New ministries will just add new problems

BOTH THE PNM and the UNC believe part of the solution to the country’s woes is adding new cabinet seats.

The Prime Minister is proposing a "ministry of efficiency and implementation" – something that sounds straight out of a novel by George Orwell or Aldous Huxley – while Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, faring little better, is promising a "ministry of artificial intelligence."

So much for your standard election goodies.

Both proposals are striking for being at once too narrow and too broad; too vital and too gratuitous.

They suggest gimmickry, not the public administration reform so badly needed.

It is the prerogative of any leader to tinker with the Whitehall seating.

A prime minister may wish to stamp their authority. Adding ministries can also be a way to signal an administration’s specific priorities.

But such changes come at a cost.

The creation of any government department involves myriad levels of expenditure.

Additionally, there is the loss of staff productivity as workers – assuming they are transferred from old areas – adjust to the new entity.

Mr Young’s proposal, in particular, is notable for how its circularity renders it almost satirical.

How to improve the efficiency of government ministries? Start a new ministry. But who will police the efficiency of the ministry of efficiency?

The PM’s answer is that he will be "riding" everybody.

If so, why is a new division – with an additional budget heading and possibly an additional minister – needed?

This is not what people mean when they urge the state to improve the ease of doing business.

In 1999, the Basdeo Panday administration appointed Lindsay Gillette to do something like what is being proposed now.

In more recent times, monitoring and evaluation units were set up in ministries. That few are familiar with these initiatives speaks volumes.

There is no reason why the project of getting the government to work better cannot be brought about by using existing structures.

Why not just volunteer clear timelines and boost accountability?

A system of incentives, with palpable rewards for staff, could improve productivity.

Protecting workers from abuse and interference, while also allowing independent bodies, not politicians, to weed out non-performers is also a part of the solution.

Paying public servants on time might help, too. As might empowering the Ombudsman.

The job of monitoring all of this could be done by any of the myriad parliamentary committees. A new ministry is not necessary.

If the PM’s proposal looks more suited to a JSC, so too does Ms Persad-Bissessar’s.

Will her ministry replace the Ministry of Digital Transformation? Or will it be an appendage to that entity? Either way, the move would be misguided.

Artificial intelligence is an important, multifaceted issue with ethical implications. But the pace at which technology changes is so rapid that it would be a mistake to set up permanent structures around a single rapidly evolving area.

More appropriate might be mandating existing ministries to examine their relevant policies. That would cost almost nothing. And it could be done tomorrow, not on April 29.