As part of the measures put in place to actualize the vision of the administration of Enugu state Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah to achieve efficiency and increase productivity in the state’s Civil Service, Enugu state Government has commenced A 3-Day Productivity and Capacity building for Permanent secretaries Head,Personnel Management (HPM ), of local government areas in the state, Directors and some other senior management staff.
Declaring the training open at the Amadeo event Centre , Enugu on Tuesday,, Enugu state Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah said the” state Government ‘s vision is to foster a public service that not only meets, but exceeds global standards, which requires a robust framework for productivity.
Pix: SSG Prof Onyia
Represented by the Secretary to the state Government, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, Governor Mbah said the training was to equip participants with the necessary tools and knowledge required to achieve the goals.
He said the public service is the backbone of the state’s governance and development. “Your roles are crucial in implementing policies, delivering services and driving Progress across various sectors,” he said.
Governor Mbah added that, the state Government through the Commissioner for labour and productivity , will introduce to the participants, a comprehensive productive enhancement module that focuses on improved performance, increase accountability, streamlining processes and focus on productivity enhancement.
He explained that a change from labour and employment to labour and productivity is not merely a change in nomenclature but a strategic alignment to better meet the state government ‘s objectives of emphasis on efficiency, comprehensive approach,,result oriented focus, and alignment with modern practices”.
Speaking further, Governor Mbah said participants will be introduced to tools and methodologies that will enable them to apply these models effectively.
” Our goal is to create a dynamic and responsive public service that is capable of meeting the evolving needs of our citizens , supporting the overall growth and development of Enugu state “, he said.
The Governor noted that the success of the initiative depends on the active participation of the participants and commitments. He charged Participants to develop modules for tracking performance using empirical evidence , saying, ” quantifiable data will help us achieve what we needed as a state”.
He disclosed that Enugu state government will continue to work with the National productivity centre
In his address, the Director- General ,National Productivity Centre, Dr. Baffa Baba Danagundi said the broad objectives of the training was to create productivity awareness in Enugu State’s Public Service and build a solid foundation for subsequent productivity improvement initiatives while the specific objectives were to: discuss productivity, it’s concepts and relevance in the public sector;
Other are ,”to introduce the concept of leadership and describe leadership for high performance in the service; Explain performance and describe techniques for productivity measurement; introduce productivity improvement tools and techniques and discuss their application;
Discuss problem solving tools and techniques; and discuss strategies for improving innovation and creativity in the service of Enugu state.
Represented by Dr. Titi Oshati,, Director of Productivity Capacity building,NPC, the Director -General described productivity is an important driver of success as governments continuously works towards achieving its goals.
The level of productivity is the most fundamental factor that determines the standard of living, therefore, raising it allows people get what they want faster or more with the same amount of time.
“Higher level of labour productivity equal higher economic output and lower inflation. With growth in productivity, an economy is able to produce and consume increasingly more goods and services for the same amount of work.
Pix- Dr. Titi Oshati, Director , Productivity Capacity building,NPC
He maintained that Labour productivity growth is crucial to increased û, standards of living and also increase consumers purchasing power.
“It is in a bid to improve productivity in Enugu state that led to the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the National Productivity Centre and Enugu State Ministry of Labour on the 12th July, 2024”, he said..
According to Danagundi, , the purpose of the MOU was to build the momentum for change through a wholistic capacity building programme since no Organization, Institution or Nation can fend better than the quality of the human resource in terms of their ability to create, innovate, add value and generate wealth.
” The character, skills and competence of every workforce determine to a very large extend how far an organization will go in achieving their organizational objectives,” he said..
Pix- Ugwuoke
Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Chika Ugwuoke ,said enhancing productivity and implementing a robust tracking model were essential components of commitment to serving the people of Enugu State with dedication.
” His Excellency has set a very ambitious goal of growing our economy from $4.4bn to $30bn within the next 3-7 years and this can only be achieved on the foundation of a productive civil service.
“By embracing a culture of productivity, leveraging data-driven insights, and fostering collaboration, we can achieve remarkable results,” Ugwuoke said.
Author-: Maureen Ikpeama.