CARICAD

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November ♦ 2004 Vol. 1 ♦ No. 1

NEW COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

efore you, on your

computer screen, is the

first issue of the CARICAD

Chronicle.

We are pleased to introduce this

e-newsletter as our newest medium

of communication. It will be

published every two months and

distributed to readers worldwide by

email.

The Chronicle is an integral part

of CARICAD’s new pro-active

public information and

communication strategy which

focuses on promoting and

maintaining dialogue with our

valued stakeholders.

It will facilitate timelier

dissemination of information about

our activities and programmes

around the Caribbean and highlight

the importance and value of what

we do.

Mrs. Jennifer Astaphan

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (ag.)

“We are not only seeking to

improve public awareness of

CARICAD but also to promote

better public understanding of

issues directly related to our area of

expertise, namely, public sector

transformation and modernization,”

says newly appointed acting

Executive Director, Mrs. Jennifer

Astaphan.

Mrs. Astaphan, an attorney-at-

law, took up duties on July 1. She

has had an outstanding career as a

public servant in her native

Dominica and as a technocrat with

the Organization of Eastern

Caribbean States (OECS).

As a regional organization

founded two decades ago,

CARICAD’s mandate is to assist

member governments to improve

efficiency and to contribute to

strengthening the public sector’s

capacity to cope with an ever

changing global environment.

Kindly send us your comments

and suggestions. Your feedback is

valuable and welcome. Our email

address is caricad@caribsurf.com

Meantime, enjoy your reading!

‘EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IS KEY’ hat the CARICOM

Single Market and

Economy (CSME) will mean for

Caribbean Public Services was the

subject of a lively roundtable

discussion at this year’s Eighth

Annual Policy Forum organized by

CARICAD.

Debating the topic “How can we

effectively lead our Public Services

into the CSME?”, four

distinguished panelists agreed that

Public Services will be operating in

a constantly evolving environment

and it is the quality of leadership

that ultimately will make a

difference.

“We need to have persons in the

Public Service who share the vision

and can pass it down to the lowest

rank for them to understand that it

is not business as usual,” was how

Operations Manager at the CSME

Implementation Unit, Ms. Thelma

Joseph, summed it up.

Other panelists were Deputy

General Secretary of the Barbados

Workers Union, Mr. Robert

Morris; President of the Antigua

Chamber of Commerce, Mr.

Clarvis Joseph; and Deputy

Permanent Secretary in Trinidad

and Tobago’s Ministry of the

Public Service, Ms. Myrna

Thompson.

....continued on page 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

A St Lucia Ministry’s mission

of change -- Page 2.

Historic public sector dialogue

takes shape in Antigua – Page

3.

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CSME and the Public Service

….continued from Page 1

The moderator was newly-

elected Chairman of CARICAD,

and Antigua and Barbuda’s Chief

Establishments Officer, Mr. Hazel

Spencer.

A unique gathering of public

sector, business and civil society

representatives from CARICAD’s

14 member countries and

territories, the Policy Forum is a

much-anticipated annual event

which allows the region’s social

partners to exchange

ideas and perspectives

on key issues.

With the CSME

generating considerable

regional debate in the

run-up to the proposed

start-up date of January

1, 2005, this year’s

policy forum which was

held in Barbados,

sought to make an

informed contribution

by examining the

implications of CSME

for CARICAD’s main

constituency – the

public sector.

As the panelists saw it, public

sector leadership will have to be

dynamic, visionary and creative if

the CSME is to achieve its promise

of enhancing regional development

through the creation of a single

economic space allowing free

movement of goods and services,

people and capital to support an

expansion of business activity.

“We have to accept that we are

the new visionaries of where our

single economic space is going to

go,” said Mr. Joseph. “…To the

extent that we are successful is the

extent to which we are prepared to

apply creative thinking, realize our

responsibility to be visionaries, and

commit ourselves to experiment.”

It was particularly crucial, Mr.

Joseph added, for the public sector

to demonstrate a clear

understanding of the needs of

business when taking decisions

which impact particularly on

investment. Swift and timely

decisions are a must, he

emphasized, “because that’s critical

on whether money gets used today

or doesn’t get used.”

A LIGHT MOMENT DURING

THE DISCUSSION. From left:

Ms. Thelma Joseph, Mr. Robert

Morris, Ms. Myrna Thompson,

Mr. Hazel Spencer and Mr.

Clarvis Joseph (at podium)

“That is going to be a new

dimension of leadership within the

CSME that we (business people)

are going to demand because I am

not going to move from Antigua to

open up business in Barbados, or

Trinidad ,or Grenada, if I am going

to get the run-around,” he

explained.

Mr. Morris identified an

opportunity for public servants to

exercise leadership through

demystifying the CSME so that the

man-in-the-street can understand

what it is about and connect with

the process.

The challenge is to “make sure

that the CSME does not remain as

some virtual thing,” Mr. Morris

said. “You have to make it real. A

lot of people don’t understand.

