Continued Education and Skills Development
By Dr. Fikrejesus Amahazion
https://shabait.com/2020/11/25/continue ... velopment/
GENERAL
Nov 25, 2020
Late last week, 55 Eritrean civil servants and internal auditors completed an 11-day workshop which broadly focused on internal auditing skills. The workshop, held in Asmara and featuring males and females from all regions of the country, was co-organized by the
Eritrean Center for Organizational Excellence and the Office of the Auditor-General. The workshop’s programs and courses were developed, directed, and delivered by a number of high-level professionals and experts possessing considerable local and international experience. In addition to helping develop effective internal auditing skills of participants, the workshop led to the design of a five-year strategic plan for integrating auditing units within all government institutions, tentatively called the “
2021-2025 Strategic Plan”. The successful conclusion of the recent auditing workshop provides a useful and timely opportunity to reflect upon the general importance of auditing, as well as recall several of the broad benefits associated with continued training and education.
First, in terms of the basics, the process of regularly reviewing spending, use of resources and materials, effective management, and general performance, is called an audit. An auditor general, or auditor, is the term used to refer to an individual, institution, or department that is responsible for auditing different institutions, businesses, and organizations and then making an annual report. (It is also possible that audits are conducted and reported more or less frequently.)
Auditing is an essential oversight mechanism in ensuring that resources, funds, and other materials are used for their intended purposes, in terms of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Notably, a considerable body of research has shown that effective auditing can play a positive role in supporting inclusive growth and national development, contribute to substantial savings in public funds, increase efficiencies and promote improvements within the public sector, and improve management and operational effectiveness of institutions, organizations, and businesses. However, despite their general importance and the many clear, substantial benefits they offer to societies, in many developing countries, including some across Africa, a variety of factors, including lack of experience, shortage of resources, and significant funding constraints, mean that auditors are often unable to properly check and inspect spending and management of resources or monitor effectiveness or performance.
Within the context outlined above, it is very positive and extremely encouraging that Eritrea, a low-income, developing country is directing considerable attention on this important issue. Renewed focus and continued investment in this important area can only help to promote a range of benefits and ultimately support the progress and development of the country.
I will introduce the second point by way of an anecdote. When I was very young, I was heavily involved in football (soccer). I played on numerous teams (usually as the “
number 8” or “
number 10”) and was always racing from one match or training session to another. During one training session, when I was about 8 or 9 years of age, the coach directed us to perform a ball control drill individually. After receiving the instructions, we all dispersed and began the drill enthusiastically. Several of us were able to master things relatively quickly and we ran through the exercise successfully a number of times. Then, quite satisfied with ourselves, we headed off to the sidelines to get some water. However, our coach, stationed not too far away, called us back and sternly asked us where we were going. When we replied, he just smiled and nodded his head before explaining,
Yes, you may have mastered the drill with your dominant foot, but what about your weaker one? Go back now and work on your weaker foot.
This anecdote is a useful segue into the importance of continued education, training, and skills development. Knowledge and skills are not finite. Learning and improvement are not a solitary event – they are a process, lifelong and continuous. And in our lives, we should all strive for improvement and progress. To return to the recent auditing workshop, it is a real-life example of continuing education, skills development, and learning. Importantly, for individuals, businesses, and organizations, continued learning and skills development offer a range of important benefits.
For instance, continued education allows individuals to improve the skills they possess and also acquire new ones, thus making them better and more productive, competent workers. It also can increase individuals’ satisfaction and morale, particularly through giving their work meaning and purpose. For companies and organizations, continued training and education has increasingly become seen as a critical investment, not a difficult to explain cost. This is because better skilled employees can provide new ideas and promote creativity or innovation (particularly important in highly competitive sectors).
Additionally, better trained and more skilled employees are more productive and efficient. A lot of work also suggests that businesses and organizations that invest in the continued education and skills development of their employees generally have a better chance of retaining their staff, as well as higher levels of employee morale and job satisfaction among worker. When organizations or businesses offer opportunities for growth and development, they demonstrate to workers that they value them, are serious about their development and advancement, and prepared to help them succeed. All of this, of course, can help lead to improved productivity and efficiency.
