Project Future not short term fix
Premier Alden McLaughlin in the LA, 8 June 2016
(CNS): The premier has defended what he believes is the progress to date on public sector reform under the umbrella of Project Future, saying it was not designed as a short-term, quick-fix programme. Alden McLaughlin rejected calls for the blanket privatisation of government and said the private sector doesn’t have all of the solutions for government. The premier pointed out that the dogma being peddled by some elements of the media that privatisation of public services “is a panacea for every problem is misguided”.
Defending the civil service and the idea that in many areas government must deliver public services, he said the private sector still had a role to play. The premier said his government was not going to adopt all of the recommendations in the Ernst and Young report that gave rise to Project Future because they ran counter to government policy, were not right for Cayman or were not priorities. However, many would be implemented in modified form over time, he said.
As he updated the Legislative Assembly on the current position of Project Future Wednesday, McLaughlin said government was determined to deliver lasting change and ambitious goals, but not right away.
“Some projects will be completed before the 2017 elections, while others are not expected to be delivered until after the elections,” he added.
He said that since November the business case for the creation of the Office of the Ombudsman has been approved, a strategic assessment to explore options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of land surveying services has been agreed and the project to explore commercialising the national mail service had a strategic assessment approved by Cabinet.
He also indicated that Cabinet is examining the implementation of e-government, options for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of prisoner transport, options to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of vehicle safety inspections and that a significant number of the other strategic assessment and business case documents are at an advanced stage
In future, he said, documents and business cases relating to public sector reform will all be published on the relevant government websites and centrally on the Project Future website, continuing the government’s “commitment to openness and transparency”.
“Although early days, the pace of the programme is now picking up,” he told his colleagues in the LA. “Creating a long-term programme may be seen as a political risk as it ignores the usual electoral cycles that bind political action. Make no mistake, though, I am all too aware of the reality of those cycles. When this Progressives-led government goes to the polls, we will be proud to lay before the people a track record of achievement, of which Project Future will be an important part,” he added.
Category: Local News
All those “strategic assessments” add up to a whole lot of “little doing”.
Poor Alden…
Given the continuing and seemingly endless haemorrhaging of cash by the civil service, the goal should be “Project Suture”………
Well, today’s CIG, not given to moments of self-reflection, has become very comfortable spending the equivalent of over $50,000 per voter, every year. To put that in global perspective, the next closest government spender is Norway at about $40,908 per year, the distant third place is Sweden with $26,760. The average for the world’s 20 largest economies (in terms of GDP) is around $16,110. What does it say about our political culture and priorities that our leaders are unwilling to trim back spending on voter pandering while entirely neglecting issues like mental illness, education, prisoner rehabilitation, policing and other more pressing social concerns? Certainly doesn’t feel like the most socialist place on the planet.
This comment (10:35) should be required reading for every member of our legislative assembly!
It’s interesting who people like 7:59 praise and who they try to tear down. Seems that if you are a civil servant and you say nothing, do nothing, but come from a wealthy or influential family, are drinking buddies with the right people or do lots of favours for them then lots of praise. Let’s see: Mrs Rodrigues is a multi-generational Caymanian, well educated, intelligent,passionate, with a long track record of delivering programmes and improvements that help the people of the Cayman Islands, a great former teacher. SOmeone who took on Project Future when no one else gave the civil service any chance of doing anything (remember the Chamber wanted the private sector to do it?). Others may take the credit, but this is not by accident. The report is there for you to read. And that is who you hate? I’l pray for you.
7:50pm
It’s sad when anonymous bloggers continue to run down the civil service and civil servants like Mrs Rodrigues. Hate much? Read the Project Future report? Visited the website? do that and look at the work being done. I like 6:59 comments. But after the PPM chose the projects it is civil servants doing the work. Why are things different now-because of her work behind the scenes. Blogger,name one thing you have done to make a difference for someone besides yourself. Civil servants work for the people every day!
Thank you Deputy Governor, thank you Ms Rodrigues, thank you civil servants. If you make these projects happen you will do things that benefit the people of the Cayman Islands.
Spinning wheels is the only game being played. The list of civil service failures is endless. Too bad the tax paying public has to fund the mounting costs.
How many billions and counting?
More excuses for doing nothing!
eGovernment? zzzzz another overpaid crony doing nothing while real-world global competition races ahead with solutions and we look slow and foolish. Every time we elect these party folk they have a 4 year “party” and do nothing…then it is the next PARTY team’s turn to milk the public and make their excuses- sorry but stop fiddling while Rome burns and our potential revenue finds faster responses…No Data law to entice offshore funds or e-projects? No improvement in STEM for education? No help for the elderly?
This current government is soooo backwards!?! When are you going to realize that a cruise port and 3 dozen new condo complexes are not a long term economy?
