SearchArchives for June 2009
30 June, 2008SOUTH AFRICA
Auditor uncovers widespread corruption
The South African Auditor-General has uncovered irregular contracting practices he believes have netted corrupt Public Servants more than R610 million ($A94.5 million).
An investigation by Auditor General, Terence Nombembe into Government officials who moonlight as business executives, found that more than 2,000 were involved in tender rigging and corruption.
He found Public Servants also awarded tenders to companies owned by themselves, their spouses or their relatives.
Mr Nombembe recommended disciplinary action and a tightening of Government procurement systems.
His report was presented to Parliament in April but was never formally discussed because the House was winding up ahead of a General Election.
Mr Nombembe found that between 2005 and 2007, Government officials in eight Provinces cashed in on tenders worth R540 million ($A83.6 million) - with KwaZulu-Natal still being audited.
The remainder of the money was reportedly fleeced by officials in the National Government.
The Head of Media and Advocacy at the Public Service Accountability Monitor, Derek Luyt said the situation had been created not simply by poor management, but by a failure of political oversight.
The Monitor is an independent organisation that monitors the mismanagement of funds.
“If senior managers and Heads of Department don’t take corrective action, especially when the need for it is so clearly demonstrated … then the responsibility lies with the Provincial Ministers and National Government Ministers to ensure corrective action,” Mr Luyt said.
Mr Nombembe’s report found that Government Departments did not always obtain the three quotes required by regulations when awarding tenders to Public Servants or their spouses.
In one case a senior official in the Department of Communications, who also chaired the Tender Committee, presided over the award of a R500 000 ($A77,450 tender to an information technology company in which his wife had an interest.
The report also noted that Public Servants charged with misconduct so far had received warnings while others claimed they were not aware they should have obtained approval to perform other remunerative work.
30 June, 2008
IRELAND
300 sign up for ‘career break’
Up to 300 Public Servants in Ireland have applied to take three years leave under on official ‘career break’ scheme which will pay them €12,500 ($A21,800) a year to try something else.
While on leave the staff are not permitted to take up paid Government employment but can use it for family or related reasons, travel, self-employment or education.
In its first indication of the take-up under the scheme, the Department of Finance said that approximately 300 applications had been received.
However, processing applications for the scheme, as well as for the Government’s separate early retirement scheme for staff in the health sector, has been suspended because of a dispute between Health Sector Executive management and trade unions over co-operation with redeployment arrangements and other areas of flexibility.
Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan said in answer to a Parliamentary question that, as flagged in the April Budget, the career break scheme would be extended to Local Authority and Education sectors.
The Irish Times newspaper reported that in addition to the career break scheme the Department believes up to 3,500 staff in the wider public sector could eventually leave under a new early retirement scheme.
It said the proposed new program will allow eligible Public Servants over the age of 50 to retire without “actuarial deduction” of pension entitlements.
It said 10 per cent of the relevant lump sum will be paid immediately with the balance paid at the normal retirement age of 60 or 65.
However, for those who apply to retire now, the full lump sum will not be taxed, even if the Government introduces such a measure in the future.
A total of 315 staff in the Public Service had already applied to leave under the early retirement scheme but it was unclear how many of the applications will be accepted.
30 June, 2008
NEPAL
Protestors blockade PS offices
Public Servants in Nepal have been blocked from entering their workplaces by protesters deliberately targeting Government offices.
Maoists across the country are staging sit-ins outside PS offices following a Government decision to overturn the sacking of the Chief of Army Staff, General Rookmangud Katawal and reappoint him to the post.
Nepalese citizens have been unable to access public services from the offices as a result.
In the capital, Kathmandu, large numbers of Maoist protesters prevented Public Servants from entering Singha Durbar - the administrative hub of the country - the District Administration Office, Tax Office and other offices in the area.
This is despite a high level of security around the Government offices and the Home Ministry issuing strict instructions to Security Agencies to make sure Public Servants could get into their workplaces.
Newly-appointed Home Minister, Bhim Rawal had instructed Security Agencies to allow peaceful sit-ins, but to disperse the crowd if they blocked entrances, using maximum force and arrests if necessary.
A Maoist protester was injured in clashes between the police and the demonstrators in Kavre and police fired some rounds of tear gas canisters to disperse the demonstrators in Baitadi.
General Katawal has long been at odds with the Maoists, refusing to allow their former guerilla fighters to be integrated into the National Army.
30 June, 2008
SCOTLAND
Call to review PS bonuses
A Parliamentary Committee in Scotland has called on the Government to review its policy of paying performance bonuses to senior Public Servants in view of the global financial crisis.
The Finance Committee also said Ministers should reduce pay bargaining and demonstrate that low wages were being tackled.
Public sector chief executives in Scotland were paid bonuses totalling £190,000 ($A386,000) in 2007-08.
The cross-party Committee's call came after a probe into public sector salaries. The pay policy covers 38 senior employees working for bodies such as Scottish Enterprise and the Health Service, who command a total wage bill of £3.6 million ($A7.30 million).
Although the maximum potential bonus is 10 per cent of basic salary, under current policy three Chief Executives are eligible for higher rewards, the report said.
Chief Executive of Scottish Water, Richard Ackroyd and the organisation’s directors are eligible for a bonus of up to 40 per cent, a policy agreed by the last Scottish Government over concerns senior staff were leaving for better-paid positions.
Chief Executive of VisitScotland, Philip Riddle is eligible for a bonus of up to 15 per cent of his basic salary.
Bonus payments for the Chief Executive of the economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise were cut from 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent in 2005, with the expectation of a further cut, to 10 per cent.
Convener of the Finance Committee, Andrew Welsh said that the evidence provided during its inquiry had left the Committee in no doubt there were areas of the existing public sector pay policy in Scotland that could be improved.
"In terms of the policy for senior appointments, the Committee makes clear to the Scottish Government that the policy of paying bonuses to senior staff should be reviewed," Mr Welsh said.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said work was underway to address many of the points raised in the Finance Committee report.
30 June, 2008
KENYA
Training plan to increase talent base
The Government of Kenya is to massively increase its spending on Public Service training in a bid to improve its talent base.
Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta has allocated Sh233 million ($A3.75 million) for the establishment of the Civil Service Training Fund as an initial cash injection.
According to 2009-10 Budget estimates, the fund is projected to grow to over Sh1 billion ($A16 million) in the next two years.
Public Service Minister, Dalmas Otieno said the fund will be managed by the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) - the Agency that disburses loans to university students.
To further boost the training of Public Servants in a move meant to effectively place the Public Service on the same competitive playing field with the private sector, Ministries will be expected to set aside at least two per cent of their recurrent budgets on training.
Analysts said this signalled the State’s increasing recognition of the role of human capital as essential to better service delivery.
Mr Otieno said there had been a blatant neglect of the training needs of Government staff at the same time as huge sums of money had been spent on office equipment, accessories and vehicles.
The move was expected to cushion the Public Service from the perennial turnover of staff to the private sector where training opportunities are more prevalent.
They said private sector players are given staff incentives to seek further training, including education loans and company-sponsored training opportunities, packages which were rare in the Public Service.
30 June, 2008
GHANA
Security Services need extra funds
The Government of Ghana has been called on to set up a National Security Service fund to pay for much needed facilities and equipment for the nation’s Security Services.
Regional Minister for Brong-Ahafo, Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo made the call when he met officers and men of the Brong-Ahafo Secretariat of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in Sunyani.
Mr Nyamekye-Marfo noted that Security Agencies in the country faced a number of challenges ranging from a lack of office and residential accommodation to inadequate supplies of vehicles and stationery.
“Even though the Government has done a lot, such problems continue to exist and if the fund became operational, Security Agencies could access it to enable them to work effectively,” Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said.
The Regional Minister said he deplored acts of indiscipline such as alcoholism during working hours and improper dressing among some security personnel.
He said the Government was worried about the current phenomenon of frequent market fires, which he attributed to illegal electricity connections, and urged the GNFS to intensify public education on the need for fire extinguishers in offices and households.
Regional Fire Officer, Kwaku Manu Afful complained of inadequate and old fire tenders, lack of residential accommodation and inadequate office accommodation.
“It would interest you to know that with the exception of the Regional Fire Officer who lives in an old Russian-built bungalow, none of the officers in the region is properly housed,” Mr. Afful said.
“There are always problems between personnel and their landlords, including eviction notices, rent rises or payment of utility bills.”
Mr Afful said Brong-Ahafo had a total area of 39,573 square kilometres and the GNFS had 12 fire fighting appliances of which six were unserviceable.
“This implies that each of the six serviceable tenders covers an approximate area of 6,592.83 square kilometres, which is severely overstretching capacity,” he said.
Mr Afful said that between January and May this year the Service had attended to 173 distress calls compared to 316 for the same period in the previous year.
30 June, 2008
SOUTH AFRICA
Skills to be rewarded in PS
Public Servants in South Africa with high-demand skills are to receive pay increases under a new policy introduced on 1 July.
The ‘Occupation Specific Dispensation’ (OSD) will deliver increases of up to 50 per cent to some categories of Public Servant such as doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers and other qualified professionals.
The OSD deal, struck in 2007 after a long strike by Public Servants, was welcomed by the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) which said the move to have it implemented before the start of the Public Service wage negotiations for the 2009-10 financial year was a sign of political will to honour the agreement.
Deputy General Secretary of Fedusa, Gretchen Humphries said the Government's past neglect in implementing the OSD for Public Servants had caused low morale and high stress levels.
“All State entities agree that the OSD needs to be implemented,” Ms Humphries said.
"They [the Government] have to ensure that they have the money to do this. It has to happen soon because there is a serious problem with skilled people leaving.”
Ms Humphries said that before all deals were implemented, several matters affecting the introduction of pay progression needed to be ironed out.