They can’t conceptualize the

reality.”

According to the

Barbadian trade

unionist and historian,

a CSME-type

arrangement existed

in the region when it

was inhabited 2,000

years ago by the

aboriginal peoples –

the Arawaks, Incas,

etc. “It can happen

again,” he said. “I

want you to see

CSME as a process

that will take several

years to become a

reality. We are at the

beginning of a

wonderful process.”

Ms. Thompson examined the

CSME in the context of a detailed

presentation on Trinidad and

Tobago’s Vision 2020, a blueprint

for the country’s future

development. She outlined various

steps being taken to enhance the

enabling environment for the

private sector to effectively play its

role as the engine of growth.

“They (the private sector) are also

the prime movers and shakers in

terms of achieving the objectives of

the CSME,” she observed.

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Caricad ChronicleCaricad ChronicleCaricad ChronicleCaricad Chronicle

GOAL OF SUPREME SERVICE Education Ministry pursues new business culture

ARICAD is playing a key

supporting role as St

Lucia’s Ministry of Education,

Human Resource Development,

Youth and Sports attempts a

transition from a traditional

‘command- driven’ to a modern

‘service-driven’ arm of

government.

On August 1,

CARICAD

began

implementing a

change

management

project under

which Ms. Cindy

Emmanuel, a St.

Lucian with an

extensive

background in

education, will

be stationed

inside the

Ministry for one

year, in the first

instance, to work

as a change

management

consultant. The

former secondary

school principal

was hired by

CARICAD

specifically to

guide and oversee the

transformation process.

“By the end of the year, we are

hoping to achieve five objectives,”

says Ms. Emmanuel. “They all

support one overall goal which is to

ensure that the Ministry delivers

better service to both its internal

and external customers.”

Objectives include setting

performance targets for each

department, unit and employee that

reflect a new customer service

orientation; defining the roles

and responsibilities of each

department, unit and employee;

conducting a training needs

analysis with special emphasis on

skills and competencies; and

providing training in and

promoting strategies for a

customer service orientation.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

TRAINING: Consultant Ms.

Cindy Emmanuel (standing)

explains to Education Ministry

employees how to design a

customer service manifesto.

CARICAD’s intervention is at

the specific request of the

Ministry and was made possible

through the CARICAD

Institutional Strengthening

Project (CISP), being funded by

the Department for

International Development

(DFID) of the United Kingdom.

The Education Ministry’s project

fits into a wider change process

which the Office of Public Sector

Reform (OPSR) is implementing

for the entire St Lucian Public

Service and which has the same

goal of improving customer

service.

Since her

appointment four

months ago, Ms.

Emmanuel has

pursued a hectic

agenda. She has

been carrying out

market research,

having meetings

with stakeholders

of the Ministry,

selling the project

to staff,

encouraging their

full participation in

the process, and

offering words of

reassurance where

anxieties exist.

Organizational

change has been on

the Ministry’s

agenda for several

years now.

Through diagnostic

studies, the changes necessary for

transforming the Ministry into a

service centre were identified and

documented.

However, until CARICAD

provided the services of Ms.

Emmanuel, resource constraints

made it challenging for the

Ministry to assign someone full

time to manage the transition

process.

…….continued on page 5

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CONSENSUS FOR COOPERATION Historic Public Sector dialogue takes shape

ntigua and Barbuda’s new

Government, led by Prime

Minister Hon. Baldwin Spencer, is

benefiting from CARICAD’s

wealth of expertise in public

administration as it aims to be an

efficient, high performance

administration.

In two separate missions to St

John’s, the Antiguan capital, since

September, representatives of

CARICAD held wide-ranging

discussions with the Prime

Minister, Cabinet Ministers,

Permanent Secretaries, and other

senior officials to identify and

agree on key issues to be addressed

in the CARICAD intervention.

Mrs. Rosemond Warrington

PROGRAMME SPECIALIST

Recognizing the crucial role of

the Public Service in implementing

the programme of every elected

government, the assignment gives

priority to achieving a harmonized

relationship between Cabinet

Ministers, Permanent Secretaries

and senior officials, based on a

clear definition and understanding

of their respective roles in national

governance.

CARICAD has engaged Mr.

Charles Maynard, a former

Dominican government minister

and permanent secretary, as the

lead consultant on the project

which is being undertaken

through the DFID-funded

CARICAD Institutional

Strengthening Programme

(CISP). Mr. Maynard will work

closely with CARICAD’s team

of experts based at its

headquarters in Barbados.

“The intervention will enable

the Government of Antigua and

Barbuda to have a clear and

shared vision as well as an action

programme to which both

Ministers and Permanent

Secretaries

subscribe harmoniously through

clearly defined roles,” explains

Senior Advisor on Public Sector

Reform, Richard Madavo.

