POND ISLAND--Outgoing Finance Minister Mike Ferrier is leaving what can be termed some bread crumbs for incoming Finance Minister Perry Geerlings and Economic Affairs TEATT Minister Stuart Johnson to pick up to better government’s dire financial straits. One suggestion is to get Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) to contribute more to government’s coffers.
“Reports about the BTP show that the institution should and can contribute more to government. The concession and spectrum fees are collected on behalf of and should be transferred to government after deduction of reasonable operational cost,” Ferrier said in his last Council of Minister press briefing.
In the last years, BTP has not contributed anywhere near what government expects, Ferrier said.
The inefficiency and lack of legal compliance at BTP “need to change so government can receive its fair share,” he said. To that end, “we have prepared recommendations for measures to be taken at BTP and these will be made available to the Minister of TEATT, who by law is the responsible minister.
“I had hoped to see these measures through to implementation, but am convinced that this initiative will be continued. The need for funds certainly isn’t going away soon, and government needs to maximise revenues.”
Ferrier believes the first order of business is accountability. “BTP needs to give proper account for its operation and ensure that the income due to government is transferred to government in a timely manner.”
