The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

CONSULTANCY services fees in the Ministry of Finance will increase by 35 per cent in the next fiscal year.

It is not clear what the increase is for.

The budget for the services will grow from $20,175,000 to $27,175,000.

Consultancy fees will also increase by more than $4m in the Ministry of Tourism in the next fiscal year.

Overall, 21 government entities will see budget allocation increases when the new fiscal year begins on July 1.

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), and the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs will see the most increased funding.

OPM will get a budget of $57.8m, almost $30m more than it received last year.

Subsidies to public corporations, particularly projects related to the development of the Water and Sewerage Corporation, are the basis for the notable increase. That line item was under the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs last year.

The OAG budget has increased by $25m. This is mostly to fund the “Court Services Council,” which costs roughly $19.2m. Three hundred thousand has been budgeted to establish a land registry.

The fund for maintenance and support will almost double, and the cost of wages and salaries will also significantly increase.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis noted during his communication that money has been budgeted to create a Judicial and Parliamentary Authority and for the OAG to improve the operations of the Registrar General’s Department.

He said money had been allocated to settle outstanding legal judgments, including land acquisition matters.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Renewal saw an almost tenfold increase in its allocation, rising from $3.2m last year to $10.8m this budget. The Ministry of Social Services and Information received an almost five-million-dollar increase, from $15.3m the previous year to $19.1m this year.

 The Ministry of National Security expects recurrent expenditure to rise from $13.4m to $20m.

This includes a notable increase for Closed Circuit Television, from $2.7m to $7.6m.

Budget increases were also seen for the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, the Ministry for Grand Bahama, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Energy and Transport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Education, Technical, and Vocational Training.

In terms of capital expenditures, the Ministry of National Security will see increases from $11.7m to $18.4m; the Ministry of Energy and Transport will see a significant increase from $2.3m to $20m, and the Ministry of Grand Bahama will have its budget increased from $500,000 to $3.5m.