The Driver’s and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has won a bronze award for the Computer-Based Theory Test it introduced in 2012 to replace the written test which, as the result of a study carried out by the Authority at the time, had become riddled with fraud, impersonation, leakage of questions and other human interference and influence.
The award was given at the 37th Roundtable Conference, which took place in Lusaka, Zambia from 29th February-4th March, 2016 under the auspices of the African Association for Administration and Management (AAPMAM).
The theme for the conference was “Transforming Public Administration and Management (PAM) in order to contribute towards the agenda 2063 within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.”
After an initial 51 submissions from 13 countries, the number of nominations were whittled down to five contestants who then had to present their innovated product first to a panel of judges and a plenary involving all participants numbering about 300.
DVLA was adjudged the third best and won the bronze trophy award; the National Department of Health, South Africa which presented a proposal on Mom Connect, a system that tracks pregnant women for medical attention, came second and took the Silver Trophy award; and the Judiciary of Rwanda, which submitted a proposal on an Electronic Filing System was adjudged the best and won the Gold Trophy Award.
The other two nominees were the Central Agency for Organisation and Administration (CAOA), Kenya and the Ministry of Labour, Social Security Services, Children Services Section of Kenya.
The criteria used for the award included innovation, relevance, significance, sustainability and replication.
The Innovative Management Award recognises organisational achievement and is aimed at encouraging creative managerial initiatives in public administration and management in Africa.
It is awarded annually and currently supported by willing donors, organisations and individuals
Ghana was represented at the conference by about 44 participants drawn from a wide spectrum of the public service.
They were lead by Bridget Katsriku, Chairperson of the Public Services Commission.
Some of the topics discussed at the conference included ‘Transforming Public Administration and Management in Africa, ‘Transformational Leadership in African Public Services,’ ‘Comprehensive Public Service Transformation in Africa for Effective integration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Learning from experiences elsewhere,’ ‘Cyber security & Digital Crimes Unit,’ etc.
AAPAM is a continental professional organisation for high-level public sector administrators and managers in Africa with the core business of promoting best practice, excellence and professionalism in public administration and management with a view to contributing to the creation of sustainable leadership capacity in the African public services.
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