Turks and Caicos Storm Clean-Up Budget Passed

#TurksandCaicos, February 20, 2018 – Grand Turk – The budgetary changes which needed to be passed at the House of Assembly are done; the PDM Government Administration had reorganized and re-prioritized spending to dedicate monies to the rebuilding plan – and the two political sides with the Governor’s appointed members pushed the budget supplementary through parliament and now cleanup of public buildings will begin.

“The Ministry of Finance did not act in haste, neither did it make a determination on its own, that a deficit budget was more likely than not.  It would be fool-hearted Mr. Speaker, that the Ministry of Finance observing the trend in revenue decline, observing it to the end of the third quarter, to project anything other than deficit budget.  Mr. Speaker we were criticized about our open for business campaign, but Mr. Speaker as I said already we made every effort to assist resorts in reopening their doors.”

Finance Minister, Premier Sharlene Robinson and her budget team did not have an easy time of it; Juxta-positioning monies which meant significant cut backs and projects being scrapped altogether, for now.

In December, the country learned that it the United Nation ECLAC team put hurricane Irma and Maria damage costs for the Turks and Caicos Islands at just under $290m and losses at just over $230m, with additional losses approximated at $38 million.  Whopping half a billion dollars to recovery from the historic storms for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government, which is about an entire year’s budget.

“The UN ECLAC report has estimated our country’s damages at $289,625,726 (two hundred and eighty-nine million, six hundred and 25 thousand, seven hundred and twenty-six dollars).  And losses at $230,439,488 (two hundred and thirty million, four hundred and thirty-nine thousand, four hundred and eighty-eight dollars) with additional losses at approximately $38,000,000 (thirty-eight million).  This puts our damage and losses at over half a billion dollars.

With just two months left in the fiscal year, the monies will go to clean up work.  Reconstruction will not begin until the new financial year which starts on April 1, 2018.

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