IMPROVING PUBLIC SERVICE PERFORMANCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS IN THE OECS

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Lynette Casey
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1 IMPROVING PUBLIC SERVICE PERFORMANCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS IN THE OECS CLOSING REMARKS DELIVERED BY HONOURABLE LENARD SPIDER MONTOUTE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION, PUBLIC SERVICE, HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, YOUTH AND SPORTS REX SAINT LUCIAN HOTEL NOVEMBER 03 rd, 2009

2 Dr. Nick Manning, Sector Manager, Public Sector Management and Governance Professor Dr. Sir Ronald Fergus, Speaker of the House of Assembly in Montserrat Ambassador Joan Underwood Permanent Secretaries Presenters Fellow Caribbean Participants Father Jason Biscette Specially Invited Guests Other Public Officers Ladies and Gentleman

3 It is an honour for me to bring this Conference on Improving Public Service Performance in the OECS in times of Crisis to a close. I understand that we had two packed days of intense, stimulating, enlightening and very high quality presentations and discussions. The presentations were delivered by international, regional and country experts, all of whom shared and offered insights on the various topics which I am sure everyone benefitted from. The discussions were lively, engaging, productive and informative. I hope that we have also taken the opportunity to network with each other and that we shall continue to keep in contact with each other when we return to our respective countries. As Prime Minister, the Honourable Stephenson King stated, the world economy is beginning to emerge out of the recession. The recovery is, however, likely to be very slow and world growth is also projected to be lower than it was in the pre-crisis period. This prognosis is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and some analysts believe that there is a danger of the world economy plunging back into recession. Well, we now understand why economics is called the dismal science. In times like this, If all economists were laid end to end it wouldn t be a bad thing. Do you agree? The OECS countries are some of the most highly indebted countries in the world, when of course one looks at debt as a percentage of GDP. The crisis has contributed to increasing already very high debt levels and therefore the policy options for the OECS are very limited. Maintaining stability during this period will require prudent policy actions developed with maximum social consensus. Our focus must be on social protection measures to help the poor. The need to control the growth in the wage bill, given that the wage bill accounts, in most cases, for the largest percentage in recurrent expenditure is critical. I have been informed that the presentations by Sir Dwight Venner, Governor of the ECCB, Mr. Manning of the World Bank and Mr. Silins of CARTAC contributed to elucidating the critical issues, challenges and policy options that our economies need to consider in addressing the economic circumstances that confront us. I strongly believe that we need to review the current institutional arrangements we have in place for negotiations with the public sector unions on wages, salaries and fringe benefits. There is on the one hand, a need to pay a competitive wage in order to attract individuals into the public service who can offer the best possible technical advice. On the other hand, we must be able to ensure that whatever increases in salaries and wages are given in the aggregate is affordable and

4 is consistent with the medium term fiscal framework. Before continuing I would like to share a joke with you. President Harry S Truman once said he wanted an economist who was one handed. Why? Because his advisers would typically give him economic advice stating on the one hand.. and on the other. I hope that I did not sound like an economist. This is a serious dilemma that we face and we need to come up with the best options in addressing the issue of paying competitive wages within a consistent medium term fiscal framework. I look forward to the recommendations that were proposed at this Conference to address this issue. I am aware that a considerable amount of time was devoted to reviewing the major factors affecting the performance of the public service and I hope an even greater time was placed on seeking solutions to these problems. It is my view that there is an urgent need for modernizing, reforming and transforming the public sector so that it becomes more service-oriented, cost effective and efficient in the way it operates. There is also a need to determine how we sequence the reforms, and the pace at which reforms should be introduced. While there may be no onesize fits all solution as it may depend upon individual country circumstances, I am aware that all of our countries face certain common challenges. I have been informed that there was discussion on reforming the legislative framework governing the public service. I believe this is an area that we need to address urgently. Many of our countries have similar Constitutional provisions governing the public service and that the Public Service Commission has powers to appoint, promote, transfer and discipline public officers. In addition, many of our countries have Staff Orders, which in our case date back to We therefore need to examine the current legislative arrangements and determine what changes are required to introduce legislation suited to meeting the requirements of a modern efficient and effective public service. I am eagerly awaiting your recommendations and discussions on this very important topic. The change programme required to modernize the public service requires inspired leaders who will serve as champions of the reform. I think the debate on whether leaders are born or made has been settled. It appears that it is a little of both. There is a need to move away from promoting public officers to leadership positions based purely on seniority and to promoting officers based on performance and strong leadership qualities. There is also a need to provide public officers holding leadership positions with the necessary tools and relevant training required to effectively lead their organizations. I have been advised that CIDA has made a commitment to provide support in the area of leadership. We hope that the funding and

5 implementation arrangements can be expedited as this is an important area of development for us in the region. The area of performance management and in particular, performance appraisal systems is area that we need to urgently review. I often hear that public officers tend to get performance appraisals which are either very good or outstanding. Further, if there is a problematic public officer and the Permanent Secretary wants to transfer the public officer, he is likely to get an outstanding appraisal. I hope this does not happen in the other OECS or Caribbean islands. There is a need to definitely improve the performance management system to reflect actual results and performance. In addition, the performance management system must be linked to the budget and work programme of the Ministry. I expect that you had interesting discussions in this area and I wait with baited breath your recommendations. ICT offers great promise to revolutionize the way in which the public service functions. I believe that there is significant potential for effecting productivity gains, improved service delivery and greater government effectiveness in implementing its programmes through the use of ICT. We, however, need to ensure that our e-government strategy is well structured and properly managed and implemented. I am aware of CARICAD s contribution in the development of a draft regional strategic plan. There were presentations from Singapore and Malta, two of the world leaders in this area. I personally visited Malta recently as part of the Small States Network for Economic Development (SSNED) Programme. I must say that I was highly impressed with the level of ICT development in Malta. Closer to home, presentations were made on the experience of Trinidad and Jamaica, two of the countries in the Caribbean leading in this area. Now that this Conference is over, we may ask ourselves what next? I believe that much has been learned and shared among participants and there is now need for us to implement the recommendations. There is need to develop a regional approach to developing and formulating recommendations going forward. CARICAD could possibly assist in this area. The Report summarizing the recommendations should provide a guide for moving forward in our public service modernization programmes. It should not a Report that is simply placed on your book-shelves collecting dust. I expect that the Report will be finalized and submitted to all of you at the earliest.

6 This Conference should be viewed as a stepping stone for further follow up conferences that will support relevant aspects of public service modernization in our respective countries. In closing, I would like to thank the World Bank for providing the Government of Saint Lucia with the funding to host this Conference. I am sure Nick Manning and Mariano Lafuente would agree that this was money well spent. I would also like to thank you gentlemen for the assistance and support provided by you in finalizing the Conference. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone including the presenters, participants, the Canada School of Government and other public officers from Saint Lucia for your participation in this Conference. Everyone here collectively contributed in making this Conference a resounding success. I also hope that you enjoyed your stay in Saint Lucia and wish you all a safe journey back to your countries. I thank you.

COMMUNIQUE. Fiftieth Meeting of the OECS Authority. CuisinArt Resort and Spa West End, Anguilla November 2009

COMMUNIQUE. Fiftieth Meeting of the OECS Authority. CuisinArt Resort and Spa West End, Anguilla November 2009 COMMUNIQUE Fiftieth Meeting of the OECS Authority CuisinArt Resort and Spa West End, Anguilla 18-20 November 2009 New Treaty establishing an Economic Union to be signed on 29 th December 2009 INTRODUCTION