PM: Work from home needs tech support, discipline from employees

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley responds to questions virtually during the siting of the House of Representatives on Friday. – AYANNA KINSALE

THE Prime Minister says government has made important strides towards digital transformation and is closer today than ever before to implementing a work-from-home arrangement for members of the public service.

Dr Rowley made the comment in a media release on Thursday in response to a Newsday editorial that said he should attend Parliament virtually on Friday as he recovers from his third infection of covid19.

Rowley did attend Parliament virtually on Friday and answered several questions from Opposition MPs.

In his statement, Rowley said as the work progresses, the country is “not there yet” to allow for the work-from-home policy. The majority of public servants had been sent home for intervals during March 2020 to April 2021 to limit the spread of infection.

“While many are dissatisfied with the pace of transformation this should not be interpreted as an abandonment of the goal. A holistic view of the Prime Minister’s actions will undoubtedly reveal that he has led the charge towards the digitalisation of the public service which remains one of the main prerequisites for the implementation of a work-from-home policy.”

In September, Rowley earned condemnation when he said the country was not ready for a major work-from-home policy as the economy reopened as covid19 cases declined.

He said then: “I don’t know that we are sufficiently prepared for that to be a major initiative, largely because it requires certain technical infrastructure and a certain level of discipline. Some people not even working in the office, so we have to be careful how we talk about that.”

In his media release on Thursday, Rowley said in 2020 Digital Transformation was added to the purview of the Ministry of Public Administration with Senator Hassel Bacchus appointed as minister. The following year, Rowley separated the two and created a full ministry of Digital Transformation and Bacchus was appointed line minister.

The release said over the last few years several government agencies have taken steps in achieving various levels of digitization which included the launch of DevelopTT. DevelopTT streamlines the development application and approval processes for property development.

Other gains highlighted were the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs steps to bring some its services online. The Judiciary also made “significant steps” utilising digitization and virtual hearings while there is ongoing work in the public service towards digital transformation.

“Preparatory work is now on the way for the digitalisation of the Ministries of Health, Social Development and Family Services and Housing and Urban Development. These ministries interact personally and directly on a daily basis with tens of thousands of members of the public.”

To show that he was not against remote working, Rowley said he attended Parliament virtually on November 4, when he tested positive for covid19. He also said during the height of the pandemic Cabinet meetings were held virtually, a year after the launch of eCabinet.

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