Town and Country Reform in the works (Business Express June 29, 2011)

NEW MINISTER PUTS HIS STAMP ON T&T'S WAY FORWARD By Abby Brathwaite

He came into office on the heels of a controversy that saw his predecessor, former Senator Mary King, relieved of her position as a Government Minister.

As the recently appointed Minister of Planning and the Economy, Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie was thrust into a role that, as evidenced by the length of its title, encompasses a wide range of responsibilities.

His first couple of days on the job were difficult.

"I came into the Ministry suddenly and you know I had to make the decision in quick time.  The first two weeks to get into the Ministry... Cabinet... Parliament... really, I was on a treadmill.  The first two weeks were pretty rough simply trying to get a hold of things and of course, the paperwork didn't stop coming," Tewarie tells the Business Express. 

"The other thing is that I have come into the government one year later, so in a fundamental way I am trying from my ministerial perspective to take stock of where we are, not just as the Planning Minister, but in terms of  the government's performance so that I can use that as a platform going forward for the next year."

After a crash course overview of the ministry, Tewarie set about the task of formulating a strategy for the way forward.

And while he is going to put his own stamp on the agenda he is retaining elements from the groundwork laid by King.

He said, "There are some things that I want to continue that the minister was doing well like the thrust in the National Innovation System which we will pick up on and continue as a strategic long term initiative."

Tewarie was also able to see the 2011 Census which ended on May 31 (and which began under King's stewardship) to its completion.

"We are now going through a post-enumeration exercise which would allow us to validate the data that has been collected. The process I am told of actually having census numbers that are official is likely to take about a year but we are going to have some preliminary data before that," he said.

"I have asked them to give me an indication of when the preliminary data will be available and to give me a kind of breakdown of how long it will take and what it will take to have the census completed within the shortest possible period time."

The recognition that policy making relies heavily on accurate data has propelled Tewarie to embark on a exercise to revamp the Central Statistical Office (CSO).

"On the CSO we are taking the initiative now to do a comprehensive assessment of what the CSO is doing and what it actually needs to do so that we can have a comprehensive national data base," he said during an interview in Port of Spain last week.

"It's a modernisation programme that we are entering into and we hope that once that is complete that we will be able to really have a top class data gathering and management system and then of course it will make a big difference in terms of policymaking decision."

The Town and Country Planning Division is another arm of the ministry that will be receiving special attention.

"We would like to improve responsiveness to the citizens and be quicker in the decision making process and in the appeals process because that directly affects people every day and that is an important thing," Tewarie said.

The reform of the Town and Country Planning Division and CSO is part of an eight-point priority list that Tewarie has developed to take his ministry forward.

Among the items on this list are:

-Align Ministerial agendas for high impact with the framework of a sustainable priorities and community initiatives for fiscal year 2011-2012; -Develop a national land use policy to support sustainable development agenda;

-Facilitate and fuel an innovation driven economy by specific initiatives and collaborative action with private sector and;

-Strengthen project management capability to ensure efficiency, effectiveness and high performance in the execution of the Public Sector Investment Programme.