The new Turks and Caicos Islands budget for 2011-12 is aiming to make 25-percent cuts in spending for public service, statutory bodies and government rents by budget year 2012-13, His Excellency the Gov. Gordon Wetherell announced.
The support package “is a vital step for the Turks and Caicos Islands, because it buys us the time we need to tackle the dire fiscal legacy the interim government inherited,” Wetherell said. “Tackling the severe and structural fiscal problems will not be easy.
“We must make significant changes to get us on course for a fiscal surplus in the fiscal year 2012-13. This is a key milestone to reach before a date for elections can be set.”
The interim government will also be introducing a new, more targeted system of student support, and eliminating all non-essential expenditure and improving financial management and reporting.
Chief financial officer, Caroline Gardner will be mandated to retain control over TCI government finances until the TCI government emerges from its financial crisis. He ended by stating that getting public finance back on its feet will also require “raising revenues through the introduction of new revenue streams, changes to existing streams, and improved collection and enforcement.
