REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA. Statement by Hon. Marco Hausiku, Deputy Prime Minister. at the Africa Public Service Day (APSD) Celebration

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1 REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA Statement by Hon. Marco Hausiku, Deputy Prime Minister at the Africa Public Service Day (APSD) Celebration on 23 June 2010, Windhoek, St. Mary s Roman Catholic Cathedral Parish Hall 1

2 Director of Ceremonies, Honorable Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Honorable Members of Parliament, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Chairperson and Members of the Public Service Commission, Permanent Secretaries Representatives of the Private Sector, Representatives of Civil Society, Media Practitioners, Ladies and Gentlemen: Good morning! The Africa Public Service Day derives, from the collective work of the Pan-African Ministers Programme, on governance and public administration, and is the day on which we honor the women and men who serve the people of Africa. It should be mentioned, that the United Nations also celebrates the United Nations Public Service Day, on the 23 rd June, following the example set by Africa. It is befitting from the onset to recognize, the value and virtue of all public servants throughout Africa, 2

3 and thank them for the services rendered with dedication to the people of Africa. It is also important to note that in some instances, they do so under extremely difficult circumstances. The public servants are our heroes and heroines our pride who never lose their sense of responsibility to the people in the face of adversity and insurmountable challenges. We have a responsibility to play our part in helping those countries, that are coming out of conflict, to rebuild their public institutions as one of the key means, that can enable them to effectively deliver services, to their people on a sustainable basis. The importance of the Africa Public Service Day (APSD) enables us to: Reflect on the function of the public service: its mission, objectives, programmes and projects, challenges and successes; Give recognition to and make known the importance of the civil service, its positive contribution and benefits to public servants, population, civil society, private sector and government; 3

4 Motivate and encourage public servants to continue the good work done and to come up with new initiatives and innovations; and Prepare the public service and administration for a better future by proposing change, for the social well-being of the population. We are gathered here in Windhoek, and across the continent under the theme: STRENGTHENING LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT FOR IMPROVED PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN AFRICA. Service delivery is under a constant threat due to leadership and management challenges and shortcomings in many public service institutions. Our institutions and those in charge need to give their best by advancing their leadership skills and management capability. There is a need to create an enabling environment in which people can grow, and be leaders in their own right. This process involves challenging yourself and those around you to perform beyond the realm of comfort. 4

5 In order to ensure that our senior and middle managers in the public service have the necessary leadership and management skills and competencies, the government is in the process of equipping Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (NIPAM) to deliver such programmes. These will be launched in due course. In order to improve service delivery, the Public Service of Namibia is using the Business Process Re-engineering model to streamline business processes and procedures within Offices, Ministries and Agencies. This is done with a view to have a public service that is efficient, effective and accountable in order to realize Vision The Office of the Prime Minister is driving the business process re-engineering in the Public Service of Namibia with the kind assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Namibia. The initiative started with the team building sessions for Ministers and Deputy Ministers, which was held in November 2005 and in May 2006, respectively. This was followed by a session with Permanent Secretaries in July As a result, in 2007, the Prime Minister selected 5

6 five pilot Offices, Ministries and Agencies for implementing Business Process Re-engineering in the Public Service of Namibia. These pilot Offices, Ministries and Agencies as well as the identified service areas are: o Office of the Prime Minister - Recruitment and misconduct processes; o Ministry of Education - Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF); o Ministry of Finance - Procurement of goods and services through Tender Board; o Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration - Processing of permits; and o Ministry of Trade and Industry - Registration of Companies. Reports in three of the five above-mentioned service areas, have been finalized and endorsed by the Meeting of Permanent Secretaries. These service areas are the recruitment and misconduct processes; the procurement of goods and services through the Tender Board; and the registration of companies. I am informed that the implementation of the recommendations is very slow, I urge the management of those Offices, Ministries and Agencies who are busy with the implementation of re- 6

7 looked service areas, to speed up the implementation, in order to improve efficiency in service delivery. We are happy, that about one hundred (100) staff members across the Public Service have been trained on business process re-engineering. It is also encouraging to note that Nine-teen (19) of the one hundred (100) officials have been trained as Master Trainers on Business Process Re-engineering in order to establish a core team for the Public Service. I want to commend the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the support they rendered through this program. Managers are expected to put in place monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to assess progress in this regard. We need to see immediate benefits of business process reengineering in improving service delivery amongst others. I would therefore like to urge all Permanent Secretaries to ensure that the business process re-engineering exercise is taken seriously in your respective Offices, Ministries and Agencies; and that reports are finalized as a matter of urgency, and endorsed recommendations are implemented, to improve service delivery to our people. In order to strengthen ethics and professionalism in the Public Service, the Office of the Prime Minister is busy 7

8 reviewing the Pocket Guide: Titled Being a Public Servant in Namibia. The Pocket Guide was published in 2003 and distributed across the Public Service. The Pocket Guide, is a reference guide on the Public Service for newly appointed as well as seasoned public servants. I hereby urgently request all the Permanent Secretaries to ensure that all requested information is forwarded to my Office for the finalization of the second edition of the Pocket Guide. Taking cognizance of the relative lack of skills and competencies in the country, the government of the Republic of Namibia has initiated the creation of an institution dedicated to the training of Namibian public servants. An Act of Parliament has promulgated the creation of the Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (NIPAM). A curriculum covering the most essential and critical skills and competencies for an efficient and effective public management and administration has been developed. Therefore, the pocket guide will be strengthened by various courses which will be offered by our own 8

9 Institute, Namibia Institute of Public Administration (NIPAM), in order to professionalize our public service. A course on ethics and professionalism was launched last year. Furthermore, my Office has been spearheading the implementation of Customer Service Charters to address issues of professionalism and ethics in the Public Service as well as to set service standards that users could expect from the various Offices, Ministries and Agencies, thus contributing to good governance. It is crucial that the Charters are internalized and widely accessible in Offices, Ministries and Agencies. We have also embarked on the design and implementation of a Performance Management System for the Namibian public service. This programme represents a remarkable shift in the culture of the public service by getting better results, from Ministries, teams and individuals. This is done through understanding and managing performance within an agreed framework of set annual targets. A Performance Management System policy has been developed to ensure that all 9

10 Offices, Ministries and Agencies are managing performance to the same standard. The Performance Management System is a comprehensive way of managing performance of civil servants and should not be regarded as policing. It starts with Offices, Ministries and Agencies mapping out their 5 years objectives in line with V2030 and National Development Goals. These 5 years plans are broken down into annual plans which are implemented by staff members through performance agreements. We can proudly inform you, that the implementation of the Performance Management System for the Namibian public service is already underway and a piloting exercise was launched in November 2009 with six (6) Offices, Ministries and Agencies. The Performance Agreement is supplemented by the negotiation of a Personal Development Plan (PDP) for the employees so as to empower them to deliver on the assignments at hand. As per National Development Plan 3 targets, we are to ensure that by the year 2012, at least 50% of the Offices, Ministries and Agencies, and 75% of Regional Councils 10

11 have implemented Performance Management System fully. On that basis, the roll out of Performance Management System will be done in phases. The afore-mentioned public service improvement examples are not the only initiatives, but are sighted to demonstrate our efforts in public service delivery. May I sign off by reminding ourselves that an efficient and effective public service system is not a luxury we are inventing for pleasure, but we are enjoined by our Constitution to provide the citizenry with decent living standards, and ensure an economic and sustainable utilization of our natural resources and sensitive treatment of our environment. Africa Public Service Day, therefore, has a concrete and real meaning in Namibia and hopefully for the rest of the continent. I thank you! 11