“The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are worthy of congratulation for jointly organising this two-day workshop with PMO for the stakeholders on public service reform and institutional capacity development for the key stakeholders within the civil services sector across the country”. The were the words of PS Sallah who was speaking at closing ceremony of a two-day workshop held recently at the Corinth Atlantic Hotel in Banjul. The workshop was for the key stakeholders within the civil service sector across the country. He asserted that, “as public servants we have lot of work to do in terms of reforming the public services sector.” He said the public service capacity development board, at the first meeting, directed that a steering committee examine issues relating to its own terms of reference and the TOR of the capacity development adviser project manager including the manner of his or her recruitment.

Mr. Sallah therefore thanked the participants for their tireless effort despite their busy schedules to come and answer to their call and also thanked the Mr. Sallah at MDI, the principal co-ordinator of the workshop, for his tireless effort.“ No doubt the report from this workshop will perfect because a lot of experts attended this workshop including the staff from the PMO who knew the system of operation at PMO for years,” he said. The Director of MDI, Mr. Yusupha Dibba, who also at one time served as permanent Secretary at the personnel Management office, also attended the workshop and expressed similar sentiments.

A two-day seminar on the Public Service Reform and Institutional Capacity Development Project, wrapped up on Wednesday, at the Corinthia Atlantic Hotel, Banjul, with the adoption of a revised work plan to set the reform on course.

The seminar was organised by the Personnel Management Office in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The meeting brought together key stakeholders and donors.

Delivering a speech during the opening of the ceremony, Mr Omar G Sallah, the permanent secretary at the Personnel Management Office, who doubles as the project director, underscored the importance of the seminar to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the civil service reform programme.

Mr Sallah informed the participants that the project was conceived a year ago, following the government’s formulation of the Public Sector Reform Strategy Paper II and also told them that past administrative reforms were ad-hoc and the small successes achieved short-lived.

“In view of this situation and given the absence of a comprehensive approach to civil service reform, the government willingly undertook, with UNDP support in 1999, to design and implement a reform programme directed at public service management, as part of an overall six component national governance programme,” he said, adding that this was followed by the reactivation of the Capacity Building and Economic Management Project (CBEMP) in 2002 and the first Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) 2003 - 2005.

PS Sallah, who is also the chairman of the Management Development Institute's Board of Governors, said country assistance strategy process workshops were held in Banjul and Washington on civil service reform. These, according to Mr Sallah, were complemented by the ADB mission study in the same year, on the government profile, which provided baseline data on governance. The PMO boss noted that the issues highlighted in the data pointed to deficiencies in government capacity and effectiveness, which according to him, confirmed the need for comprehensive reform to enhance efficiency and effective service delivery.

Sallah observed that the essence of the strategy highlights the urgent need for equitable and sustainable policies to provide a cost effective retention strategy, salary and allowance reform, revised pension scheme, robust performance management system, comprehensive training strategy, effective succession planning mechanism, as well as a competent and efficient public service under the coordination and supervision of the PMO and the Public Service Commission (PSC).

As the attainment of the goals of the public sector reform strategy dovetails with the objectives of Vision 2020, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II and the Millenium Development Goals, Sallah indicated that the UNDP country office expressed interest to fund part of it.

“On the basis of this expression of interest, the UNDP Regional Bureau decided to initially allocate US$1.45 million to fund the public service reform sector component,” he revealed, noting that the government of Spain, through the Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund, provided the funds. He stated that with the UNDP’s local contribution of US$350,000, the total fund currently available amounts to US$1.8 million for a three-year period - 2007 to 2010.

At the tail of the two-day seminar, PS Sallah commended the participants for their resourcefulness and participation during the course of the seminar and hailed the UNDP for their immense support.

Sallah also acknowledged the immense support received from President Jammeh towards the reform process.

Gunjur Satel Kafoo recently embarked on a one-day malaria sensitisation workshop. The workshop brought together members of the Kafoo and the aimed to raise awareness about malaria prevention and associated issues.

