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Gambia Visits Jamaica To Learn More About Its Public Sector Transformation Programme
Kingston, Jamaica. 6 June 2024: A delegation from the Republic of the Gambia is currently in Jamaica on a five-day study tour to gain insights into Jamaica’s public sector transformation programme. The delegation, led by Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Mrs Salimatta Touray, arrived in the island on Sunday (2 June) and is being hosted by the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU) in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. The Gambia is preparing a Public Administration and Modernisation Project, which aims to improve fiscal and HR management capacity for improved service delivery. Mrs Touray noted that she believes The Gambia could benefit from understudying the work that Jamaica has done in transforming its public sector generally but more specifically in implementing MyHR+ – the integrated HR and payroll system across the public sector. Mrs Touray noted that Jamaica was chosen on the advice of the World Bank which is supporting their reform project. “On the advice of the World Bank, we were told to come to Jamaica because it has gone through its modernisation programme, and it has one of the best systems available. We’ve been learning a lot and definitely we see the vast difference the system can make to our operations in The Gambia,” Mrs Touray emphasised. She added that the tour has been very helpful in gathering insights for Gambia’s transformation programme to better serve it citizens noting that “in that vein I want to thank the Government of Jamaica for hosting us and the hospitality extended to me and my delegation and for opening up its institutions for us to learn from them and exchange ideas.” In the meantime, Executive Director of the TIU, Ms Maria Thompson Walters observes that the study tour provides a good opportunity to share lessons with the Gambian team to enhance their chances of project success. “It has been a pleasure hosting the delegation and I believe the tour has been beneficial. It is good to know that even as we are transforming our own public service, we can be of value to countries going through similar exercises,” Ms Thompson Walters said.
Public Sector HR Directors Prepping for New Ways of Working
The Government of Jamaica is seeking to transform the way human resources are managed in the public sector. In this regard, the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU) has been spearheading a project to introduce a new model for human resource management (HRM) in the public sector. Recently, over 30 senior HR Directors from more than 10 ministries, departments, and agencies participated in a workshop to examine the proposed model and make recommendations on implementation. During the workshop, participants engaged in collaborative discussions and group activities to work through some of the common challenges they face and propose solutions. By the end of the workshop, many participants expressed newfound perspectives and deeper insights gained from the session while acknowledging its role in shaping their understanding of the transformative journey ahead. HRM Transformation Lead, TIU, Trudy-Ann James-Linton noted that this workshop is one of several sessions to be held on the new model with HR practitioners and related professional groups to ensure the model is fit-for-purpose and supports the transformation of the public sector.
Government’s Data Centre Upgrade Project Near Completion
KINGSTON, December 13 (JIS): The Data Centre Upgrade Project being undertaken at eGov Jamaica Limited is now in its final stage. This was revealed by ICT Programme Manager at the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU), Luke Jackson, during a recent interview with JIS News. The project, which began in 2020, forms part of the public sector transformation programme, being managed by the TIU. It seeks to establish a modern data centre with the necessary capacity and infrastructure to provide resilient and efficient hosting of enterprises and shared services of the Government of Jamaica. The upgrade also aims to facilitate future pursuits of the Government in rationalising and consolidating data centres and related services on to the platform at eGov Jamaica. “We have pretty much wrapped up all the significant upgrades and renovation of the physical space –that is like power and cooling –and expanded their information technology capacity, meaning that they have gotten a lot more storage inside,” said Mr. Jackson. He further noted that eGov Jamaica has also been provided with additional cloud infrastructure and all the automated management tools and security components that are needed to operate a modern data centre. “The next phase is to move forward in a more purposeful way with the consolidation effort, that is to engage with ministries, departments and agencies to say, we need to arrange now to move your data into the Data Centre,” the ICT Programme Manager added. Mr. Jackson informed that there are several benefits to be derived from the data centre upgrade project. “When you are able to have an expanded and upgraded government data centre, you are able to consolidate the disparate data centres across government into one location where you can apply consistent management and critical kind of security that will make everybody comfortable that their data is secure and kept private,” said the ICT Programme Manager. He cited a reduction in utility and maintenance cost and the ability implement more robust business continuity and disaster recovery plan among the benefits of having a centralised data centre. The Data Centre Upgrade Project is expected to be completed by January 2024.