30 August, 2011
INDIA (Rajasthan)

Staff to face fines for slow work

Public Servants in the Indian State of Rajasthan are to be personally fined and face disciplinary action if they don’t deliver Government services on time.
   Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot said the Rajasthan Guaranteed Delivery of Public Services Bill, 2011 was aimed at making bureaucrats more accountable for the effective delivery of public services.
   He said 53 services involving 15 Government Departments had been included in the Bill. More services would be added later.
   Penalties of between Rs.500 ($A10.50) to Rs.5,000 ($A102), or disciplinary action have been proposed if a Government official does not provide prompt service. The money would be deducted from the official’s salary.
   Under the legislation a client could file an application for a specific service and receive a receipt. The official concerned would have to ensure that the service was provided in a timely manner.
   If the service could not be delivered, the official would have to cite a good reason.
   If that did not satisfy the client, he or she could file an appeal to the Appellate Authority which would rule on whether the reason for the service not being carried out was good or impose a sanction on the official.
   The services covered by the proposed Bill include electricity connection, police verification for a passport, driving licence renewal, the issuing of disability certificates, water connection and the provision of official documents, including birth or death certificates.
   While the initiative has been broadly welcomed there is some scepticism as to whether it will prove effective.
   According to the local media, services in India usually require a bribe before being promptly implemented.

30 August, 2011
SOUTH AFRICA

Departing staff face job ban

New legislation has been introduced in South Africa requiring employees leaving the public sector to wait for 12 months before taking a job with a private company they had been involved with in the duties
   The laws follow calls from Public Service watchdogs for a ‘cooling-off’ period as a way of preventing conflicts of interest.
   The observers say the move will prevent jobs being offered to Public Servants in exchange for favourable decisions and would avoid the use of confidential Government information once an employee had left the PS and joined a company in a closely-related sector of work.
   The new regulations are due to take effect in the 2012-13 financial year.
   Under the legislation, ethics officers would be deployed in Government Departments to monitor its implementation, keep a register of names of officials taking part in procurement processes, and report cases of potential conflicts of interests to a special anti-corruption unit in their Department.
   Minister for Public Service and Administration, Richard Baloyi said the cooling-off restrictions included a provision for them to be waived if there was no evidence of a conflict of interest.
   He said senior managers would also be required to declare their financial interests in any business, including shareholdings, directorships, partnerships, consultancies and retainers. Failure to do so would constitute misconduct.

30 August, 2011
KUWAIT

PS warned on social media

Government employees in Kuwait have been told not to log on to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter through their mobile phones during work hours.
   Under-Secretary of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Mohammad Al-Roumi said a large number of employees often logged on to these sites while at work; others left their offices without informing their superiors in violation of the CSC bylaws.
   The practice has drawn the attention of lawmakers with the Member of Parliament, Naji Al-Abdulhadi criticising a decision to suspend the salary of an employee at the Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) after he made a comment on Twitter.
   Mr Al-Abdulhadi urged acting Minister of Communications and Minister of Electricity and Water, Salem Al-Othaina to open an investigation into the issue.
   “This is dangerous considering we live in a country that is famous for its democratic practices and respect for freedom and human rights,” Mr Al-Abdulhadi said.
   The MP said it was not logical to suspend the payment of an employee’s salary just because he posted a comment that KPA officials did not like.
   He asked if any Authority had the right to punish its employees for the statements they post on social networking sites.
   “Some people have apparently appointed themselves as judges, oblivious to the fact that the country has a judicial system,” he said.

30 August, 2011
NEW ZEALAND

PS job cuts threaten industries

Job cuts at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry could harm New Zealand’s forestry, fisheries and agriculture industries according to the Public Service Association (PSA).
   Plans announced to restructure the Ministry are to result in the loss of 466 jobs, but create 225 new ones.
   The PSA said that while some of the jobs to be cut were currently vacant, 80 per cent of the 144 people who will be made redundant were based in Wellington.
   “Many of these people provide the analysis for sound practice on the ground that protects our forestry, fisheries and agriculture industries,’’ the National Secretary of the PSA, Richard Wagstaff said.
   “These industries are critical to our economy and we shouldn’t be putting them at risk.’’
   Mr Wagstaff said the cuts would weaken and remove crucial management of agricultural, biosecurity, fisheries and forestry systems.
   “Some of those skilled people will go overseas, so the loss of knowledge and expertise won’t just be to the Public Service, it will be to the whole of New Zealand industry.’’ He said the Government was in danger of repeating the 1990s restructuring which resulted in the loss of knowledge, expertise and adequate staffing levels.
   In 1995, the Ministry of Fisheries was split from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and in 1997, Forestry was folded into Agriculture to create the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
   According to Mr Wagstaff, since then, a standalone Food Safety Authority was set up from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Health, only to be returned to Agriculture and Fisheries last year.
   Director-General of the Ministry, Wayne McNee said there was no plan to cut the numbers of fishery officers, animal welfare inspectors and investigators, and quarantine inspectors.

30 August, 2011
SCOTLAND

Audit recommends reforms

Government Service delivery will have to be reformed if Scotland is to cope with massive Budget cuts according to the country’s national auditor.
   Audit Scotland has examined 47 public bodies, including Councils, the National Health Service and Government Departments, to see how they were coping with the cuts.
   Chair of the Accounts Commission for Scotland, John Baillie said Local Authorities had already done substantial work to address the very challenging financial outlook and they faced very difficult decisions in prioritising services and allocating money.
   “It is crucial that they continue to focus on the outcomes they intend to achieve and not just on short-term decisions driven by the need to reduce costs,” Mr Baillie said.
   The report said that relying largely on natural turnover and voluntary release or retirement schemes to reduce staff numbers could result in the wrong staff leaving. Managers had to ensure that essential skills and knowledge were not being lost and that the quality of services was maintained.
   It said that over the next four years, public sector budgets in Scotland would drop from £29.2 billion ($A45.8 billion) to £25.9 billion ($A40.6 billion) – down six per cent in 2011-12 and 11 per cent in 2014-15.
   The audit report said Dundee City Council reduced its workforce by 336 during 2010-11 – some five per cent of the full-time equivalent total – through natural turnover, voluntary severance and early retirement.

30 August, 2011
CYPRUS

Statistics show PS pay better

Data from Cyprus’s Statistical Service shows that Public Servants are paid, on average, 30 per cent more than their fellow workers in the private sector.
   According to the stats, the average gross monthly salary in Cyprus (both public and private sectors) was €1,987 ($A2,728) for the first quarter of this year but for the Public Service alone it was €2,600 ($A3,570).
   They showed that in 2009, total spending on PS salaries was €1.618 billion ($A2.221 billion) rising to €1.656 billion ($A2.274 billion) last year.
   The report said around 65 per cent of Public Servants (some 35,000) were paid wages substantially higher than the national average.
   The highest earners, numbering around 5,300, earned more than €4,500 ($A6,180) a month.
   According to the report, the discrepancy between the wages of Public Servants and the general population, though substantial, was actually misleading because PS salaries weighed into the calculation of the average national salary.
   Commentators have pointed out that the figure for the average national salary, as given by the Statistical Service, is bumped up by the high wages received by Public Servants, concealing the true extent of the difference between public and private sectors.
   The statistics show however that many entry-level salaries in the Public Service are lower than corresponding starting salaries in the private sector.
   The total Cypriot labour force is approximately 390,000, of which around 70,000 work for the Central Government and the broader public sector.

30 August, 2011
MALAYSIA

Moves to counter brain drain

The Malaysian Government has launched two initiatives in an attempt to lure high-quality skilled workers into the Public Service and the private sector.
   The two programs – the Talent Acceleration in Public Service (TAPS) and the Scholarship Talent Attraction and Retention (STAR) are meant to counter a common perception that Public Service careers were unattractive and work in the private sector low paid and over-demanding.
   Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak said skilled Malaysians were increasingly choosing to live overseas.
   “The brain-drain crisis remains widespread and I hope the two initiatives will help get talents into the Public Service or retain them for the local private sector,” Tun Razak said.
   “I firmly believe that Malaysians who have been given the privilege and opportunity of a good education have the added collective responsibility to act for the benefit of others.”
   He said under the TAPS program, high-achieving young entrants to the Public Service would be assigned to senior colleagues who would be their mentors and work with them on high-priority public policy issues and projects.
   The pilot batch would involve 40 graduates from the world’s best universities and would begin in October.
   Those not selected for the public sector would participate in STAR, where they would work in leading companies as part of the effort to drive two major programs, the Economic Transformation Plan and the Government Transformation Plan.

