Performance Audit of the Government of Montserrat’s U.K. Office (U.K.O.)
5th February, 2025The Office of the Auditor General is pleased to announce that its report entitled Performance Audit of the Government of Montserrat’s U.K. Office: Governance, Efficiency, Effectiveness & Quality of Service was presented to the Legislative Assembly on January 21st, 2025.
Background: The U.K.O. is a semi-autonomous overseas unit overseen for most of its history by the Office of the Premier. Since the fiscal year 2022/2023, oversight transferred to the Ministry of Finance. Starting in year 1998, the U.K.O. was mandated by the G.O.M. to represent the island in the U.K. and the European Union, to assist Montserratian students and residents overseas, and to handle queries and interest from other parties regarding tourism, trade, business, real estate, investments, and/or living in Montserrat.
Key Findings:
- Low level of Diasporic engagement. Beyond the initial efforts at helping newcomers to the U.K. in the late 1990s, very little was done to build/sustain a robust programme of outreach to the Montserratian Diaspora. Small numbers of persons are actively engaged in committees, events, and social groups, the database was under 150 persons in a Diaspora that is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
- Limited services; small numbers served. The U.K.O. has provided many types of services and assistance over the past 3 decades. Much of the U.K.O.’s effort has focused on administrative matters. Beyond answering occasional queries and providing advice to Montserratians abroad, very little has been done to contribute measurable value to developing travel, tourism, trade, businesses, repatriation, and other tangible outcomes for the benefit of Montserratians abroad, and for furthering Montserrat’s social and economic development.
- Overall, the U.K.O. has had a weak governance framework in place and inadequate oversight for its operations. There were clear lines of reporting and accountability. In practice, for most of its history, the U.K.O. lacked a robust approach to strategic planning, budgeting and reporting, and was not using the established procedures and templates provided by the Ministry of Finance and the central H.R. Management Unit. There were also repeated long delays in agreeing the U.K.O.’s Head’s terms of employment and formal contracts.
- Inadequate staffing and resourcing to achieve expected performance. The U.K.O. has never had more than 2 to 3 officers to execute its mandate, and they were not all full-time. Throughout its history, there has been a lack of capacity, support, and funding for the U.K.O. to be as useful as stakeholders expected.
Key Recommendations:
- Strengthen the U.K.O.’s capacity. The U.K.O. and the OP should advocate for the soonest equipping of the U.K.O. with expertise both in marketing and in facilitating international trade, business, and tourism for Montserrat.
- Urgently improve inter-Departmental co-operation. The U.K.O./OP should design and implement a plan of action with clear milestones to reduce the instances of non-responses, slow action, and inaction on queries/requests from the U.K.O. and through it on behalf of stakeholders abroad. This should also be reported to the public to aid in accountability and transparency. The focus should shift from fragmented efforts by individual agencies/Departments to effective coordination of responses and actions across the GOM. Make the U.K.O. a responsive, highly effective, and conveniently accessible one-stop hub for all overseas stakeholders and interested parties in, or related to, the Diaspora and Montserrat.
- Grow and diversify revenues & fundraising. The U.K.O. should lessen its very heavy dependence on grants from the GOM. This requires increasing the range of revenue-generating services and fundraising activities. It also requires increasing the numbers of services delivered, the number of events/fundraisers hosted, the percentage of the Diaspora effectively engaged/mobilised, and the numbers of persons served. Fees for all of the U.K.O.’s products, services, and events should be regularly revised to cover all costs.
The report in its entirety can be found at the Montserrat Public Library, on the Office of the Auditor General Publications Page or by requesting an electronic copy from the Office of the Auditor General, located upstairs Angelo’s Complex, Brades. E-mail: audit@gov.ms; Telephone: (664) 491 – 3460 or 491 – 4569.