In a subsequent mission from

October 4-15, Mr. Maynard and

CARICAD Programme

Specialist, Mrs. Rosemund

Warrington, conducted

interviews with 30 officials

including the Prime Minister,

Deputy Prime Minister, Cabinet

Ministers, Permanent Secretaries

and senior officials.

The discussion examined the

new role of Cabinet and

Permanent Secretaries in the

changing world of the 21st

Century, as well as issues

surrounding the new

environment in which

government business is

conducted within the context of

public sector modernization.

The next phase of the

intervention involves the hosting

of separate retreats for Cabinet

Ministers and Permanent

Secretaries, followed by a

combined retreat for both groups.

Afterwards, CARICAD will

produce a report summarizing

major points of agreement and

listing other necessary

recommendations.

Prime Minister Spencer, whose

administration was elected to office

seven months ago, has identified

transformation and modernization

of the public sector as critical to

Antigua and Barbuda’s future.

“Public Sector transformation is

fundamental if we are to succeed in

CARICOM and if we are to survive

in the Free Trade Area of the

Americas,” he told trade union

leaders at a recent meeting .

SAD LOSS FOR REGION

ARICAD lost a valued

colleague and partner

when internationally respected

management expert, Mr. Gordon

Draper, died suddenly in a British

hospital on August 11 from a brain

haemorrhage.

The former University of the

West Indies academic and Trinidad

and Tobago Government Minister

has worked on various

Governance-related projects for

CARICAD over the years. His

latest assignments were to be in St

Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda

under the CARICAD Institutional

Strengthening Project (CISP).

Mr. Draper , who was 55, fell ill

on his way home from attending a

conference in South Africa. He will

be sadly missed.

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BUILDING CAPACITY IN

MONTSERRAT

n response to a request from

the Government of

Montserrat, CARICAD has been

assisting the Office of the Chief

Minister to develop and enhance its

Corporate Plan in keeping with

budgeting requirements of the

Ministry of Finance.

Last year, the Ministry of

Finance mandated all Ministries

and Departments to submit

Corporate Plans to inform the 2004

Budget. However, it was realized

that several Ministries and

Departments did not have the

necessary institutional capacity to

complete this task in a timely

manner.

Following an official request to

CARICAD for assistance, Senior

Advisor for Public Sector Reform,

Mr. Richard Madavo, and

Programme Specialist, Mrs.

Rosemund Warrington, undertook a

mission to Montserrat from

September 21-24.

They facilitated a strategic

planning workshop in which about

25 senior officials participated to

improve their knowledge and skills

in strategic planning. The

participants were not only from the

Chief Minister’s office but other

Ministries and Departments as

well.

The five-year corporate plan,

which will be reviewed annually,

seeks to establish a sound,

systematic basis for the

programmes, activities and budget

of the Office of the Chief Minister.

The annual reviews are for the

purpose of making modifications

and submissions to the Ministry

of Finance for budgetary

purposes.

“We ended up with an annual

work plan that shows what

strategic objectives are guiding

the Department every year,

including the activities, costs and

responsibilities that are linked to

those strategic objectives,”

explains Mr. Madavo.

Mr. Richard Madavo

SENIOR ADVISOR

The exercise involved the

refinement and/or development

of mission, vision, value

statements, goals, strategic

objectives and performance

indicators for the Office of the

Chief Minister. It also involved

identifying opportunities,

analyzing problems, establishing

priorities and needs that

ultimately will determine the

allocation of budget resources.

On conclusion of the project,

the Office of the Chief Minister

will assist other Departments to

develop their own corporate

plans which ultimately are aimed

at improving overall government

efficiency and delivering better

service to citizens. Assistance for

the project was through the

CARICAD Institutional

Strengthening Project (CISP).

SUPREME SERVICE

………..continued from page 3

At a workshop on October 18,

the process made a major step

forward. Staff of various

departments and units brainstormed

on their roles in effecting

organizational change as they

discussed the development of

customer service manifestos

(CSMs) for each department and

unit. A CSM is essentially an

agreement telling customers what

they can expect in terms of service.

It also specifies avenues for redress

in cases where service falls below

the agreed level.

“If (the process) is implemented

as discussed, I think there will be a

very big impact on the positive

side,” says Richard Madavo,

CARICAD’s Senior Adviser on

Public Sector Reform after

participating in the workshop and

observing the enthusiasm of

participants. Additional workshops

are planned.

ABOUT THIS

E-NEWSLETTER

Caricad Chronicle is a bi-

monthly electronic newsletter

produced by the Caribbean

Centre for Development

Administration (CARICAD).

Articles may be freely

reproduced. However, we request

in such cases that Caricad

Chronicle is identified as the

source.

Our address is:

1st Floor. Weymouth Corporate

Centre, Roebuck St., Bridgetown,

Barbados.

Tel: 246-427-8535/6.

Fax: 246-436-1709.

E-mail:caricad@caribsurf.com

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