Public sector to be restructured with CIOs

The public sector must work towards building up its tarnished name and begin with the new brand of CIOs – abbreviated from the Chief Innovation Officers: The newest management personalities in the country.

By Cheranka Mendis



Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga yesterday stated that the most number of petitions received by the Government from the general public was against public servants and public services and that a new and innovative method of registering such acts by way of audio cassettes being received by the authority on a daily basis was in                                                                       place.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Admitting that the reputation of public services was beyond negative at present, Weeratunga asserted that the CIOs now had a duty to “restructure” the system with a new and revolutionised method of thinking and by using IT.

“Public service is very negative in the eyes of the people. We must work towards changing this perspective and it should start with reintroducing the courtesy call to the sector,” Weeratunga said.

“You have no right to be rude to people. The situation is worsening. People must be treated with courtesy and politeness and if you want to survive you must play the call. Remember whatever you say can be reproduced with the use of technology.”

He claimed that many were questioning why a public service was needed when it could be outsourced and that the Government was working hard to resist this change. However, the new generation of CIOs must change the negative mindset and show the Government why they should continue with public services, he told the 200 member audience of CIOs at the Post Graduate Institute of Management.

“CIOs can by far become good public servants. With the exposure of IT, think revolutionarily. Start thinking about data bases, which is important in the sector – you can make the processes efficient and we can then stop asking the same questions from every citizen over and over again.”

The Government Information Centre which receives more than 3,000 calls has offered this service to a leading BPO agency, which completes their task for an annual fee of Rs. 15 million.

“The progress report we receive is much better; there is no hassle within the department and they work 365 days of the week – even on all holidays – from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.”

The Government is now focusing on having a grievance and liaising line through the Information and Communication Technology (ICTA) for the public to voice their opinions and complaints.

As a CIO, the role of the officer is a diversified one; one that does not have any status or level. The CIOs must identify the bottlenecks in their particular organisations even before his or her boss points it out as well as the archaic processes and make them efficient through IT.

“Everyone is not motivated by money,” advised Weeratunga, “Identify the key individuals who can make a difference in the organisation. These people are naturally charged and waiting to do something to gain recognition. Give them a chance; identify them. Here is a chance for you to prove your innovative thinking.”

He also opined that the CIOs must create a learning culture in the organisation and promote positive thinking. “The bosses must also support you but the beauty is that for you to change the boss, you need the correct positive attitude.”

The CIO must be the energiser of the organisation – the live wire that does not burn out.

“The Government depends on you to change the culture and perception of public services. The service must work for the people and think for the people,” Weeratunga said. “I cannot think why our people treat their countrymen the way they do when it comes to certain public services. It must change now.”

Ministries to be questioned

The efficiency of ministries is likely to be questioned as each ministry secretary will be questioned on their action plan for the next year and how well the goals have been achieved.

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga yesterday asserted that starting from Friday all secretaries to the ministries will be called before a three-member committee to find out the vision plan for the year.

He was addressing a 200 member audience of chief innovative officers at the Post Graduate Institute of Management. Headed by Weeratunga, the committee has allocated 45 minute slots to each member and would question the secretaries on their work plan for 2011.



“On Friday three secretaries of ministries have been given the time to voice out their plans,” Weeratunga said. “Six months later, in June, the sectaries will be called again to evaluate progress.”

“This is a novel concept; one which should have been done long years back. But it is never too late to start,” he added.