Dominica: New unit to be established in agriculture ministry

The permanent secretary in Dominica’s agriculture ministry has announced that it will establish a project implementation unit to coordinate its day-to-day planning.

Reginald Thomas made that statement during a recent workshop.

“Following the cabinet’s approval, by next week, a project implementation unit will be established within the Ministry of Agriculture to coordinate the day-to-day planning, management and execution of all projects within the ministry, including the World Bank project,” he said.

According to Thomas, the unit will work in close coordination with the ministry’s division as well as with an implementation support team established within the Ministry of Finance which will be responsible for fiduciary aspects of the project.

He said the unit will collaborate with the technical divisions of the new proposed Ministry of Agriculture food production unit.

Thomas went on to add that it will also comply and consolidate data and verification documents for the ministry, “ensure data quality and prepare and submit the reports to the minister and the other policy makers, including the EU, FAO and World Bank.”

“To do so the [unit] will hire an M & E officer and an information officer and also a communication officer who will closely coordinate with the reservoir of the ICT talent in Dominica in the public service in charge of tracking progress and consolidating information,” he stated.