THE National Assembly yesterday approved almost $1B for the Ministry of Public Service and, according to subject Minister, Dr Jenifer Westford, included in the amounts is some $616M that will see some 340 scholarships being issued this year for training. Public Service Minister, Dr Westford was grilled by several of the opposition members in the House yesterday before giving consent approving the allocations.
Dr Westford informed the National Assembly that included, also, in the expenditure for this year would be some $11M that would be used to repair the buildings under the control of the ministry.
She indicated that one of the buildings is a Heritage Building just about 155 years-old while the other is 65 years.
Grilled by Shadow Minister with responsibility for Labour, Mr. Basil Williams, Dr Westford indicated to the House that the rehabilitation works has to be done in phases.
This, she said, was based on the advice of the engineers, who indicated that works could only be done on sections of the building at a time.
The minister was also grilled over an allocation in the capital expenditures for the purchase of a vehicle.
She said the vehicle that is being purchased will be to replace the 16 year-old vehicle that has been assigned to the minister.
With a significant increase in allocation for the provision of security services the minister was questioned repeatedly over the increase and, according to Dr Westford, the service to be used is Federal Management, which had been selected through a competitive bidding process.
Minister Westford said the winning bid represented the lowest offer submitted of the three.
She said that GEB Security Services along with RK’s security had submitted bids.
Williams also queried a $2.4M allocation under the ministry for which Dr Westford indicated related to Ethernet and Internet Fees.
She told the House that the ministry is responsible for the fees that fall under the public service and further the ministry would be looking towards establishing a database linkup for payroll.
On the more than $600M for which the ministry would be expending on training, Williams sought to enquire whether it would include pathology.
According to Dr Westford, there is currently one person being trained in pathology while another is in queue to be sent overseas for training.
She indicated too that as it relates to the treatment of mental health, two persons will be leaving Guyana in two weeks for overseas training.
The minster did seek to emphasize on the Members of Parliament asking questions, that training is a process undertaken continuously on a needs basis.
Williams sought to press Dr Westford on the adequacy of the training being provided for pathology, in a Guyana context and, according to the minister, it must also be borne in mind that several other skills are also required for which the ministry would seek to pursue training.
She pointed to obstetricians and pediatricians, among others.
The minster sought to point out also that there is a significant amount of post-graduate training that is undertaken locally on an annual basis by the ministry through local institutions such as the Guyana School of Agriculture and the University of Guyana among others.
She reported to the House also that there is a five-year post-graduate training plan that started last year and will continue.
Williams also questioned the minister on the provisions for skills such as for engineers that would be required for the construction of the proposed new bridge across the Demerara River.
Dr Westford indicated that at present there are three post-graduate engineers currently available, one of whom is trained specifically in bridge construction and another specialising in roads.
She did indicate also that there are several post graduate civil engineers currently at the Ministry of Public Works.