Public sector transformation key to Jamaica's economic stability - Roberts

Co-chairman of the Public Sector Transformation Oversight Committee (PSTOC), Danny Roberts, is reiterating the importance of hastening the pace of public sector transformation when the current agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) comes to an end in November.

According to Roberts, failure to transform the Jamaican public sector may threaten the economic gains made under the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The PSTOC co-chair noted that the perception about public sector transformation is too focused on the size and cost of the public sector, which will not engender confidence among public servants to enthusiastically embrace the need for reform.  

Speaking at the second quarterly meeting of the St Andrew Justices of the Peace yesterday, the PSTOC co-chair pointed to a World Bank report which highlighted that the adequacy and effectiveness of public institutions are what accounts for the differences in growth rates and development trends across developing countries.  

“We all benefit from a transformed public sector where quality services are provided, citizens’ safety and security are assured, there is widespread and equitable economic growth and opportunity, and there are effective means to counter externalities and environment threats,” he argued.

In this regard, Roberts stressed that citizens must ensure that public sector transformation “moves from a veritable trot to a pace and intensity that signals that as a government and a people we have the ability, capacity and fortitude to be masters of our own fate”.

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