“Time For Change Is Now” PM And PS Barrow Urge Public Service Reform
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC says work is underway to modernise the nation’s Public Service.
As she addressed an audience of civil servants at the recognition ceremony for the appointment of the Head of the Public Service, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Natasha Barrow, the Prime Minister said the information and communications technology is so outdated that it is hindering the efficiency, responsiveness, and accountability of the public service.
« We cannot deliver 21st-century services using 20th-century tools. As we speak now, our Minister of Public Admin is in the UAE. He is working together with officials there to try to bring to us in Trinidad and Tobago the technology that we need to further modernise the Public Service. Minister Dominic is working on that for us, to bring in full AI, full technology. »
The new Head of the Public Service endorsed the Prime Minister’s assessment and issued a rallying call to her colleagues.
« We cannot continue to defer reform to another moment, another administration, or another generation. The time for change is now and not within our children’s or grandchildren’s lifetime. That change requires a deliberate shift in attitudes and in how we exercise authority and in how we manage performance. And in how we hold ourselves and others accountable. »
Meanwhile, Minister of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development Leroy Baptiste highlighted the importance of the work of the Public Service.
« It is the Public Service that gives effect to government’s decisions and priorities. Through the work of public officers, government policies become real services and real outcomes for the people of Trinidad and Tobago. »
PS Barrow was officially appointed to her post by the Public Service Commission. She had been serving as Acting Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister since November 2024.
