In October of 2007, 7news attended a Social Security Press conference where the then Chairman and CEO were boasting about a Strategic Business Transformation Project that was going to cost $400,000 dollars.
So imagine our surprise today - 5 years later - when we heard that the same consultant was here to do the same strategic transformation all over again!
Sure, history has a way of repeating itself - but at 400 grand per repeat, and just 5 years later - we wondered if the strategy is about wasting contributors' money!
Well, it turns out that the first strategy - which was devised at the end of the PUP's second term was never fully implement - and so now, exactly five years later, it's back to the drawing board.
We found out more at Social security Headquarters in Belmopan today:..
Richard Flowers, Chief Executive Officer - SSB
"That decision about moving from a culture where people are going in various directions and they have good ideas and good plans but they are not executing these plans, so we need strategy to get everybody aligned to find out where the errors and weaknesses are and make corrective actions."
"Actually in 2007 they had already done this exercise but it was never implemented for various reasons, so now we are not trying to re-invent the wheel. What we are going to do is start the process over, dust off and make adjustments where we need to make and move forward."
Jules Vasquez
"How much did that exercise, did that strategic review cost and it was all wasted, so its counterproductive."
Richard Flowers
"Exactly, that's why the key to planning is execution and what happen they plan, they had a lot of ideas, they laid up their objectives of what they wanted to accomplish but then it was never executed. In this case, we don't want to re-invent the wheel, we have repeated errors from 2009 that we need to adjust. We have to be honest. There are things that we have to do better."
Jules Vasquez
"The record shows that in October of 2007 a press briefing was held and we were told that Social Security would embark - you explain why no such embarkation was made but then the cost at that time we were told it was $400,000.00."
Doug Singh - Chairman, Social Security Board of Directors
"I am sure that it was but there was also a cost schedule. This was for the implementation of the strategic plan."
Jules Vasquez
"So was that $400,000.00 spent?"
Doug Singh - Chairman, Social Security Board of Directors
"Absolutely not, it was supposed to be phasing over several years and there were different elements to the implementation. Certain things were done, but those things were done as a part of the course of Social Security regular business but certainly that kind of monies was not spent simply because the plan was not executed in a meaningful way."
Jules Vasquez
"Will the execution of this plan cost $400,000.00?"
Doug Singh - Chairman, Social Security Board of Directors
"We don't know what the cost will be. That will all be a part of the design of the strategy plan."
Jules Vasquez
"From a contributor perspective, one begins to wonder how much did that exercise cost. It had to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and then this one with the same consultant you are doing it over again."
Richard Flowers, Chief Executive Officer - SSB
"No we are not doing - the facilitator is here to remind people of what we have done and we intended to accomplish but from here on we are going to take it over."
"I don't want to spend money on a facilitator and do it all over again. But what you have to realize Jules there is some money that we need to spend to train and to develop people but we will see a return investment on that because right now money is being wasted, so if you spend some time and get people train, put them in the right position - you will reap return in investment. For example; if we are wasting one million dollars and we are spending five hundred thousand to fix it - that five hundred thousand will eliminate that million dollars for being wasted year after year."
Jules Vasquez
"From the perspective of the person who contributes to the fund in 2007 strategic business review over 2000 processes identified all these things - nothing happen and now we are doing it all over again. Is Social Security running around like a chicken without a head?"
Doug Singh - Chairman, Social Security Board of Directors
"I hope not. The chicken without a head can't run around for very long and I expect that Social Security will be around for a very long time, so certainly I don't cater to that analogy of it but we have to move forward and we have to build this institution and we cannot do it by just continuing to do the same things over and over. If we do that a cost will get out of control and the fund won't grow at the level the fund needs to grow."
The strategy session is a two day event and continues tomorrow.
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