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| Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration |
It was originally called the Institute of Public Administration, established to train public servants with administrative and professional competence, to plan and administer national, regional and local services.
In 1999/2000, GIMPA was among a group of 200 public sector organisations in Ghana earmarked under the World Bank-funded Public Sector Reform Programme to be taken off government subvention.
GIMPA was subsequently selected under the National Institutional Reform Programme to be transformed, notably to be self-financing. Subsequently GIMPA was taken off government subvention in 2001.
Additionally, GIMPA has not only become a full-fledged university-level public institution but also a topmost institute in Africa, recognised in Africa and around the world, offering excellent master's and executive master's degree programmes in business administration, public administration, development management, governance and leadership.
GIMPA's clients range from politicians to bureaucrats to mid-level personnel from the public and private sectors.
Addressing the Africa Public Service Day (APSD) celebration in Accra on Wednesday, Rector of GIMPA, Professor Franklyn Achampong Manu, said the institute would soon establish campuses in three cities in the country to enable more people to have access to its services.
He said campuses would soon be established in Kumasi, Takoradi and Tema, and pointed out that in future GIMPA would consider expanding outside Ghana.
The one-week programme, on the theme; “Africa Public Service in the Age of Open Government: Giving Voice to Citizens,” is being attended by Africa ministers of public service, parliamentarians, academia, civil society organisations and identified student bodies.
The APSD is celebrated by Africa Union member countries every year to recognise the institutional contributions made by public servants to enhance the role, professionalism, image and visibility of the public service, and to recognise the value and virtue of public service to the community.
Prof. Manu said though GIMPA had diverted into other disciplines, it still remained the largest trainer of public and civil servants on the continent.
He said the public perception that the institute had lost its mission was uncalled for because adding other disciplines such as business to its core functions was to serve the need and demand of the public.
“We have not lost our mission, we are still on track and GIMPA still has one of the best Law Schools on the continent,” he said.
Prof. Manu said Africa was still suffering from mental slavery where its people found it difficult to adjust to change.
That, he said, was one of the major challenges facing the continent and urged governments to enforce the necessary codes of conduct to build a strong and viable Public Service.
“We need efficient Public Service to accelerate growth and development,” he said.
Director General of Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), Dr Shaibu Ahmed Gariba, said the institute would improve on its reporting and accountability to all interested stakeholders by developing an organisational communication strategy next year.
He said that was necessary for the enhancement of the visibility of the institute in an increasing competitive environment.
Dr Gariba noted that there was the need to re-assess the role its training and consultancy services should play in the capacity building and consultancy support for the public service and how that should be provided.
He said to strengthen the organisational structure of the institute, there was the need to reorganise the divisions to carry out their functions efficiently and effectively through staff hiring, revision and development of new programmes, among other things.
He announced that by the end of the year, MDPI would establish a strategy to engage the private sector in the delivery of its services to the public service while it maintained a clear distinction between the public and private interest.
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