BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, November 27, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris received a detailed update on the new Results-Based Management (RBM) System being pursued by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.
 
The RBM System promotes a more results-focused approach to programme and project management, in keeping with the decisions made by the Conference of Heads of Government. It refers to a management philosophy and set of tools designed to improve project/programme design; management; effectiveness and monitoring, along with reporting transparency and accountability of desired results.
 
The update was given by CARICOM’s Deputy Secretary-General, Ambassador Dr. Manorma Soeknandan, who paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Harris at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel’s Board Room shortly after her arrival in St. Kitts and Nevis earlier today, Tuesday, November 27. The Prime Minister was supported by Cabinet Secretary, Mrs. Josephine Huggins.
 
Ambassador Soeknandan and members of her delegation are in the Federation to conduct two half-day sensitization seminars with stakeholders, including senior government officials, corporate planners, the private sector, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) and the Media on the Secretariat’s Results-Based Management System.
 
While updating the Prime Minister, Ambassador Soeknandan explained that when dealing with projects and programmes under the new Results-Based Management System, “instead of focusing on several activities, what we are doing now is first to look at the bigger picture, which means the result, and then we look at the activities. After that, we then work with the timelines and timeframes, indicating what you want to achieve, when you want to achieve it and the resources that are needed. But also at a very early stage, you can detect if you will have any risks, so that very early, you can prepare to deal with those risks.”
 
Prime Minister Harris, who assumes Chairmanship of CARICOM on January 1, 2019, welcomed the initiative of the CARICOM Secretariat, describing it as “something of practical value in helping us in the utilization of resources.”
 
“I think it’s timely, and I think in our own self-interest we would want to have a tool like that to be applied to what the Government is doing on behalf of the people, and to see how we can get better results that redound to the benefit of the people,” Dr. Harris added, while commending Ambassador Soeknandan for leading the regional sensitization efforts.
 
Matters pertaining to the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) were also addressed during the brief meeting.
 
The implementation of the CSME will be addressed at the highest level when CARICOM Heads gather in Trinidad and Tobago from December 3-4, 2018 for a special meeting.