Prime Minister calls for frugality within government ministries

Friday, April 23, 2010 – Prime Minister Hon. Stephenson King has thrown out a challenge to all public sector agencies, to identify and review areas where expenditure waste exists, and undertake necessary measures to improve efficiency.

The challenge comes at a time when government is concerned about new and ongoing measures to reduce waste and inefficiency and contain expenditure growth.

The Prime Minister says should any agency be successful in achieving budgetary savings, a percentage of the saving will be allocated to the agency for proposed new initiatives in the next financial year.

As part of measures to reduce waste and efficiency, the government is currently undertaking functional reviews of the Ministry of Communications & Works, the Public Service Ministry, and the Ministry of Social Transformation, with the intention to implement the recommendations from these reviews, in this fiscal year.

“The government vehicle fleet has been reduced by eleven percent. We will continue to rationalize office space, and otherwise seek to implement appropriate mechanisms to reduce expenditure. In order to contain the rate of increase in the public service, vacant positions among the established positions will be filled, following a review by the ministries of finance, and public service with a view to managing resources within and among agencies,” the Prime Minister noted.

“In respect of the non-established positions, only replacements will be considered. No new positions will be filled. All agencies will be required to thoroughly review arrangements for overtime, with a view to enhancing productivity and containing expenditure. Excess mileage will not be allowed to extend the policy limits and provisions approved in the budget.”

The Prime Minister said the recession has taken a heavy toll on incomes and jobs, and Saint Lucia’s ability to recover quickly, depends in part, on the appropriateness of plans, and how efficiently those plans are implemented.

“A speedy recovery also depends on the cooperation of all Saint Lucians. We will soon embark on a new round of public sector wage negotiations, which will be followed by similar discussions in the private sector.”

Generous wage settlements have been reached in recent years, the Prime Minister said, and urged restraint during the deliberations on the new cycle, which he said, will be conducted “in a climate of very low inflation.”

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