Public Sector Reform Unit

Public Sector Reform Unit The PSRU provides leadership, coordination and strategic guidance in the design, implementation and monitoring of all Public Sector Reform Programmes in SL

Public Sector Reform Unit Conducts Validation Workshop on Draft Communications Strategy and Rules of Engagement on Negot...
10/10/2020

Public Sector Reform Unit Conducts Validation Workshop on Draft Communications Strategy and Rules of Engagement on Negotiations for the Proposed Wages and Compensation Commission

The Public Sector Reform Unit conducted a validation meeting on the 9th October, 2020 at the Mobonde Hall, kingherman road, freetown.

The purpose of the meeting was to seek stakeholders input, build consensus and a roadmap in finalizing the Draft Communications Strategy and Rules of Engagement on Negotiations for the establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission.

In delivering the keynote address, the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service, Mr John Sumailah said that the meeting should serve as an opportunity for stakeholders to make input Into the documents which will inform and advice the operations of the proposed wages and Compensation Commission.

The meeting was attended by key stakeholders from within the Ministry of Finance, Judiciary, Sierra Leone Police, Sierra Leone Labour Congress, Correctional Service, Rokel Commercial Bank and other Partners.

Key statements were made by representatives from the Judiciary, represented by Justice Reginald Fyn; the Ministry of Finance, represented by Mr Cyprian Kamaray and Sierra Leone labour Congress, represented by Mr Max Conteh.

All the speakers underscored the Importance of the workshop and thanked the International Consultant and pledged the continuous support from their respective institutions towards the establishment of the commission.

The meeting was climaxed by two presentations from the International Consultant, Mr. George Smith-Graham on the Draft Communications Strategy and Rules of Engagement on Negotiations.

In his presentation, he said the Communications Strategy has been developed to provide relevant, credible, factual, clear and consistent messages on the National Public Sector Wages and Compensation Policy of Sierra Leone and to secure the buy-in, ownership and acceptance of the general public and Public Sector employees and Development Partners.

He concluded that the Rules of Engagement shall guide parties in negotiations or discussions between parties when the Commission has been established.

The presentations were followed by plenary discussions to deliberate and seek consensus on the contents and the validation of both documents. Both documents were successfully validated and the International Consultant will submit final copies to the Government of Sierra Leone.

In concluding, the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of Civil Service thanked the International Consultant and stakeholders for participating in the workshop and reiterated that both documents will serve as roadmap in the establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission.

Haroun Sheriff
Senior Programme* *Analyst,Communications
Public Sector Reform Unit, 8 Wesley Street

16/12/2019

Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU) Conducts a Week-Long Consultative Workshop on Framework for the National Pay and Compensation Policy as part of the Establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission

