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Ghana’s Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Marfo says the government would need about $50million to implement the National Public Sector Reform Strategy (NPSRS), 2018-2023.

Mr Osafo-Marfo disclosed that the World Bank had made in initial deposit of $20million to kick start the project and that government would look for other sources of funding to implement the project.
 
The Senior Minister made this known at a one--day validation workshop on the National Public Sector Reform Strategy (NPSRS), 2018-2023 under the theme; ‘Delivering for citizens and private sector.’

The role of the public sector in the growth of any country could not be underrated therefore there was the need for the public sector to take the reforms seriously, the Senior Minister said.

Mr Osafo-Marfo pointed out that the reform vision of the government is to create a responsive, efficient and effective public sector which places the catalytic role of government to support the private sector in job and wealth creation.

According to him, the NPSRS was developed by the previous government but was reviewed by a committee set up by the current administration and chaired by him.

He said the document was reviewed to suit the National Patriotic Party’s (NPP) manifesto and budget allocations of the Nana Akufo-Addo led government.

He noted that previous attempts at public sector reforms have yielded only modest results due to weak institutional and human capacity, inadequate resources, lack of accountability, poor co-ordination, poor work ethics, limited modernisation and use of technology and overlapping functions among public sector institutions.

The minister who is also in-charge of public sector reforms mentioned that government employs a large number of public servants, and compensation for public employees accounts for a large share of government expenditure adding “that notwithstanding, citizens complain about woefully inefficient and slow pace of administrative service delivery.

He stressed that such unproductive tendencies of the public sector ought to stop and assured Ghanaians that under his watch as the senior minister, there would be a paradigm shift. 

Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Dr Emmanuel Oduro-Osae said there is the need for a vibrant and credible public sector.

He said government has indicated the desire for a Ghana beyond aid and that can be achieved if there is a professional approach from the public sector.