PM Explains More Appropriations for Health

John Briceño

During today’s House Sitting, Prime Minister John Briceño presented a Supplementary Appropriations Bill for over seventy million dollars. It is a hefty sum that the Government is asking for Parliament for. But after his presentation, Prime Minister Briceño explained the need for that amount at this time, particularly for the Ministry of Health.

John Briceño, Prime Minister

“When we took over the Ministry of Health it was a broken Ministry it was a broken ministry and it was a ministry that was filled by the former minister who, ironically, was an electrical technician that they put in charge of the ministry for thirteen years. So Minister Chebat had to make some tough decisions when he went in there to try to fix it. I mean we had millions of dollars that in this one year alone – of the payments that we’re doing in this recurrent (budget) over five million dollars are for payments that Pablo Marin left. We have to be paying those bills. Secondly, because of the pressures in setting up the budget, I’m trying to remember right, they needed I think about twenty million dollars for medication, especially because of COVID for the testing. I mean, we doing tens of thousands of testing – something that the UDP was not doing. We’re doing it, but I think only nine million dollars was approved. So now they have come back to Finance to say “We have to get these medicines, or else we’re going…” – the other day we were running out of testing (kits) and that is why we have these new Appropriations, especially when it comes to the Ministry of Health.”