Spokesperson for the Public Servants Association, Manie de Clerq said a program of implementation to complete the process had been agreed in negotiations.
"The Government has not pleaded poverty. It does have the money to implement this,” Mr De Clerq said.
“There is a political will to implement it."
When the OSD deal was signed two years ago, the Department of Public Service and Administration said implementation of pay progression would cost R171 billion ($A26.50 billion).
30 June, 2008
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Governor calls for ‘world class’ PS
The Public Service of the British Virgin Islands has been encouraged to adopt world class practices by the Governor of the Territory, David Pearey.
Mr Pearey made the call when he officially opened Public Service Week.
The Governor said the theme for this year’s celebration was ‘Working Towards a World Class Public Service Through Continuous Change’.
“What does it mean to be a ‘world class’ Public Service?” Mr Pearey asked. “There is no easy answer to that question.”
He said it meant adopting best practices of increased efficiency and accountability; becoming a results-based organisation that is customer-focused; and providing the highest standards of service at all times.
He said it also meant looking after employees and managing them in ways intended to raise and maintain high morale.
“Many people take for granted the services offered by our public organisations,” he said.
“It is not unknown for both the providers and recipients of a service to tolerate second-rate standards with a shrug of the shoulder.
“Not surprisingly, the Public Service is sometimes seen as an unglamorous career choice.”
Mr Pearey disagreed strongly with this view, saying the best Public Services attract the best people and offer the most rewarding careers.
He said continuous change was needed because the Public Service had not yet achieved world class standards although in some areas it was close to those standards.
“The Departments and Ministries whose record of service matches the best know who they are and so do the public,” he said.
‘What applies to the very best applies equally to those struggling to reach a respectable standard.
“Few would challenge the proposition that the Public Service has too many such Departments.”
Mr Peary said he was confident that with a collective effort by managers and employees and a defined change agenda the Public Service could reach and surpass the desirable standard of service across all of Government.
30 June, 2008
BRUNEI
Minister urges modernisation push
Public Servants in Brunei have been urged to commit themselves to taking positive action to modernise the Public Service.
Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, Dato Seri Paduka Awg Hj Mohd Eussof Agaki, also said Public Servants should nurture the attitude of accountability and be aware of the latest developments.
“They should be ready to implement the changes so that the Public Service is relevant and meets the expectations of the consumers and the public,” Dato Eussof Agaki said.
He was speaking at the announcement of results in the Quality Control Circle or Kumpulan Kerja Cemerlang (KKC) competition, supported by the Prime Minister’s Office.
There was no first place winner. Second place was shared by the State Judiciary Department (Syariah) and the Prime Minister’s Office, while third place went to the Audit Department.
The Deputy Minister said every Public Servant should be aware of the needs of customers, private sector, non-governmental organisations and the public, all of whom have high expectations of the Government as the catalyst for the country’s development.
“KKC should also widen its scope by identifying the topics or issues which make the Public Service relevant and appropriate in line with the rapid advancement in technology,” he said.
“KKC could be used to explore weaknesses in the work process, application procedures or daily work practices of the Public Service so that the outcome of KKC could be shared to benefit e-government initiatives.”
The Deputy Minister urged Heads of Departments to be more active and give support not only to the establishment and participation of KKC groups, but also to make use of the outcomes of the KKC in their Departments.
30 June, 2008
PANAMA
Call for better driving manners
The incoming President of Panama has been urged to demand that the country’s Public Servants set an example for the rest of the community, particularly in the way they behave on the road.
With Ricardo Martinelli set to take over as President this week, the Panama Star newspaper has called for the improvement in PS road etiquette as an ‘early sign’ of the new President’s agenda for change.
The newspaper said there should be less arrogance from the drivers of the oversize vehicles that ferry the President and his Ministers around town and no more jumping red lights, or pushing other motorists into the path of speeding traffic.
“This could be followed by an executive order that all drivers of Government and public vehicles drive in a manner indicating that they earned, not bought, their driving licences,” the newspaper said in an editorial.
“This includes the Police Service, the Electoral Tribunal, the Social Security Department, the Treasury and MPs.”
The Panama Star cited examples of Public Service vehicles taking up parking places designated for disabled drivers: a police car outside a fast food restaurant; a National Cultural Institute vehicle parked for days on a reserved spot outside of the Institute’s headquarters, and police vehicles on equivalent spots outside police stations.
“Public Servants should learn to show courtesy to other drivers,” the newspaper said citing the example of a Social Security van pulling around a waiting line of vehicles and forcing an oncoming car to give way that resulted that another vehicle mounting the footpath.
“Then there is the misuse of vehicles for other than the Public Service, ranging from picking up the kids from school, to partying or letting spouses and other family members use them for shopping and socialising,” the Panama Star said.
23 June, 2008
PAKISTAN
PS ordered to return to
war zone
Public Servants in the troubled northwest of Pakistan have been ordered back to their posts or face suspension.
Chief Minister of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Haider Khan Hoti told reporters he had directed Public Servants in the Swat, Buner and Lower Dir areas to return to work so that repairs to electricity, water, and gas utilities could be carried out.
“We will ensure the return of all internally displaced people by end of July,” Mr Hoti was quoted as saying.
Some three million civilians have been displaced from the three districts by fighting between the military and Taliban insurgents.
A military spokesman said soldiers have largely secured the Buner and Lower Dir Districts and were now engaged in mopping up operations in Swat.
Military sources put the number of Taliban dead at 1,400. These figures cannot be verified independently as the media has been barred from the battle zone.
The military began its operations on 26 April after the Taliban reneged on a controversial peace deal with the NWFP Government and instead moved south from their Swat headquarters and occupied Buner, which is just 100 kilometres from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
The operations had begun in Lower Dir, the home district of Taliban-backed radical cleric, Sufi Mohammad, who had brokered the peace deal and who is the father-in-law of Swat Taliban commander, Maulana Fazlullah.
The military opened up a new front last week, going into action against the Taliban in NWFP’s Bannu district and in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
23 June, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
Promise to make PS more businesslike
The Opposition Conservative party in Britain has promised to make the Public Service more ‘businesslike’ if it wins Government at the next election.
Shadow Cabinet Secretary, Francis Maud said the Public Service needed to learn some lessons from the private sector.
Mr Maud, the former managing director of financial services firm Morgan Stanley and non-executive director of retail company Asda, promised to shake up the way Public Servants went about their jobs.
He warned against bringing people into the Public Service at higher ranks because of the cultural issues and different practices involved.
"I'm very much in favour of greater interchange between the private sector and the Civil Service, at a more junior and middle-ranking level," Mr Maud said.
“Senior-ranking Civil Servants will be pushed to take secondments and temporary 'career breaks' in the private sector.”
The Shadow Minister said Public Servants needed to be more open to people going out and doing a spell in the private sector, maybe for as much as 10 years, while ensuring they did not lose their place on the Civil Service career path.
He also pledged to reform recruitment procedures to encourage more junior and middle-ranking private sector employees to take jobs in central Government.
"We are concerned about the number of Whitehall jobs that only get advertised internally. I think the right and simple way to do this is to publish all central Government job vacancies online – which would actually save on recruitment costs and improve scrutiny – making it easier for people outside the public sector to know what the opportunities are and how to apply," he said.
Mr Maud said the Government's target to create £15 billion ($A30 billion) savings in back office functions by 2013-14, identified in the Budget, was "achievable", but refused to be drawn on whether the Conservatives would try to match the savings predicted or go one step further.
However, he accused the ruling Labour Party of merely "rearranging the deck chairs rather than actually lightening the burden on the ship", by transferring processes between Departments to create the illusion of working more efficiently.
23 June, 2008
ZAMBIA
Pay rise leads to more strikes
Striking Public Servants in Zambia have won a 15 per cent salary/wage increase but not all of them are happy with it.
In announcing the increase, which is to be written into all collective agreements, the Government urged all Public Service workers to return to work.
Chief Government Spokesperson, Ronnie Shikapwasha said the pay agreement had been concluded and Secretary to the Cabinet Joshua Kanganja had been briefed.
Lieutenant General Shikapwasha, who is also Minister for Information and Broadcasting Services, said considerable progress had been made towards finalisation of a full agreement and a Joint Technical Committee would consider outstanding issues on housing allowances.
”In view of this positive development, the Government is urging all Public Service workers to continue working normally”, Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha said.
Earlier, Public Service workers had gone on strike across the country paralysing operations at hospitals and schools, after the Government had earlier said that it could not meet their demands.
However, calling the agreement a sell-out, nurses and other unionised staff at Choma General Hospital in Southern Province downed tools again, barely two days after calling off the strike action that had crippled the health institution in the past two weeks.
The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) pleaded with health workers in the district to return to work because their continued strike action did not have approval from the union.
The decision to resume the strike followed a meeting by nurses and other medical staff at which they unanimously agreed to recommence industrial action.
The nurses resolved not to attend to any patients in the hospital until the Government meets their demands, accusing their union leaders of failing them by accepting the 15 per cent pay rise.
The nurses are demanding K1million ($A245) risk allowance, K1,925,000 ($A472) night duty allowance, K1,500,000 ($A368) uniform allowance and K500,000 ($A123) overtime allowance.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister, Felix Mutati said the Government’s revenue base had been severely affected by the global economic crisis which had disrupted some of the country’s principal sources of income, including mines and other companies.
On another issue, the Minister said revelations of corrupt practices in some Government Ministries and public institutions were a sign that the Government had put in place the right mechanisms in the fight against corruption.
“The Government is happy with the good work the office of the Auditor General and other law enforcement agencies are doing in exposing various financial scams and corrupt practices so that perpetrators of such vices face the wrath of the law,” Mr Mutati said.
Mr Mutati said recent approval of the Anti Corruption Policy by Cabinet, among other measures, was a demonstration of President Rupiah Banda’s commitment to zero-tolerance of corruption.
