Two Government departments to become statutory bodies

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, who is also Finance Minister, has disclosed that two Government departments will be converted into statutory bodies as part of plans to reduce Government expenditure and the size of the public service.

In his debate to the 2014 Budget, Dr. Mitchell informed the House of Representatives that the Government Information Service (GIS) and the Government Printery are departments that will become statutory bodies within the coming months.

While research is still being done to decide on the best format to be adopted for the GIS, it was disclosed that the Government Printery staff have embraced the idea and are excited to become a statutory body.

“The staff is competent and we believe that they will be able to do a great job with the service they will offer. A lot of printing business can be done here, but instead we see it being exported out of the country. Once we get the printery in a position to offer those services, millions will remain in the country,” Dr. Mitchell told the House.

“Just look at newspapers, thousands are sent out of the country weekly. There will also be printing services for printing invitations, wedding cards, magazines, and other reports,” he added.

Statutory bodies were created to be more efficient than central Government and to be independent of central Government. Among the statutory bodies are the National Water and Sewage Authority, Gravel Concrete and Emulsion Production Corporation, the Grenada Postal Corporation, the Grenada Industrial Development Corporation, the Spicemas Corporation and the National Lotteries Authority.

While presenting the 2014 Budget, Dr. Mitchell announced that there will be a review of statutory bodies and on the instruction of Cabinet, line ministers have been meeting with their respective Boards to inform them of the new direction and Government’s expectations.

Statutory bodies rely on subventions and concessions and they do not pay any dividends to Government, even if the operation realises a profit from its operations. (LS)