Wage Bill for Non-Established Staff up to $25 Million
Tracy Panton
During her presentation, Panton also spoke about the allocation of wages and allowances for non-established staff in the public sector. Now, it is no secret that the wage bill is one of the biggest expenditures for the government. But according to Panton, her research shows that the wage bill for these non-established staff has increased by over twenty-three million. Here’s how she explains it.
Tracy Panton, Area Rep., Albert
“I did a three-year average to determine what was the average wage bill for non-established staff over a three-year period. And then I looked at what is being budgeted for this year. I won’t go through all twenty-one even though I think Belizeans ought to hear but let me give you an example. In immigration and nationality, in 2020/2021, the budget for non-established staff was seven thousand nine hundred and thirty dollars. In 2021/2022, it went up to eighteen thousand four hundred and forty-six dollars. In 2022/2023, it went to fifty-six thousand five hundred and eighty-seven dollars. The average over the three-year period stands at twenty-seven thousand six hundred and forty-nine dollars. But in this financial year, the budget for wages for non-established staff is now at eight hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars. The excess is a sum of eight hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars. For all twenty-one units that I analyzed, the three-year average cumulatively was one million five hundred and fifty-two thousand and seven hundred and forty dollars. In 2022/2023, I want the Belizean people to hear this carefully, the cumulative average for this year for these twenty-one units along for wages for non-establish staff now sits at twenty-five million, a hundred and sixty thousand and thirty-one dollars, in excess of twenty-three million six hundred and seven thousand two hundred and ninety-one dollars. Madam Speaker it is not that we do not have the resources to assist with social safety net programs, it is how the monies are being allocated.”
In the case of allowances for non-established staff, Panton says that the figure now sits at fifteen million four hundred and eighty-six thousand two hundred and seventy-two dollars.
