PUBLIC SERVICE ADVANCES WITH REFORMS DESPITE UNREALISTIC TIMELINES PS REPORTS

“Something you would expect a government to implement in 5 – 10 years”

Permanent Secretary for the Office of the Deputy Governor Sharleen Dabreo-Lettsome made this remark while speaking about the COI Reforms in the latest episode of the Government Business At Its Best – TableTalk, which focused on the topic of “Greater Transparency”. 

She was, at the time, discussing the timeline in which the public service has had to act to achieve the actionable items outlined in the Framework for Implementation of the Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry Report and Other Reforms.

She said that the public service has had to act quickly and effectively to meet the deadlines.

She added that some of the timelines in the original Framework were unrealistic, but there was some relief following negotiations with the UK that allowed some adjustments. She also noted that some of the significant initiatives outlined in the Framework were already underway prior to the release of the COI report. 

She also emphasized that the public service has been balancing its regular duties with the implementation of the reforms. She said that at this time, the implementation is advancing to a point where the public and the UK want to see the fruit of this labour in the Territory’s modern governance approach.

Dabreo-Lettsome reported that the Office of the Deputy Governor has made significant progress on the 16 recommendations for which it is responsible.

She said that work has begun on all of the recommendations and that some of them are in the advanced stages of completion.

During this programme, Permanent Secretary in the Premier’s Office Carolyn Stoutt-Igwe also gave a brief update on the overall status of the implementation of all of the recommendations.