The staff of the Policy Studies Institute discussed the new civil service reform at the Capital Hotel and Spa on June 25, 2024. During the discussion among the staff, H.E. Prof. Beyene Petros, the Director General of the Policy Studies Institute, explained that the purpose of the meeting was to inform the staff about the civil service reform.
H.E. Prof. Beyene explained that the meeting had three main objectives. The first was to provide a general overview of the reform derived from the Homegrown Economic Reform II. H.E. Prof. Beyene explained that the reform had three main phases: preparation, implementation, and evaluation and innovation.
When asked about the reasons for this reform, as the institute had recently been reformed, Prof. Beyene replied that there were dynamic changes globally and regionally, which the government was adapting to. The reform had, therefore, been designed with this in mind.
H.E. Prof. Beyene Petros, Director Genral of PSI
Prof. Beyene explained that the second purpose of the meeting was to invite staff to ask questions and make suggestions following the presentation of the civil service reform. He also stated that he would also report on the latest developments regarding the Institute's building and other credinitial issues.
Prof. Beyene explained that after the onset of the the new civil service reform, the Institute had participated in various meetings with the Civil Service Commission and the Ministry of Planning and Development. Following these consultations, the Institute set up a six-member committee: Dr. Girma Teshome, Dr. Netsanet Jote, Dr. Adane Kassie, Mrs. Sara Lakew, Mr. Molla Abrha, and Mr. Mebrhatu.
Prof. Beyene explained that this task force had prepared a document on the reform and presented it to the management of the institute, and today's presentation by the committee was the result of this continuous discussion. Prof. Beyene appreciated the technical committee for drafting the document and explained that various sub-committees would be set up under the main technical committee.
Regarding the Institute’s building, Prof. Beyene pointed out that the government had given the present building to PSI decades ago. In this context, the institute has invested a lot of money and remodeled the current building to serve for the next 15 years and to make it fit for a standard research institute.
Prof. Beyene also pointed out that the Ministry of Transport and Logistics has repeatedly claimed that the building belongs to the Ministry and has asked PSI to vacate the premises. Prof. Beyene said there had been constant discussions on the matter and that government officials were in discussion on the ownership of the building.
Next, Prof. Beyene said recently we were orally asked to leave our office by a government body. Prof. Beyene added we are not convinced by this decision and we are still trying to explain our reasons. Prof. Beyene explained that leaving this office building, which was designed for research purposes, would set the institute back 20 years as it is very difficult to create such infrastructure again. Prof. Beyene explained that that the institute would continue to explain the matter to higher government officials.
Next,Prof. Beyene raised issues related to the institute's staff who obtained their masters and doctorate degrees from foreign universities. He said the Civil Service Commission had recently asked PSI staff who obtained their postgraduate degrees abroad to bring a letter of equivalence for their degrees from the FDRE Education and Training Authority.
H.E. Ato Tefrie Tiyaru, Deputy Director General of PSI
Prof. Beyene explained that some of the PSI staff were also unable to produce their credentials from their institute to the PSI’s human resources department. Some of the staff were also unable to produce the letter of equivalence while others had tried to do so. Prof. Beyene said the staff of the institute had raised many concerns regarding the submission of their degrees and letter of equivalence.
Prof. Beyene said the Institute had formally requested the Civil Service Commission to give the staff some time to submit their credentials and letter of equivalence and they were expecting a positive response from the Commission. He advised the staff to take care of their documents in the meantime.
Next, Dr. Girma Teshome, the Chairperson of the Institute's New Civil Service Reform Task Force, presented the salient points of the reform. He explained that the PSI was established by Proclamation 1263/2014 and Regulation 436/2016. He also mentioned the strengths and limitations of the Institute. Dr. Girma stated that the Institute has published many high-level research reports and that its strong national and global partnerships with various organizations were highlighted as strengths.
Dr. Girma noted that public service is changing both globally and in the Ethiopian context. We are now living in the age of artificial intelligence and therefore our public service should be adapted to today's realities around the world. Dr. Girma mentioned that the civil service in Ethiopia was introduced in 1990 and has gone through various stages of development from 1990 to date.
