Scrutiny on Gov’t travel

By Stacey N. Russell

All travel by Government ministers and public servants going on official business must now be approved by a new Cabinet Sub-Committee on Travel.

The seven-member sub-committee, established on October 20, 2022, follows a Cabinet decision. 

It is charged with streamlining all international travel by the administration to reduce costs; tighten up on timelines for submissions for travel approvals; discourage in-person, overseas representation as far as possible once virtual or hybrid participation in events is an option; look to reduce the overall volume of travel; and urge organisers of overseas events to pay for the travel of officials, whenever possible. 

Last month, weeks after the formation of the sub-committee, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and ministers of Government came under fire from political opponents regarding the need for business trips to England, Egypt, Rwanda, and South Africa by separate delegations. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kerrie Symmonds explained the necessity for those trips and how they were paid for at a press conference at the Grantley Adams International Airport on their return on November 15. 

The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Travel is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw, while Attorney General Dale Marshall is deputy chairman. The other members are Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott; Minister Symmonds; Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for coordinating Infrastructural Projects, Dr. William Duguid; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance or a nominee; and Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office.

A circular, dated November 9, sent from the Cabinet Office to the Head of the Public Service, Director of Finance and Economic Affairs, Permanent Secretaries and the Auditor General, stated: “The Cabinet has become increasingly concerned about the prevalence of late papers on all matters, including travel. Concern has also been expressed about the amount of travel being requested by ministries in an environment where budgetary constraints dictate that only the most essential travel takes place.

“The Prime Minister has therefore directed that Permanent Secretaries exercise control over the level of travel papers emanating from their ministries in a sustained manner and wherever possible use virtual or hybrid methods of representation for those meetings requiring funding from central government. Ministries are also encouraged to make full use of funding offered by the organisers of meetings wherever possible.” 

The new Cabinet Sub-Committee on Travel is not only tasked with approving the overseas movements of senior Government officials and public servants on Government business, but also with reviewing travel reports that officials must submit to the sub-committee within six weeks of return from their trips.

Nonetheless, the travel arrangements of senior ministers and others from the Prime Minister’s Office and related agencies will be subjected to scrutiny by the full Cabinet. 

Plus, the full Cabinet will have to consider travel arrangements where the participation of officials is in a forum that has policy, fiscal or legislative implications.

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