Again, within this context, it is very positive to see the opportunity for continued training, skills development, and learning being offered through the auditing workshop. It (and future similar opportunities) will ultimately support the growth and development of Eritreans, as well as improve the productivity, management, and efficiency of different organizations and sectors in the country.
As a final point, a lot of credit and appreciation should go to the participants of the workshop. They came from all corners of the country, sacrificing time with families and loved ones. Throughout the duration of the workshop, they also all demonstrated great commitment, enthusiasm, and eagerness to learn. At the end of the workshop, they also expressed their general willingness and keen desire to put into practice all that they learned.
Kudos!
_______________________
The Child in an Adult
By Ruth Abraham
https://shabait.com/2020/11/25/the-child-in-an-adult/
NATION BUILDING
Nov 25, 2020
International Children’s Day was commemorated Friday, November 20, for the 25th time in Eritrea under the theme
Proper Treatment of Children: The Cornerstone of a Prosperous Nation.
It is a day the world renews its commitment to the wellbeing and security of children.
This time, had the world been normal as it was a year back, we would have celebrated Children’s Day as a special day giving the people of the day whatever they ask and taking them wherever they like, singing and dancing and eating. This day was probably, one of the days when children got away with asking for whatever they wished for. Unfortunately, they could not celebrate it the traditional way, having fun, because they have to abide by the social distancing measures due to Covid 19.
According to the international convention on children, childhood is separate from adulthood and lasts until 18; it is a special, protected time, in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and flourish with dignity. In compliance with the world’s convention on children, the Eritrean government works to ensure children’s rights and welfare. It gives children access to free education and health. It builds schools in remote areas, works to increase enrollment and retention of girls in schools and keeps vulnerable children fed. In terms of health, in 2019, 50,054 children under-five were vaccinated against measles as a preventive measure through the routine immunization program, and 81,640 children affected by diarrhea were provided with access to life-saving curative interventions.
The
Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MoLSW) has been working with UNICEF and other stakeholders to strengthen child protection (SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals- 5 and 16) through child rights committees at the regional and sub-zone levels, community-based rehabilitation for children with disabilities and child and adolescent participation. Last year, children and youth participated in a major event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
The Eritrean society at large plays a big role, in raising children and executing Government policies and rules of child welfare. A child born into the Eritrean society grows up, belonging to the whole society.
Taking to heart the saying
It takes a village to raise a child,
people take responsibility for the welfare of children not because they gave birth to them but because they realize children need care and guidance.
The society is not limited to providing children their basic needs such as food and shelter, but also their needs to build their psychological and moral state rooted in the norms of the Eritrean society.
Many people, including myself, claim their childhood to be one of the best times of their days in the world. As I was preparing this piece, I had asked some of my friends what their best memories of childhood were. Celebrating ‘
hoye hoye’ around the
Holy cross time, singing and dancing in the neighborhood, playing ‘
hide and seek’ as if our lives depended on it, getting pocket money to buy candies and visiting friends’ during
Eid Alfetir to eat
samosa were some of the many special memories they mentioned. I remember gathering around chatting and asking older siblings to tell us stories, going to picnics with friends and visiting the countryside and experiencing a lot of adventures.
We all have a lot more to say, about our childhood. When people, including my parents, were telling me about their memories, I could see the children in them. I have always believed that there is a child somewhere inside all of us that we sometimes project to the world.
As the theme for this year’s
Children’s Day goes, children are the foundations of all that is to happen in the future. They are an indication that, against all odds, there is still hope for the goodness to prevail in the world.
International Children’s Day, which has been celebrated for the 62nd time worldwide, was first announced in 1925 in Geneva during the
World Conference on Child Welfare to promote the declaration of the rights of children by the UN General Assembly.
