All MPs back Cayman’s biggest ever budget
(CNS): All 17 MPs, both government and opposition, who were present in parliament on Friday and able to vote backed the near CI$3 billion budget for the next two years. The UPM Government is expecting to collect around CI$1.46 billion across the Entire Public Sector next year and has plans to spend more than CI$1.41 billion, leaving a projected surplus of just about $42 million. In 2025, revenue is projected to increase to over $1.5 billion, with expenses reaching more than CI$1.46 billion and a surplus of around $52 million.
While the surpluses sound healthy and the entire spending plan on paper aligns with the rules relating to the Public Management and Finance Law as well as the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility, this year ministers steered through almost CI$100 million additional spending on the original 2023 budget plan.
The addiction to additional appropriations each year has not been confined to the last government, as many administrations have run over budget. But the dangers of a potential deficit over the next two years for this record bumper budget are clear, given the number of capital projects the government is planning and the ever-growing demands of operational expenses.
At this stage, the government is not expecting 2023 to end in deficit, given the higher-than-expected revenue it has collected over the year, but the year is not over yet and December is usually the government’s highest spending month. Last year, operating expenses in December were 90% higher than the spending in every previous month that year. If 2023 goes into deficit or the surplus is considerably lower than the $22 million expected, the next two years will also be impacted.
CNS has also learned that several ministries whose spending plans had been settled before former premier Wayne Panton was ousted from office were increased during the two weeks after the new premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, was sworn in and brought the budget to parliament. Panton was not there to comment on the budget as he was absent while recovering from broken ribs.
The record-breaking budget covers spending on major projects, including a multi-million dollar high school on Cayman Brac and roadworks that will cost over $100 million. There is also money set aside to kick-start various new projects, such as the upgrade to the General Aviation Terminal at Owen Roberts International Airport, a proposal for the cargo port redevelopment and a new submarine communications cable.
Over the two years, the government will spend more than $1 billion alone on salaries and benefits for civil servants.
While welfare spending is often singled out as a major strain on the budget, direct payments to those in need, such as single-parent families, the elderly, disabled and veterans, will total around CI$26 million next year. But the same ministry will also spend more than $27 million on IT and business services for the commercial sector.
The budget for the police in 2024 is almost $60 million, and the taxpayer will also be footing the bill of more than CI$5.5 million for ministers’ and MPs’ salaries, benefits and constituency allowances. Over CI$18.6 million has been allocated to cover the tertiary medical bills at both local and overseas non-government healthcare facilities for under- or uninsured local people.
See the full Plan and Estimates in the CNS Library detailing what each minister and government entity will spend over the next two years and the money it expects to earn over the same time.
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Category: Government Finance, Politics
I listened to much of the Budget Debate. Shameful from the getgo.
Speaker rushing them all to approve a 3$BILLION Budget.
Then the QnA which showed woeful ignorance and dodging by Politicians and Civil Servants alike.
All services are overpriced and under performing.
Staff are wagging the even dumber Politicians.
Obvious from the questions that they have no clue or intention on little things like cost savings or efficiencies.
Cayman is far gone now!
tax, spend, borrow…..zzzzzz
economic holocaust soon come.
What’s this Compass says this morning about the govt raiding the Environmental Fund to fund their budget?!!!!!!!
This bunch is set to spend spend spend everything they can pay their grubby hands on!
First they gutted the pension fund for new housing and now they are gutting the Environmental Fund.
We are not the brightest people and we are so short sighted.
They gonna rebuild the crumbling condemn jail? Or was that just a joke?
Or build another school?
The $100Million cost being promoted by the consultant who has millions to gain, was the real joke.
The school is the better choice for the benefit of generations to come, rather than a resort at Northward to make imported criminals feel more comfortable.
Well, that’s it then. We had a good run, and a decade or so where small construction carried the economy along with tourism.
That’s all over. Now construction is geared toward mega-projects and dozens of workers per site, which means that the average Caymanian gets shafted. Again. Still.
Unless you were lucky enough to grab the golden ring of Government employment: (and no judgement against them for doing the best they could for themselves):
Health care costs up and up
Food, fuel and supplies up and up
Wages same, same
Home and car insurance up and up
Utilities through the roof
I don’t see how the average Caymanian (that isn’t part of government) is going to be able to survive, to be able to raise a family and hope to be able to “retire” and not be in abject poverty.
I have given and given and worked and worked and done good for others and I am at the end of my rope. I cannot work as I once did, and I have little to support me. Will the NAU at least pay my bills and give me a food stipend? I guess I hope for that, although it sickens me that my government doesn’t care to address the needs of my family and the hundreds of others like mine.
This used to be a nice place to live. Nowhere to go but up, I guess, when you’re on the bottom. Merry Christmas everybody.
3 billion dollars for monuments to self.That’s really @#$%up yo!
Why isn’t old Roy speaking out about this? He sure has shut up his mouth since they got rid of MP Panton
ppm are as bad in opposition as they were in power
Roy never had anything good to say about Panton and now that it is spend, spend, spend, he says absolutely nothing.
He has achieved nothing.
That’s because there’s now nobody left , except Andre, who has enough education to understand what he says.
