Manderson plans to make civil service no#1 boss
(CNS): The new deputy governor has said that he intends to make the Cayman Islands civil service the employer of choice. Having taken up his post as the public sector’s boss on 1 February, Franz Manderson says he will be introducing significant changes that will improve the culture of the service. Among his list of plans as head of the public sector is encouraging dialogue and open communication among employees at all levels, providing a quality induction for new civil servants; supporting both personal and professional growth as well as promoting customer service ethics and good performance. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
The new deputy governor will also facilitate the involvement of public sector workers in charitable organizations or activities that are relevant to their work objectives. His focus Manderson states is to put the civil service first making it a respected and independent organization that cares for the well-being of its employees.
“It is my goal to make this organization the employer of choice in the Cayman Islands – one which rewards its staff for successful performance and high excellence,” he said as he promised to keep his long held open door policy.
Manderson will be the subject of the government’s television show Spotlight on Monday when he outlines some of the “significant changes planned “to help improve the culture of the civil service.”
Respected both inside and outside the civil service, Manderson grew up in West Bay and joined government’s workforce in 1981 as a clerical officer. In 2003, he got his degree in law after which he took a 12 month break for the public sector to pursue his articles at Walkers. He was called to the Caymanian Bar in 2004 and then returnedto the Immigration Department later becoming Chief Immigration Officer.
In 2009 he was appointed Chief Officer in the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs where he worked to improve strategic effectiveness and has introduced crime-reduction legislation such as the Alternative Sentencing Law, the Police Law and the Information and Communications Technology Authority Regulations. He also led a number of initiatives aimed at promoting security, including the National CCTV Programme.
Manderson attributes his success in the public sector to his colleagues, friends and mentors John Bostock, Jerry McGuire, Orrett Connor, Donovan Ebanks, George McCarthy and James Ryan and his mom Jenny Manderson, who he say was not only a positive influence in his life but made the sacrifices to allow him to pursue an education.
GIS Spotlight airs on Cayman27 at 8:30 p.m. on Monday and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. All stories seen in this week’s show can also be found on the GIS Marketing and Communications website: www.gis.ky and an audio version can be heard on Radio Cayman Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.
Category: Local News
His goals are admirable.
To be achievable however civil servants will have to be paid like the private sector which they are not for obvious reasons, and given a performance related bonus annually.
Someone please tell us the last time anyone lost their job in the CS, except.
As I recall it only happens when some Elected representative do not like some one!!!!
It is happening all the time these days as "qualified" expats are not having their contracts renewed and "suitable" Caymanians are being given those responsibilities. It is part of the Premier's jobs programme.
I donot care how any of you view Mr. Manderson along with the critics. I will tell you what I know about Franz. Even if he was the Governor of the Cayman Islands and not the Deputy, or the Garbage Collector of the Cayman Islands, what I do know of Franz is that he is HUMAN with a big heart. This gentleman has a heart for everybody which includes locals, expats, fat people, retarded people, the educated and the uneducated. With that clean and selfless "innerman' that lives inside of Franz Manderson I have no reservations that he will be both servant and master to the Cayman Islands. Franz is a man that has Served the Cayman Islands well, while Mastering his duties. Well done Franz, I am so proud of you. Ms. Jenny, you molded a real Caymanian that others should try to be like.
The Civil Service needs to go through an analysis to see who the employees are that do a good job for their money and who the ones that don't give a hoot about the well-being of government as to its financial resources and other things in general. There are some who will say there are a lot of elderly people in the CS that need to go to make room for younger ones. To an extent this may be true, but on the other hand, where the well-being of CS and government and the country in general is concerned, there are many elderly CS employees who are very efficient in and care about their jobs and work diligently for their money. It has been said by some, as an example, quote "you can't do government too bad" That is the mentality of some.
All should have the attitude to perform their best for the pay and benefits they get and not (like some) just try and get all they can without performing their duties.
If One has a bank account and keeps withdrawing money and not putting any in, eventually the money could run out, and so it could be with government, and the people who work for it need to think other than just getting all they can and nothing in return like doing their duies to their fullest capacity.
Similar to a famous quote by a U.S. president "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" What more Civil Servants and other government workers can do to help the country is always do to the best of their ability. Work diligently and not expect to just get without giving back what they can to the best that they can.
While there are some who may not perform as well as should, there are many in the Civil Service who do and deserve credit and respect for same.
Mr. Manderson should not be expected to do everything himself – the CS should do its part.
