BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE government sent 505 government employees for in-service training in the past year, the Second Minister of Finance at the Prime Minister’s office said.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Hj Abdul Rahman Hj Ibrahim said another 5,405 participated in various training courses by the Public Service Department from last year to early 2014.

During the 10th Legislative Council session yesterday morning, he said the training courses were aimed to improve the government’s service delivery and productivity following YB Datin Paduka Hjh Salbiah Hj Sulaiman’s question on government efforts to improve productivity.

He further said the government has also taken action on improving the attendance of civil servants.

“This issue has been given due attention by updating the attendance system in all government agencies.

“The systematic attendance system is to instil a sense of responsibility and commitment within the civil service to ensure public services are not affected (due to their absence),” YB Pehin Dato Hj Abd Rahman said.

The minister did not state whether the updated system has improved the attendance of goverment officers.

Furthermore, YB Pehin Dato Hj Abd Rahman said the government is also updating existing schemes and creating new programmes.

He said the schemes were put in place to ensure only qualified personnel will fill positions in line with country’s current and future needs.

He cited examples of the programmes, including the Executive Development Programme, a collaboration between Public Service Department and the Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Advancement (ILIA) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam and the Competency Training Framework in identifying appropriate courses in the field of organisational management.

He added that human resources audit was also conducted with the Public Service Department to improve productivity and identify the strengths and weaknesses, which were evaluated based on international best practices.

The minister said a 2013 study by the Management Services Department showed that 207 Client’s Charter in 23 government agencies had been renewed to help achieve better quality of services.

The Client’s Charter refers to the written promise made by an agency to its clients on its service standards, based on the clients’ expectations, needs and accommodated to the agency’s capabilities.

However, the minister did not elaborate the kind of services and the agencies involved.

The Brunei Times