‘No Money No Deh’ for Fees nor Vehicles, Laments Education Minister

While with the Deputy Prime Minister today, he was asked about a report that his ministry will be spending two point one-three million dollars on school fees for selected persons identified by U.D.P. campaigners. Faber refuted the claim, stating that the coffers are dry, but confirmed that there is money that hasn’t been spent in the ministry’s budget.

Patrick Faber

Patrick Faber, Deputy Prime Minister

“That’s absolutely false. As is the case in any financial year, when we are winding down the financial year, the ministry goes through an exercise to see where funds have not been spent and we try to channel those funds to areas that we feel are important. We have recognized that there is the potential for that kind of savings given the line items. But as you know, even if you can find it in the budget where it is, if you don’t have it in the government coffers, you can’t spend it. So whoever is saying that we are going to spend two point two—two point one three—million; that’s absolutely not the case. In fact, what we were trying to do with the moneys that we could have found—even though we realize fully that the money is not in bank; in fact the FinSec has said that, is to buy some vehicles, some very needed vehicles for the Ministry of Education. The last fleet of vehicles that our district centers got was in 2008 or 2009, thereabouts. And so we were told by the Ministry of Finance that those moneys are not there, so we simply can’t spend it.”