- Bayelsa already ranked high by World Bank, says Diri
The Bayelsa State Government has declared its readiness to collaborate with the Federal Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) to build a more functional and result-oriented public service in the state.
Governor Douye Diri made the declaration while granting audience to the Director General of the bureau, Engineer Dasuki Ibrahim Irabi, who paid a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa on Thursday.
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Governor Diri, who received the Director-General and his team through his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said Bayelsa had been on the forefront of public service reforms in the last couple of years.
He said the state government was ready to collaborate with the BPSR to build on the solid foundation laid by the immediate past administration of Senator Seriake Dickson in the public service sector.
Senator Diri assured that his administration was open to engagements with the bureau on how best to further improve on the achievements the state has recorded in public service reforms and identify areas of collaboration.
According to the Governor Diri, Bayelsa State accounting and payroll system is among the very best in the country at present, largely due to the formidable team that is superintending over the reforms.
He disclosed that Bayelsa was ranked very high by the World Bank among the states that participated in the SEEFOR Project because of its foolproof accounting template.
The Governor added that the state government would strictly follow extant laws and be guided by the principles of justice, fairness and equity in driving any reform process.
His words:”Bayelsa had been in the forefront of reforms. It is just that we may not have sounded our voice loud enough. Almost everything you have said so far is being applied here in Bayelsa.
“I need to let you know that public service reforms are already occupying a comfortable seat in Bayelsa State by virtue of the steps taken by the previous administration of Senator Seriake Dickson, which we are now building upon.
“The issues of IPPIS, APPIS and that of centralized procurement system have been well taken care of. The right sizing or downsizing of our public service are steps already taken.
“I will like to put on record that the World Bank supported states in the SEEFOR Programme, Bayelsa was ranked very high in terms of public sector and accounting system reforms.
“I can tell you we are very much on course. We started the single treasury account system even before the Federal Government did. The immediate past administration even enacted law mandating the state and local governments to publicly render their accounts.
“Bayelsa is a very fertile ground for the issue of public service reforms to grow, and so, we are ready to collaborate with the federal Bureau of Public Sector Reforms to build a more functional and result-oriented public service in Bayelsa State.”
Earlier in his presentation, the Director-General of the Federal Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Engineer Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi, said he and his team were in the state to seek collaboration from the State Government on public service reforms.
Mr. Dasuki informed that the bureau had been going round all the states asking them to key into the public service reforms initiated by the Federal Government to enhance service delivery and productivity.
He said currently the Federal Civil Service has 750 thousand employees, but the larger bulk of civil servants are in the employ of the 36 states, hence the need for the states to replicate the reforms.
He said, “This visit is to work with you to overhaul the Bayelsa Public Service like we have done for Kaduna, Lagos and Gombe. Reforms attract better public support and we need the buy-in of the executive, judiciary and legislature at the state level.
“The goal of the reforms is to turn the public service into an entrepreneurship-driven institution for optimal output and productivity. We have to adopt the problem-solving approach to public service reforms in tax system, budget system, etc.”
