Allyson Maynard-Gibson, minister of financial services and investments revealed that the government has retained consultants to advise on public sector reform and urged the private sector to assist with the task of creating a more efficient, commercial culture within government-run agencies and departments.
Underlining her determination to transform how the public sector operated, Mrs. Maynard-Gibson asked the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) to help with its restructuring, insisting that the government needed to stand aside and allow the private sector to drive the economy through efficient and profitable operations.
Mrs. Maynard-Gibson said: “I’m frustrated too, very frustrated, and I’m in the doggone public sector. I lead a whole ministry. You know how long it took me to get a computer?”
She joined what seems an increasing number of ministers, including minister of public works and utilities, Bradley Roberts and the chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) Sidney Stubbs, who have both publicly expressed their frustration with the public sector for its failure to meet the demands of industry and the Bahamian people in general.
Mrs. Maynard-Gibson says the government has already retained consultants to advise on public sector reform. The consultants have been offered tenured positions but no word was given as to where they came from or if they are bahamian nationals.
No reference was made to their fee, or length of contract but Mrs. Maynard-Gibson hinted that the consultants would not be retained if they failed to make serious and viable suggestions within a limited time frame.
By Yolanda Deleveaux, The Tribune
