Civil Service in the news
Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Secretaries from MoD, FCO and DfID visit Afghanistan
Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary and head of the Home Civil Service, visited Afghanistan with Bill Jeffrey (Permanent Under Secretary MoD), Peter Ricketts (Permanent Secretary FCO) and Minouche Shafik (Permanent Secretary DfID). The aim of the visit was to see first hand how civil servants from different departments are working together in partnership to help deliver the UK’s objectives in Afghanistan.
Gus and the Permanent Secretaries met with members of staff from the FCO, MoD and DfID, in Kabul and Helmand, who work in a range of roles in difficult and hostile environments. They also met senior Afghan officials and MPs and the Afghan National Army. The group was hosted by the British Ambassador, Sherard Cowper–Coles, in Kabul and by Hugh Powell and Brigadier Mark Carleton–Smith in Helmand.
“It was great to meet staff at the Embassy, which is one of the biggest missions in the world now. Partnership is so important in government and you can really see it in action here with civil servants from different departments pulling together and making a real difference to the people of Afghanistan. I can’t think of a more challenging environment for them to be working in, yet they are achieving so much and we are truly grateful for their hard work.”
Gus O‘Donnell
As a result of the visit, Gus will lead a cross–Government recruitment drive to promote opportunities for people with relevant skills from across the civil service to work in Afghanistan, and to ensure that stabilisation work is recognised and valued across the Civil Service.
There is a huge range of jobs done by civil servants in Afghanistan – from Defence officials procuring equipment for the military, to FCO staff supporting the Afghan civil service, to DfID staff working with NGOs and local people and organisations to re–build civil society.
Thanks to the work of civil servants there has been real progress since 2001, with life improving for many Afghans. DfID has been supporting the Afghan Ministry of Education by paying the salaries of around 100,000 teachers. Over 6 million children are now in school, and 35% of them are girls. This is up from an estimated 1 million children in school in 2001, of whom very few were girls.
The Government has also pledged £6million as an initial contribution to support the Afghan Independent Electoral Commission to complete a voter registration exercise. Presidential and provincial council elections are set for mid–August 2009, with Parliamentary elections due in Spring 2010. Civil servants are helping to build on the success of the previous elections, which saw 70% of registered voters participate in the 2004 Presidential elections, and 51% in the 2005 Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections.
