Straughn announces online platform to speed up concessions, improve transparency

The Ministry of Finance is preparing to move the management of concessions, stamp duty and other services to a new online platform to speed up processing and improve transparency, Finance Minister Ryan Straughn has told Barbados TODAY.

The government’s financial processes are set for a major overhaul, Straughn indicated, anchored in a modern technological framework his ministry will soon roll out.

He said: “It’s not just a website, but an online platform for managing concessions and a whole range of administrative things the Ministry of Finance does. A lot of issues relate to processing.

“We have gone through all the processes, digitised them, we have tested them. And now we want to give the public that face. You would notice that in the ministry, we have started communicating more with the public.

“But this is really now an intervention in relation to how we streamline some of our internal processes, so that they are clear and faster. So that is one of the things that we are doing inside to be able to… we are moving; and with that move, we want to make sure that nothing is lost in between.”

Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn (File Photo)

The government was working on several other changes to its financial processes, Straughn said.

“We are digitising the stamp duty process, for example, working with the insurance companies and the like. That is not quite finished yet, but once that is done, we will bring that to the public. So as things are completed…we have done a lot of modernisation and we are just going to keep rolling them out so the public gets better interaction with the ministry.”

He said the government was also exploring ways to re-engineer its financing.

The minister identified the government’s proposed $1.2bn debt-for-social swap – the latest in a series of swaps – as an example.

The arrangement, set to be launched by January 1, is expected to unlock at least $320m in savings to fund healthcare programmes and tackle childhood obesity.

The new debt-for-social swap also channels savings from restructured sovereign debt into other key social programmes, such as education and heritage.

Currently, the ministry’s website provides electronic access to a wide range of information on economic and development policy issues, training and scholarship opportunities, and key publications and documents on growth and development, as well as access to funding and lending agencies under the ministry’s aegis.

The Director of Finance and Economic Affairs has also issued financial instructions for all government ministries and departments preparing their accounts and reports on an accrual basis to follow.

He advised that the Constitution of Barbados, the Financial Management and Audit Act, and the Financial Regulations set out the basic principles for operating the Consolidated Fund and managing and controlling public money.

Under section 19 of the Act, the Director of Finance may issue instructions on public financial business to support the efficient administration of government.

Each accounting officer designated under section 18 of the Act is responsible for implementing its provisions, as well as any regulations and instructions issued under it.

All officers to whom finance-related functions may be delegated must be made fully aware of the constitutional and legal framework within which the government operates, and of the regulations and instructions issued, so that they can perform their duties adequately and in strict compliance with those requirements.

The Accountant General may review these instructions periodically, incorporate, where applicable, circulars issued in accordance with public sector financial management practices, and recommend amendments to the Director of Finance. 

(EJ)