1. Hon.Premier, this SOPA themed “Quickening the Tempo to Economic Recovery and Job Creation” has broad priorities.
2. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed for adding realism to idealism. This pandemic has quickened the `tempo’ such that, the 4th industrial revolution proved that IT; its infrastructure and people up-skilling should be the focus of government investment.
3. This is a massive opportunity to overcome the stagnation we were reaching with renewal of our vision as a nation. A nation needs a role and a motivating force, just like a profitable company or a successful entrepreneur.
4. As our Leader, Hon.Premier, your address illustrates that you are a leader in the process of greater economic integration and cooperation. Yes, it sets the pace or `tempo’, and it must be a team dream. As a government the tools or strategies need further exposition, which we await, as this SOPA has clearly targeted key economic areas with maximum growth potential, synomous to performance budgeting or results based management.
5. Forreal outputs, Hon.Premier and your team, it is imperative that critical posts such as: AO, CFO,SCM, Project, Communications, IT, Risk and M+E managers or directors must be the best. This is no time for underperformance, acting positions or consultants. We need impetus and focus; these require important inputs and activities with implementable plans or corruption will escalate.
6. The strengthening of departments with legal advisors, researchers, economists, green specialists are invaluable to value chain development.
7. Labour relations and Human Resource development to streamline over-bloated organograms, need `tempo’ especially in Health and Education. It is important to have more ground workers like doctors and educators than deputizers.
8. A case of good vs bad strategy means that whether we are to achieve NHI or consolidate Boards, we need to increase the `tempo’ in overcoming the obstacles.
9. It is said, “Strategy is never quitting until you win”. Motivational slogans short-circuits real inventiveness and fails to distinguish among different Senior-level management tasks and virtues. This blurring of roles in Public service must be stopped.
10. The MF looks forward to the details of the Provincial Economic Recovery Transformation Plan in the coming weeks as we believe that a good strategy has an essential structure, called the `kernel’ which has three elements: a diagnosis, a guiding policy and coherent action. The MF will debate pertinent issues affecting our people in the forthcoming departmental budget debates.
11. Hon. Premier, the MF appreciates the unveiling of a plan, however the plan focuses on goal setting more than problem solving, hence our demand remains `good strategy’.
12. Thank you

Hon.S. Thakur- Rajbansi