The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Public Service will begin public hearings today, the Ministry of the Presidency has announced.
According to the schedule for the next two weeks, released yesterday by the Ministry, hearings are due to be held today, tomorrow, and on Friday as well as next Monday, Tuesday and Friday, at the Department of Public Service Building, at Waterloo Street, Georgetown. The hearings are scheduled to begin at 10 am on each day.
The CoI was set up by President David Granger to inquire into, report on, and make recommendations on the role, functions, recruitment process, remuneration and conditions of service for public servants.
The inquiry is also charged with determining what measures should be taken to improve the efficiency of the public service in the discharge of its duties to the public; to review the methodology used in the classification and recruitment of public servants; and to examine the principles on which salaries and wages should be fixed.
Its mandate also includes making recommendations on the age of retirement based on a review/examination. Towards this end, the CoI has invited the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to make submissions relevant to the inquiry’s Terms of Reference and, in particular, in relation to the age of retirement.
In a letter to the Chairman of the NIS, the Commission’s Secretary Geeta Chandan-Edmond also invited the agency to participate in the Commission’s deliberations. Also invited to participate in the inquiry is the main opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which was responsible for the public service for the previous 22 years before it was voted out of office in May.
However, at a press briefing held yesterday at Freedom House, PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee said while an invitation was received, the party has recommended that the Commission recruit a suitable and qualified consultant to prepare a report on the issues identified in the Terms of Reference prior to the commencing of the inquiry.
He said after this is done the party would be in a better position to participate and provide its views. He added that the opposition did have an interest in participating but it is not in agreement with the way the government was going about identifying the terms for the inquiry.
The CoI’s commissioners are Professor Harold Lutchman (Chairman), Sandra Jones and Samuel Goolsarran.
