Accra, July 28, GNA- A two-week training programme for Assistant and Deputy Directors in the Civil Service opened in Accra, on Monday, to address the core challenges of transparency, ethical and value- based service to the government and the general public.

The collaborative programme between Ghana and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) would expose 24 middle level civil servants to ethical leadership training, under a three-year capacity development of government administration.

Mr Samuel Owusu-Agyei, Minister of Public Sector Reforms, said the training was one of the pillars of the Ministry for civil servants to increase their capacity, working skills and ensure quality public administration. "The current focus on leadership is designed not only to stimulate performance but also to open up those in management positions to new ideas. Leadership should be more participative than directive," he said.

Mr Owusu-Agyei said the ministry would continue to support the Civil Service in the area of human resource management and development in order to build a stronger service to support government's businesses. Mr Masato Kumagai, Deputy Resident Representative, JICA, said his outfit would continue to support the Office of the Head of Civil Service to strengthen the sustainability of the new training programme by monitoring the training delivery for further improvement of the programme.

"In addition, JICA will provide the trainers with supplementary training opportunities in Japan for the purpose of refreshing their skills." Mr Okyere-Darko Ababio, Director, Recruitment, Training and Development of the OHCS, said delay in service delivery had been identified as a major problem and expressed the hope that training in ethical skills and leadership practice would help in salvaging the situation. He said the Civil Service was an important machinery of government which required professional training, skills and competence for its smooth running.