A popular Civil Society Activist Mr. Alfonso Manley in his contribution said the role of the Cabinet Secretariat in the Government is very crucial to the success of the Government and the development of the nation as a whole. “Government must provide the appropriate and sufficient funds/allocations to the Cabinet Secretariat on time for effective and efficient service delivery”, he stressed.
Many people in attendance at the Cabinet Secretariat 2019 Budget presentation described it as ‘well presented in the proper manner and successful’. “The Cabinet Secretariat presented all the required documents in the right order and fulfilled all the stated criteria”, says a Senior Government Official at the Ministry of Finance. “The Cabinet Secretariat’s presentation is perfect and we recommend the approval of what is requested”, One Journalist said.
In his presentation Mr. Bangura said the Cabinet Secretariat’s vision is: to establish an effective and dependable pillar of support to the executive for timely and efficient service delivery to the nation through supervision of institutions in the public/civil service.
“The mission statement is: To provide high level proactive support to the executive by ensuring that the business of government is concluded in a timely manner through the supervision and coordination of the activities of MDAs so as to ensure and strengthen collective decision-making of the government for effective policy formulation, implementation and monitoring”, he adds.
“The Cabinet Secretariat strategic objectives are: To support the Cabinet’s decision-making role in government by enhancing the quality of information, consistency in policy formulation, through evidence-based policy development. To facilitate the smooth running of government through leadership, effective coordination, supervision and oversight of the Civil Service. To facilitate the effective implementation of government policies”, he furthered.
“The Cabinet Secretariat has some challenges which include: Difficulty in accessing allocations from Ministry of Finance; Inadequate funds for the implementation of the Secretariat’s activities; Lack of Staff-Bus to ease transportation difficulties of Staff; Lack of vehicles for monitoring the Secretariat’s activities and dispatch of documents. Capacity in some Ministries, Departments and Agencies to address challenges inherent in reporting implementation of Cabinet Conclusions, Processes and Procedures”, Mr. Bangura said.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretariat’s key deliverables for 2018 are: (i) Formulation of public policies on a regular basis for the state in order to provide basic services to the citizens; (ii) Develop a technical infrastructure for electronically storing and managing the very sensitive records of Cabinet Secretariat; (iii) Production of Cabinet Memoranda and Conclusions; (iv) Maintain membership with International Organizations; (v) Organize induction training for Ministers, Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers and other key Government operatives on the dynamics of Cabinet and Administrative processes
Cabinet Secretariat’s key deliverables for 2019 are: (i) Training of Cabinet Focal Persons to ensure compliance with the guidelines formats and criteria issued by the Cabinet Secretariat. (ii) Provide capacity building for Policy Analysts at Cabinet Secretariat to adequately advice Ministries on the preparation of Cabinet Memoranda and Reports, especially to ensure that they are informed by appropriate evidence. (iii) Ensure Political-Administrative Forum to help Government deliver meaningful results in line with the New Agenda through coordination, collaboration and effective engagement between the Political, Administrative and Professional Class. (iv) Conduct nation-wide monitoring and Evaluation of performance targets of senior civil servants- (Grade 11 and above) to ensure effective and efficient service delivery.
However, the Cabinet Secretariat success story is that the Secretariat continues to be vibrant. Secretariat’s Annual Report available online. The three functional Directorates are performing to expectation. The Performance Tracking Tables for Grade 11 and above accomplished –positive World Bank Rating achieved – report generated on the Monitoring and Evaluation of Senior Civil Servants within the context of their Performance Tracking Tables was considered to be of appropriate quality. The Cabinet Secretariat has a committed and motivated staff.
On the whole, Cabinet Secretariat strategic aspirations are: E-archiving of available Cabinet Documents. Citizen’s Charter for every Ministry, Department and Agency are developed and implemented.
