Finance Minister fails to account for $8,000 million in five years

The budgetary allocations for Revision of Wages and Salaries for public servants is now being regarded as a slush fund given that over the past five years there is more than $8B unaccounted for.

Finance Minister Ashni Singh

Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, has said that it is most troubled by the Ministry of Finance’s explanations. According to Ramjattan the amount budgeted for Revised Wages and Salaries for 2013 represents an almost 15 per cent increase for public servants and not the five per cent that is being touted by Government. According to Ramjattan, “This is deception being perpetrated by the Ministry and is wholly wrong this does not accord with the norms of the budgetary process at all.” He said that according to the party’s calculations at this stage it is proving that for the past several years there has been a huge difference between what was allocated for revised wages and salaries and what was actually paid out.” “A substantial amount is definitely not accounted for,” said Ramjattan. He said that in 2012, the amount paid out was in excess of some $2.2B and for 2011 that amount is $2.7B. According to Ramjattan, this year the House approved a sum of $4.4B. He said that with only a five per cent increase being given, when computed against the total Wages and Salaries this would only amount to half of this $4.4B. According to Ramjattan, “The question must be asked: Where did the other half go? Where is this sum of money? I hope that it was not used as a slush fund to execute on projects which were not supported by the National Assembly. “That would be criminal as per section 85 of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act of 2003.” Ramjattan was quick to point out that “this amount of money is wholly controlled by the Ministry of Finance.” He was speaking to the amount being voted each year for the revision of Wages and Salaries. Ramjattan said that to top things off is the fact that the Ministry is not one that credits itself with a high level of neither reputation nor esteem these past years. Ramjattan said that the AFC will certainly be asking questions in Parliament “now that our confidence has waned so terribly as a result of this development…We are now appreciating why the President does not want to assent that amendment to the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act namely section 85 which expands “official” to mean the Minister.” Under this amendment the Opposition is looking to expand the category of government officials that can be held accountable for the misuse of public funds. “He (Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh) is the one who ought to be made culpable for any delinquencies on this score, rather than the other officials there.