Why so many secretaries in the Office of the Prime Minister?

Dear Prime Minister,

You have just a few months remaining in office before the next general elections and there are a number of matters I wish for you to address before you are voted out. In the spirit of transparency, accountability and for the good of our nation, please provide unambiguous and truthful responses to the following matters and questions.

Bear in mind, sir, it is the taxpayers’ money that your Cabinet has been entrusted with, and therefore we need to know, justifiably so, how and why the monies were spent and/or propose to be spent in the manner that they are by the Office of Prime Minister (OPM).

The first observation is the staff positions. It must be noted that the OPM, having just the fifth largest budget for recurrent expenditures and the eighth largest budget for capital expenditures, is the ONLY office or ministry or department of Government that has a cabinet secretary, two permanent secretaries, two senior assistant secretaries, and two assistant secretaries. 

In addition to all these secretaries, you, Prime Minister have an executive secretary to the prime minister, an executive assistant to the prime minister and, a private secretary to the prime minister. Up until 2020, the OPM was administered solely by the cabinet secretary as accounting officer with assistance from an assistant secretary. Why are you now wasting taxpayers’ money by having all these secretaries in the OPM? What is the financial and administrative justification for all these secretaries? Do they even have that much work to do to justify their positions and salaries? 

The second observation is the allocation of monies for Additional Staff at the OPM and at the Prime Minister’s Residence in the amounts of EC$579,312 and EC$322,558, respectively.  There is no indication in the Estimates of the number of workers or the amount to be paid for each worker at any of the locations.

Does this mean that the salaries/wages to be paid to these workers would be discretionary and perhaps, spent without any audit oversight? How could there be specified figures of expenditures for additional staff but no information on the number of workers to be employed, the rate of pay for each worker and the job title of each worker? 

Since the workers at the Prime Minister’s Residence are more or less permanent, shouldn’t we know how many gardeners, cooks, cleaners, handymen, security guards and drivers, etc. at that location so that the number of workers and their respective rates of pay can be correlated with the budgeted amount? In what document would this matter be detailed to ensure transparency and accountability so that the public can be made aware of the number of workers, their job titles and the rate of pay? 

The third observation is the placement of the Post-Secondary and Higher Education Programme under the OPM, removing it from the Ministry of Education (MoE) where it appropriately belongs. Such a programme, with a proposed expenditure of over EC$30 million should naturally fall under the ambit of the MoE.

So, what is the justification for its removal and its subsequent placement under the OPM? Why can’t the MoE administer that programme?  Isn’t this a duplication of scarce financial resources and a waste of taxpayers’ money? Why can’t the current Minister of Education speak for and on all aspects of education? Is he not qualified and competent enough? Why do you feel that you always have to speak for all your ministers and their assigned roles?  

The forth observation is the three sub-accounts under the “Policy, Planning and Administration Programme”: (1) Rewards & Incentives – EC$25,000; (2) Social Assistance- EC$1,000,000, and (3) Medical Benefits- EC$350,000. 

Under Rewards and Incentives, which also appear under three other ministries with the Ministry of Finance having the lion’s share of allocation as follows:

• Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning, etc.: EC$125,000
• Ministry of National Security: EC$18,630
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, etc.: EC$30,000

Please tell the nation, Mr Prime Minister, why were the OPM and these three Ministries selected for this expenditure? Which categories of public servants in these particular ministries are expected to receive these awards and incentives in 2025? How is this programme to be administered to ensure transparency and accountability, so that the monies are not used in any arbitrary manner to benefit only the ULP and its supporters?

Is your administration of the view that the functions and performance of public servants from any of the other unnamed ministries/departments are not important enough to deserve any kind of rewards and incentives from the Government’s coffers? Are the roles and contributions of the unnamed ministries/departments not significant enough to warrant any kind of rewards and incentives for the performance of their respective ministries/departments that would have contributed to the overall development of this country?  

With respect to the Social Assistance Programme, why on God’s earth would you want the OPM to have a separate Social Assistance (Welfare) Programme of EC$1,000,000 when there is already such a programme with an allocation of EC$3,250,000 under the Ministry of National Mobilisation and Social Protection that deals with the poor, indigent and vulnerable households/individuals? Why are you duplicating this programme? How is this programme to be administered to ensure transparency and accountability, so that the monies are not used in any arbitrary manner to benefit only the ULP and its supporters?    

It is noted that the Medical Benefits programme under the OPM is the only programme of its kind with an allocation of EC$350,000 anywhere within the Government’s administrative structure.  You are aware that the NDP did propose to establish a national health insurance for ALL Vincentians irrespective of political party affiliations, but you didn’t see the wisdom in its establishment.

Why do you think it’s OK and of no big deal for Vincentians who seek serious medical care overseas to bear the burden of trying to raise funds on their own whether it’s through setting up of specific bank accounts to solicit donations from the general public, selling barbeque chicken and pork, or distributing donation sheets on the streets of Kingstown in order to meet the cost of medical care?  

How much money can a poor person (and there are many) who needs overseas medical care generate from these activities to cover their medical expenses? How is this Medical Benefits Programme to be administered to ensure transparency and accountability, so that the monies are not used in any arbitrary manner to benefit only the ULP and its supporters?  Why is this expenditure not under the Ministry of Health? Why haven’t you established a national health insurance?

The fifth observation relates to the recurrent expenditures from 2023 to 2025: the actual amount spent in 2023 was EC$39,310,803; the revised amount spent in 2024 was EC$45,029,030 and the estimated amount to be spent in 2025 is EC$52,072,546. So, in two short years there has been an increase of over EC$12 million that the OPM has spent and/or propose to spend since 2023.

By contrast, the Ministry of Agriculture, etc, whose mission statement reads, “To ensure food security, rural development, increased employment, and foreign exchange through programmes that will promote the enabling environment for the entrepreneurial drive of farmers, fisher folks, forest users and other stakeholders while ensuring the efficient utilization and sustainability of the natural resources.”, has had its recurrent expenditure amount slashed by EC$2 million from EC$30,405.670 in 2024 to EC$28, 412,692 in 2025.

Please explain to the nation why there has been an increase of over EC$12 million in spending at the OPM while the Ministry of Agriculture, one of the economic backbones of this nation, has seen a reduction of over EC$2 million? 

Unfortunately, I do not have the confidence that you can provide sober, objective and rational responses to the matters raised. However, I take comfort in the fact that your time in office will soon expire for good.  

A Former Public Officer

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