National Productivity Centre Partners Enugu Govt to Train Public Servants

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

The National Productivity Centre has partnered the Enugu State Government to build the capacity of public servants across ministries, departments and agencies in the state for enhanced productivity.

Speaking during the opening of a three-day capacity building workshop organised by the Enugu State Ministry of Labour and Employment in collaboration with the productivity centre, its Director-General, Baffa Agundi, said that improving productivity in the public sector is pivotal for ensuring efficient and effective service delivery.

Agundi, represented by the Director of Productivity and Capacity Building at the centre, Titi Lola, recalled that the centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Enugu State Ministry of Labour on the 12th July 2024 in its bid to improve productivity in the state.

“The purpose of the MOU is to build the momentum for change through a holistic capacity building programme since no organization, institution or nation can fare better than the quality of the human resource in terms of their ability to create, innovate, add value and generate wealth,” he said.

He noted that the centre was currently working on the Productivity Linked Wage System which is geared towards linking the wage of workers to productivity, adding that it was also involved in the development of a Performance Management System (PMS).

In his address, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State said his administration remains committed to creating a dynamic and responsible public service that is capable of meeting the evolving needs of the citizens while still developing the state.

Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Chidiebere Onyia, noted the training is one of the key ways of tracking performance, adding that skills and competence of every workforce determines to a very large extent how far a state can go in achieving its objectives.

He said: “The public service is the backbone of government, especially in Enugu state where we have resolved to grow the economy and become the preferred destination for investors. This can only be achieved when public servants in the state are productive.”

On his part, the Enugu State Commissioner for Labour and Employment, Chika Ugwuoke, said that the workshop was targeted at permanent secretaries, directors and administrators at the local government level who will in turn step down the knowledge gained to other workers.