Secretary to the Cabinet, Joshua Kanganja, said Zambia would commemorate Africa Public Service Day on June 23 by reflecting on issues affecting the African Public Service and generating positive interest in the work of the Public Service.
Dr Kanganja said the day, which had been designated as a public holiday, would be celebrated at national and provincial level.
23 June, 2008
FIJI
PS reform process outlined
The Fijian Public Service Commission has approved a framework for what it is calling its ‘Roadmap of Civil Service Reforms.’
Public Service Commission Chairman, Josefa Seruilagilagi said the reforms were an integral part of the mandate of the current Government and the aims of its Peoples Charter for Change, Peace and Progress.
The Commission will take the leading role in formulating the framework, seeking necessary approvals and overseeing implementation of the reforms.
Mr Seruilagilagi said it was important to the Government that all preliminary work was completed quickly to ensure that there was full consultation and coordination with all relevant stakeholders.
“The development of a Roadmap for Civil Service Reforms is intended to provide a clear strategic direction to the work of the Commission in its implementation of the reforms,” Mr Seruilagilagi said
“It should also facilitate all necessary support and commitment from relevant stakeholders both in government and outside parties.”
He said the roadmap should provide a framework for the follow-up and monitoring of the reforms as well as assisting in their implementation.
Mr Seruilagilagi confirmed that the Public Service Commission will now be working on the preparation of policy papers for each of the Public Service reform initiatives that have been approved.
23 June, 2008
UNITED STATES
Benefits extended to same sex couples
The same-sex partners of Federal Public Servants in the United States are to be entitled to a range of employment benefits normally reserved for same-sex couples.
Under new arrangements signed into law by President Barack Obama, the same sex partners will now enjoy access to some insurance programs as well as carer’s leave to care for sick spouses.
Under the President’s edict, gay and lesbian partners of Federal employees will be granted access to health care and financial benefits such as relocation fees for moves.
While campaigning for the Presidency, President Obama vowed to try to repeal the law which denies Federal benefits to same-sex married couples.
The Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of State have conducted internal reviews to determine whether the benefits they administer may be extended to the same-sex partners of Federal employees within the confines of existing laws and statutes. Both identified a number of such benefits.
For Civil Service employees, domestic partners of Federal employees can be added to the long-term care insurance program; supervisors can also be required to allow employees to use their sick leave to take care of domestic partners and non-biological, non-adopted children.
For Foreign Service employees, a number of benefits were identified, including the use of medical facilities at posts abroad, medical evacuation from posts abroad, and inclusion in family size for housing allocations.
A Presidential Memorandum will request that the Director of OPM and the Secretary of State act to extend to same-sex partners of Federal employees the benefits they have identified.
The Memorandum will also request the heads of all other Executive Branch Departments and Agencies to conduct internal reviews to determine whether other benefits they administer might be similarly extended, and to report the results of those reviews to the Director of OPM.
As a result, long-term care insurance and more liberal family leave for Civil Service and Foreign Service employees will now cover same-sex couples, but big-ticket health insurance and pension benefits cannot be extended unless Congress agrees.
President Obama acknowledged the move as a first step. “We’ll work on these issues in months and years to come," he said.
23 June, 2008
NIGERIA
Governor’s election ends up in Court
A Department Secretary in the Nigerian Public Service who ran for and won an election as Governor has defended a Court decision that overturned his disqualification for failing to resign from the PS before standing.
The Court dismissed the appeal of the unsuccessful candidate, David Umaru, of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) on the grounds that it was filed 24 hours after the deadline.
Mr Umaru had asked the Court to nullify the election of Governor Banbangida Aliyu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on the ground that he was not qualified to contest the election because he had not resigned his Permanent Secretary position as provided for by the constitution and the Electoral Act.
Mr Umaru’s lawyers are asking the Appellate Court to set aside the appeal judgment on the grounds that “weighty legal issues” had not been considered
Mr Umaru’s decision to approach the Appellate Court to have his appeal reheard by a different panel is significant in the country’s judicial history, and its outcome will produce a precedent judgment that will serve as reference point.
The case has dragged on since 2007, despite the fact that election petitions are supposed to be resolved quickly. President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi said the delay was the result of too few justices and too many cases before the Courts. He said these issues were being resolved.
Mr Umaru is also concerned by the delay and has filed an application requesting the hearing be expedited.
23 June, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
Paper to slash BBC funding
A Government White Paper that proposes reducing funding for the British Broadcasting Corporation has drawn strident opposition from the broadcasting organisation.
The long-awaited White Paper from Technology Minister, Lord Carter, is understood to propose using up to £100 million ($A200 million) of BBC funding to pay independent companies to make regional news programs for ITV.
It is also said to recommend taking an extra £30 million – or possibly more – of licence fee money to allow producers to make current affairs documentaries to be viewed either on television or on the internet.
Another plan, which would see the financially troubled Channel 4 “bailed out” in a partnership with BBC Worldwide, the corporation’s commercial arm, is still being considered.
The White Paper, called Digital Britain, will propose the biggest shake-up of British broadcasting for a generation – as well as mapping the future of broadband services and measures to deal with internet piracy.
Newly-appointed Secretary for Culture, Ben Bradshaw, is reported to have held a meeting with senior BBC executives at which he was said to be in a “robust” mood towards objections from the Corporation about the White Paper’s proposals.
Mr Bradshaw is a former BBC reporter and newspaper journalist.
As well as funding concerns, it is understood that the main fear of BBC chiefs is that the current six-yearly settlement period for the licence fee will be replaced by annual reviews by Ministers, dealing a blow to the BBC’s independence.
Senior figures believe this is against the spirit of public-service broadcasting and could pave the way for more political interference.
Chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons, said that licence fee money should not be used to pay for “things that have nothing to do with the BBC’s public purposes”.
“People would do well to remember that licence fee payers give us their money in good faith, believing it will be spent on BBC services and content,” Sir Michael said.
“We know what the public would like to happen to any surplus … They’d like their money back.”
The BBC’s current 10-year charter runs to 2018, while the six-year licence fee deal runs to the end of March 2013.
23 June, 2008
MALAYSIA
Malaysian PS looking for 50,000 recruits
The Malaysian Public Service Commission is redoubling its efforts to recruit 50,000 new Public Servants by the end of this year.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk T. Murugiah said there were 5,000 vacancies for doctors, 5,000 for nurses, 300 for engineers, and the rest for various categories of officers and support staff and officers.
The Government was encouraging more Malaysians to pursue medical education to help the country overcome the shortage of doctors, he said.
Datuk Murugiah said more scholarships and loans would be available for Malaysians to take up medical courses locally and overseas.
In the meantime the Health Ministry was looking into the possibility of recruiting doctors from overseas to fill the vacancies.
“Although there are enough nurses being trained in the country, most of them prefer to work overseas as they obtain better wages and perks,” he said
“I hope Malaysians will take the opportunity to fill the various vacancies as the Government has made improvements to the salary schemes and perks for Civil Servants.”
He said those interested could apply on-line through www.spa.gov.my
“For the convenience of rural applicants, particularly those in Sabah and Sarawak, the Public Service Commission will conduct interviews in rural townships,” Datuk Murugiah said.
23 June, 2008
WALES
PS car hire cost ‘unacceptable’
A multi-million-dollar bill for hire cars for Public Servants has been described as ‘unacceptable’ by an Opposition Member of the Welsh Assembly.
Figures obtained by the Welsh Liberal Democrats detail that £5 million ($A10 million) was spent by the Assembly Government on car hire for its staff over five years.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams described the car hire spending as extortionate.
“At a time when Welsh businesses and the people of Wales have to really tighten their belts, this Government has increased its spending on car Civil Service hire,” Ms Williams said.
“The Government knows very well that spending this amount of money on Civil Service travel is outrageous, as it failed to provide it through the normal channels available to Assembly Members.”
Ms Williams used the Freedom of Information Act to uncover the annual sums which she branded “unacceptable”.
Chief Executive of the Taxpayers Alliance, Matthew Elliot said it was utterly wrong for the Welsh Government to splash out so much taxpayers’ money on car hire.
“All too often, it seems that hard-working people’s taxes are taken for granted and spent unnecessarily,” Mr Elliott said.
“With ordinary families losing their homes and thousands losing their jobs, the Government must rein in its spending,” he said.
Director of the Confederation of British Industry in Wales, David Rosser said it was unclear whether the Assembly was using the most cost-effective form of transport for its staff.
“The problem is there is no comparison,” he said.
“Parts of Wales can be quite inaccessible without a car, and you can run into difficulties in the public sector when you give employees cars,” he said
“I think we would expect the Assembly Government to use the most efficient form of transport in terms of cost, and whether that translates into £1 million a year, I do not know.”
A spokeswoman for the Assembly Government said Public Servants were encouraged to use public transport wherever possible, and that its policies recommended that low emission vehicles be used.
“Whilst more reliable video conference facilities have contributed to a drop in the overall cost of car hire since 2007, the Assembly Government operates from sites right across Wales, and officials have to travel to meet with companies and organisations that require support – particularly during the current economic difficulties,” she said.
“The car hire system is carefully managed to ensure use is restricted to essential Government business and where alternative arrangements – such as video conference facilities – are not available.”
23 June, 2008
ISLE OF MAN
Consultancy appointment makes waves
The appointment of a retired Public Servant to a tourism consultancy position on the Isle of Man has been described as “'highly irregular.”
Stephen Harrison, who has advised heritage bodies in Jersey and Iceland since his retirement earlier this year, has been appointed to spearhead development of a new master plan for Manx cultural tourism.
Minister for Tourism and Leisure, Martyn Quayle and his Department were criticised in the Tynwald (Parliament) for not advertising the vacancy, the fourth consultancy role it has created in three years.
