With the aim of fostering a professional and efficient public service, Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag during an online media briefing on Monday stated that all public servants will have to undergo a periodic evaluation to determine their level of performance and where they are lacking. A code of conduct will also be implemented so that public servants interact more effectively with the public.
“….(the review) will tell us their level of performance in their job description.
“It will allow us to inform them where they are lapsing and also of course the code of conduct will allow them to interact or interface with the public in such a way that they will walk away feeling professionally dealt with,” the Minister said.
After two weeks in office, the Minister said it was revealed that the Ministry has been operating on very limited human resource skills which prevent the timely processing of services.
“There is no timeframe for when allowances are granted, no timeframe for when vacancies are to be filled.
“And for example, we have the scholarships where there is no time from when an application is made to the time of an award.”
These are some of the things that will be changed immediately according to the Minister.
The Minister stated that her Ministry will be committed to creating an environment that is as professional as it is accessible to the public at all times.
A culture of excellence and continuous professional development will also be implemented as well as administrative reforms.
Currently, there are 112 workers at the Ministry of which 43 are contracted workers, some of whom have been listed to transition to the pensionable establishments.
“With regards to any transitioning of any employees at the moment on contract to pensionable establishment, we are currently looking into that and we haven’t made a decision as yet in relation to those persons,” the Minister said
That is a good idea.. Government workers get a bad rap the world over and sometimes it is justified and sometimes not. Like any other aspect it is not good to generalize and many times they could likely use better tools whether it be equipment or training.