Speaking at the workshop, the secretary of Gunjur Satel, Mr. Lamin Manneh, said Gunjur Setal Kafoo was established in January 2005of 29 Kafoos and clubs in Gunjur.

He revealed that the Kafoo adopted a constitution by law on January 30th 2005 and also registered with the authorities as an organisation. On March 20th the Kafoo elected its executive committee.

He further revealed that the Kafoo has also organised training on group management and small-scale enterprise development for it members. They were aided in this endevour by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

He expressed the Kafoo’s readiness to fight against malaria and also encourage health education and social awareness.

Eba Secka, the chief nursing officer at Gunjur Health Centre, expressed the centre’s willingness to fight malaria.

He stated that 22,000 people in Gunjur have been affected by malaria in recent years.

He further stated that the disease very often can affect pregnant women and children.

“Normally malaria kills children under five years of age on the continent so it is vital that people get and use their treated bed nets to prevent malaria infections,” Mr. Secka said.

For his part, Salifu Jassey, a member of the Kafoo, hailed the sponsors of the workshop for their tremendous contribution towards the fight against malaria in Gunjur and The Gambia at large.

He called on organisations to come together to work towards the development of the village.

The workshop was funded by the Derek Bailey Foundation in the United Kingdom.

Unidentified gunmen shot and killed the officer in charge of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) office in Mogadishu, on 6 July, according to UN officials.

Osman Ali Ahmed, 48, was on his way home after evening prayers with his eight-year-old son and a cousin, according to a friend who was also at the mosque.

"Three gunmen were waiting outside the Kashka Mosque in Bulo Hubey [south Mogadishu] and shot him at point blank range; his cousin was injured in the leg but his boy is fine."

He said Ahmed died as he was being rushed to hospital at about 7.40pm local time.

Abdi Haji Gobdon, the government spokesman, told IRIN the government condemned the "senseless murder".

"We condemn it in the strongest possible terms," he said. "The security agencies will do everything they can to track down the culprits and bring them to justice."

He said those carrying out the killings and kidnappings of aid workers "were people who wanted to see their fellow Somalis die. How can you target people who only want to help? What possible motive could they have in killing Osman [Ahmed]?"

Ahmed's murder is the latest in a spate of killings and abductions of aid and civil society workers in Mogadishu.

On 30 June, four aid workers with the charity Water For Life (WFL), were ambushed on the road linking Afgoye to Mogadishu.

On 21 June, the head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Mogadishu, Hassan Mohamed Ali, better known as "Keynaan", was abducted from his home by unknown armed men. On 22 June, a peace activist was killed in Beletweyne town in Hiiraan region, central Somalia. Mohamed Hassan Kulmiye, who was working at the Centre for Research and Development (CRD), a local think-tank involved in peace initiatives, was shot by unidentified gunmen.

A few days earlier, an employee of CARE International, whose name the agency declined to reveal, was abducted near El-Dheer town in Galgadud region. He was the second CARE staff member to be abducted in six weeks.

A civil society source told IRIN recently: "It seems there is a concerted campaign against aid workers and civil society. We don't know who is behind it or why."

He added that there was "a level of fear never seen before among aid workers and civil society, forcing many to curtail their work or abandon it altogether.

"If this continues it will be impossible to find anyone willing to work for aid agencies, and that will only add to the suffering of the Somali people," he told IRIN on 7 July.

Aid workers estimate 2.6 million Somalis need assistance - a number that is expected to reach 3.5 million by year-end if the humanitarian situation does not improve, according to the UN.

UNDP condemned the targeted killing of Ahmed. In a statement the agency said that "Ahmed was a long-serving UNDP staff member who had dedicated his life to the betterment of his country. A highly professional and dedicated man, he will be sorely missed by all his colleagues at UNDP."

The agency added: "We extend our deepest and most sincere condolences to his wife and family."

Ahmed, who was buried on 7 July, leaves two widows and five children.

IRIN