Many of the consultants working for the Government of Barbados are
not being paid out of the public purse, Leader of Government Business in the Senate Lisa Cummins said on Monday.
She said these consultancies are funded by development agencies that have seen what Barbados is doing and have jumped in to assist.
Speaking in the Senate on Monday as that Chamber began debating the Appropriation Bill 2024, Senator Cummins said one of the red herrings that the critics of the government use is the number of consultants working in
government.
Drawing the ongoing Accelerated Mill and Pave Programme as an example, she said one of the consultants advising the government on its roads programme and capital works infrastructure is on secondment from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). She said he was previously responsible for projects and infrastructure at the CDB and the government is not paying for his services.
“That will be the case in many other instances. Whether it is the Global Climate Fund, the International Financial Corporation, whether it is the World Bank, the CDB, the European Investment Bank, you will see that all of the experts who have come in as consultants in support of this government’s transformation programme and development trajectory are on secondment and being paid by these agencies who are buying in and supporting this government’s vision for the future,” she said.
“They are being supportive because people see where we came from, people see what we went through, people understand the challenges Barbados faced and they have come and lined up to support us.”
As she outlined the government’s expenditure, Senator Cummins said state transfers to State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) are down as they draw on their own resources.
She said SOEs have embraced their independence from the government and have used their balance sheets to secure loans.
The Minister of Energy and Business Development told the debate that the government has also been working on lowering its interest payments so that money saved may be poured into social services, education and healthcare.
She strongly criticised the previous administration for borrowing at
extortionary rates, leaving the incoming government with a fiscal
mess to clean up.
(SP)
