NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of State for Public Service Pia Glover-Rolle yesterday pledged to resolve the long-standing issues for public servants, namely lingering disbursements and outstanding promotions, with a hope to largely complete the promotion exercises by Christmas.
“If I have my way and my team at the ministry is able to do what they can in a timely manner, we should have this done by Christmas so that as of 2022 and beyond, we have more regular promotion exercises,” she said outside Parliament.
Glover-Rolle said the promotion exercise was going very well with three departments — the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS) and the Department of Immigration — nearing completion, though she was unable to provide the total number of promotions to be processed.
“There are thousands of people in the public service and there are a few hundred that are working on the promotions, so it is happening; it is going to be across the service,” she said.
“We want people just to exercise a little more patience.
“I know they have waited for a very long time, but we are working; we are working diligently; we are working seven days to do everything we can to address every department [and] every ministry across the service.”
She said teams have been working on other departments, with the ministry “aggressively moving toward taking care of everyone, but of course, that will take time”.
“Those of us sitting in seats of authority, no matter how busy we may be, should always remember that for every payment delayed and every promotion that gets stuck in limbo of government bureaucracy, there are real people with families to take care of and bills to pay waiting for some news of progress,” Glover-Rolle said.
A skills and human resources audit is being performed at the Ministry of Public Service to ensure “we have the right people with the right skill sets in the right posts”.
She said her team at the ministry will also examine the deficiencies closely and seek to make transformative improvements to better serve public servants and the wider public.
“For long-standing matters, we must confirm the permanent and pensionable status of involved civil servants,” the minister said during debate on the Speech from the Throne in Parliament.
“As we review, improve and transparently outline a career path for the entire public service, every government employee must have an idea of the standards and expectations necessary to progress within the public service from entry-level all the way up to permanent secretary.
“Among our goals is the reduction of social promotion in favor of a system based on merit and accountability. For the benefit of applicants, as well as the existing workforce, we will launch a public service virtual call center so that queries can be responded to in real-time.”
