G.O.B. tightens up on expenditures
During this week’s Cabinet meeting, that executive body has finalized financial plans to fill a multi-million dollar gap created as a result of negotiations with Belize’s labour movement in February of this year. On Wednesday, officials told the media that the salary increases, a roll back in the environmental tax, and more money for the University of Belize left a twenty million dollar hole in this year’s budget.
The breakdown is as follows: The five and eight percent salary increases for public officers equal ten million, eight hundred and eighty-two thousand, eight hundred and sixty-two dollars;
Additions to pension salaries will account for some one million, nine hundred and eleven thousand, three hundred and eighteen dollars;
A one percent reduction in the environmental tax deprives G.O.B. of an estimated seven million, one hundred and twelve thousand;
And an extra five hundred thousand for the University of Belize all equal twenty million, one hundred and ninety-six thousand, one hundred and eighty dollars. According to Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Jose Coye, government has decided on several belt-tightening measures to close the deficit.
Jose Coye, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance
?What we are looking at now is just on the expenditure side, and we have decided that we will be able to make some adjustments on the recurrent budget in areas that will not impact too much on the public services, but areas we believe indeed we can cut back in cost containment. And those will be in the travel and subsistence areas, in some operational cost areas, materials and supplies, and this will be limited to ten percent. So from that we expect to get about five million that will provide about twenty-five percent of the deficit, and the rest will come from the capital two and capital three. And what we?ll be doing there is more to delay or postpone any new public initiatives in terms of roads and other infrastructure.?
?It?s not that we are reducing services, but we?ll be able to bring the services in a more efficient and effective and economic way because of the internal controls. What we did recently in the audit and finance act, what will flow from that in terms of the financial orders and store orders is to reintroduce those internal controls. And we are confident we will be able to reduce operating costs, not the reduction of services but to reduce the cost of those services.?
According to this week’s Cabinet release, reductions in capital two expenditures, cutting across a number of ministries, will result in savings of six point three million dollars, while reduction in capital three expenditures will result in savings of eight point five million dollars.
In related news, Cabinet has also appointed a four-man team to continue negotiations with the National Trade Union Congress of Belize; it includes ministers Francis Fonseca, Godfrey Smith, and Jose Coye, with Deputy Prime Minister Johnny Briceño as chair.
