Federal and state governments have been enjoined to prioritise opportunities for public and civil servants to develop and improve on their skills to enable them to give their best in service delivery.
This was one of the decisions in the Communiqué issued at the end of the 41st National Council on Establishment, NCE, which held in Asaba, the Delta state capital recently.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Director of Information, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Iheoma-Hart Queenet, other decisions in the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting include, the reaffirmation of council’s earlier decision at several meetings “that professional certificates should be used for proficiency purposes only, in the Service; government to pay salaries regularly as a way of motivating their workers for optimum performance; a committee to examine issues of review of entry point, internship programme and any other related matters in the service.
“The committee shall also assess the appropriateness/ relevance of regulatory and professional certificate in the schemes of service for determining entry, advancement/promotion and general career progression in the civil/public service; government to consider establishing regulatory bodies for relevant professions for the delivery of quality service with a view to ensuring that those employed in the service perform efficiently.
“Placement of officers on Salary Grade Levels on entry is based on job content after thorough job evaluation.”
The statement also noted that “Officers were enjoined to improve on their skills as a way of advancing in their career and not through membership of associations/ professional bodies; Governments to ensure that contributions of employees under the Contributory Pension Schemes (CPS) are promptly remitted to the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) in compliance with the 2014 Pension Reform Act.
Council to set up a monitoring committee on establishment matters to ensure that the services comply strictly with its approval and National Assembly enjoined not to pass bills that border on establishment matters, as such issues require cursory examination of each subject at the NCE, where they are deliberated upon before appropriate decisions are taken to avoid conflict with extant rules and regulations in the service.
The Acting Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and Chairman of Council, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan presided over the meeting which was attended by Heads of Services from Thirty-Two (32) States in the Federation including representatives of the Federal Capital Territory.
The Chairman of Federal Civil Service Commission, National Salaries and Wages Commission, Corp Marshals of the Federal Road Safety Corps and other Federal and State Delegates also participated in the meeting.
The Council considered Forty-Eight (48) memoranda on various establishment matters. The 42nd National Council on Establishment is slated to take place in Lagos in 2020.