The Tribune

BUILDING core competencies in career public servants is the best way of reinforcing employment equity in the sector, Minister of Labour Shane Gibson said.

He was addressing an administrative cadet seminar held by the Ministry of Public Service under the theme “Administrative Cadets: Acquiring Competencies to Serve Today and Preparing to Lead Tomorrow”.

“I take personal pride in the fact that so early in my tenure as minister, the Ministry of the Public Service has responded so quickly and ably after the many years of outcry for a transformed, responsive and relevant Public Service,” said Mr Gibson.

In thanking the cadets for choosing to work in the public service, Mr Gibson said the competence, integrity, and sensitivity of the sector determines the quality of life for everyone in the country.

He told them that their ultimate goal should be to make the Bahamas the best place to live and grow up in.

“These aspirations are more likely to be achieved if we ensure that the public service is staffed with the right people in the right place at the right time. For this reason we are committed to developing and sustaining an organisational environment conducive to attracting and retaining the brightest and the best young people like those of you assembled here this morning,” he said.

“Ladies and gentlemen, a generation is 40 years. You, then, comprise the second generation of public officers post-independence

“The first generation operated under a public service system influenced by our colonial past and our northern and regional neighbours.”

Mr Gibson said that over the past 40 years, the Bahamas has experienced an exponential growth in population, diversity and education level; rapid transformations in its values, as well as dynamic changes in its global relationships.

The public service has also undergone many changes, and the tides of change will continue to flow, encouraging the widespread interest in sustainable national development, Mr Gibson said.

He stressed that a dynamic and modern public service is essential to meet the changing demands and expectation of our society.

“One day my generation will pass the baton to your generation. Perhaps one of you will stand in the position I now hold. In this regard, our obligation is to continuously build capacity among the youth of the public service to serve today and to lead tomorrow in a world class public service that is uniquely Bahamian, responsive to the needs of our clients and relevant for a Bahamas that actively and significantly participates on the global stage.

“This requires the acquisition of knowledge, honing of skills and the right attitudes,” Mr Gibson said.