Edmond Campbell, News Coordinator
Finance Minister Audley Shaw on Tuesday fended off accusations from his opposition counterpart that the Golding administration had backtracked on its promise to dispense with supplementary estimates to the national Budget.
In response to Shaw's revelation that the $489-billion net Budget for 2008/2009 may be adjusted, Opposition Spokesman on Finance Dr Omar Davies questioned the Govern-ment's commitment to dispensing with supplementary estimates.
"I thought there was a policy position pointing to supplementary budgets (as) being a reflection of inefficiency and inadequacy of foresight," he said.
Shaw, addressing the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament in Gordon House Tuesday, said there could be an increase on the $14.5 billion set aside for the third public sector Memorandum of Understanding (MOU3) settlement if it has to be adjusted at the end of negotiations with unions representing public sector workers.
The increase would move the Budget for the current fiscal year closer to the half-a-trillion-dollar mark.
Eliminating of estimates
Shaw shot back at Davies, saying the elimination of supplementary estimates could not be done in the short term.
"The challenge that we have is to put ourselves in a position increasingly as we go along over the years to present what represents the most accurate budget, and in so doing to seek to minimise what emerges in a supplementary budget," he argued.
An adjustment in the public sector wage bill would require the tabling of supplementary estimates of expenditure to reflect the change in the budget, a decision that would run counter to pronouncements by Don Wehby, minister without portfolio in the ministry of finance.
Senator Wehby, addressing a Lions Club of Kingston luncheon in January, said the practice of tabling supplementary estimates was an indication of imprudent fiscal management.
"As far as I know, when you have a budget that is sacred, you must do all you can and you are accountable for that budget. However, it seems to me (that) somewhere in November, December, this thing called a supplemental budget becomes the norm," he had said.
