Additional funding was approved for several Cayman Islands government initiatives last week as the Legislative Assembly wrapped up its fourth meeting of this fiscal year.
Some $300,000 was given to keep the Constitutional Review Secretariat operating through 30 June 2007.
The Farmers Market will get 29 acres at a cost of $1.5 million.
Another $1 million was paid toward the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company and $140,000 went to support the Cadet Corps training programme on Cayman Brac.
A few projects also lost money as funds were transferred. Those included $300,000 taken from the Brac Bluff playfield project, though officials said cash to support the project would come from other areas of government. The West End Channel dredging project was put on hold as $500,000 was subtracted from its budget.
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said funding for the constitutional review office would be used for the following: $110,000 for three employee salaries, $80,000 in consulting fees, $65,000 in public relations fees, and $45,000 for rent and to outfit the office in Elizabethan Square.
Mr. Tibbetts has not said whether the office would remain open after the constitutional review process is complete.
The $1.5 million for the farmer’s market will help acquire three parcels of land, which Mr. Tibbetts said would eventually be developed as an agri-tourism venture for both local residents and visitors.
“We’re not just going to have (an agriculture show) once a year, we’re going to have a Saturday market,” he said. “It’ll really be something wonderful if we can stay on course.”
To help pay for the land acquisition, $1.5 million was subtracted from the government office accommodation project, taking its overall budget for the current year to below $3 million. No explanation was given as to how the reduction would affect that project.
The additional $1 million for the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company is mostly due to a larger number of civil servants on the payroll.
“(We’ve had) almost an eight per cent increase in civil servants, which means increased workers comp. claims, increased pension payments….which caused the need for additional cash,” said Health Minister Anthony Eden.
Funding to support the Cayman Brac Cadet Corps programme was one of the more controversial items on the supplemental appropriation list. Opposition MLA Julianna O’Connor Connolly questioned the government’s overall support for the corps.
“There’s negative lobbying to get rid of the cadet programme,” said Ms O’Connor Connolly. “I sense a movement afoot on the Brac to derail the whole programme, but I believe it can be salvaged.”
Acting Chief Secretary Donovan Ebanks denied that the government would cut funding for the Cadet Corps.
“The budget for next year will be slightly larger,” Mr. Ebanks said.
The supplemental appropriations will have very little overall affect on the Cayman Islands budget. Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson said the government surplus would be reduced by $1.2 million, leaving it at a projected $45.3 million for the year.
Total cash reserves as of 30 June 2007 were expected to be slightly less than $84 million.
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