Calling for an efficient, better public service

A STRONG and efficient public service will lead to cost cutting in Government expenditure and subsequently to the growth of the local economy, a French expert has said.

Dr Helene Gadriot-Renard, who was the main facilitator at the Namibia Institute for Public Administration and Management (NIPAM) workshop last week, said the idea behind setting up NIPAM was to strengthen the public sector. NIPAM’s main objective is to train Namibian civil servants in line with competencies aligned to various public service duties and functions.The two-day workshop, conducted under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister, was to obtain concrete input and finalisation on the setting up of NIPAM.According to sources, the institution is to be set up in Olympia, Windhoek, and should start offering training courses to civil servants from January next year.According to the Namibian Press Agency (Nampa), Cabinet has already approved the first phase of establishing NIPAM, which involved the construction of offices, lecture halls, a library and cafeteria.The French Embassy is providing technical assistance to help set up NIPAM and design its training courses.Civil servants would be trained in a variety of courses including public accounting, leadership, ethics, international law and business management.Gradiot-Renard said the after last week’s workshop the next step would be to discuss the type of courses NIPAM would offer, the duration of each course and the methodology of training, emphasising that the institution would focus on practical training.She could not give more details, however, saying the final decision lay with the Government on what direction would be taken concerning NIPAM.Gradiot-Renard said NIPAM would play a vital role in Namibia’s economy.”A trained civil service simplifies life for everyone.The civil service becomes less costly, efficiency brings in investment, better service delivery is good for business and in turn all this will boost economic growth.”The Office of the Prime Minister, with support from the French embassy, prepared and conducted research of the NIPAM project in February this year.The research was carried out by two French experts in public administration and management.Other stakeholders are involved in the project, including all Government ministries, the Finnish embassy, the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic.Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila said the Government had decided to find a lasting solution to the skills and capacity shortages within public institutions.”A model 21st century public service is expected to promote shared national values through sound policy development, and to ensure excellence in service delivery.”A modern public service should thus be innovative while effectively serving the citizens.It should be able to embrace reform and modernisation without compromising accountability and public trust,” said Amathila.NIPAM’s main objective is to train Namibian civil servants in line with competencies aligned to various public service duties and functions.The two-day workshop, conducted under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister, was to obtain concrete input and finalisation on the setting up of NIPAM.According to sources, the institution is to be set up in Olympia, Windhoek, and should start offering training courses to civil servants from January next year.According to the Namibian Press Agency (Nampa), Cabinet has already approved the first phase of establishing NIPAM, which involved the construction of offices, lecture halls, a library and cafeteria.The French Embassy is providing technical assistance to help set up NIPAM and design its training courses.Civil servants would be trained in a variety of courses including public accounting, leadership, ethics, international law and business management.Gradiot-Renard said the after last week’s workshop the next step would be to discuss the type of courses NIPAM would offer, the duration of each course and the methodology of training, emphasising that the institution would focus on practical training.She could not give more details, however, saying the final decision lay with the Government on what direction would be taken concerning NIPAM.Gradiot-Renard said NIPAM would play a vital role in Namibia’s economy.”A trained civil service simplifies life for everyone.The civil service becomes less costly, efficiency brings in investment, better service delivery is good for business and in turn all this will boost economic growth.”The Office of the Prime Minister, with support from the French embassy, prepared and conducted research of the NIPAM project in February this year.The research was carried out by two French experts in public administration and management.Other stakeholders are involved in the project, including all Government ministries, the Finnish embassy, the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic.Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Prime Minister Libertina Amathila said the Government had decided to find a lasting solution to the skills and capacity shortages within public institutions.”A model 21st century public service is expected to promote shared national values through sound policy development, and to ensure excellence in service delivery.”A modern public service should thus be innovative while effectively serving the citizens.It should be able to embrace reform and modernisation without compromising accountability and public trust,” said Amathila.