CS bosses reminded there can be no extra spending

(CNS): The deputy governor has reminded senior civil servants that there can be no supplementary expenses during this financial year, which means that everyone across the public sector must stick to the appropriations made by the Legislative Assembly last month. During his meeting with chief officers last week, Franz Manderson shared with them the conditions outlined in the budget approval letter from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the minutes reveal. He also explained that the newly formed Budget Delivery Committee, of which he is chair, was to assist the government and the minister of finance in the delivery of the budget, including expenditure and revenue targets.

Sonia McLaughlin, the accountant general, also provided the civil service bosses with an overview of the 3-year budget that has been submitted to London and the Framework for Fiscal Responsibility (FFR), as it relates to the upcoming Strategic Policy Statement (SPS), which should be delivered by the premier in December.

So far however, despite the direction from the UK last month mandating that the FFR be passed into law via the Public Management and Finance Law before the end of September, there is no sign of the draft legislation nor has a date yet been set for the Legislative Assembly to meet and deal with that and other pressing legislative issues.

The Ministry of Finance is expected to hold further meetings with all COs and chief financial officers to discuss key features of the three year budget plan, which is meant to get the Cayman government back on the track of more prudent fiscal management of its revenue and expenditure.

During the 10 September meeting, Acting CO of the Portfolio of the Civil Service Ian Fenton gave an overview of what was described in the minutes as the “80/20” Hiring Freeze, as well as changes to the moratorium process, new salary scale and amendments to the Past Service Pensions Law (PSPL) and  Public Service Management Law (PSML) to affect the 3.2% reduction in salary and preserve pensions benefits for civil servants.

During the top level government meeting, the civil service heads also discussed the National Heroes Day Awards for Youth Services nominations; the upcoming Healthcare 20/20 conference; the Extended Afterschool Programmes for primary and secondary students; the participation of civil servants in internships for students from the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC); improvements in exam results for government schools; the new facilities opened for the September school year, including Clifton Hunter High School and three new primary school classroom blocks; and Right to Know Week.

See full minutes of meeting as released by the deputy governor’s office below.