GREAT BAY--Before Government can effectively fill vacancies across the public service, it must first strengthen the very department responsible for hiring, developing and supporting its employees, according to information provided to Parliament on the serious capacity challenges facing the Department of Personnel and Organization, P&O.
Government described P&O as one of the most fragile departments within the public service, despite its central role in facilitating recruitment and personnel management across all ministries.
The department currently has only two personnel advisors serving the entire Government, with one of those advisors already beyond retirement age. Critical management and support positions also remain vacant, while P&O continues to operate with an outdated function book.
The position of Section Head Personnel is vacant, several support functions remain unfilled and the Section Head Policy is approaching retirement.
For the past six months, the Secretary-General has also been serving as Acting Department Head of P&O in addition to his regular responsibilities.
Government acknowledged that this creates a serious wider problem, particularly at a time when ministries have numerous vacancies that are expected to be filled following approval of Budget 2026.
Repeated recruitment efforts during the first six months of 2026 to attract qualified human resources professionals have not produced the desired results.
Consultancy support is being explored as another option, although government said available budget space for such assistance is extremely limited.
The shortage within P&O has consequences beyond the department itself because its limited capacity directly affects government's ability to address personnel shortages across the wider public service.
For that reason, strengthening P&O has been identified as one of the Ministry's highest priorities.
During the first half of 2026, discussions were initiated with the Netherlands and the Temporary Work Organization, TWO, regarding emergency support measures and prioritizing P&O within the continuation of the Country Package.
Government said crisis measures are being prepared to address recruitment backlogs, strengthen human resources capacity and improve support to ministries.
All ministries have also been asked to identify where they can provide temporary assistance or cooperation to help relieve pressure on P&O while structural solutions are pursued.
Government acknowledged that one of its greatest challenges is not a lack of policy ambition, but insufficient institutional capacity. Restoring P&O's ability to function effectively is therefore being treated as a prerequisite for strengthening the public service as a whole.
Government also addressed outstanding jubilee payments and other personnel-related benefits owed to civil servants.
Ministries and P&O have already begun preparatory work to identify outstanding cases, verify eligibility and review the supporting documentation required for processing.
Personnel files have also been reviewed to determine which cases are ready to move forward once Budget 2026 is approved and the necessary legal and budgetary conditions are met.
Government said legislation required to implement the 2026 salary scales and indexation has also been prepared.
This is particularly important for jubilee payments and other salary-related benefits because they must be calculated using the legally applicable salary.
Government cautioned that approval of Budget 2026 will not mean all outstanding personnel matters can be resolved at once. Jubilee payments, promotions, acting allowances, bonuses and other outstanding cases continue to be affected by P&O's staffing shortages and administrative backlogs.
As a result, government said it is unlikely that every outstanding case can be processed simultaneously immediately following approval of the budget. The intention is to prioritize eligible cases and process them as quickly as possible, with particular attention to long-outstanding matters and cases that have already completed the necessary administrative verification.
Government said it remains committed to reducing the backlog and ensuring that civil servants receive the benefits to which they are entitled.
