Cabinet Secretary Sumailah Shares Experience With Liberian Delegation

By: MUSA CONTEH, Snr.

GIO, CABSEC.

An esteemed Liberian Delegation of 14 people led by the Director-General of the Cabinet of Liberia, Mr. Nathaniel Kwabo, on 24th February, 2025, paid a courtesy call on the Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of Civil Service of Sierra Leone at his office located at the Vice President Building, Tower Hill, Freetown, Sierra Leone. The meeting was graced by Sierra Leone’s PMCS Oversight Institution, UNDP Representative and Cabinet Secretariat Staff. This visit was part of the Liberian Delegation’s Study Tour scheduled to visit selected MDAs from the 24th. to 28th. February, 2025. The entire discussions were focused on Performance Management. The detailed Study Tour aimed at Performance Management and Compliance System (PMCS), with the theme: Introduction to Performance Management Systems in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Mr. John Sumailah,  Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service (SCHOCS), Sierra Leone , hosted and chaired the meeting. He gave the delegates a warm welcome and in his official opening and welcome remarks said: “”We are more than happy to have you here with us to exchange lessons, challenges and successes related to Performance Management and Compliance System in Sierra Leone.” In response, the Director-General of the Cabinet of Liberia, Mr. Kwabo, was thankful for the  hearty and great reception they received and said they felt honored. He expressed delight to be hosted to have open discussions with their Sierra Leonean counterparts. Mr. Sumailah gave an overview of Sierra Leone’s PMCS Framework. The Director, Public/Civil Service Affairs, Patrick M. Sama, who doubles as PMCS focal point at the Cabinet Secretariat, SL, did the presentation on Sierra Leone’s PMCS, with support from Dr. Michael Johnny, Director, Cabinet Implementation Monitoring  and Support Unit(CIMSU), followed by a Question and Answer Session. Mr. Kwabo, gave an overview of Liberia”s PMCS, backed by a presentation by the Liberia PMCS Team. Exchange of lessons, challenges, successes and open discussions were done as well. The meeting covered topics like understanding the Policy Environment, stakeholder Engagement Strategies in Performance Management: Presentation, Case study and discussion on engagement approaches; Strategic Planning and Target Setting in Performance Management: Performance target development methodologies, KPI selection and alignment with national goals and Target negotiation process. The meeting ended with Reflection and Key Takeaways. This 2025 Liberian Delegation Study Tour object is to challenge public and civil servants to rethink traditional performance management frameworks. It advocates for the development of systems that are not only responsive to immediate performance crises, but also adaptable to future uncertainties. Its outcome is on building exceptional and robust administrative structures and capabilities that can sustain developmental momentum and harness innovations to meet the diverse needs of Liberia’s Performance Management in the 21st century. The SCHOCS,  Mr.  Sumailah and Director-General of the Cabinet Office of Liberia held several sessions and engaged in multiple bilateral talks  as counterparts, ostensibly in a proper fashion,  with the goal of modernizing and reforming Liberia’s public sector landscape in a proper manner. The discussions were described by participants as a huge success, interesting and relevant. The delegates, however, in appraisal of the session in its entirety, said they learnt a lot and hope to replicate the wealth of experiences gained from the Cabinet Secretariat of Sierra Leone when they return.