DAVIS

Cabinet Secretary Carlton Davis, who is also head of the civil service, says despite strides made in the delivery of service to the general public, much more needs to be done by the public service for it to stay on par with globalisation.

"If there is a valid criticism which the public service must address, it is that we need to focus more on measuring our performance against internally generated standards as well as a number of international benchmarks," he said.

Citing some of the challenges faced by the sector, Dr. Davis said these ranged from difficulties in competing for job skills, which are lured away by better offerings in the private sector, to inadequate financial resources to get the job done.

But he urged the sector to rise above these challenges and provide the best quality service to the public.

"We must do all that we can to live up to the old school civil service, the career of choice," he said while addressing a special church service to mark Civil Service Week at the East Queen Street Baptist Church in downtown Kingston recently.

Meanwhile, in his message, read by Senator Dwight Nelson, Minister with Responsibility for the Public Service, Prime Minister Bruce Golding, underscored the need to reform the public service.

Needs reforming

"The Government, therefore, accepts the need for reforming the civil service in order to equip it to respond positively to the changes in the globalised economy," he said.

He also urged tertiary graduates to consider a career in the public service.

"The Government is committed to modernising and reforming the civil service in order to attract and retain highly qualified and skilled workers," he stressed.

Wayne Jones, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association, said civil servants entering the public sector over the past decade have shown improvement.

He also reminded the sector of the important role it plays in upholding the standards of the civil service and fostering its growth and development.