Regrettably, if Mary Rodrigues is in charge of this project it will take forever and even then maybe nothing will get done. She’s too fond of visioning exercises/focus groups/business plans/strategic initiatives -all the things that academic civil servants like her love because it means they do not have to actually ever implement anything. They just have to keep showing their bosses that “we wukking on it”. Compare Carson Ebanks and Kenneth Ebanks-the bright ex Planning Directors- who are “wukking’ on the George Town beautification project. Nothing will ever come of it. They are “thinkers/talkers/consulters/head scratchers” not “doers”.
Amen! Preach brother/sister @ 7:50, preach.
Sounds like you hate the woman. She must be doing something to attract such hatred and obvious envy.
Thank you Mr Premier, for showing just how full of hot air and lies the Legge machine is. The people of the Cayman Islands need to get wise to his very obvious agenda. He and his supporters just want to privatise everything-including our schools- and to just beat up on the civil service and every individual who tries to do something positive.
Now let’s consider what the PPM have achieved with Project Future. Many have complained about the many reports that have come and sat on shelves, with no decisions made and nothing implemented. Here, for the first time, is a government who has taken a very reasoned approach. They have considered all the EY recommendations and selected the ones that they believe will improve the civil service and help the people of the Cayman Islands. Where they rejected recommendations, they justified this-in writing!
Another first: they have identified projects that don’t just start and stop with their election term, but are included because they are the right things to do, no matter who is in power. Read the descriptions of the projects and see what they are trying to achieve. We should all be supporting the Government and the Civil Service to deliver these, not running them down.
Yet another first: they actually established an implementation strategy -and they are monitoring and reporting on progress! And there is progress to show!
Still another first: The civil service is being trained and supported to lead this work-to manage the programme and to develop business cases and project management skills! This is how you professionalise the Civil Service.
Civil Servants, be encouraged. I wish you success.
Project Future fixes sweet F.A.
Politics has never improved the lives of the general public. The whole program backed by a willing media smacks of insanity.
There must be something for us all outside of this unsavoury box? Surely this cannot be all there is to it?
Perhaps the Matrix movie was tapping into a deep vein of truth and our existence here provides nothing more than slavery to a hidden force that will use us up until we are dead?
I’m out.
So guess what? I decided to watch the Matrix movie this weekend. The part where Neo wakes up connected to all those feeder pipes pretty much sums this pointless life up. Go to school, get a job preferably in a parasitic industry, meet some other poor soul in the same situation, have kids and try to make them better citizens of the control grid than you were and then die. Repeat ad nauseum.
If there is a God, He has hidden Himself well, but every now and then, I see His big feet poking out from under the curtain of confusion.
I will find you Sir, or die trying.
Screw the world, it’s politics, it’s lies and it’s empty promises. There must be more.
I will begin with the story of your sojourn here clothed in the humanity of your Son, the Christ.
I call upon You to reveal yourself to the hearts broken by lies.
Three years of excuses and spin from PPM
Is the spin of the ppm different to the spin on a gambling machine?
The way they’ve handled Project Future and the reversal on Time Light Savings time are the best examples of PPM leadership and incompetence to date. SMH
There is no need for Cayman to move to Time Light Savings. Why on earth do Cayman have to bend for everyone else. Forget it. Cayman has done extremely well all these years.
I like Time Light! But what is it??? And does CUC charge for it??
I agree. I Do not see why I get 23 hours in my day. Can someone tell me where the odder hour goes. I tink my boss will use dis against as he is expat. Wot do the farmers tink about dis. Wot is our government doing. Is dis dat bush fella in West Bay, U know im dat used my money for de slots. I will wote against im.
I do have to say that as a Caymanian, I am impressed by the way this government is moving fiscal policy along. Now the PPM is far from WITHOUT FAULT and I don’t agree with some of the things they do, but OVERALL, there seems a well paced and policy driven approach that many people (myself included) are finding positive. No government representation will be without fault or naysayers but oh well.. Keep it up PPM. Just saying !
What bothers me is the lack of any reference to reducing bureaucracy.
I am so impressed with this document. It’s staggering to see the improvements made in the civil service. I thank the Government for their willingness to take the EY report forward …thankfully I will not have to read another post about ” read the EY report”
I am so proud of the civil service and the Government.
Taking the EY report forward seems to consist of taking a handful of non contentious and immaterial suggestions from it, then throwing the rest into the shredder, whilst simultaneously claiming you are acting on the report. I suppose its a small step forward from the usual policy of completely ignoring expert reports and commissioning another one, but if its progress it is evolutionary – in terms of timescale to achieve real change.
Tell him privatization will increase work permit revenues and I bet he changes his mind.