May 19, 2017
The Hon Premier and Minister of Finance last week announced that the annual recurrent budget, usually required to be laid before parliament by March 31, each year, is ready to be laid on June 9, 2017 for this year. The Premier made the announcement on Friday pointing out that following agreement with DFID included in the budget will be $30 million dollars that Government is committed to spend the money within this fiscal year.
It could not have been surprising that the budget was scheduled for presentation originally on March 23, 2017 considering that budget talks took place early in December 2016 and surprisingly again earlier this year.
News in late March reported the Honourable Premier and Minister of Finance and Economic Management Donaldson Romeo is expected to present his 2017/2018 budget speech on April 13, following an earlier an originally scheduled presentation to have been delivered on Thursday, March 23.
At that time the reason! “The postponement is occasioned by the change in UK Ministerial responsibility, which has caused a delay in the approval of Montserrat’s Financial Aid Business Case by the UK Minister,” the statement said.
During this time, the critics, to include the opposition made game of the situation, but as we reported acted disappointingly ignorant to the entire matter. (See Editorials of April 7 and 21, 2017.) https://www.themontserratreporter.com/category/editorial/ and https://www.themontserratreporter.com/there-really-isnt-anything-to-hide-over-budget-scrutiny/
On the postponement, there was no problem with recurrent as the Finance Minister announced funds through the Consolidated Fund allowing, “government spending to continue until passage of the Appropriation Act in April”.
The question and the discussion surrounding the budget ought to have been whether Government should have been placed or how come they were in a position, having to wait or suffer any embarrassment. Could they support such a discussion? And all the discourse and view points, are little more than gibberish, not showing any serious understanding of ‘the state of affairs’, except of course, ‘things bad’ there is no ‘economy’. But when was there one? And if there should have been one, how do you qualify that?
The utterances coming from both sides teach little, except there is a smell of forward going in the air. And what do we hear?
The Ole Dawg has been presenting some understanding of the basics in different areas required to move towards to sustained thinking and positioning. But who among the hopefuls are showing any understanding and discussing anything to lift the minds and thinking of those they hope to hoodwink, not long from now.
The budget approval came even after UK parliamentarians had no more power. Ministers are just caretakers. They will not get away with what we do here in Montserrat. But the point anyway is that, the delays could not have anything to do with DFID being under scrutiny. It is not Ministers who work the ‘sums’ and ‘work the methods’ of budget of approval. That’s putting it simple.
Capital aid and other types of aid, but budgetary could be a problem. One only has to think of the budgets of 2012-14 and a little bit of research will satisfy. This idea that DFID is being scrutinized and thus forcing them to do what they ought to have been doing, makes them very culpable for the weaknesses that have multiplied, with the answers and solutions really quite simple.
However, if the good smell is to materialise, and the words being used by the new CEA and PMO head are not resented as they already have, but rather appreciated and understood, with a public service from head to toe, ready to step out of the poor culture that has gone now much too far, and too long, indeed there are bright times ahead. Then the worry about being completely overrun by strangers will disappear and it then won’t be long for scales too fall and heads lifted out of the sand.
