Thank you for being here this evening and for joining us online.
Your enthusiasm and interest are fitting because the Priority Projects will redound to the benefit of everyone with a stake in our country.
The NDU and its’ Purpose
What is the National Delivery Unit (by now you know that it is not where babies are delivered) but it can be compared to a midwife – a mid-wife provides pre-birth care, monitors and supports women during the birthing process, and teaches them how to care for the newborn.
Similarly, teams of persons with specialized and general skills are pooled together to help governments realize outcomes for citizens by focusing exclusively on improving the delivery of a select group of social and economic priorities. In other words, delivery units exist to use their full capacity to address major public challenges. That is the purpose of the NDU.
Now that you know the purpose of the Delivery Unit, I will share some background on how we have arrived here, what priorities will the unit support, how are the priorities selected, how will the delivery unit complement project implementation and what is the current capacity to drive project implementation.
How We Have Arrived Here
Through an internal consultative process, 12 Priority Projects across five sectors were identified because of their potential to boost economic growth and deliver social benefits.
Next, we assessed our ability to execute, and while we have dedicated, capable professionals, there are many constraints within the management of government programs, which made it obvious that dedicated resources need to be assigned exclusively to the projects.
Through appropriate procurement processes, a project team was contracted to establish – the PDU later the NDU. The National Delivery Unit, or NDU was established in July 2022.
More than 60 persons who are part of this process, led by project implementers and ministers, have been collaborating to pioneer change that will lead to a better quality of life for our citizens. They are executing according to the “business-unusual approach” that my government is taking.
We want to raise the bar on transparency, accountability, efficiency, and a unique focus on results. And this Open Day is part of that transparency and accountability focus.
As you browse the priority project booths, learn about what we are doing to improve the lives of us all. Speak with the implementers and Ministers, and give us your honest feedback.
We want to improve implementation rates in TCI and believe that this is possible if we also improve the level of communication and accountability to you. This is business-unusual!
Priorities Supported by the Unit
THE 12 PRIORITY PROJECTS ARE:
1. PP1: South Dock Redevelopment
2. PP2: Domestic Fibre Optic Link
3. PP3: Solid Waste Management
4. PP4: Comprehensive Housing Solutions Delivery 5. PP5: Strengthening the Agriculture Sector
6. PP6: National ID
7. PP7: Scanning of Land Registry Documents
8. PP8: Management and Containment of Informal Settlements
9. PP9: Digital Borders
10. PP10: Digital Transformation of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
11. PP11: National Insurance Shared Services
12. PP12: Judiciary Integrated Infrastructure Programme
The projects are at various stages, with some moving on schedule and others delayed mainly due to manpower restraints.
Evidence of teamwork has been palpable as implementers drive 32 different initiatives within 11 project areas.
It has really been interesting to see new facts unearthed, ideas updated, old views challenged and having strong data on which decisions can be taken
I will share a few insights.
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Our landfill is in need of overhaul – while we work on a modern Waste Management System. We have known this for a long time, but through the surveillance and risk assessments done, we have accelerated safety measures to reduce fires and have identified suitable locations for the Green Waste and Household Waste sites.
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With the Agriculture project, a National Agriculture Development and Food Security Plan,as well as a National Agriculture Incentive Programme have been designed. You will hear more about this from Minister Connolly.
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On the matter of informal settlements: we have gained a bird’s eye view of the scale of the issues arising from the studies and updated mapping that have been completed. The National Security Secretariat has been leading this effort and Justice Simons has been appointed as project lead to deal with this problem. He will speak to this issue.
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While there are many other references that can be made to progress with these projects, I will leave them up to my ministerial colleagues listed to speak on the program.
Selection of Priorities
The capabilities of a country’s infrastructure often determine the reach and effectiveness of its development agenda, and so it has been quite clear for some time that we must tackle the big, complicated issues head-on.
By learning from the past and observing the events of our present times, we have redoubled our efforts to define the future of Turks and Caicos by confronting issues in our economy, services, and infrastructure that have delayed our development for decades.
Complementing Project Implementation
The delivery unit resides outside the government’s line-management hierarchy. This independence allows the unit to be a “critical friend” that delivers difficult messages but also sustains trust and credibility with the various functional actors within the government. The NDU is not a project management office. It is not responsible for the construction of infrastructure or the implementation of services. It focuses exclusively on achieving impact and improving outcomes. It exists to challenge performance and ask difficult questions, taking any excuses off the table. It acknowledges competing priorities and unexpected situations and consistently pushes for faster progress.
Ministries and Departments remain in charge of projects falling under their remit. In that regard, the NDU is not a replacement for the Public Sector Investment Program. Instead, it’s role is to interface with the program and senior leadership at the strategy level.Capacity to Drive Implementation
The unit is capacity-challenged and will need to find and train, in some cases, permanent talent within the next 8-12 months, since the contractor ends in August 2024. Most of the core competencies required to run the unit has been difficult to recruit so far – including problem-solving, numerical, data analysis, project management and relationship management as examples.
Building a cadre of people who are able to work well together, execute complex programmes and really drive the development of our country is one of the outcomes of this process that I am especially looking forward to. In that regard, I invite any person in the audience who may wish to find out what will be required, please speak to the consultants or my Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Shonia Been.
