PSC launches state of the public service report 2014
The Public Service Commission (PSC) on Tuesday launched the 2014 state of the Public Service (PS) report intended to provide credible information on the human resource management practice in the service.
The report highlights several reforms that have been undertaken in some critical areas of the service with the objective of transforming the public service to be more responsive to the needs of the Ghanaian public.
Mrs Bridget Katsriku, PSC Chairman, launching the report, said it focused on the institutional perspective, around three thematic areas including effective leadership, human resource management and development, and transparency and accountability.
She said the report establishes the baseline on human resource management practices in the service, against which future progress could be measured overtime.
She said the report was based on data collected from a cross section of the Public Service (PS); and 86 out of the 105 Public Service Organizations (PSOs) which were randomly selected responded, representing 82 per cent of the response rate.
Mrs Katsriku said the report revealed that there is a huge gender disparity in the leadership of public service organizations as 80 per cent of the leadership were men. And also that 90 per cent of the administrative heads of PSOs have first degrees or higher and 42 per cent has professional qualifications in law.
She said that the report also showed that the majority of administrative heads of PSOs were within the age brackets of 55 to 59 indicating that there was the need for a succession plan since most of them may retire soon.
She said “leadership engagement with internal stakeholders was found to be adequate while leadership engagement with external stakeholders was found to be weak. Managerial skills were also lacking at the various levels of leadership in the public service”.
Mrs Katsriku said the report also found that recruitment policies and procedures have not been adhered to, as only 16 per cent of organizations surveyed indicated that they advertised vacancies.
She said majority of staff did not take their annual leave as required by the regulation, representing only 7.6 per cent in 2014, adding that the inability of staff to take their annual leave so as to rest and rejuvenate would affect performance and productivity adversely.
Mrs Katsriku said out of a total workforce of 4,073 in the organizations surveyed, 69 per cent were male, 31 per cent female and 0.98 per cent were persons with disability and this reveals the limited opportunities available for persons with disability.
She said response on the issue of corruption revealed that 23 per cent represented charging of illegal fees for service, 21 per cent used office logistics for private gains, 8 per cent for gifts and payment from suppliers, and 11 per cent for stealing of office equipment and embezzlement.
She said the report highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the service and urged stakeholders to reinforce the strengths and address the weaknesses towards building a strong and vibrant service.
Mrs Katsriku said the report pointed to a compelling need to build a result-oriented culture within the PS such that there are clear lines of accountability and clearly defined performance standards for various categories of workers right from leadership to junior staff with appropriate rewards and sanctions for good and poor performances.
Mrs Katsriku reiterated the commission’s plan of engaging each organization one-on-one especially those whose practices were found wanting to ensure that they change for the better.
She urged stakeholders to study the report and give the commission feedback on any shortcomings and how to improve on future reports.
Madam Justine Townsend, Second Secretary and Consul, Australian High Commission, said the report was a result of the partnership between the Australian government and the PSC to support sector reforms in Ghana.
She said the collaboration between the Australian government and Ghana goes beyond shared heritage to include strengthening institutional capacity to provide sustainable organizational development.
Madam Townsend expressed the hope that the report can be used as a reference point for future reports and to improve performance of stakeholders in their various organizations.
Source: GNA