Permanent Secretaries warned to save taxpayers’ dollars, reduce waste

Apr 28, 2017 News

Senior government officials responsible for holding the purse strings of Government have been warned to pull out all stops to ensure savings and reduce waste.
The disclosure will come at a time when export revenues have dropped significantly from a dismal sugar performance and a reduction in other sectors. A clampdown on illegal activities, including fuel and drugs smuggling, have not been helping revenues much.
A number of forensic and state audits have also signaled that corruption and waste have been eating away at the precious little resources the country can ill-afford at this time.
The need for careful spending would take even more significance in face of the regional situation where a number of the country’s neighbours have been experiencing major financial problems, including foreign currency shortages.
In March, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon announced that a list of measures that will serve to promote more efficient utilisation of the state resources would be circulated for adoption by the government ministries.
Yesterday, during a post-Cabinet media briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency, Harmon said that despite this, the “big ticket items” remain – the contracts which are awarded and the manner in which these contracts are supervised, and the items which are put into these contracts.
He was referring, of course, to the cost of materials.
He cited the purchases of sardines for dietary supplies as against use of locally caught fish.
Yesterday, the minister said he met with Permanent Secretaries of the various ministries to stress prudence in the way in which they go about tendering, contracting and supervising government jobs.
Minister Harmon said that he particularly stressed the importance of using local building materials.
This would also come after an announcement last week by the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, who said that Government was moving to restrict importation of pinewood to protect local trade of forest products.
Minister Harmon said that the government would be focusing more on local materials, not only because they are economical and readily available, but are also a means of promoting the development of the local industries that supply many of these materials.
“By just changing a little bit on the way the government purchases things, would be a big help to some of our local farmers and local producers,” the minister noted.
Particularly the Permanent Secretaries have also been advised to use lesser used species of wood to stimulate the forestry sector and economic activities for smaller loggers.
“We do not all have to use greenheart, but there are several species of wood in this country that can do the same thing that greenheart could,” the minister noted.
The cost-saving measures are meant to ensure that the budget allocated to the respective ministries lasts longer, and lessens the incidences of ministries having to return to the National Assembly for supplementary funding.
In the past, there have been continuous complaints of contracts being awarded under questionable circumstances with contractors claiming cost overruns and even unqualified companies and persons benefitting. There are numerous cited cases of contractors overpaid and exorbitant prices being charged to the various ministries and agencies.
Experts have estimated that more than 50 percent of the monies for contracts go to corruption and waste.

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