Recently, Commissioner Xavier Blackman hosted a meeting with the representatives of the United Nations Development Program to provide an update and to introduce a workshop for civil servants.
Blackman, Commissioner of Finance, Personnel & Organizational Affairs, and ICT, said that the meeting was primarily an introduction/update on UNDP-funded Change Management workshops for civil servants. After a tender procedure the Mahatt Institute from Florida/USA, directed by Dr. S.Gobardhan, was selected by the Central Government to give the workshops.
The goals of the workshops in Change Management are through action learning and building capacity among participants to know how to respond effectively to major organizational and constitutional changes.
One of the things that the Netherlands Antilles had to do since 2000 was to draft the so-called Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) for the present period until the year 2015, Commissioner Blackman said. This process will now start for the Netherlands Antilles early next year, with input from the islands.
There was an inquiry about what the next steps are for St. Maarten to be recognized at the UN and it’s organizations (UNDP, ECLAC, etc.), since St. Maarten will become a country on 10-10-10 and should have its own MDG’s.
The representatives pointed out that the Resident Representative for the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and Surinam will visit the islands early next year to explain all the steps and procedures as St. Maarten makes the transition towards country status. There are also UN-volunteers available to assist with drafting the MDG’s.
Next, the Executive Council will receive an advice from the Personnel Department on how to proceed and when to plan the workshops, Commissioner Blackman said. "It is very important that they fit in the already tight schedule of all the participants, so timing is of the essence. I also received a copy of the UNDP Development Program, and will discuss it with the Commissioner of General and Constitutional Affairs so that follow-up and decision-making can take place by the Executive Council."
Present were (from left to right in the picture) John A. Richardson, Policy Advisor, Commissioner Blackman, Luud Hakkens, project manager of the organizational transition process, Richard Cardose, Head Research and Policy Development DEVCO, Jamila Romero, Senior Policy Officer, DEVCO, Dr. Soeresh Gobardhan, Executive Director of the Mahatt Institute.