Public sector businesses - Part 1
Yvonne Harvey, Contributor

Evette Williams (left), general manager of the St. Catherine Credit Union, and Hugh Blackwood (second left), chairman of the education committee, chat with (from left) David Nelson Jr., Sukina Powell and Osheen Pearce, after the students were presented with the 2006 scholarships for four years, plus CSEC fees, at the credit union office, in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, on Wednesday, November 8, 2006. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Hello friends. For the next few weeks, our focus will be on the businesses in the public sector of a mixed economy.

Public sector businesses are registered and operated by the Government on behalf of the public. They can be referred to as state corporations, state undertakings, public enterprises, public corporations, or nationalised industries.

Please note that there is a difference between the public companies we discussed under the private sector and the public corporation of the public sector.

Whereas public companies are owned by some members of the general public, and operated by private individuals, public corporations are owned by all the public and operated by government.

Our lessons on the public sector businesses will cover:

• Government departments/ministries
• State corporations and statutory bodies
• Local authorities
• Nationalised industries

The Caribbean has a system of government, which is divided into two broad categories - central and local government. The central government body consists of the ministries and departments of governments, as well as government agencies that provide various social services.

Government departments/ministries

When Parliament passed the necessary legislation, the main instrument for carrying out government policy is a government department or ministry. These usually work in collaboration with local authorities and nationalised industries. Government departments/ministries are involved in the following:

• Implementing government policies;
• Monitoring operations within society to ensure compliance with the laws of the land;
• Perform duties and carry out responsibilities assigned to them by the state.

Government ministries are the major functional units that are assigned responsibilities for specific services.

The names of government departments /ministries will vary from one country to another. However, what may be considered to be the main ones are listed below:

• A Ministry of Finance is responsible for ensuring that enough money is raised through taxation and loans. It is also responsible for the allocation of funds to other departments and where a ministry of the public services does not exist, it is also responsible for the recruitment and training of civil servants.
  
  
• Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise - This department is responsible for tax collection. Inland Revenue and Customs handle the collection of direct and indirect taxes, respectivley.
  
  
• Ministry of Home Affairs controls public order, institutes laws, manages the police force, etc.
  
  
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs monitors international relations.
  
  
• The Ministry of Defence is responsible for the army, the navy and the air force.
  
  
• The Ministry of Education
  
  
• The Ministry of Health
  
  
• The Ministry of Trade and/or Commerce - governs dealings with industry, the regulation of businesses and consumer protection.
  
  
• The Ministry of Agriculture
  
  
• The Ministry of Tourism

A change of government will not have any effect on the general functioning or staffing of a government department, although there can be changes in the organisational structure.

The organisational structure of a government department/ministry

The Prime Minister is at the top. Below the Prime Minister is the minister or parliamentary secretary, who is in charge of a ministry. This individual is elected by the people in a general election and appointed by the head of state on the advice of the Prime Minister. The minister is responsible for ensuring government policies are carried out.

The minister is assisted by a staff of civil servants who are government employees. The chief civil servant in each department is usually called the permanent secretary and is responsible for the day-to-day operations. The civil servants carry out the details of legislation and advise the minister on the likely effects of any proposed changes.

Many government departments are assisted by advisory bodies, made up of outside experts serving part-time in addition to their regular jobs. Sometimes they are paid and sometimes their posts are honorary (unpaid).

Temporary committees are also set up from time to time to do specific jobs or to examine a problem and make recommendations. Their recommendations may or may not be accepted by the Government. In some cases, they accept some parts of the recommendations.

Problems encountered by ministries

• Resources are limited and the social needs are too much to match the limited resources.
  
  
• Governments have five-year plans which do not give sufficient time for certain plans to be implemented, not for results to be realised before the terms of office come to an end. Therefore, any long-term plans are affected negatively.

Next week,we will continue looking at the public sector businesses. You will have a better understanding of the lesson if you do some reading in advance. See you all next week.

Yvonne Harvey teaches at Glenmuir High School.