Democracy and Political Governance Chapter 3 Chapter 3 in development as well as in developing and implementing policy. This partnership should not harm democracy and good governance, because it will not prevent the Cabinet and the National Assembly from making decisions, policies and laws. 232. 233. 234. 118 Recruiting and promoting civil servants in the country is based on merit and the constitution affirms that all Mauritians are equal. Consequently, there is no discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or any other grounds. The CRM did not find any evidence of political interference in recruiting or promoting civil servants. Furthermore, it has been expensive and time consuming to appeal against decisions of the PSC. This is because aggrieved civil servants had to appeal to the Supreme Court. This is no longer the case, thanks to the establishment of the Public Bodies Appeals Tribunal, which started operating in mid-2009. Its method of operating is less formal, more expeditious and less costly. A retired senior judge chairs the body. There is also provision for judicial review if one is dissatisfied with the decisions of the new body. It was emphasised that all persons who are recruited are already qualified. The implication is that they therefore do not need much postrecruitment training. In addition, the former Mauritius Institute of Public Administration and Management (MIPAM) and the State Informatics Centre were transformed into the University of Technology of Mauritius. There is, therefore, no dedicated institution that does inservice and postrecruitment training for the Mauritian civil service. Those wishing to get formal qualifications study at universities and there are scholarships for postgraduate training. The MCSAR handles other forms of training. The conditions of service include training. It lasts two to three weeks and is tailor-made to suit the needs of employees. It includes customer care, a culture of quality, ethical standards, and training in the country’s code of ethics. This was first published in 2000, was revised in 2006, and was due for another revised edition in August 2009. Training sometimes involves partnering with the private sector and, in some cases, foreign experts are hired to conduct it. Other ministries do their own training and all of them are required to have training committees to conduct it. In addition, they use distance learning and e-learning considerably. Mauritius is planning a civil service college to handle the training. However, the director of audit does not appreciate these training efforts. The audit report for the year that ended on 30 June 2009 states that the approach to training in the civil service is fragmented Democracy and Political Governance and that the training efforts exist for their “own sake”. Training is not needs-driven or aimed at acquiring new skills or behavioursupporting skills. There are no strategic plans and therefore the training does not link to specific strategies, challenges or problems in organisations. The NAO found no evidence of procedures for reviews or follow-up actions to ensure that the training was effective, to determine whether a different training methodology would have been more effective, to determine whether trainees apply their learning in the workplace, or to determine whether course content matches the training objectives of organisations. The report even mentioned that there were barriers to trainees applying their training. Some reforms in the public service 235. The CSAR creates the impression that the public sector reforms differ from civil service reforms. In actual fact, the CSAR is referring to the civil service reforms already introduced at the time of the selfassessment and those due to be introduced. The Administrative Reforms Division of the MCSAR is responsible for introducing, developing and managing the reforms. The most significant current changes or reforms in the civil service have been the introduction of PBB and the Performance Management System (PMS). Both systems focus on improving performance and service delivery. 236. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with PBB. Therefore, this chapter will not comment on it further. Instead, this chapter will include a word on the PMS. It is not new. It can be described as a more sophisticated version of ‘usual’ staff performance evaluations or appraisals. It emphasises specifying, at the beginning of the year, the key tasks that employees must perform during the appraisal period and the key indicators of the appraisal. There is a midterm review of progress or performance so that difficulties can be dealt with without waiting for the end of the appraisal period. The system assists the civil service to distinguish good performers from others in order to arrange appropriate training for the latter. Mauritius hoped to assess 40 per cent of the civil service by December 2009, and to assess the entire service by December 2010. 237. There are activities intended to achieve reform in the public sector. They include quality management, customer care, setting standards for service delivery, getting ISO certification, developing a citizens’ charter and a code of ethics, as well as introducing the annual Public Service Excellence Award. An example of setting standards 119