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Case Study Draft CASE PROGRAM 2004-9.1 Favoured servant or fall guy? Public sector reform in Antigua and Barbuda On 1 December 2003, Elloy de Freitas reported to Antigua and Barbuda’s Establishment Department – the organisation largely responsible for human resources in the public service of the small Caribbean nation – in an “atmosphere of prayer”. A life-long public servant and union activist, de Freitas’ sometimes-strained relationship with his Government had contributed to an extended period of absence. Now back, and entitled to take up a public service position equivalent in seniority to that of a Permanent Secretary, de Freitas was keen to start work. He was, however, unsure in what capacity this work would be. The role he was given was “better than [his] expectations”. Informed by the Chief Establishment Officer that the Public Service Commission had appointed him to be the first Director, Public Service Reform, de Freitas was initially stunned. A life spent in the pursuit of improving situations had the potential to come to fruition in this role. Yet, how to go about improving a public service in which reform was generally thought synonymous with employee retrenchment, was an issue that was likely to need much thought and a great deal of negotiation. An impending General Election, due to be held between March and June 2004, also needed to be taken into account. This case was written by Jennifer Dickie for the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, with supervision by Dr Richard Norman, Victoria University of Wellington, as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The assistance of Elloy de Freitas is gratefully acknowledged. Cases are not necessarily intended as a complete account of the events described. While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure accuracy at the time of publication, subsequent developments may mean that certain details have since changed. This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence, except for logos, trademarks, photographs and other content marked as supplied by third parties. No licence is given in relation to third party material. Version 16-6-05. Distributed by the Case Program, The Australia and New Zealand School of Government, www.anzsog.edu.au. The country The nation of Antigua and Barbuda encompasses the eastern arc of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.1 Formed by three islands – Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda – only the first two are inhabited. Most of the nation’s 68,0002 inhabitants live on Antigua where the capital, St Johns, is located. Tourism dominates the economy and accounts for more than half the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Agriculture comprises only 3.9 percent of the islands’ GDP.3 Since the late 1990s, Antigua and Barbuda has attracted significant attention from international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The cause of this attention was a sharp downturn in economic growth in the first half of the 1990s (from an average of eight percent in 1984–89 to two percent in 1990–95). This contributed to large fiscal deficits that in turn led to unpaid foreign debt and a reduction in capital flows from external sources.4 International institutions like the IMF recognised that the decline in GDP was influenced by the decline in tourist numbers resulting from several hurricanes that wreaked havoc on the economy of the islands. However, in 1999, the IMF also commented that the government of Antigua and Barbuda needed “to address the problem of overstaffing in the public sector”.5 The Government Antigua and Barbuda is an independent member of the Commonwealth. It is a constitutional monarchy, and has a UK-style parliament. The British Queen is Head of State and is represented by a Governor-General. There is a bicameral parliament with a 17-member Senate, appointed by the Governor General, and a 17-seat House of Representatives.6 The House is responsible for introducing legislation and the Senate is charged with reviewing and approving it. The major figures in Parliament and Government come from the House, to which members are elected every five years.7 1 Sandra W Meditz and Dennis M. Hanratty (eds.) Antigua and Barbuda – Geography. Federal Research Division. US Library of Congress. Retrieved 19 February 2004:http://countrystudies.us/Caribbean-islands/93 htm. 2 July 2003 estimate. CIA. The World Fact Book – Antigua and Barbuda. Retrieved 25 February 2004: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ac.html. 3 CIA. The World Fact Book – Antigua and Barbuda. Retrieved 25 February 2004: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ac.html. 4 IMF. Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 99/106. IMF Concludes Article IV Consultation with Antigua and Barbuda. November 23, 1999. Retrieved 24 February 2004: http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/1999/pn99106.htm 5 IMF. Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 99/106. IMF Concludes Article IV Consultation with Antigua and Barbuda. November 23, 1999. Retrieved 24 February 2004: http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/1999/pn99106.htm 6 CIA. The World Fact Book – Antigua and Barbuda. Retrieved 26 February 2004: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ac.html 7 Sandra W. Meditz and Dennis M. Hanratty (1987). Antigua and Barbuda – Geography. Federal Research Division, US Library of Congress. Retrieved 19 February 2004: http://countrystudies.us/caribbean-islands/98.htm 2 Since 1976, the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) had commanded the majority of seats in the House and formed the Government. From its inception, Vere Bird Senior dominated the ALP. He was Prime Minister continuously from 1976 through to his retirement in 1994, upon which time, his son, Lester Bird, was appointed leader of the ALP and Prime Minister.8 During its nearly thirty years in power prior to de Freitas’ promotion to the Public Service Reform position, the ALP pursued a policy of not retrenching public employees. Additionally, the government deliberately used the public sector in “taking up the people who were left jobless by the disastrous effects on the tourism industry over the years 1995 to 2000 when [Antigua and Barbuda] had six hurricanes one after the other”.9 The opposition At the time of de Freitas’ appointment, the United Progressive Party (UPP) – a coalition of three former opposition groups – was the major opposition party in Antigua and Barbuda. In the 1999 General Election it received 45.5 percent of the popular vote compared to the ALP’s winning 53.2 percent.10 In December 2003, the UPP was well into its 2004 election campaign. This campaign incorporated the theme of “government in the sunshine” and promised accountability, transparency, peoples’ participation, and good governance in the Caribbean nation. The UPP indicated that, if elected, it would evaluate all of the human and other resources of the country before embarking on any specific public sector reform programmes.11 The media Before a Privy Council decision ended the monopoly in 2000, the major broadcasters were either owned by the Government, or significantly influenced by the Prime Minister’s immediate family.12 By December 2003, the most popular radio stations were privately operated. The press was more active and professional than previously and information about government and governance was widely discussed on the islands’ many talk shows and call-in programmes.13 In the lead-up to the election, public sector reform issues, which directly impacted on the livelihood of a large proportion of the population, were very topical. 8 Vere Bird Sr.’s eldest son, Vere Bird Junior, was also a prominent politician. 9 Hon. Lester Bird. Antigua and Barbuda: The Way Forward. A statement to the luncheon of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 27th January 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2004: http://www.antigua-barbuda.com/busnss_politics/chamber_of_commerce_speechbypm270104.pdf 10 CIA. The World Fact Book – Antigua and Barbuda. Retrieved 25 February 2004: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ac.html 11 Elloy de Freitas. Case Study for the Commonwealth Advanced Seminar, 2004. 12 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2002 – Antigua and Barbuda. Released March 31, 2003. Retrieved 16 March 2004: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18316.htm 13 Elloy de Freitas. Case Study for the Commonwealth Advanced Seminar, 2004. 3 The public sector Of the Caribbean nation’s population of about 68,000 in 2003, government employed approximately ten thousand people – fifteen percent of the population. Of these ten thousand, roughly 30 percent were employed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in accordance with Antigua and Barbuda’s constitution – the PSC also controlled the promotion, transfer and discipline of these public officers, known as established workers. A further 30 percent of the public workforce were employed in the service of statutory bodies. Specific laws regulated their employment However, Antigua and Barbuda’s public service also included another category of worker. These public officers, called non-established workers (NEWs), constituted about 40 percent of all government employees in 2003. They were accorded all the rights and privileges of established workers but differed from them in that they were employed by ministers through their constitutional right to direct and control permanent secretaries. Ministers also ultimately controlled the promotion, transfer and discipline of these NEWs.14 In 2002, the government spent on average 70 percent of public income on wages and salaries.15 Despite, or perhaps because of, this high investment, there were concerns about the efficacy and efficiency of Antigua and Barbuda’s public service.
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