The Civil Service Agency on Tuesday officially opened a three day Regional Public Service Leadership Conference in the Country.
The Conference under the theme: Advancing Human Health Workforce through Public service sector building resilience and innovative institutions for sustainable development is bringing together six Countries namely; Burkinafaso, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Liberia.
Currently, four out of the six participating countries are in the country except for Guinea and Central African Republic, whose representatives are expected later on.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, the Director General of the Civil Service Agency, Josiah Joekai, outlined four key reasons for the regional gathering.
According to him, there are visible interconnected challenges with West and Central African countries ranging from limited and financial issues, outdated infrastructures and inefficiency in governance system as such, the conference is expected to discuss several of these issues in a drive to finding workable solutions in addressing them.
” We need a platform to collaborate, and we need to work as a team to make it work,” he encouraged his colleagues.
The conference Mr. Joekai told the gathering will also serve as a catalyst for cooperation, knowledging sharing, and strategic capacity development.
” We need to work together, share experiences, and collaborate on strategic capacity building and institutional reform,” he re-emphasized.
At the same time and as part of the Conference, the CSA Boss stressed the need to strengthen public sector performance in the respective countries, which he pointed out is very key.
The head of the CSA also stated that the conference will also look out the issue of enhancing institutional effectiveness, transparency, and accountability.
He was also quick to name innovative solutions and best practices as a key focus of the regional gathering.
Over the next few days, the head of the CSA stressed that delegates, especially policymakers, public administrators, health experts, and development partners, will together work and identify actionable frameworks for governance reforms.
Among other things, the experst he added are expected to draft a regional framework for health works, including public sector workers who are contributing to the health sector.
“Strategic governance, fostering of collaboration and ensuring effective Public service delivery are primary reasons of the conference ” He reechoed at the opening session.
Moreover, he told the gathering that heads of Public service institutions, Ministers of health from the participating Countries including their representatives during the closing stages of the conference are expected to be joined by the experts to review , validate and adopt the regional framework documents to be named by the body upon full completion.
The panel of experts, among other things he indicated as part of the conference, will look at thematic areas to include: Governance and reform initiatives, Accountability, digital transformation, ethics , public service reform and human resource management among others.
The Conference first of its kind is hosted by Liberia under the guidance of the Civil Service Agency who is currently spearheading a ground breaking initiative with support from Health Development Partnership for frica and Caribbean (HeDPAC)
It is designed to improve institutional effectiveness, transparency and accountability, equipping public sector organizations to meet the demand of an envolving global landscape.
“Key to the success of this initiative is the alignment with global frameworks such as the international Civil Service commission (ICSC) and the Health Development Partnership for frica and Caribbean (HeDPAC), Mr. Joekai said.
Among other things, the ICSC’s he stated emphasizes merit- base recruitment, efficient service delivery and accountability will provide a robust foundation for discussions on governance reforms.
“Simultaneously, HeDPAC expertise in data driven and health workforce development will help address critical gaps in public health system, a cornerstone of sustainable governance”, he noted.
At the same time, the conference he pointed out will align with the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) both of which emphasize regional integration, inclusive governance and equitable access to services.
The agenda 2063 vision for a united and prosperous Africa, underscores the importance of resilient institutions while the SDGS focus on reducing inequality and fostering strong inclusive and inclusive governance system, he noted.
“By harmonizing policies and fostering cross border cooperation, the conference will lay the ground work for sustained regional growth and stability while a central outcome of this initiative is the establishment of a public service leadership framework tailored to the unique needs to the six participating Countries”, he informed the gathering.
Moreover, he lamented that the framework will provide a structural approach to institutional strengthing, emphasizing innovation, capacity building and Partnership.
Additionally, the conference , the CSA boss indicated will promote equitable development ensuring that services are accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender, economic background or geographical locations.
