PM gets Authorization to amend Finance Act and to Borrow US$3 Million from IDA
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Contact: Adhara King
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 – Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Honourable Stephenson King received Parliament approval Tuesday to borrow US Three Million Dollars from the International Development Association (IDA), for the purpose of financing additional works of the second Disaster Management Project.
The amount, equivalent to One Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Special Drawing Rights from the IDA, will help the country continue mitigation works to protect against flooding and the impacts of tropical storms and hurricanes.
“The initial amounts which were requested include $3.7 Million from the IRBT, The International Bank for the Reconstruction and Development; $3.8 million from the International Development Association and Government contributed an amount of US$1.43 million to the total project. We are asking now for an additional US$3 million from the International Development Association and the Government will now contribute and additional US$0.96 million to make a total of US$12.89 million for the total project,” said the prime minister.
Prime Minister King said some of the works will involve the important re-instatement of infrastructure within the communities to allow for a free flow of water, when it rains heavily. Flood mitigation projects executed in the City of Castries and in Anse-La-Raye were the last projects done under the Disaster Management Project.
Prime Minister King, at Tuesday’s sitting, also proposed legislation aimed at managing national funding acquired outside of the yearly appropriations bill or budget. The proposed legislation will amend The Finance Administration Act.
“This amendment, which is being proposed to the existing Finance Administration Act, is intended to introduce what previously was used as an instrument of accounting to give authority for the payment of expenditure out of the consolidated fund in anticipation of approval of a supplementary appropriation act,” he told the House.
In the amendment, the provision of a special warrant will allow the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to make use of funds that may be leftover after the completion of the project, for which the money was primarily obtained.
Additionally, special warrants will serve as an accountability mechanism for funds that are not included within the budget.
“The special warrant is going to authorize expenditure related to the grant or loan revenues received during a financial year, for which no provisions were made in the annual estimates approved by the House of Assembly. In the case of loans, this provision will not prejudice the need for the minister for finance to seek the prior approval of parliament to borrow as required under the finance act. In other words, this will not prevent the prime minister or the minister for finance from coming to the Parliament,” he said.
The Prime Minister was clear in saying that the provisions under the amendment assure that government abides by specific procedural guidelines, governing how grant and loan funding are to be spent. A special select committee comprising three members from each side of the house has been nominated to review the amendment before it is finally adopted. |
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