Remarks by

The Right Honourable

Perry G. Christie MP

PRIME MINISTER & MINISTER OF FINANCE

SEMINAR ON THE FUTURE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE

WYNDHAM CRYSTAL PALACE

8^th October 2004

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:

- We would respect the right of public employees to organize and join unions and to participate in collective bargaining over wages, and working conditions.

- We will not make public servants scapegoats.

- We will reward merit and insist upon efficiency throughout the public service.

- 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:

- Improvement of the capacity of the Government for policy design and discussion making;

- Monitoring implementation of cabinet decisions;

- Support to the further development of e-government;

- Strengthening of the investment project cycle management; and

- 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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