Public Sector Reform Unit, a subvented department in the Cabinet Secretariat (CabSec) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (M*F), Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) and Public Service Commission (PSC) has completed a regional workshop for Civil and Public Servant on the Framework for the National Pay and Compensation Policy for the proposed Wages and Compensation Commission from the 3rd-13th December, 2019 in Kenema, Bo, Makeni and Portloko respectively.
The sessions were chaired by the Provincial Secretaries in Kenema, Bo, Makeni and Portloko respectively and key statements were made by Hon Daniel Koroma, Chairman of Legislative Committee, Hon Moses Edwin, and Deputy Chairman Finance Committee. Both members of Parliament emphasized government’s commitment and political will in establishing the commission. The Director, PSRU, Mrs Georgiana Kamara, declared the purpose of the workshop; said, the primary objective of the consultative workshop was geared towards engendering the views, and expectations of Civil/Public Servants in relation to the National Pay and Compensation Policy for the much-anticipated Commission. Rep from Cabinet Secretariat, Mr Patrick Sama, Rep from HRMO, Mr Patrick Kawa and Mr. Augustine T Mansaray, Rep from PSC all expressed their institutional support to aid the process. The Commissioner of Labour, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Mr John Kallon and President of the Labour Union, Mr Jennings Wright also highlighted the importance of the National Pay and Compensation Policy in restoring equity and harmonization of salaries in the Public Sector.
The workshop was climaxed by the presentation of a framework on the National Pay and Compensation Policy for the proposed Wages and Compensation Commission, by the international Consultant, Mr George-Smith Graham.
In his presentation, he said the rational of the policy is to ensure cohesiveness, promote equity, fairness, transparency and efficiency in pay and pension’s determination and administration by adopting a definitive and comprehensive pay and compensation policy to be applied in a structured and consistent manner in the Public Sector.
He further pointed out that the objectives of the Policy include: to enhance the capacity of the Public Service to retain and adequately motivate personal with requisite skills; to rationalize and harmonize pay across the Public Service institutions that draw compensation from the consolidated; to promote performance and productivity in Public Service and to enable Government to manage wage bill in an efficient, structured and sustainable manner within the national budget.
In concluding, Mr Smith-Graham said the issue of disparities in the emoluments, pensions, gratuities, ex gratia and other benefits in Sierra Leone’s Public Sector has been a concern for successive government. Various attempts have been made to rationalize the pay system to ensure fairness, transparency and equity in salaries of Public Sector workers. He said the establishment and operationalization of the Wages and Compensation Commission is expected to rationalize and correct the distortions present in the pay administration in Sierra Leone.
The participants heightened the timeliness of such initiatives by Government and called for more consistent engagement with Civil/Public Servants.

Haroun Sheriff
Senior Programme Analyst- (Communications)
Public Sector Reform Unit
8 Wesley Street

13/05/2019

Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU) Conducts a Week Long Consultative Workshop on the Draft Bill and Regulatory Instrument for the Wages and Compensation Commission

As a continuation of the first phase of regional consultation on the Wages and Compensation Commission, the Public Sector Reform Unit, a subvented department in the Cabinet Secretariat (CabSec) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (M*F), Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) and Public Service Commission (PSC) has completed a regional workshop for Civil and Public Servants on the Draft Bill and Regulatory Instrument for the Wages and Compensation Commission (WCC) from the 6th- 10th May, 2019 in Kenema, Bo, Makeni and Portloko.

The primary objective of the consultative workshop was geared towards engendering the views, and expectations of Civil/Public Servants with respect to the provisions of the Draft Bill and Regulatory Instrument for the proposed commission.

The sessions were chaired by the Provincial Secretaries in Kenema, Bo, Makeni and Portloko respectively and key statements were made by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon Adekunle King, Hon Daniel Koroma, Chairman of Legislative Committee, Hon Moses Edwin, Deputy chairman Finance Committee, Commissioner North, PSC, Mr Mohamed Rakka Lonko Koroma; the Director, PSRU, Mrs Georgiana Kamara, who declared the purpose of the workshop; Rep from Cabinet Secretariat, Mr Patrick Sama, Representative from HRMO, Mr Patrick Kawa and Mr Imran Sillah, Information and Media adviser, Strategic and Communications Unit, Ministry of Information and Communications.

The work shop was climaxed by the presentation of a Draft Bill and Regulatory instrument on the proposed Wages and Compensation Commission, by the international Consultant, Mr George- Smith Graham.

In his presentation, he spoke about the powers of the Commission to include amongst others: acquire, hold charge and dispose of movable and immovable property; and do or perform such other things or acts for the proper discharge of its functions under the constitution and this Act may lawfully be done or performed by a body corporate.

He further pointed out that the regulations shall apply to the general Government institutions, including State Owned Enterprises. According to Mr Smith-Graham, the Commission shall within two years after the bill being passed in parliament, and coming into effect of the Act, develop a unique Job Evaluation methodology for Sierra Leone taking into consideration best practices from across the globe.

In concluding, Mr Smith-Graham said the administrative expenses of the Commission including all salaries, allowances, gratuities and pensions payable to or in respect of persons serving in the commission will be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The presentations were followed by a lengthy Q&A session during which Civil/ Public Servants required clarifications on various questions including: appointment of the CEO of the Commission, tenure of office of the CEO and Commissioners and independence of the Commission in implementing its mandate.

