Works and Infrastructure Minister Jearlean John has defended a $69.3 million allocation for workers recruited through the National Recruitment Drive, saying the funding covers both wages and materials for maintenance work.
The 2027 provision rises by $20.8 million from the revised 2026 estimate of $48.5 million, an increase of approximately 43 per cent.
Speaking during the Standing Finance Committee’s examination of Budget 2027 yesterday, John said the ministry hoped to employ approximately 1,800 workers under the initiative.
However, she reported that 1,144 people were working during the most recent fortnight, citing attrition and breaks in service every six months.
The workers include labourers, checkers and supervisors, described in the collective agreement as “gangers.”
John said their duties included cutting vegetation, clearing drains, collecting garbage and cleaning road verges and highways.
“The reason the country is looking halfway clean now, it’s because of these folks on the National Recruitment Drive,” she said.
Opposition MPs questioned whether the allocation represented value for money, comparing the proposed expenditure and workforce with the Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP).
John rejected the comparison, arguing that the recruited workers received higher wages.
“These people work very hard,” she said.
“But this is not only for salaries. This is salaries and materials.”
Asked whether the budget entry covered workers across Government, John clarified that this particular allocation related to her ministry.
She explained, however, that the recruitment drive had created a database which other ministries and private employers could also use.
“This National Recruitment Drive really refers to a database of people,” she said.
John also defended the recruitment process, saying it had been widely advertised through radio, television, the internet, social media and word of mouth.
