Anguilla is embarking on a strategic public sector transformation and improvement programme involving the some 862 Government employees while not unnecessarily inflating that number. The launch of the initiative is to ensure a higher degree of professionalism and skills; that the right persons are in place to render proper service to the people of the island; and to assist with national development in that regard.
The transformation process, overseen by the Governor’s Office and particularly the Deputy Governor, Mr. Perin Bradley, to whom the administration of the public service has been assigned, is being spearheaded by Mr. Kenneth Hodge, Principal Assistant Secretary in the Department of Public Administration and Chairman of a 12-member Public Sector Transformation Working Group.
Those serving with him are: Kathleen Rogers, P.S. Public Administration; Jacqueline Bryan-Niles, Postmaster General; Voniee Harris, Deputy Accountant General (Treasury Department); Lenox J. Proctor, Clerk to the House of Assembly; Jeslie Duncan, Senior Water Lab Technologist (Health Protection); Lenox Vanterpool, Graduate Music Teacher (Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School); Serene Carter-Davis, Retired Senior Nursing Administrator; Nakishma Hull, Crown Counsel, Crime (Attorney General’s Chambers); Vaughn Hazell, Director (DITES); Erlyn Wilkinson, Administrative Services Manager (MICU); and Alwyn Richardson, Programme Officer (Disaster Management).
An interview was arranged with The Anguillian newspaper on Friday, January 18, to publicize the undertaking as a public service. Those at the event were Mr. Bradley, the Deputy Governor; Mrs. Kathleen Rogers, in her capacity as Permanent Secretary, Department of Public Administration; and Mr. Hodge who has been transferred from the Ministry of Home Affairs to lead the process as stated earlier.
“The reason we are undertaking this work is varied and well-known,” the Deputy Governor told the newspaper. “Earlier in my tenure, I took on what is called a ‘listening tour’ when I went around the different departments and talked to different people to get an understanding of their concerns. I also heard from people outside of the public service because a lot of times we tend to look inward, but the reality is we are there to serve the public. I think it is very important for us to understand what they are saying. Over time, we also had a number of visits from different consultants from the National School of Government in the United Kingdom, CARICAD (Caribbean Centre for Development Administration) and a whole host of different interventions.
“It is quite clear that there is a need for reform of the public service in some key areas, and we identified five thematic areas that we think are ripe for reform. The most important one is the citizen-focus public service. We want our public service to be aware of and be in tune with the demands of the public. We are there to serve the public. The public service exists for no other reason than to deliver to the public – to make sure that every person in Anguilla is able to meet his or her potential. And that is our responsibility: to see that our public is served to the best of our ability. The only way we can do that is if we have a good understanding of what the public wants, needs, and expects of us.”
Mr. Bradley continued: “The other thematic area is a talented public service. What the public wants, needs and expects is one thing. We also have to make sure that we have the talent within the public service to deliver on these things. We have a very sophisticated and discerning public. They have travelled abroad, have been exposed to different things; and are very smart and enlightened people. They expect a lot of things from the public service. They see how technology is being used in the public service and they expect the same thing as they should. So we have to make sure that we recruit the best highly-qualified persons to deliver on these things: people who have good commercial skills; who understand business and customer service; project management and what else is actually deeded for the public.
“In addition, the public also expects the public service to be accountable and transparent, so we need to be able explain what we are doing on any given day in the name of the public. This is quite important to us. People need to understand how the public service works. Over the last couple of years, one of the big initiatives we had undertaken was to set up the Public Accounts Committee – and that is part of the process to make sure that especially public servants are aware of their responsibility as far as the Public Accounts Committee is concerned. You will be asked to explain why certain decisions were made and certain actions were taken; and how you handled Government’s resources. We have to do all these things effectively and efficiently.
“One of the complaints we hear all the time is how the Government could be more efficient; the length of time it takes to get certain things done – whether it is applying for a license or a permit or just transacting business with Government. We also need to make sure that our public servants, as talented as they may be, are informed and engaged. So every step of the way I am going to make it a point of sharing with public servants the things that are important, and they need to know and understand as far as the wider public service is concerned.
“It sounds like a big job, but the reality is that none of these issues is new to us in the public service or to Anguilla. To deliver it we have assembled a team of persons whom we think have the knowledge, resources and expertise to do this. The point person, on my right hand on this mission, is Mr. Ken Hodge who has been transferred to Public Administration in the capacity of Principal Assistant Secretary. He is the one spearheading this project and, of course, my every day right hand person is Kathleen Rogers, PS Public Administration.
“We work together on a daily basis, every step of the way, just running the public service. So she is key to me in my functions in general. But this specific project is spearheaded by Mr. Hodge – but of course there is a wider team. We think that by dividing up the work amongst the team, that we will make substantial progress on this reform because the people of Anguilla deserve a well-functioning and high-quality public service.”
Mr. Ken Hodge told The Anguillian newspaper: “I think that one of the main areas I want to focus on is the development and involvement of people in the process. I have spent pretty much of my working life as a public servant so I have been through the good, the bad and the ugly so to speak. I have seen the public service develop over the years in some good directions and in some not so good directions; and it is really my burning desire to see, when I leave this public service, that I left it in a better place than I met it.
“I am very heartened, as I move around the public service, and see the energy, drive, ambition and passion that a number of young people bring to their jobs. And I really want to make the system in which they work a better one.”
Mr. Hodge noted that the twelve committee members working with him were drawn from various areas of the public service. “We therefore have a wide mix of public servants, some young; some not so young; and some a little older,” he stated. “That mix so far has been working out very well because the ideas that these persons bring to the table have provided a rich background for me to work with them. I am so glad of that support that this team is providing.
“In the weeks ahead, we want to mobilize our team to go out in the wider public service. We are going to be meeting every single public officer within their space for two main things: to update them about what we are doing and we also want to hear from them what their expectations are from this process; what is good and what is not so good; what solutions they have. We are of the opinion that if we are going to dictate to them, or lay down what we will be doing, that is not involvement; so we really want that tangible feedback from public servants as we go along. It is going to take some time, but we realize that it is going to be important because it is going to help inform any changes we will be making to the public service.”
Mr. Hodge pointed to another aspect of the reform process. “We realize that the work of the Deputy Governor is a very involved one and carries a lot of responsibility,” he explained. “We want to create a structure around him that is going to enable him to do his work more effectively and efficiently. So we want to undertake a review of his office with a view to setting up something that is more modern and more focused on the demands of a modern public service. We will also be undertaking a review of the Department of Public Administration over which he has responsibility. Once we get these two entities up and running in the way they should, that would be a good catalyst for looking at the rest of the public service.”
Meanwhile, Mrs. Kathleen Rogers joined the Deputy Governor in expressing confidence in, and support for, Mr. Hodge in spearheading the public sector transformation programme.
Further information on the project will be given later in another edition of The Anguillian newspaper.