30 August, 2011
BAHRAIN

Performance assessments ordered

Government bodies in Bahrain have been instructed to conduct their annual performance assessments of employees.
   Director of the Employees Assessment and Relations Section of the Civil Service Bureau, Ahmed Y. Abdul-Rahim said the aim was to increase Government employees’ productivity and reduce time spent on performing routine transactions.
   Under the scheme, the employee would first be asked to determine his or her basic capabilities, main functions and objectives. The employee would then be requested to perform their duty according to a series of work plans.
   The employee’s performance would be assessed by a supervisor who would formulate a development plan to take the employee to the next level.
   Assessment results would be discussed and evaluation determined as excellent, very good, good, satisfactory or poor.
   Mr Abdul-Rahim said the assessments would form the basic criteria to govern the employee’s training, development, promotion, incentives, human resources planning, improvement of recruitment standards, simplification of job procedures, improvement of policy and administrative organisation, re-classification of jobs as well as for decision-making aimed at the improvement of the employee’s job and administrative performance.
   Job performance assessment reports are prepared for every employee at least once a year and delivered to the Civil Service Bureau.
   The responsibility for the system was with the management of Government Departments who could only vary from the program with the permission of the Civil Service Bureau.

30 August, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

NORTHERN IRELAND
The Head of the Northern Ireland Public Service is likely to be still at his post a year after announcing his retirement.
   After initially saying he was stepping down in October 2010, it was expected that Sir Bruce Robinson would leave in March. That was delayed until after the Northern Ireland Assembly election.
   However, Sir Bruce’s job was only advertised internally at the start of August, three months after the election. An appointment is not expected until towards the end of the year.

CANADA
A disagreement has sprung up over whether there are to be Federal Public Service job cuts in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
   The Public Service Alliance of Canada said the national Government planned to cut jobs at Employment Insurance Offices with 29 positions to go in Gander and 27 in other towns across the Province.
   However, a spokesperson for the Federal Government said that while there would be changes to make the offices more efficient and cost-effective, no jobs would be lost.

BOTSWANA
A committee has been formed to raise money for Government employees who lost their jobs due to the recent Public Service strike.
   At a meeting organised by the Botswana Federation of Public Service Unions (BOFEPUSU) in the mining town of Selebi-Phikwe, Public Servants still employed decided to raise money to pay rent and buy food for their dismissed colleagues.
   Branch Chair of BOFEPUSU, John Morobolo said the aim of the meeting was also to update workers on the reinstatement of the fired workers and the importance of showing solidarity with them.
   The strike is currently suspended without a resolution to a salary dispute.

LIBERIA
A pay rise for all Public Servants at Government Ministries has been announced.
   Under the plan, which follows the passage of the annual Budget, the least Public Service employees would receive is $US100 ($A95.35) during the current fiscal year.
   The increase will also be extended to Public Service pensioners and members of the security forces.

SWAZILAND
A proposed Public Service staff audit will be “vehemently opposed” by a leading PS union.
   Secretary-General of the National Association of Public Service and Allied Workers Union, Vincent Dlamini said it was disconcerting to hear of a staff audit without knowing a thing about it.
   “We have only heard about the audit in the newspapers. This is why we will oppose it, Mr Dlamini said.
   “We would want to know whether an audit for Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentarians will also be conducted to ascertain whether the incumbents are fit to hold those offices.”

30 August, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

PHILIPPINES
A month of celebrations to mark the 111th anniversary of the foundation of the Philippines Public Service has been announced.
   The Civil Service Commission said a highlight of the celebrations would be a dance exercise contest conducted in coordination with the Department of Health.
   On 22 and 23 September Government Agencies are to set up one-stop shops showcasing their front line services as well as action centres to address queries and complaints. Other Agencies would set up information centres where they could demonstrate their key programs.

UNITED KINGDOM
A series of tests of a proposed Public Service computer network has been successfully completed in the UK.
   Project Pathway aims to create a “network of networks“ for PS agencies and the field test involved cooperation between Hampshire and Kent County Councils.
   Other public sector organisations will now be encouraged to join the network which has been described as a “significant and tangible step towards more efficient and joined-up public services”.

MALAYSIA (Sarawak)
The Sarawak State Public Service has received a tick from the general public with 70 per cent saying they were satisfied with the quality of the service they received.
   The finding came from a study conducted by the Sarawak Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit.
   Departments surveyed included Immigration, Inland Revenue and National Registration.

AZERBAIJAN
Just 34 per cent of candidates for entry into the Azerbaijan Public Service passed the initial entry examination.
   As a result, 1,148 out of 4,199 initial candidates will go forward to the next stage of the selection process.
   The candidates will now compete for 740 vacancies in 77 State bodies through a series of interviews.

JAMAICA
The people of Jamaica have launched a protest against high electricity prices.
   The campaign, which urges all citizens to wear black on ‘Black Out Fridays’ has resulted in the Government giving consideration to setting up a Commission of Inquiry into the power pricing structure.
   Despite complaints by utility customers that since the installation of new digital meters their bills have risen astronomically, the electricity provider maintains the meters are in good working order and were giving the correct readings.

23 August, 2011
NIGERIA

Plan to regulate PS ethics

Regulations aimed at promoting ethical behaviour in the Nigerian public sector have been proposed by the national Government.
   Minister for Public Service and Administration, Richard Baloyi said the draft Public Service Integrity Management Framework, expected to be ready before the end of the year, had the aim of rooting out corruption within the sector.
   The draft has been welcomed by MPs concerned about the high level of graft and corruption among Public Servants.
   The framework proposes that all Public Servants with business interests be restricted from doing business with the Government.
   It requires all businesses bidding for Government contracts to disclose any information they possessed about State employees with vested interests.
   Companies found to be in contravention of the requirement could be blacklisted.
   Mr Baloyi said if the draft framework was approved, State employees would have to abide by tighter restrictions on doing work outside the Public Service.
   They would have to seek approval from their Departments and submit financial disclosures.
   Former Public Servants who had been involved in procurement processes could be subjected to a 12-month period after employment during which they would be prohibited from doing business with, or accepting rewards from, companies providing services to the Government, or from using their inside knowledge to their own benefit.
   Mr Baloyi said this ‘cooling-off period’ should also apply to former politicians.
   Acting Director-General of the Public Service and Administration Department, Kenny Govender said the framework could come into force before the end of the current financial year.

23 August, 2011
SOUTH AFRICA

6.8% payrise negotiated

Almost six months of negotiations has resulted in a salary agreement between South African Public Service unions and the Government.
   Announcing the deal, the Independent Labour Caucus (ILC) said State employees would receive a 6.8 per cent salary increase backdated to 1 May. Other benefits, including medical aid and housing, would be subject to further negotiation.
   Spokesman for ILC, Chris Klopper said PS pensioners would continue to receive free medical aid, and their benefits would be aligned with current employees.
   Mr Klopper said the negotiations had been orderly, avoiding the danger of industrial unrest in the Public Service.
   He said the 6.8 per cent nominal increase would ensure that workers received a real increase of between 1.8 and two per cent, once inflation was taken into account.
   In addition, State employees would receive annual salary increases of between one and 1.5 per cent.
   “Ideally, parties should have been able to also finalise the new housing benefits and the equalisation of medical subsidy,” Mr Klopper said.
   “However, the agreement provides a solid base to enable the ILC to engage the employers during a new phase of negotiations on these matters with effect from 22 August.”
   He said outstanding matters included drawing up a minimum service agreement for essential services during periods of labour unrest, as well as long service, night shift allowances, and the recognition of improved qualifications.
   A remuneration policy for the Public Service, capped leave, pensions and a possible multi-term agreement were also items to be negotiated.

