Ministry begins work on modernization of public service Diamond shaped structure to be developed

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

18 January, 2013

 

Ministry begins work on modernization of public service Diamond shaped structure to be developed

 

The Minister of Public Administration the Honourable Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, has signalled that it is Government’s intention to modernise the public service in an attempt to bring it more in line with the needs and developments of the 21st century. "This modernisation journey,” she said, “will place special emphasis on ensuring that the public service has strengthened Human Resource Management functions(HRM) that will allow for a more citizen-centred and citizen-focused approach in Government’s daily transactions." The focus will be on serving citizens in ways that are most convenient for them. They will have choices about how they receive these services, as well as ease of access. Their needs will determine the service delivery methods.

Commenting on the modernisation Minister Seepersad-Bachan indicated that, “The current shape of our public service is the classic pyramid of the British model that we inherited. There is a small group of managers at the top, a large group of technical and administrative staff in the middle and a huge group of clerical and general staff at the bottom. It is a system mired in a hierarchy that is unsuitable for a service-oriented, citizen-centric society.”

It is envisioned that this revamped public service will now reflect a diamond shape, which will see the broadening of the middle management level and the incorporation of the new professional streams such as Project Management, IT, procurement and facilities management in the public service. “We have already prepared terms of references to invite consultants to help us strengthen the capacity of the central human resource management agencies of the public service. These are the Service Commissions Department and the Personnel Department. We see the roles of these organisations being one of increased oversight and compliance with recruitment, selection and appointment processes so that the result will be greater authority being delegated to public service managers.”

Additionally, in order to prepare public officers for this transition, the Public Service Academy will play a key role to enhance the readiness and capabilities of public officers to meet the needs of this diamond public service for excellence in service delivery. Minister Seepersad-Bachan emphasised, “If we can get these Central HRM Agencies right, they in turn can ensure that Ministries are appropriately staffed to deliver Ministerial objectives.”

Some of the other major aspects of the public service modernisation programme include an analysis of the duties and functions of current public service positions, through a job evaluation exercise; the development of improved compensation policies and practices that will allow the service to attract and retain individuals; and, the movement towards being able to offer performance based incentives to those officers who perform exceptionally well.

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For further information, please contact Rae Ann Harper-Walters Head, Corporate Communications Division 625-8059, 688-2068 or email: harper-waltersr@mpa.gov.tt