Dr. Derrick Binns “Confident” In Public Officers
Secretary to the Cabinet/Head of the Civil Service, Dr. Derrick Binns, said that he “remained confident in the ability of public servants to deliver on the Government’s mandate despite the planned cost cutting measures that would see the size of the Service reduced through attrition.”
Dr Binns said, “Over the past 20 years or so Bermuda’s economy has become more and more sophisticated and as a result the demand for services has increased. As successive Governments have sought to provide improved services and strengthen Bermuda’s regulatory environment, the size of the Government has grown.
“Much of the talent in technical and senior management roles in Government has been recruited from the private sector. These are highly skilled professionals that have been able to leverage their private sector experience to support an increasingly sophisticated Public Service.
“Tough economic conditions coupled with an unsustainable budget deficit will require the Government to establish priorities and reconsider the services that it provides. As Public Officers, our responsibility is to implement the policy positions of the Government of the day.
“In accordance with that mandate, we will continue to provide recommendations to our political leaders on options to achieve a smaller, more efficient and less costly Service. However, it remains for the political leaders to decide the options they wish to implement.
“Ongoing efforts are underway to address the pockets of inefficiency that exist within the Service. However, most Public Officers are hard working individuals, dedicated to a better Bermuda. Often attacks are specifically targeted at Senior Officers, suggesting that they in particular are overpaid and deserve a pay cut.
“The truth is that most senior officers work very long hours, and as the Minister of Finance publicly stated recently, carry a substantial degree of responsibility that would see them paid in the private sector significantly more than they are paid by Government. And like their peers in the private sector, frequently work weekends and remain constantly available to Ministers and the public.
“The Government debt and deficit will not be solved by painting Public Officers as lazy or incompetent, and then using that as a justification for reducing the size of the Service. The issue will be resolved by determining the services that the Bermuda Government must provide, those that it need no longer provide, and resizing the Public Service accordingly.
“Rather than demonizing the Public Service, I wish to invite the public to join me in recognizing the commitment, dedication and hard work of the men and women of the Public Service who are here to serve the people of Bermuda, and to work with us to shape the Public Service that Bermuda deserves,” added Dr Binns.
Civil servants need to ensure they follow the law while implementing the government’s mandate. This needs to be a country of laws – not I did it because Grant G. told me to do it.
You’re mixing it up. The massive ministerial interference and violations of financial instructions are detailed in Auditor General reports from the PLP era.
It took him a long time to assure us we had a good civil service. What a let down.
A demonized civil service is a demoralized civil service and the OBA/UBP while the opposition , through and , in lock step with their blind followers sought to make the Bermudian civil servant the absolute scourge of the rock . Bob Under The Hood even went as far as to make public that he (BUTH)didn’t trust the figures put out by the office of The Account General .
Listen to Derrick Binns if you like , but , coming from this OBA /UBP government mere words fall far short of the proverbial Crease !
A bloated civil service is a bloated civil service. There are simply far too many employees for them all to be productively engaged. It is financially unsustainable,both now and after they retire. Even if we manage to grow jobs in the private sector they will never choose to leave the CS. Why would they? And we certainly know what will happen if they are let go.
Somewhere within the second paragraph, I started to yawn and I asked myself, ” Would we expect for the Head of the Civil Service to say otherwise?”
I’ll let that marinate…
This is what one would expect him to say…….another senior Civil Servant singing for his supper while waiting for his pension day to draw nigh.
…of course Dr Binns would be as objective as turkeys voting for Thanksgiving.
In this instance , would DR.Binns be speaking on behalf of the OBA/UBP government , or is this his personal sentiments ?
Funny…I actually viewed this as an attempted justification for the ridiculous size of our CS.
Taking issue with the ridiculous size of our CS is not demonizing the workers. They didn’t allow it to happen.
Dr. Binns has has spent most, if not all, of his career in the Goverment / Civil Service in many different departments, many different roles and responsibilities. It’s not necessarily a bad thing and he’s not alone in that regard it’s just something to keep in mind. According to a bio online, when he returned from University he was the first psychologist for Prisons here back in 1986 and has floated within Govt ever since.
Whilst I agree with the overarching sentiment as a mid to long term solution (get rid of positions where there is inefficiency or services are unneeded), I still contend that the better short-term solution was for the entire service to share the cost cutting burden through pay cuts or furlough days so as to minimize the need for redunancies. It is a shame that the civil service and union leaders are so adamant that people be laid off.
The Furlough days are a red herring here! The cost saving was a drop in the bucket, look back at the figures.
Don’t believe the attrition statement here, either. Services will be cut, reduced or take longer. Less staff will mean less services – get used to it.
Cut your own hedges on roadside boundaries, pick up trash and litter, better still don’t drop it in first place. Pay all your government bills on time or you and me will have to pay someone to try to chase this money.
Red herring? Salaries and benefits amount to 47% of Gov’t spending. 1 furlough day a month amounted to $18M in savings.
Well presented, a logical explanation of wants, needs and what we can afford.
“The Government debt and deficit will not be solved by painting Public Officers as lazy or incompetent, and then using that as a justification for reducing the size of the Service. The issue will be resolved by determining the services that the Bermuda Government must provide, those that it need no longer provide, and resizing the Public Service accordingly.”
End of conversation!
What Derrick fails to recognize is that Gov Exec and Senior positions are flooded with patronage appointments of unqualified persons which has helped lead this Government into disarray — praise them all you want Derrick, but we all know the truth.
There are senior civil servants, one I know of for sure, without a 4 year degree taking home $100K+ a year… who does nothing.
You cannot justify the size of our civil service by saying it is due to an increasingly sophisticated economy. Just compare us to…well…anywhere else.
We still cannot afford you and manny others in such a huge civil service,or are you trying to justify the Goverment Borrowing another Two or Three Hundred Million Dollars per year to keep your Huge pay checks going.
There is a same size town in florida,area in sq.miles same poplulation,same services etc etc etc,But there Budget is $91Million and run by nine people.
So cut the B.S. Binns.
Not really comparable at all. Florida towns will benefit from State and federal laws and oversight, infrastructure improvements, economies of scale and so on.
What services are they providing themselves for this? Probably not a tourism dept., America’s Cup infrastructure, new hospital, international airport and other things essential to our economy.
The civil servants enjoy working with the new govt because there is less dictatorial interference.
Lets get real the civil service is bloated , over paid in wages and far to many benefits . The average Bermudian is not getting there money’s worth from the government sector ( civil service ) . The private sector and people with out jobs are being asked constantly daily to pay for all of this ! It’s time for the Government to grow some ( you know what ) and cut the fat , waste , thievery or what ever you call it , and do it know !!!