Arising from the meeting
held with newly appointed Permanent Secretaries in Cross River State, the Head of Service, Ntukae (Mrs.) Theresa Ikwen, urged them to be proactive and take effective control of their MDAs as enshrined in the civil service rule.
The Head of Service however commended the old ones for the level of co-operation and support she has so far enjoyed from them and welcomed the new ones on board the ship of the leadership of the service.
Mrs. Ikwen said that their responsibilities were in line with the spirit of the new civil service reforms, and congratulated the newly appointed permanent secretaries on their appointment, which she noted is no mean achievement.
She spoke on the role of permanent secretaries, which among other things, is to ensure that MDAs functioned efficiently and effectively as they are currently discharging their duties as heads of administration in their various establishments, adding that this could be done by ensuring that they co-ordinate administrative matters and the other activities in their Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The Head of Service, who emphasised the need for team work and synergy amongst them and their chief executive, disclosed that posting of permanent secretaries to the various MDAs was done based on experience, competence and exposure.
She charged the permanent secretaries and directors to ensure the mentoring of staff under their supervision for the purpose of continuity in the service, adding that as heads of administration in their MDAs, permanent secretaries are expected to ensure that time line in their various MDAs are implemented to the letter particularly the revenue aspect of the action plan, namely the Creative Funding Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (CFMTEF).
Ikwen also stressed on the need for proper supervision of all the various offices, and advised permanent secretaries posted to MDAs with out-stations, to closely monitor and ensure proper co-ordination between the parent ministries and the out-stations.
The Head of Service also spoke on the essence of a healthy relationship in a given establishment and advised permanent secretaries to maintain a cordial relationship with their chief executive as well as political leaders in their local government areas to enhance the growth of the state.
The head of service informed them of the limited time the present administration has before exiting its tenure in 2015 and urged them to work hard in order to complete the governments action plan.
