Civil service managing reforms well — Stoutt-Igwe

Public Servants have had an easier time in recent months in processing requests for the ongoing implementation of recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry (COI).

This is according to Permanent Secretary within the Premier’s Office, Carolyn Stoutt-Igwe. 

It was previously disclosed that in the earlier stages of the the implementation of governance reforms, requests for the various reviews that were being conducted left the public service hamstrung and unable to properly execute their day-to-day functions.

But Stoutt-Igwe expressed recently that this is no longer the case and shared that, although there was a lot of pressure in meeting tight deadlines initially, a balance was struck over time.

“I think we are managing well. The [COI Implementation] Unit is in place right now and because a number of the reviews have been completed… we are actually moving into a different phase, right now, as we work on our action plan,” Stoutt-Igwe explained. 

She added: “So, it will get a little bit intense over the next couple months as well, but I would say that, some of the pressure that we had at the initial stages is no longer there.” 

This development comes as the government embarks on a new approach to the way it delivers information coming from those reviews. 

Last month, the government announced the introduction of the Government Business at Its Best initiative which Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley described as a modern governance approach.

The Premier said the new initiative was aimed at informing and educating stakeholders on the implementation of the recommendations, and was also expected to aid in providing necessary information to stakeholders.