Unbalances of (some) Regional Administrations

Jul 19, 2018 Letters

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The Editor,

Over recent weeks the press has been reporting substantive under-performances of identified Regional Administrations, either from the perspective of the Public Accounts Committee or that of the Regional Accounting Committee (e.g. in Region 4).
The incidence of malfunctioning officials, i.e. in chairmanships, financial accounting, procurement et al, is reported to have been significant enough to invite concern and indeed criticism from the monitoring bodies.
What in fact the latter are experiencing is but a chronic display of incompetence resulting from poor selection and appointment by ill-informed decision-makers, too many of whom are newcomers to their own positions; too many of whom are untutored in the relevant laws and regulations, and unfamiliar with the applicable systems and procedures.
The point to be stressed in these circumstances, as in any other organisation in town, is that decisions must be substantively informed by the relevant laws – an approach that at least limits the range of options, and consequently reduces margins of error.
There is a substantial lacuna in knowledge amongst the current leadership, supervisors, as well as subordinates, all of whom it would appear, could have benefitted from well organised induction programmes during which they would not only have learnt together, but been able to appreciate what the other is not learning – during exchanges on the specific agenda topics. As a result so much of the current wastage would have been avoided.
In the milieu, one of the apprehensions which attaches to so many regional officials is that they are, more often than less, political appointees – a fact which offers them self-confidence for extended incumbencies, regardless of competence.
According to the salary published by SN in April 2012, the value of the position of Regional Executive Officer equates to positions listed below:
Grade GS13
• Director, Office of the Budget
• Director of Health Science Education
• Chief Parliamentary Counsel
• Deputy Finance Secretary
• Deputy Solicitor General
• Principal Magistrate
• Registrar of Deeds
• Deputy Chief Medical Officer
The above, and other colleagues, must enquire of the comparable qualifications for the almost spontaneous appointments to such a position, which should demand achievement of set targets. For some unexplained reason the position of Regional Executive Officer has never been included as a normal Public Service position in the National budget. But if one were to judge from the status of the Deputy, Regional Executive Officer, which equates with positions including:
• Director of Protocol
• Head Budget Section
• Chief of Medicine
• Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet,
– the comparison leaves one again to wonder about the educational experience criteria for selection.
For reporting to this broad-based Regional Executive Officer are the following positions.
Administration and Finance
• Deputy Regional Executive Officer
• Principal Assistant Secretary (Finance)
• Principal Personnel Officer
• Assistant Regional Executive Officer
• Chief Accountant
Public Works
• Engineer
• Senior Superintendent of Works
Education Delivery
• Regional Education Officer
• Education Officer
• Senior Schools Welfare Officer
Health Services
• Medical Superintendent
• Hospital Administrator
• Regional Health Officer
• Matron
It would appear, that too few people know of the history surrounding the creation of the Regions and the formulation of the related Administrative Structure. It was in fact an experiment in governance that faulted at the first step; for instead of beginning with one or two Regions as a model from which critical lessons could have been learnt, particularly in the area of financial management, we were plunged waist deep into a totally new dispensation, from the underproductivity of which there has been no recovery.
It is a given that in cases where one starts out making mistakes there is no, or minimal, recovery along the way; but instead the sharing of wrong learning becomes accepted as par for the course. Now, after several decades we are conscientiously repeating the behaviours of the past.
One does not recall any comprehensive review of its efficacy of the system over time; and how much thought has since been given as to whether the considerable investment in human capital has produced the returns, even now envisaged.
Unfortunately there is no room to display the comparable jobs distribution across the Regional structure. It sorely needs to be reviewed as to whether or not some of them make organisational common sense.
All in all it seems that there is a substantive case for recovering the human resources capacity of Regional Administrations, starting with such a body as the Local Government Commission.
E.B. John

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