South Sudan welcomes IGAD capacity building initiative
March 29, 2012 (JUBA) – As newly independent South Sudan embarks on post-war recovery efforts, East African regional body IGAD has launched an initiative aimed at strengthening capacity building in the country’s public service.
Under the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) joint programme with the Government of South Sudan, which started late last year, 200 highly skilled and experienced public servants from Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia provide support to South Sudan’s nascent civil service.
The officials, known as Civil Service Support Officers (CSSOs) have been strategically deployed in various government ministries and commissions, both at the central and state levels, according to the public service ministry. The CSSOs are “twinned” with South Sudanese civil servants to ensure the direct transfer of skills and on-the-job mentoring.
“The IGAD initiative is a trendsetter for new forms of south-south cooperation. We are proud to be a part of it”, Angeth Acol de Dut, the Undersecretary for South Sudan’s Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource said.
The programme is being supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), IGAD member states, and the Norwegian government.
“We are confident that the delivery of public services to the people of South Sudan will greatly be improved,” Dut said.
This strategy, she contends, goes beyond enhancing the skills of individuals, but rather aims to build the organisational systems of government and create an environment where policy can be effectively implemented.
Currently, there are 138 CSSOs deployed across 15 ministries in South Sudan: 54 are from Ethiopia, 46 are from Kenya and 38 are from Uganda. The remaining 62 CSSOs are expected to come from, Ethiopia (6), Kenya (34) and Uganda (22), courtesy of funding provided by the Norwegian government channelled through UNDP.
Established in 1986, IGAD started as a medium to combat drought In East Africa and has evolved into a regular forum where member countries discuss and tackle political and socioeconomic issues in the region. IGAD played a key role in the peace talks that led to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Sudan’s government and the SPLM/A, southern rebels who now form the government and army of South Sudan after it seceded last year as part of the deal.
Last year, the government of South Sudan, in partnership with the African Development Bank (AFDB), launched a curriculum vitae registry to help those who may be seeking employment opportunities in the country. As part of the process, all CVs submitted through the registry would then be reviewed by the public service ministry and later matched with appropriate job openings within the public sector, where available.
The world’s newest nation recently launched the much-hyped South Sudan Development Plan (SSDP), but requires a skilled and dedicated workforce in order to effectively implement this national development plan and other goals effectively.
(ST)