Managers of public institutions hold the key to their efficiency

Editor, RE: “Do Boards of Directors of public agencies play their oversight role?” (The New Times, September 27). Excellent points put out about the role of Board of Directors (BoD). But I do believe the role of the BoD is actually well articulated by MIFOTRA (Ministry of Public Service and Labour) and it contains all the provisions stated including being the body the Director General is accountable to, following up the Auditor-General (AG) recommendations as well as the frequency of their meetings. Whether they actually carry out their roles effectively and whether there are clearly stated consequences for an incompetent BoD is a separate debate. I think the point raised in the article is valid but it’s a bit secondary compared to the more primary concern with the internal management pyramid and the working relationships among the strategic operational and tactical levels of management. Like in cases of mergers or breakup of institutions, how well do top management understand the implications and processes that have to take place as a result of their decisions so that they are able to facilitate the lower level managers to be able to execute their duties efficiently? As much as looking for outside assistance is important, it’s really important that these “100” institutions as stated really focus on their internal functions so as to step up their operations and accountability so that when the BoD or the AG comes in their job is basically a supervisory role and not expected to go over and beyond their capabilities. William C.

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Managers of public institutions hold the key to their efficiency