• GIMPA gets a boost of USD 3 million for second phase of the Public Sector Management Training Program (PSMTP)
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) on 30th January 2012 signed a Grant Agreement of USD 3 million for the implementation of the second phase of the Public Sector Management Training Program (PSMTP). Phase II of the program will focus on strengthening the program to meet the current public sector needs and emerging development challenges, including strengthening regional partner Institutes focusing on Public Administration in The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In 2003, recognizing the need to strengthen the skills required for effective public sector management in Africa. ACBF carried out a study, which revealed that certain critical roles were required in order to respond effectively to the continent's economic, political and social reforms. The PSMTP was launched in 2006, with ACBF support and is currently being delivered by four institutions of higher learning in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are: the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) located in Accra, Ghana; the Africa University, in Mutare, Zimbabwe; the Ecole Nationale d'Administration and Université Omar Bongo, in Libreville Gabon; and the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, in Dakar, Senegal.
The Public Sector Management Training Program provides an intensive, 12 month, full-time training programme, leading to a Master's Degree in Public Sector Management (MPSM).The programme addresses the critical need for highly trained managers who are able to respond to the increasingly complex demands of implementing new and emerging development frameworks, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These new realities have resulted in the need to reform not only the public sectors of African countries, but more fundamentally, the approach to public sector management.
Speaking at the GIMPA Grant Agreement signing ceremony, Dr. Frannie Leautier, ACBF Executive Secretary highlighted that this phase of the program comes at an auspicious time as the Foundation begins to implement its Third Medium Term Strategic Plan (SMTP III), in January 2012, and that public sector will remain a key partner in the delivery of effective results.
"ACBF is acutely aware that organizational capacity as measured by processes for implementation and the ability to generate development results remains an important gap in public sector institutions. Addressing this gap is important in order to make a significant contribution to the socioeconomic growth of effective states, she said, adding, 'This is where the PSMTP program plays a pivotal role through its uniqueness, by balancing both the academic and professional training of public servants. Phase II of this project will delve deeper into the development of the curriculum in order to meet the needs of the targeted countries in Africa. The peer-to-peer learning design and the fact that participants tackle real problems in the work place make this program uniquely positioned for discovery and innovation which is sorely needed in the public sector. PSMTP/ GIMPA has achieved some great results, having graduated 5 cohorts of participants. It has provided academic and professional training to 194 senior public servants form Anglophone West Africa and of these 147 participants received scholarships from ACBF. The remaining 47 studied on a fee paying basis, providing proof that even such programs can have demand-driven and sustainability elements embedded in them."
Addressing the gathering, Professor Yaw Agyeman Badu, Rector of GIMPA stated that, 'Today is another great day in the annals of GIMPA. In the course of the year that we celebrate our 50th anniversary as an institution, it is with great pride that we sign this agreement today to continue to build the capacity of the public sector on Anglophone West Africa. As a public administrator, I have been arguing the point that Ghana and Africa can achieve sustained economic development if only we build that capacity of the public sector for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. Sustained development without efficient and effective public sector is impossible. It has never happened anywhere in history and it is not going to happen in Africa'
ACBF has eight national and regional interventions in Ghana. These are the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), the Institute for Democratic Governance Interface Capacity Building Project (IDEG-CAP), the Country Level Knowledge Network (CLKNET) / EGN, the Economic Policy Management Program, the Public Sector Management Training Program (PSMTP), the Association of African Universities (AAU), the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) and the West Africa Monetary Institution (WAMI). ACBF's total investment in capacity development in Ghana since 1992 is USD 31,730,000.
About the African Capacity Building Foundation
ACBF was established in February 1991. It is the outcome of collaboration between African governments and the international donor community. Its mission is to build sustainable human and institutional capacity for sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Africa. ACBF's vision is for Africa to be recognized for its socio-political and economic capabilities and endowments – a continent with effective institutions and policies acquired through sustained investment in people and institutions. The Foundation aims to become a leader, major partner, and centre of excellence for capacity building in Africa.
The African Union currently serves as an Observer on the ACBF Board of Governors.
For further information on ACBF, please contact:
a.mpunzwana@acbf-pact.org
b.kone@acbf-pact.org
African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
PO Box 1562, Harare
ZIMBABWE
Tel: + 263 4 700208/210
