BAHAMAS
Bahaman Public Servants will soon be better off after the Government allocated some B$8 million (A$10.8 million) for what it termed “a mass promotions exercise”.
Minister for Public Service, Brensil Rolle (pictured) said there had not been a significant number of promotions within the Public Service since 2011 and he had resisted calls to make the exercise more selective.
“We say no,” Mr Rolle said.
“If you’re in the Service, we’ll look at the entire Service with a view that we are going to promote the best and the brightest in the Service.”
He said top of the list would be officers who had served for more than a decade and who had not been made permanent or had been overlooked for promotion in the past.
“They’ve been coming to work; some of them have good records,” Mr Rolle said.
He said they had been doing their due diligence, but had been left behind.
“We’ve got to set an example,” Mr Rolle said.
“We can’t have individuals working with us for 15 years, for 20 years and can’t go to the bank and get a loan.”
He said an additional B$4 million (A$5.4 million) had also been earmarked for skills development.
“The Government looks to attract the best and brightest Bahamians, so we see this as an opportunity to not only expand the Public Service’s knowledge base, but to encourage hundreds of talented Bahamians who are taking their talents outside of the Bahamas to return home,” Mr Rolle said.
“I am of the view that foreign consultants should no longer be considered for jobs which Bahamians are more than capable of.”
He said gone were the days when the Government looked for experts outside the Bahamas.
“We have enough talent,” Mr Rolle said.
Nassau, 30 June 2018
