TheCable

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says lack of collaboration between ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) is raising the cost of governance in the country.

Speaking on Tuesday during the ministerial performance review retreat in Abuja, the SGF said the government is working towards making inter-agency collaboration become the norm.

Mustapha said the issue of inadequate capacity in public service has also become a critical challenge to service delivery.

“Several ministries have made significant strides in the pursuit of their objectives and we shall take steps towards supporting them to do more,” the SGF said.

“Some others have been challenged by a number of factors and we will take steps towards addressing these challenges and supporting them.

“These challenges, some of which we have identified; such as the need to collaborate at the priority area level and avoiding the debilitating effects of working in silos.

“This challenge has hampered speed, efficiency, effective delivery, and in several instances has added to, and increased the cost of running the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

“We will have to support government to work in a more joined up manner and ensure that interagency collaboration becomes the norm, rather than the exception.

“It is our collective task to maximise the opportunities, mitigate and minimise the challenges in order that we can make rapid progress going forward.”

The SGF said the commitment going forward is to build on the progress made in the past year, reflect on the lessons learnt and fix issues of major concern.