Major changes to the structure of the Tongan government have been pushed through two weeks of consideration in order to meet today's deadline for the submission of reports on new models that will cut the number of government departments by at least half.

Only two weeks were allowed for consultation meetings between heads of government departments and public servants over two proposed models for the restructuring of government ministries, said Paula Ma'u, the Deputy Secretary to Cabinet, yesterday.

The new structure of government must be in place before June 30, he said, and after considering the reports Cabinet has to decide which model is best for reducing the 30 government departments to 15 or even as few as eight divisions.

Paula said that some ministries had already filed their reports and indicated their preferred model of the two that were drafted by consultants and approved by the Cabinet.

There is urgency for government to be restructured before June 30, when the two-year working contract of government's Heads of Departments expires. Government would also like to put a new salary structure in place. At the moment the basic salary of an HOD is more than that of a Cabinet Minister.

Paula said that both models proposed major changes in that the head of each division would be a Chief Executive Officer, "but in some there will be both a CEO and a Cabinet Minister." The two models, the Outcome-Clusters Model with 15 divisions and the Portfolio Model with eight divisions differ mainly in the number of divisions.

Portfolio model

In the Portfolio Model there are two Central Portfolios, the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Finance, Planning and Economic Development, which are responsible for Governance, Coordination, and Integration of Policy/Planning Activities.

Under the Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio are:

- Integrated Policy Platforms/Group

- Cabinet Processes

- Policy Evaluation

- Office of Public Service Commissioner

- Office of Private Secretary to the King (Palace Office)

- Office of Commissioner for Public Relations

- Office of Solicitor-General

- Office of the two governors.

Under Finance, Planning and Economic Development are:

- Fiscal Policy

- Resource Allocation and Prioritisation

- Investment Strategy

- Centralised National Planning

- Emerging Industries

- Research

- Office of Revenue

- Office of Commissioner for Audit

- Office of Government Owned Utilities

- Foreign Aid Funding Project Governance

- Aid Agency Relationships.

Besides the two Central Portfolios, there are six Delivery Portfolios, including Home Affairs, External Affairs, Community Services, Infrastructure, Shared Services and Industry Services,

which are responsible for the delivery of major programs services:



Home Affairs

- Justice

- Office of Police Commissioner

- Prisons

- Emergency Services (Fire, Ambulance, Rescue)

External Affairs

- Foreign Affairs

- Immigration

- Customs

- Trade

- Regional Collaboration

Community Services

- Health

- Education

- Further Education and Training

- NGO Relations

Infrastructure

- Transport (Civil Aviation, Marines and Ports)

- Resources (Lands and Environment)

- Works

Shared Services

- Office of Statistics Commissioner

- Procurement

- Information Technology

- Human Resources

- Fleet Management

- Document Management

- Media Services

- Assets and Facilities Management

Industry Services

- Tourism

- Primary Industries (Fisheries, Forest, Agriculture and Food)

- Labour, Commerce and Employment.

Outcome-Clusters Model

In the Outcome-Clusters Model the three major divisions are the Central Agencies, the Line Agencies and the Support Agencies.

The Central Agencies, which are responsible for Governance, Coordination and Integration of Policy/Planning Activities are, the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and the External Affairs.

Under Prime Minister and Cabinet are:

- Integrated Policy Platforms/Group

- Cabinet Processes

- Policy Evaluation

- Public Sector Reform

- Palace Secretariat

- Office of the two Governors

Under the Finance, Planning and Economic Development are:

- Fiscal Policy

- Centralised National Planning

- Resource Prioritisation and Allocation

- Investment Strategies

- Emerging Industries Task Force

- Foreign Aid Funding Project Governance

- Aid Agency Relationships

Under External Affairs are:

- Foreign Affairs

- Trade

- Immigration

- Regional Collaboration.

The Line Agencies, which are responsible for Major Program Delivery, Integration of Services and External focus, there are nine agencies, Community and Business Services, Education and Employment, Primary Industries and Resources, Infrastructure, Health, Justice, Tourism and Revenue.

The nine agencies and their responsibilities are -

Community and Business Services

- Office or Registrar (B/D/M)

- Licensing Services

- Public Relations

- Co-operatives

- Small Industries

Education and Employment

- Education

- Vocational Education and Training

- Employment Programs

- Non-Government Schools Relationship

Primary Industries and Resources

- Agriculture and Food

- Fisheries

- Forests

- Natural Resources

- Environment

- Lands and Survey

Infrastructure

- Works

- Office of Govt. Owned Utilities

- Emergency Services (Fire, Ambulance and Rescue)

- District Coordination

- Civil Aviation

- Marine and Ports

Health

- Curative Health Services

- Community Health

- NGO Relationships

Justice

- Courts Administration

- Crown Law

- Office of Solicitor General

- Prison Service

Tourism

- Policy and Program Delivery

- Industry Support

Revenue

- Taxation

- Customs

Police

- Police Service.

The Support Agencies which is responsible for Corporate Functions, Administration, Facilitation and Support and Internal Focus, there are three Support Agencies, Public Service Commission, Audit Office and Shared Services.

Under the Public Service Commission are:

- Public Service HR and Workplace Priorities Policy

- SEO Management

- Learning and Development

- Ethics.

Under the Audit Office are:

- Finance Audit

- Performance Audit

- Program Evaluation.

Under the Shared Services are:

- Human Resources Services

- Information Technology

- Financial Auditing Systems

- Fleet Management

- Document Management

- Procurement

- Media Services

- Asset and Facilities Management

- Office of Statistics Commissioner.