Dear Editor,
The handling of the Central Committee Meeting of the 2025 draft budget was very impressive, due to the short span of time in which both the Council of Ministers and the Members of Parliament had to prepare and deliver their presentations. Just as remarkable were the civil servants and cabinet workers, who sprang into action and complied the information in a limited amount of time. Lots of credit and appreciation for their dedication.
During this three-day discourse, the MPs kept the ministers on their toes by posing loads of questions and demanded clarifications to issues that were unclear or those that needed to be expounded upon. The content of their explanations and deliveries from either sides may not have been to the liking of many, but they must be commended for their efforts toward the discussion of the most important financial statement of the country.
One of the major drawbacks is that the budget was handled at a very peculiar time. Apart from time constraints, the mood of the festive season kind of restricted further elucidations into the various topics that were addressed by each minister. It would have been more fitting if all of the ministers did their presentations in its entirety, before the public debate in January of 2025. Due to this snag, I will only focus on Finance Minister Marinka Gumbs, the presenter of the budget.
Minister, I will touch on a few concerns, with the optimism that you and your team will analyze them, and share concrete responses to the population, who may have the same interests. Inquiries: If you were to go back 5 years, how many civil servants are not showing up to work, yet they still collect a monthly salary? What are the reasons for their negligence? What is the cost to government? How does government plan to tackle this laxity and in what time-frame, based on individual cases?
With reference to supplies to individual ministries, how much control do you have, as Minister of Finance, in ensuring that the supplies are not been misused? Because, if supplies are being abused, then this situation contributes significantly to the rise in expenditures. Would this be controlled solely by reporting, or by a combined effort of consistent training to reduce the adverse impact on the budget?
What about the use of phones, whether landline or mobile? Is there a cap on utilization, and how do you determine which calls are personal, from those that are work-related? Will the telephone company assist you in analyzing this process?
The abuse of government vehicles has been a topic of discussion for years. How do you plan on addressing this ticklish issue that is eating up a large portion of the budget? The focus seems to be on gasoline only, but what about the wear and tear that occur due to excessive use? How do you plan on showing the public the difference in the amount of expense, if the vehicles are used only for job-related matters?
With regard to taxes: What is encouraging businesses and citizens not to comply? Is it because there are loopholes in the system, people do not care, or is it that the system is being too harsh on the population? How can you be sure that whatever you plan to implement, would be the best course of action for the people?
Too often, government devises plans to tackle different issues that may seem reasonable or practical to them, but not to the people. Since we are on the verge of entering a new year, wouldn’t it be wise and less stressful, if government embarked upon initiating ways to involve the population more into their decisions, since government claims that it is working in the best interest of the people?
Minister, the little bit that I heard during this draft budget debate, for sure, there will be an amendment to this 2025 budget. So, wouldn’t it be prudent to hold sessions with the ones whose lives will be affected from the changes that are expected to be implemented?
You know what made our first Ombudsman Nilda Arduin to achieve such a successful and reputable tenure, until she was asked to extend her duties? She took her office to the people, whom she was tasked to represent. The course is clear, to take that lead, within the Council of Ministers.
Joslyn Morton
