St Helena : Heads of Department Meet Outsourcing Consultant
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Juanita Brock) 30.01.2007 (Article Archived on 13.02.2007)
Heads of Department met with Outsourcing Consultant, Eric Arnold, on Monday 22 January to discuss the work he will be doing for the St Helena Government.
Press Release
Heads of Department Meet Outsourcing Consultant
Heads of Department met with Outsourcing Consultant, Eric Arnold, on Monday 22 January to discuss the work he will be doing for the St Helena Government. Acting Chief Secretary, Ethel Yon, was also in attendance along with Financial Secretary, Linda Clemett and Christine Turpin, Accountant, Financial Planning Analysis.
Eric is employed by GIC Limited and arrived on Friday 19 January. His visit is being funded by the Department For International Development.
He told Heads of Department that he was pleased to be back on St Helena after his last visit around 30 years ago and added that following his departure in February, he will return to St Helena in June of this year to carry out further work.
He emphasised the importance of ensuring that any outsourcing initiative supports the Island’s strategic objectives, and added that such initiatives will have to meet the satisfaction of Heads of Department who will know how individual outsourcing proposals will affect the workings of their sector. He emphasised that outsourcing should not be carried out “at all costs”. Instead “each case should be done on merit, taking account of factors such as value for money.”
Eric went on to explain that certain components of government might not be outsourced in the traditional sense, as this refers to contracting a part of government out to the private sector for a certain period of time. Alternatives to outsourcing include public /private joint ventures and privatisation.
Following his presentation, Heads of Department discussed a number of key issues including concerns over potential monopolies, the best approach with regard to terms and conditions of affected staff, whether the private sector will have the capacity to take on activities and whether this can be sustained, and having alternatives in place in case outsourcing does not work.
Eric considered all of these points valid and will be attempting to address them while he is on Island.
The St Helena Government is keen to outsource/privatise certain activities over the next five years to add to the already outsourced/privatised Quarry, School Bus Service and Swimming Pool. Continued work in this field will form part of a wide-ranging programme of modernising Government.
Public Relations/Information Office
Office of the Chief Secretary
30 January 2007
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