23 August, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

MPs to probe PS savings

An investigation into possible public sector savings through outsourcing and shared services is to be launched by the British Government.
   A Parliamentary group including MPs from all parties with the aim of improving dialogue and understanding between industry representatives and politicians, and bringing increased transparency to the process has been announced.
   Chair of the group, Bob Blackman from the Conservative party said the outsourcing of services represented an opportunity to reduce costs and, at the same time, improve the quality of service provided to the public.
   “As more organisations look to benefit from outsourcing and sharing services, it is vital to learn from past experiences: what has worked and what has not,” Mr Blackman said.
   “The All-Party Group is an unrivalled opportunity to build upon these experiences, ensuring shared learning is incorporated into future outsourcing proposals.
   “We are keen to learn from those experienced in outsourcing on all sides of the relationship – buyers, suppliers and officials.”
   He said the National Outsourcing Association (NOA) would have a role in the group, providing best practice from projects that had been delivered on-time and resulted in achieving their objectives.
   It would also give examples of projects that had not worked, and present the lessons learned.
   Chair of NOA, Martyn Hart said the establishment of the group was an opportunity for his members to contribute meaningfully to the debate.
   “It gives them chance to showcase their best practice examples and success stories, helping the public sector investigate how to outsource smarter,” Mr Hart said.

23 August, 2011
SWAZILAND

Senators unhappy with PS Bill

Concerns have been raised over a draft Bill proposing to regulate the work of Swaziland’s Public Servants.
   A Senate Committee examining the legislation said it did not address some critical issues.
   The Bill, which would introduce a code of conduct for Public Service officers, rules for appointments and disciplinary matters, is the first attempt to provide a framework of regulation governing the Public Service.
   In the past the Government relied on a series of general orders to meet situations as they arose.
   Senator Themba Msibi raised concerns on the composition of the Public Service and said the Bill was silent on police, Parliament, the army and the judiciary.
   “The Bill must encompass everyone in public office,” Senator Msibi said.
   “If it comes into the Senate as it is, it will probably be rejected.”
   He said the Bill must address issues of salaries for Public Servants, ensuring that employees’ salaries could not be cut without agreement.
   Minister for the Public Service, Mtiti Fakudze said the Bill could not encompass every little detail and it was not possible to include salaries as that might end up creating problems for the Government.
   “Salaries are covered in the collective agreement the Government has with unions,” Mr Fakudze said.
   “Government signed an agreement to meet with unions on issues that have to do with salaries.
   “It is necessary that a Performance Management System be put in place to provide a yardstick for people to be disciplined if necessary,” he said.

23 August, 2011
INDIA (Punjab)

Court overturns PS appointment

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed the appointment of former MP, Harish Rai Dhanda as Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).
   The Court ruled that the selection process was not transparent and objective and that no effort had been made to choose the best talent available.
   Mr Dhanda had represented the ruling Sikh Akali Dal Party in State Parliament and had been a Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the Punjab Government until recently.
   He resigned just before the Government announced his nomination for PPSC Chairman.
   His swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for 13 July, had to be called off at the last minute after the High Court announced it would examine the appointment.
   The Opposition Congress Party also objected to the appointment of someone who had so recently been a sitting MP in the Government party because the PPSC oversaw all senior Public Service appointments in the State.
   A statement from the Court said that on the basis of the evidence before it, the appointment was not made fairly.
   “It was made with a pre-conceived mind and in a determined manner that Mr Dhanda would be Chairman of the Commission,” The Court found.
   “It cannot be said that Mr Dhanda was the only candidate who could be considered and appointed for such an assignment – or that he was necessarily the best candidate,” it said.

23 August, 2011
UGANDA

Payrises put on hold

There is to be no pay rise for Public Servants in Uganda in the current financial year.
   In a statement to Parliament, the Ministry of Public Service said no money for an increase had been provided for in the 2011/12 Budget.
   Minister for the PS, Henry Kajura said the issue of remuneration would be looked into as a whole at a later date.
   Teachers are currently demanding a 100 per cent pay raise to counter double-digit inflation and went on strike in support of their claim.
   After the strike, President Yoweri Museveni ordered the Ministries of Public Service, Finance, Education and other concerned stakeholders to immediately hold negotiations with the teachers over their demand.
   Chair of the Uganda National Teachers Union, Margaret Rwabushaija said the union was still expecting a pay raise.
   “As far as we are concerned, we have a meeting with the Ministry of Public Service to discuss our salaries,” Ms Rwabushaija said.
   “We don’t have a Plan B.”
   Several MPs have demanded the Government find the money to increase Public Servants’ salaries, especially those in rural and remote areas where the cost of living was especially high.
   However, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Public Service, Jimmy Lwamafa said PS salaries had increased on average five per cent last year to take account of inflation with sections facing retention problems given priority.

23 August, 2011
BURKINA FASO

Crackdown on ‘ghosts’ and latecomers

A crackdown on Public Service ‘ghosts’ and people who come to work late is to be launched in the West African country of Burkina Faso.
   The aim will be to save money that could then be given to workers who performed their duties diligently said the Minister for the Civil Service, Soungalo Apollinaire Ouattara. Burkina Faso’s Public Servants are among the worst paid in the world.
   According to Mr Ouattara, up to 200 ghost Public Servants were discovered each year.
   “A ghost worker is a Civil Servant who was hired, is on the payroll but does not show up at work,” Mr Ouattara said.
   “It can be a case of long-term leave or it can be a Civil Servant whose post doubles up with another’s.
   “We are currently bent on eradicating these duplications by comparing notes with the Budget Ministry to expose these fraudsters.”
   Burkina Faso, whose name means the Land of Upright Men, is one of the world’s poorest with around 107,000 Public Servants for a population of about 15 million.
   In June, a Government watchdog committee reported that more than two thirds of the country’s Public Servants were chronically late for work and called for tighter controls on working hours.

23 August, 2011
INDIA

Rail users let off steam

Indian Railways has topped the list for official complaints registered against all Public Service Agencies over the past 12 years.
   According to a study by the Directorate of Public Grievance (DPG), 16 per cent of all complaints lodged in that time were against the Railways.
   The analysis found there were 88,989 complaints received between 1999 and June 2011, with 14,389 against Indian Railways, followed by 9,247 against State-owned telecommunication companies.
   Statewned banks, the Provident Fund Office and Public Service insurance entities followed with 8,787, 6,175 and 5,782 complaints respectively.
   Of all the complaints, 24,169 were investigated and settled, 5,677 were deemed not to warrant further action and the rest were still being considered.
   Indian Railways, the largest employer in the country, recorded 11.58 per cent growth in freight and 7.8 per cent growth in passenger traffic during 2009-10.
   The Railways carried an average 14 million passengers a day.
   Chairman of the Railways Board, Vinay Mittal declined to comment on the level of complaints but former Chairman, JP Batra said the number did not reflect poorly on performance.
   “Feedback from passengers always helps in improving the service,” Mr Batra said.
   “We have faced flak for rude behaviour of cleaning staff, ticket collector and inadequate facilities.”
   A spokesman for the lobby group Consumer Voice, Sriram Khannsaid said the Indian Railways did not care about customer needs.
   “Their attitude towards customer service has been poor and no improvement can be expected in the near future,” Professor Khannsaid said.

23 August, 2011
OMAN

50,000 to join Public Service

Public Service Departments and other institutions have begun to implement an order from Oman’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said to employ 50,000 Oman citizens.
   Some of the new employees have already begun work
   Director of Employees’ Affairs at the Department of Public Prosecution, Mohammed bin Naseeb bin Said Al Shanfari, said that 85 citizens had been appointed in different sections.
   “These new employees were appointed and started working in June,” Mr Al Shanfari said.
   “They all have university degrees and are working as legal researchers, accountants, computer technicians, engineers, and administrative affairs researchers.”
   He said applications continued to be received and the Department was ready to take more.
   Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, Issa bin Said Al Nu’amani said his Ministry had appointed 38 citizens in the fields of oil and gas, accounts and administration sections, according to their qualifications.
   Meanwhile, 183 male and female citizens had been appointed at the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and had been working there since the beginning of August.
   Other appointments included 338 citizens in non-medical positions at the Ministry of Health.
   A statement issued by the Ministry said it was seeking, within the framework of current vacancies, to make available other jobs in various medical, paramedic and administrative fields.

23 August, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

PHILIPPINES
A month of celebrations to mark the 111th anniversary of the foundation of the Philippines Public Service has been announced.
   The Civil Service Commission said a highlight of the celebrations would be a dance exercise contest conducted in coordination with the Department of Health.
   On 22 and 23 September Government Agencies are to set up one-stop shops showcasing their front line services as well as action centres to address queries and complaints. Other Agencies would set up information centres where they could demonstrate their key programs.

