Richard Panton

Deputy Director-General for Training and Development
Liberia Institute for Public Administration
Focus Area(s): 
Civil Service
Critical Tasks: 
Training
Civil service recruitment
Performance management system
Interviewers: 
Summer Lopez
Country of Reform: 
Liberia
Town/City: 
Monrovia
Country: 
Liberia
Date of Interview: 
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Abstract 

Richard Panton describes the role he played in public sector reform in Liberia. Before the civil war, he explains, civil servants were adequate and well trained. But they began to take jobs in the private sector, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations after the war, leading to a decline in the public sector’s capacity. Also, due to transitional arrangements, recruiters did not consider education and professionalism when selecting public workers. Reform was necessary to resolve capacity issues. The Civil Service Agency was in charge of selection and recruitment, payroll and age structure, and promotion systems. The Liberia Institute of Public Administration designed a curriculum for training existing public workers. Panton was involved in designing and facilitating training programs in records management, project planning and management, human resource management, strategic management, and financial management. According to him, some of the challenges included a shortage of training equipment, budget delays and inadequate specialists in human resource management.  

Full Interview: 
73 MB
Richard Panton - Full Interview
Profile: 

At the time of this interview, Richard Panton was the deputy director-general for training and development at the Liberia Institute for Public Administration. He joined LIPA in 1998 as a special assistant to the director-general. He was also a trainer of the African Management Development Institute Network and an instructor of public administration and management at the University of Liberia and United Methodist University. Panton joined the government as a cadet in 1985 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He worked in the Office of the Deputy Minister for Administration. He later moved to the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor concentration in political science from the University of Liberia and a master’s in development management from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.  

Language: 
English
Nationality of Interviewee: 
Liberian
No
Richard Panton
B
4
Keywords 
civil service commission
payroll
training
capacity building
depoliticization
promotion
recruitment
downsizing
merit pay
job description
budgeting
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