THE PSMTP-GIMPA EXPERIENCE

THE PSMTP PROGRAMME The Public Sector Management Training Programme (PSMTP) hosted by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) and funded by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) was designed for a certain purpose, that is, to build the capacity of senior and middle level staff in the five Anglophone West African countries to make the public sector more effective and efficient for socio-economic development.

PSMTP PROGRAMME CONTINUED The PSMTP is designed as a master’s degree programme with a cutting edge curriculum to meet current and future needs of the public sector. Four modules each consisting of five courses were carefully planned to do just that. The current public sector issues mainly in the areas of public sector performance, policy formulation, implementation and evaluation, resource management, strategic management and global and regional issues were considered and a curriculum crafted to respond to them.

PSMTP PROGRAMME CONTINUED In addition, there was a prognosis of the future that made it possible for flexibility in the PSMTP so that revisions could be made as necessary. It meets the need for developing capacity for public sector leadership across Africa by bringing together middle to high-level public managers from the five Anglophone West African countries, namely, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

PSMTP PROGRAMME CONTINUED It has trained and graduated participants every year ( ). So far, a total of 375 participants have graduated with the Master of Public Sector Management (MPSM) degree while another 39 will graduate at the end of 2016 making an overall total of 417.

SUCCESSES THE PSMTP HAS ACHIEVED SOME SUCCESSES: 10 cohorts of MPSM have graduated since its inception in 2006 – In other words, the PSMTP had run uninterruptedly for the past 10 years with the current cohort (2016) graduating in December 2016 The Mid Term Reviews conducted in 2008 & 2015 highlighted responses of some of the participants and their supervisors. They showed that the performance of the graduates had improved considerably thereby making an impact on their organizations. Indeed, when participants interviewed were asked to rate the PSMTP on a scale (excellent, good, average and poor) 95% rated it as “good” while the remaining insignificant 5% rated it as “average”.

SUCCESSES CONTINUED In pursuit of the general trends at both international and regional levels and that of the desired objective of the ACBF, women participation in PSMTP- GIMPA had been pursued. GIMPA adopted an admission policy that targeted active women representation on the programme. The highest number of women participation was achieved in 2015 with 24 women out of a total of 46 participants. In terms of the diversity of public and private sector organisations, PSMTP graduates can be found in MDAs, security and quasi-security institutions, legal institutions, state, regional and local governments, public and private universities, training institutes and constitutional and autonomous bodies in the various participating countries. The PSMTP has to some extent strengthened the public sector to meet the current and emerging socio-economic issues.

LESSONS LEARNT Over the years a lot of lessons have been derived from PSMTP. I will highlight three of these lessons: 1. PSMTP is a good initiative that has afforded GIMPA and its Partners (IPAs) the opportunity to develop their capacity to meet current and emerging needs of the public sector in the five participating countries. 2. developing capacity in the public sector is a long, slow and expensive process. Even though the PSMTP had graduated 375 senior and middle level public servants, the number seems insignificant to make a big impact in the participating countries given the size of the public sector. Moreover, the gestation period of the impact of improved skills and competencies and imbuing subordinates with some of the innovative ideas and practices cannot be adequately addressed within ten years. It needs to be sustained. A lot of money is involved in developing and sustaining capacity, which should be earmarked for such a venture.

LESSONS LEARNT CONTINUED 3. There are several challenges to developing capacity. They include inadequate funding and inadequate commitment on the part of stakeholders. However, addressing the challenges depends not only on internal monitoring and evaluation but also external evaluation. Developing capacity for the public sector is no doubt a sine qua non for socio-economic development and promoting good governance. It however, needs the collaborative effort of all the stakeholders (governments, institutions, graduates and development partners). Consequently, their support and commitment are necessary in making it work and sustained.

CONCLUSION The PSMTP has come to stay and should therefore be allowed to reposition the public sector, improve its performance and productivity through its outputs, outcomes and impacts. For this to be done, the support (largely financial) of all the stakeholders is paramount.