Government has re-engaged the service of 20 Politically Appointed (PA) officers whose contracts have expired early this year.
This was announced on Monday by the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC).
The Office stated this was made after the final review for performance-based appraisals of Political Appointees (PA’s) by PMO senior officials.
The revised provisions are now awaiting final endorsement by the Prime Minister.
The statement said the Public Service Commission (PSC) has duly approved the re-engagement of 20 Political Appointees whose contracts expired in April 2016.
“PSC has endorsed the extension of engagement of PA’s. This will be formalized soon with more clarity built into the performance management mechanisms of the PA’s contracts.
“This will allow the government to continue demanding a minimum standard of performance from its PA’s, with assessments made at regular intervals during their contract period.
“Should PA’s not perform to the required level, then the improved performance mechanisms now included within their contracts, will be invoked to provide a transparent and open assessment of determining whether their continuous engagement in service of the DCCG Government is justified by measure of each individuals output.”
With the PSC’s approval to re-engage the PA’s, senior PMO officials will complete a review of the PA’s Terms of Reference and their Key Performance Indicators with approval from the Prime Minister and Caucus.
Under the review, Political Appointees who fail to meet the minimum standards of performance will, upon completion of individual appraisals, be terminated by non-renewal of their contracts.
“Now that the review of the PA’s contracts have been completed, what remains is for the political head of Government, the Prime Minister, to approve the new amendments before they are formalised by the PSC. This will occur soon after returning from his international engagement.”
The statement said it is anticipated that the amended contracts of the PA’s should be finalized by mid-October, after completion of mandatory formalities, although the endorsement by the PSC for the extension of their existing contracts currently remains valid.
– PM Press Secretariat
