'Butchering of the Public Service has already begun'- Skelton-Cline
According to commentator Mr Claude O Skelton-Cline, former Managing Director of the BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA), quoting from the document, “They will be undertaking, if we do so, any risk assessment and public expenditure and financial accountability assessment funded by the UK Government with a commitment to implementing public sector reforms based on their recommendations. The assessments are to start by March 2018 with an action plan for reform agreed by April 2018.”
Halfway through March 2018 and it is evident that the Public Service Reform is eminent. “The public service we see has already begun to be butchered. It is outlined in the High-Level Framework for UK support to the BVI in hurricane recovery,” stated Mr Skelton-Cline on his radio show, Honestly Speaking, which was aired Tuesday March 13, 2018 on ZBVI 780 AM.
Chopping has begun
He further shared that there are reports of persons in the public service who received notice that their salary would be cut, which they could either accept or leave the job. Whole departments are in for restructuring or eliminating, based on reports reaching our newsroom.
“We are already hearing of departments, such as the Department of Culture, that is under the chopping block as there is no need for [them] to exist anymore,” Mr Skelton-Cline stated. Other areas reportedly under inspection are the BVI Ports Authority, Public Works Department, Water and Sewage Department, and even the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
Reports are that UK nationals are already here visiting these locations and carrying out their assessments, which will be feed into the Public Sector Reform Agreement set for April 2018.
“And if the information that I’m giving is wrong, I want the minister of Education in this case, or the Minister of Communication and Works or whomever the subject matter is to what we discuss, to correct us on the record,” Mr Skelton-Cline said, calling on the Government through its ministers to set the record straight.
He further stated that, “Our elected Government saying little to nothing and when they do say something they say it so poorly you can’t even understand or comprehend what’s going on.”
It was on October 26, 2017 in a press conference that Premier and Minister of Finance Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith (AL), boldly said “I can say that there will be no layoffs in the public service," while responding to questions from journalists.
Five months later, many are back with the same worry, whether their salaries will be cut or lose their jobs all together.
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31 Responses to “'Butchering of the Public Service has already begun'- Skelton-Cline”
-1bedroom,1bath :$1000<
I hope they know that a hungry woman and her children are 10 times more angry than a hungry man. Let them keep playing the fool with people’s lives.
this is a good move no matter how it comes public sector needs dusting out please tell CSC to hush
Duty Free Goods for April 2018? Need to because of back up and delays by exporting ports!
We ain’t fools, and we ain’t blind. Everyone knows that since the hurricanes there is not enough work to keep the public servants actively engaged. Something had to give, and more sooner than later.
U damn slaves disgust me. How in the world could Culture not be needed anymore? That is the reason that we're in the mess we're in. U dumba&&e$. Local history taught in schools is as far as some of our minds go. We're African people and our history starts at the beginning of time, so our history lessons need to start there. Religion messed us up b/c we accept the slave master's version of it. This is no spiritual battle this is a battle against one set of people foolishly feeling they are superior to another set of people. We think too small and locally and so we can't connect the dots to the bigger issues that affect us & people like us globally and see what the real issue is.
Moreover, other regional countries have trimmed the size of their civil servants, ie, Barbados. The civil service is bloated and needs to be trimmed; it is the elephant in the room that no one wants to touch with a 100 metre pole. Nonetheless, trimming the service should be a phased, well thought out, fair, well-structured, timely and smoothly executed plan. The April 2018 target date for reforming the civil service seems rushed. Further, it looks like the local government leadership lacks the stones to make the tough decision. Instead, they prefer the UK to make the tough decision.
Furthermore, the VI has a small, open economy with government being a major employer. As such, government needs to undertake urgent action to grow, improve and diversify the economy to accomodate reduced in force civil servants. The civil service should be trimmed preferably by a) a hard hiring freeze, b) attrition, c)retirement incentives, ie, $25K to retire early (selected employees and skills), d)merging or eliminating some functions, e)reducing the number of statutory bodies, ie, 1 port authority (combined sea port and aviation)......etc.
Key Performance of Human Resources, for example, rely on its management and supervisory team to forecasted projections. If that has not been case, then the root of the problem starts at the top brasses, who have not met the demands of the institution; and as such, they are the ones who should be held accountable and made redundant and replaced with a competent management team who can raised the standards of the civil service and produce results.
Employees too- require effective leadership to support, develop, equip, harness and empower them to put forth their most “suited” potentials for the public/customers they serve, the institution, and ultimately- for themselves.