Member of the Legislative Council, Eddie Lowey said the decision was not the way forward for open and transparent government, while MP in the House of Keys (Lower House), Quintin Gill called it a highly irregular practice.
Mr Quayle said the Acting Chief Executive of the Department of Tourism and Leisure (DTL), Colin Kniveton was not involved in the deal, but did not say who was responsible for the appointment.
He admitted the appointment was “dealt with in an untidy way” but insisted Mr Harrison would still have got the job in an open contest as he represented good value for money.
“In his new role, Mr Harrison will give advice on a coordinated national strategy for cultural tourism designed to improve the perception of the Island as a place for a cultural holiday,” Mr Quayle said.
Mr Harrison is expected to produce an initial report by September for £5,000 ($A10,000) and then submit a draft strategic framework document in March 2010 for £12,000 ($A24,000) and a final strategy in June 2010 and oversee it being rolled out in 2010 and 2011, also for £12,000.
The project was first suggested by the DTL five years ago, following the success of similar plans in Scotland and Wales, but work stalled when the options of hiring off-Island experts or employing a full-time officer to lead the scheme were deemed too expensive.
Mr Quayle explained that the project was revived in a recent review, but the DTL realised its already stretched staff lacked the resources and knowledge to put it into operation.
“The Department considered a number of companies, both on and off-Island, that could potentially provide consultancy services”, he said.
“It was felt none had the required expertise or intimate knowledge of the Isle of Man product that Mr Harrison could bring to the project. For this reason, it was not advertised.”
16 June, 2008
PAKISTAN
5-year plan includes PS reforms
A range of Public Service reforms has been unveiled by the Pakistan Government as part of its 10th five-year plan.
The plan, which has been approved by the National Economic Council, includes reforms to the Police Service, the Board of Revenue, Bureau of Statistics, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Competition Commission, Auditor General’s Office, State Railways and the State Bank.
Under the proposals, which will run from 2010-15, Public Service reforms will target professional competence, merit-based induction and market-based salaries. Emphasis will be placed on promoting culture of professionalism, staff rationalisation, enhancing productivity and accountability.
The reform plan sets out action needed to be taken to revitalise and further strengthen the key State institutions over the next five years.
It also proposes transferring 2.6 million acres of State-owned land to landless people in the next five-year period.
“This could provide land to 58 per cent of existing tenant farmers; the remaining 42 per cent will be able to buy land through credit and institutional changes in the land market,” the document said.
On the issue of integrated planning for energy development, the plan says the north of Pakistan and the Indus river system had the potential for generating as much as 50,000MW of hydroelectricity.
It said sites were available for very large or small storages-cum electricity generation via run-of-river or canals. The vast reserve of coal at Thar, estimated at 185 billion tons, had yet to be exploited.
Addressing the issue of energy shortages, the plan will be designed around exploitation of indigenous resources, energy security, conservation and development of alternative energy sources.
There is concern over inferior infrastructure, especially in the energy sector, which has adversely affected the utilisation of scarce resources and future economic growth prospects.
The plan states that these and other issues will be systemically addressed.
16 June, 2008
UNITED STATES
Senate rejects PS sick leave plan
Plans to allow Federal Public Servants employed under the US Federal Employees Retirement System to get credit for unused sick leave when they retire have been rejected by the US Senate.
Staff employed under the Civil Service Retirement System however, already enjoy that right, which is much sought after by unions representing other Federal employees.
The provision was not rejected outright by the Senate, with the main objection being that it was inappropriately attached as an amendment to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This is a measure often adopted by the US Congress to speed through legislation, but can always be the subject of challenge.
A House-approved version of the Tobacco Bill included the sick leave provision, so the fate of the sick leave measure will be decided in a House-Senate conference to sort out the differences between the two Bills.
The Senate Bill, like the House version, includes other measures important to Federal employees such as measures to add new features to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) that would automatically enrol new Federal employees and create an option for TSP members enabling them to contribute taxable income to the retirement investment plan and then withdraw it tax-free at retirement. In addition, the proposed changes would enable spouses of deceased Federal workers to maintain their TSP accounts.
The failed sick leave amendment also contained a measure that would have benefitted Federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii and the US Territories by moving them into the Federal locality pay system, ending the current system of cost-of-living allowances.
Employee groups expressed dismay over the amendment’s fate with the National Manager of the Federal Managers Association (FMA), Darryl Perkinson saying the Association was discouraged that the Senate had failed to reach an agreement on a measure that would have provided Federal employees and American taxpayers alike with “immeasurable benefits.”
“The Senate chose to disregard language approved in the House version of the Bill to the detriment of the entire Federal workforce,” Mr Perkinson said
“The proposals contained in the amendment constitute good Government initiatives; and FMA remains dedicated to advancing these measures through other avenues.”
16 June, 2008
JAMAICA
Business told to demand more from PS
Businesses in Jamaica should demand higher quality and less red tape from the Public Service according to the President of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), Wayne Jones.
Mr Jones urged the private sector to “be very aggressive” with its demands on the PS when he addressed the annual Observer Business Leader Awards luncheon hosted by the newspaper's chairman, Gordon Stewart, in Kingston.
He said if there were Public Servants behaving in a manner that was inimical to the interests of the Government machinery, the system needed to ferret them out and deal with them in a clinical and effective way.
He said the notion that highly-placed Public Servants could not be dismissed by the Government was a fallacy.
“I have seen clinical and timely removals,” Mr Jones said.
“However I would not support the political directorate being given power to remove Public Servants from office.”
Business leaders recently attacked what they said was sloppy service from Public Servants that seriously inhibited business activity.
The bureaucracy involved in dealing with the Public Service has also been called into question by Prime Minister, Bruce Golding who commented that the excessive delays in completing simple tasks was affecting Government projects.
While acknowledging that there were “gaping holes” in the delivery of service, Mr Jones said the JCSA had supported numerous initiatives for improvement.
“We are interested in any initiative that is going to lead to an improvement in the quality of the Public Service, and we are willing to collaborate with the private sector on this,” he said.
“We strongly believe that the success of a country rests on a relationship between the public and private sector.”
Mr Jones said if partisan politics was a factor in poor Public Service performance, offenders should be found and punished.
“People engaged on the basis that they are members of a political party should expect to leave when that party changes, as was the case in September 2007,” Mr Jones said.
“Some people with good conscience have walked, but the fact is that some have remained.”
16 June, 2008
INDONESIA
Corruption attacked by Commission
Unannounced visits to Public Service offices across Indonesia are being conducted by the nation’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to uncover illegal charges, donation boxes and offers of special privileges to family members.
Deputy Chairman of the KPK, Haryono Umar said the inspections would not be scheduled.
“After we conduct an inspection, we will continue to closely monitor Public Service offices,” Mr Haryono said.
“We also plan to conduct inspections of the Regional Government Budget for Revenues and Expenditures (ABPD) which have never been done before.”
Mr Haryono was speaking at a seminar on corruption eradication through the improvement of the Public Service, held in cooperation with the Jakarta Regional Administration, after the first inspection of the capital's five integrated service offices.
He said the culture of officers taking illegal fees varied from donation boxes to the offering of special privileges to family members.
“Public Service users have to realise that bribery is a crime that carries a maximum 20-year sentence,” he said.
Mr Haryono said that in visits to offices in East Jakarta the team noticed a lack of staff with many officers being absent.
Jakarta Governor, Fauzi Bowo said he welcomed the monitoring efforts of any party, including the KPK, as he was committed to creating an Administration that reflected transparency, accountability and stakeholder participation.
Mr Haryono said 1,000 public complaints had been delivered to the KPK since 2004.
“The complaints are not only about corruption. They are also related to services, and the management of the Regional Government Budget for Revenues and Expenditures,” he said.
The KPK would issue early warnings if it found illegal fees in Public Service offices, but if further inspections showed the habits still continued, they would take harsh measures.
16 June, 2008
FIJI
Audit of PS Commission finds fault
An expenditure audit of the Fijian Public Service Commission has uncovered overspending, unauthorised appointments and lax accounting practices.
The audit was conducted by the country’s Public Accounts Committee.
The Committee noted that in particular there had not been prudent management of the Job Evaluation Exercise (JEE) carried out in 2003-04 by a team of private consultants, a number of senior Public Servants and trade union representatives.
The PAC said the main areas of concern included over-expenditure, incurred because the Public Service Commission did not strictly adhere to verification of claims made against the agreed allocated amount.
Another concern of the Committee was that the PSC assigned additional projects, such as the selection and appointment of Chief Executive Officers, without first getting the green light from the appropriate authorities.
In addition, it said, payments were made to the contractor without independently verifying exchange rates.
The PAC also raised questions about the PSC’s management of the location and relocation of Government Departments at suitable office complexes.
The Committee noted in its audit report that the system of sharing the cost of fit-out works could have been manipulated in the landlord’s or contractor’s favour because the Commission was not following the proper procedures for the procurement of goods and services in 2004
16 June, 2008
NORTHERN IRELAND
Senior PS pay to be investigated
An independent review of pay and bonuses for senior public servants in Northern Ireland has been commissioned by the NI Finance Minister Nigel Dodds, amid calls for the review to include the head of the Public Service and all Departmental Secretaries.
Northern Ireland Assembly Member Patsy McGlone, whose Parliamentary questions revealed that senior Public Servants received £1.2 million ($A2.4 million) in bonuses last year, welcomed the review.
“People are paid relatively good wages for doing a job and in my book there shouldn't be any question of bonuses being paid,” Mr McGlone said.
“Many people, particularly in times of credit crunch and where there are now many people who are on the dole who have never been out of work in their lives, were looking at a bonus culture creeping in.”
Mr Dodds said the move to review the scheme followed a similar review of the reward strategy for senior Public Servants in the rest of the United Kingdom
“There has been a great deal of public comment over recent months about public sector pay generally,” Mr Dodds said.
