PMS is a reality in public service

Bolaji Oladimeji Kazeem

The crumbling service delivery in Nigeria has been a serious concern for well-meaning observers, technocrats, and citizens, despite the large sums the federal government invests annually in public servants to promote effective and efficient service delivery.

Nigerians are tired of slow responses to issues affecting their daily lives, especially concerning essential services impacting their quality of life.  It is the same story for citizens and businesses inquiring about government services. The response time of our emergency agencies is poor compared to their counterparts in both developing and developed countries.

This makes citizens fearful every day of what might happen if they require the services of emergency agencies. Emergency number 112 was put in place to enhance the effectiveness of relevant agencies in properly addressing both manifest and latent threats to citizens, but the response time to the scene of an incident is poor. 

Various examples buttress the above assertion and speak volumes on the implementation of numerous policies approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). For instance, the approval for the digitalization of 18 police services has been stalled by the involved government agency’s lethargy due to self-interest. Only the Police Character Certificate (PCC) has been successfully implemented, while the Police Extract, Specialized Escort, Fingerprint, Tinted Glass Permit, VIP Orderly and Escort, Assets/Special Escort, International Driving Permit, Firearms & Ammunition Licenses, and others are still pending.

Also, the Ministry of Education’s online certificate verification has been slow for many years, and the crowd on the eighth floor of the Federal Secretariat, Phase 3, Abuja, is overwhelming.  The administrative head’s effort to decentralize the process is ongoing, further hindering children urgently needing certificate verification services.

The emergency number 112, facilitated by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, has not been made effective by participating agencies. The teething problem for participating agencies is the centralized command structure, which has slowed decision-making on critical incidents, jeopardizing timely responses to emergency issues in the country. 

Not only that, but the Ministry of Police Affairs (WAPIS) program and Central National Fusion Data Centre, intended for information sharing among security agencies, have been battling cooperation issues among some agencies.  Many federal government policies that could have brought effective and efficient service delivery seem stalled by bureaucracy and deliberate attempts to sabotage them.

However, hope has been restored by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who has strongly instructed Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Agencies to implement the Performance Management System (PMS) in all MDAs on a timely basis.

The matching order given to all MDAs to implement PMS has put them in the spotlight to comply with government directives on the quick implementation of priority areas in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021–2025 (FCSSIP25).  The FCSSIP25 implementation plan, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in December 2021, aims to reinvigorate the public service for improved productivity and efficient service delivery.

The overall objective of the Performance Management System (PMS) is to provide a broad understanding of the PMS as an effective tool for repositioning the public service to become efficient, productive, incorruptible, and citizen-centered. 

Priority areas of the Federal Civil Service Strategic and Implementation Plan (2021–2025) include capability building and talent management, the Performance Management System, IPPIS-Human Resource, innovation, digitalization of content services, and staff welfare. 

The government’s decision to adopt and institutionalize the Performance Management System in the public service will soon manifest in the MDAs through enhanced efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of public organizations, because it will ensure that MDAs’ performance goals and targets align with organizational and national development goals.

This will link staff rewards and recognition to satisfactory performance; identify gaps between actual and desired performance; provide effective monitoring and regular feedback; help limit subjective judgment, rating errors, favoritism, lack of fairness, and lack of transparency; and establish clear performance metrics in the federal public service. 

The era of no schedule for public servants will be over, as the PMS emphasizes Key Result Areas—general areas of output and results for which a particular job holder is accountable and whose performance is measured. 

Also, targets, timelines, competencies, and key performance indicators will be closely monitored for every civil servant once all MDAs go live on the Performance Management System.

The Ministry of Police Affairs is live on the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation’s platform, implying that every officer’s performance will be monitored digitally.  Officers in state Police Commands will soon follow.

Kudos to the newly appointed Permanent Secretary, Dr. Anuma Ogbonnaya Nlia, who is aggressively spearheading the PMS in the Ministry of Police Affairs with the support of the Honourable Minister, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam.

According to Dr. Anuma, “PMS has come to stay.” Without it, you will not be promoted. You have to key into PMS; it is not magic; it is a compulsory process for effective service delivery in the police ecosystem.

The PMS is a game changer, replacing the old Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APPER), which was abused by civil servants, both staff and supervisors, even though some did not have a schedule in the office or absconded and returned at the end of the year to fill out the APPER form.

The introduction of PMS enables individual staff in MDAs to have a schedule of duty, job description, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of tasks, an improvement plan, performance review, and appraisal.

There is no hidden plan for habitual absenteeism, hiding files, divulging secret information, or collaborating with saboteurs. Public servants will be monitored daily and rewarded for their performance.

Deliberate stalling of government policy will be reduced to a minimum, as those habitually tampering with the process will be easily identified and disciplined.

The inefficiency that bred corruption, nepotism, and low production in the system, ultimately affecting the delivery of democracy’s dividends to citizens and negatively impacting the perception of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria, will be a thing of the past.

The police ecosystem, especially the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), must brace itself for the current reality; business as usual is no longer acceptable.  Someone must be held accountable for systemic inefficiencies. The urgent need for transformation within our policing system requires the cooperation of police leadership, moving beyond the rhetoric that has characterized previous efforts.

PMS provides a crucial platform for collaboration, where the police ecosystem can deliberate on strategic approaches to improving workforce quality and professionalism at all levels, as well as the implementation of pending police services. The collective aim is to ensure rigorous monitoring mechanisms that guarantee the effective and efficient delivery of our statutory mandate within the police ecosystem.

Bolaji Oladimeji Kazeem is Deputy Director (Information and Public Relations Unit) at the Ministry of Police Affairs.