THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking a leaf out of former chief minister Oommen Chandy’s book, Chief Minister V D Satheesan is taking his entire cabinet to the Indian Institute of Management-Kozhikode (IIM-K) for a two-day management retreat on September 4 and 5. All 20 of his cabinet colleagues have been asked to cancel their other engagements and attend the retreat, signalling the importance the government attaches to the exercise.
The retreat is intended to provide ministers an opportunity to step away from their day-to-day administrative responsibilities and deliberate collectively on governance, policy priorities, and the government’s approach to managing the state’s affairs.
The decision also echoes Chandy’s initiative, in August 2011, of taking his 19 ministers to IIM-K for a one-day retreat. During the orientation programme, experts conducted sessions on administrative strategy, along with sector-wise discussions. The key difference between the 2011 cabinet and the current government is that, barring seven ministers, all members of the cabinet including the chief minister are first-timers in governance.
Though three months have passed since the new government assumed office, insiders pointed out that the ministry is yet to achieve the desired balance and coherence. On several occasions, ministers have issued statements that appeared to contradict the government’s stated policy, creating a headache for the chief minister and the cabinet.