CSA’s Kaizen-Trained Champions Return to Lead Liberia’s Civil Service Transformation

Monrovia, Liberia – December 1, 2025: A delegation of eight senior officials from the Civil Service Agency (CSA) has returned to Liberia, armed with a powerful philosophy for transformation, following an intensive, two-week advanced training in Kaizen methodologies in Ghana. Funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), this capacity-building initiative signals a strategic push to embed a culture of continuous improvement and efficiency across Liberia’s public sector.

The training, titled “Kaizen for Enhanced Public Service Delivery for Anglophone West African Countries,” was conducted under JICA’s Third Country Training Program. It brought together 30 public servants from Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, fostering south-south cooperation and shared learning. The program combined a four-week virtual session with a rigorous two-week in-person engagement at the Ghana Civil Service Training Center (CSTC) from November 17 to 28, 2025.

Kaizen, a Japanese management concept meaning “continuous improvement,” focuses on making small, incremental changes that collectively lead to significant gains in productivity, quality, and cost-effectiveness. The training equipped the CSA team with practical tools and strategies to diagnose inefficiencies, streamline processes, and foster a proactive problem-solving mindset within government ministries and agencies.

At the opening ceremony in Accra, Her Excellency Musu J. Ruhle the Ambassador of Liberia to Ghana framed the training as a vital investment in mindset, urging the delegation to internalize the Kaizen principle that every public servant, regardless of rank, is an agent of change. This sentiment was echoed by the heads of the Ghana Civil Service and JICA Ghana, who emphasized the program’s role in building a more responsive, accountable, and citizen-focused public sector across West Africa.

Upon their return to work on December 1, 2025, the team immediately briefed the CSA Director-General, Dr. Josiah F. Joekai, Jr. on their insights and action plans. They reaffirmed their role as champions who will now drive the rollout of Kaizen principles across Government Spending Entities.

Dr. Joekai thanked the team for making CSA proud, and reminded them that with the knowledge acquired, they have greater responsibilities to restructure the Agency. He urged them to stay focused and resilient in making decisions that will benefit not just CSA, but the nation at large.

The initiative represents a daring stride by the CSA leadership, leveraging international partnerships like the longstanding collaboration between JICA and CSTC, to directly invest in the human capital at the core of governance. As the newly certified Kaizen practitioners begin their work, the stage is set for a wave of innovation to sweep through Liberia’s civil service, enhancing delivery and reinforcing the nation’s commitment to excellence in public administration.