REFORMS NEEDED

LABOUR Market Specialist, Elsworth Young, says that there is a need to carry out reforms in both the public and private sectors in Barbados.

He told The Barbados Advocate that this must be done if this country is to move forward and become more competitive and productive.

Young, who previously worked in the public service, said that in undertaking that approach this country has to confront the old, colonial management styles, the orientation of which was targeted outside of Barbados.

Public sector reform has been touted in Barbados for many years without anything tangible being done, and Young believes that it is time to deal with it.

“We in this country need active labour market policies to promote growth and development,” he reasoned.

Young noted that there remains a need for more training to be undertaken within the public sector.

According to him, “Public sector reform is vital so that public officers will be in a position to provide policy advice to the government of the day, on social and economic matters. It is also necessary to ensure the public servants have the capacity to lead (public sector) institutions, inspire the reservoir of talent coming into the Government service.”

He maintained that Government officers also have to bring a new orientation to the public service since the old colonial administration had no interest in meeting the demands of the public.

“It is crucial because you are dealing with a system of public administration not designed for people outside of Barbados, but to a large extent for those based here,” he remarked.

As for reforms in the private sector, Young stressed that unlike government, the business community has to be in a position to produce goods and services competitively to the rest of the world or where those goods are exported.

He said that what has been happening in Barbados is that the private sector keeps asking successive governments for concessions to make their operations more
efficient.

“It is being shown that even now, despite the large number of concessions made available to the business community, they are not working,” he stated while at the same time suggesting that the private sector use more technology to enable them to be more agile. (JB)