The Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment needs $36.9 million to cover the engaging of several firms which investigated the data breach at the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) and subsequent forensic audits, Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn has revealed.
“We engaged firms to be able to look at the forensic audits in relation to what transpired with respect to that data breach at the BRA as well as Breach Council to be able to ensure that persons were properly advised in relation to the legal requirements in respect of that matter.
“Subsequent to that we engaged a number of firms to look at Government’s critical infrastructure from a cyber security perspective to ensure that our posture, as it were, would be hardened and therefore part of the resources here relate to that”, he said in the House of Assembly during debate on the Estimates 2024-2025 recently.
He also listed humanitarian support to Cuba, hurricane relief sent to Grenada and St Vincent after the passage of Hurricane Beryl as other areas where the financing would be directed.
Straughn also spoke on the Customs Department, noting that an upgrade to the ASYCUDA platform was in the works.
“Cabinet has approved for us to proceed with respect to that engagement and therefore some of the monies here are related to the downpayment to being able to make that happen. Customs now resides at the Old Port Authority Building [and] in August of last year the building was opened and it is now called the Sir Roy Trotman Customs House and the part of the resource here really relates to furniture from Silver Line Systems to be able to equip the office.”
He said in relation to the Enterprise Growth Fund “during the course of this year we were able to provide sums of monies to be able to recapitalise the Agricultural Development Fund of $10 million to EGFL as part of Government’s continued support to ensure that we could have enhanced climate resilience within the agriculture sector and therefore we provided those monies to be able to achieve said objectives.”
