fp Turks and Caicos

UPDATED JAN. 12: Five new permanent secretaries were named Jan. 9, including three current secretaries, and the makeup and leadership of their new ministries will be announced soon.

Three permanent secretaries keeping the title have been leading ministries which have been dealing with some of the top issues in the Turks and Caicos Islands — health care, immigration and public service reform.

They are Judith Campbell, Health and Human Services; Clara Gardiner, Border Control and Labour; and Susan Malcolm, Office of the Public Service Management.

New to the ranks of permanent secretaries are Department of Environment and Coastal Resources Director Wesley Clerveaux and Ministry of Finance Chief Budget Analyst Anya Williams.

“The appointment of these five individuals, and the central role that they will be playing in civil society here in the islands, is a key step on the journey that will allow public services to be reformed and to focus more on what everyone here tells me are their priorities — education, health, infrastructure and the economy,” said His Excellency the Gov. Ric Todd.

The final decision is imminent on combining responsibilities of the current nine ministries into five, and those ministries will take effect April 1 at the beginning of the government’s fiscal year, interim government CEO Patrick Boyle told the Consultative Forum at its Jan. 10 meeting.

The new ministries will report to the governor through the chief executive. When government is returned to elected officials, the new ministries will report directly to elected ministers.

Current permanent secretaries whose jobs will be eliminated are Denise Saunders, Home Affairs and Public Safety; Beatrice Fulford, Education, Sports, Youth and Culture; Mary Harvey, Environment and District Administration; Delton Jones, Finance; Arthur Been, Trade, Tourism and Communications; and Desmond Wilson, Ministry of Works, Housing and Utilities.

A total 33 applied for the positions, and the five to be chosen came from a short list of 10.

The five not selected included three current permanent secretaries: Mary Harvey of Environment and District Administration; Denise Saunders of Home Affairs and Public Safety; and Kingsley Been of the governor’s office. The other two were Planning Director Ian Astwood and Virginia Clerveaux, deputy director of the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies.

“I was extremely impressed by the standard and professionalism of the final 10 candidates who played their part in the selection process,” Boyle said. “They can all feel justifiably proud of their personal commitment to outstanding public service.”

“I spoke to all 10 of the candidates over the weekend, both successful and unsuccessful, and relayed just how impressed I was with each of them,” Boyle said. “I have offered a meeting to the five unsuccessful candidates to determine how we can continue to make use of their competence and experience for the greater good of the TCI. And, of course, I will be working hard with Judith, Wesley, Clara, Susan and Anya to continue to transform our government services for the better.”

The Civil Service Association’s Management Council, which represents approximately one third of all 2,200 government employees, congratulated the new permanent secretaries.

“It is our hope that these permanent secretaries would stand firm in their commitment to ensuring the development of a civil service that is productive, efficient and has as a core value, the welfare of civil servants and the public whom we serve,” the CSA said in a statement. “We challenge the permanent secretaries to execute their duties as managers, policy advisors and accounting officers without fear or favour and in the best interest of Turks and Caicos Islanders and TCI residents in general.

“The CSA urges the newly appointed permanent secretaries to be reminded that they are the leaders of the public service and as such should lead and not be lead against their convictions by subordinates or superiors, in order to ensure that well informed policies are developed, enacted and enforced in the best interest of all stakeholders.”

The next step in the ongoing public service reform is the hiring of 10-15 deputy secretaries to work under the new permanent secretaries in the five new ministries. The application deadline is Jan. 15.

The positions are open to any civil servant, including unsuccessful permanent secretary candidates.