Accountability for performance in government

Last Thursday, the news broke that the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, had demanded the immediate resignation of the board of the Urban Development Corporation. The report in the Jamaica Gleaner further stated:

Up to late yesterday there was no official word from Jamaica House, but senior government sources told The Gleaner that the board members had been instructed to resign because the prime minister was not pleased with their performance. According to the sources, while some members of the board might be returned, the Prime Minister was disappointed with the level of infighting on the board and its failure to deliver on several promises.

"The prime minister is getting tough and demanding performance, and other boards could also be fired shortly," one source said.

This news was greeted with cynicism by the Opposition party, who immediately pointed to this as a failure of the government. I see it differently - I see it as the first step in demanding and insisting on the accountability of public institutions and officials, and a step that should have been taken long ago.

Here's where the Prime Minister now faces a challenge however. He indicated that he is not pleased with their performance, but does he know, and has he (or anyone else) been clear, on how the performance of this, and other public sector institutions is measured? And by measurement I don’t mean activities carried out, I actually mean results, or outcomes. This begs some other questions such as:
What is the role of Government?
What is the mandate and role of each public sector institution?
How are all these institutions to work together to ensure delivery of service to the Jamaican citizens, with minimum waste and maximum effectiveness?

If the Prime Minister does not have these questions answered, then he will simply appoint new people to the Board with the same results - non-performance. This is important because non-performance of public sector institutions is a drain on the public purse and further impoverishment of the Jamaican people.

And then he, or the new Board, needs to go further and hold public sector employees accountable for their performance - again, not the carrying out of activities, but performance as indicated by the achievement of desired and stated results. It is high time that people be released from their government jobs if they fail to perform. This is actually the humane thing to do - there is no joy for someone to be in a job where they know they are not performing and there is no joy for those whom they are supposed to serve (the citizenry).

If there is one single thing that needs to be done to make Jamaica a desirable, peaceful place to live it is to set clear, unambiguous standards of performance throughout the public sector and hold people accountable for the results. If not, then the Prime Minister will find himself out of his job - for non-performance!