Deputy Prime Minister and Vice-Chairman of the Coordinating Ministerial Cabinet Committee (CMCC), Manasseh Maelanga has reiterated a call by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on all Permanent Secretaries to take ownership and implement the government’s policies under the Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement’s (DCGA) redirection policy initiatives.
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare during his meeting with Permanent Secretaries on Monday, this week, highlighted the redirection policy intentions of the government.
Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga reiterated this stance of the government on this new path of approach to the implementation of government’s redirection policy when he opened a meeting convened at the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Wednesday 24, to furnish all Deputy Secretaries, Directors and Senior Management Officers of government ministries on the established functions and roles of CMCC as approved by Cabinet.
The Deputy Prime Minister has called attention to the DCGA government’s policy redirections emphasising the shift away from the usual traditional way of doing things as was the case in the past with which ministries are all too familiar.
He emphasised that what is at stake now with the government’s policy redirection is for all ministries as implementers of government’s policies and programs to be at par with the government’s policy intentions and implementing those policies as intended to attain maximum results.
“The government is adamant that the implementation of government policies by ministries must be enhanced in a timely manner and in harmony with the intentions of the government of the day”, Maelanga said.
He added that this call by the government involves all ministries whether, in the social sector, productive sector or fundamental sector and further cited that as implementers of government policies it is essential on the part of ministries to be fully furnished with the government’s policy intentions so that they are clear on their ministerial budgetary configurations and management.
Maelanga pointed out that it is for this purpose that the CMCC has been established by Cabinet to monitor and oversee the implementation of policies in all the ministries as they progress, citing that whenever ministries are faced with challenges in the implementation of government policies, the CMCC is there to provide support and provide an avenue through which difficulties in the implementation of policies are resolved.
He clarified that CMCC does not intervene nor undermine the roles of ministries, it is in essence undertakes the responsibility of monitoring key policies of the government in power much more closely, effectively, and in a much more informed efficient position to ensure that the government is kept abreast of the stages of its policies as they are being implemented.
What is paramount, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, is that with the recent structural reform of CMCC and its close monitoring role with the Policy Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit (PIMEU) of the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC), the government has further stepped up its capacity to effectively and efficiently monitor the timely implementation of its policies by ministries.
Maelanga also revealed that further consultation on the government’s redirection policy initiatives will be held with the Sate-Owned Enterprises (SOE) to ensure that these bodies are also attuned to the key policy intentions of the government in regards to SOE’s.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is now the Chairman of CMCC following government’s policy readjustments, restructuring reforms, and Cabinet’s review of CMCC’s framework, oversight, and monitoring mechanisms thus indicating the government’s seriousness in ensuring that implementation of key policy priorities is carried out effectively, efficiently, accountably and transparently in all ministries.
