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Permanent Secretary in the Attorney General’s Office, Antoinette Williams (FP)

Twenty-seven senior public administrators are now better equipped to effectively use Public-Private Partnership (PPP) strategies to improve service delivery, attract investment, develop infrastructure, reduce costs and increase accountability in the public sector.

This, after taking part in a two-day course offered by the Training Administration Division (TAD), in conjunction with the Commonwealth Secretariat.?? It was held recently at the Accra Beach Hotel and Spa, Rockley, Christ Church.

Senior Training Officer at TAD, Fay-Marie Browne, outlined that PPP mechanisms (a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies) are being utilised by governments worldwide.?? She explained that as part of the department’s responsibility to be proactive, senior officers are being equipped with the necessary skills to effectively use these strategies and techniques.

"PPPs can be employed both in times of economic uncertainty and in periods of prosperity and is already being used in the public service of Barbados.?? The two-day programme targeted senior public sector officers at the level of Permanent Secretary, Deputy Permanent Secretary, heads of department, finance officers and senior administrative officers, who are required to facilitate PPP projects and prepare the necessary paperwork. Another course for project managers and technical officers will be held at a later date," she said.??

The training exposed participants to concepts including the elements of a PPP, risk identification and mitigation, processes and contract monitoring, methods to select the right private sector partners, key issues for the public sector in undertaking a PPP and the financing of PPPs.??

Permanent Secretary in the Attorney General’s Office, Antoinette Williams, who attended the course, described it as "relevant" and "enlightening".?? "What was most useful was that it made us more aware of the type of projects that are best suited to PPP, that is, projects that could raise revenue for the Government.?? I would urge other senior managers to become better informed on PPPs as they are being used as
another option to the standard model of public financing," Ms. Williams noted.

The Commonwealth Secretariat provided the funding and facilitation services for the course.?? It was conducted by Adviser (PPP) Governance and Institutional Development Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Hee Kong Yong, and Attorney-at-Law, Geoff Haley.

lbayley@barbados.gov.bb

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