If you get rid of this lot, then you’re left with Roy and Alden … who both want a new berthing facility.
But so does Kenny – so no difference really. Only people who dont want the berthing facility are the general public, but we dont count when it comes to the pols and their funders.
A lot of this lots friends and businesses about to become rich.
Monopoly money that will turn Cayman into a debt ridden third world jurisdiction and impoverish and enslave our youth.Our political scum is going sink this little place down no matter what so they can fill their bloated egos and stomachs.
3 billion for who Cayman? The budget of Small state or country Absolutely ridiculous paying for our own extinction ! Big Payday for them and absolutely no benefit to the minority of Caymanians let here now.
You can see why they never liked Panton as leader, he had an iron grip on the pocket book. Now Loosey Ju magical schoolbus going spend every penny that we potentially don’t have, because the future is not promised to no one.
“2023 $22m surplus expected.” With under 2 weeks to go, surely thats going to be accurate? No its not you wait and see these Ministers gonna spend spend.
It’s like they playing a big game of Pokemon Go with our money.
#gottaspenditall
People this is not good.
Why should I even listen to this old man?
Praying the voting public will have enough sense to vote them all out starting with Juju!!
Problem is there is no one to vote for as the political talent pool is a disaster here.
we pray for a viable alternative. Look how many votes Elvis — ELVIS!!! — got. Doesn’t that tell you where the voters of CBE are at?
Can you imagine Elvis in Legislative Assembly? Would he be barefooted? Would he somehow find an “inside voice”? But still, he narrowed the vote by less than 100 votes.
Give us a viable alternative (no disrespect intended to Mr. Elvis).
Worst part is, Elvis was the best of the two options.
Yes, he was. That was my point.
This headline is misleading. Do the math. Even with MP Wayne Panton absent, the opposition does not have the numbers to vote anything down. The opposition can make lots of noise, ask lots of questions about the wild spending on all of pet projects each of this new ‘repackaged PACT’ members will get, but at the end of the day, its 6 vs 11 vote in the House – so the opposition can’t vote anything down. It sickened me to listen to the likes of Dwayne Seymour, when he was asked about why he was giving himself $200K in transfer payments – he couldn’t even answer the Oppositions questions about justification for it other than ‘ duh that is for community cultural projects – like teaching people to make rope and stuff’. I urge everyone to look at 1) what this bunch of rookies have accomplished and 2) the money they have spent. The CIG line of credit for $300Million is almost gone and now there is more new borrowing for another $150Million to fund all of their vote- buying constituencies escapades. #EarlyElection #NoMoreIndependents
Did Seymour really say that about “rope and stuff”? In Little Kingston Bodden Town? Lawd me God.
Teaching people whose hand it is that feeds them more like.
Was a division called or no “nays” issued? One could consider the Opposition abstained in the latter case, rather than voting “aye.” Genuinely curious if unanimous (present) approval was actually cast.
Why was the line of credit even used at all? I thought the whole point was that it would be an emergency resource. We aren’t in crisis as far as I know, just overextending ourselves.
And as far as no more independents is concerned – show me a political party that isn’t bought and paid for and full of plutocrats whose only value is money and I’ll vote for them. I am not voting for the Progressives just because they’re a party. They are WAY too good at ramming their agenda through and the manifestos Alden was so proud of during the no confidence debate are part of that – once they get into power somehow, they think they are entitled to force through everything in their manifesto without opposition from within government or their own ranks, or from the public. That is not acceptable. In the modern age democracy is a ‘continuous consent’ arrangement – we don’t elect our leaders to travel somewhere far away and speak for us. We can tell our politicians what we want in-between elections too and if they hold themselves above us, if they have the temerity to do things like use public funds to wage war on the community when they should have backed down long ago, then they cannot be in office.
Progressives cannot be returned to office. Not this group, this group that sees Cayman plc and thinks the businesses of its friends and family members are subsidiaries. This government say what you want about it is about to spend money widely on everybody – and that’s at least a refreshing change from ‘nothing for the average person because of fiscal prudence, but everything for the developers and contractors and civil servants’.
Of course they would which politician ever voted against his own pocket?? When a politician wrestles with his conscience he usually wins:)
Free Cheese is only found in Rat traps but our political rats only eat after the trap is sprung by us the voting mice! Caymanians stop being the sacrificial mice vote these terrible rats out!
Well our very esteemed leaders are showing just where there hearts lie. Hope everyone renumbers when election time comes around.
Today on “vested interests vote for their own interests”.
Go figure.
Explain this for me please ? Didn’t you all run out and vote for a bunch of leaderless , no policy having, no direction following independents ? Why are you surprised ?
Well written. People are entitled to their own opinions and to vote for whomever. But did you think being elected as MPs would cause some sort of ephinany? Sorry if it ever happened it was a different generation and different acronym (MLA). Today’s world requires organisation regardless of the label you care to put on it. Like in sports, rare is a “team” successful if they didn’t practice and settle important things about their team ahead of the game!
When those same warnings were issued during the election campaigns
“PPM lackey koolaid drinker” was the response.
Next election remember.
No drug dealers
No drunks and woman beaters
No uneducated unemployables
No “independents”…in UDP clothing.
what ???