For every Minister, a learning curve

Professor Spence was particularly concerned with the issues of the role of ministers via a vis permanent secretaries and the tactic of establishing state owned companies to undertake public works. Spence argues that “our system of governance is being seriously compromised by the fact that many ministers act as managers of their ministries” and that the role of ministers should be policy formulation.

He further asserts that if ministers are to manage they should be appropriately trained and reducing the number of ministers will help.

The power of ministers to “manage” Ministries derives from an interpretation of the Constitution which states that “The Cabinet shall have the general direction and control of the government of Trinidad and Tobago…” and “ The Cabinet shall consist of the Prime Minister and such number of other ministers …………. as the Prime Minister may consider appropriate. These provisions are reinforced by Section 79 (1) which says: “The President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, may, by directions or in writing, assign to the Prime Minister or any other minister responsibility for any business of the government of Trinidad and Tobago, including the administration of any department of government.”

I consider that the clause “the administration of any department of government” was not intended to convey to ministers management responsibility for the business of ministries but rather this responsibility evolved out of practice.

Indeed, Spence draws the comparison between the public service managers of the 1970’s with those of subsequent periods to make the point that permanent secretaries were once managers as opposed to assistants to Ministers.

My argument is based on reasonableness of intent on the part of the constitution makers, in that the framers of the Constitution could not reasonably have expected the majority of persons who became ministers to be capable of managing the complex business of Government without the appropriate background. In fact, the provision for recruiting ministers through the procedure of senatorial appointments suggests this.

I have raised the issue with Spence that I do not support the business analogy of a minister functioning as chairman and the permanent secretary as CEO of a ministry because there are many differences between government and business since it has been argued that “public organizations live in a political sea, while businesses live in a market economy.In government, most organisations exist within fairly dysfunctional systems.”

I also challenge the position that reducing the number of ministries and providing management training are potential solutions to the inefficient conduct of the business of ministries. Rather, the focus should be on encouraging entrepreneurial behaviour within the public sector because of the observation that, “system realities create the incentives and conditions that drive organisations to act in a bureaucratic fashion.

Until they are changed, it is difficult to build entrepreneurial organisations. Hence the most important strategic levers in the public sector lie within the larger system, not within the organisation.

Civic entrepreneurs must change these larger systems – education systems, welfare systems, regulatory systems, federal-state-local systems, budget systems, personnel systems, and the like.” (David Osborne)

Osborne further identified the need for reinventing government by which is meant “the fundamental transformation of public systems and organizations to create dramatic increases in their effectiveness, efficiency, adaptability, and capacity to innovate”.

To achieve such transformation will require changes of purpose, incentives, accountability, power structure, and culture. True reinvention not only improves effectiveness today but creates organizations capable of continuous improvement as the environment changes and prepares government for challenges not yet anticipated.

Regarding the issue of the appropriate number of ministries for a small country such as ours, we are all aware of why the increase has taken place over the years. New administrations feel compelled to pacify the various constituencies, so while rational thinking will conceive of not more than ten Ministries as adequate, political realities dictate many more.

Further, as initiatives to reform the public sector and streamline the bureaucracy elude the various administrations, the current response has been to revert to the tactics of the 70’s of creating State Enterprises.

Professor Spence questions the cost of setting up the companies, whether any improvement in service delivery will result and whether it will be necessary to recruit foreigners as CEO’s.

Public organizations have been categorized as comprising four basic types: policy, regulatory, compliance and service. The fact is that there are considerable deficiencies in each type in Trinidad and Tobago which have led to these organizations being described as dysfunctional. Establishing new state enterprises is placing a focus on the service delivery type of government organization especially in the areas of infrastructure development, schools construction, sports or health facilities.

One can question the depth and breadth of analysis which caused a reversion to this solution to the service delivery problem because efficient delivery of development projects is inevitably tied to the efficiency of policy and regulatory agencies such as Town and Country Planning, Environmental Management Authority (EM A) and other statutory approval agencies.

The effective management of state enterprises is not likely to be achieved without behaviour change which involves “large-scale combat” requiring “intense prolonged struggle in the political arena, in the institutions of government, and in the community and society”.

It has been suggested that, given the enormity of the task and the resistance that will be encountered, the challenge of reinventing government will require leveraging all resources into big changes and using the levers available to change the underlying dynamics of the system, in a way that brings about widespread behavior change.

It is unfortunate that Deryck Moreno will not be available to lend his expertise because he has returned to exile.