Public services are the great motor of Nigeria’s drive toward social and economic development. Streamlining its parts and operation to deliver ever greater horsepower from the same tank of fuel is a crucial factor in accelerating the country’s development progress.
Doing its level best to optimise the machinery is the Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), led by Ibrahim Dasuki Arabi (pictured). Described in the local press as a whirlwind and referred to by members of his team as ‘The Reformer’, Arabi is now eight months into a five-year strategic plan that will, he hopes, continue to drive efficiency and sustainability in the country’s public sector.
Expert expansion
Arabi sees the role of the professional accountant as a key component in BPSR’s transition to an organisation not only with the financial strength and capacity to rebound from the current fallout of both the Covid-19 pandemic and unstable oil markets, but also to survive future shocks. Earlier this year, BPSR signed a partnership agreement with ACCA to help promote taxation and human capital development in Nigeria.
‘One of the key aspects of BPSR is to develop the capacity and improve the skills of our public servants,’ Arabi, its director general for the past four years, says. ‘This is so that they can deliver a quality service to our citizens. Aligned to this, we signed the agreement to support us in building the capacity of our public financial officers and other federal public servants, to provide information among stakeholder groups about what is working well, and what isn’t working well. And we will be using the ACCA platform to upskill the performance of our public servants.’
ACCA’s contribution is clearly crucial to the delivery of that upskilling. As Taiwo Oyedele FCCA, fiscal policy partner and Africa tax leader at PwC Nigeria, points out, those public servants who will be exposed to the areas of accounting, reporting, treasury management and taxation need to be trained. But he adds that the partnership agreement also allows ACCA to have input into government policy formation, reforms and other initiatives. ‘A lot needs to be driven from the top,’ Oyedele says, ‘and there are a good number who want to do the right thing.’
Digital push
One route to improving public sector delivery has been through digital transformation, with the Nigerian government shifting its services online. ‘Instead of having to raise vouchers and other documents to make payments, we are doing everything electronically,’ Arabi says. ‘Data and records are being generated, and accountants and finance professionals need to understand how to manage this information, so upskilling their performance is very important.’
Like Arabi, Oyedele identifies IT as a possible game-changer. ‘Managing resources, accountability and transparency, and capacity are key areas for Nigeria’s public sector,’ he says. ‘Some issues can be solved using technology, such as identity verification, where there has been progress.’
Areas of improvement
Since its inception BPSR has carried out multiple research projects, impact assessments and surveys on reform initiatives, which are used to advise government on policy. ‘These highlight what we think government should be doing to move forward,’ Arabi says. ‘And this is another area where we can tap into ACCA’s experience, looking at the organisation’s international studies to see what we can replicate here in Nigeria.’
BPSR’s 2020 annual report set out the objectives of the five-year strategic plan. They include articulating and facilitating the government reform agenda, enhancing the reform capacity of government institutions, strengthening the demand for reform, and capacity building. With the first year of the plan coinciding with the outbreak of Covid-19, the delivery of reform has taken place in an extremely challenging environment.
Despite the challenges, BPSR has recognised that opportunities exist to continue to deliver on its mandate. Those opportunities include engagement with the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise community to identify public service delivery challenges, as well as expanding capacity building.
One small but important area has been the ranking of the websites of government ministries, departments and agencies in terms of accessibility and user-friendliness. With the recent shift to online service provision across all government services, such benchmarking will become increasingly important.
More business-friendly
The bureau develops models of best practice across government through studies and surveys, including one that looked at the contribution made by government departments to the creation of a more business-friendly environment. It also runs a self-assessment tool so that departmental heads are able to see where they can improve the management and reform of their departments. The tool covers a number of areas such as strategic governance, financial management, strategic planning and budgeting, and procurement processes.
Arabi best sums up the work of the bureau by highlighting four key areas where he want to see improvement within government departments: the reduction of waste, the fight against corruption, greater transparency and more accountability. ‘It is important for us to tap into the culture and resources of ACCA, where ethics and accountability are very prominent,’ he says.
Looking forward, Arabi says that BPSR and ACCA are working together on workshops focusing on how the partnership can encourage further reform, including one with the Office of the Auditor General of Nigeria. ‘We want to make the partnership speak for itself,’ he says.
More information
Visit ACCA’s public sector hub for a wide range of resources and information to support our members working in the public sector.