Dr. Girma also described the current state of the civil service in Ethiopia, explaining that although the civil service in Ethiopia has a history of more than 100 years, it is not comparable to century-old systems. He said that the civil service has many problems that have been inherited from different regimes. He said a clear policy and strategy are needed to solve this problem.
Dr. Girma also mentioned the objective of HIGER II, which is to establish macroeconomics, improve investment and trade, increase sectoral efficiency and productivity, and promote public sector reform.
Furthermore, Dr. Girma explained in detail that public sector reform rationale such as lack of impartiality and independence, lack of institutional reforms, lack of qualified public servants, lack of customer satisfaction, lack of result-oriented activities and insufficient data on human resources. He explained that the government is currently in the process of adopting a new policy and strategy for the civil service and outlined the various steps involved such as identifying problems related to the civil service, analyzing the global context, identifying key issues, conducting assessments in all regions and cities and conducting workshops with stakeholders to draft this policy.
Dr. Girma Teshome also said that the new reform has seven strategic pillars. These are: strengthening the structural and organizational arrangement within the institute, ensuring staff competency, promoting diversity and inclusion, building impartial and independent service delivery, providing efficient and accessible services, disseminating digital services and building pragmatic leaders and institutions.
Dr. Girma also said that the reform will take place in three phases: Preparation, which will take 12 months; Implementation, which will take 18 months; and Evaluation and Innovation, which will take 6 months. He mentioned the federal and regional institutions participating in the pilot projects of waves 1, 2 and 3.
Dr. Girma also explained that the aim of the reform in terms of PSI is to create a public servant who is competent both professionally and behaviorally and ultimately support the development of the country. He also discussed the core values underpinning the reform such as discipline, participation, accountability, strong follow-up and a sense of belonging.
Dr. Girma also discussed the key actions taken under the reform in terms of policy research studies and analysis, administrative works, ensuring professional and behavioral competence of staff, diversity and inclusion issues, building an independent and impartial civil service, mainstreaming an efficient and accessible civil service and building pragmatic leaders and institutions.
Dr. Girma also touched on the various teams that have been established at PSI to help implement the reform, such as the Structure and Guidelines Preparation Team, the Capacity and Standards Development Team, the Performance Evaluation Team, the Ergonomics, Procurement and Property Management Team, the Strategic Plan and Benchmarking Team, the Service Taxonomy Preparation Team and the HR Team.
Dr. Girma concluded by explaining the main tasks of the main technical taskforce and the total amount of budget for the implementation of this plan. He said the Prime Minister's Office has set up a special result tracking and management system to track the progress of each organization's reform activities. He explained that PSI must adhere to this digital template in its reform.
Following Dr. Girma's presentation, the staff asked various questions about the Institute's claim to the building, the reform, and the staff's credentials and letter of equivalence issues. Almost all the staff of the institute, including the management, stated that leaving the building would be tantamount to backtrack the institute as the institute had invested a lot to utilize the building for research purposes.
The staff stated that it would even take two decades to install the necessary research-related infrastructure if the institute was to leave this building and move to another location.The staff unanimously called on the Institute's management to discuss the matter with the government representatives for further consideration. They pointed out that if the government decided to leave us the building, it would be a waste to install new infrastructure in a new location, which would take years. This also means that the institute would not function well in the new building in the new environment in the coming years. The staff also emphasized that any direction to leave the building must be formal and in writing. A verbal instruction would not be lawful under any circumstances.
With regard to the credentials and letter of equivalence, the staff asked the Institute's officials to inform to the Civil Service Commission for an extension of time. The staff also wondered how they could prepare the reform implementation document without the government having approved the civil service reform policy. The staff, however, expressed their support for the intention of the reform.
Finally, the staff discussed at length the civil service reform presented by Dr. Girma Teshome. They expressed several key concerns, including the potential loss of the Institute building, the need for formal written notice of any relocation, and the lack of an overarching policy for civil service reform to guide implementation. While staff were supportive of the intentions behind the reform, they also highlighted the practical problems that would arise in implementation if there was not clarity on certain critical issues. Overall, the discussion highlighted the importance of transparent communication and coordination between the government initiatives and the concerns of individual public sector organizations to ensure smooth and effective implementation of the reform.