Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba has challenged principal secretaries (PS) to take a leading role in translating Malawi 2063 (MW2063) aspirations to concrete actions.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Tuesday when she presided over the opening of a three-day leadership development programme for PSs she said they are critical to ensuring that solutions to this country’s economic, environment and social challenges are met.
Said Zamba: “The public service is mandated to take the leading role translating the national aspirations, objectives and strategies into concrete actions in order to ensure the fulfilment of Malawi Vision 2063, and competent officers with the right skills and knowledge are critical for a strong government system.”
She further dared the PSs, as senior management of the public service, that they are responsible and answerable for the performance of their institutions within their technical governance areas.
Taking his turn, Malawi School of Government board chairperson Lewis Dzimbiri said the leadership training is aimed at enhancing the public sector performance through leadership development and training.
He said: “This training is part of the public sector reforms aimed at improving the performance of PSs. It is important for PSs to undergo this leadership development programme because it includes all the knowledge and skills that they require to impact their institutions in service delivery.”
Dzimbiri said the programme also aligns with MSG goals to strengthen capacity within the public sector, as the MSG Act, chapter 33 mandates the institution to develop and deliver human resource programmes that build the capacity for the public service and private sector, among others.
United Nations Development Programme deputy resident representative Challa Getachew hailed the government for supporting the PSs training in leadership, saying the programme has potential to enhance public service delivery.
The training has been organised under the partnership of Malawi School of Government and the Department of Human Resource Management and runs in two phases from July 11 to 13, and August 1 to 3.
