Turks and Caicos host code of ethics and integrity workshops - Caribbean Net News

[Anguillan newsboy]

By Courtney S. Robinson

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI-GIS): The Office of the Public Service Management (OPSM) in partnership with the United Kingdom School of Government has begun a series of workshops geared toward the development of a code of ethics and integrity for the Turks and Caicos Islands public sector.

Commencing Tuesday with junior managers at Beaches Resort on Providenciales, the five-day workshop will target all levels of the public sector and will comprise of a series of sessions for each rank. By weeks end, senior managers would have met and finalized the draft codes developed by representatives from junior, mid level and professional and technical levels of staff.

The workshops being held are as a follow up to similar exercises held in Anguilla and Montserrat.

In developing a code of ethics and integrity for the TCI public service, there is a commitment to the core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality - being of great value during the transformation period as the service forge ahead in their Vision 2012 mandate; and it is befitting that such issues are addressed at this juncture.

It is anticipated that on a personal level, participants will be well equipped with the knowledge of the best practices to meet ethical challenges on their daily work; and on an organizational level, that which enhances ethical governance resulting in greater productivity of the organization itself.

In 2006, Anguilla saw that there was a need for a change in their public sector and began the process involving only mid to top managers. However, by 2007, when conducting like codes for Montserrat, junior managers were included. To date, Anguilla's code of ethics have been operating since July 2007, with Montserrat now finalizing its document; both documents will be on view at this exercise.
Having gone through some rapid economical and social changes, the Deputy Governor of Anguilla Stanley Reid said it was obvious that the public sector needed a bit of guidance. "It is always a need for certainty when being a public servant; you don't want them to guess about certain things, and we thought with those various changes, it would be very useful for persons to have a fair guide as to what they should do and shouldn't do, what was acceptable and what wasn't acceptable; and the code has proven very useful in that regard."

Reid added that it was important to have junior staff in the process, as it is they, who more often than not, interact with the public. "They are the ones to a greater extent are taxed when it comes to integrity issues in terms of how they respond to members of the public." Therefore, it was thought that they would have an input, as apposed to rules being handed down to them to operate by, thus empowering them, as they were apart of the creative process.

"This document can make or break a nation; it sets values as precedents as to how you are viewed not by each other only, by how you are being perceived by everyone," said Reid.

The creation of the code is a participatory process said Karen West, Programme Director at National School of Government in the UK, as ownership will evolve when it is completed. After completion, there will be a process of wider consultation and refining for quality ***urances. It is hoped that when all is said and done, hopefully by November/December 2008, the document could essentially be implemented.

"Integrity is a critical issue to any institution; integrity is fundamental to everything else in an organization as it greatly influences its success," said Pauline Paledi-Mokou, Change Manager at the OPSM. She added that several companies have failed mainly because of failure to observe and instill integrity in their operations, leading to corruption and other forms of economic crimes.

Acting Executive Permanent Secretary at the OPSM, Susan Malcolm said that is these present times of distress and tough economic conditions, "it is more important than ever to remain faithful to personal and organizational moral principles." She went on to say that though organizations cannot build individual morality and personal ability to recognize right from wrong, however, with "effective communication, guidance, resources availability and examples set by management can help employees avoid ethical risks and make knowledgeable ethical decisions."

However, Malcolm hasten to add, "We need to be careful, because even if we have the most admirable code of ethics, it will come to naught if management is not willing to ensure that the guidelines are taken seriously and followed."