Cost Saving, Revenue Enhancement Recommendations to G.O.B.

Elena Smith

The unions believe that enough time has not been given for them to properly respond to the proposals since the budget presentation is scheduled for next week Friday, March twenty-sixth.  They are asking that the proposed increment freeze and salary cut be “put on hold to allow for proper consultations and negotiations.” In its counterproposal, the unions have also provided G.O.B. with cost saving and revenue enhancement recommendations for short term, medium term and long term results.

Senator Elena Smith, National President, B.N.T.U.

“A lotta times, we hear these ministers before they get into power talking about what they will do and how they will fix. But we do not see the commitment right now of the PM or any of the other persons seriously willing to say yes I will give up. The PM is saying if we have to then we have to. We are saying to you that the economy right now is saying that you have to. Just give up these allowances and take some smaller packages and we will be able to work with that because those would save us a huge amount in what it is that we are trying to do to gain this five hundred million deficit that we have. We also spoke about the foreign embassies and the resident ambassadors. We know that some of them play a critical role and they do help us to have certain trade agreements that our country can benefit from. But we also believe that there are some of these that are not necessarily needed to be resident. And so they can do the job without having to go to these places. And we want to take out an exercise on the diplomatic core with a view to identify those embassies that would be considered strategic in realizing development and revenue generated opportunities and to staff only those so determined with resident ambassadors.”