Commissioner ducking his own responsibility

The Public Service Commission is ducking responsibility and should face up to its own weaknesses in monitoring the performance of Heads of Ministries (HOMs), says the Opposition. As the Employer of HOMs, the PSC and its Commissioner, have the necessary tools to ensure there is compliance with policies and management systems.
That’s according to the Opposition Office, which has expressed disappointment through a media release, saying that criticism over the previous administration is biased against political leadership when the managerial leadership in the Public Service has not demonstrated any ownership of the failures to push for reforming or tightening up on the mechanisms governing officials.
There is a reasonable expectation that the PSC does play a crucial role in shaping the general perceptions of the government in power. Unfortunately, what’s been lacking in the upper level of the Commission is a clearly defined role of internal accountability, the Opposition says.
“Political leadership can’t sidestep any responsibility but when it comes to the PSC, the Commissioner always seems to find a convenient excuse to dodge his own.”
The Opposition contends that the PSC has not accepted any of the shortfalls to improve the performance assessment of HOMs and ensure there are adequate codes and oversight mechanisms for policy, output and performance compliance.
“As an example, the Audit Office has clearly strengthened its capacity to perform its legislated responsibilities but this hasn’t been matched by the Public Service Commission and its executives.”
Even the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management has had a procedures manual in place since 2002 but the PSC has done little to install any such management frameworks. The salary bandwidth system was established in the post-economic reform era and the reporting requirements for HOMs barely moved for years, until recently.
There are no output performance measures in place to assess the six monthly and annual reports of HOMs, let alone competent staff to assess the financial implications associated with the reports. In addition, there are no drives for centralised policies covering issues like travel, leave, and bonuses. And the responsibility for Human Resources and Scholarships has long gone from the PSC budget.
A new Public Service Act was introduced in 2009, and despite the talk, progress toward an efficient service of high value productivity has been absent. The Act provides for new processes like appointments but even in these cases, the PSC still seems to be coming up short in advising Cabinet.
Political leadership is reliant on sound policy development and genuine initiative to lift the accountability of officials.

Headlines : Times 290 02 March 2009
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