Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 17, 2015 (SKNIS): Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris revealed in his 2016 Budget Address plans to improve efficiency and enhance productivity of the public sector through a ‘Pay-For-Performance’ initiative.
The prime minister explained that the initiative provides incentives and rewards for performance adding that it has become “the driving force in influencing productivity and work effort across organizations both in the private and public sectors.”
“These enhanced efficiencies are critically important for achieving the desired performance levels that are required for fulfilling the strategic vision of my Government’s Prosperity Agenda,” he said, noting that “Recognizing and rewarding the outstanding performance of individuals or groups, who play a leading role in achieving pre-established goals and mission objectives of their Ministries, can serve as a powerful incentive that fosters the creation of new ideas and superior work effort.”
The prime minister said that these incentives can be used to enhance an individual’s self-worth which will in turn lead to more productivity and may also serve as a tool for attracting and retaining top talent.
Benefits to be derived may include “pre-established performance-based cash awards, time-off from duty and other forms of recognition,” said the prime minister, adding that “The intent is to motivate individuals to perform at their optimal levels with the expectation that commensurate rewards will result from their work effort.”
A pilot programme will be introduce that will “carve out a modest allocation of funds from existing programmes to finance an incentive-based programme that rewards outstanding work eff