Minister of State for Public Service and National Insurance Brensil Rolle revealed yesterday that the public service grew by 6,500 people over the last five years, and the government's payroll ballooned by $10 million in the last five months of the Christie administration's term.
Rolle, who made those revelations during his contribution to the budget debate in the House of Assembly, said Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis will have to explain those hirings to the Bahamian people.
"The public service, in salaries alone, ballooned by $10 million between December of 2016 and May of this year," Rolle said. "That's $10 million in new employment... Indeed the public service has ballooned by 6,500 new employees during the watch of the previous administration.
"So, Mr. Speaker, I say to the member for Cat Island (Davis), you will have many opportunities to talk about contracts.
"You will have many opportunities to say to us why, under your administration, Mr. Speaker, a person who was hired as a security (officer), I'm told his responsibility was to watch the police station. It's just an amazing thing."
Rolle said the established process for hiring new people, which includes proving to the Ministry of Public Service that there is sufficient money to cover salaries, was "thrown out the window" under the former government.
"Every minister hired whomever they wished, at whatever rank they wished," he continued.
"Many of whom did not even come to the public service."
The minister said when he inquired how many of the new employees were paid, he was informed that the Ministry of Finance did not know that the people existed in many cases.
"And so, Mr. Speaker, over the next few weeks, we will have to... deal with these matters," he said.
Suggesting that some people will have to be terminated, Rolle added that he doesn't want members of the opposition to call it victimization.
"While this government is truly committed to the Bahamian people, we are fully aware that there are some burdens we can't carry at the public's expense," Rolle said.
Another major issue in the public service, Rolle said, is the number of pensioners who have been re-engaged by the former government.
"We have been saddled with the engagement and re-engagement of too many pensioners with skills that are already resident in the public service," he said.
"And they are given salaries that are substantially higher than that of members in the public service.
"...This government will engage in an exercise that will somehow deal with these issues."
Just as concerning is the number of people engaged in the public service who do not have skills, Rolle said.
"This must be stopped... The [people] elected us to do better and we will."

Neglect
Adding to his list of grievances with the Christie administration, Rolle said the government also neglected to pay insurance for a vast number of public service employees.
"This government is left in the position where we must now borrow nearly $70 million just to pay the insurances of these people," Rolle said.
Ahead of the general election, the Christie administration was warned by insurance companies that the insurance benefits of public servants would be slashed, Rolle said.
He said this is one of the reasons the government now has to borrow so much money.
The government introduced two resolutions in the House's last sitting: One to borrow $400 million for expenses in the 2016/2017 fiscal year; and another to borrow $322 million for expenses in the 2017/2018 fiscal year.
The $400 million resolution has already been passed.

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