The participants accentuated the aptness of such initiatives by Government and called for more consistent engagement with Civil/ Public Servants.

Haroun Sheriff
Senior Programme Analyst - *Communications
8 Wesley Street

26/04/2019

Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU) holds Consultative Workshop with Civil/Public Servants in Freetown on the Establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission(WCC)

As a continuation of the regional tour on appraising Civil /Public Servants on the establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission, the Public Sector Reform Unit, a subvented department in the Cabinet Secretariat (CabSec) in collaboration ministry of Finance (M*F), Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) and Public Service Commission held a consultative workshop for Civil/ Public Servants on the 25th Aprl, 2019 at the St Anthony’s Parish Hall, Syke Steet.

The objective of the consultative workshop was to record the views, concerns and expectations of Civil/Public Servants, in order to address the growing concerns of inequities in the Civil/Public Service salary structures, which have over the years affected productivity and effective service delivery.

The session was chaired by the Commissioner North from Public Service Commission, Mr M.R Koroma, followed by key statements made by the Head of Civil Service and Secretary to Cabinet, Mr John Sumailah, the Director General, HRMO, Mr Ansu Tucker, the Director, PSRU, Mrs Georgiana Kamara, who declared the purpose of the workshop and the Financial Secretary, Mr SahrJusu.

In reaffirming Government’s commitment in establishing the WCC, Mr Sahr Jusu, assured participants that the Ministry of Finance (M*F) will continue to provide the necessary support needed to set up the Commission before the end of 2019.

Statements were preceded by the presentation of an inception report on the Establishment of Wages and Compensation Commission by the international Consultant, Mr George- Smith Graham.

In his presentation, he said the establishment of the WCC is to address disparities in pay and remuneration in the Public Sector of Sierra Leone, as well streamline the pensions system in the Public Service, as highlighted in the 2019 budget and financial statement of the Government of Sierra Leone.

He informed participants that the inception report is one of the first steps towards the establishment of the WCC in Sierra Leone.

Mr Smith-Graham also said Sierra Leone is gradually moving from pay and pension’s strategy to implementation and it has all the elements for a fair, transparent and equitable Public Sector pay and pensions regime.

In concluding, he said the fundamental functions of the Commission, amongst others includes: determine and review the emoluments, remunerations and other conditions of service payable and available to all Public Office holders and employees in accordance with their job functions and prevailing economic conditions and determine salaries and other benefits of the heads and management of these institutions. These are the Public Sector agencies and institutions established by Government as commercial entities with public funds to provide public goods and services.

The presentations were followed by a lengthy Q&A session during which Civil/ Public Servants sought clarifications on various questions including: salary disparity in the Civil Service, commencement of the WCC and promotions in the Civil Service.

The participants underscored the timeliness of such intervention by Government and called for more regular engagement with Civil/ Public Servants.

Haroun Sheriff,
Senior Programme Analyst- Communications
Public Sector Reform Unit
8 Wesley Street

11/04/2019

Public Sector Reform Unit Engages Parliament on the Establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission

The Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU), a subvented department in the Cabinet Secretariat engaged Parliamentarians of the Legislative, Finance and Female caucus Committees on the establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission (WCC). The overarching objective of the session was to record views, concerns and expectations of the Honourable Members of Parliament, to contribute in addressing the growing concerns of inequities in the Public /Civil Service salary structures, which have over the years affected productivity and effective service delivery.

The session was held on the 10th April 2019, at Parliament Building,Tower Hill,Freetown. It was jointly chaired by Hon. Hassan A Sesay and Hon Abdal Timbo. Both chairperson’s thanked the PSRU for the initiative to engage Parliamentarians and urged the Hon. Members of Parliament to ask relevant questions and seek clarification regarding the establishment of the Commission.
Mrs Georgiana Kamara, Director, Public Sector Reform Unit, in expounding on the purpose of the session, said, the Commission is intended to ensure that Public Sector pay and incentive system is not only to attract and retain requisite skills, and should be applied in a consistent and sustainable manner, so that the Public Sector Pay fairly reflects the work that the Public/ Civil Servant performs.

