Government is seeking to redress the bureaucratic red-tape and the lengthy delays which have afflicted the civil service in its service delivery to its various clients.

Minister of State with responsibility for Labour, Employment Relations and the Social Partnership, Senator Arni Walters made this disclosure yesterday while addressing a strategic planning workshop for the Civil Service at Almond Bay, Hasting, Christ Church.

The two-day workshop involves staff of the Civil Service and Government’s Personnel and Training Administration Divisions.

In reference to Government’s Throne Speech of February this year, he indentified the moderisation of the public service as one of the key issues to be addressed during the 2008-2013 period.

To this end, Senator Walters said his Ministry would be formulating and establishing a Human Resource Development and Management Policy to set out government’s strategy in achieving an efficient public sector with the requisite skills that could facilitate the country’s development.

“It will seek to identify the ways in which the various components will work together in a coordinated way to deliver opportunities for human resource management and development,” the Minister explained.

Senator Walters lamented that the present civil service system was too centralised and much of the decision-making was remote and removed from the line agencies which must implement them.

“The distance from decision-making in the line agencies means there is the risk of the delay resulting from bureaucratic red-tape.  And if there is no meaningful consultation, there is the further risk that the services provided may not actually meet the needs of the line agencies resulting in wastage in our already scarce resources,” the Civil Service Minister pointed out.

He therefore stressed the need for a holistic approach to the management of public sector human resources.

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