The Auditor General’s report and the NIS Actuarial Review were recently published in Barbados, and we have had the familiar public debate about the quality of governance at public institutions in Barbados, especially the lateness of financial statements.
We are all wondering how this can go on every year. The many negative comments made about the Government and board members are all justified, but maybe, just maybe we are missing something.
We change politicians and we change boards; however, the senior public officers, who are the accounting officers, remain in place. When will we hold these people to account? When will we allow and require these officers to have to defend their stewardship or lack thereof? These officers enjoy some of the most secure jobs in Barbados, the country has invested much in training these officers and we all pay taxes to employ them.
Many of them have been serving as managers for decades, some are even chartered accountants, yet they preside over this state of affairs and we only hold boards and politicians to account. All of us who live here experience the poor service and downright nastiness.
Maybe Dr DeLisle Worrell is right and we need to cut the Public Service. I want to suggest that we cut at the top to save serious money and minimise job losses. I also want to suggest that more of these senior posts be on a contract basis. The stark reality is that we are not getting value for money from some senior managers in the Public Service and we need to hold them accountable.
– VALERIE JONES
