Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, on Wednesday, campaigned for a salary review of the civil service, saying it was the first step to enhance the value proposition of civil servants.
This was even as she has reiterated her commitment to reforms aimed at ensuring that the civil service is efficient, productive, incorruptible and citizen-centred, in line with the present administration’s change agenda and the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017 – 2020.
Oyo-Ita stated this at a one-day sensitisation workshop on the 2017-2020 Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) organised for civil servants in the directorate level, in Abuja.
According to her, the FCSSIP has a number of characteristics which have increased the likelihood of success relative to compared to previous reforms attempts.
She listed some of the unique features to include high impact prioritisation of initiatives; specificity with actionable and detailed implementation plan; clear governance to drive reforms; partnerships for resources to support implementation; and change management as well as communication plan.
The Head of Service said the strategy which has been approved by the Federal Executive Council has eight priority areas selected based on their potential for impact in the short term and their relevance to the ERGP implementation roles.
On salary review as a first step to enhance civil servants’ values, Oyo-Ita said, “We need to launch a salary review of the civil service as a first step to enhance the value proposition of civil servants.
“I am for salary review. We must increase salary. I am not saying this as a union leader but because I am aware of what workers go through,” she said.
The Head of Service said the plan would also seek to re-design three core-training modules including Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme as a top talent programme and identify a ‘LEAD-P Presidential Cohort’ to cultivate as next generation of leaders in service.
She continued, “The plan will also launch a strategic sourcing of identified skills to bring in external talent at senior levels to drive high-level impact; institutionalise performance management by finalising the performance management system, piloting tools and introducing non-monetary recognition; drive innovation in service by establishing Public Service innovation unit within the OHCSF and launching an Innovation Challenge towards reducing cost of governance and increasing revenue generation,” she said.
Oyo-Ita listed others to include the launch an EPIC culture transformation of the civil service; accelerate roll-out of the full implementation of Integrated Personnel and Pay Roll Information System Human Resource module; and establish an enterprise content management solution to digitise content.
She explained that by 2020, the plan is expected to have delivered outcomes that include N60 billion to N120 billion savings from cleaning Human Resource (HR) data on IPPIS; N2.5 billion annual savings from digitising content; 25,000 civil servants trained through revamped core modules; 200 future leaders cultivated through LEAD-P; 25 ministries with performance management system tools, routines, and dialogues to drive results based performance; and at least three annual innovation challenges held to cultivate ideas, technologies, and for enhanced service delivery, efficiency and productivity in the public service.
She said, “The implementation of this strategy will not succeed without the support of the directorate level officers who are critical stakeholders in the service.
“It is evident that stakeholders’ buy-in and ownership by the top management staff is crucial for successful delivery of the strategy.
“You are therefore expected to assume the responsibility of ensuring that the medium and junior level officers are carried along in the implementation of the strategy.”
The Head of Service urged employees who have not updated IPPIS records via the online portal to do so not later than Monday as failure to do so will lead to stoppage of the salary of the affected employees.
Oyo-Ita described online records update as a key requirement for the implementation of the HR Module of IPPIS, saying it must be completed by every employee of the Federal Government to maintain their records on the IPPIS platform.
“The future of the Nigerian cvil service is in our hands. It is therefore imperative for us to work collectively towards making the service function better in order to guarantee a sustainable socio-economic development of Nigeria,” she said.
Permanent secretary, Policies and Strategies Office Ndubisi Osuji, said the workshop is to position the service for better performance. It is home grown and driven by civil servants.