Letter to the Editor
Budget Deficit Figures: TheDebate Continues
The Editor,
We refer to the 29 December 2000 and 2 January 2001 articlesby the Leader of Government Business, Hon. Kurt Tibbetts in theCayman Islands.
Surplus
It was noted that the Acting Financial Secretary admitted thaton the 30 September 2000 we left a surplus of CI$6,402,000. Whydid an official member and civil servant have to make this admissionrather than the Leader of Government Business?
Minister Tibbetts' statement that a further CI$5.56M was budgetedto be transferred from the general revenue to the capital developmentfund is an incomplete statement. That is only necessary if furthercapital expenditure is needed, and every year, a part of the capitalbudget is not spent.
The capital development fund is a fund that if the money is notused, it is carried forward to the following year and is one ofthe few accounts that goes forward to the following year and thenthe new government will spend it on capital projects in 2001.In fairness, the capital development fund which is not spent upto the 7 November 2000 is, in effect, part of the surplus of theprevious government.
Under a cash system which government operates, it is impossibleto have CI$6.4M surplus in cash and then to frighten the publicby saying that the government needs CI$15M of overdraft. It isimpossible under government's cash system with CI$6.4M cash toneed a CI$15M overdraft. Mr. Tibbetts' confusion that governmentowes bills and few bills are owed to government is, once again,not realistic.
Another admission
It is good that Minister Tibbetts has had to admit that the CI$17Min loans for medical expenses cannot affect government's cashposition as the money has already been loaned.
Privatisation
Why doesn't the Leader of Government Business, Mr. Tibbetts, saywhat he is going to privatise, whether it is a company or statutoryauthorities or Public Works Department, garbage collection orother departments of government.
Cost of living increase explanation - incredible
It is incredible that the Leader of Government Business couldstate that the government voted against a motion put by backbenchersto pay the civil servants salary increase in full by June whenthe intention was that government would pay in full by March.Why did Mr. Tibbetts not alter the word 'June' to 'March', andpass the motion, if that is what he intended to do at the time.Surely, even he is smart enough to bring such a simple amendment.
How will Mr. Tibbetts honour his commitment to pay the Civil Servicesalaries increase by 31st March 2001, as he promised if he didnot include such sum in the first quarter of 2001 money allocationapproved by Finance Committee in December 2000.
Census
It is interesting that the new government has not producedthe census results even though it heavily criticised the pastgovernment. The census results only came to Executive Councilon 19th December 2000 (as NetNEws stated) prving the truth ofour statement of the past government that it did not have thecensus results and therefore could not publish it.
Action, not words.
The people of the Cayman Islands still await after two months,to hear what the new government is going to do about keeping theeconomy booming (which the previous government kept booming forseven years by hard work). What taxes are going to be put on theprivate sector to assist with the statutory authority's costs.
Speaking generally, when new governments waste time when theyshould be constructively working at building the country and thegovernment and beginning to earn money for government rather thanusing political rhetoric in an effort to smear the past government,they find that this is negative and does not help the countrynor the government.
Mrs. Juliana O'Connor Connolly
Mr. Truman Bodden
Mr. Thomas Jefferson
Mr. John McLean.