New and recently appointed Permanent Secretaries have been engaged in orientation sessions conducted by the Cabinet Office.

The sessions, conducted last week, were designed to introduce new Permanent Secretaries to their role as leaders and managers within the public service, and for those who were appointed within the last two years, it was a refresher course.

Head of the Public Service, Acting Cabinet Secretary, Ms. Ruth Rouse, underscored the importance of the orientation sessions. She said, “The orientation sessions sought to provide Permanent Secretaries with the foundational principles of the public service and equip them with basic skills to steer their respective ministries and departments towards higher levels of accountability and performance. The hosting of these sessions is indicative of the commitment of the Cabinet Office to provide appropriate guidance to our senior public officers.” 

The sessions focused on a range of topics including whole of Government planning, implementing projects and programmes, planning and managing the ministry’s budget, understanding the estimates of revenue and expenditure, managing the performance of staff and international conventions. 

The presentations also helped participants to better understand the role of relevant departments including Cabinet Office, the Public Service Commission and the Department of Public Administration. 

Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell, spent a few minutes engaging with the Permanent Secretaries and shared some valuable advice.

Dr. Mitchell said, “Permanent Secretaries are the accounting officers within ministries and accountability is a very critical aspect of your role as public officers. There are many weaknesses in the system and every effort must be made to correct them. We have to be aware of the rules and be guided by them at all times. This is very serious responsibility and not one to be taken lightly. I welcome this orientation session because it is always good to refresh minds on critical aspects of our work.”

Permanent Secretaries are encouraged to be guided by a set of value statements which include confidentiality, integrity, objectivity, impartiality, professionalism, accountability, results-oriented, responsiveness, openness and transparency.