Malawi govt introduces system to check public service

In a bid to improve the way the public service operates and delivers service, government has introduced an Organisational Performance Assessment system (Opas).

Chief Secretary to the government, Bright Msaka, said among others, the Opas will ensure that departments set realistic outcomes and targets in line with the development agenda of the government.

“It will provide a basis for promoting quality and dedicated performance in the public service and it will also improve delivery of public services for the benefit of the citizenry and the country as a whole,” Msaka said.

He added that Opas covers three categories of institutions or organisations which include government ministries, departments and agencies, local government councils and state owned enterprises.

“A Performance Evaluation Committee (PEC) consisting of senior government officials from central agencies has already been instituted to double-check the OPA submission of each institution before signing and also to monitor the quarterly progress of implementation and annual organisational achievements,” he said.

However, overtime Msaka said PEC will evolve into an independent committee to raise the level of trust the assessed institutions will have in the committee and to ensure that no institution is evaluated with an undue bias.