That’s what the self serving senior civil servants are most afraid of: young bright caymanians!
Franz deserves his post -but caymanian seniors with foresight paved the way for him in immigration and as dep governor.
What he needs to do is continue this throughout govt.
Oh yeah-get rid of the older senior civil servants and status holders also that r making a career as indespensible ‘blockers’.
I have known Franz for years, if anyone can give it a go it is this man. He needs to fix what he can as best he can and then get his candidacy up for office. he is exactly what we need in government, not these self serving creeps we have now. Best of luck to you Franz.
Just when everything is in place and going good the Colonial hand will come
in and screw everything up. Don't hold your breath. Dump Colonialsim then
we can win. The FCO is the enemy.
Be "WE" I guess you mean the ones screwing everything up right now. No secret that there are "many" who are getting fatter at the expense of everyone else. Colonialism as you call it would shut down the Cayman golden feeding trough for the few, the proud. the fat, the immoral and turn the funds back to the peoples needs. I bet you would NOT want that right?
Mr. Manderson, your statement serves to reinforce my belief that Caymanians think that it is government's responsibility to provide jobs for people. This is wrong. Government exists to serve the basic needs of a society. These include implementing or assuring clean water, electricity at a fair price, roads, public buildings and associated infrastructure as well as law and order and the bureaucratic departments needed to make it all work. Public service at the lowest cost should be the goal of any government. It is through policy making by government that business either thrive or die. It is business and the demand for goods and services that create jobs and make economies thrive. Your goal of making CS the #1 employer is equivalent to pure socialism and a government supported welfare state. It cannot work here nor does it work anywhere else.
My criticism does not go without offering a solution to the unemployment problem here. Any solution must be based on first defining the problem. The problem in Cayman is simply credit. Government and private citizens have borrowed against the future in order to have homes, cars and a decent lifestyle. Now that the supply of money flowing to Cayman is drying up, our ability to pay for our borrowing is going away. In other words, we bit off more than we could chew and now it is time to pay the piper. The money to make CS the #1 employer isn't there and won't be there if the current economic policies of government remain in effect. Large bloated governments create increased cost of living which drives away businesses and economic prosperity. Expensive electricity, fuel and fee structures are the demons government has created which act as barriers to economic growth. Again, it is economic growth that creates jobs, not government. The obvious solution is to take a giant step backwards and learn to be more self-sufficient as a country. We could use government land to grow a large portion of the food we need in order to lessen the money flow that leaves here in order to buy food from overseas. We could harness ocean, wind and solar to help offset our high electricity cost. We could trade in our SUVs for smaller more efficient vehicles. We can employ hundreds if not thousands of Caymanians in the field of agriculture and energy production and at the same time reduce our dependence on the outside world.
In your model you may want to consider that there are small towns in the USA with 10 times the population of Cayman which run efficiently with one mayor and a CS considerably smaller than our current CS. We are bloated and need to come to our senses. Plans to enlarge any part of government will be automatically halted by the fact that the money just isn’t there regardless of your plans, ideas and wishes.
Whilst I understand your position regarding the role of government, it's rather erroneous to claim that the manifestation the CIG has taken is the "wrong" way. Further to your claim that such "socialism" doesn't work, please let me refer you to a number of Scandinavian countries that not only have higher GDP per capita than we do (despite a socialist-style government in the manner you describe) but also have some of the happiest citizens in the world. So no, the more socialist-inclined manifestation of government doesn't have to be wrong – it's rather a value judgement regarding how government should interact with its people. Just because you believe in a simple, laissez-faire style goverment, does not make you you right (or wrong).
Last point, please don't compare the Cayman Islands to any small (or medium) sized city in another country when trying to contrast the size of a civil service. There are many aspects of these towns that benefit from a state and federal input of both money and personnel, such as state policing, the federal post office, representative offices for the forest service and department of agriculture, and so forth. So despite a small town running with say, a city council and mayor, the actual resources necessary to a well functioning town run far beyond such a simplistic view, and thus the comparison to Cayman falls apart. As a country, albeit a BOT, the resources and personnel necessary to a functioning society that must also participate in the international community (which most small town do not), are going to be completely different. While the ratio of civil servants to the overall population may not be ideal (I'm happy to concede that), it certainly cannot be reduced to the levels your diatribe seems to indicate.
I don't think he meant #1 as in employ most of the work force in the Cayman Islands: I think he meant giving the best service, being proud of being a Civil Servant and improving their reputation. In other words, he meant Quality not Quantity.