UNITED KINGDOM
A series of tests of a proposed Public Service computer network has been successfully completed in the UK.
   Project Pathway aims to create a “network of networks“ for PS agencies and the field test involved cooperation between Hampshire and Kent County Councils.
   Other public sector organisations will now be encouraged to join the network which has been described as a “significant and tangible step towards more efficient and joined-up public services”.

MALAYSIA (Sarawak)
The Sarawak State Public Service has received a tick from the general public with 70 per cent saying they were satisfied with the quality of the service they received.
   The finding came from a study conducted by the Sarawak Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit.
   Departments surveyed included Immigration, Inland Revenue and National Registration.

AZERBAIJAN
Just 34 per cent of candidates for entry into the Azerbaijan Public Service passed the initial entry examination.
   As a result, 1,148 out of 4,199 initial candidates will go forward to the next stage of the selection process.
   The candidates will now compete for 740 vacancies in 77 State bodies through a series of interviews.

JAMAICA
The people of Jamaica have launched a protest against high electricity prices.
   The campaign, which urges all citizens to wear black on ‘Black Out Fridays’ has resulted in the Government giving consideration to setting up a Commission of Inquiry into the power pricing structure.
   Despite complaints by utility customers that since the installation of new digital meters their bills have risen astronomically, the electricity provider maintains the meters are in good working order and were giving the correct readings.

16 August, 2011
UNITED STATES

Innovation report finds bosses not

A new report has revealed that Public Servants in the United States are generally keen to be innovative and creative but their managers aren’t willing to take the risks involved.
   An analysis of survey data in the report found that 91 per cent of responding Federal employees said they were “constantly looking for ways to do my job better”, but just 39 per cent agreed that their “creativity and innovation are rewarded”.
   In the middle were 60 per cent who felt “encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things”.
   The report said this showed considerable opportunity for the Government to improve.
   “It suggests Federal workers are motivated to drive change through creativity, but need stronger support from their organisations and leaders to do so.”
   The report looked at what drove Federal innovation and found an employee’s salary, workload and resources were less important than other tangible factors.
   It said six workplace conditions had a high effect on innovation:

Recognition for providing high-quality products and services;
Real opportunities to improve skills;
Involvement in decisions that affect work;
A sense of personal empowerment with respect to work processes;
Opportunities to demonstrate their leadership skills; and
Leaders working to gain employees’ respect.

   One of the authors of the report and President of the Partnership for Public Service, Max Stier said the work of Government would not be done by cutting the Government and cutting the workforce.
   “It’s going to be by doing things in a smarter way, and innovation is what’s going to be required,” Mr Stier said.
   A summary of the report can be accessed at this PS News link.

16 August, 2011
IRELAND

Poor management to be penalised

Heavy penalties are to be placed on managers in the Irish Public Service who fail to deal with under-performing staff.
   Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin said the sanctions against them could include a block on promotion.
   Mr Howlin said the Public Service had an official system to grade employees’ performance which was set up 11 years ago, but there were concerns that some managers were still not using it
   This was despite an agreement between the Government and the Public Service and the terms for a European bailout of the cash-strapped country that included a commitment to stamp out slack work practices in the public sector and ensure value for taxpayers’ money.
   Mr Howlin has drawn up plans to kick-start the system - to be discussed with unions later this month - which promises to single out managers for intense scrutiny.
   Those who fail to complete the Performance Management and Development System for all staff will be hit with a low performance rating on the five-point scale.
   They will only be able to get a maximum score of two, which make them ineligible to apply for promotion.
   A source within the Minister’s office said the new sanctions would mean a lot to those in the Public Service as the negative performance assessments would remain on their files.

16 August, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

Court approves cuts to entitlements

Public Service unions in the United Kingdom have lost a High Court case to protect the levels of redundancy and early retirement payments.
   The Public and Commercial Services Union, which has 270,000 members, and the Prison Officers’ Association (35,000 members) had called for a judicial review of a Government decision made in December 2010 to amend the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
   The amendments would reduce payments made under the scheme which are designed to plug the gap between jobs, or between leaving the Public Service and full retirement. The scheme applies to more than 600,000 workers.
   Lawyers representing the unions told the Court that, because rights to certain redundancy terms had accrued through length of service, they were classed as a “possession” in human rights law and should not be “interfered with”.
   But the Judge dismissed the claim and said the amendments were valid
   He concluded that, while the benefits under the old scheme were “possessions” within the meaning of the European convention, and that the changes did amount to “interference”, this was justified.
   “First, the interference must be in accordance with law which itself must be accessible, precise and foreseeable in application,” Justice McCombe said.
   “Secondly, the interference must be in pursuit of a legitimate aim in the public interest and, thirdly, it must strike a fair balance between the persons affected and the community as a whole.”
   Salary and pension benefits remained unaffected. The rights of scheme members had not been eliminated by the amended scheme; they had been reduced in a manner designed to spread the burden fairly among all Public Servants.
   It had not been contested that the revised scheme, which had been accepted by four unions, was still relatively favourable to departing employees.
   The Court determined that the reduction in benefits was “reasonable and commensurate”.

16 August, 2011
UGANDA

Performance contracts for managers

Public Service managers in Uganda have been ordered to sign an annual performance agreement with the Government.
   The agreement will ensure the managers perform in accordance with the objectives of the National Development Plan. There will be rewards for those who do and punishment for those who fail.
   A source within the Ministry of Public Service said the overall aims were to address the shortcomings in service delivery and enhance transparency and accountability.
   The source said the agreement had a number of targets: to produce a commitment to the achievement of the country’s strategic goals; to provide a mechanism for senior managers to align their strategies, budgets and outputs with the Government’s policy agenda; and to institutionalise a transparent and accountable process for assessing the achievement of agreed outputs and targets.
   The proposed agreement was also aimed at establishing a formal process to document the level of achievement of outputs and targets across the Public Service and to provide rewards for good performance.
   The Ministry source said the rewards could include paid trips to professional meetings, short-term work exchanges, higher budget allocation, trophies, retreats, celebrations, certificates of good performance, and paid vacations.
   Public Servants whose performance was found wanting would be reprimanded; have their rank, seniority or salary reduced; be required to recover the cost or part of the cost of any loss caused by default or negligence; be retired; or dismissed.

16 August, 2011
LEBANON

Disabled urge to join PS

Lebanese people with disabilities should look to the country’s Public Service for employment according to the Minister for Social Affairs, Wael Abu Faour.
   He called on disabled people to take part in upcoming Public Service examinations, which would allow them to qualify for jobs in the public sector.
   “There is a portion of space allocated for the community of disabled in the public sector,” Mr Abu Faour said in an address to the Council for Civil Service and the National Association of Parents and Institutions for the Disabled.
   In an earlier speech Mr Abu Faour urged all public and private hospitals across the country to admit disabled patients without condition.
   He said three per cent of public sector jobs were allocated for people with disability.
   “It’s a long path to reach there, but we will take steps toward its implementation,” Mr Abu Faour said.
   Activists and non-government organisations had strongly criticised the Ministry for failing to implement the employment targets, which were adopted more than 10 years ago.
   There were claims that political bickering and mismanagement of the National Committee for the Disabled were the main reasons behind the delay.
   Minister for Education, Khaled Qabbani said guaranteeing the rights of the disabled and their employment was a constitutional and a legal requirement.
   “All necessary measures will be available at the Civil Service examinations to facilitate the entrance of disabled candidates,” Mr Qabbani said.

16 August, 2011
CANADA

Sacked whistleblower reinstated

Health Canada has been ordered to reinstate a whistleblower scientist it fired seven years ago.
   But the Public Service Labour Relations Board upheld the sacking of two other scientists fired the same day.
   After a process that lasted four-and-a-half years and included more than 150 days of hearings, the Board told Health Canada to reinstate Gérard Lambert, who worked in the Veterinary Drugs Directorate before his termination on 14 July, 2004. The dismissals of Shiv Chopra and Margaret Haydon could stand.
   All three worked as drug evaluators and were publicly critical of what they saw as inadequate protection of the country’s food system.
   The Government had always denied that they were fired for speaking out, saying their termination was due to insubordination.
   President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, Gary Corbett called the Board’s decision a sad day for Canada.
   “Public Servants play a critical role in protecting the health and safety of Canadians, perhaps that role is diminished now,” Mr Corbett said.
   “This is another unfortunate example of Public Service professionals being prevented from voicing their expert opinion to protect the public.”
   Dr Lambert, who said he wanted to return to work as soon as possible, said any joy he felt at winning back his job was tempered by disappointment at the rejection of his two colleagues’ cases.
   All three had not been in paid employment since their firing, largely because of the time demands of the labour board case.
   “It’s very difficult to have a new job with that kind of burden on you,” Dr Lambert said.
   Lawyer for the three scientists, David Yazbeck, said Dr Lambert would be looking for pay and benefits from Health Canada dating back to 2004. While he had been collecting a pension since then, his estimated income loss is more than $C250,000 ($A246,000).

