As part of ongoing administrative reforms aimed at enhancing efficiency and productivity in the discharge of its statutory mandate, the Ministry of Public Works has begun the restructuring of leadership within the counties with focus on Resident Engineers (REs), who are the highest ranking officers steering the affairs of the Ministry in the fifteen counties.
The move, which comes on the heels of the implementation of the Ministry’s Octopus Strategy, is geared towards ensuring efficiency and productivity in the overall management of ongoing infrastructure activities.
Beyond the veil of providing supervision on the construction of roads and bridges within these political subdivisions, the Ministry of Public Works intends to begin alley openings and surveillance, the enforcement of construction permitting for new projects, and the creation of fully functioning county offices for students desirous of doing internships with the Ministry.
Making opening remarks, Minister Roland Layfette Giddings welcomed and expressed heartfelt gratitude to the group of Resident Engineers that had been recalled for the purpose aforementioned. He disclosed that the move is part of the Ministry’s reform policy based on recommendations fueled by strong evaluation of performances on a county-by-county basis.
Minister Giddings admonished the Resident Engineers not to view the reform process as a deliberate attempt to target a particular person or group of persons, as it only fucuses on the strategic redeployment of skillset in areas where they can function more effectively and to expectation. “I would like to encourage you to approach this process with an open mind, knowing that you could be retained, reassigned to a different county, or recalled to headquarters”, he mentioned.
“The Ministry has developed a policy that will henceforth guide our decisions as to how long a Resident Engineer can be assigned, the minimum qualification and experience required, and a defined scope of operation within areas of assignment”, he continued.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Minister disclosed that the Ministry has taken deliberate actions by securing fifteen (15) brand new pick-up trucks for the fifteen Resident Engineers, increased their monthly remuneration from a minimum of US$250.00 to a height of at least a gross of US$1,000.00 monthly.
Additionally, the Deputy Minister for Technical Services Prince D. Tambah, Sr. assured the Resident Engineers (REs) that the Ministry will provide resettlement benefits to those that have been deployed, as well as those that have been recalled to headquarters for subsequent reassignment.
The Technical Minister cautioned that for the incoming REs to have a full understanding of the new environment and the sope of work they would have to confront, the outgoing REs will have to submit comprehensive turnover notes to guide the new operations; a task he gave to be completed within two weeks as of the date of today’s meeting. “To those of you who are fortunate to be named Resident Engineers, the Ministry will accept no excuses for not doing your jobs, as we have made frantic efforts to create the necessary condition for you to work as effectively as possible”, he stated.
Deputy Minister Tambah furthered that the Resident Engineers will be expected to work in collaboration with the Presidential Team for the management of the yellow machines, which deployment to the counties comences as of next month. Also, he unveiled that the Ministry has made provision for the assignment of Assistant Resident Engineers in five of the fifteen counties including Nimba, Margibi, Bong, Grand Bassa, and Lofa.
“We believe that with your increased scope of operation, having an assistant to aid in the discharge of your responsibilities will not only lessen your workloads, but also help the Ministry achieve bigly within reasonable timeframes”, Deputy Minister Tambah concluded.
Responding to the Ministry’s disclosure of its newly formed policy on restructuring, the Resident Engineers thanked the Management Team at the Ministry, recounting the years they had to struggle with small salaries and lock of mobility to work effectively. They believe that the current reform is a strategic motivation mechanism that will unlock hidden potentials.
The newly designed matrix was officially disclosed by the Assistant Minister for Operations, Margaret Sahsi, who directly supervises the Resident Engineers across the fifteen countie
