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The Public Service Commission is exploring reforms in life and health insurance schemes as a means of attracting and retaining high skilled civil servants.

Chair of the Public Service Commission Luke Rokovada acknowledges the challenges of retaining civil servants citing migration and enticing job offers elsewhere.

Rokovada asserts the Commission’s commitment to addressing the retention issue through a multifaceted approach.

The focus lies on attracting individuals to the service by offering incentives and simultaneously implementing measures to retain them for a reasonable duration.

“It used to be there before, it’s no longer there I think that’s something we are looking at.”

While acknowledging the difficulty in retaining civil servants for an extended period, Rokovada says the goal is to keep them within the service for a sufficient timeframe.

He also mentions that efforts are being made to attract and train high-caliber young individuals providing mentorship and various incentives.

Discussions are in progress to review the Open Merit Recruitment System (OMRS) for civil servants with Rokovada stressing the need to assess its efficacy, relevance and equitable application across all civil service sectors.

He adds that there is a growing demand among civil servants for a pay review across various government sectors.