“I will want the review to look at comparisons with pay and reward systems for similar jobs in the public sector, as well as in the private sector.”
Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Finance Scrutiny Committee, Mitchel McLaughlin said the review must include the head of the Public Service, Bruce Robinson, and Departmental Permanent Secretaries.
Mr McLaughlin said the independent investigation should tackle a wide range of anomalies including concerns over the performance of the senior Public Servants in certain key areas.
“These include financial management, particularly given high levels of under-spend in some Departments, the management of sick absence and achieving business targets generally,” Mr McLaughlin said.
Individual bonuses for senior Public Servants over recent years have ranged from £5,000 ($A10,000) to £10,500 ($A21,000), whether performance targets were met or not.
This data comes on top of research revealing pay levels for around 200 senior Public Servants were 22 per cent higher than the equivalent in the private sector in Northern Ireland.
Mr McLaughlin said such a huge pay differential had implications for the private sector.
“I have been pressing this issue for some considerable time, drawing attention to a wide range of anomalies that exist in and around the overall issue of pay and bonus awards to senior Public Servants,” he said.
“What the Finance Minister must now do, is to spell out very clearly what the terms of reference for this review are.”
Mr McLaughlin said the review must be comprehensive in its approach and include all senior grades.
16 June, 2008
ETHIOPIA
Major push to improve Public Service
Efforts being made to introduce an efficient Public Service to Ethiopia are “yielding tangible outcomes” according to the Ethiopian Civil Service College (ECSC).
ECSC President, Hailemichael Abera said the Public Service had suffered from poor training, inadequate equipment and low levels of education and skills in the past.
“Owing to the establishment of the ECSC, commendable outcomes are being witnessed in helping Government institutions get acquainted with modern, effective, efficient, transparent and accountable Public Service systems,” Dr Hailemichael said.
“We have introduced the concept of Civil Service or Public Service serving the public. This is a major shift in how we conceptualise Government and its structure.”
Dr Hailemichael said the ECSC had so far produced more than 13,000 diploma-to-post-graduate-level graduates as part of its objective to produce capable Public Servants in districts and sub-districts across the country.
“Commendable outcomes have been achieved in areas of training and educating the Public Servants and in staffing the Public Service institutions with college graduates, particularly in the developing regions,” he said.
“The college is now working to improve its services through identifying, analysing and solving problems related to its activities.”
Dr Hailemichael said the ECSC had so far conducted three national conferences and research activities on various aspects of the Public Service and policies of the Government.
He said it had also provided transformation consultancy services to 20 Federal Government Departments, Ministries and Agencies with their transformation processes.
“The college is also working with various universities with a view to assisting the latter to implement the higher education reforms in line with ECSC’s objectives,” Dr Hailemichael said.
16 June, 2008
ZAMBIA
PS strike causes chaos
Public Servants in Zambia have gone on strike in support of increased salaries and better conditions.
The nationwide stoppage involves more than 5,000 in the Ministries of Health, Lands, Mines, Energy and Agriculture.
The striking Public Servants are asking the Government of President Rupiah Banda
to increase their monthly salaries by up to 25 per cent.
The Goverment has offered 15 per cent.
The workers are also demanding a monthly housing allowance of 500,000 kwachas (about $A123).
The widespread strikes have caused confusion at health institutions and schools where patients and pupils are being turned away due to lack of services as nurses and teachers have gone on strike.
Gatherings of striking Public Servants in Solwezi have been addressed by their union’s leaders.
Regional Secretary of the Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia, Kennedy Musopelo said negotiations were continuing.
Mr Musopelo said Public Servants in North-Western Province have vowed not to go to work until the Government listened to their plight and gave into their demands.
The strike has spread to Mufumbwe District where all operations at some Government Institutions have come to a halt.
Mufumbwe District Commissioner, Robert Muyutu confirmed that the strike action by the workers had caused hardships, especially at Mufumbwe Hospital where the admission of patients has been suspended.
President Banda’s critics have strongly condemned him for taking a soft glove approach to the strikes
Commentators note that Zambia heads to the polls in 2011 and they say the lack of a timely response to the Public Servants’ demands may have grave implications for President Banda’s Administration.
16 June, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
BBC updates online options
Too much confusion caused by the video, audio and other options on the British Broadcasting Corporation website has prompted its editors to review the way the BBC offers its local UK and international news options.
Editor, Steve Hermann said the change would mean that visitors from inside the UK would no longer be able to choose the international edition, and those outside, the UK edition.
However, he stressed that both UK and international news would still be available, wherever the visitor was in the world.
“The UK front page of the news site will still have international stories amongst the headlines of the day, and of course the usual links to all the world sections of the site,” Mr Hermann said.
“The international version will have links to all the UK sections, along with a new, expanded area for UK headlines.
“We're not taking away any of the content you can already see.”
BBC spokesman, Ian Hunter said the only significant exception to this was the main feature of the homepage which differed between the UK and the rest of the world.
“Anyone abroad investing a few moments customising their homepage can set up a 'UK-flavoured' international page for themselves - not to mention one aligned more with their personal tastes and interests,” Mr Hunter said.
He said the changes had been brought in because of “potentially frustrating experiences for users and significant technical complications for us.”
“For example, international users selecting the UK version might follow prominent links from front pages only to find messages saying things like: ‘Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only’,” he said.
“We hope the change we're about to make will mean things are simpler all round.”
Mr Hermann said front pages would be optimised for wherever the user was and content throughout the site should be simpler for the BBC to produce and easier for the user to find their way around.
16 June, 2008
INDIA
Attack on FOI laws resisted
Plans by India’s Uttar Pradesh State Government to modify its freedom of information laws have dawn anger and criticism from the State’s citizens.
A meeting of the Uttar Pradesh Right to Information Campaign condemned moves to exclude certain areas from the Right to Information Act, including documents relating to the appointment of the State Governor, Ministers, High Court Judges, the code of conduct for Ministers, and letters written by the Governor to the President.
The Government had earlier removed the Department of Civil Aviation from the scope of the Act.
A statement from the meeting said tampering with the Right to Information Act was against the letter and spirit of the Act and the State Government had exceeded its powers in doing so.
It was agreed the decision would be challenged in the Courts as well as through State-wide public demonstrations.
In addition, a national-level meeting will be organised to condemn the action of the State Government as well as to highlight the laxity in implementation of the Right to Information Act by the Public Information Office, the First Appeal Authorities and the Information Commission of the State.
Numerous individual delegates at the meeting expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Right to Information Act was being implemented in Uttar Pradesh.
9 June, 2008
NIGERIA
Collective effort to
restore PS
The task of revitalising the Nigerian Public Service is not one to be left to Government alone according to the Head of the Nigerian Civil Service, Amal Pepple.
Speaking at the re-launch of the Nigerian Association for Public Administration and Management (NAPAM), Ms Pepple said Public Service reform should be the responsibility of the entire community including policy makers, scholars, experts in public administration and Public Servants themselves, either serving or retired.
“The profession of Public Servant must be placed on a higher pedestal to improve the quality of entrants who will restore Nigeria to its rightful place among nations,” Ms Pepple said.
“It is for this reason that we are re-launching NAPAM - to ignite the necessary dialogue, debate and the thinking process among members of the community of public administration and management practice in Nigeria and the diaspora.”
She said NAPAM had a platform of harnessing the collective energy needed for public sector reform.
“However, continuing reform will require a learning process as more researchers investigate the possible solutions,” she said.
“A revitalised NAPAM will facilitate this, presenting the possibilities of exploring partnerships and deploying resources to build databases of experts, research findings and publications, conference reports and so on.”
Ms Pepple called on senior Public Servants, scholars, researchers and other stakeholders in the field of public administration to come together to rebuild and reposition NAPAM as the platform for their collective engagement.
9 June, 2008
MALAYSIA
Call to avoid PS delays
Departments and Agencies in Malaysia have been warned against adding their own conditions to rules and regulations that could lead to delays in processing applications from the public.
Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, said it was the job of the Departments and Agencies to enforce existing regulations correctly and to the letter.
“In the case of improper enforcement, investigate each situation and take action against those who are negligent or careless to ensure it won't be repeated,” Mohd Sidek said.
“We must be firm in the implementation of such procedures, while showing fairness and a high level of integrity.”
Speaking at the opening of the Convention on Enhancing Integrity and Service Delivery in Civil Service, Mohd Sidek also urged Public Servants to give priority to serving the public, especially when processing tenders.
“If self interest takes precedence over public interest when providing services, naturally there will not be fairness and Public Servants will fail to dispense their duties with integrity,” he said.
“For example, when the processing of a tender or price quote involves vested interests, possibly family members or relatives, it will be wise for the Public Servant to withdraw from processing such a tender to ensure transparency and fairness.”
He said that these were ideals emphasised by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and should not only become a part of the peoples' culture, but should be adopted by Public Servants to ensure quality service.
He said if fully implemented, such ideals would elevate Malaysia alongside such countries as Japan, Switzerland and Germany where transparency and fairness in public sector service delivery was the norm.
9 June, 2008
SINGAPORE
Most efficient PS in Asia
Singapore’s Public Servants have been ranked the most efficient in Asia in a survey covering 12 countries conducted by a business consultancy in Hong Kong.
It was the third time Singapore has come out on top in the poll, which this time covered 1,274 Hong Kong expatriates working in 12 North and South Asian nations who were asked about the efficiency of bureaucrats in those countries. The poll was last held in 2007.
“During normal times, when the system is not stress-tested, it operates very well,” the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said in a 12-page report of Singapore's bureaucracy.
“However, during difficult times - or when mistakes are made that reflect badly on the system - there is a tendency among bureaucrats to circle the wagons in ways that lack transparency and make accountability difficult,” the report said.
India's “suffocating bureaucracy” was ranked the least-efficient by the survey, which said working with the country's Public Service was a “slow and painful” process.
