The public service is the administrative part of the executive branch of government, and the relationship between Ministers and their Permanent Secretary and other officials is crucial to successful government. As with all important relationships, effectiveness requires mutual understanding of, and reciprocal respect for, relevant roles in the business of government. This should be achieved by regular consultation between a Minister and his or her Permanent Secretary and other senior officials.

The Minister’s primary role, together with Cabinet, is to make policy decisions within his/her responsibilities and the applicable legislative framework. The Permanent Secretary and other officials are then obliged to implement such policy decisions and administer the relevant laws.

Ministers do not employ public officers directly, as clarified below. This establishes and protects the core professional relationship between Ministers and public officers, and protects them from personal obligations and liability. Public officers are required by their terms of employment, professional ethics and codes of conduct, and the law, to deliver effective and lawful service to the government of Grenada, and, also, to the public. In particular, public officers are required to act under the authority of lawful Ministerial or Cabinet decisions and requirements of the Public Service legislation. Ministers, in turn, are expected to act lawfully, and to give clear and reasonable direction and instruction in a manner that respects the legal status and professional role of the public service.

While it is the duty of a public officer to implement government policy, this should be balanced against another key professional obligation, namely, to offer the best possible advice about policy proposals or other matters. Always, this is done ‘with respect’. On occasions, such advice might not be what a Minister would like to hear, especially if it seems contrary to what the Minister seeks to achieve. The common requirement for this obligation in Parliamentary systems is that public officers should offer ‘free and frank’ professional advice, and then abide by whatever the Minister or Cabinet decides, consistent with the law.

The purpose is obviously to enable Ministerial and Cabinet decisions to be taken on the basis of the best professional advice available. Public officials may understandably be nervous about this particular obligation. It is the reciprocal obligation of a Minister to create and sustain conditions of respect that allow such advice to be given, and in particular to ensure that if it is given, it is heard and carefully considered, and that no reprisal action is taken against public officers who give ‘free and frank’ professional advice.

A Minister is authorized under his or her inherent jurisdiction to engage consultants to provide further professional advice, in addition to that given by his or her officials. However, for the purposes of good governance and efficiency the channels of communication and demarcation of areas of advice should be well understood between the Minister, officials and consultants. Ultimately, the consultant could be required to work alongside officials to support the Minister.

If a Ministerial or Cabinet decision is still made contrary to the free and frank advice given by a public officer, the public service is expected to implement such decisions appropriately and fully. However, if a decision or action is unlawful, the universal obligation is to obey the law and not the Minister. If this happens, officials should seek appropriate advice from the Attorney General.

All Ministerial action or decision-making is subject to review by the Courts, and the law ultimately provides a number of ways to make Ministers accountable for any unlawful actions they are responsible for, including impeachment, dismissal from office, or investigation by independent authorities.

Public officers must be politically neutral in their professional work, and also in such aspects of their private lives as may affect the perception that they are able to serve the Government of the day. They must act in such a way that they and their Ministry maintain the confidence of the Minister and the public.

Ministers should take care to ensure that they do not involve public officers in political activities because that is contrary to the law and could involve the public officer being disciplined or dismissed.

If a public officer chooses to be politically active then he or she should be advised to resign from the public service.