technical assistance

Harold Jonathan Monger

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ZF
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
2
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Yoni Friedman
Name
Harold Jonathan Monger
Interviewee's Organization
Liberian Institute of Public Administration
Language
English
Town/City
Monrovia
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In this interview, based on his experiences at the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA), Harold Jonathan Monger explains the challenges involved in institutionalizing capacity building. LIPA is an internal consulting and civil service trainer entity. Monger discusses the budgeting problems in equipping the institute to be able to provide better training and to improve the marketing of its services to government agencies. He also details LIPA’s changing relationships with other internal and external capacity-building consultants such as the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program and IBI International, both of which have also played significant roles in the designs of certification trainings and civil service workshops. Finally, Monger draws from his extensive experience to comment on what he says are the main obstacles to improving governance in Liberia. He recommends establishing formal, uniform systems and procedures and improving communication and collaboration between agencies to avoid duplication.

Profile

At the time of this interview, Harold Jonathan Monger was director general of the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA). He has a bachelor of science from Liberia’s Cuttington University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. And he has extensive public- and private-sector experience in civil-service capacity building, having been with both the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund as well as a Ghanaian consulting company. He has been at LIPA since 2004.

Selina Mkony

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E
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
6
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Andrew Schalkwyk
Name
Selina Mkony
Interviewee's Position
Program Coordinator
Interviewee's Organization
Public Service Management Office, Tanzania
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Tanzanian
Town/City
Dar es Salaam
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Selina Mkony draws upon her extensive experience to discuss the goals of reform in Tanzania and some of the related challenges and issues. She describes the procedures and standards used in the system of recruitment and how this changed over the period of the reform program. She lists some of the criteria used in promotions, including things like seniority, education, skills, and performance management. She underscores the government efforts to move away from nepotism and toward greater transparency in hiring. She also describes the process of and challenges facing performance management and evaluation. Mkony characterizes the sequencing and management of the reform process and relates how the reform process fits in with the goals of streamlining government. She highlights the importance of leadership in controlling and managing reforms. She also touches upon a number of other aspects of civil service reform, including the organizational structure of the civil service, pay policy, training programs, and capacity building. She describes the retrenchment process in the 1990s, ways the government has improved the working environment in order to retain quality people, and the importance of local cultural divisions or language differences and how they impact service delivery.    

Profile

At the time of this interview, Selina Mkony was program coordinator at the Public Service Management Office in Tanzania. She joined the Civil Service Department in 1994 as an accountant and was later assigned administrative duties as well. The Civil Service Reform Program lasted from 1994 to 1998, when a new program was developed to focus on institution performance management systems and making the public service efficient. She continued on as an accountant and administrator before a new phase began in 2007. At that time, she became the program coordinator. 

Full Audio File Size
73 MB
Full Audio Title
Selina Mkony - Full Interview

Japhet Hasunga

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E
Focus Area(s)
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3
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Andrew Schalkwyk
Name
Japhet Hasunga
Interviewee's Position
Director and Deputy Principal
Interviewee's Organization
Tanzania Public Service College
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Tanzanian
Town/City
Dar es Salaam
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Japhet Hasunga describes the functions, course offerings, instructional procedures and training evaluations conducted by the Tanzania Public Service College, which was formed in 2000 when the government amalgamated two older training institutions.  He discusses the short-term and long-term courses provided and reports that training is about equally split between the public service and the private sector.  He says private-sector training is funded by employers and other sponsors.  Some long-term trainees are sent to other countries for advanced education.  The college collaborates with training institutions in other countries as well.  He says that the public and many civil servants still do not understand the importance of civil service reform even though its main objective is to improve service delivery.  He points out that training is hampered by both the lack of funds and inadequate facilities.
Profile

At the time of this interview, Japhet Hasunga was the director and deputy principal of the Tanzania Public Service College.  Earlier, he served for five years as director of finance and administration at the college.  Prior to joining the college administration, he worked for six years at the National Social Security Fund.

Full Audio File Size
44 MB
Full Audio Title
Japhet Hasunga - Full Interview

Charles Sokile

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E
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
12
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Andrew Schalkwyk
Name
Charles Sokile
Interviewee's Position
Public Sector Adviser
Interviewee's Organization
U.K. Department for International Development
Language
English
Town/City
Dar es Salaam
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Charles Sokile recounts DFID’s role in financing and advising the Public Sector Reform Program in Tanzania. He describes some of the challenges faced in the first two phases of reform, including issues of harmonization, capacity, and linkages between the reforms and the President’s Office. He notes that the government made progress in attaining milestones it set for itself. Tanzania, in his opinion, was very successful in sustaining reforms. Sokile goes into detail about a number of elements of reform, including merit recruitment and promotions, performance and quality cycle management, and pay policy. He points out that the notion of pay policy has a lot to do with the compression and decompression of the pay ratios and challenges involved in getting these ratios correct. He discusses two major initiatives designed to use pay policy to attract civil servants to underserved areas and how the government has changed its policy with regard to allowances. He provides general thoughts on how the public has reacted to changes in pay for civil servants and details some of the pressures with regards to the total wage bill. He concludes by highlighting the importance of coordinating reforms and political awareness.
Profile

At the time of this interview, Charles Sokile was the public sector adviser for the Tanzania office of the U.K.'s Department for International Development.

