JOE EFFIONG, UYO

The Akwa Ibom State Government said it has started the digitization of some aspects of the civil service to remove delays experienced especially in the processing of workers leave, salary payment and retirement benefits

The Head of Civil Service, Elder Effiong Essien who disclose this to news on Thursday, explained that wokers would be trained in the digitization process as the computerized system would help to enhance worker’ efficiency.

Easier also mentioned that the government had embarked on the training of its workforce, particularly for workers on level 10-13, and permanent secretaries to address the issue of poor attitude to work and increase efficiency.

“We are embarking on an asset management investment solutions to the running of the service. This involves the digitalisation of records, the human resource records of the service and computerizing them so that we are not dealing with these processes manually only.

“They apply computer knowledge to handle processes that were before now duly manual, and these solutions will soon be launched and applicable in the day to day running of the service.

Related News

“This also carries the aspect of training for the civil servants because they are going to be the ones to run and operate the computer based system and they are receiving training as we speak, so that when the consultants are over with all the inputs and configuration of the systems, they will hand the systems to our civil servants to be able to run and operate.

“This will greatly take away delays in so many aspects of the processes, processing of people’s retirement, processing of leave and even salary payment that is already computerized, but these process will add improvement to what has already been on ground in terms of that,” he stated.

The HOC revealed that the state government was developing a housing estate for workers on rent-to-own-a-house basis, stating that already over 200 houses have been given out to workers on that basis.

“We are developing housing estates for civil servants. The system is like you rent to own a house of your own. There is one at Nsit Ibom, opposite Ikot Ntuen Nsit, opposite the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), and over 200 housing units have been completed there and offtaken by workers through the Federal Mortgage Bank in laison with this office.

“We are also developing another one in Ibiono, still within the state capital, around Ikot adaidem, where work is in progress for housing units. One bedroom unit, two bedroom unit and three bedroom unit.

“The only problem that we have about that is the access road. The government is also attending to that to provide access road to where the estate is so that it will encourage workers to offtake the completed housing units there,” he noted.