People wanted to be consulted and to participate in the development of policy, in the design of programmes and even in the design of service delivery. The Permanent Secretary was thus responsible to the Cabinet, the political party in power, the Minister, the people and to non-governmental organisations. During the week-long seminar, the first organised by the Secretariat to discuss the topic, the Permanent Secretaries from across the Commonwealth found that although their titles may differ, they shared similar experiences, both in terms of functioning and responsibilities. The relationship between Permanent Secretary and Minister was widely debated, with many participants insisting that they had to remain politically neutral to discharge their duties professionally. However, others found merit in the view that a bureaucrat had to be a political animal whose job was also to implement the ruling party's manifesto, because this was the basis on which the party was elected.
Governments have to act in an objective manner for there to be a sense of trust.
Spurred by the success of the Ottawa seminar, the Commonwealth Secretariat is organising a conference on the same topic for African Commonwealth members in Mauritius next October . A Commonwealth Feature by James Baxter, a Canadian journalist who has worked for Associated Press, the Toronto Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette.