( L - R ) Jones, Hinchcliffe, Samuda

Some sector leaders are warning that public-sector reform might be doomed to fail because the role of Government in providing services to the Jamaican people has not been clearly defined.

"Public-sector transformation has got to have as its number one outcome an improvement in the quality of the public services delivered. That cannot happen unless we are prepared, as a society, to come to a determination collectively as to what is the menu of services that Government delivers and, by doing that, we would have informed the role of government," Wayne Jones, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association, said.

He was speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the company's main office in Kingston last Friday.

Said Jones: "We would have determined who should deliver, what level the delivery should take place, what quality and quantity labour force you need to deliver this service, and to whom."

Prime Minister Bruce Golding had told Parliament in a midnight September speech that Government had been spread too widely and that its tentacles had to be managed.

"We will have to make some radical decisions as to what are the functions of government, what are people entitled to expect of their government. We must, first of all, define and secure the core functions of government in relation to which our limited resources must be prioritised," the prime minister said.

He listed as functions of government, the provision of a safe and secure environment; an effective and accessible justice system; quality education; access to basic health care; social welfare for the disadvantaged and vulnerable; public infrastructure and related services; a healthy environment; efficient public bureaucracy; an appropriate policy environment and regulatory mechanisms and effective diplomacy.

State too powerful

But last Friday, Milton Samuda, president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, said Government needed to be reined in, not only in size, but influence.

"Government looms too large in the lives of ordinary Jamaicans. Government is too intrusive and too pervasive," Samuda said.

"It not only crowds out the private sector but it crowds out the civil service as well. What we need in Jamaica is smaller government, not just in terms of the size of the Cabinet and the size of the public sector, but in terms of the influence that Government has," Samuda added.

Entrepreneur Audrey Hinchcliffe had a similar view. She said public-sector reform will mean nothing unless there is a clear plan to insulate technocrats from politicians, whom she argued have hijacked their roles.

"We need to honestly answer the question, what is the organisational form that has caused that part of the civil service to be unproductive?" Hinchcliffe said.

She added that talk of restructuring the public service rung hollow because there was no comprehensive plan on what sectors of society should deliver products or services.

"The restructuring has to be against a background of something, and I am yet to hear what that something is. There is no clear plan that delineates what is expected from the public service, what is expected from the private sector and what is expected from the civil service. Because our roles have not been clearly delineated, we are going to depend on the same under-resourced civil service," Hinchcliffe argued.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com