Rationalisation of Public Bodies
The Public Sector Master Rationalisation Plan (MRP) proposes a reduction of the over 190 public bodies, comprising companies, agencies, and statutory bodies, as a critical feature of transforming the public sector. This was based on duplication or inappropriate delivery of functions, and the existence of entities that had achieved their mandates and needed to be closed. Additionally, there is a governance deficit in monitoring the multiplicity of public bodies.
The Policy on the Categorisation and Rationalisation of Public Bodies also calls for a “leaner, more efficient and coherent grouping of public bodies.” The policy defines and categorises public bodies; provides justification for their establishment; and specifies their roles and functions.
Under this project, public bodies have been identified for outsourcing, merger, integration into parent ministries, privatisation, divestment and closure.
The guiding philosophy for deciding which entities should be rationalized is based on Osborne and Plastrik (1997) theory of “what government should do and pay for; what government must pay for, but does not have to do; and what government should not do and should not pay for.”
Rationalisation Assignments Completed by the Transformation Implementation Unit (TIU) to date
Rationalisation Action | Assignment | Ministry | No. Entities Rationalised | Completion Date |
Divestment | Divestment of Caymanas Track Limited | Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS) | 1 | October 2016 |
Closure (and Transfer Functions) | Closure of the Road Maintenance Fund (RMF) and transfer functions to MEGJC | Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC) | 1 | February 2017 |
Merger | Merger of the HEART Trust/NTA, Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning, the National Youth Service and Apprenticeship Board | Ministry of Education Youth and Information (MOEYI) | 4[1] | February 2017 |
Closure | Closure of the Self-Start Fund (SSF) | Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) | 1 | March 2017 |
Shared Corporate Services | Shared Corporate Services implemented for Clarendon Alumina Production Limited (CAP), Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited (JBM) and Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) | Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fishers (MICAF) | 3 | March 2017 |
Closure | Closure of the Portmore Commercial Development Limited | Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) | 1 | June 2017 |
Closure | Closure of the Montego Shopping Centre Limited | Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) | 1 | July 2017 |
Closure | Closure of the Kingston Waterfront Hotel | Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) | 1 | August 2017 |
Closure (and Transfer Functions) | Closure of the Board of Supervision (BOS) and transfer functions to MLGCD | Ministry of Local Government and Community Development (MLGCD) | 1 | October 2017 |
[1] Completed means:
- for a Statutory Body: Cabinet Decision or acknowledgement, following the successful rationalisation has been received.
- for a Limited Liability Company under the Companies Act: Board Resolution to Close has been passed.
[1] Note: the Apprenticeship Board was a function already in HEART; TIU nonetheless counts entity separately.
Merger | Merger of the Office of the Children’s Registry and the Child Development Agency | Ministry of Education Youth and Information (MOEYI) | 2 |
Closure (and Transfer Functions) | Closure of the Agriculture Credit Board and transfer functions to the Department of Cooperatives and Friendly Societies | Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fishers (MICAF) | 2 |
Merger | Merger of the Coconut Industry Board, Coffee Industry Board and Cocoa Industry Board to form the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Agency | Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fishers (MICAF) | 3 |
Closure (and Transfer Functions) | Closure of the PetroCaribe Development Fund and transfer functions to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service | Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS) | 1 |
Reorganisation | Reorganisation of Micro Investment Development Agency Limited (MIDA) | Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) | 1 |
Merger | Operational merger of the Real Estate Board, the Commission of Strata Corporations and the Registrar of Timeshare | Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC) | 3[1] |
Closure | Closure of the Audit Commission and integration of its functions into MOFPS. | Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS) | 1 |
Closure (and Transfer Functions) | Wind-up of the Toll Authority and transfer functions to Ministry of Transport and Mining (MTM) | Ministry of Transport and Mining (MTM) | 1 |
Closure (and Transfer Functions) | Closure of the Port Authority Management Services and transfer functions to the Transport Authority. | Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC) | 1 |
Integration | Integration of the Management Authority for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture into MICAF | Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) | 1 |
Merger | Merger of the National Land Agency (NLA) and Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP) | Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC) | 2[2] |
[1] Note: the Registrar of Timeshare was not a company and was already in the Real Estate Board; TIU nonetheless counts entity separately.
[2] Note: LAMP was not a company but a project; TIU nonetheless counts entity separately.
Closure | Close the River Rafting Authority and fold its functions into the Jamaica Tourist Board. | Ministry of Tourism (MOT) | 1 | February 2019 |
Divestment | Divestment of Wigton Windfarm Limited | Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET) | 1 | May 2019 |
Closure | Close the National Family Planning Board and fold its functions into the MOH. | Ministry of Health (MOH) | 1 | June 2019 |
Closure | Repeal of the Jamaica Development Bank Act and winding up of the Jamaica Development Bank | Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation (MEGJC) | 1 | July 2019 |
Closure | Repeal the Tobacco Industry Regulation Act | Ministry of Industry Commerce Agriculture and Fishers (MICAF) | 1 | October 2019 |
Closure
| Closure of Correctional Services Production Limited and transfer functions to the Department of Correctional Services.
| Ministry of National Security (MNS)
| 1 | March 2020 |
Closure | Closure and winding up of Start Up Jamaica Limited | Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET) | 1 | March 2020
|
Actions To Date
10 Closures
19 Mergers
2 Divestments
8 Closure and integration of function
1 Integration
1 Reorganisation
