Parliament’s Finance Committee on Wednesday approved $15 million in additional tourism stipend funding after the money allocated in the budget for that purpose had already run out.
Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart questioned in committee why the funding was needed after only two months into the budget year and when government planned to end or taper off the stipend to tourism workers displaced by the COVID pandemic.
Wesley Howell, the chief officer in the Ministry of Border Control and Labour, said that when budget requirements were put together, the wider reopening of Cayman’s borders to tourists was expected for 2021 and the return of cruise arrivals for January 2022.
The delay in reopening meant that more funding is needed.
Asked whether the $15 million would be sufficient, given the stipend costs about $5 million each month, Howell said projections are for the programme to stretch until June, as tourism workers are gradually re-employed.
According to a ministry statement issued in February, 2,400 individuals continue to receive $1,500 each month. Following a review, 625 people, who are now employed, would receive $1,000 in February and a final $750 in March.
The committee also approved another $5 million for small tourism-related businesses, like tour operators, taxis and restaurants, to maintain their assets in preparation for the return of tourism.
Financial Services Minister André Ebanks said the top-up of the initially allocated funds to the programme was needed because the Omicron variant of the coronavirus had delayed the ability of small businesses to return to “a level of profitability or even stability”.
The Opposition MP for Cayman Brac West, Moses Kirkconnell, pressed government on committing to more funding from Parliament for tour operators should this become necessary.
Ebanks said, that if tourism did not return to the extent forecast this year, government would come back to the committee for further assistance.
Finance Minister Chris Saunders noted that no fiscal rules contained in the Public Management and Finance Act would be breached as a result of the more than $20 million in supplementary funding.
Related Videos