“They are a power centre in their own right at both the national and State levels, and are extremely resistant to reform that affects them or the way they go about their duties,” PERC said.
Thailand, despite four years of on-off street protests and a year of dysfunctional Government, was ranked third.
“For all the country's troubles -- or perhaps because of them -- respondents to our survey were impressed with the way Thai Public Servants have been carrying out their duties,” PERC said.
It said State offices associated with corruption presented the most difficulties for Thai citizens and foreigners.
Managing Director of PERC, Bob Broadfoot said the controversy around huge investment losses by Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund Temasek was a good example of how things could become less transparent there.
The Singapore Government has come under fire from lawmakers and its citizens over several investment losses, particular its exit from Bank of America which resulted in a loss of over $3 billion.
Hong Kong itself was second in the poll. China, which had been campaigning to fight corruption in its bureaucracy and improve efficiency in the Public Service, was ranked ninth, two places down from 2007.
Rankings from most efficient to least efficient were:
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Thailand
- South Korea
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Taiwan
- Vietnam
- China
- Philippines
- Indonesia
- India.
9 June, 2008
BHUTAN
PM flexible over new
PS Bill
The Prime Minister of Bhutan has foreshadowed changes to his country’s Public Service following comments received on a proposed Civil Service Bill.
The PM, Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley, said the Bill would be amended in light of comments received from the community, the Public Service, MPs of both Houses, the judiciary and other constitutional bodies.
During its public consultation phase, the Bill drew criticism from the judiciary and constitutional bodies who said it would affect their independence and was unconstitutional as it cancelled clauses in their Establishment Acts that gave them full authority over their organisational structure, budgetary and personnel requirements.
Mr Lyonchhoen said the Bill would provide the basis on how Public Servants operated.
He said the Public Service was the machinery that implemented policies and programs of the elected Government and, in the end, it was the Public Service that determined the quality of the Government.
Mr Lyonchhoen said that the implementation of the Act would be carried out by an autonomous Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC).
He said the Bill requires the RCSC to provide effective leadership for Public Servants, uphold Public Service values, appoint, promote and transfer Public Servants, exercise disciplinary control, supervise performance, plan training programs, maintain up-to-date personnel information and conduct investigations and personnel audits and take action in disciplinary cases.
He said the Bill also required the Commission to ensure that Public Servants rendered professional service to promote good governance and social justice, in implementing the policies and programs of the Royal Government.
Mr Lyonchhoen said the RCSC would also have to coordinate with Agencies and develop Public Service policies and rules, determine staffing strengths and carry out organisational development reviews.
“The Bill has provisions where Civil Servants will have to be apolitical while conducting their duty,” he said.
“Civil servants will also remain apolitical and not hold any office in political parties or canvass for a political party.”
The Bill also has a Protection of Informant Clause whereby an Agency “cannot victimise or discriminate against a Civil Servant who reports breaches of the Civil Service codes of conduct”.
In another clause a Public Servant cannot be prosecuted for any matter to do with the Public Service in a Court of law before the case has been heard by the Commission.
9 June, 2008
IRELAND
PS reforms begin to take shape
Reforms to the Irish Public Service could see employees in State Agencies transferred into the central PS and working hours expanded from 8am to 8pm in some areas.
Public Service management has signalled this would mean an end to existing arrangements under which premium or bonus payments are made to staff for working after certain hours in the evening.
The Government said the redeployment arrangements were necessary to facilitate the planned new incentivised early retirement and career break schemes in the public sector which are designed to reduce the State’s overall payroll bill.
Unions believe the power to move State Agency personnel into the Public Service could be needed if a forthcoming report proposes the abolition or merger of a number of these bodies. They also think the Government will press for the right to move staff between Local Authorities or between Health Service Agencies.
Senior union leaders are reportedly disappointed that the reform proposals put forward to date are so vague.
Sources said the union leaders had argued that it was essential that management identified the core of the change proposals and that these be “drilled down” in further talks to determine how they would affect staff members in each sector.
They also pressed for an “audit” to be carried out to show the public the benefit of the changes as part of the reform plans.
Union sources said that management had mentioned Social Welfare services as one area with a need for additional staff and that these could be made available through redeployment.
The Health Service Executive is pressing for working hours to reach from 8am to 8pm but stressed the length of the working week for individual employees would remain the same.
Hospital consultants, who have signed a new contract, are already rostered to work between 8am and 8pm.
9 June, 2008
SCOTLAND
Crime map leads to boost
The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) has produced a ‘map’ of serious organised crime in the country and is to recruit 80 new staffmembers to monitor, manage and keep it up to date.
The £4 million ($A8 million) program traces the activities of 367 gangs in activities such as drug dealing, murder, money laundering and human trafficking as part of an assault on organised crime.
The money will also fund a new Scottish Intelligence and Co-ordination Unit to continue to track crime across police forces.
Director General of the SCDEA, Deputy Chief Constable Gordon Meldrum said the program was about making life difficult for serious organised crime groups.
“Whether that's about arresting them, whether that's about bankrupting them (or) whether that's just about making Scotland a really, really difficult operating environment on the ground for organised crime,” Deputy Chief Constable Meldrum said.
“If we understand the nature of their business better in future, it means we can actually protect 5.1 million people better.”
He said one challenge will be to tackle the specialist operators, who can get involved through threats, intimidation or corruption.
The SCDEA boost comes as new figures released by the Scottish Government reveal that more than £6 million ($A12 million) in cash and assets were seized from criminals in the past year.
Deputy Chief Constable Meldrum said the sum brings the total recovered to £27 million ($A54 million) since proceeds of crime legislation came into force six years ago.
Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini said the message was clear:
“Let these figures be a warning that those who seek to profit from crime will be caught and prosecuted and will lose the material or financial benefits gained through their crimes,” Ms Angiolini said.
“By seizing their cash and their assets, we will stop them in their tracks to ensure their future livelihoods are restricted far beyond any sentence they may face.”
Over the same period, prosecutors secured 78 confiscation orders worth about £3.5 million ($A7 million) against convicted drug dealers, money launderers and fraudsters.
Ms Angiolini said the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 played a significant role in disrupting serious and organised crime.
9 June, 2008
UNITED STATES
Unions fear pay overhaul
Public Service unions in the United States have responded cautiously to Government plans to reform the Federal Bureaucracy’s pay system, to link it more closely to performance.
The unions want the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, John Berry to work within the 60-year-old General Schedule pay system intended to keep pay rates equitable between the various occupations within the Public Service.
Director, Legislative and Political, of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Beth Moten said the union was eager to talk, to the extent that Mr Berry wanted to work on performance appraisal systems.
Mr Berry said he would push for reform of the Federal Public Service system, with the goal of establishing Government-wide pay for performance. He said the pay system should be more flexible and reward good employees while holding poor performers more accountable.
Federal unions have opposed pay-for-performance plans put in place by the previous Administration of President George W. Bush - such as the Defense Department's National Security Personnel System (NSPS) - out of concern that those plans could increase the risk of favouritism.
President of the National Federation of Federal Employees, Richard Brown said he was confident Mr Berry would not model any pay reforms on those designed by the Bush Administration.
“He [Mr Berry] hopes to shape a new approach to performance management, not just a reward system for star performers,” Mr Brown said.
But Ms Moten said AFGE was still opposed to the idea of replacing the General Schedule system, pointing to the NSPS as justification, which she called an “utter and complete disaster.”
“We have some real problems with the wholesale replacement of the General Schedule,” she said.
“They'd have to go pretty far to convince us otherwise, and I don't think that would happen.”
9 June, 2008
NORTHERN IRELAND
Work begins on PS pay reform
The Minister for Finance and Personnel in the Northern Ireland Government is to overhaul Public Service salaries to ensure employees receive equal pay for equal work.
The Minister, Nigel Dodds, said he was determined to establish a Public Service pay and grading system that ensures such equality.
“I am concerned that we should bring matters to a conclusion as quickly as possible but, given the scale and complexity of the issues involved, I am also concerned to see that we do so in a manner that is compatible with our legal obligations,” Mr Dodds said.
“We must be fully informed by the facts, and in a way that ensures both a fair and robust pay and grading structure, and a Civil Service pay system that is affordable into the future.”
Mr Dodds said the issues involved were not new.
“They were inherited by us from Direct Rule Ministers, but this Administration will deal with them once and for all,” he said.
“We are also determined that we will establish pay and grading arrangements for Civil Servants that will ensure that we do not find ourselves in this position again in the future.”
The Minister said he had instructed his officials to work with the trade union to establish whether a negotiated settlement to the issue was possible.
Officials from the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance met him and had confirmed they too were committed to pay reform.
Mr Dodds said he could not give a timescale for a resolution of the issue, but work was underway and neither side would delay matters unreasonably.
He stressed the need to ensure that the Public Service had a pay system that could demonstrate that equal pay is paid for work of equal value.
9 June, 2008
MALAYSIA
37% believe PS is corrupt
More than one in three Malaysians believe their Public Service is corrupt, according to a survey by global anti-corruption body Transparency International.
Public Servants come second only to the country’s politicians in the survey.
In the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), 42 per cent of Malaysians said that political parties were the most corrupt institutions, followed by the Public Service at 37 per cent. They were not optimistic that graft would be curbed as two-thirds of Malaysians also had no faith in the Government’s efforts to fight corruption.
Malaysian President of Transparency International, Datuk Paul Low said this finding was largely due to the fact that the public had no idea how political parties were funded.
He called for better accessibility to information regarding Government contracts and concession agreements as well as a review of the Official Secrets Act as “these are not strategic interests” which could compromise national security.
Despite the move to give further powers to the national anti-graft squad when it was converted from the Anti-Corruption Agency to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC), 67 per cent of Malaysians still felt the Government has been ineffective in dealing with corruption.