Full Audio File Size
43 MB
Full Audio Title
Charles Sokile - Full Interview

John Kiyaga-Nsubuga

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F
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
4
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Andrew Schalkwyk
Name
John Kiyaga-Nsubuga
Interviewee's Position
Director General
Interviewee's Organization
Uganda Management Institute
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Ugandan
Town/City
Kampala
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
Yes
Abstract
John Kiyaga-Nsubuga, director of the Uganda Management Institute, talks about his experiences evaluating public sector reform and training civil service employees.  He gives a brief history of civil service reform in Uganda, touching on the motivations behind specific reforms and the difficulties of donor-driven reform.  He also outlines the problems of a lack of internal government coordination on reforms.  Kiyaga-Nsubuga then details his system for measuring reforms and the results of his work evaluating the Public Service Reform Programme.  He explains the programs the Uganda Management Institute offers to train civil service employees and discusses the problem of better-trained employees leaving for jobs in the private sector.  Kiyaga-Nsubuga also discusses the need for public service to provide more and better infrastructure as Uganda urbanizes, and the difficulties and successes of putting long-term reforms in place.

 

Profile

At the time of this interview, John Kiyaga-Nsubuga was director general of the Uganda Management Institute.  He served as deputy director of the institute from 2000 to 2004.  From 1998 to 1999, Kiyaga-Nsubuga was chief of the Training and Staff Development Division of the Uganda Ministry of Local Government.  He also worked as a lecturer in political science at Makerere University and an adjunct professor of political science at the University of Toronto.  He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy from Makerere University in Uganda, a master of philosophy in international relations from Cambridge University, and a doctorate in political science from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Full Audio File Size
80 MB
Full Audio Title
John Kiyaga-Nsubuga - Full Interview

George Yambesi

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E
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
15
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Andrew Schalkwyk
Name
George Yambesi
Interviewee's Position
Permanent Secretary, Public Service Management
Interviewee's Organization
President's Office, Tanzania
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Tanzanian
Town/City
Dar es Salaam
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

George Yambesi draws upon his experience in the President’s Office for Public Service Management to trace the history of civil service reform in Tanzania.  He describes some of the challenges and goals involved in implementing reforms. The major theme of these reforms has been improving performance results and accountability.  Within this, there has been a focus on policy development, systems for appraising performance, improving human resource management, and leadership development.  Yambesi notes that one of the main motivations for reform was a public outcry for better services.  He goes into great detail about retrenchment and staff size, delineating specific goals set and the methods used in achieving those goals.  He also describes changes to pay policies, performance management systems, and in the promotion and recruitment systems at some length.  He speaks about the effect of the shift from secretive to open performance evaluations and stresses the importance of strategic thinking as the basis for annual plans and budgets.  He also discusses training programs and capacity building.  Finally, while he acknowledges the role played by international donors in establishing the reform agenda, he maintains that the reform agenda was driven largely by Tanzania itself.

Case Study:  Creating an Affordable Public Service: Tanzania, 1995-1998

Profile

At the time of this interview, George Yambesi was the permanent secretary in the President’s Office for Public Service Management in Tanzania.  His involvement with the reform program in Tanzania began in 1993.  He joined the program as a national expert on redeployment and subsequently worked as a national expert on capacity building for ministries, departments, agencies and other institutions.  He then served as director of policy development, responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Public Service Reform Program in Tanzania.  Immediately before being named permanent secretary, he served as deputy permanent secretary. 

Full Audio File Size
67 MB
Full Audio Title
George Yambesi - Full Interview

Jane Mwesiga

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F
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
7
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Andrew Schalkwyk
Name
Jane Mwesiga
Interviewee's Position
Commissioner of Human Resources Development
Interviewee's Organization
Uganda Ministry of Public Service
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Ugandan
Town/City
Kampala
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Jane Mwesiga discusses capacity development efforts to improve human resources within the Ugandan public service.  She explains the major challenges Uganda faced in implementing public sector reforms, specifically the need for greater focus on the capacity of individuals carrying out reforms.  She discusses pay-reform strategy and the difficulty of motivating public servants with low salaries.  She outlines the long-term goals of reform for Uganda, specifically a review and restructuring across ministries to remove job duplication.  Mwesiga also explains efforts to reduce the pay gap between levels of public service employees.  Finally, she details the use of results-oriented management systems within the public service to continually evaluate performance, and she also explains the challenges of using that system.
Profile

At the time of this interview, Jane Mwesiga was the commissioner of human resources development at the Ministry of Public Service in Uganda.  She previously served as the assistant commissioner for human resource development.  She also served as assistant commissioner for human resource management – policy and procedures.

