Expansion plans ahead for public works
(CNS): The Public Works Department could be playing an even bigger role in future, according to a new strategic assessment by Project Future. The ministry of planning published three reports about several departments within its ministry designed to make them more efficient and cut the size of government. However, after the report found a need to expand rather than cut the department, government officials said that it would require a “moderate upfront investment in human resources and technology” but enhancing the organisation would make it more competitive.
“Part of this restructuring would include strategically identifying opportunities, where a sustainable benefit exists, for greater involvement of the private sector,” the release stated. “The initial analysis in the Assessment indicates that this option has the potential to create an unprecedented competitive advantage for PWD.”
The department already accounts for over $9.5 million of government’s annual budget and employs 130 full-time staff and does a variety of jobs, such as general maintenance of government buildings and hurricane preparation and clean-up.
The review identified a lot of challenges for the various elements in the PWD, from the lack of technical expertise to budget constraints. But surprisingly, the strategic assessment found that not only was there not enough money to train young Caymanians in the skills required, but there was also a lack of interest from young Caymanians wanting to take part in possible vocational training or apprenticeships, flying in the face of the position accepted by most governments that the country is in desperate need of a vocational college.
Given the issues relating to some of the areas covered by PWD, the government has opted to press ahead with an outline business case to look in more detail about what can be done to make the department more efficient as well as do more for other government departments to help them cut costs. Government said its aim is to improve the PWD’s ability to be the service-provider of choice to its agencies.
Given the proposal to develop the department rather than leave it as it is or reduce it, officials said that in a “rapidly-evolving construction sector, the relevance of an organisation such as PWD would fade unless it is able to efficiently serve the needs of its clients and stakeholders”.
Kurt Tibbetts, the minister responsible for PWD, said the department had made significant strides over recent years. “This review creates an opportunity to capitalize on initial improvements and move the organization to playing an even greater role in the built environment.”
He pointed to “realistic options” to improve the service and keep local jobs that were identified in the strategic assessment, which he said had been signed off by Cabinet.
See PWD strategic assessment in the CNS Library
Category: Government Finance, Politics
Just Another Day in Absurdistan
Although there may be some PDW workers who give the impression of a glorified social welfare programme (and in a way it’s better than getting welfare no strings attached ), on Cayman Brac PWD workers are called upon for so many tasks over and above their daily responsibilities. They set up for many events-Agriculture Fair, Remembrance Day service, Health Fairs, Christmas Programmes, Swim Meets, Heritage Days…this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s really a shame that they treated as lowlife by their white collar 9-5 counterparts. When this perception changes, perhaps young Caymanians will look at vocational training differently.
Please , no more special cases for the hospital
I am so impressed with the quality of these Assessments. EY report is not being ignored it’s recommendations are being fleshed out.
This is exactly the kind of work that the Civil Service should be doing. Gone are the days of reports being ignored.
I am hearing that we will have record breaking year of unqualified audits of financial statements. I remember just a few years ago the Civil Service couldn’t get their accounts submitted on time. Now we are hearing of timely submissions and unqualified audits.
But I guess all of this is bad news. The Civil Service rocks. Stop being so jealous.
Exactly how many unqualified audits are you talking about, the number is miniscule.
Thanks, Mary Elisabeth
I hope to see that the maintenance of parks, cemetaries, beaches, etc. will be contracted out to the private sector.
In the same way that road paving was…
Another glorious day in the Civil Service.
pwd department is a glorified social welfare programme……
more wonderland stuff…..
e&y report is ignored….civil service reviews itself and recommends expansion????…….zzzzzzzz
Now that’s progressive
at 1.56pm. Wake up if you want to be taken seriously.
” there was also a lack of interest from young Caymanians wanting to take part in possible vocational training”.
Now do some more research and find out WHY.
Easier to take a canoe to Jamaica and come back with a crap load of gunja?
I think this entire issue of vocational training has been misunderstood and mis-managed.. It cannot be expected that students should all go through their entire schooling together then after graduation (or not) some are told that they are not qualified to work in the white collar jobs and are told that they should go paint houses, wash cars, fix cars, stock shelves etc. off course it won’t work and we will end up with a group of people who cannot do the white collar jobs, cannot graduate from university with a masters degree in accounting or hotel management but they do not want to do the blue collar jobs, probably does not even understand that those jobs are very respectable and high paying mainly because they have not been properly tutored. I believe that most of them feel inadequate because their best friend who they graduated alongside has the ” nice job” and they don’t. What needs to happen is long before graduation, from as early as entering form three these students should be steered towards a technical education/ career with dignity and self worth being a integral part of the training. To do this however we must have a purpose built well prepared school with qualified instructors for the students instead of shuffling them around town to work on a car, or air condition unit somewhere under a tree or in a hot rundown building one week and somewhere else next week. If we continue to do this then we cannot expect to fill these positions with Caymanians. We need to do much more than we have done for this particular group of our people.
Who is the Director, and which Caymanians in the Department have qualifications that are not being utilized to their fullest potential?
This is out right lies! Kurt, XXXXXXX are only looking about there retirement,they don’t care about the future. I have been training for 15 years. I have ask the question what am I trainings for? No one wants to retire so they actively discourage the young works that come in for training and when we find some real good positive young person they don’t hire them. I have seen some horrible discouragement campaign against the young at PWD. Kurt does not know where PWD is!