The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has provided US$248 million in loan support for three key government initiatives.
A total of US$160 million has been earmarked for the Public Sector Transformation Project; US$68 million for the National Identification System (NIDS); and US$20 million to further boost national security technology inputs.
Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, and IDB President, Luis Alberto Moreno, signed agreements formalising the provisions during a ceremony at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Monday (February 26).
The signing coincided with the seventh annual IDB Caribbean Governors’ Conference, which was held today (February 27), at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.
Mr, Shaw, who emphasised the importance of the public-sector transformation programme, reiterated that 84 State entities are being targeted for closure, divestment, merging or subsuming back into Central Government over the next three years.
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To a considerable degree, the successful and timely completion of a project requires effective project management. Frequently, we think of project management only when for large or complex assignments that require several times and a broad range of resources to be managed. However, even the most straightforward, one-man, project can go off the rails if poorly handled. More importantly, a poorly managed project that is fraught with delays and other challenges, is costly to you, the Consultant or Vendor, as it means that you end up spending more time and effort that you had initially budgeted.
Hence if you are project managing a team, or just a single-man operation, here are five crucial project management skills you ought to possess.
1. Great communication
As the project manager, you are leading the team (even if it is a team of one!). And typically, you cannot have effective leadership without great communication. Clarity and conciseness when communicating instructions, expectations and concerns and observations, both written and orally, to team members and the client is crucial. Miscommunication and misunderstandings can be costly, and also result in unwelcomed delays to remedy errors made.
2. Time Management
Efficient project managers are proficient in organising their time and in prioritising tasks. With regard to a team, the project manager is the one to keep all members on track: that everyone knows what they should be working on; that priority tasks are being actively handled; that internal and official timelines are being met; and that anticipated challenges are being proactively addressed. It thus means that they are continually monitoring how projects are progressing, and try to pre-empt situations that could derail the timelines established and agreed.
Additionally, and during the work plan development stage, project managers should aim to be fair and realistic when setting internal deadlines for completion of specific tasks by team members, as it can be demoralising if activities are woefully under-resources. Hence, the effort ought to be made to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to facilitate efficient and effective delivery of required outputs.
3. Leadership
While it might be obvious, the project manager must lead the project, and so must possess strong leadership skills. Although there might be team members that outrank the project manager in the organisation, to do the job effectively, the project manager must lead, which would include:
- forming and managing teams
- making decisions
- communicating with client and stakeholders
- delegating authority to others, as needed, to execute certain tasks.
It must be emphasised that, when a project experiences a major challenge, especially if it detrimental to the team and/or organisation, all fingers tend to point to the project manager. Hence while you might have to tread lightly when dealing with senior executives who are on a project team – which is your excellent communications skills will be needed – these members, and their responsibility to the team, still need to be managed.
4. Problem Solving
Finally, it is rare when a project does not have one unexpected challenge. Generally, and from the outset, there are issues that must be addressed. Frequently, many are minor, and just some tweaking of the project plan is needed, or a simple remedy can be applied. However, occasionally, there a major problem emerges that requires careful consideration and solutions to be weighed that try to minimise loss and other undesired outcomes.
To that end, project managers ought to be able to examine a problem logically and systematically; generate possible remedies; analyse the pros and cons of each; and offer a solution (or course of action) that should be implemented. Frequently, the options will need to be discussed with company management and with the client. Hence a clear and logical approach, with competent analysis ought to be demonstrated.
Image: Digital Buggu (Pexels)
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The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will establish its first country office in the Republic of Haiti later this year. Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Antonio Rodrigue and the Bank’s Vice-President (Operations), Monica La Bennett, signed the Agreement on February 27, 2018 on the sidelines of the 29th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in Haiti.
La Bennett said that the signing of the Country Agreement further cements the strong partnership between CDB and the Republic of Haiti.
“Last year, CDB, in collaboration with the Government of Haiti, developed a country strategy plan for the period 2017 to 2021, with an indicative resource envelope of USD100 million to help Haiti meet its development priorities. The strategy focuses on three main themes: agriculture and community development, sustainable energy development and education and training. It is this deepening engagement between CDB and the Government of Haiti that has led us to conclude that there is a need for a country office. We expect that this will lead to the development of closer relationships with the Government and the people of this country, enabling CDB to be a more proactive, responsive development partner,” she said.
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PORT OF SPAIN – The Trinidad and Tobago government has filed a lawsuit against the broker for Super-Fast Galicia Intercontinental Shipping alleging that it broke a contract to provide services on the sea bridge between the two islands.
Minister in the Office of the Attorney General, Stuart Young, told Parliament Friday that the Keith Rowley government would be seeking damages as a result of the decision to pull the vessel.
“I want them to tell the population again, how the Galicia was procured, who is it that procured the Galicia who was paid for procurement of the Galicia,” Young told legislators, adding that Attorney General Faris Al Rawai, who filed the law suit earlier this week, has indicated that there is further action to come out of the Galicia transactions.
Last April, the owners of the Galicia withdrew its service on the sea bridge which it had operated since 2014.
Young told Parliament that the government had discovered a “secret room” at a state-agency where people employed by the former administration were working on laptops overtime to “backfill” documentation.
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Contractor general Dirk Harrison says his office is probing allegations about the use of money from the Equalisation Fund to repair three roads in St Andrew North Western where a by-election will be held on March 5.
The claim was made recently by Minority Leader in the Kingston & St Andrew Municipal Corporation, who said $21 million was being used to carry out the repairs.
Harrison says there has been no formal complaint to the Office of the Contractor General.
However, he says he has heard the complaints in the media that there might be a connection between the impending election and the roadworks.
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