Full Audio File Size
34 MB
Full Audio Title
Jane Mwesiga - Full Interview

Robert Pakpahan

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K
Focus Area(s)
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3
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Andrew Schalkwyk
Name
Robert Pakpahan
Interviewee's Position
Director of Business Processes Transformation
Interviewee's Organization
Directorate General of Taxes, Indonesia
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Indonesian
Place (Building/Street)
Ministry of Finance
Town/City
Jakarta
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Robert Pakpahan discusses administrative, bureaucratic and technological reforms in the Directorate General of Taxes in Indonesia since 2002. These reforms aimed to increase government revenue by eradicating corruption and expanding the tax net. He discusses the piecemeal modernization of the directorate general, including pay reform, improved monitoring of corruption through increased use of technology, the establishment of standard operating procedures, careful selection of employees, and standard mechanisms for promotions. Pakpahan also discusses obstacles including the maintenance of a current and accurate taxpayer database, bureaucratic resistance, lack of freedom in hiring decisions, and leadership.
 
Profile
At the time of this interview, Robert Pakpahan, who holds a doctoral degree, was the director of business processes transformation at the Directorate General of Taxes in Indonesia. He worked in this capacity since 2006 to improve Indonesia's tax collection mechanism.
Full Audio File Size
37 MB
Full Audio Title
Pakpahan Interview

Rajeev Chawla

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T
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
1
Country of Reform
Interviewers
David Hausman
Name
Rajeev Chawla
Interviewee's Position
Managing Director
Interviewee's Organization
Karnatka State Cooperative Marketing Federation, India
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Indian
Town/City
Bangalore
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Rajeev Chawla details the process the Indian state of Karnataka went through in digitizing its rural land records system through a system called Bhoomi and in promoting electronic government. He explains the successes and challenges the state government faced in training staff to undertake the digitization and in creating a statewide technological infrastructure to accommodate it. Chawla discusses the successes of the system in reducing corruption, increasing oversight, and increasing citizen access to electronic governance through integrated service centers and remote telecenters.
 
Profile

At the time of this interview, Rajeev Chawla was the managing director of the Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation in India. From 2003 to 2007 he held the position of Special Secretary of Bhoomi, the government’s largest and highly successfully e-governance project, digitizing and computerizing access to rural land records. He won a number of national and international awards for the project. Chawla designed and began implementation of the project as joint secretary of revenue for the State of Karnataka, a position he held from 1998 to 2003. Chawla was also commissioner of service, settlement, and land records from 2008 to 2010. He was a member of the Indian Administrative Service for over two decades. Chawla earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in 1984.

Full Audio File Size
118MB
Full Audio Title
Rajeev Chawla Interview

Henry Samacá Prieto

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J
Ref Batch Number
14
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Matthew Devlin
Name
Henry Samacá Prieto
Interviewee's Position
Coordinator for Economic Development
Interviewee's Organization
Plan de Consolidación Integral de la Macarena
Language
Spanish with English Consecutive Translation
Nationality of Interviewee
Colombian
Town/City
Bogotá
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Henry Samacá Prieto, the coordinator for economic development for Plan de Consolidación Integral de la Macarena (Plan for the Integrated Consolidation of the Macarena), discusses Colombian efforts to spur economic growth in Colombia’s six municipalities in Macarena. He begins by discussing the problems related to the growth of coca crops in Colombia, and efforts to redirect agricultural economic activity in ways that are conducive to economic growth. The first project aimed to provide in kind nutritional aid to rural families, along with assisting them in providing food through the farm. The second program aimed to assist farmers by providing them with capital in the form of equipment and agricultural raw materials. The last project provided guidance, technical assistance, microcredit, and governmental support for rural communities to economically reintegrate with the rest of Colombia. he also discusses the role of capital accumulation, livestock, credit, and training in encouraging economic development. Lastly, he discusses the role, and the shortcomings, of the Banco Agrario de Colombia (Agricultural Bank of Colombia) in allowing rural communities to achieve economic prosperity.
Profile

At the time of the interview, Henry Samacá Prieto was employed as the coordinator for economic development for Plan de Consolidación Integral de la Macarena (Plan for the Integrated Consolidation of the Macarena), in Colombia. 

Full Audio File Size
93.5MB
Full Audio Title
Samaca Interview