Civil servants warned against irrelevant trainings

By Francis Emorut                                                   

JINJA - The minister of works and transport, Abraham Byandala, has sounded a warning to public officers against training in irrelevant courses at the expense of government, saying it is “not acceptable”.

He says this must stop and that procedures of staff development in public service must be followed.

“Sometimes you find public officers attending training on even what’s not necessary at the expense of government. This is not acceptable.”

The minister was speaking during the closure of a three-day performance enhancement training workshop for the middle managers of works ministry on Friday.

He criticized top managers who recycle the same public officers to attend every workshop and training without giving opportunities to other people.

“I have talked to the permanent secretary on staff capacity building but what surprises me is that senior managers recommend the same officers to attend workshops and training without giving opportunity to others for continuity,” he informed middle managers, commissioners and human resources personnel.

Byandala underlined the importance of top managers in public service to adhere to government’s policy of transparent, fair, cost effective and non-discriminatory manner in the management of training in public service.

The training conducted by Civil Service College-Uganda was held at Paradise Hotel on the Nile in Jinja district.

The minister emphasized that government’s objective of staff development in public service is to make it an efficient and effective organ in the execution of public policies within a rapidly changing and challenging technological, social, economic and political environment.

Certificates were given to participants. PHOTO/Francis Emorut

Minister Byandala (right) hands over a certificate to Winiefred Adoch. PHOTO/Francis Emorut

The training looks to improve performance by enhancing skills, improving attitudes and increasing job satisfaction and motivation.

The pubic officers were trained in various topics such as effective communication, public relations and customer care, effective management of meetings, self-control and stress management.

Other areas covered included negotiation skills, teamwork, policy formulation and analysis, budget preparation and financial management as well as records and information management.

Jane Kyarisiima Mwesiga, the commissioner human resource management in the ministry of public service observed that transformation of public service and the economy in general will be attained if the current cadre of management at all levels adopts transformative ways of thinking, decision making and delivery of services.

Mwesiga implored public officers to improve the public image of public service as they are the frontline officers.

She also appealed to them to reshape their attitudes and embrace a corporate culture of transacting government’s business.

Jane Kyarisiima Mwesiga, from the ministry of public service, addresses participants. PHOTO/Francis Emorut

Jacob Ojera, a mechanical engineer, said the training had helped him in building confidence in stress management on top of equipping him with negotiation skills.

For Barbra Nabwire, who is a human resource officer, training equipped her with effective communication skills.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Winniefred Adoch, senior social environment officer, pointed out that the officers were equipped with tools to enhance efficiency and performance in the public service.