The delegation of Sierra Leone’s Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs visited the head of the Egyptian Public and Civil Service on the margins of the APRM conference in Cairo on Tuesday, 12 September 2023. This high-level visit was coordinated by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). The visit to this office is to find partnerships in support of the reformation of the public sector in Sierra Leone.
During the discussions, the Minister of Public Administration and Political Affairs, Amara Kallon, explained that Sierra Leone had succeeded in conducting six general elections with clean transitions of power. President Bio, he said, is the current chairman of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Forum of Heads of states and Governments and aspires to look around Africa for what we want in the spirit of Africanism. “We want a public service that is based on professionalism; H. E. Bio wants to bring discipline into Sierra Leone. Here, we aim to establish a new system that can address our development aspirations. How do we tap into the technical expertise around Africa that can allow our resources to circulate within Africa? How do we leverage our public service in technology? The minister said. He assured us of strong political support in this direction.
For his part, Prof. Saleh, head of the Central Agency of Organization and Administration of Egypt, assured that they are ready for technical cooperation and appreciated the APRM for such initiatives. Political will is essential for a successful public service reform. He requested that the doors of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration (C.A.O.A.) be open for cooperation with Sierra Leone.
Ambassador Ashraf Rashid, International Relations Consultant of the Agency, said there are no barriers within the African family and that Egypt and Sierra Leone can cooperate in any field.
Furthermore, he dialogue touched on exchanging expertise in restructuring government institutions, drafting legislation related to the civil service, preparing job description cards, manpower planning, and performance rates, preparing job code of conduct, setting governance criteria for selection and appointment in public jobs, assessing the capabilities of public servants, as well as the capabilities of leaders in the state administrative body, developing training plans for the cadres working in the state administrative body, and providing training for some of these cadres. It also discussed electronic applications related to public servants, digitalization of Government Services, and exchanging experiences in the criteria for accrediting government and private training centers that deal with government institutions.
The Director of SDG at APRM, Sarah, expressed gratitude to Dr. Saleh for the reforms he has made in the public sector in Egypt and thanked him for opening the door to APRM, which unlocks opportunities for collaboration between countries.
Looking for the best practice within Africa will help make life better. The meeting discusses a wide array of issues to promote and develop cooperation in the areas of administration, public service, and civil service based on mutual interests and exchange.
In light of the discussions between the two sides, a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was shared with the intention of signing it into an agreement between the Central Agency for Organization and Administration (CAOA) in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Ministry of Public Administration and Political Affairs in the Republic of Sierra Leone. It will be signed afterwards.
