Salary overspend report sent to House of Assembly
Governor Daniel Pruce has confirmed that the Auditor General’s report into the government’s $20 million salary overspend has been delivered to Cabinet and will now go before the House of Assembly.
“The Auditor General conducted an investigation into that question. Her report was submitted to Cabinet just last week, passed through Cabinet, and the next stage for that report will be transmission onto the House of Assembly in the usual format,” Pruce told reporters this week.
He explained that the report remains the Auditor General’s document but will become public once it is laid in the House of Assembly.
“Normal procedure would be laying in the House of Assembly and entering into the public domain at that stage,” he added.
Background to the probe
The overspend stemmed from a new salary structure introduced two years ago. The 2023 Appropriation Act allocated $11.7 million for the changes. However, the Ministry of Finance later identified a significant gap between the budgeted amount and the actual requirements.
Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley told legislators in August last year that actual salary costs as of April 15, 2024, totalled $25 million, creating a shortfall of $13.3 million. Opposition members argued the discrepancy was closer to $20 million for the full year.
Dr Wheatley attributed the error to “problematic assumptions” made during the compensation review process and requested the Governor to approve an investigation.
Pruce agreed to the probe, citing his constitutional responsibility for public officers’ employment terms. In response, the government froze non-essential hiring and restricted travel for public servants. It also accelerated work on a contributory pension scheme, while a committee was established to propose new revenue measures and cost-saving initiatives.
The Auditor General’s findings are expected to trigger debate in the House of Assembly once they are tabled. Pruce stressed that his role was not to influence the content of the report but to ensure it followed due process.
“The report remains the Auditor General’s report. It’s her document. But that’s where we stand on both of those,” he stated.
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Spend some more money for bad performing public sector instead of trying to reorganize and make it more efficient!
so why the public sector always did well in this matter, but on this occasion did so poor?
Where’s our $5 million? Why has this all been forgotten by the media and Government. We must get answers for the country!
Gone with the planes
is there anywhere else in the history of bvi government where such a big discrepancy was found in a salary review
This new money was spent to help civil servants to no longer respond to emails. Since the salary increases, we are receiving emails from civil servants thanking us for the emails and letting us know that we can expect a response within 5 to 10 business days. Nothing can be urgent. The Immigration Department is not answering emails now at all. What a thing!
Some people are saying that the ruling class in Government want independence
Who would not
So they can swindle government money
Big time
They have hidden agenda
Here will become worst than Hitai
Stop blaming colonialism
Who tell the Premier to overspend 5 million
Who tell the premier to spend for social entertainment
Who tell them to invest in Asia blame the colonist
Really
Imagine losing that much money and writing it off as a minor mistake. All makes sense now why there is such a push for independence. It isn’t for the betterment of the people it’s to cover up those mistakes.
thanks for the message , these set of wannabe aristocrats is been using that cheap excuse to a front to deceive the people then we have this canary on his yello site that has been spewing out his daily racist narratives to create friction and to get attention to himself which he lost when he was (speak-ha ) hopefully the people can read ehat you guys wrote and see the real truth behind these PRETENDERS MASKS •
So how is this working out for us?
“In response, the government froze non-essential hiring and restricted travel for public servants.”
Everytime I turn around they are flying somewhere else or hiring another consultant. These people are not serious.
Whether we go independent or not…this corruption will continue. They out here squandering the monies and using COI as an excuseto not help the BVislndsers who need the help. People out here living from paycheck to paycheck. But as Andrew used to say.. When wind blow fowl batty must show. invest in rhe historical sites boost tourism…sand and sea aint goi f be enough soon. Plus these horrible roads. Time longer than twine. No food security. No transparency that was promised. Salary sent up but because no consumer rights cost of living went up to make sure salary still can’t buy anything.