While Datuk Low said it was still too early to judge the MACC, he acknowledged public perception was that it engaged in selective prosecution and must instead “take the big fish along with the small fish”.
Only nine per cent of Malaysians admitted to paying a bribe in the last 12 months, slightly below the global average of 13 per cent. Datuk Low noted that three out of 10 Indonesians admitted to bribery.
Transparency International’s figures for the world as a whole showed that globally, political parties were considered by 29 per cent to be the most corrupt followed by the Public Service at 26 per cent; while on average, 56 per cent felt their Governments had not tackled graft well.
There was an eight per cent increase in the perception that the private sector was corrupt.
Datuk Low said that companies should take heed of the fact that 50 per cent of Malaysians said they would prefer to purchase from “corruption-free” companies.
He was disappointed that Malaysia had not improved its Corruption Index performance for more than eight years, but was encouraged by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statements on graft.
“It is early days in his Administration as yet,” he said.
9 June, 2008
ZIMBABWE
UN acts to rescue population
The United Nations has calculated that Zimbabwe needs an immediate injection of $US718 million ($A891 million) in food aid to combat what it described as a “staggering” humanitarian crisis, worsened by the nation’s cholera epidemic.
So far it has raised $US246 million ($A305 million).
The UN report said that six million people in Zimbabwe had no access to safe water or sanitation, while 600,000 families will need farm aid for the forthcoming planting season.
“There is the concern that unless conditions change, outbreaks of water-borne diseases at the onset of the next rainy season could lead to new cholera cases and higher humanitarian needs,” the report said.
The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Zimbabwe, Augustino Zacarias urged donors to help the country as the new Unity Government struggled to meet the nation's needs.
“It is imperative that all partners, particularly donors... generously provide financial support to the implementation of the programs,” Mr Zacarias said.
First Secretary at the French Embassy, Stephane Toulet said a French aid team was on a mission to Zimbabwe to find ways of supporting the country.
“They are looking into areas like health, water, energy and tourism,” Mr Toulet said.
The Unity Government said it needed $US8.5 billion ($A10.5 billion) over three years to revive the economy and jump-start the Public Service. So far it had been promised about $US1 billion ($A1.24 billion) in loans from around Africa, mainly for its private sector.
Zimbabwe’s Minister for Regional Integration, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said foreign aid had helped prevent the country from spilling even deeper into crisis.
“As a Government we recognise that without that support, the socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe would have deteriorated to levels that could easily have led to social unrest,” Ms Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.
But the UN said the country's needs remained overwhelming, complicated by a crushing AIDS pandemic and an unknown number of people displaced within the country due to the political violence that surrounded last year's elections.
2 June, 2008
UNITED STATES
PS to adopt performance-linked pay
Public Service pay arrangements in the United States are set for a shake-up with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) unveiling plans for salaries to be linked to performance across the entire PS.
The Director, John Berry, said he was going to work with all the stakeholders with the aim of building a pay system that would last for 50 years.
Mr Berry said President Barack Obama had asked him to prepare a three-pronged strategy to reform the law on Federal employee pay.
The reforms included the creation of a fair and credible performance appraisal and accountability system; the development of training that would prepare employees for promotion and support them throughout their careers; and the establishment of genuine parity between Federal and private-sector salaries for employees in comparable occupations.
“I believe we can deliver the first two [items] so they are serious and true and will be understandable to employees, managers and the public,” Mr Berry said.
“I acknowledge it will be difficult to establish pay comparability immediately during a recession.”
He said he hoped that the Administration and Congress, with help from employee groups and academics, could create a pay-for-performance system that would cover a large majority of Federal employees.
The new system should include large raises for a small group of truly outstanding performers, not just salary adjustments to account for the cost of living. He also noted that poor performers should be given a period of time in which to improve their work, or risk losing their jobs.
Mr Berry said designing a rigorous and sound system was a significant challenge, and doubted that any private sector company would hold itself up as a model for performance-based pay.
“If we have good communication and open and honest negotiations, we can get there,” he said.
“No one has foreclosed this as an option and said, 'you’re crazy, you're not going to get there, [or] I'm not going to participate’.”
President of the National Treasury Employees Union, (NTEU) Colleen Kelley said that she looked forward to working with Berry on pay reform and appreciated a more collaborative approach.
“Director Berry knows that NTEU's mission is to ensure that the Federal workforce is treated fairly,” she said. “The previous Administration's proposals did not, in our view, meet that objective.”
Mr Berry laid out an ambitious agenda in other areas as well. He assigned teams drawn from multiple divisions at OPM to find ways to simplify the hiring process, design more ambitious work-life balance programs, and improve veterans' preference programs.
He said he hoped to make progress on all three of those priorities by June 2010.
On hiring in particular, he wanted to create mandates rather than recommendations.
“OPM has basically tried the nice way, which has been recommendations and sweetly asking Agencies to change,” Mr Berry said.
“This time we will use the power of the President to make sure it's implemented in every Agency.”
2 June, 2008
MALAYSIA
PS told to sell policy
Senior Public Servants in the Malaysian Ministry of Information, Communication, Culture and the Arts have been ordered to “sell” a community program of unity to the nation.
The program, 1Malaysia has so far not been well received by the community at large.
Minister of Information, Communication, Culture and Arts, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim told his senior officials they were the “sellers’’ of the concept.
“It is up to you to drive home the message, especially in Pakatan Rakyat [Opposition Party] States,” Datuk Seri Rais said.
“The Ministry needed to create a ‘desire’ for 1Malaysia among the people – it can be created if the quality of the product is good.”
However, he urged his officers to first understand the concept of 1Malaysia before attempting to explain it.
This appeared to be an acknowledgement that Government servants themselves were in the dark over what 1Malaysia means.
The 1Malaysia campaign was unveiled by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak after he took office last month.
The slogan is meant to portray a more inclusive Barisan Nasional – the political coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence, but which is showing signs of losing popularity - winning back the support of non-Malays.
Datuk Seri Rais stressed that the underlining message of 1Malaysia was that as a nation united it would stand, while divided it would fall.
He told Ministry officials to concentrate on promoting the message while leaving the task of defending 1Malaysia to the politicians.
“Ask what I can do for my Department and for the rest of the country.” he said.
There would be a song to promote 1Malaysia and the Government was looking for a brand sign to promote the concept.
Datuk Seri Rais also urged the Ministry to produce short documentaries along with easy-to-understand pamphlets which will be distributed to the public.
2 June, 2008
IRELAND
Report finds Finance watchdog at fault
A report prepared by a panel appointed by the Minister for Finance has found that failings by the Irish Financial Regulator had contributed to the county’s economic crash.
The Financial Services Consultative Consumer Panel, which is appointed to monitor the performance of the Financial Regulator from a consumer viewpoint, said in a report that most consumers had lost “significant amounts of money” due to the inadequacies of the financial regulatory structure.
It also criticised the Regulator for a “deficient” response to threats to consumers, including the domestic property bubble.
“We are unclear as to why the Regulator did not move to dampen the bubble at an earlier stage, for instance by requiring banks to set aside more capital for riskier products,” the report said.
Among major concerns were products such as interest-only loans.
The report said that the business website, Finfacts, contacted the Central Bank of Ireland in 2007 seeking data on interest-only loans. It found that no data had been collected.
The report accused the then Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen and Central Bank Governor, John Hurley of “monumental mismanagement” in the interest-only loans affair.
“This product enabled consumers to buy property that they couldn’t actually afford and may have contributed to the house price bubble,” the report said.
“This shows the indispensable need to scrutinise new products in financial markets.”
The report said it was not good enough for the Financial Regulator to ignore products or players it felt were not within its remit.
The Panel’s report recommended that any wrongdoing by the Financial Regulator should be investigated by an external authority and that the next person in the post should have a strong track record capable of independent thinking and facing down vested interests. The person should be drawn from a wide range of candidates, including those from the private sector and from overseas.
The report stressed the need for those involved in the regulatory process to have an understanding of sophisticated financial products.
It also recommended that there should be a consumer expert on the boards of both the Regulator and the Central Bank and said retail banks should be reorganised to resemble the traditional building society model, and should be regulated to prevent them from becoming “closeted investment banks”.
2 June, 2008
MALTA
Pay study to take 6 months
The Government of Malta has launched a six-month study of pay and conditions across its Public Service to ensure that future pay claims and pay rises were ‘streamlined and aligned.’
Responding to the study, Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) President, John Bencini accused the Government of having “closed the door” on talks on better allowances for the nation’s teachers.
Mr Bencini said he was very disappointed with the outcome of a meeting held between his union, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.
“The MUT has proposed an interim agreement since it is mindful of the current economic situation and wants a solution which will not impose a sudden burden on the economy,” he said.
However, Education Minister, Dolores Cristina said the Government had not closed the door to anything.
Finance Minister, Tonio Fenech said that in view of the current economic situation, it was difficult for the Government to accept the proposals made by the MUT without detailed study.
Mrs Cristina said the Government had proposed a comparative study on the conditions of work of all sectors in the Public Service, involving a complex exercise, rather than have categories considered individually.
She said it needed six months for this study to be held.
The comments were made after the Education Ministry and the MUT signed memoranda which ensured that hundreds of kindergarten assistants, supply teachers, supply kindergarten assistants and supply learning support assistants would be eligible for indefinite work contracts.
The agreements, which were the culmination of months of sometimes difficult talks, covered the working conditions of 1,438 people.
It was agreed that those persons who were engaged on definite work contracts would be given indefinite employment after four years if they committed to improving their qualifications. Those already in employment will also be offered the opportunity for courses and indefinite contracts of work.
The supply teachers, supply kindergarten assistants and supply learning support assistants will also be offered guidance on what courses to follow to further their careers.
Mrs Cristina said this was another important step for better quality in education as well as an opportunity for the employees to continue their professional development. It also offered job security for hundreds of workers who to date had always been employed on contracts.
