• Records of human capacity development amid COVID-19

The Lagos State Government has revealed that as a result of the ill-fated EndSARS protest and the destruction of public and private property, the state suffered colossal damage to critical public property with 20 assets of parastatals, stolen or destroyed.

Afolabi Ayantayo, special adviser to the governor, Parastatals Oversight Office (PMO), said the office carried out an on-site assessment of the destroyed and stolen assets of the state’s parastatals to determine the level of damage.

“The report has been forwarded to the governor. It is relevant to mention that 20 parastatals have been affected to varying degrees, ”said Ayantayo.

“They include: Lekki Concession Company, Motor Vehicle Administration Agency, Lagos State Fire Department, Lagos State Public Works Company, Testing Laboratory Lagos State Materials, Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Lagos Limited Bus Service, Lagos Television, Lagos Internal Revenue Department, Management Authority of Lagos Lagos State Traffic, Lagos State Agricultural Authority, Input Supply Authority, Lagos State Multi-Door Courthouse, Citizen Mediation Center, Ibeju-Lekki and Resilience Office of Lagos State, among others.

He also said the government has started reviewing 54 outdated parastatal laws statewide, saying the move was aimed at raising the level of performance of parastatals and ensuring they meet their demands. of service in 21st century society.

On a related note, Lagos State Commissioner for Institutions, Training and Pensions, Ms Ajibola Ponle, said the civil service has seen impressive capacity building despite restrictions on the gathering. physical, following the COVID-19 outbreak last year.

She said more than 73,448 public servants had been trained in 2020, compared to an average of 3,000 trained each year. She revealed that the ministry had taken advantage of online virtual platforms to launch training programs for state employees.

She said: “A total of 3101 agents were trained in 2020 in 98 ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals under the virtual training initiative, comprising 52 agents at level 17, 272 GL 16, 1023 GL 15, 901 GL 14, 901 GL 14 and 851 GL 13. “

The commissioner also said the ministry had started reviewing the Civil Service Rules (RPS), to ensure that terms of service were on par with global standards. She stated that 186 officers had been admitted to various courses at the Federal Training Center during the reporting period.

She also added that the key performance indicator, KPI, has been presented to the civil service under the current state administration, informing that 215 agents of 20 MDA have so far been successfully trained on the use of the KPI framework from when the first phase of the KPI framework workshop started in February with 6 MDA until the second phase which started on April 12 with 14 MDA.

As part of additional innovations introduced for capacity building of government officials, Ponle said the current administration has introduced the “EXCO SHARES” initiative as a platform where Executive Board members share their knowledge and skills. expertise with officials on various issues and topics of interest.

According to her, the members of the Exco who had already engaged the workforce of the State on the Exco Shares platform are: Mr. Rabiu Olowu – Commissioner of Finance (IKIGAI – A raison d’être), Ms. Ajibola Ponle – Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, (Universal Cycles of Change), Ms. Folashade Adefisayo – Commissioner for Education (inference scale), Mr. Tunbosun Alake – Special Advisor, Innovation (values ​​and national development ) and Ms. Bolaji Dada Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and the Fight against Poverty, WAPA (Lessons from the ants).

“We have also introduced the training of executives, training has been organized for doctors, general managers, CEOs and ES of organizations and parastatals of the State. It was a 10-day program focused on the concept of leadership and strategic communication, ”said the Commissioner.

Regarding the structured training program, STP, Ponle also reported that 3,755 (three thousand seven hundred and fifty-five) officials in 2020 participated in the STP, while in 2021 the STP was organized in collaboration with the Civil Service Personnel Development Center for 5,238 (Five thousand two hundred and thirty-eight) eligible officers.

Speaking on the relations between the state government and the various state unions, the commissioner said that the ministry had organized a few days ago a training workshop for union leaders on the theme “Strengthening unions, union leadership, alleviating the succession challenges of the movement and fostering a sustainable industry. Harmony for a more prosperous Lagos State ”

“In fulfillment of the pledge made during the May 1, 2021 workers’ celebrations, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu last Friday presented official vehicles to the presidents of the NLC and TUC to help them lead the unions.

“The PMO, in collaboration with the Department of Justice through the Office of the Law Reform Commission, has undertaken the revision of enabling laws of parastatals that are either obsolete or hamper their operational guidelines.

“A total of 54 of these enabling statutes have been referred to the Law Reform Commission for review. Hopefully when the exercise is over, the agencies involved will have better enabling laws that will improve their operations and deliver their services efficiently, ”he said.

He added that in the coming months, monitoring and evaluation will be stepped up to ensure parastatals stick to their key performance indicators (KPIs) to achieve their set goals.

According to him, the reports generated from them would be transmitted to the governor to keep him informed of the situation in the parastatal and public enterprises.

“We also want to step up our efforts to get entrepreneurs to establish business relationships with our parastatal and public companies. This will foster the expertise, goal-oriented activities, efficient delivery of service to the public and the achievement of this administration’s 21st century economy.

“We will redouble our efforts to ensure that all obsolete laws of the parastatals and public companies reviewed are enforced,” he said.

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