The Kwara State Government is to embark on monitoring and evaluation of all ministries and extra-ministerial departments to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the public service.
The state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, dropped the hint at a meeting with all Permanent Secretaries in the state’s Civil Service held at the Government House, Ilorin.
Ahmed, who stressed the need for periodic monitoring and evaluation to ascertain the prospects and problems of each ministry, directed all ministries to set medium term target for which they shall be assessed.
He urged the Permanent Secretaries to collaborate and cooperate with their Commissioners for enhanced productivity and establish cordial relationship with their subordinates.
Ahmed said: “As career officers of your various Ministries and Parastatals, I advise you to be in tune with your Commissioners, who are the political heads and avoid being at loggerhead with them, as only a harmonious working relationship can assist the state government to achieve the desired level of development.”
Every desk officer, he said, will henceforth be held responsible and accountable for his action or inaction, warning that it will no longer be business as usual.
Ahmed also told the career officers that promotion will now be tied to productivity as against length of service or maximum number of years on a particular grade level.
He said: “The old system is anachronistic; it is totally unacceptable because it cannot produce effective result.”
He therefore enjoined them to bring their experiences and administrative acumen to bear on governance in the true spirit of collective responsibility so that all could take the state to the next level.