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Published: Thursday | April 16, 2009
OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on Finance Dr Omar Davies has warned that the Government might run itself into trouble by underestimating the amount it plans to spend on some items this fiscal year.
Davies, while commenting on the allocation for public cleansing and garbage disposal and street lighting, said the amounts being proposed were unrealistic.
The sum of $220 million has been budgeted as a grant to the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) for public cleansing and garbage disposal.
Government spent $700 million in this area last year, after first budgeting $220 million at the start of the fiscal year before being forced to make the adjustment in the supplementary estimates.
The grant for street lighting is also way out of line when compared to spending on this utility in the last fiscal year.
In April last year, Parliament approved the sum of $206 million to be spent on street lighting. However, the revised estimates later that year increased the allocation to $746 million. The proposed Budget for this year has the Government spending $310 million for the service.
Davies contended that the numbers were not credible and said the Government would have to revise the figures.
Pointing to data contained in the parochial revenue fund, which shows the Government projected $460 million in earnings to pay for the services, which in the end cost $1.59 billion, Davies said this year's $530 million is way out of line.
"This is not a surprise, Prime Minister. Streets have to be cleaned, JPS has to be paid. This projected $530 million to pay for garbage disposal and street lighting won't hold. I said it last year and I say it again," Davies said.
PM countered
However, Prime Minister Bruce Golding countered, saying the activities of the NSWMA and also the provision for street lights was not funded entirely from the Budget.
"Indeed, not even funded in the main from the Budget. A substantial amount of that comes from the local authorities," Golding said.
But Davies was unrelenting.
"Don't make these projections where you are going to have to go to the Ministry of Finance, because the MP won't be able to pay her workers and JPS will turn off the lights," Davies warned.
The prime minister said the Government currently owed JPS $493 million for the provision of street lights.
"The current payment on a monthly basis is slightly over $100 million," Golding said.
Funds provided by the Government for street cleaning and street lighting are to augment funds from the Parochial Revenue Fund, which is raised through property-tax collection.
OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on Finance Dr Omar Davies has warned that the Government might run itself into trouble by underestimating the amount it plans to spend on some items this fiscal year.
Davies, while commenting on the allocation for public cleansing and garbage disposal and street lighting, said the amounts being proposed were unrealistic.
The sum of $220 million has been budgeted as a grant to the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) for public cleansing and garbage disposal.
Government spent $700 million in this area last year, after first budgeting $220 million at the start of the fiscal year before being forced to make the adjustment in the supplementary estimates.
The grant for street lighting is also way out of line when compared to spending on this utility in the last fiscal year.
In April last year, Parliament approved the sum of $206 million to be spent on street lighting. However, the revised estimates later that year increased the allocation to $746 million. The proposed Budget for this year has the Government spending $310 million for the service.
Davies contended that the numbers were not credible and said the Government would have to revise the figures.
Pointing to data contained in the parochial revenue fund, which shows the Government projected $460 million in earnings to pay for the services, which in the end cost $1.59 billion, Davies said this year's $530 million is way out of line.
"This is not a surprise, Prime Minister. Streets have to be cleaned, JPS has to be paid. This projected $530 million to pay for garbage disposal and street lighting won't hold. I said it last year and I say it again," Davies said.
PM countered
However, Prime Minister Bruce Golding countered, saying the activities of the NSWMA and also the provision for street lights was not funded entirely from the Budget.
"Indeed, not even funded in the main from the Budget. A substantial amount of that comes from the local authorities," Golding said.
But Davies was unrelenting.
"Don't make these projections where you are going to have to go to the Ministry of Finance, because the MP won't be able to pay her workers and JPS will turn off the lights," Davies warned.
The prime minister said the Government currently owed JPS $493 million for the provision of street lights.
"The current payment on a monthly basis is slightly over $100 million," Golding said.
Funds provided by the Government for street cleaning and street lighting are to augment funds from the Parochial Revenue Fund, which is raised through property-tax collection.
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