BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Friday December 18, 2015 – Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris has announced plans to introduce an incentive scheme for government workers that will see those who perform well going home with extra money in their wallets or getting more time off the job.

He spoke about the planned ‘Pay-For-Performance’ initiative during his Budget presentation this week, as part of a wider plan to improve efficiency and enhance productivity in the public sector.

The prime minister said such incentives have become “the driving force in influencing productivity and work effort across organizations 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.

“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 workers’ 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.”

Harris said a pilot programme will be introduced that will “carve out a modest allocation of funds from existing programmes to finance an incentive-based programme that rewards outstanding work effort.”