Implementation of the Civil Service Reform Programs; The Case of Gambella People's National Regional State

Abstract

Structuring the civil service has been vital to adapt to the social, political, economic and technological changes taking at the international and at national level. The most recent reform phase began in September 2001, with the launch of the Public Sector Capacity Building Support Program was introduced to revive the CSRP. However, in Gambella People's National Regional State, civil reform program (CSRP) was started in 2002 with minor quick fixes like adjusting the administrative structure of the public service according to civil servants’ relevant qualifications and experience. This study was conducted in the year 2019 with the purpose of exploring the challenges and prospects of the civil service reform programs in Gambella Peoples’ National Regional State by looking into the implementation of the specific reform package. The study revealed that, lack of committed and well-informed leadership, poor preparation, improper personnel placement, lack of commitment from civil servants to their work and responsibility which is coupled with attitude to conform and accept the necessary changes required, lack of awareness and general understanding of the objective of the reforms coupled with poor and outdated employee handling and improper implementation of the human resources management practices and principles resulted in low or inexistence of the reforms in the region. Hence the study shows that little if at all has been achieved in terms service delivery and its effect on development at large, and inefficiency and ineffectiveness of civil servants seems to be almost the same like what it has been before the introduction of the reforms.