WEEKES HITS PUBLIC SERVICE

PRESIDENT Paula-Mae Weekes says the public service has developed a reputation for inefficiency and it is time for this stigma to be eradicated, if the country is to move forward.

She was speaking on Wednesday night at the inaugural President’s Award for service excellence and innovation in the public sector at Cipriani Labour College, Valsayn.

The award is part of the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Unfollow: Same Never Made a Difference campaign, which promotes a citizen-driven agenda.

She said public institutions are the platform through which people are served and act as the bridge between people and government. The public service is the largest sector employed by the State.

“They should be functional, modern and well run. Sadly, our public sector has earned the invidious reputation for ineptitude, inefficiency and stagnation.” Weekes said while no one doubts there are pools of competence within the service, the overall impression is disheartening and alarming.

ERADICATE

THE STIGMA

“Alarming because our economic climate, our international partners, the reasonable increasing demands of our population and advancing technology all require that the service be efficient, sophisticated (and) responsive to the needs of those it services. It is high time that we eradicate the stigma.”

She said TT has committed to fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to eliminate many of the challenges and inefficiencies that hamper country development, and this includes goal nine: to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive, sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation.

“The public sector must therefore became an exemplar of excellence in service delivery with the capacity to manage technological, social and economic changes that have taken place and will continue to take place here.

TT cannot allow itself to be left behind in the march to progress, and good leadership and innovation are two prerequisites for that journey.”

She said institutions will prosper only if led by those who understand if one is to lead, one also has to serve, and sometimes that requires a suppression of ego.

She added the seven short-listed submissions were inspirational and a common thread was that forward-thinking ideas did not necessarily come from the head, but from those in the trenches.

“The team members were leaders in their own right, and understood that service requires concrete action, and that hopes and dreams will not by themselves bring about the change we need in our institutions.”

MUST INNOVATE

Weekes said the challenges demand deeper collaboration, evidence-based decision-making and concerted action at every level. “Innovation is the currency of progress. Our circumstances require more creative solutions.”

She said a notorious “energy sapper” was resistance to change, which may be caused by burnout, lassitude or fear of the unfamiliar.

“The purpose of (the IDB campaign) Unfollowing is to bring everyone into the light, even if it is kicking and screaming. We need to find ways to work through the myopia and opposition that often impede progress in our institutions. But every effort should be made to bring everyone on board.”

She hailed the change agents who have seen the light and have worked to bring about greater service excellence and innovation in the public sector.

“I eagerly await the societal transformation that these advances will bring, as that is the true litmus test of these awards.”

The Housing Ministry’s Housing and Village Improvement Programme, which provides disadvantaged rural and peri-urban villages access to housing grants and improved infrastructure, took home the top award,followed by the Trade Ministry’s TTBizLink and WASA’s Adopt A River initiative. Other finalists were the North Central Regional Health Authority, the Works Ministry, CARIRI and Health Ministry.

Contacted yesterday on the President’s comments about the public service, Public Administration Minister Marlene McDonald told Newsday she had not read Weekes’ statements and was not in a position at the time to comment.