The work shop was heightened by the presentation of an inception report on the Establishment of Wages and Compensation Commission by the international Consultant, Mr George Smith-Graham.

In his presentation,he explained the importance of the Commission which,according to him, is to address disparities and inequities to the incongruences in pay and remuneration in the Public and Civil Service as articulated in the 2019 budget and financial statement of the Government of Sierra Leone.

The Hon. Minister of Political and Public Affairs, Ambassador Foday Yumkellah, after the presentation by the consultant, said, Honourable Members of parliament should be mindful and be obliged to make meaningful contributions to the establishment of the Commission.

The presentations were followed by a lengthy question and answer session during which Honourable Members of Parliament sought clarifications on various concerns including: the need to repeal existing laws with provisions that empower some institutions to set their own salaries, consideration of Paramount Chiefs and local council staff in retirement benefits and improving conditions of service and the need to reduce Government' expenditure on salaries.

Hon. Members emphasised on the timeliness of such initiative by the Government and hope to deliberate extensively when the bill is tabled in Parliament.

Haroun Sheriff
Senior Programme Analyst- Communications
Public Sector Reform Unit
8 Wesley Street

02/04/2019

Public Sector Reform Unit Holds Regional Consultative Workshop on the Establishment of the Proposed Wages and Compensation Commission (kenema)

06/02/2019

Public Notice
As a result of the growing concern of salary disparities among public sector workers, the Government of Sierra Leone, under the leadership of the His Excellency, Rtd. Brigadier, President Julius Maada Bio has expressed commitment to establish the Wages and Compensation Commission by 2019.
The fundamental objective of the proposed Commission is to ensure that the public sector pay and incentive system is not only able to attract and retain the requisite skills, but that it is also applied in a consistent and sustainable manner so that public sector pay fairly reflects the work that Public or Civil servants actually perform. Affordability and predictability of the Wage Bill is also a key consideration.
The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) under the New Direction also recognizes that the level of success, effectiveness and efficiency with which its developmental priorities, articulated in its National Development Agenda, can be implemented depends on the quality of its Public Servants.
In this regard, the Government of Sierra Leone has budgeted for the establishment of the Wages and Compensation Commission (WCC) as clearly articulated in the 2019 budget delivered by the Minister of Finance in the House of Parliament.
Therefore, the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service and other key stakeholders including Public Sector Reform Unit and Human Resource Management Office, has recruited an International Consultant to address the following:
i. Review of the legal framework for Public Service pay and compensation in Sierra Leone, including those relating to the Constitution of Sierra Leone, the Laws And Regulations on Labour, Decent Work, the Civil Service Code of Conduct including any Policies on Performance Management;

ii. Review of the existing structures, systems, and processes for Public Service pay, including those relating to Local Government, subvented institutions, and Commissions;

iii. Review relevant documentation as provided by the Committee.
iv. Development of the structure, systems, and processes that will be required for addressing current anomalies and distortions in public service compensation systems, including those relevant to the Conditions of Service.

v. Development of a coherent Organizational structure that will enable the efficient implementation of the following :
 Vision, Mission, Mandate etc. Consistent implementation of the pay reform strategy informed by valid research on salaries, benefits, and allowances;
 Implementation of relevant grading and classification structures;

The international consultant has commenced work and the commission is expected to be in full operation by the end of 2019.

23/10/2018

PRESS RELEASE

Sierra Leone Pay and Performance Project- PSRU & World Bank Conclude Implementation Completion Report Preparation Mission and Discussion on Strengthening Service Delivery through Improved Local Government Performance in Sierra Leone

The Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU), in the Office of the Head of Civil Service and Secretary to Cabinet has concluded a week World Bank (WB) implementation Report Preparation Mission and Discussions on strengthening Service Delivery through Improved Local Government Performance in Sierra Leone from Oct 1st -13th ,2018.