16 August, 2011
GHANA

President orders PS work audit

Ghana’s president has moved to stop the widespread Public Service practice of paying workers for doing little or no work.
   President John Evans Atta Mills said he would provide extra funds to the Public Service Commission for it to carry out an audit of staff and performance.
   The President said the current practice meant the public sector consumed an unacceptably high percentage of Government revenue.
   “You can’t pay somebody for doing no work, and we must make sure we rationalise so that people can be retrained to justify their retention,” President Mills said.
   He said while the Government’s aim was to create jobs, it would not waste national resources on people who were employed but did virtually no work.
   The situation was so serious in some public sector establishments that in one instance there were 15 drivers for only five vehicles.
   The President found an ally in the country’s labour movement, with the Public Services Workers Union calling for the proper functioning of the PS to enable the country to achieve meaningful and sustainable development.
   Deputy General Secretary of the Union, Richard Amparbeng said his organisation would embark on an education program to sharpen members’ skills and knowledge.
   “Our negotiations will focus on members’ needs and we will strive to stabilise the industrial atmosphere by maintaining industrial peace in the Public Sector”, Mr Amparbeng said.

16 August, 2011
FIJI

Awards program to improve service

A program of awards for the Fijian Public Service is encouraging better service delivery and improving productivity.
   Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Commission, Parmesh Chand said the Service Excellence Awards (SEA) provided an opportunity for Government Agencies to evaluate their organisation, performance, management systems and processes.
   He said the awards were adapted from the Fiji Business Excellence Awards which, in turn were based on the Australian Business Excellence Framework.
   “The structured approach provided by the Service Excellence Awards enables Government Agencies to improve standards of work performance to respond to current and future challenges,” Mr Chand said.
   “The people of Fiji depend on the Public Service to continually make improvements in the delivery of services and the aim of this reform initiative is to enhance public sector efficiency, performance, effectiveness and service delivery.”
   He said the program had the ability to lift the status of the Public Service to make it a world class organisation, able to change the mind-set of Public Servants and the public at large.
   “Officers within the Service have to embrace the transitional period that we are in at the moment as well as the need to improve systems and processes to be relevant in the current and future environment in which we operate,” Mr Chand said.

16 August, 2011
CANADA

Shared Services scheme criticised

The Canadian Public Service has been criticised for creating a Shared Services Agency to save money without being able to say how much, if any, it would save.
   Although the Government has claimed the new agency would save between $100 million ($A98.4 million) and $200 ($A196.8) million annually, the Ministry of Public Works, which assumed responsibility for the new Agency, could not say how this would be achieved.
   In addition, the launch of Shared Services Canada caught Public Service unions off guard.
   President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, Gary Corbett said he had read the news online before Treasury Board representatives gave him any information.
   “We would have advised that they consult with us so we could talk to the employees,” Mr Corbett said.
   “This was a Government decision - a senior-level decision - to make it happen without any thought of the consequences of how this would all play out.”
   He said the shared services initiative was intended to save money by managing certain parts of the Government as one enterprise, rather than Departments running their own services like “dozens of independent fiefdoms”.
   The new Agency was particularly expected to eliminate wastage through streamlining the Government’s network of email systems and data centres.
   There has been no shortage of criticism from other areas with small- and medium-sized businesses anxious about being squeezed out of the industry as IT contracts become larger.
   In addition Opposition MPs have been demanding to see a business plan for the venture – something that the Government has so far failed to produce.

16 August, 2011
And from the World in Brief...

NIGERIA (Oyo)
Suggestions that false educational certificates have been issued allowing unqualified people to work in the Oyo State Public Service, are to be investigated by the State’s Governor.
   The move follows several reports that senior serving Public Servants had been found to possess fake certificates.
   If the cases are proved against them, the officers could be prosecuted for collecting their salaries under false pretences.

NORTHERN IRELAND
Plans to select a new head of the Northern Ireland Public Service without an external competition for the job have been criticised by the Civil Service Commission.
   Current office holder, Sir Bruce Robinson said he would seek a replacement from within the organisation’s ranks.
   The Commission said the post, which commands a £141,800 ($A222,000) starting salary, should be filled through an open recruitment process.

ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe’s Minister for Public Service, Eliphas Mukonoweshuro has died in a South African Hospital where he had been treated for lung cancer. He was 58.
   A member of the Movement for Democratic Change, Mr Mukonoweshuro was reported to have died from heart complications resulting from his treatment.
   Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Mr Mukonoweshuro was a dedicated Minister who had worked tirelessly to increase conditions for State workers.

LIBERIA
Public Servants considering running for election in the coming national Liberian elections have been urged to decide whether to take leave from the Service or quit altogether.
   More than 430 candidates for the House of Representatives and the Senate made a last-minute rush to apply for the police and tax clearances needed to complete the nomination process before this week’s (15 August) deadline.
   Director of the Civil Service Agency, C. William Allen informed PS staff hoping to stand to take ‘administrative leave’ without pay.
   There are 29 registered political parties and more than 500 candidates expected to contest the election.

PHILIPPINES
The Civil Service Commission has announced that 12,207 candidates have passed he Public Service entrance exam.
   A total of 81,599 took the professional level examination and 16,178 the sub-professional test.
   A majority of the successful candidates were between 18 and 24 years old with the 7,333 females who passed outnumbering the 4,813 males.
   There were 2,833 successful candidates from the private sector and 1,874 from the Government.
   More than half the candidates who sat for the exam were unemployed.

NEPAL
For the first time since Nepal instituted its Public Service Awards seven years ago there is expected to be a winner in the Outstanding Civil Servant category.
   Regulations have a provision for Outstanding Civil Servant but until now awards have been presented only in the Excellent Civil Servant and Civil Service categories.
   Recent amendments to the selection criteria mean an outstanding employee is more likely to be named this year.

9 August, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

Redundancies to cost £20 billion

The Public Service downsizing exercise put in place by the United Kingdom Government is expected to cost £20 billion ($A30.5 billion) in redundancy payments by 2016.
   According to the Opposition, the payments amount to £800 ($A1,120) for every family in the country, as the Government plans to remove 600,000 Public Servants from its payroll.
   The Opposition attacked the downsizing Bill saying it had proposed much more modest cuts when it was in government.
   A statement described the payouts as “staggering”, with redundant PS staff receiving an average payout package of £40,000 ($A61,000).
   The politicians said this would anger working families.
   Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude said that £3.75 billion ($A5.7 billion) a year would be saved by cutting the jobs, axing projects and reducing spending.
   “Cutting the Public Service by more than 17,000 has already saved taxpayers £300 million ($A470 million),” Mr Maude said.
   The Opposition said the savings paled in comparison to the £1 billion (SA1.55 billion) in redundancy payments in the past year – and the £20 billion expected in the next five years.
   Member of Parliament, Tom Blenkinsop (Labour) said that the figures showed how out of touch Ministers were.
   “It is like they are making up the sums as they go along,” Mr Blenkinsop said
   “Instead of laying off 600,000, why didn’t they try to retrain them or look at other options?”

