The Montserrat Legislative Assembly has sanctioned an additional government spend of EC$27.1 million for this financial year.
The Supplementary Appropriation (2024) Bill was passed into law on 25 June with all members voting unanimously in favour of it.
On presenting the bill, Premier Joseph E Farrell, who is also finance minister, explained the law will allow the government to to take money from the consolidated and development funds.
A total of $27,140,200 in extra funding is detailed in the bill, made up of $25,434,600 for capital expenditures and $1,705,600 for recurrent expenditures.
Vital projects
Of the capital expenditures, $24,160,000 will go to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management for critical and safety equipment for Montserrat’s utilities’ infrastructure.
This will help improve energy distribution, safeguard the island’s access to clean and safe drinking water, and reducing the amount of treated water lost, the premier said.
The ministry will use another $700,000 for the Project Management Office’s capability development project.
The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has funded both of these payments.
A third pay-out of $574,600 will go to the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment for “enabling effective biosecurity in the Caribbean”.
The UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has provided this funding which will help to enhance biosecurity legislation, and increase effective inter-agency working.
Working funding
Of the cash for recurrent expenditure, $1,000,000 will go to the Ministry of Communications, Works and Labour to fund the maintenance of roads.
The Office of the Premier will get $330,000 to run the newly created Immigration Department and Montserrat Tourism Authority.
And the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management will receive $375,600, partly to promote programmes for the new departments.
In addition, the money will pay for ongoing court expenses and the establishment of a publicly accessible register of company beneficial ownership.
The premier said all of the funds are needed to allow the government to function effectively.
‘Critical’ going forward
Rising in support of the bill, Opposition member Donaldson Romeo congratulated the government for making the argument for the funds.
“These monies are critical to Montserrat’s wellbeing going forward,” he said.
“Certainly, all of us are affected by the power outages. Most of us have had losses – I have had a huge loss myself.”
Although he supported the bill, he spoke in length about the missing elements of the budget which, he said, led to the need for additional funding.
“What we’re here doing today is fixing one wheel on a car that has been wrecked by a volcano – and the insurance company is providing $27 million for that wheel,” he said.
Deputy Premier Samuel Joseph in supporting the bill said he expected all members of the assembly to vote for it.
“Because I do not see anything controversial in saying that we are fixing sewage, or that we are fixing roads, or that we are fixing our bio-security, or that we are putting our immigration system in place,” he said.
The bill went through the first, second reading, committee stage with no amendments and third reading before being passed into law.
