Ministry of Internal Affairs – Strategic Budget Planning Meeting |04 September 2021
Internal Affairs’ top managers briefed on 2022-2024 budget planning
The Minister for Internal Affairs, Errol Fonseka, yesterday met with his heads of department and agencies along with their human resources and financial personnel to consult on the strategic budget planning.
The meeting was held at the Seychelles Coast Guard auditorium.
Minister Fonseka said that this exercise is the start of the Budget 2022-2024 planning task within the Ministry of Internal Affairs as it is being done in all ministries.
The minister made a presentation on the Internal Affairs’ new vision, mission statement and goals alongside mutually chosen values that will provide the baseline for the respective departments and sector strategic plan.
All participants were able to suggest their ideas and suggestions.
With the recent pronouncements made by the cabinet of ministers for the whole of government to move to result-based budgeting, all ministries are sensitising their personnel along this way.
“Vision and mission statements will require visiting in order to align them to that of the present national strategic plan. KPIs will have to be aligned to the new strategic goals.The big change that this present administration is strongly encouraging in order to bring high level of efficiencies is the promotion of sector collaboration within ministry, departments and agencies,” Minister Fonseka said.
Minister Fonseka pointed out that after the evaluation of the past 9 months“I have had sufficient time to understand the cogs of government machinery; the different departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This huge machinery that is responsible to provide the best services to the public, operates within a range of efficiencies. Some parts are well lubricated and there are others needing greasing up. There are also some moving in free wheel with no significant output. As you all well know, anything with no significant output only adds a drain to the country and a cost and waste of human resources. We have to fix that in all our departments. And I am here to help you achieve that together. I need you to be fully on board if we are to succeed. Our strategic goals will need driving. Momentum is key to success”.
Furthermore, he noted that “unfortunately, our biggest obstacle is that of corrupt practices. We as Seychellois must each ask ourselves a simple question. What type of country do I want to live in? After which each of us must decide. To stay and help or step aside. But decide, we must. I will be relying on you all, as Internal Affairs top managers present here today, to make those necessary changes within your departments; to engage respective front-line workers in understanding their departmental vision and mission statements, understanding strategic programmes and sector relationship, and most important, performance monitoring and evaluation and related KPIs. And again, this can only work with front-line workers fully on board. As senior management, you must boldly manage changes and plan capacity training within your departments. Your engagement with them is vital”.
How the 2022 budget for the ministry looks like
The minister explained that the ministry will be moving into 2022 under a fixed budget ceiling. “Do not let this worry you. It is for me of undue concerns, as the implementation of the necessary corrective adjustment of the strategic plan of our 2022 mid-term budget requirement should dovetail in the 2023-2024 budget. Therefore, the budget ceiling does not stop our vigorous effort in starting task.”
“While the challenges of Covid-19 might hinder us along the way to recovery, it equally presents an opportunity to exercise this great principle of warfare that we must all be mindful of. ‘Economy of Effort’. An indispensable principle to help our transition to recovery. Waste ‘naught’ and seek for lean solutions within your processes. Lean solutions towards the ‘end user’ i.e. the public being served. We are all service providers and serving is a ‘noble practice’. Do not let anyone fool you otherwise,” concluded the minister.
Minister Fonseka called on all the management teams to look at the challenges with a fresh eye, review their progress and performance and make the necessary corrective adjustments.
“To all who will have this important task in your respective departments, your leadership skills are what will make this work enjoyable and successful. We are not simply completing an important task, but we are also changing a public service, creating a modern and efficient work culture, developing a new experience of service delivery to the general public.”