Private office concept for ministries
The government is piloting an initiative to introduce the concept of private office to be attached to all ministries.
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The private office concept, which is popular in the United Kingdom (UK) and some African countries, seeks to attach well-versed civil servants to the various ministers to enable the ministers to perform their duties effectively and efficiently.
“The private secretary is somebody in the ministry who has comprehensive knowledge of the ministry in terms of its mandate, objectives and delivery, such that when a memo or any document emanates from the minister, it is exactly what the minister intends,” the Secretary to the Cabinet, Mr Roger Angsomwine, disclosed to journalists in Accra.
Roundtable
He was briefing the journalists at the ongoing second roundtable meeting for cabinet secretaries from Africa, who are in Accra to share knowledge and adopt best practices to the benefit of their respective governments. It is being attended by over 50 cabinet secretaries and senior cabinet officers in Africa.
Capacity of private secretary
Mr Angsomwine explained that the position of such an officer would be a director, who is expected to have served as a civil servant for at least 15 years. Such a person is supposed to have an in-depth knowledge of a particular ministry.
“A private secretary is not going to be like any of these secretaries we see sitting behind desks and typing. He or she is going to be a director, who will have in-depth knowledge of all the work that is going on at every unit and division of the ministry so that if there is any correspondence, he or she can respond on behalf of the minister,” he explained.
Mr Angsomwine further said the position of a private secretary would be different from that of a special assistant, indicating that while the former was a public servant, the latter was a political appointee.
He, however, gave an assurance that the role of the private secretary would not conflict with that of the office secretary because the roles of the two officers would be distinct.
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Pilot
The piloting exercise, which begins with the Ministry of Health, is being funded by the Department for International Development ( DFID) of the UK.
The Network
Touching on the formation of the African Cabinet Government Network (ACGN), the cabinet secretary explained that it was an initiative formed last year at Addis Ababa as a result of a collaboration among government secretaries in Africa to share experiences and ideas.