Increased Cost of Living Continues to Affect Recurrent Expenditure

Dean Barrow

Government’s wage bill continues to be the single largest budget item as far as its recurrent expenditure, surpassing the cost of goods and services by as much as one hundred and ninety million dollars.  Of the total that is being earmarked for interest payment on existing debts, government has set aside one hundred and fifteen million dollars.  According to PM Barrow, the increase in recurrent expenditure is owing to an overall increase in the cost of living.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“The Draft Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure is proposing a total of one point zero seven seven million dollars in recurrent expenditure up by forty-eight point six million dollars over the projected outturn of one point two eight million dollars for FY 2018//2019. Of this proposed amount, some four hundred and forty point six million is for Personal Emoluments, ninety-seven point one million dollars for Pensions, two hundred and fifty point two million dollars for Goods and Services, one hundred and seventy-four million for Subsidies and Current Transfers, and one hundred and fifteen point one million dollars for Interest Payments on the Debt. The rise in Current Expenditure is driven largely by increases in personal emoluments as provisions have to be made for annual merit awards across the public service. Another driver of the recurrent expenditure is the higher outlays for goods and services including utility costs, rents and fuel; and a rise in interest payments reflecting the increase in interest rates for both external and domestic obligations. Madam Speaker, my Government is proposing to allocate some one hundred and seventy-nine point two million to its capital program in the upcoming fiscal year, made up of some seventy-four point eight million in locally funded Capital II expenditure and some ninety-six point one million dollars in the externally funded Capital III expenditure.”