply to work in the civil or public service as the recruitment processes are transparent and unbiased. “As long as you are qualified and meet the requisite criteria of the interview process, you have a chance to be recruited, he assured.

The Director, Public Sector Delivery Unit, said the Presidential Delivery unit was created in the Office of the President to support and coordinate service delivery in MDAs through performance management.