Introduction - UNDP The Gambia

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higher echelons was introduced in Ghana and
Uganda, through a “high–flyer
scheme.” Under this scheme, young officers
who are deemed to have the potential are
being given specialised training to enable
them to maximise their potential and
strengthen the capacity of the civil service
through accelerated promotion, if they are
able to demonstrate their worth.
In Ghana, in 2001, 50 officers were attached
to private organisations such as Unilever
Mobil Ghana Limited, Social Security and
National Insurance Trust and Home Finance
Company to expose them to the way jobs are
executed and programmes managed in the
private sector.
the monitoring of training, study leave,
retirement, end of contractual obligations and
enforcement of bonding.
2.6.2 Effective Management of the
Training Function
In spite of the existence of several
instruments and organs, including Personnel
Policy, Training Policy, Training Advisory
Council and Training committees, the training
function in the civil service continues to be
disjointed, ad-hoc, and un-coordinated.
Training is generally not preceded by a
systematic identification of specific and clear
training needs, and the completion of training
is not followed by an evaluation of training
benefits.
The adoption of a high-flyer scheme in the
Gambian public service will enhance career
development, performance and productivity.
4 Decentralisation of Promotion Systems
Like many other African civil service
commissions, the Public Service Commission
in The Gambia lacks the capacity to
substantially improve efficiency and
discipline in the public service through
sanctions and rewards. The commission does
not have the managers, equipment and other
resources essential for maintaining records
and for monitoring the activities of personnel,
with the result that:
• promotions and appointments are
delayed due to protracted bureaucratic
processes
• bonding requirements of trainees are not
generally fulfilled and enforced
• performance of technical assistance
personnel is not generally monitored
• counterpart staff are seldom provided on
a sustained basis
• remuneration and staff development
policies are not streamlined and
coordinated, and ad-hoc measures
become the order of the day.
To minimise these problems, several African
countries have delegated recruitment and
promotion to departmental/ministerial/civil
service councils, thereby reducing delays in
promotions and recruitment, and facilitating
The result is that training does not guarantee
value for money and very often is perceived
as an opportunity for facilitating the pursuit
of greener pastures. This is why technical
assistants provided to government agencies
do not usually have any regular counterparts.
Also the investment of resources in training
by development partners has not significantly
enhanced capacity in the civil service.
Some of the local training institutions are
under-utilised. There is also a pressing need
for institutional renewal and revamping of
programmes to ensure relevance, costeffectiveness
and sustainability.
Utilisation of Other Trainees Through
Bonding and Schemes: Although a bonding
scheme exists in the civil service
administered by the PMO, effective
enforcement has remained a major
problem. In theory, civil servants whose
training programmes lead to professional or
degree qualifications and funded by
Government are required to sign a bond and
to provide two guarantors who are required to
meet certain eligibility criteria.
Cases of violations of bonds are abundant in
the civil service, and there have been very
few cases when the Attorney General’s
Chambers resorted to legal action to enforce
the requirements of a bond. As a result, many
civil servants who have been trained by
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Building Capacity for the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in The Gambia National Human Development Report 2005
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