All Major Benchmarks Met under Public Sector Transformation Programme – Minister Clarke

All major benchmarks established by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) under the Public Sector Transformation Programme have been met. 

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, made the disclosure while delivering the main address at the Caribbean Public Sector Financial Management Conference in Kingston on May 22. 

“The Public Sector Transformation Programme is the first project between the IDB and the Government of Jamaica where all of the metrics specified by the IDB at the outset of that loan have been achieved. It has not been easy, but we have gotten it done,” he said. 

The agreement to assist Jamaica with public-sector transformation was signed with the IDB some six years ago. 

“They provided funding as well as access to technical expertise for us to get this done over a specified period of time,” Dr. Clarke pointed out. 

The main objective of the programme was to improve the delivery of services in Jamaica by enhancing the quality of public services and enhancing efficiency in public spending.  

Focus was placed on information and communications technology, human resource management, rationalisation of public bodies, shared services in the public sector and compensation restructuring and overhaul. 

The Caribbean Public Sector Financial Management Conference was hosted by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service in partnership with Association of Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAJ).  

It was geared at increasing public awareness of financial management within the public sector to promote accountability, transparency and good governance and was held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston.