Finance Minister spends $1.5B in two

months

In the last two months of 2013, the Finance Minister tapped into the Contingencies Fund and caused just about $1.5B to be spent.
He has now come to the National Assembly to seek approval for the monies to be replenished.
Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh on Thursday last tabled Financial Papers Four and Five of 2013 detailing the expenditure.
According to the details of one of the Supplementary requests to the 2013 Budget, between November 6, last year and December 31, $121.9 was transferred to the Ministry of Public Works and the expenditure was incurred in relation to providing additional support to Transport and Harbours Department.

Finance Minister,
Dr. Ashni Singh

That department had initially been allocated $300M in the budget.
The Ministry of Education said that it used $13.5M to clean several schools after the heavy downpours of rain while another $19M was spent on additional security.
Initially the Ministry was provided with $271M for its security expenditure.
The Ministry of Home Affairs was also a beneficiary of monies allocated over the two month period.
The Financial Paper details that $69M was used in relation to increased travelling by ranks to conduct investigations, especially in interior locations.
The Ministry was initially given $616.5M for local travel and subsistence.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) was also the recipient of $100M.
According to the Financial Paper, the expenditure was “incurred in relation to Joint Services Operations.”
The money was provided under the line item, “dietary” for which it had already received more than $747M.
The GDF also received $50M under the line item for equipment maintenance and according to the description provided, “Expenditure incurred in relation to Joint Services Operations.”
It had initially been allocated $320M for the force’s equipment maintenance.
The GDF also spent an additional $51M, monies which it received under the line item, “Other Transport, Travel and Postage.”
The explanation for this expenditure was also said to be in relation to Joint Services Operations.
It also received a further $36M for its Vehicle Spares and Services.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Crops and Livestock Support Services also received under its Agriculture Export Diversification Project, $257.5M
The Ministry’s explanation of how the money was spent is, “Provision for additional inflows specific to drainage and irrigation works including control structures, gates, culverts, bridges, pump station and rehabilitation of channels and consultancy services.”
The Ministry of Housing and Water under its Low Income Settlement Programme, received an additional $97.6M.
“Provision for additional inflows specific to upgrading of roads, construction of core homes and supply of materials and labour for the construction of houses under the hinterland pilot component” was its explanation.
The Justice Improvement Programme of the Ministry of Legal Affairs also received more money.
The Ministry said that $57.5M was used as a “Provision for additional inflows specific to the purchase of furniture and equipment to enhance the institutional capacity of the Court of Appeal, Commercial Court, Director of Public Prosecutions Chambers, Ministry of Legal Affairs; establishment of Law Revision Department; rehabilitation of courtrooms; purchase of transformer and administrative expenses.
When Finance Minister Dr. Singh tabled the Financial Papers he had asked the Speaker, Raphael Trotman, to name its next sitting as the day when they will be debated and voted on.
The Members of the National Assembly will meet on Thursday coming for a Private Members sitting.
This means that the Opposition’s business in the House will take precedence over the Financial Papers.
Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, has for a number of years decried the abuse of the Contingencies Fund.
While the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act provides for the Finance Minister to take out money from the Contingencies Fund, the reasons must be urgent, unforeseen and emergency in nature.
It is for these reasons that the political opposition have been voting down a number of requests by the Finance Minister in recent times.
Their justification is that the monies spent did not meet the criteria.