Valley: Ministries not facing $$ problem

Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ken Valley yesterday denied that Government ministries were being starved of October funds or that public servants would be paid late because of the late presentation of the Budget. Although the financial year ended on September 30, the Budget will be presented tomorrow. It has to be debated in both Houses of Parliament before it can be approved. Sources had told Newsday there had been no releases from the Ministry of Finance for October and that many  ministries were scrambling for funds. However, Valley said yesterday that according to the Constitution all ministries were entitled to one-twelfth of the allocation from the previous budget, in the first month of the new financial year. Therefore, when the fiscal year ended in September, ministries were entitled to receive this allocation.

“So there is no issue,” he assured, confirming that public servants would receive their salaries as is the custom, at the end of the month. As the country awaits the Budget, however, parliamentarians in both the House of Representatives and the Senate should  prepare themselves for some late nights over the next two weeks. The Government, for the third time, has presented an October Budget, giving the Parliament little time to debate and approve the expenditure package for the next fiscal year. The Budget will be presented tomorrow, but the debate cannot begin in the House of Representatives until next Wednesday because there is a requirement that the Opposition Leader be given a certain number of days to prepare his reply.

Debate is expected to be concluded on Saturday October 16, in the Lower House, with all 36 elected MPs speaking within the four-day period. Debate in the Senate is due to start the following Monday (October 18) and end on Thursday. This Government has presented all of its budgets after the end of the financial year. The 2002 Budget was presented on October 21, the 2003 Budget on October 6, and the 2004 Budget on October 8. Prime Minister Patrick Manning cited the reasons for the late presentation this year, as his need to travel to Cuba for pace-maker insertion surgery and laser surgery and his international commitments which led to his trip to the UN in mid-September. In 2002, Government blamed the fact that there was an election and it had just been returned to office, as the cause of the late presentation.