PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT) Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher on Monday urged her Ministry’s Management Team to be agents of change in their respective departments. “As 21st-century civil servants, you need to redefine your role, and move beyond controlling, regulating and managerial capabilities, and think of yourselves as change agents,” the Minister told the team.
Secretary General of the Ministry of TEATT Miguel DeWeever organized the event as a familiarization round for the Minister and department heads that fall under the Ministry. The department heads present made power-point presentations to the Minister that focused on the structure of their departments, future plans, bottlenecks and what the cooperation they look forward to receiving from the Minister and her cabinet in meeting priorities.
The Minister told the department heads that they must be bold enough to experiment and look at innovative ways of achieving objectives in the interest of the people. “The next step beyond articulating these priorities is to translate these into policies and implement programs that improve peoples’ lives. To do that, we need good public service and good public sector leaders. Having said that, I do recognize the role the Minister and the cabinet plays in this context and I pledge to always hear your recommendations with an open mind and realistic approach,” the Minister said
She continued: “The Ministry of TEATT must operate as one integrated machine, fully committed to improving the lives of St. Maarteners. Our policies have to change with time, to keep up with changing aspirations and needs. Our Ministry also has to change with time, to provide St. Maarteners with seamless, functional service.”
“Policy, ultimately, is implementation. It is what happens that counts. If it is not translated into specific programs and well carried out, it will just remain a piece of paper. When you have gotten it implemented, you also have to monitor results and trends carefully, so we know when we need to change our approach.”
“Together, we are responsible for the most important Ministry of government. We hold the country’s economy in our hands. We have to stimulate the economy and strategically position our vital tourism product in an extremely competitive market. We have no choice but to get it right.”
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