Is It right? Fraser Calls On Premier To Reinstate $$ For District Reps
Third District Representative Hon. Julian Fraser has called on Premier and Minister for Finance Hon. Andrew Fahie to reinstate the promised funds that was set aside for districts.
He was at the time giving his contribution to the Supplementary Appropriation 2016 Act 2021 on Tuesday, May 11 in the House of Assembly.
“Supplementaries are not just used for cleaning up, supplimentaries are used for appropriating funds, and I want to ask the Premier if he thinks it’s right that for us, the District Representatives all nine of us, to go through an entire 2021 knowing that we came to this honourable House in Standing Finance and appropriated $200,000 for each district. Only to find out it was wiped out to pay debt for years past,” Hon. Fraser stated.
He added, “In 2020, I watched projects completed in my district for which I thought monies were paid from the 2020 budget, only to learn that of the $200,000 I see between the Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Finance they keep withering away the $200,000. So for the whole of 2021, unless the Premier does the right thing and appropriate some monies for the district, we won’t be having any money to do any work in the district.”
Meanwhile, Premier and Minister for Finance Hon. Andrew Fahie responded to Hon. Fraser stating that “Today we are regularizing monies spent in 2016, not 2020. This is money done spent, gone, finito, finished, and we have brought it now to 2021 to regularize.”
He added: “I want the member to know that we too understand the pain of so much demand and limited resources,” adding that while the member acknowledged COVID-19 in the end, it should have been at the beginning and to the end of his presentation.
"It’s no secret the challenges that COVID-19 has brought on to this territory and to the world. It has not been a very easy time to lead any country during COVID-19. There are so many challenges that all leaders throughout the world held and is holding tight to their chest because if they tell the country that they are leading some of the challenges, it might get some of them frightened, and some may even destabilize their country,” the Premier stated.
“Supplementaries are not just used for cleaning up, supplimentaries are used for appropriating funds, and I want to ask the Premier if he thinks it’s right that for us, the District Representatives all nine of us, to go through an entire 2021 knowing that we came to this honourable House in Standing Finance and appropriated $200,000 for each district. Only to find out it was wiped out to pay debt for years past,” Hon. Fraser stated.
He added, “In 2020, I watched projects completed in my district for which I thought monies were paid from the 2020 budget, only to learn that of the $200,000 I see between the Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Finance they keep withering away the $200,000. So for the whole of 2021, unless the Premier does the right thing and appropriate some monies for the district, we won’t be having any money to do any work in the district.”
Meanwhile, Premier and Minister for Finance Hon. Andrew Fahie responded to Hon. Fraser stating that “Today we are regularizing monies spent in 2016, not 2020. This is money done spent, gone, finito, finished, and we have brought it now to 2021 to regularize.”
He added: “I want the member to know that we too understand the pain of so much demand and limited resources,” adding that while the member acknowledged COVID-19 in the end, it should have been at the beginning and to the end of his presentation.
"It’s no secret the challenges that COVID-19 has brought on to this territory and to the world. It has not been a very easy time to lead any country during COVID-19. There are so many challenges that all leaders throughout the world held and is holding tight to their chest because if they tell the country that they are leading some of the challenges, it might get some of them frightened, and some may even destabilize their country,” the Premier stated.