The Mission comprised of Shomikho Raha (Senior Public Sector Specialist and Team Leader), Smile Kwawukume (Senior Public Sector Specialist) and Daniel Nogveira (World Bank Consultant on the Pay & Performance Project).

The Pay &Performance Project (PPP) supports the implementation of the Government’s Flagship Public Sector Reform Programme, including three key components for the Civil Service, namely (i) Pay Reform (ii) Recruitment & Staffing and (iii) Performance Management and Accountability. The USD $17 Million Project contributed USD12 Million into the Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund through the achievement of the Disbursement Linked Indicators.

The objectives of the mission were of two –fold. The first objective focused on the presentation of an Implementation Completion Report (ICR) for the Pay and Performance Project which ended on June 30th, 2018; the second objective focused on analytical work on Strengthening Service Delivery through improved Local Government Performance.

As a standard practice, an Implementation Completion Report is required to be prepared by both World Bank and Government of Sierra Leone .The aim of the ICR is to assess the performance of the project, identify both lessons learnt and identify building blocks that could feed into the preparation of a future programme.

The Mission commenced with meeting at PSRU, Chaired by the Director, Georgiana Kamara (Mrs). The meeting confirmed Mission objectives and included a review of the ICR to be submitted by the Government of Sierra Leone and by the World Bank consultant. Discussions also centred on summary of updates of all aspects of the projects and on possible extension of the Pay and Performance Project.

As part of the Mission, the WB team met with some senior officials at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) Decentralisation Secretariat, Local Government Service Commission and Local Government Finance Department. Deliberations with these institutions were aimed at deepening understanding of past and current challenges; and to also identify the need for a more comprehensive approach to reform that would cover all aspects of the local government system in the short, medium and long term.

The Mission was concluded with a wrap up meeting with the PSRU and Implementing Agencies. The World Bank Mission was able to achieve its intended objectives by ascertaining the impacts, lessons learned and model of best practices from the Pay & Performance Project implemented and underscored the need for strategic direction towards improving local governance infrastructure by strengthening staff capacity, staff rationalization and management and functional review in line with the current priorities of the Government of Sierra Leone.

Haroun Sheriff, Senior Pogramme Analyst
PSRU
8 Wesley Street
Freetown

03/10/2017

PRESS RELEASE

PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM UNIT (PSRU) CONDUCTS A WEEK LONG FOCUS GROUP ENGAGEMENT ON THE SIERRA LEONE PAY AND PEFORMANCE PROJECT FOR CIVIL SERVANTS

The Public Sector Reform Unit, in the Office of the President, conducted a week long Focus Group Engagement on the Sierra Leone Pay and Performance Project for over fourty-0ne (41) middle and senior level Civil Servants from across the twenty- four 24 ministries.

These Focus Group Engagements were held from the 25th -28th September, 2017 at the PSRU conference room Wesley Street. The objective of the Focus Group Engagement was to update and share progress being made within the Civil Service, through the implementation of the Sierra Leone Pay and Performance Project. The discussions focused on updating Civil Servants on and building confidence in the Reform Process, particularly with regards to Pay Reform, Performance Management and Recruitment and Staffing.

The Sessions were Chaired by Mr Ahmed A Ahmed, Head of Programmes, PSRU who was joined by several presenters including, the Director, HR Planning and Budgeting, Human Resource Management Office (HRMO); the Director, Performance Management Directorate Human Resource Management Office (HRMO); Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Public Service Commission (PSC) and Communication Officer PSRU.

Ahmed A Ahmed Head of Programmes, PSRU, making his presentation
The Chairman in his welcome address thanked the participants for attending the Focus Group Engagement. He made a presentation on the core functions and activities of the PSRU and accentuated the importance of the Sierra Leone Pay and Performance Project for Civil servants. He said the Pay &Performance Project supports the implementation of the Government’s Flagship Public Sector Reform Programme, including three key components for the Civil Service, namely (i) Pay Reform (ii) Recruitment & Staffing and (iii) Performance Management and Accountability.

