THE ISLAND'S eight executive agencies now contribute a combined total of more than $1.2 billion to the Government's coffers, according to Cabinet Secretary Dr. Carlton Davis.
Consequently, the Government has been realising value for money spent in reforming the public sector since 1996, he said.
"We have seen, despite problems from time to time, continued improvements in the level of customer service being offered to the public," Dr. Davis said. He added that "combined revenue earnings from the agencies now amount to over 1.2 billion dollars, compared to $72 million that was earned in the 1998/99 financial year, which is the year prior to executive agency status."
He also said the $1.2 billion compared with the $1.1 billion that the Government spent under the Public Sector Modernisation Project (PSMP) up to November 2002, "and this figure includes the $440 million that we spent on establishing the eight executive agencies."
The PSMP is a Government of Jamaica/World Bank-funded project. The World Bank has so far disbursed loan funds totalling just under $866 million, while the Government of Jamaica counterpart spending has been put at about $333 million. The money was spent to establish executive agencies, modernise the Customs Department and Jampro, strengthen the policy capacity of the Ministry of Works, as well as the Ministry of Land and Environment, and to strengthen the audit and procurement functions of the Government. Also included is the cost of enhancing the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) and the Financial Management Information System (FMIS).
Dr. Davis expressed satisfaction with the progress of the reform in those areas and noted that the returns from the executive agencies suggest that the model was working well in Jamaica. "We have experimented with various management schemes, including the setting up of statutory bodies, in an effort to bring efficiency to the public sector and the results have not been encouraging in several instances. What we are seeing with respect to executive agencies is a general improvement in customer service, a greater level of accountability and a more business-like approach to the management of these organisations," he said.
Dr. Davis said the National Land Agency (NLA), National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) and the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) accounted for more than $350 million of the money spent on the reform project. Another $59 million was spent to modernise the first four agencies the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), the Office of the Registrar of Companies, the Administrator-General's Department and the Registrar General's Department (RGD). "The cost to the GoJ/World Bank was considerably less to establish the first four agencies because of the US$3 million technical support that we received from the British-based Department for International Development," Dr. Davis said.
According to the Cabinet Secretary, consultancy, training and the procurement of goods such as computers were the major expenditure items. He said phase one of the PSMP would end in June 2003 and that the second phase would involve, among other things, the conversion of more state entities to executive agencies. "The Financial Secretary and I will also be carrying out a review of initiatives to reduce public expenditures while continuing to deliver priority services," Dr. Davis said.