9 August, 2011
GREECE

PS to scrap jobs for life

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has urged Greece to end the practice of awarding lifetime tenure in its Public Service.
   In its annual appraisal of the Greek economy, the OECD said the policies undertaken by the Government over the past year were beginning to reap rewards.
   It said however, that newly hired Public Servants should no longer be guaranteed life-long job security, and Public Service jobs should be opened up to greater competition.
   Secretary-General of the OECD, Angel Gurria said with rising exports and improved competitiveness, the Greek Government’s austerity program was beginning to succeed.
   “But success will depend on continued reforms,” Mr Gurria said.
   “There is a long and hard road ahead.”
   The OECD predicted that Greece’s economy would start growing again in 2012 after three years of recession, but Mr Gurria stressed the need for the Government to press on with its deficit-cutting effort which aimed at reducing Budget overspending from 15.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009 to 7.5 per cent this year.
   “To achieve this, strengthening tax collection is very critical,” he said.
   “If Greece collected its VAT (sales tax), social security contributions and corporate income tax with the average efficiency of OECD countries, tax revenues could rise by nearly five per cent of GDP.”
   The report came amid further industrial unrest in the country as hundreds of striking taxi drivers demonstrated outside the Ministry of Transport in Athens, and periodically blocked a nearby busy highway, in protest against new licensing laws that would affect their earnings.

9 August, 2011
IRELAND

Public-private ventures urged

Joint ventures with the private sector in Ireland that would see revenue shared from charges for services, have been proposed for the public sector.
   Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin said public Agencies could also look at a graduated system of charges.
   This would involve applying higher fees where services were provided directly by staff and lower rates where self-service or electronic processes were used.
   Mr Howlin’s comments followed a newspaper report that the heads of Government Departments had been told by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to consider bold and even unpalatable measures in their submissions to the Government’s Comprehensive Review of State Spending.
   Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Robert Watt said Departments should include in their proposals options to introduce reasonable co-payment mechanisms.
   Mr Watt said these must offset in part the costs associated with the delivery of public services.
   Mr Howlin said the Department had not been prescriptive in setting out specific examples of co-payment mechanisms which would be up to individual Departments and their Agencies as part of their overall review of expenditure in each area.
   “Public bodies may be able to partner with the private sector to make the upfront investments in return for a reasonable application of some form of share model,” Mr Howlin said
   “Self-service or electronic channels may be free or lowest cost, whereas staffed or manual channels may attract an administrative fee, or higher service charges, to assist the Public Service defray the cost to the taxpayer.”

9 August, 2011
FIJI

Psychology used to boost performance

The Public Service Commission (PSC) of Fiji has introduced psychological counselling sessions to motivate PS staff and transform them into “work-driven and result-oriented” individuals.
   Permanent Secretary of the PSC, Parmesh Chand said the counselling was an important component of the Commission’s responsibility to carry out Public Service reforms and improve the working environment.
   “This initiative will contribute to efficiencies and productivity in the Public Service,”
   Mr Chand said.
   He said the Commission was liaising with various stakeholders to help formulate the draft policy on counselling.
   “The draft will provide a meaningful avenue between management and staff when it is implemented,” he said.
   “It will effectively explore alternative solutions to problems faced and assist officers to develop a more positive outlook so they are able to take control of their circumstances in an objective way.”
   Meanwhile, the Commission warned Fiji’s Public Servants to adhere to the Public Service Code of Conduct and ensure that all Government resources were properly and efficiently managed.
   In a statement put out by the Minister for Information, Mr Chand said the Commission’s zero tolerance policy on cases of mismanagement and abuse within the Service would ensure that Public Servants found guilty of misconduct would be dealt with according to the nature of their offence.

9 August, 2011
UGANDA

Training facility a ‘ghost college’

A Public Service College in Uganda, paid for by the World Bank, could not be found when a Parliamentary Committee visited the town of Jinja to inspect it.
   Instead, the fact-finding mission found an empty piece of land apparently acquired from the Ministry of Agriculture.
   Officials from the Ministry of Public Service then took the MPs to a building owned by the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute but could not explain whether they owned or rented the premises, because there was no furniture, receipts, Memorandum of Understanding or minutes of meetings.
   The Ministry of Public Service had received a loan from the World Bank to upgrade and refurbish an existing facility worth Shs14 billion ($A6 million), while about Shs36 billion ($A15 million) was set aside for the introduction of integrated payroll and personnel systems, and the construction of a national records centre and archives.
   Commissioner for Human Resource Development at the Ministry, Jane Mwesigwa said that although the college had no permanent building, it was functioning with students were being trained individually wherever space could be found.
   Member of the Parliamentary Committee, Kenneth Omona Olusegun however said he believed that the college was in fact non-existent.
   It was a “ghost college”, Mr Olusegun said.
   Chairperson of the Committee, Florence Kintu said the MPs could not tell whether the college was in a pilot state, pipeline or was actually functioning.
   “The literature is very good, but there is nothing on the ground,” Ms Kintu said. .
   Minister of State for Jinja, Ssezi Mbaguta blamed the confusion on corruption and poor attitudes within the Public Service.

9 August, 2011
BAHRAIN

PS wins biggest ever payrise

The Bahrain Public Service is to receive a pay rise of 15 per cent, described by the local media as the “biggest increase in history.”
   Around BD70 million ($A23 million) will also fund a new Standard of Living Improvement Allowance for low-income PS employees, on top of the 15 per cent salary increase.
   Another BD30 million ($A12 million) will be used to give every pensioner registered with the General Organisation of Social Insurance (Gosi) an extra BD75 ($A30 a month).
   President of the Civil Service Bureau (CSB), Ahmed Al Zayed said the initiatives ensured everyone benefitted, while giving extra help to low and medium-income families.
   King Hamad ordered the public sector pay rises in an address to National Dialogue delegates at Al Rawdha Palace. His directive was passed on by Prime Minister, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
   Mr Al Zayed said all employees would receive their extra pay by 25 August but Gosi would be responsible for deciding when pensioners started receiving their additional payments.
   He said the Standard of Living Improvement Allowance would be added monthly to the salary of every low-income employee - including civilian staff in the public sector and military staff.
   Around 35,000 civilian employees will benefit from pay rises, while 31,000 pensioners will benefit from the BD75 grant.

9 August, 2011
NEW ZEALAND

Tax staff redundant

New Zealand’s Inland Revenue (Tax) Department is to lose nearly 200 staff from offices around the country in the latest round of Government cost-cutting, a union representing public sector workers claimed
   Figures published by the Public Service Union showed 191 jobs would be cut from the Inland Revenue Department in Invercargill, Nelson, Rotorua, Napier and New Plymouth offices as the organisation underwent a national restructure.
   The union said some of the lost work would be transferred to positions at hubs that could be situated anywhere.
   These were, in effect “virtual jobs”, the union said.
   It said the cuts followed 30 job losses at the Department in Greymouth, Timaru and Gisborne.
   National Secretary of the Union, Richard Wagstaff said the restructure would take jobs away from provincial New Zealand.
   “Provincial New Zealand needs more jobs, not less,” Mr Wagstaff said.
   “There’s a scarcity of work in provincial areas and good jobs bring benefits for the whole community.
   “Local businesses will be impacted when these jobs go.”
   He said a second phase of the restructure would see medium sites in Invercargill, Nelson, Rotorua, Napier and New Plymouth cut from 345 to 154 staff.
   Mr Wagstaff said representatives of the union were planning to meet with their members in the next few days to consider the impact of the recent cuts and to develop a response.

9 August, 2011
KENYA

Exit policy to hold PS staff

Changes to the rules for leaving the Kenyan Public Service are to be made requiring staff to stay longer to address a skills shortage.
   According to the Public Service Ministry, previous vague guidelines had resulted in many employees crossing over to the private sector, attracted by better pay and clearer career paths.
   In a statement the PSM said staff would now have to give three months’ notice before quitting and would also have to serve a longer bonding period.
   The Ministry said it would also be boosting the monitoring and enforcement of the bond terms which would now be monitored by the bonded employees’ immediate supervisors. Previously, the Public Service Ministry oversaw the process itself.
   Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, Titus Ndambuki said the reforms had been made because of the accelerating pace at which skilled employees had been lost over the past decade
   “There were days when brain drain was actually considered as a gain,” Mr Ndambuki said.
   “Now we have moved to say that the public sector must benefit from talents grown within and knowledge acquired through training funded by taxpayers.”
   He said middle-level Public Servants, many with post-graduate qualifications or first degrees backed by on-the- job training, had been leaving to join the private sector where there were better terms of service and reward-based performance, including bonuses and stock options.
   The Government had managed to head-hunt for top positions, such as Permanent Secretaries, from the private sector, but had been unable to offer salaries that came close to the private sector in middle-level management.

