Gov’t outlines progress in enhancing public sector performance

AMMAN — Authorities are moving steadily ahead with implementing the Government Performance Development Plan of 2014-2016, according to Minister of Public Sector Development Khleef Al Khawaldeh.

The plan, which was enacted to translate into reality the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah in the Speech from the Throne at the first ordinary session of the 17th Parliament, focuses on developing human resources, streamlining the government, improving services and simplifying procedures. 

In addition, the blueprint entails supporting public policy formulation and decision making; ingraining a culture of excellence; and enhancing control, regulation, accountability and transparency.

In a report released by the Public Sector Development Ministry earlier this week, Khawaldeh outlined what has been achieved so far in each of these focus areas.

“A standardised human resources management system was created to be applied across ministries and departments of the public sector, replacing around 47 different personnel management regulations used by the different government agencies,” the report said.

As of 2012, all public agencies have started applying the civil service by-law, “which governs the appointment of new staff, the privileges of old and new employees, and personnel management procedures at all agencies to ensure social justice”.

Moreover, the government reviewed and updated the code of ethics and professional conduct in the public sector, and they were approved by the Council of Ministers earlier this month, the report said.

The government also launched a leadership programme to build the capacity of managers in the public sector and the New Employee Orientation Programme to train newly appointed employees on laws governing work in the public sector.

Another project is in the pipeline to put in place a government senior leadership performance evaluation system using indicators that reinforce the principles of professionalism and accountability. 

“Through this system, performance will be evaluated according to a set of measurable indicators such as the achieved organisational goals, expenditures control, achieved rankings in the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence, and generated revenues at revenue-based agencies.”

In the field of government streamlining, the Cabinet passed earlier this year a set of procedures to implement articles of the draft law on restructuring public institutions and departments. 

“Accordingly, competent committees have been developing the organisational structures and workforce redistribution plans that will be needed upon merging the agencies mentioned in the draft law,” the report said.

The government is also “looking into the possibility of merging a number of institutions listed in the government units budget law” and reviewing the status of sector regulatory and control commissions by studying the feasibility of grouping the regulatory and control functions of each sector and assigning them to one commission. 

In efforts to enhance government services, the ministry has so far conducted over 35 unannounced field visits to public sector departments to assess service delivery procedures and submitted assessment reports to the prime minister, the report said. 

The ministry has also developed manuals for 608 services offered by 17 ministries and public agencies, detailing basic information for customers, in addition to taking other such measures to regulate service delivery. 

In the area of supporting public policy formulation, the authorities launched the Government Leaders Forum to upgrade public sector performance by facilitating periodic meetings for leaders to share knowledge and experiences.

The forum has convened twice so far, and targets senior executives in the public sector.

Also under this pillar, the Participatory Approach in Strategic Planning Guide was developed to enhance the concept and implementation of participatory strategic planning in government departments, according to the report.

“To instil a culture of excellence, the results and findings of the King Abdullah II Award assessment reports in the field of excellence in government performance and transparency are being utilised to improve government performance,” the ministry said. 

Two other projects are being implemented to build the capacity of public sector employees in the area of excellence and innovation and revise the procedures of the distinguished employee awards to better motivate staff.