Nigerian Ministry of Works has carried out the directive of the Federal Government by launching the Performance Management System (PMS) Day to drive service delivery.
The launch took place on Thursday at the Ministry headquarters in Abuja in line with the directive of the the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs. Esther Didi Walson-Jack, the institutionalisation of the new management tool for the Federal Civil Service.
In his speech, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Yakubu Adam Kofarmata said the PMS, which is the second pillar of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan 2021-2025 (FCSSIP25), has come to stay in the Service and the Ministry shall not be left behind in its implementation.
The Perm Sec explained that the Launch of the weekly observance of the PMS Day on Thursday, is designed to review, assess and improve employees’ performance across all on-going tasks, as well as projects within the Ministry.
According to him, “Today’s launch marks a critical step forward in our pursuit of excellence. The PMS will allow us to monitor progress, identify challenges and ensure we remain on track to meet our organisational, also national goals”.
He further emphasized that PMS will re-invigorate Civil Servants, who are successfully driving the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the next level of development.
Other benefits of PMS, as enumerated by Dr. Kofarmata, are improved productivity; employees’ engagement; better decision- making; data driven opportunities and many others.
The Perm Sec expressed the Ministry’s readiness towards implementing and institutionalising PMS as a measure of appraisal for staff, as enshrined in the Revised Public Service Rules (PSRs), 2024.
He pointed out that the Ministry had developed its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); signed Performance Contracts at the management level, as well as cascaded it down to other staff; has its Dashboard ready with a total staff strength of 962 on board, out of which 822 have signed the PMS contract with 457 supervisors.
Earlier in his Welcome Address, the Director, Human Resource Management (DHRM), Mr. Aliyu Abdullahi, explained that the PMS Day Launch was meant to, majorly, draw attention on what PMS is all about.
He disclosed that the performance assessment of Civil Servants will now be done objectively as opposed to the use of the hitherto flawed and compromised Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) system.
The event was well-attended by all Directors and Heads of Units, as well as numerous staff, reflecting the importance of this milestone at enhancing performance in governance and improving service delivery.