President David Granger is to introduce a draft strategic plan for the various ministries, a release from the Ministry of the Presidency said yesterday.
Granger and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon yesterday convened a meeting with the permanent secretaries of the various ministries in a bid to ensure that their work is in line with the policies of the Government.
The meeting was held at the Ministry of the Presidency.
The release said that Harmon informed the permanent secretaries that the President will soon introduce a draft strategic plan for the various ministries. It would outline a broad framework within which each ministry will function and what they should focus on, the release added.
Both the President and the Minister called for meetings of this nature to become a monthly feature, “so that their public officers can communicate and interact more, exchange ideas and sort out differences that may arise from time to time”.
Granger told the meeting that the position of permanent secretary is the ”pinnacle of the professional career of a public servant” and, as such, his Government will ensure that the conditions under which they function are as close as possible to ideal.
“Ministers may change, but permanent secretaries are meant to be permanent… to run a ministry continuously for a long period of time, every day and whoever the minister is, the Permanent Secretary must be able to discharge his/her function in an efficient manner but they cannot do that unless (they) are educated,” Granger was quoted as saying.
The draft plan also highlights the Government’s green agenda. Harmon said that, “the first and foremost responsibility of every Government ministry is to push that green agenda.”