9 August, 2011
AFRICA (Namibia)

PS chiefs embrace best practice

Public Service chiefs from across Africa have met in Namibia to share best practices in public sector management and improve service delivery.
   Delegates to the Forum of Commonwealth Heads of African Public Services discussed a range of issues facing the public sector including HIV and AIDS, gender inequality, worsening economic inequality and increasing unemployment.
   They pointed out the need to identify potential Public Service leaders for grooming and the importance of setting performance targets.
   Mechanisms for holding leaders accountable were also discussed.
   The Forum agreed that irrespective of how a leader was appointed, he or she had to behave ethically in pursuit of sustainable development.
   Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia, Marco Hausiku said there was a need for a well-funded Public Service management corps capable of adapting and generating the knowledge needed to improve service delivery.
   “I hope that you can develop concrete strategies and actions with clear roles to secure accountability frameworks for future reference,” Mr Hausiku said.
   Delegates agreed to hold themselves accountable for the task of championing ethical leadership for sustainable development, and to consider the evolving role of the State amid complex development challenges.
   In a final statement they said accountability would be improved through greater public participation in Public Service management.
   The next Commonwealth Heads of Public Services Forum would take place in Rwanda.

9 August, 2011
And From the World in Brief...

UNITED KINGDOM
There has been a reduction in the number of Public Servants in the UK earning more than £150,000 ($A229,000) a year.
   According to the Cabinet Office, the current figure is 291, down from 345 in 2010, realising a saving of £10 Million ($A15.2 million).
   Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude said this was an example of cutting the deficit without cutting frontline services.

PHILIPPINES
The Philippine Public Service is to kick off a month-long celebration of its 111th anniversary with a fun run on September 4.
   The Civil Service Commission said the fun run would promote healthy living and pay tribute to the country’s 1.4 million State workers.
   Proceeds from the run will go to the families of Forest Rangers who have died in the line of duty.

NORTHERN IRELAND
A call for suspended Public Servants in Ireland to be dealt with more quickly has been made after reports that more than £625,000 ($A953,000) had been paid in salaries to 24 workers currently under suspension.
   Member of the Legislative Assembly, John Dallat said the Public Servants were being paid for doing nothing.
   “They have created a whole industry within the Civil Service of investigators and people who use up a lot of paper and spend a lot of time conducting inquiries,” Mr Dallat said.

FIJI
Public Servants have been warned to adhere to the Public Service Code of Conduct and ensure all Government resources are properly and efficiently managed.
   An Information Ministry statement said the Public Service Commission had a zero tolerance policy on cases of mismanagement and abuse within the Service.
   In recent times seven Public Servants had been dismissed for a range of offences.

PHILIPPINES
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has announced it is using Twitter to monitor traffic and provide updates on the road situation during typhoons.
   The information is available through its official Twitter account @MMDA.
   The effectiveness of the system was demonstrated when Typhoon Falcon hit the country and the Authority was able to inform commuters of the flood situation in different parts of Manila.

2 August, 2011
CANADA

PS Commission breaks own rules

The Canadian Procurement Ombudsman has found that the Public Service Commission misused a process allowing Departments and Agencies to by-pass competition when it re-appointed four members to one of its committees in 2009.
   The PSC is supposed to be the watchdog on appointment processes.
   In his first official report the Procurement Ombudsman, Frank Brunetta said the PSC wrongly applied the process by blatantly tailoring job qualifications to match those of its preferred candidates.
   The four ($C80,000)-a-year contracts ($A76,400) were awarded to external members of the PSC’s Independent Audit Advisory Committee, which meets twice a year to provide independent advice to the Agency’s President.
   All had been on the committee since 2006, but in November 2009 their contracts were expiring.
   Instead of inviting applications for the positions, senior PSC management chose to publish four Advance Contract Award Notices (ACANs), which allow Government bodies to enter into contracts over $C25,000 ($A24,000) without calling for bids if certain conditions were met.
   One valid reason for using ACANs is that no one else is capable of performing a contract. In the case of the four committee members, the PSC maintained that was the case.
   The Ombudsman found no evidence however of “unique expertise” associated with any of the four committee members, and no evidence that any was the only person capable of performing the contract.
   In fact, according to the Ombudsman’s report, before publishing the ACANs the PSC had identified two other potential candidates capable of doing the work.
   The job announcement was attacked by a citizens’ group that fights for Government transparency, Canadians for Accountability.
   The group filed a formal complaint in March last year with the Procurement Ombudsman whose Office was created under the Federal Accountability Act last year to uncover corrupt or unethical practices.

2 August, 2011
UNITED KINGDOM

Website access made public

Staff of the UK Public Service are making tens of thousands of visits to betting, shopping and ‘role play’ websites while at work, according to documents uncovered under Freedom of Information laws.
   An FoI request has forced the release of a list of the top 1,000 websites visited by thousands of Whitehall officials over a five-month period.
   The list shows that some staff have spent their time monitoring live cricket scores, checking lottery results, booking holidays and even planning belly dancing lessons while being paid by the taxpayer.
   Even a website dedicated to ranking MPs in order of attractiveness – sexymp.co.uk – appears on the list, with 21,477 hits making it the 463rd most popular website accessed.
   Perhaps the most bizarre inclusion is preseed.co.uk, a site which sells ‘intimate moisturiser’. It ranks 625th having been accessed 13,295 times.
   Another unusual entry is bearsfaction.org.uk, which received 27,634 visits, making it the 385th most popular site.
   Bearsfaction.org.uk is run by the Lorien Trust, Britain’s largest “live action role play system”, which invites users to “leave reality behind” and “walk amongst goblins, elves and dwarves”.
   Visitors enter “Caledonia, home of the bears” where they are told to “conduct yourself as a bear would in order to find friendship gladly given and received”.
   BBC websites were the most popular, featuring six times in the top ten. The Daily Mail website ranked 31st.
   Not far behind, however, was espncricinfo.com, a cricket scores website, which was accessed 345,960 times.

2 August, 2011
UNITED STATES

Compo law could cut pensions

The United States Senate has been warned that a proposed new law for workers compensation would have a negative impact on some retired Federal Public Servants.
   The Bill before the Senate would convert Federal employees on workers’ compensation to a less generous retirement scheme when they reached retirement age.
   Deputy Director of the Office of Personnel Management, Christine Griffin told a Senate sub-committee dealing with the legislation that under the 1916 Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, employees disabled as a result of injury on the job could receive 66.66 per cent of their basic salary tax-free (75 per cent with dependents), plus medical-related expenses indefinitely.
   Ms Griffin said the 2011 Federal Employees’ Compensation Reform Act, introduced earlier this year, would move compensation recipients into either the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System when they became eligible.
   She pointed out that recipients under the old scheme would lose money as a result of that provision and the calculations would not take into account the employee’s loss in higher wages and promotions due to the on-the-job injury.
   She said that while differences would depend on circumstances, it would be plausible that a $US4,000 ($A3,600)-per-month beneficiary would be converted to a $300 ($A271)-per-month superannuant with no health benefits.
   Witnesses to an earlier hearing by the House of Representatives, that the workers’ compensation program was too generous and should be reformed so that employees received fewer benefits and returned to work faster.
   Ms Griffin said there was currently no age limit to receiving compensation benefits and at the US Postal Service for example, more than 2,000 employees currently receiving compensation were 70 years or older.

2 August, 2011
CANADA

PS pensions blamed for deficit

Canada’s Public Service pension scheme has been accused of helping to keep the country in deficit.
   The National Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Gregory Thomas made the accusation despite the Public Sector Pension Investment Board announcing a 14.5-per-cent return on the $C58 billion fund ($A55.4 billion) in 2010-11, resulting in a $C7 billion ($A6.7 billion) gain after expenses.
   According to Mr Thomas, people cheered when the fund reported strong returns but were acutely aware that the upward trend could reverse, throwing responsibility for funding future deficiencies onto taxpayers instead of the PS workers.
   “When you take a Public Servant’s salary and their extended benefits and their incentives, essentially they’re looking at guaranteed payment for life,” Mr Thomas said.
   The criticism was reflected by the Vice President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Patty Ducharme however who said the problem was not the cost of the pension plans.
   “Each year since 2005, public-sector workers have increased their contribution rates, and they will continue to do so through to 2013,” Ms Ducharme said.
   She said the average annual pension paid to Federal Public Servants as of March 2009 was $24,506.
   “It’s a promise Government has made to our members, it’s a promise the Government has made to retirees, and we believe people should be able to retire with dignity and live with respect,” she said.
   A spokesman from the fiscally conservative Fraser Institute said that while private-sector businesses had been moving towards defined contribution pensions, where the pension depends entirely on the employers’ and employees’ contributions, the Government was running a defined-benefit plan in which it agreed to pay a certain benefit upon retirement
   At the end of the 2009-10 financial year there was still a $224-million liability for all public-sector pensions, a legacy of the global economic turn-down.