He said, the USD $17 Million Project has so far contributed USD US$11 Million to the Government’s Consolidated Fund through the achievement of Disbursement Linked Indicators.
In concluding, he said these are the first of series of such engagements that will be held across the country.
In her presentation on the Pay Reform component of the project, Director of HR and Planning and Budgeting, HRMO Mrs Georgiana Kamara stressed on the importance of the Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey (JE&LMS). She said implementation of the JE&LMS is intended to ensure that Public Sector pay and incentive system is not only able to attract and retain the requisite skills but that it is also applied in a consistent and sustainable manner so that public sector pay fairly reflects the work that public or civil servants actually perform. She concluded that a revised salary and grading structure based on job evaluation scheme will be done for the Civil Service.

Mrs Georgiana Kamara Director HR and Planning, HRMO making her presentation
The Director of Performance Management, HRMO Mr Osman Conteh, giving an Update, said HRMO have signed Performance Contracts with senior Civil Servants (Permanent Secretaries and Professional Heads) and introduced the Individual Performance Appraisal System (IPAS) which was a vast improvement on the Annual Confidential Report to which the employee had little input. The IPAS will enable Civil Servants to perform better and to be accountable. This in turn he said will enhance efficient and effective service delivery.

The Monitoring and evaluation Manager, Public Service Commission (PSC) Mr Daniel B Banya informed the participants that PSC has restricted itself to meet the daunting challenges of ensuring transparent and merit-based recruitment process. He said the PSC has recruited 805 middle-level qualified and competent Sierra Leoneans into the Civil Service through a fair and credible process.

The Communication Officer, Public Sector Reform Unit, Mr Haroun Sheriff in his presentation on the project’s Communication Strategy, underscored the importance of information dissemination on the ongoing reform programme. He informed the participants that a total of 75 tv and radio programmes on the Projects and Public Sector Reforms have been held so far on AYV Television every Thursdays at 7pm. He updated the participants on other outreach activities, such as District sensitisations, University Symposia, Parliamentary Engagement and Press Briefings that have been held across the country successfully.

The presentations were followed by a lengthy interactive Q&A session during which Civil Servants sought clarifications on various questions, including: salary disparity in the Civil service, training capacity building of Civil servants; Quarterly Political and Administrative Forums and the issue of Local Technical Assistants (LTAs) in the Civil Service.

These were ably answered by the relevant panellists. All the speakers underscored the timeliness of such initiative by the PSRU and called for more regular engagement with Civil Servants and the general public.

PSRU
8 Wesley Street
Freetown

22/08/2017

Following the terrible mudslide and flooding on 14th August 2017, the Director and staff of the Public Sector Reform Unit, Office of the President, would like to express their Sincere condolences to the families, including members of our staff, grieving the immeasurable loss suffered during this sorrowful time. May God comfort and Guide them.

May the souls of the departed Rest in Perfect Peace.

13/06/2017

The Pay and Performance Project...A Documentary on Civil Service Reform

28/02/2017

Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU)
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE

PSRU ENGAGES PARLIAMENT ON PAY REFORM

AND THE JOB EVALUATION AND LABOUR MARKET SURVEY

On Wednesday 1st February 2017, the Public Sector Reform Unit (PSRU), in the Office of the President, engaged Parliamentarians on Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey, the Pay Reform Component of the Sierra Leone Pay & Performance Project. The objective of this engagement was to introduce Parliamentarians to the work of the Ghana Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (GFWSC) which is providing Quality Assurance on the ongoing Job Evaluation and Labour Market exercise being implemented by Government of Sierra Leone. The GFWSC is advising on the legal and operational issues involved in the Job Evaluation and sharing the Ghanaian experience with Parliamentarians.

