Budget not yet passed; Process still in Standing Finance Committee
They reported to have been owed for months for work done last year, however, as recent as last week many were told they have to wait until the passage of the 2016 Budget.
A day after the February 8, 2016 National Budget Address was presented by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr The Honourable D. Orlando Smith, the House of Assembly went into committee stage.
At this point the Parliamentary Standing Finance Committee (SFC), which is a committee of the whole House, will examine the Appropriation Bill.
This is done by calling all Department Heads, Permanent Secretaries and Statutory Bodies to testify before the SFC to defend the monies requested and how the last Budget was spent.
In an invited comment to our newsroom, former Permanent Secretary Julian Willock, who served in the Ministry of Communications and Works, the Ministry which usually takes up most of the government’s money via Capital Works, said “in my days it was a gruelling process as Legislators, mainly the Opposition, see it as a time to grill civil servants and seek accountability, especially when there are situations whereby a Department or Ministry is asking for more money but have not spent that which they were given in the previous Budget year.”
The process, Mr Willock said, “could be intimidating for new officers, but it's necessary to keep everyone in line, as the role of the House Committee and the Accounting Officers is vital in our young democracy.”
Currently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour is before the SFC. It is not clear when the process will end and when Legislators will debate and pass the 2016 Budget Bill, which must be done before April 1, 2016.
In January of this year, the Dr Smith Government passed a provisional spending measure to keep the government running until the passage of the Budget.
Earlier this month, Minister of Finance Dr Smith presented a $331 Million USD Budget that included higher taxes on the poor, higher work permit fees, and higher rates for many of Government's services, including water. The 2016 Budget also called for millions in new Capital Works. The Opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP) has described it as “a tax and spend” Budget.
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33 Responses to “Budget not yet passed; Process still in Standing Finance Committee”
Did you notice that they both have staying power?
So whether it is the NDP or the VIP or any other party the COUNTRY must get value for its money.
We must petition the FCO to audit the cruise pier project. Someone must be held accountable for such an extravagant overrun and whether it be mismanagement or corruption the people must know. Someone must get fired or in the latter case brought before the courts. We must cease and desist from business as usual as again we the majority of the people are the ones who suffer. Lord help us if they proceed with this airport expansion.