| Budget enacted without forum review | | Print | |
| Written by Richard Green/richard@fptci.com | |||
| Thursday, 07 April 2011 11:57 | |||
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The new budget for the Turks and Caicos Islands interim government will take effect without a new 10-percent tax on electricity and without a public review in the Consultative Forum. The forum was scheduled to hear the budget April 5, but Chairwoman Lillian Missick canceled the meeting, saying several members were not attending and there would not be a quorum. Six members — Dr. Linda Williams, Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Karen Delancy, Ethlyn Gibbs-Williams, Drexwell Seymour and Pastor Courtney Missick — said they did not have enough time to properly consider the budget and had asked for a week’s postponement. They denied boycotting the budget meeting or trying to stop it, believing that enough members would have been present for a quorum without their attendance. His Excellency the Gov. Gordon Wetherell said the budget would have to go into force without the forum’s review. The budget contains a mix of new revenue sources and spending cuts that have been mentioned in public consultations and government statements over the last few weeks. “We have no alternative other than to balance (the government’s) budget by raising revenues and cutting spending; like any household or business, the public sector cannot continue to live beyond its means,” Permanent Secretary of Finance Delton Jones said in a statement April 5. The most decried new revenue — a 10-percent tax on electricity — was abandoned. New revenue sources include:
The biggest budget savings will come with a 10-percent reduction in spending on the government employees, which cost $70 million in 2010-11. That was down from $88 million in 2008-09 because of controls on recruitment and a 10-percent pay cut imposed in May 2010. “This will mean staffing changes, and some staff may need to move between ministries and departments to ensure that essential posts are filled,” according to Jones. “Some jobs will have to go, in line with the widely-accepted target to reduce the cost of the public service, but we will work to find alternative employment opportunities for staff, and we will provide assistance for the people affected by these changes.” Among the changes in public service pay and pensions are:
Despite the reductions in spending, more than $7 million will be available for essential capital spending, the government said. Click here to see a budget summary. Click here to see the full budget document. Click here to see a guide to the budget.
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