New Phase of Public Sector Transformation Programme to Be Implemented in 2025/26

In the upcoming fiscal year, the Government will implement a new phase of the Public Sector Transformation Programme to build on the gains made in the first phase.

This was stated by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, when she opened the 2025/26 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 11.

“Phase Two will focus more on digital transformation, continuing to ensure the requirements for increased productivity in the public sector are in place. We eagerly look forward to the commencement of the programme. Transformation ‘a fi wi ting’ and we are making progress,” she said.

Minister Williams noted that the Government will continue to work with stakeholders to build a better public sector for all.

“Even as we modernise and transform, we must continue to deliver public services; we cannot close shop and put up a sign to say ‘under transformation, reopening soon’. Exercises like these take time and require consultations with multiple stakeholders, as we all work together to build a better public sector for all,” she said.

She noted that strides have been made to improve the sector, pointing out that these include expanding the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the public sector to drive efficiency and effectiveness; building a shared services operation as a means of transforming the way government provides service internally; transformation of human resource management practices; compensation management; and rationalising public bodies.

The Minister said that hundreds of entities are connected to the Government’s communications network, GovNet.

“To date, 700 entities in the Kingston Metropolitan Area are now directly connected to the system. We are talking about ministries, departments, agencies, schools, courts, and police stations,” the Minister said.

She noted, too, that the Data Centre at eGov Jamaica has been upgraded and its data storage capacity has been increased by 260 per cent.

“We have also provided the public sector with additional cloud infrastructure and all the automated management tools and security components that are needed for eGov to operate a modern data centre on behalf of the rest of the public service,” Mrs. Williams said.

“Additionally, by leveraging GOJ (Government of Jamaica)-owned communication assets, digital systems can now interface more easily, allowing for greater interoperability between digital platforms in the public sector. This means that the framework is in place to allow for egovernment services, citizen-facing applications, and back-office operations to integrate more efficiently, reducing duplication, improving service delivery, and ensuring that government processes are faster, more secure, and more responsive to the needs of the public,” she added.

Meanwhile, she informed that the Transformation Implementation Unit has partnered with four Ministries to implement systems to improve the way they deliver key services.

The partnership with the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency of the Ministry of National Security saw the implementation of a customer relationship management system, while the partnership at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining saw the implementation of IrieFINS, which is a web-based fisheries licensing and registration system for fishers and fish farmers, being implemented at the National Fisheries Authority.

“At the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Transformation Implementation Unit has supported the Ministry to develop an effective and user-friendly web-based Work Permit System to improve the processing of Work Permit and CARICOM Skills Certificate applications,” the Minister said.

She noted that the Transformation Implementation Unit also partnered with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) to modernise its ICT infrastructure.

“The CPFSA can now boast a unified network built on modern, secure, and robust technology,” the Minister said.

Additionally, she said the MyHR+, which is an integrated HR and payroll management system is being used in approximately 70 MDAs.

“By introducing MyHR+, employees can now access their records anytime, to ascertain information such as leave balances, status of requests for approval, and their payslips. They no longer need to go to HR to access this information,” she stated.

Furthermore, she said some of the residual issues of the new compensation system has been addressed as a result of automation.

“I am pleased to report to this Honourable House that we have agreed on two key policies with the unions – one for work done outside of normal working hours and the other for the provision of uniform allowances,” the Minister said.