On November 22, the Deputy Governor’s Office held the Public Service Transformation Mid-Term Review & Future Outlook activity.
The purpose of the event was for local ministries to update the public on the achievements accomplished since the inception of the Public Service Transformation Programme in 2018, and to inform on plans for the future.
Ahead of the presentations for the day, participants were addressed by some of the territory’s leaders on their vision for the transformation of the public service.
First to the mic was Governor His Excellency John Rankin who stressed the importance of making the necessary changes so that the territory could emerge stronger from the wide range of challenges it is impacted by.
“I’m not a mathematician but we all know the solution we want out of the equation which is an effective public service, delivering good governance, delivering effective governance, delivering for the public, delivering for young people, for older people for those who are sick for those moving through the education system and delivering for business, the private sector…. That’s what we want”, he said.
“We also live in a period of huge change and not just technological change but also in terms of population demographics… challenges in terms of the threats we face… and the economic challenges… I don’t underestimate the difficulties involved in those challenges but if we don’t solve them, if we don’t solve the equation then we will fail to deliver the good governance that we all want”, he added.
Premier Dr the Honourable Natalio Wheatley shared similar sentiments to the governor, and said that it was necessary for the public service to be made more client focused.
“It is absolutely important for us to have a public service which certainly is client focused. A public service that is efficient and effective and a public service that meets the needs of our community… I know that our public servants often times feel overworked and underpaid and understaffed and I believe that transformation is the key by examining our processes and making them more efficient so we can use our human resources more efficiently and effectively”, Premier Wheatley remarked.
Perhaps most visually elated by the day’s activity was Deputy Governor David Archer Jr. who had this to say on the journey to what he believes will one day be a world class public service in the BVI.
“If I can tell you one thing, when something great is about to happen it feels difficult. When something transformational is about to happen you hear concerns and you hear complaints. I am all in and all confident that the plans that you hear today will surprise you, will amaze you, but the mere fact that the Governor is here, Premier is here our leaders are here we are saying our leaders want to be held accountable”, he said.