Finance Minister Perry Geerlings meets with Finance Ministry officials Etienne Brookson Arjan Visser, Catherine Connor, Arnold Peels and Sandro Garcia .
PHILIPSBURG–Based on an update from the Finance Department, Finance Minister Perry Geerlings has told Parliament in a letter that in the process to present the draft 2019 budget, including the advice from the Council of Advice and Legal Affairs Department, will most probably take until February 19.
On that date, he intends to submit the new draft budget to the governor to forward to Parliament and the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT.
Parliament can expect an “updated version” of the draft that Geerlings submitted in November 2018. This version will have “specific changes” to projected spending as recommended by CFT. The new draft budget “will reflect the consensus reached with the CFT on the total projected spending of government for the year 2019,” Geerlings said in a press statement issued Wednesday.
CFT has suggested that government reduce its projected spending for 2019 from NAf. 503 million to NAf. 475 million and has proposed limiting St. Maarten’s loan capacity for capital expenditures/investments to NAf. 40 million in 2019. The increased allowable loan capacity is an improvement from previous years when it was much less.
The Finance Ministry is working in close collaboration with CFT on the revision of the draft budget. Improvements to the budget have been undertaken to see how close they can come to the recommended level of expenditure.
The previous draft budget sent to Parliament will be withdrawn, according to Geerlings.
A video explaining the process of the draft 2019 Budget is on Facebook.com/Ministry of Finance Sint Maarten.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/84857-geerlings-hopes-to-submit-draft-budget-after-feb-19
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