Delivering on the promises was how Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts described the 2005/6 budget in a statement to the Legislative Assembly.
It was, amongst other things, a budget to fund the country’s recovery from Hurricane Ivan, combat crime, address the shambles in the health sector and deliver new schools, Mr. Tibbetts said in his policy statement on Monday.
The budget provided $2.9 million for hurricane relief and housing repair assistance through District Assistance Committees and a further $1.6 million through the CI Development Bank, he said.
It allowed for a further $500,000 contribution to the National Recovery Fund and a similar contribution to the National Cultural Foundation to assist with the cost of repairing the Harquail Theatre, he told the House.
An additional $2.5 million had been provided for further debris removal and the budget provided $4.6 million for the management and maintenance of public roads.
A further $2.7 million had been budgeted for the reconstruction of roads and seawalls and money had been allocated to build walls to prevent damage to cemeteries and for the reconstruction of civic centres and to repair sports facilities, said Mr. Tibbetts.
More than $3 million had been provided for the replacement of damaged fire trucks and $4.5 million for the replacement of damaged school assets.
‘A new $1.3 million output group called ‘National Disaster Preparedness and Response’ will be purchased in 2005/6. This will be delivered by the new Emergency Management Agency, which is being established within the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs,’ said Mr. Tibbetts.
‘In total the budget allocates approximately $36.5 million to measures designed to support the hurricane recovery effort. This is equal to approximately 9 per cent of total government revenue forecast for 2005/6,” he said.
There would be a significant increase in the resources available to the Royal Cayman Islands Police and a number of legislative actions were planned to serve the fight against crime.
The budget provided $14.9 million for the school infrastructure, which included the construction of the Frank Sound High School, the West Bay High School and a redeveloped George Town (John Gray) High School, said Mr. Tibbetts.
Provision had also been made to start the construction of a new George Town Primary School, additional facilities at Cayman Brac High School Hall and Primary Schools and a hall at East End Primary School.
To help the Health Services Authority move towards a financial break-even situation, the budget provided for an equity injection of $12 million, he said.
In addition to the funding allocated for urgent road repairs, the government had allocated a further $6.68 million for new roads, or road improvements, said Mr. Tibbetts.
The estimates made provision for $2.1 million of capital expenditure in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and $800,000 had been allocated for the construction of affordable housing in the Brac.
As far as conserving the environment was concerned, there was funding for projects including a further $1 million for Barkers National Park, $224,000 for the purchase of land for the Cayman Brac Parrot Reserve and $300,000 for completion of the beach erosion project in West Bay.
By far the largest share of government expenditure was dedicated to strengthening family and community, Mr. Tibbetts told the House.
‘As already stated in the Budget Address, operating and capital expenditure planned on education and strengthening families and communities is some $190.6 million and this is equivalent to 50 per cent of projected revenue for the financial year,’ he said.
A National Tourism Management Policy would be implemented and the budget included funding in areas to protect and develop the financial services sector.
‘Suffice it to say that in preparing this budget, the government has gone to considerable lengths to ensure that the levels of expenditure, capital and borrowing established for 2005/6 are affordable and sustainable not only this year, but over the long term,’ said Mr. Tibbetts.
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