THE news coming out of the Ministry of the Presidency on Thursday 16th June that it would shortly provide a Draft Strategic Plan for ministries is welcome. It is important that the business of government be managed in a manner reflective of its policies and programmes within the confines of and conformity to laws, conventions and time-honoured principles.President David Granger has repeatedly informed the nation that his administration will be pursuing development within the confines of a Green Economy. This is expected to mean that every programme and plan will be developed and executed, respecting the principles upon which such an economy is built. And these principles are sustainable development, protection of the environment, and respecting labour policies.
The meeting held on Thursday with the President, Minister of State and Permanent Secretaries (PS), during which the role of the PS has been enunciated is interpreted to mean as commitment by the administration to delineate and respect respective roles and functions. As chief executive officer of the ministry, which is different from a political head, the PS’s task is to develop and implement programmes from the government policies consistent with the laws and Public Service rules.
And where the administration’s intent is to develop a strategic plan, it requires the involvement of staff in the departments and the public that receives the service. This is so given the utility derived from workers who are supposed to implement programmes, ensuring that they are aware of the government’s policies in order that they can meet expectations. In the absence of this consciousness of responsibilities and how these ought to be discharged, it denies the involvement of all the skillsets in the ministry the opportunity to deliver at their optimum.
It is noted that the President spoke of the need for the PS “being educated in order to discharge his/her functions in an efficient manner.” It is assumed what the President is alluding to is the shifting of the Public Service away from the politicisation over a number of years, which has undermined professionalism and compromised the discharge of duties.
Agreeably, achieving what the President sets out to do requires education. Education can be buttressed by in-depth understanding of roles and functions in pursuit of achieving the objectives in the Strategic Plan.
An area that would aid in ensuring these is realisation of the Public Service Staff College. A college of such nature is expected to conduct training and education consistent with requirements of a modern Public Service and managed by professionally competent officers who in the first instance understand their roles and functions and the mission of the Public Service.
To establish a plan to execute the programme for each ministry allows for a level of accountability in the system. Accountability measures how much work has been done, the manpower involved and cost (dollars and cents) for the execution of each activity. It further helps in identifying best performers and rewards them through performance appraisal, which serves as incentives and motivation to perform at the optimum.
Another factor is that the intent of putting in place a strategic plan will require the creation and evaluatiom of new jobs, given that new grounds are being established wherein the Public Service will be expected to be assessed on a system of results orientation. Pursuing this path allows for workers at the beginning of the fiscal year to be acquainted with the programmes in their departments and the expectations held of them in executing same. The consequence is that several jobs will have to be re-defined and evaluated. Appropriate remuneration will have to be addressed based on the real wage that is expected to be paid to individuals for performing duties on behalf of the State.
Finally, the act of professionalising the Public Service comes with a cost, intrinsic and extrinsic. The society must be prepared to shoulder this cost, given that proficiency is also important to development and minimising corruption. It should be said too that the pursuit of proficiency requires a satisfied workforce. Satisfied workers are valued workers and translate into better performance and the upholding of integrity. Here is where recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service could assist in guiding the architects of the Strategic Plan.