In the public sector the challenge is to recognize the taxpayer as the customer and ultimate provider of every dollar of remuneration and benefits to public sector employees. One important step in this direction is to regularly make public the performance ratings of publicly owned entities for example, the comparative performance ratings of schools, the relative performance indicators for hospitals and, the relative crime statistics for each police station. In a publicly traded company, the directors account annually to the shareholders and answer questions at the Annual General Meeting. A similar public forum should be developed for each Minister, his Permanent Secretary and other senior civil servants to account annually for their stewardship within four months of the end of each financial year. The law already exists requiring Ministers to report on Government entities to Parliament, but this is rarely, if ever, respected in terms of timeliness.
Parliamentarians can ask questions, but the public has no direct access to do so.
As part of changing behaviour regarding accountability at the top, a major change needs to occur regarding rewards and sanctions. Security of tenure is not guaranteed. In a similar manner, the security of tenure of Permanent Secretaries who are comparable to the Chief Executive Officer of a large business, will need to be removed and traded off for potential rewards for excellent performance. A system of vesting prior years' benefits should be instituted at the point when senior civil servants are being elevated to the equivalent position of CEOs. The Task Force has read and vetted the draft on accountability for Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments and endorses that this be implemented forthwith.