The federal government has launched 'public sector capacity building project (PSCBP)' in order to implement its agenda of good governance in the country, which will be completed with the financial assistance of the International Development Association (IDA).
Official sources said he Government of Pakistan (GoP) has contracted a $55 million IDA credit under the PSCBP.
They said the project has several sub-components, out of which the largest is Establishment Division's sub-component. In order to implement the sub-component of Establishment Division, a Civil Service Reform Unit (CSRU) has been established within the Establishment Division. The Unit will also serve as the Secretariat to the Cabinet Committee on Civil Service Reforms, which will oversee GoP's comprehensive civil service reform program.
The CSRU will formulate and present technical recommendations in order to support civil service reform through outsourcing technical studies and organising seminars/workshops by involving all the stakeholders at the provincial and national levels to develop consensus on various aspects of civil service reforms, the sources added.
Under this project, the Establishment Division has the largest sub-component under PSCBP ($25 million), which would be used, inter alia for professional development of civil servants, strengthening of the FPSC, establishment of National School of Public Policy and revamping the training institutions ie National Institutes of Public Administration, they said.
Sources said that main objectives of the investment are to develop public sector human resources and align them to the emerging national and global challenges, strengthen the government institutions by filling the capacity vacuum, implement long-term civil service reforms, and create enabling environment for achieving high degree of efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector.
According to Civil Service Reforms Unit of Establishment Division sources, the executive development program has been designed for the senior civil servants occupying leadership positions at the federal, provincial and district levels.
They said the training program is expected to expose the senior officers with the new emerging realities, both at the national and the international levels and equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills in order to resolve the pressing national issues.
The executive training program consists of five-week duration and would be conducted at the Kennedy School of Government, Massachusetts, Boston, USA.
The World Bank sources stated that 'executive leadership development' will enhance the professional capacity of the participants to exercise leadership, enhance organisational performance, develop and implement policy, and improve the lives of citizens.
In Pakistan, and other developing and newly industrialised countries where the pace of political and economic changes are accelerating rapidly, public officials need the capacity to exercise leadership.
Like many other nations, Pakistan with its growing economy, its newly invigorated democracy, and its deep problems of poverty, faces difficult challenges of economic and social development. The country's institutions are under intense pressure to improve their capacity to respond to the needs of citizens and use public resources.