Recommendations To National Productivity Council - August 2025

The purposes and objectives of the Council and its functions are very broadly stated in the National Productivity Council Act. Noteworthy among these is the mandate to promote a culture of productivity, efficiency and innovation across both public and private sectors. It is indisputable that the prevailing culture is totally inadequate for the strong economic development contemplated.

I make the following recommendations for your action in carrying out that mandate:

1. The primary recommendation is that you should consider the word ‘culture’ to include the political culture of the country. The current political culture is the biggest deterrent to the creation of a productive economy. I have in the extract from my soon to be published book (which I shared with your Chairman) described the negative aspects of the political culture including the winner take all mentality, the  handout mentality, the jobs for supporters mentality and the marginalisation of the Opposition. We all know these deterrents only too well but there is too often total silence about them. Your mandate requires you to speak truth to power. 

2. Emanating in large degree from the political culture are the negative attitudes among too many in the community which contribute in large measure to low productivity. You know these as well. Your mandate requires you to speak openly and publicly of these and to develop strategies to address them. In this regard you should create an effective and high-powered media and publicity campaign. 

3. You should also promote reform of the Civil Service which is badly needed. It is nothing short of a national disgrace that we profess to be an independent country but for over 40 years have maintained the colonial style Civil Service which we inherited from the British and which was designed primarily to control the people of the country. Productivity within the Civil Service is variable but the system enables  the many unproductive ones to thrive without recourse. You know exactly what I mean. I recall several speakers in Parliament on the National Productivity Act say that too many Civil Servants do no work with impunity. The reality is that successive Governments are fearful of that mentality which they have fostered. Service is the last word that comes to mind of many Civil Servants. 

4. Some examples of the changes needed. We hear so much about the deficiencies of the hospitals. The hospitals are managed by the Ministry of Health as they were under the colonial system. No matter how well meaning the Civil Servants within that Ministry may be they are not trained in hospital management. With the vast improvements in medicine, hospital management is a specialist area of expertise. No Civil Servants here have that specialized expertise. Neither do doctors. Building a new hospital without creating specialized management will not improve the hospital service. That is an indisputable fact.  

5. Review of management of the Civil Service generally is also critical. Management of any institution is key to its productivity. The appointment of Permanent Secretaries based primarily and in many cases purely on political loyalty should stop. So should the established process of leaving Permanent Secretaries on full pay to ‘knock dog’ when the Government changes.  

6. I have wide experience in the private sector in respect of which your mandate also applies. Productivity in the private sector (which includes the professions) is also affected by the prevailing national attitudes. I would recommend that you consult with the private sector in this regard to learn of their problems in this area. You will learn also that the inefficiencies of the public sector substantially restrict the ability of the private sector to improve its efficiencies. I know only too well having practiced  law for over 50 years of the time wasting and increased costs generated by the public service and the frustrations of their inefficiencies. You should create an ongoing dialogue with the private sector about their strengths and weaknesses and also solicit their suggestions for improvement as required by your mandate. 

7. Labour legislation proposed by the Ministry of Labour and currently under discussion with the National Tripartite Committee of public and private sectors and the Union will entrench employment to a degree that will inevitably deter national productivity rather than improve it. I suggest you familiarize yourselves with this ill conceived legislation and the criticisms of it by the Chamber of Industry and  Commerce. 

8. The tourism sector is a key area within the private sector. You should consult separately with participants in all areas of this sector on improving the levels of service which are so critical to the success of this industry. The local private sector too often has to soak up the inefficiencies in productivity of the public sector because they have nowhere to go but the non-local investors in the tourism sector have lots of options in this highly competitive industry. 

9. We tend to take the offshore education sector for granted mainly because of the success of Ross Veterinary School over 43 years but we do so at our peril. Ross Medical School was opened in Dominica before the Vet School here but it moved to Barbados which would also like to attract the Vet School. It behoves you to consult separately with the Vet School on your subject. They will bring a useful external perspective to the challenges of productivity which we face. Barbados has a distinct advantage over us in education related matters which they will not hesitate to use. As a matter of interest the students of the Ross Medical School live there in their own self-contained town which Barbados will also promote to attract the Vet  School. 

10. I suggest you take an in depth look at the success of Singapore in becoming a genuine Sustainable Small Island State and the role played by its high levels of productivity. 

11. You should also look at the education system of our country to assess how the importance of productivity can be taught from an early age.

12. You should review how economics is taught (if it is) at the CFB College and review how education on this subject is provided by UWI. 

13. Technology is advancing at an enormous pace. You should consider how the country can benefit from technology in improving productivity. 

14. I advise that you check in depth with the Government Ministries for any reports that may be relevant to your work. I give this advice from experience as Chair of the National Competitiveness Council. The Council was established in December 2009 by the Prime Minister with members of the public and private sector and asked to submit an early report. The first thing we asked for from the government official co ordinating our work was any relevant reports in Government’s possession. We were told there were none. The private sector representatives gave up large amounts of time to meet and to provide the report you have seen. Right after the report was submitted I discovered that in 2008 USAid had funded and participated in a study on the subject we were charged with reviewing and had presented an extensive report. I was invited to Cabinet to present our 2010 report. At that meeting I told Cabinet  about the USAid report. No one in Cabinet had heard of the report. It was impossible after that to get any private sector participation in any further work of the Council. 

15. I suggest respectfully that you consider the recommendations of the NCC a miniscule number of which have been implemented. 

16. I suggest that you ask for full time administrative assistance from Government and a budget that allows you to carry out your legislated duties including the one I have suggested in paragraph 2.  

I wish you every success in your work. This is an aspect of economic performance on which I am passionate. I will be available further if and as needed.