A recently Gazetted Schedule of Additional Provisions includes details about the extra $15 million in new spending approved by the House of Assembly during a July 13 sitting.
The SAP was discussed for nearly 15 hours in closed-door committee over the course of a week last month before it was unanimously approved by the HOA.
The vote also followed a public debate that shed some light on the spending without giving the full breakdown provided in the documents Gazetted on July 20.
The SAP marked the fourth time since June 2022 that government shifted funds within the budget to meet economic demands.
Recurrent spending
The majority of the new spending covers recurrent expenditure: Government approved $10,048,072 for dozens of expenses.
That includes $3.5 million to purchase desalinated water; about $1.4 million for border security; more than $1.3 million for operational expenses for the new Ministry of Financial Services, Labour and Trade; more than $1.1 million for House of Assembly members’ pensions and gratuities; more than $1 million toward the new Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change; $500,000 for the new Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development; and more than $1.1 million toward the Premier’s Office, among other items.
Capital acquisitions
The HOA also okayed $2,275,762 in additional spending for purchases for several different agencies.
Among the largest sums of money were $500,000 toward water meters; $403,500 to purchase materials for asphalt production; $374,000 funded by a European Union grant to purchase a boat for the water quality monitoring programme; and $210,000 for six police vehicles.
Capital projects
A total of $3,350,525 was approved for additional capital spending for projects across various ministries, with the largest sum going to the Ministry of Communications and Works.
The HOA, for instance, approved $1,170,000 for the National Sewerage Project in Road Town and East End; $692,000 for road infrastructure works on Sabbath Hill and Dupleis Road; $400,000 for improvements to the bus shelter in Road Town; $250,000 for the Economic Zone Project in Huntums Ghut; and $250,000 for streetlights.
Additionally, the Governor’s Group was approved to receive an additional $15,000 for the outfitting of the Records Management Unit; the Ministry of Finance got $260,600 to relocate mailboxes and purchase a fire suppressor system for the Ralph T. O’Neal Administration Complex; and the Ministry of Health and Social Development received $15,625 to install hurricane shutters on the Valerie O. Thomas Community Centre in Sea Cows Bay.