2 August, 2011
WALES

Finland put up as example

The Government of Wales has been advised to look to Finland as a successful example of networks of small Councils working together.
   Former political adviser to the Welsh Government Paul Griffiths said Finland had achieved some of the best outcomes in the world and a push for Council mergers in Wales may be taking the wrong tack.
   “All too often when we look for comparators for Welsh Local Government, we look only to England,” Mr Griffiths said.
   “There would be much to learn from the experience of relatively small countries in Europe and elsewhere.”
   He said there would be good reasons to look at Finland if only because the country appeared to do well in international comparisons of public services and with a population of 5.3 million, was comparable in scale to Wales with its population of three million.”
   Mr Griffiths said there was concern in Wales that while standards of educational attainment continued to improve, more and more countries were achieving higher standards. He said Finland had the best record in Europe and stood alongside the very best in the world.
   “Similarly, on most indicators of health improvement and health recovery, Finland compares well with the rest of Europe and the rest of the world,” he said.
   Mr Griffiths said part of the explanation for Finland’s success lay in the model of Nordic social welfare, with high levels of public spending as well as a national consensus over what was needed and the ability to let professionals deliver well-defined outcomes.
   He said in addition, Finnish local authorities had an average population of just 15,000 against 136,000 in Wales.
   “One of the reasons that Finland manages to combine high levels of public service effectiveness with local access and the control of local communities is that the Local Authorities systematically collaborate wherever there is a need to do so,” he said.
   “Working in collaborative networks is a way of life for Finnish Local Government.”

2 August, 2011
FIJI

Efficiency leading to savings

The Fiji Government has reported it is saving around $A4.5 million a year in operational costs as a result of efficiency measures adopted by the Public Service.
   Now the Public Service Commission (PSC) is issuing a fresh challenge for Public Servants to persevere with their savings habit.
   Permanent Secretary for the PSC, Parmesh Chand said realising the PS savings could result in pay increases by the end of the year.
   “The Civil Service wages and expenditure is quite high so the onus is really on each Civil Servant and the Civil Service as a whole to cut down that level of expenditure to improve the rate of savings,” Mr Chand said.
   “As in any organisation, improvements in worker’ terms and conditions happens through resources available and when we have more available either through savings or through improved performance, we will consider a case for a pay increase.”
   He said there was considerable scope for considering improvement in PS salaries by the end of the year if the Service continued the rate of savings it had achieved to date.
   He said factors that had contributed to the savings included staffing control measures; staff being more vigilant about overhead costs and smart time management resulting in reduced overtime hours.
   Mr Chand said around 27,000 employees are on the Public Service payroll and the Government spent about $A750 million in operational expenditure.
   He said reforms that had been implemented to cut down on costs included improved efficiency, removal of duplication of services and ‘right sizing’.

2 August, 2011
NAMIBIA

PS urged to transform itself

The Namibian Prime Minister has called on the country’s Public Service to transform itself into a development and enterprise-oriented organisation spearheading socio-economic development.
   The PM, Nahas Angula said such a transformation would by and large be dependent on the type of leadership in the public sector.
   Mr Angula was speaking at the eighth forum of the Commonwealth Heads of African Public Services which had as its theme the state of leadership in Africa generally, and specifically the public sector.
   He said that dogging the African Public Services were a complex set of interrelated social issues such as HIV-AIDS, gender inequality, worsening economic inequality and increasing unemployment.
   He said that in many instances economic growth had not translated into job opportunities.
   According to Mr Angula, in many of the Commonwealth African countries, the Public Service was the largest business entity and service provider.
   He warned that further expansion of the Public Service would become a threat if the sector was unable to manage wage demands.
   Also important, he said, was the need for an accountable, affirming public sector that was capable of regulating the impact of economic markets on people and the environment.
   Director of Governance and Institutional Development in the Commonwealth Secretariat, Max Everest-Phillips, said that Commonwealth African States were generally more effective than non-members.
   “But there is no room for complacency,” Mr Everest-Phillips said.
   “Poor governance not only impoverishes the citizenry, but also increases political instability and lowers international investment and national economic growth,” he said.

2 August, 2011
SIERRA LEONE

EU support to boost Public Service

The European Union (EU) is to help the African country of Sierra Leone upgrade its Public Service.
   According to the EU, the country’s economic development has been held back by decades of weak and deteriorating performances by its Public Services and improvements is high on the list of priorities..
   A sustainable approach to Public Service reform in Sierra Leone is planned to convert its PS into a comprehensive and holistic organisation which is financially sustainability and professional.
   The EU’s assistance would also be designed to contribute to the economic development of the country by supporting the Government’s growth agenda, and introducing ways to promote environmental protection and sustainability.
   Three projects are to be adopted by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to support Public Service reform and assist the Sierra Leone Government build a transparent, accountable and performance-oriented Public Service.
   Other priorities include environmental governance and ensuring that the core functions of the Government are implemented at both national and Local Government level.
   Support is to be given to the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency to support its capacity as a key player in the growth agenda by promoting development of the private sector.
   The overall package, which will cover the period 2008-2013, will cost 264 million Euros ($A345 million) and additional support is made available through regional and specific themed programs.

2 August, 2011
MALAYSIA

New award for Treasury

A special award is to be made to senior Treasury workers in Malaysia who have shown a high quality of work and are active in community activities.
   Secretary-General of the Department, Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah said the award was in line with a recent announcement by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun
   Razak, and three officers had been selected to receive it.
   “Presented for the first time this year, the award is specifically for those officers from key positions in the public sector,” Dr Wan Abdul Aziz said.
   “This move follows the Prime Minister’s announcement in March that a special award be introduced to appreciate public officers who show high work quality and also are active in volunteer, community and cultural activities that enhance the name of the organisation.”
   He said there were also an additional 213 recipients of the Excellent Service Award from various grades across the Department.
   Dr Wan Abdul Aziz said Treasury would continue to recognise outstanding officers as part of Government’s efforts to encourage the culture of recognition in the Public Service.
   He said this initiative included opportunities for promotion, nomination for the receipt of honours medals, opportunity for further studies, to attend courses at the international level and other forms of recognition.
   He hoped the recipients of all the awards would receive a fresh dose of commitment to work harder and serve as an example for their colleagues.

2 August, 2011
And from the World in Brief...

FIJI
The Service Examination for Public Servants has been reintroduced by the Public Service Commission (PSC)
   Permanent Secretary of the PSC, Parmesh Chand said the examination would ensure workers were fully aware of the functions of every element of the Government.
   He said training programs had begun for Public Servants at all levels as part of the reform program.

INDIA (Punjab)
Nominations to senior positions in the Punjab Public Service will in future be selected strictly on merit by a joint committee of State Government and Punjab Public Service Commission.
   The aim is to make the process fairer and more transparent.
   Until now, officials from different Departments had been selected by a complicated nomination process that tended to favour cronyism.

HONG KONG
A Chinese mainland official has criticised Hong Kong Public Servants for not taking a more long-term approach to tackling issues.
   Wang Guangya, who heads the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, said the British-based system had trained Public Servants who were good in taking and executing orders, but lacked the capability of mapping out long-term plans.
   Problems that were not being addressed were the wealth gap and underprivileged families.

MALTA
Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi has praised senior Public Servants for successfully concluding European Union-financed projects between 2004 and 2006.
   The European Commission concluded that Malta had delivered on more than 80 projects and accounted for all money spent.
   Dr Gonzi said this was immensely positive news.
   “The Civil Service has risen to the occasion,” he said.

IRELAND
Martin Fraser has been appointed Secretary General to the Government and Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach.
   This means Mr Fraser, who is currently the Department of the Taoiseach’s Assistant Secretary, will be the nation’s most senior Public Servant.
   The Cabinet also approved the Head of the Irish Prison Service, Brian Purcell as Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Defence.
   Outgoing Secretary General to the Government, Dermot McCarthy is retiring after more than 11 years and 10 years as Secretary General to the Department of the Taoiseach.

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