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Remarks by
The Right Honourable
Perry G. Christie MP
PRIME MINISTER & MINISTER OF FINANCE
8th
October 2004
SEMINAR ON
THE FUTURE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE
WYNDHAM CRYSTAL PALACE
I am honoured to be here this morning to open officially this
seminar on the future of the public service.
I have committed the Government to reform of the public sector.
It is time to move. Each day as I work as Prime Minister I am
struck by the urgent necessity for change in the way the public sector
functions.
The fact that the Public Sector Unions and Staff Associations
have come together to address this topic is a sign that you, as workers
in the sector also recognize that there is an urgent need for change.
I am happy that you are embracing the need for change.
The Public Service, by definition, must lay the infrastructure,
both physical and social to allow the public sector to produce jobs –
and opportunities – for the private sector.
In other words, you are the engine that promotes, protects and
sustains the economic and social well being of the country, not just for
this generation of Bahamians, but for all future generations to come.
More particularly, in an archipelagic nation such as ours, there
is a compelling urgency for us to be so structured that we are able to
manage the affairs of all our islands to bring greater meaning, purpose
and economic success to the lives of our citizens.
If we, together, can agree on this as our common philosophical
thrust, then it becomes apparent that we must also dramatically improve
the working lives of you the public servants.
When my party came to office, it came with the following pledges
in Our Plan with regard to the public service:
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We would respect the right of public employees to organize and
join unions and to participate in collective bargaining over wages, and
working conditions.
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We will not make public servants scapegoats.
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We will reward merit and insist upon efficiency throughout the
public service.
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We will establish a systematic review scheme so that public
servants will not be expected to trade their votes for salary increases.
These
are still the aims and objectives of the Government.
I think that we have come some way toward meeting those
objectives but clearly we have some way to go.
Since I came to office, I have met with experts and consultants
from both at home and abroad. The
ideas that have been exchanged have been useful in terms of the
directions we need to take.
It
is clear that resources have to be dedicated to be sure that the all of
the work we have to do to bring about agreed upon changes is done.
Additionally, it must be clearly acknowledged by all parties that
the objectives of reform will only be realized with all of us: the
government and the public service employees, as well as the unions and
staff associations, working together as a team.
The
task is complicated however by the fact that while there is the
expression of the need for reform; there is an inbuilt resistance to
change. I hope that through
your discussions today, we can begin to change that institutional
resistance, so that we can come to accept that unless there is a good
faith commitment to reform and positive change, we will not be doing the
best we can for our country.
I have some very specific ideas about that change, and how the
management of the service can be improved.
First and foremost, it must be said that the objective of the
service must not only be to provide the public goods and services
mandated by the people, Parliament and the Government.
The service must also faithfully and energetically carry out the
objectives of the Government of the day.
The
idea of public service reform is certainly not unique to us in The
Bahamas. All over the world where there is an organized public sector
there are efforts at varying stages to bring about a new culture of
reform or change. I was
fascinated to read from a study done for the government in the United
Kingdom, and I quote:
“Imagine
becoming chief executive of a large organization and being told that the
entire management are ‘independent’, that you have no control over
their major levers of motivation – recruitment, promotion and reward
– and that they operate as a separate organization with a mind of its
own. Modern organizations
do not and cannot work like that. Neither
can government.”
The
service must be a flexible and adaptable organization that can change
its direction when a new office holder is elected and given his or her
mandate.
There is one other external issue that relates to the question of
how the goods and services are distributed in the public sector.
That issue is the role of information dissemination, and the need
for transparency. Again,
there appears in some cases to be an institutional resistance to sharing
information with the public about what the Government is doing.
Often,
you will hear criticisms that the Government is not doing anything at
all with regard to a particular matter or in a particular area.
And just as often, this public ignorance about what is being done
can be traced to a surrender by the Public Service to the culture of a
perceived lack of authority to release information and an indifference
to the result of not having provided the information.
This
is but one example of how the story of what the Government is doing
simply does not get out to the public at large, and there seems to be an
insensitivity to the public’s right to know. Put another way, it seems
that there is an in built resistance to the idea that the public should
know and a lack of appreciation that public knowledge makes the country
stronger in the result.
Let
me be clear, one vital component of public service reform must be a
responsible, efficient and transparent apparatus for the timely
dissemination of relevant public information.
Then
there are the internal issues that I am sure are most important to you
within the service. This
concerns how the public service itself hires, trains, and promotes; how
the service rewards and how it disciplines.
This is perhaps the greatest area of complaint by employees in
the service. Clearly, it is
an area that needs to be addressed.
I am sure that you will have many ideas on what we need to do
there.
In
our discussions with the Inter American Development Bank on the issue of
public sector reform and with other firms of experts who would wish to
assist the government in the area of public service reform, there was a
common approach.
First,
there must be an understanding that the leaders of the service both
political and institutional – that means you and me – that we accept
the need for change; that all of us buy into the change agenda and
commit ourselves to change. You
have that commitment from my Government.
I believe that Permanent Secretaries should all embrace the need
for reform. You have the Government’s commitment that together, we
shall influence the reform agenda.
Secondly, we must identify and agree upon what needs to be
changed. Five areas have
already been identified as of urgent importance:
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Improvement of the capacity of the Government for policy design
and discussion making;
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Monitoring implementation of cabinet decisions;
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Support to the further development of e-government;
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Strengthening of the investment project cycle management; and
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Creation of a public assets management system.
Clearly,
to accomplish the goals in these five major areas, we must first create
a solid platform in changes to personnel policies and procedures of the
Government service and the policies on the dissemination of information.
I think that it is clear that there is no longer time for
tinkering with reform and change. Each
day that passes, the country is not well served by systems that engender
delay and frustration to those who work in it and for those for whom it
is supposed to be working. I
hope that what happens here today sets the framework for an atmosphere
of change and brings us all to the realization that we must begin to do
something different from the way we have been in the past.
We must so craft our reforms that the Public Service is poised in
all ways to facilitate the continued growth and prosperity of the best
little country in the world.
I hope that you are inspired toward
fresh and innovative thought and that you have good and fruitful day.
Thank you very much.
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