These individuals are the ones responsible for the day to day operations of Government.

Introduction                       

Some people believe that most of the top positions in Government are occupied by non-locals, so I did my own research. The truth is most management positions in Government are occupied by locals. I know most people will want all of the positions to be occupied by locals but sometimes that is not possible. Furthermore, we should not put someone in a position simply because they are local, put them there because they can do the job effectively. We must be very careful about setting up people to fail and we can do this by putting people in the wrong positions. The best thing to do is to allow individuals to understudy experienced people so that within a certain time frame, they will be able to assume that role.

There are two hundred (200) senior management positions in the Public Sector excluding the Statutory Bodies. I do not have any information for the Statutory Bodies. Of the 200 positions, 183 of those positions are occupied while the remaining 17 positions are vacant. Of the 183 positions, 154 are occupied by Turks and Caicos Islanders which represents 84%.

Office of the Governor

In the office of the Governor, there are ten (10) senior positions, namely the director of the office of the governor, director of the electoral office, director and deputy director of national audit, director of the chief internal audit, the commissioner of police, the deputy commissioner of police, assistant commissioners and commissioner of the coastal radar department. 6 of these position are occupied by locals and 1 is vacant.

Office of the Deputy Governor

In the office of the Deputy Governor, there are seven (7) management positions namely the Permanent Secretary, director and deputy director of Human Resources Directorate, Director of Public Service Commission, Director of Training Unit, Director and Deputy Director of Cabinet Secretariat. Of the 7 positions, two are vacant and the remaining 5 are occupied by locals.

Attorney General Chambers

There are three management positions namely the attorney general, the deputy attorney general and the commissioner of lands and they are all occupied by locals.

Crown Land, Land Registry, Valuation Office and Survey and Mapping Department

In the above title departments, there are 14 management positions which are the directors, deputy directors and assistant directors of these four areas. Of the 14 positions, 6 are occupied by locals.

Office of the Director of Prosecution

In this department, there are only two management positions, the director, and the deputy director and both are occupied by locals.

Judiciary

There are three (3) positions in the judiciary namely the Chief Justice, the Chief Magistrate and the Registrar. There are no locals in this position.

Office of the Premier

In the office of the Premier, there are six (6) managerial positions namely the Permanent Secretary, the Deputy Permanent Secretary, the Director, and Deputy Director of Strategic Policy and Planning and Communications respectively. Of the 6 positions, one is vacant, and four are occupied by locals.

Ministry of Health and Human Services

This ministry is very large comprising of 21 managerial positions, namely the Permanent Secretary, two Deputy Permanent Secretaries, director of dental department, the chief medical officer and deputy chief medical officer, primary health care manager, director of national HIV prevention unit, director and deputy director of environmental health, drugs and mental health unit, special needs unit, national public laboratory, emergency medical services, supervisors in Provo and Grand Turk, Director and Deputy Director of Contract Management Unit, director and deputy director of National Epidemiology unit. Of these 21 positions, 14 are occupied by locals and 4 are vacant.

Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment

Like the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance also has a large composition of managerial positions. There are 20 and they include the Permanent Secretary, two Deputy Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors Of Budget, Statistics Department, Accountant general Department, Revenue Control, Central Information Technology Unit, Exchange of Information and Trade Department. Of these 20 positions, twelve are occupied by locals and 4 are vacant.

Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Library Services

This Ministry has 38 managerial positions including the Permanent Secretary, two Deputy Secretaries, director and deputy director of the Education, 25 Principals and Vice Principals, Directors and Deputy Directors of Youth and Director and Library respecitvely. Of these 38 positions, 37 are occupied by locals.

Ministry of Border Control and Labour

This Ministry has 20 managerial positions namely the Permanent Secretary, two Deputy Permanent secretaries, Director and Deputy Director of Immigration, Registration and Citizenship, Labour Tribunal, Customs Department and Employment Services. Of these 20 positions, 18 are occupied by locals and the remaining two are vacant.

Ministry of Home Affairs, Transportation and Communications

In this ministry there are 26 managerial positions namely the permanent secretary, two deputy permanent secretaries, directors, deputy directors and assistant directors of TCIG Publishing Department, Postal Services, Road Safety, Prison, Domestic Fire, Water undertaking, social development, Radio Turks and Caicos and District Commissioners. Of the 26 positions, 23 are occupied by locals and one is vacant.

Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning

In this ministry, there are 14 positions, including the permanent secretary, two deputy permanent secretaries, director, deputy director and assistant director of public works, EMS Mechanical division, Planning, Estate management, project management, and maintenance division. Of these 14 positions, 12 are occupied by locals and the remaining two are vacant.

Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture

In this ministry, there are 9 managerial positions namely, Permanent secretary, two deputy secretaries, directors, and deputy directors of the Environmental and Coastal Resources, Culture Department, Maritime and Agriculture. 7 of these positions are occupied by locals.

National Security

In the National Security, there are 5 managerial positions namely Permanent Secretary, deputy secretary, Director and Deputy Director of Disaster Management and Emergencies and TCI Regiment. Three of these positions are occupied by locals.

House of Assembly

There are two positions namely the Clerk to the House of Assembly and Deputy clerk and these positions are occupied by locals.

Conclusion

I think the representation of locals in managerial positions in Government speaks volume. I encouraged the locals to do their best and lead by example. Train your subordinates so that one day, they can assume your roles. Do not keep anyone down but rather aim to bring them up. There are a lot of inefficiencies in Government and many times we blame the politicians but we need to start holding these managers accountable. After all, they are responsible for the day-to-day operations.

I also other encourage others to apply for the vacancies that exist. Stop thinking you are not going to get the job. If you don’t apply, you will not get it.

I congratulate the Deputy Governor and her team in giving locals the opportunity to be in these positions. It is time for them now to ensure that the departments are run effectively and efficiently.