This engagement was held at the New Brookfields Hotel, New England, Freetown. The occasion was chaired by Mr Cyril Juxon Smith, the Director of Public Relations, Parliament. The PSRU was represented by Madam Sidratu Koroma, and the Ghana Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (GFWSC) represented by their CEO, George-Smith Graham; Mrs Eva Addo, Director of Salaries Grading, Re-grading and Job Evaluation and their Consultant, Mr Benjamin Osei. Other arms of Government included the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, represented by the Minister of State 2, Dr Patrick Conteh and the Judiciary, represented by the Justice of Courts of Appeal, Justice Reginald Sydney Fynn.

Parliament was represented by Hon. Members of the Committee on Political & Public Affairs; Defence and Presidential Affairs; Finance & Economic Development and Labour & Industrial Relations and representatives of the Clerk of Parliament.

The Commission has supported GoSL since 2014, undertaking Quality Assurance on the Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey exercise and advising of any corrective action to be taken by KPMG, the Consultant for the Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey Exercise. The Commission went through this exercise several years ago following which they re-structured Ghana's public service Pay & Grading systems.

The Engagement focused on the importance of the Job Evaluation and how best the Ghanaian experience could help to remove bottle necks and proffer suggestions for corrective action to GoSL.

The Chairman in his welcome address thanked the representatives from the Commission for honouring the invitation to Sierra Leone. He accentuated the importance of Pay Reform in transforming Sierra Leone in to a middle level status economy. The Chairman also said that the Job Evaluation is not new to Sierra Leone, but however, it is a herculean task that requires a lot of dedication and commitment. He said the reason for the specific engagement with Parliamentarians is to carefully listen to and deliberate with the GFWSC on the Ghanaian experience on Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey. In concluding, the Chairman said he hoped that this time the long awaited Job Evaluation would be completed successfully.

In her opening statement, the Director PSRU thanked the Commission for their assistance to Sierra Leone and also extended her appreciation to the Hon. Members of Parliament for their participation. She emphasised that the Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey was a very important aspect of Pay Reform, aimed at addressing anomalies in the Pay & Grading system. She also mentioned that upon completion of the Job Evaluation Exercise in Ghana, by the GFWSC the ratio of payroll:tax revenue has gradually reduced from 75% to 42% through several consultation and negotiations between the Commission (representing Government of Ghana's public service) and Labour Unions. In concluding her welcome address, she said the engagement with all present was because they had various roles to play in the implementation of Pay Reform and that she was sure the participants would ask searching questions of the GFWSC team.

In his presentation on the overview of the Project and progress made so far, the Head of Programmes (HoP), PSRU, Mr Shahid Korjie explained that in June 2012, the GoSL and the World Bank signed the US $17 Million Pay & Performance Project for Sierra Leone, to finance the achievement of priority pay and performance reforms in the Civil Service which are needed to achieve the economic growth and poverty reduction goals of the country. Despite the challenges, the Project has, to date, contributed US $11 Million to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. He further informed all that the Project has achieved its recruitment target of filling in 805 priority vacancies (the “Missing middle”) in accordance with Annual Recruitment plans (2012-2015) and approved recruitment procedures. In the area of capacity building and training, 38 Mid-Senior staff level from PSC, HRMO, M*FED/AGD and PSRU have benefitted from a General Leadership and Management Skills training delivered by the Kenya School of Government and the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies, UK. Trainings were conducted in Kenya and Ghana. The Head of Programmes, PSRU further informed the Parliamentarians that whilst the Recruitment component has been completed, the Project needs to move forward in the areas of Pay Reform and Performance Management. He stressed on the importance of the Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey (JE&LMS) being completed in order that a new Pay and Grading Structure be developed for the Civil Service. He informed members that the JE&LMS is being done by the KPMG, the lead consultant and coordinated by the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO). According to Mr Korjie, the consultants have started the Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey exercise and an inception report has been submitted by the consultant to HRMO and PSRU for review.

