Parliament rubber stamps UPM’s $51.8M extra spending

(CNS): Parliament has given the OK for the government to add $51.8 million in extra spending to this year’s budget. On Friday, Finance Committee went through the long list of new expenditures, including $35.4 million in operating expenses and $16.4 million in capital expenditures.

Core Government is now expecting to collect $1.098 billion in revenue, which is $3 million more than originally budgeted. Core expenses are now forecast at $1.081 billion, which is $31 million more than the $1.05 billion original budget for this year. This has cut the anticipated surplus from $44.5 million to just $16.5 million.

Government is forecasted to borrow $27 million this year, though Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson said that might not be needed. However, the government will need to use the money it is borrowing in 2025 as planned, given the anticipated capital spending for 2025.

During the Finance Committee hearing, Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who chairs the committee in her role as minister of finance, said the additional appropriations would not place Cayman in jeopardy of breaching its own financial rules. She said the country would maintain compliance with all six of the Principles of Responsible Financial Management as at 31 December with the Cash Reserves Days estimated at 96.94 days.

The biggest appropriation for the extra spending for this year was, as expected, $13.2 million for the provision of tertiary healthcare for indigents, seamen and veterans who are referred for treatment overseas or local private hospitals. Another $3.2 million was appropriated for primary healthcare for those in need.

An additional $$4.6 million was also voted for the social development ministry to fund assistance payments for temporary and long-term indigents. Policy changes to the provision of accommodation, food and utilities as well as new services for rental deposits, internet, transportation and food have increased the overall social welfare tab for this year so recipients could meet their basic needs, as well as to reduce barriers for those who are able to work.

That ministry was also given an additional $2.2 million for payments to recipients of Seafarers and Veterans Ex-Gratia Benefits due to the fluctuating numbers of seafarers and veterans accessing this grant and additional funds provided to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Beryl.

Government also voted another $4.4 million for the ministry responsible for infrastructure to look at the controversial proposal for the public purse to fund a third submarine cable. In July, Minister Jay Ebanks said that a private sector company had offered to build it and Cabinet was exploring that option.

However, after originally budgetting just $1.5 million for this project, the ministry is now set to spend almost $6 million on finding a private sector partner to work on the cable, according to the project manager, Ranulf Scarbrough, who said the money is to initiate the process but did not mention the previous offer.

MPs voted an additional $4 million for the roads budget, which was said to be for the cost of the environmental impact assessment for the East-West Arterial. National Roads Authority Director Edward Howard said the EIA was nearing completion and the environmental statement was being written.

The EIA will include the additional research by the scientists after government selected a route, which will have significant implications for the Central Mangrove Wetlands. It is scheduled to go through public consultation in January.

An additional $3.5 million was requested by and granted to the sustainability ministry to cover costs incurred this year in relation to the anticipation that the Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) project would proceed. That money was originally expected to be part of the overall costs to government, so had not ben budgetted for this year.

Given the cancellation of the project, in which the CIG was partnering with Dart, the money had to be found in this budget. The minister did not offer any updates relating to this critical project or how the government plans to deal with the growing landfill problem, especially now that a significant part of the George town dump has been capped and remediated to Dart’s benefit.

This has left the Department of Environmental Health with a significantly reduced space to continue landfilling while having no plan in the works to deal with the growing amount of rubbish being produced.

See the Finance Committee proceedings on CIGTV and the supplementary appropriations bill below: