Barbadian public officers may soon be given the opportunity to observe best practices in public administration in Singapore.
Government Minister Senator Darcy Boyce made the request of Singapore???s Ambassador to the Caribbean Community, Kemal Siddique, last Monday, during a courtesy call at the Minister???s office at Government Headquarters.
Senator Boyce told the Ambassador that Barbados was interested in comparing best practices with other countries and taking away the methods which would work in the local environment and allow the Public Service to operate at optimal efficiency.
Ambassador Siddique said he would be happy to facilitate such a visit which would also give the officers the opportunity to observe the information and communication technologies (ICT) processes in his country, particularly in the area of health.
He spoke of the importance of centralised data collection systems in allowing countries to be fully prepared to deal with health challenges such as Ebola and Chikungunya.
He added that he would be holding talks with the Caribbean Regional Public Health Agency (CARPHA) about establishing ICT systems that would allow a regional response to these issues.
Senator Boyce, who is Minister with responsibility for Energy, also shared Barbados??? progress in the area of renewable energy.
He told the Ambassador that besides the widespread success of solar water heating systems, Government was embracing wind and photovoltaic technologies in its campaign to reduce the island???s dependence on fossil fuels
He pointed out that rising sea levels caused by climate change were having a negative impact on Barbados??? shoreline and Government was spending a great deal of money in order to protect the beaches.
Noting the difficulty developing countries sometimes experienced in attracting funding to deal with these issues from developed countries, Senator Boyce told Ambassador Siddique that Barbados would welcome help from ???sympathetic and friendly countries in keeping these issues alive.???
The Singaporean diplomat said he was very interested in the steps Barbados was taking in the area of renewable energy and would share the information with technocrats in his country.
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