by Linda Straker
- Decision to postpone budget to first quarter of 2025 comes after significant disruptions caused by Hurricane Beryl
- EC$400 million alllocated to cover 3-month period for all ministries and departments
- Finance committee is yet to see draft or budget breakdown for 2025
Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall disclosed that he recently signed a general warrant which provides for EC$400 million to be allocated to government ministries and departments for use during the first quarter of 2025 because an Appropriation Act is yet to be approved by the Houses of Parliament for the fiscal year 2025.
“Only Thursday or Friday gone, I signed off on the general warrant that gives the ministries and departments the okay to spend for the first quarter of 2025, the amount is just EC$400 million, it takes up a 3-month period for all the ministries and departments,” Cornwall said in an interview on NDC Heartbeat — a talk show hosted by Terrence Forrester, Assistant Public Relations Officer for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“There is provision for recurrent revenue as well as ongoing capital projects and so on. During that time we will basically prepare the budget and the budget speech,” said Cornwall who explained that the late presentation of the budget is not due to a lack of money but it was planned to be presented during the first quarter of 2025.
In October, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said that the decision to postpone the budget from its traditional late November or early December period to the first quarter of 2025 comes after significant disruptions caused by the passage of Hurricane Beryl on 1 July 2024.
Section 5 of the Public Finance Management Act describes the fiscal year for Grenada as the period 1 January to 31 December of each year. Section 15 instructs that the finance minister shall submit to the Standing Committee on Finance at least 2 months before the end of the fiscal year, the annual estimates of the Government for the following fiscal year even if there is a presentation of the budget within the fiscal year.
This means that although the presentation will be done within the first quarter, members of the finance committee in Parliament must approve it 2 months before its presentation. The finance committee comprises all elected members of Parliament or those in the Lower House. They are yet to see a draft or the budget breakdown for 2025.
The legislation also guides the process to legalise a late presentation of the budget. “Where the Appropriation Act for a financial year has not come into operation at the commencement of the financial year for any reason, the Minister is authorised to collect revenues and approve such expenditure necessary to three months from the beginning of that financial year or the coming into operation of the Appropriation Act, whichever is the earlier,” said Section 21 of the act.
The legislation further states that such expenditures shall not in total exceed one-fourth of the approved Budget of the previous fiscal year; and in the case of capital expenditures, only expenditures that in the previous financial year were contemplated to continue shall be authorised for such spending.
“On the coming into force of the Appropriation Act, any provisional expenditures pursuant to subsection one shall be deemed to have been paid out for corresponding services in the estimates for which provision was made under the Appropriation Act and shall be accounted for accordingly,” said the legislation.
