Cap. 497 чл. 16Committee of Permanent Secretaries. Supervision of departments by Permanent Secretaries.

(1) There shall be a Committee of Permanent Secretaries which shall be chaired by the Principal Permanent Secretary, and which shall consist of the Secretary to the Cabinet as deputy chairperson and all Permanent Secretaries as members.

(2) The Permanent Secretaries shall fulfil their collegiate responsibility for the performance of the public service, facilitate the realisation of Government policies and ensure the achievement of Government objectives that cut across ministries through the Committee of Permanent Secretaries.

(3) The meetings of the Committee of Permanent Secretaries shall be convened by the Principal Permanent Secretary as often as he may deem necessary but at least once every three months.

(4) This article shall apply without prejudice to the individual

Constitution, a Permanent Secretary is charged with the supervision of one or more of the departments of Government that are listed in Part I of the Second Schedule, he shall ensure that each department is:

(a) working towards the timely and effective fulfilment, in conjunction with other government organisations as appropriate, of his Minister’s and the Government’s policy objectives;

(b) being managed according to law, the public service values, the Code of Ethics, and applicable policies and directives governing staff conduct, management and the use of resources; and

(c) operating economically, efficiently and effectively and delivering any services to the public to a satisfactory standard.

(2) A Permanent Secretary shall advise his Minister on all matters pertaining to the departments under his supervision.

(3) A Permanent Secretary may give directions to and set targets for a head of department on any matter in fulfilment of his duties under subarticle (1), and he shall monitor and assess the head of department’s performance in relation to such directions and targets: Provided that a Permanent Secretary may not give directions to or set targets for a head of department on matters where the head is required by any law to act independently or in accordance with the direction of a person or authority other than a Minister.

(4) A Permanent Secretary may, with the concurrence of the Prime Minister, exercise his powers of supervision of a department of government through another public officer of suitable seniority.

(5) A Permanent Secretary shall be answerable to his Minister and, through the Principal Permanent Secretary, to the Prime Minister for the performance of the departments under his supervision notwithstanding any arrangements that may be in effect under subarticle (4).

(6) Where a Permanent Secretary is charged with the supervision of one or more of the departments listed in Part II of the Second Schedule, this article shall apply subject to the following limitations:

(a) subarticles (1)(a) and (2) shall not apply; and

(b) subarticle (5) shall apply only as may be compatible with paragraph (a).