by Emmanuel H. Joseph,
Government Information Service
The Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Government of Dominica will host a three day retreat for the members of Cabinet and Permanent Secretaries from Wednesday August 3rd to Friday September 2, 2011 at Fort Young Hotel.
Since 2007, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Governance and Institutional Development Division has been conducting high level retreats for governments in the Caribbean and African regions to strengthen the effectiveness of cabinet offices in their coordination role and support a more enabling environment for policy making at the centre of government.
The retreat is designed and structured over the course of three days.
One day will be spent on to be spent on cabinet, one day on the Permanent Secretaries and one day on the combined group to address issues related portfolio coordination and the policy and bill process.
According to a press release, the objectives of this retreat are:
- To clarify roles and responsibilities of Ministers and Permanent Secretaries in order to support an effective political-administrative interface and minimize perceived conflicts of interest between political appointees and technical/permanent civil servants.
- To understand the role of Cabinet in terms of its collective responsibility and the implications of this for Cabinet members
- To strengthen the role of the Cabinet Secretary.
- To advise on and influence the strengthening of the Cabinet Office as a key to institution at the centre of government and a crucial player in policy-making processes.
- To create a ministerial enabling environment.
Facilitators of the Retreat include Mr. Wendell Mottley, a former Minister of Government of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Carl Greenidge, CFTC Technical Adviser to the Caribbean Regional Machinery and Mrs. Segametsi Mothibatsela, Consultant from the CARICOM Secretariat. |
