Cabinet to Go Into Retreat on February 20

Members of the Cabinet will go into a three-day retreat, commencing February 20, to explore and discuss measures to counter the current economic challenges facing the country, among other things.
Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Dwight Nelson, made the disclosure at Wednesday’s (Feb.11) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.
The retreat, he explained, would culminate a number of “pre-retreat” meetings, which Cabinet has been engaged in over recent weeks, primarily aimed at examining the “financial variables”.
He explained that the meetings included an examination of each Ministry, to determine how the objectives of each could be addressed, in light of the current constraints. “So, when we go into retreat… we will zero in on absolutes,” the Minister stated.
On another matter, Senator Nelson disclosed that the Ministry will, on February 18, meet with representatives of trade unions representing civil servants covered under the 2008/10 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to discuss strategies to enhance public sector efficiency.
“The direction that the Government is leaning towards is (one) that produces greater efficiencies. (and) ensures that the public sector, in providing service, enhances the objectives of. creating greater developments and improvements in the economy,” he outlined.