The planned expenditure for the Ministry of Public Service was approved on Wednesday but not before Minister Jennifer Westford explained the priorities for scholarships and training under her ministry.
During the consideration of the estimates by the Committee of Supply, APNU MP Basil Williams bombarded Westford with questions, including about the over $600M in expenditure budgeted for scholarships and training by the ministry this year. Williams inquired whether the ministry is training psychiatrists, given what is happening in Guyana. Minister Westford’ response was that two persons are being trained.
Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge then explained that the questions were seeking to ascertain from the minister whether the ministry has a plan as to how many persons are trained and within what period. Greenidge’s point caused Committee Chairman Raphael Trotman to point out that “certainly, if we are training a hundred young people and sending them on scholarships, it must be informed or in the context of what is the development trend that the ministry is meeting… it must be informed by something and I don’t think that something is a state secret.”
Trotman then asked that the minister to be a little more forthcoming. Westford said that there is a five-year post-graduate training plan, in which persons are trained in the areas of paediatrics, dermatology, emergency medicine, psychiatry and other areas. It is intended that there be ten of those specialists sent within that period, but she noted that the persons who are trained do not come back within the five-year period because it takes time for them to be trained.
Williams also asked about the $3 million that was allocated for the maintenance of buildings and specifically about the buildings that would benefit from the maintenance. Minister Westford said in reply that the ministry’s main office and the training division on D’Urban and Vlissengen Road are the buildings that will be repaired with the money.
Based on her response, Williams asked the minister if she would agree that the building at D’Urban and Vlissengen Road is an “eyesore.” She said the buildings are very old structures.
Meanwhile, in excess of $15 million is to be spent for the provision of security services to the ministry. Williams asked what the minister was protecting in the two buildings of the ministry, to which Westford replied: “I am protecting the people’s property.”
Among the other opposition members who asked about the sum allocated for security services was APNU MP Jaipaul Sharma. “The Honourable member did ask what the ministry is protecting; I want to know if it is the permanent secretary,” he asked, following-up on Williams’ question.
This prompted Westford to say that she was offended by the question because “we do have to protect our workers… my staff at the ministry has to be protected….”
Under the ministry, $475 000 is to be spent on national and other events, while $830,000 is to be spent on refreshments and meals.
