Wise Up on Windfall

In spite of our resources, we have an infrastructure that seldom meets our needs, burgeoning crime as those left out from the sharing of the economic pie try to elbow up to the table, and a crippling shortage of skilled personnel to provide the services promised by the Government.

Our Public Sector is seen as unable to follow up talk and good intentions with effective action. We have all of the studies, plans, experts and advice that we need. We also have a lot of good reasons for why things do not start on time, or finish on time or have the desired level of quality. We are unable to implement and enforce properly.

HUMAN RESOURCES

LACKING

This situation has its roots in both the last boom in the 1970s and the recession that followed in the 1980s. All of our Public Sector institutions have suffered from the shortage of people of top quality who would have provided the high calibre leadership necessary to exploit and maximise the resources at our disposal. Some of this is due in part to competition from a Private Sector that over the last 30 years has moved to seeking professional managers rather than relying on family and friends as in the past. Some are also due to the perception of relatively inflexible compensation packages and lack of opportunity for rapid advancement in the Public Service. Whatever the reason, the fact is that the service lacks the human resources to operate at a high level of effectiveness.

It is clear that all of our public agencies can benefit from an inflow of high calibre personnel. Several weeks ago I assisted at a career guidance seminar at one of our more highly regarded schools, and there was no one there to promote a career in the Public Service, the largest single employer in the country. No wonder that employment in the Public Service is seen as employment of the last resort. There was also no representative from the teaching community, though in fact one was invited. It is essential that this mindset is changed and that a career in the Public Service is seen as a desirable option for our more gifted students.

The Government has demonstrated its recognition of the situation by establishing a Public Service Transformation section in the Ministry of Public Administration and Information. Performance at an examination is now one of the criteria for advancement to the post of Permanent Secretary. In addition the Government has announced that tertiary education at universities in Trinidad and Tobago will be free from 2006.

These measures by themselves will not be sufficient to turn around the situation in the short term. It is unlikely that people steeped in a particular culture would change overnight and create a new culture at odds with what existed before. The Government has recognised this, and has shown a willingness to use external assistance, as when they called on Scotland Yard and the FBI to provide assistance in developing the Police service.

The effectiveness of these interventions has to be considered, and similar appropriate interventions designed and implemented for the wider Public Service. The potential yield from a positive transformation of the Public Services could be the highest return from any investment we could possibly make.

In the interim, if we are to act responsibly to the generations that will follow us we should use our windfall in a manner that creates sustainable activities well into the future. Not only do poorly implemented projects waste money, but they intensify existing shortages and push up wages and prices to levels that might be unsustainable. Frankly I would prefer to leave the energy in the ground and only take out what we can use effectively, rather than take it out and waste it on inadequately conceived and implemented projects. Since it is too late to pursue that option for existing projects, we have now to make choices that can meet the test of sustainability over a wide range of situations that could take place in the future.

My wish for the New Year would be for the Government to stop promising on projects that they are unable to deliver. They should concentrate on creating the capabilities for increased delivery in the future, while working on the issues that require immediate attention. Achieving some real positive results will go a long way towards creating a sense of satisfaction and hope that will assure us our aspirations will be met in the future.

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Guardian Life. You are invited to send your comments to guardianlife@ghl.co.tt