Commercialism urged for dept

Press, 3 May 1984, Page 29

Commercialism urged for dept

PA Wellington Greater commercial emphasis is needed in the Ministry of Energy, according to a departmental review released this week. The review, prepared by the Secretary for Energy, Mr J. J. Cheslerman, calls for the development and use of performance indicators, improved management information systems and extensions and improvement to the review and auditing mechanisms. It said the department was “production oriented,” but this emphasis needed changing to one of meeting customers’ needs. The report noted a number of management changes recently begun by the de-

partment, said the Minister of Energy, Mr Birch. These included the restructuring of the Ministry’s head office along more commercial lines, the establishment of the Oil and Gas Division as a working division in its own right, a big change in the financial system to improve performance and accountability, and the introduction of corporate planning. The Mines Division had also been restructured to separate the commercial and non-commercial activities and to enable it to cope with increased coal production, he said. The review was one of the regular five-yearly reviews all Government departments are obliged to do.