WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO, Government is expected to embark on a massive transformation project that is expected to enhance operations and improve productivity and transparency in a number of Government agencies across all sectors.
This was revealed by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, who said declining levels of productivity in both the private and public sectors was a major concern and Government had started a “fundamental reform” of several of its key departments and agencies.
“I have just signed off on an initiative to allow for the completion of an empirical body of work on the entire investment grid in Barbados – from administrative to marketing to legal to the very concessions and incentives that we offer as a country – so that we can ascertain how well we are doing, where we are doing well and not doing well, how we are attracting and retaining foreign direct investment, and how best we can improve all of the systems and policies.”
While not addressing cost, Sinckler said the reforms were expected to “affect Customs and Excise and VAT Departments through a modernization project which will be launched in another month or so, the upgrade of the statistical department to allow for better and more efficient data collection and usage by all ministries, a complete revamping of the Government’s procurement system and procedures to make them more consistent, transparent, reliable and user-friendly, and a reform of the Port and Town Planning Department through the competitiveness project to allow for faster, more efficient handling of the business of citizens, visitors and investors”.
Sinckler was at the time addressing the recent launch of a new Digicel Digicentre at Mall Internationale, Haggatt Hall, St Michael.