Your comparison with a small town in the US with one mayor is not fair. Does that mayor issue passports grant work permits, operate an airline, broadcast media, operate customs, security, police, a hospital, emergency services and an airport, run the planning department and regulate 75% of the worlds hedge funds? We need the public service to do all of the aforementioned.
Congratulations Mr. Manderson! Show everyone that Caymanians have ambition and make the civil service for Caymanians. There is no other country you go where the top jobs are not the local people. We are proud of you. Do everything possibe to make this island a better place to live.
This thread will heat up after 10am, when everyone else gets to work.
Regardless of what anyone says, Franz is hardworking, fair and honest. It is has been nothing but a pleasure to deal with him on any occasion that I have had. I am sure he will lead by example and change any negative stereotypes in the public service that people are posting about here. Although I am an expat, I have lived here for many years and its people like Franz that demonstrate given a chance, Caymanians have the ability of to move the Cayman Islands forward.
The Civil Service is in truth no different than Corporate Cayman, where the fat cats work hard to make themselves fatter whilst the worker bees toil.
Jesus himself would have to suit up and train CS in order for them to be #1 and that would be some hard work for Jesus.
Everyone on Cayman already knows that to be in the civil service is the holy grail of "jobs" in Cayman for obvious reasons.
Getting them to actually do the jobs they are getting the big payoffs, sorry, paychecks sould be the goal.
I agree. What can be better than free medical insurance / care & free pensions for life? As well as salaries higher than in much of the private sector. And don't forget that many get free vehicles and the "free gas" scenerio that has been swept under the rug.
Wow – I though 90-percent of the civil service were working class people struggling month to month like the rest of the coutnry.
PS – the private sector enjoys housing allowances, school fees paid, even annual bonuses and many other perks (we dont even get a drumstick for Christmas).
That said, there is much room fror improvement all around – some ofthe private sector service is also really atrocious – and it's not even "free".
"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
gang aft a-gley."–Robert Burns ("To a Mouse")
"An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy!" How true in this case.
"Eff off" – D H Lawrence.
An open letter to Deputy Governor Manderson:
Dear Sir:
You have the experience and knowledge to do good things for the civil service AND the people of the Cayman Islands. The best of luck to you, Sir.
Yeah. And the moon IS made of cheese! Who knew?
But the civil service is already the employer of choice (aka the employer of last resort) for Caymanians who can't make it in the private sector
Firstly, Congratulations on your appointment! As a Caymanian with national pride, it has always been an inspiration to see Caymanians grow and fulfil their aspirations, regardless of political influence. I am sure your performance, will be, what you deem to be, in the best interest of the country, even though not everyone will agree with many decisions you will have to make.
With regards to the persons you mentioned, having a positive influence on your life, Mr. Bostock, Mr. McGuire, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing, on a professional and personal basis, Mr. Ebanks and of course your mother, all great role models, extremely fortunate.
I am sure you have great ideas for the Civil Service, even restructing maybe and I wish you well.Just one thing, CS is already the choice employer, unfortunately not for the right reasons. Would be a good idea to have an HR department with the ability of performing an indepth interview, that goes beyond, an individual presenting their credentials and being offered a job. Just food for thought.
I wish you well and much respect,
West Bayer
I think i understand what he is attempting to do. Wish you success on a lean and efficent CS
I hope it is not #1 in quantity of employees, it's already 25% over stocked!!!.
The civil service is already the employer of choice.
You need a newer picture. He's much thinner these days.
Yeah yeah yeah. I'm still waiting for him to follow through on his promise to publish Immigration policies such as "who can and cannot hire helpers from Jamaica".
Why doesn't he concentrate on motivating all those Caymanian workers that believe a government paycheck is their birthright for which they should not have to work?
I stopped reading after the first sentence. Government already IS the employer of choice? Free fuel, free cell phones, lots of unacounted absence, medical care for the entire family…Do I need to go on?
Please tell me where I can sign up for all the freebies you mentioned cause I work for government and I'm not getting any of those things.
Poor fella.
Me or Franz? lol!
Go Franz! We are rooting for you to succeed.
Good Luck Mr. Manderson I wont say it cant be done but theres a lot of dead weight you need to get rid of first starting with the MLAS.
Good thought but MLA's are elected.
Fran’s is the kind of representation west bay and cayman needs. Fran please run!
CS is already #1 boss. They are overpaid, under worked and get free health benefits! Whats he going to do, give them all Lambourginis???