New architecture for ministries coming

The architecture that is to support the Cabinet that forms the engine of the Prime Minister Andrew Holness administration should become clear in the coming weeks.

"As the work proceeds, the population will get a clear picture of what the new architecture means," Dr Horace Chang, minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), told The Gleaner Tuesday evening.

"There will be significant changes in how we operate, but there will be no major fallout in the human resources. There will [also] be some savings," he noted.

"The real concern is to get more efficiency and coherence in the areas to ensure the development process is smooth and efficient and growth takes place," Chang added.

Still very Third World

The minister without portfolio in the OPM - himself tasked with responsibility for works, water, and housing - was responding to the question of how the structure of old ministries would be changed by the new, downsized Cabinet.

"We have gone through 1983 to now, nearly 40 years, but we have not yet attained sustainable economic development and are not at a stage where we can get growth that is self-sustaining ... . We are still in a very Third-World status and the idea is to take a new look at government and see how we can modify the existing institutions for macroeconomic stability and development," Chang noted.

The new Cabinet - announced Monday at the official swearing-in ceremony in Kingston - has set some tongues wagging over the likely implications for certain posts within ministries as they were configured under the PNP administration.

One government source has speculated that while there may be some trimming of administrative support staff, some permanent secretaries, for example, could be made directors general and be redeployed.

The bulk of savings to come from the changes, as Chang hinted, is likely to come from having fewer ministers to pay.

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