Former Director of the Office of Public Sector Reform, Michael Archer (left) accepts his award from Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office and Head of the Civil Service, Sonja Welch.
Acting Director of the OPSR, Charley Browne delivering remarks.
Fifty public officers hailed as among the best
Mon, 11/14/2016 - 7:51pm
The Office of Public Sector Reform (OPSR) has launched a special edition of their ‘Challenge to Change’ magazine highlighting the contributions made by 50 retired or deceased public officers to the development of the Public Service.
Delivering remarks at the launch held at the Hilton Hotel yesterday morning, Acting Director of the OPSR, Charley Browne said that the Evaluation Committee which selected the honourees was headed by businessman Sir Allan Fields and included the Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Small Business Association, Lynette Holder; retired CEO of the Nation Group, Vivian-Anne Gittens; retired General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers, Dennis Clarke and President of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons, Edward Bushell.
He added that the awardees were selected based on their leadership in achieving organisational goals and objectives; their contribution in terms of maintaining a track record of service and excellence; their demonstrated high standards of professional ethics, dedication and commitment to customer satisfaction; and their successful implementation of initiatives, projects and or programmes which significantly reformed and enhanced the operations of Government.
In addition, Browne said persons were considered regarding their ability to inspire greater levels of performance, integrity, and accountability among their fellow public officers. He explained the 50 former public officers were then chosen from nominations submitted to the OPSR office from various ministries, departments and statutory corporations.
“Each of the awardees being honoured today exhibited this criteria and made an invaluable contribution to the development of the Public Service in their respective areas of expertise… I had the distinct privilege of speaking to these honourees and many of them have expressed a desire to continue to assist in the development of the Public Service and some have even pledged to lend a hand wherever and whenever needed. It is my view that such vast institutional knowledge should be utilised in the continued development and growth of the public sector, even after retirement,” he said.
Noting that the honourees were driven and committed to providing excellent service and reforming the way things were done in the Public Service, he took the opportunity to encourage all existing public officers to continue to provide such levels of service, even in the face of challenges.
Among the honourees yesterday were former Chief Information Officer, Margaret Hope; former Chief Technical Officer, Cedric Archer; former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, Avril Gollop; retired educator, Dame Patricia Symmonds and former Head of the Department of Emergency Management, Judy Thomas. Among those honoured posthumously were Carmeta Fraser, who was a Food Promotion and Development Specialist at the BADMC, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, Livingston Eversley and educator, Dame Elsie Payne. Former head of the OPSR, Michael Archer was presented with a special award for his 49 years of service.(JRT)