The Civil Service and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding under which Japan would support human resource development in the civil service. A statement released in Accra by the office of the Head of the Civil Service said Japan would provide scholarships for the middle class of the civil service to undertake two to three weeks' training programmes in Japan, Singapore, South Africa and Tanzania. The Head of the Civil Service, Dr Joe Issachar and Mr Hiroshi Murakami, Resident Representative of JICA signed the MOU. Japan would also provide vehicles, computers and other training equipment and tools for the project to refurbish the Civil Service Training Centre in Accra. The Technical Cooperation Project titled "Capacity Development of Government Administration for the Civil Service" would cover the period February 2007 to February 2010. The total cost is two million dollars. Dr Issachar said his office had the responsibility to lead any attempt to restructure the Civil Service to play its role in a more effective and efficient manner to help in the development of the country. However, he noted, the Civil Service had been weakened and ineffective in service delivery as a result of weak institutional capacities in the service coupled with lack of training and poor remuneration. "This unfortunate situation has made the Service unattractive and unable to retain qualified personnel." Dr Issachar said his office, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Ministry of Public Sector Reforms and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, was organising accelerated training programmes for the leadership of the Civil Service. He said training for civil servants would not only help to improve service delivery but also boost productivity. "Re-sourcing the Civil Service Training Centre to offer such training programmes will make our efforts more home-grown and sustainable." Mr Murakami said the Japanese Government, through JICA, had supported and facilitated training programmes for over 1,000 Ghanaians in Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. The government of Japan has been involved in strengthening governance institutions with special emphasis on the Civil Service. Source: GNA