Dr Patrick Conteh, The Minister of State II in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, re-affirmed his Ministry’s commitment to the Pay and Performance Project. He said there are a host of problems affecting Pay Reform in Sierra Leone, notably the absence of a central body to determine pay structure in the country. He re-affirmed that the Ministry will continue to work relentlessly to solve the current pay disparities in the Civil Service to ensure fairness and equity in the system. He thanked the team from Ghana and hope that the experience sharing process will help facilitate the ongoing Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey in Sierra Leone.
Minister of State 2, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Patrick Conteh making a statement
According to Hon. IB Kargbo one of the fundamental issues affecting the Civil Service is its low remuneration. He said many professionals had left the shores of Sierra Leone searching for greener pastures overseas. He also mentioned that the creation of Agencies and Commissions and other subvented agencies with different salary structures and benefits are mainly responsible for the disparity and distortion on the wage bill. He concluded that if Sierra Leone wants to run effectively and efficiently; the way in which the level of autonomy to set pay with which agencies and commissions were established must be given a second thought.
Hon Brig. Kes-Gboya, asked whether Teachers, the Police and the Army have been included in the Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey exercise and enquired whether they have been placed under the Civil Service Structure.
Hon. Capt. Sorie raised the issue of duplication in pensions in the benefits system, whereby individuals could be receiving several pensions. According to him, Government should regulate the benefit system in the country to save the wage bill.
The Justice of the Court of Appeal, Mr Reginald Fynn reiterated that there are vast disparities in salaries in the Civil Service that extends to the Judiciary. He said he is optimistic that the Job Evaluation and Labour Market would be applicable to the Judiciary in the exercise.
These questions and concerns were ably answered by the Director, PSRU and the Minister of State II, MOFED. All the Parliamentarians and other representatives recognised the timeliness and importance of the exercise.

Cross-Section of Parliamentarians at the engagement
The Engagement was climaxed with the presentation of the Ghanaian experience by Mr George Smith-Graham, the CEO, Ghana Fair Wages and Salaries Commission. He said the purpose of the Commission’s visit is to help Sierra Leone ease through the Job Evaluation without experiencing some of the pitfalls Ghana went through. He furthered that, listening to some of the questions and concerns raised, shows that Sierra Leone and Ghana share similar problems. He said when the Commission was set up, they looked around for similar Commissions to no avail As such Sierra Leone is fortunate to be receiving best practices on the Job Evaluation from another African country.
According to the CEO, his Commission has helped a number of African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya in developing models that worked well for them. However he stressed that the model developed for Ghana is only unique to Ghana and Sierra Leone should develop its own bespoke model.

CEO Ghana Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Mr George Smith Graham Making his presentation
Since independence, Ghana has really struggled to have a unified Pay Reform structure, but this was resolved through the establishment of the GFWSC, said the CEO. He re-affirmed that the only way to be able to determine Government’s Payroll and the relative worth of a job is by conducting a Job Evaluation and Labour Market Survey. Job Evaluation is about the job and not the individual, he emphasised, stating that when they started the public service had about 137 different salary structures.
He said he is happy that at this stage the institutions involved in the exercise are engaging Parliamentarians to get their views and buy in of the exercise. In Ghana, the Parliamentarians were helpful in making the exercise easy, because they believed in the outcome, through constant engagement during the exercise and helped in passing some of the related laws in Parliament.
In concluding, he encouraged Government and Sierra Leoneans to take the exercise very seriously. He also advised that Labour Unions should be highly involved in the exercise to get their acceptance of the exercise. After the presentation, the Hon. Conteh stated that the importance of the legislative arm of Government cannot be over emphasised and on that note the Job Evaluation exercise should be incorporated in to the Constitutional Review process to establish its legality. He also asked whether the migration of the different wage bill into a single spine would lead to redundancies.
These questions and concerns were ably answered by the CEO, Ghana Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
Parliamentarians commended the PSRU and the Commission and welcomed more interactive session on effort aimed at structuring the civil service in Sierra Leone.

PSRU
8 Wesley Street
Freetown

Address

8 Wesley Street
Freetown

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Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
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