In an effort to strengthen good governance across the country, the Governance Commission (GC) has signed a landmark tripartite agreement with the Civil Service Agency (CSA) and the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA).
The signing ceremony took place on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism.
The agreement aims to foster reforms in the public sector to enhance performance.
Giving the overview and background of the MOU, the Acting Chair of the Governance Commission, Prof. Alaric Tokpa stated that public sector reform in Liberia has become an international concern and a domestic demand that must be carried out with utmost seriousness.
He maintained that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the three institutions result from several months of consultation on the need to deliberately, persistently, and consistently stands together and work with other stakeholders to pursue public sector and civil service reforms in Liberia.
Acting Chairman Tokpa further stated that, while it is true that there has been no formal agreement for cooperation in the past years, the working relationship among the CSA, LIPA, and the GC have been at all-time strong but experienced challenges during the past six years.
"Understanding the crucial nature of such a relationship for public and civil service reform, national capacity building, and socioeconomic development, we have resolved to revive the Tripod, the tripartite arrangement among the three institutions of government, Prof. Tokpa disclosed."
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Meanwhile, the three government entities have also agreed to set up a Technical Working Group (TWG) tasked with ensuring the successful implementation of the MOU, as elaborated in its Terms of Reference (TOR).
Also speaking, the Director General of the CSA, Josiah Joekai, reminded citizens that the public service needs improvement, and working together under the tripartite arrangement is critical to meeting the objectives of the MOU and tremendously increasing productivity across the government. "I want to assure you of our commitment to the terms of the MoU, and as Co-Chair of this arrangement, we will provide the required leadership," Hon. Joekai indicated.
For his part, the Director General of LIPA, Nee-Alah Varpillah, welcomed the signing of the MOU. He said the agreement is a big step for the government and stressed the need for teamwork to make government policies work better. He added that his institute will be a focal point for coordinating training programs and capacity-building activities.
According to the parties, the MOU will work to achieve the Arrest Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID).
The Governance Commission is the chair of the tripod; the CSA serves as co-chair, while the Liberia Institute of Public Administration (LIPA) heads the secretariat of the framework agreement and provides administrative and logistical support to the Technical Working Group.
Commissioners Stanley Kparklin, D. Karn Carlor, Joyce Tarpeh, and Vice Chair Madam Sianeh Juah, all of the Governance Commission, witnessed the signing ceremony.