2 June, 2008
SOUTH AFRICA
New PM pressured on PS payrises
Public Servants in South Africa are pressuring President Jacob Zuma's newly-installed Government for promised pay rises despite the economy recording an unexpected contraction of 6.4 per cent in the March quarter.
The growth figures have surprised analysts, who had expected a much smaller contraction.
President Zuma took office in May after a campaign promising more jobs and less poverty, but has already faced Public Service strikes and protests.
State Doctors have taken to the streets pressing for a 50 per cent increase in their salaries. They claimed that abysmal working conditions in public hospitals, long hours and low pay were at the root of their dispute with the Government.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has accused the Government of failing to implement an agreement to improve the salaries of skilled workers to prevent resignations, which had hamstrung the public sector.
COSATU spokesman, Patrick Craven described the situation as a “ticking time bomb”. “The workers are getting very angry and are likely to engage in more strikes,” he said.
A five-week bus strike was called off in Johannesburg, a day before 54,000 municipal workers had planned to down tools in support of their wages claim.
COSATU said it understood the global economic crisis would affect the Government's ability to implement its plans.
“However, we are also equally aware of the severity this is having on the livelihoods of all workers and their families,” it said in a statement.
The national airline, South African Airways, energy giant Eskom and public broadcaster South African Broadcasting Corporation are all seeking millions of dollars in support from the Government.
2 June, 2008
UNITED KINGDOM
Train service hits new standards
Performance standards on the British rail network in 2008 reached the highest levels ever recorded.
Network Rail has reported that more than nine out of 10 trains arrived on time, up more than 10 per cent on the record low of 78.6 per cent recorded in 2002, which was the year Network Rail took control of Britain’s rail infrastructure.
Director of Operations at Network Rail, Robin Gisby said the improvement had been accomplished through the hard work and determination of tens of thousands of rail staff across the country working for both Network Rail and the train operators.
“But we are far from complacent and realise that passengers still experience some delays, albeit less often than in times past,” Mr Gisby said.
“Our focus in the years ahead will be to drive performance to even higher levels with particularly attention given to reducing the number of very late services.”
This record performance was delivered with well over a million more train services per year running on the rail network compared to the days of when Railtrack and British Rail were in charge of operations.
Director of Policy and Operations at the Association of Train Operating Companies, Alec McTavish said delivering this level of punctuality was a significant achievement.
“Looking forward, our priority must now be to narrow the differences in performance across different services and achieve a more consistent delivery across the whole network,” Mr McTavish said.
Mr Gisby said Network Rail had implemented several key strategies that had contributed to the improvement, including bringing maintenance in-house from seven private contracting companies; renewing unreliable infrastructure and reforming timetables enabling more trains to run on time across the network.
Britain’s rail service has long been compared unfavourably with that on the Continent of Europe, especially Germany and France.
2 June, 2008
BAHAMAS
Warning on forced retirements
The Government of the Bahamas has been warned against forcing Public Servants nearing 60 into involuntary retirement.
The Leader of the Baptist Church in The Bahamas, the Reverend William Thompson, said such a move would be “inhumane” and would signal to the private sector that this was the way to go.
“Government must be very careful that it is not seen to be treating workers who have reached or are approaching the age of 60 inhumanely,” Rev Thompson said in an address to the 74th Annual Baptist Convention.
“These people have mortgages and other expenses also.”
He said the Government must take the lead and ensure that jobs for Bahamians were secured.
Turning to law and order, he said the Attorney General, the Chief Justice and the President of the Court of Appeal must sit down and “discuss frankly issues affecting the judicial system”.
“Any country where the judiciary appears to be in disarray is a country on the brink of disaster,” he said.
“I believe that if serious dialogue takes place then we would be able to avert a possible disintegration of the judicial system.”
He commended the Minister for Immigration, Branville McCartney for the Department of Immigration's swift apprehension and deportation of illegal immigrants and called on the Government to document those who are eligible in a timely manner.
“I am not talking about inviting illegal persons to register just to score political points as we have done numerous times before, but I call on the authorities to set up a national task force to deal specifically with this dilemma,” Rev Thompson said.
“We have too many individuals who are regarded as stateless.”
He said the Department of Immigration ought to publicly update the Bahamian people on the contractual agreement the Bahamas Government had with the Chinese Government regarding the number of Chinese nationals who are working on the construction of the national stadium.
“We further call on the Government to update the Bahamian people on the amount of permits given to the Chinese for other projects,” he said.
Minister of Labour and Social Development, Dion Foulkes told the convention that the Ministry’s Unemployment Benefit Program, which started on 20 April, had already provided assistance for 7,800 Bahamians.
2 June, 2008
SCOTLAND
Survey to probe FOI use
A University in Scotland is conducting a survey to find out how easily volunteer organisations get access to information from public bodies.
Argyll Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) is recommending that island and other communities throughout Scotland take part in the three-year Strathclyde University study looking at the extent to which campaign groups and voluntary organisations in Scotland make use of Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.
While FOI is seen as a valuable tool for many voluntary organisations, the Scottish Information Commissioner has reported surprisingly low rates of appeals (four per cent) to his office from the voluntary sector.
A spokesman for Argyle CVS said the survey would help understand some of the barriers encountered by voluntary organisations seeking information from public authorities.
“We would like voluntary organisations of all shapes and sizes to take part, regardless of whether or not they have previously requested information,” he said.
The spokesman pointed out that highlighting the value of FOI is itself a significant public service.
“While, as Strathclyde University says, there are fewer deployments of Freedom of Information legislation in Scotland than in other parts of the United Kingdom, it has been used with great success by the energetic Dumfries and Galloway Council to discover information withheld from tourism groups by the troubled VisitScotland national tourism organisation,” he said.
2 June, 2008
PHILIPPINES
PS preferred for diplomatic appointment
The Philippines Commission on Appointments (CA) has refused to rubber stamp an ex-military official as the nation’s Ambassador to Brunei.
The CA elected instead to give the job to a senior Public Servant.
Senator Richard Gordon questioned the appointment of former Armed Forces Chief Alexander Yano, pointing out that there were many career Foreign Service Officers equally fit to become Ambassadors and they should be given priority.
Instead of Mr Yano, the CA appointed Labour Secretary, Marianito Roque.
Senator Gordon said he had supported the confirmation of Mr Yano as Armed Forces Chief of Staff.
“But this time I am questioning the policy because it smacks of accommodation, it defeats meritocracy and demoralises the bureaucracy.”
Mr Yano retired early, relinquishing his Armed Forces post 44 days before reaching the mandatory retirement age.
Senator Gordon said that when Ambassadorial posts were given to retired military generals, it set a precedent to the detriment of civilian career officials.
Other members of the Commission supported Mr Yano’s appointment because of his familiarity with Islamic culture. Brunei is a predominantly Muslim country.
But those who opposed Mr Yano’s confirmation said his appointment was just a reward for retiring early, and there were already a disproportionate number of retired military officers in Public Service and Diplomatic posts.
Former Senator Ernesto Maceda, one of the first objectors to Mr Yano’s appointment, said the Public Service was “practically crawling” with military retirees because their retirement age was so low with another Senator saying the compulsory retirement age of 56 left military officers unwilling to withdraw from public life.
“Naturally they are not ready to retire and unfortunately what every President of the country has done is to appoint them to positions in the civilian service,” the Senator said.
2 June, 2008
ETHIOPIA
Compensation for redundant staff
Public Servants whose jobs are abolished in reforms to Ethiopia’s Public Service will be eligible for up to a year’s salary under a Bill currently before the nation’s Parliament.
As a result of the Bill in the House of Peoples’ Representatives, Government employees who lose their jobs will be entitled to minimum compensation of 6,000 Birr ($A680).
The Government will also help former Public Servants who wish to join together to work on projects in the private sector.
The measures were opposed by Opposition MPs who claimed that the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) was using the plan to serve its own purposes, while the compensation law was also designed to benefit its members.
Chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), Bulcha Demeksa said endorsing the legislation was the equivalent of granting a licence for the EPRDF to do what it likes.
Chairperson of Social Affairs Standing Committee, Azeb Mesfin denied this saying the new laws were not primarily intended for the EPRDF, but for all citizens.
“We, at the EPRDF, know very well that the law does not exclude non-members of EPRDF,” Ms Mesfin said.
The House also passed revised legislation to provide for public and private employment agencies, which the Opposition did not oppose.
However, the law places restrictions on private agencies which recruit workers for overseas assignments, mandating that they must deposit up to $US50,000 ($A62,600) in a bank account, depending on the number of workers they handle.
Some MPs opposed this saying it would mean private agencies could only be run by the rich.
2 June, 2008
IRELAND
Talks start on PS reform
Detailed talks have begun between the Government of Ireland and public sector unions over sweeping reforms to the Irish PS which have been in the planning pipeline for months.
While the Department of Finance and trade unions have admitted that talks are underway, union sources said no specific proposals had been put forward.
They said details were expected to be set out at separate talks on changes in the various parts of the Public Service as the negotiations continued.
They said the talks were also likely to consider the fallout from the Government’s new early retirement, incentivised career break and expanded term-time schemes which have been introduced in a bid to reduce the State’s payroll bill.
Media reports say that at a further meeting, the public sector trade unions again signalled that they would not recommend any new social partnership deal for national recovery unless there were also guarantees from the Government in relation to public sector pay and pensions, including the existing tax-free status of retirement lump sums.
Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Brian Cowen told the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) that the Government placed great importance on a transformation agenda for the Public Service.
He said in a letter that it was the desire of Government “to conclude a robust agreement which delivered greater flexibility in the deployment of people and resources within and, where necessary, across Public Service boundaries so that we can restructure Public Service delivery.”
Mr Cowen also noted that it was only in the context of an agreement on Public Service transformation that the concerns of trade unions could be addressed.