And just like the opposition members in the House of Representatives, the ones in the Senate spoke up against the supplementary appropriation bill. Senator Michael Peyrefitte explained that there was little to no details explaining why the government would ask for additional funds only a little over a month after the previous appropriation bill. He said that something major had to have happened for the government to request this approval only three months before the end of the fiscal year, and that the Belizean people deserve to know what it is.
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"When you budget say a hundred dollars and you come back and say you want another five dollars or another seven dollars, you can understand that you could be off, contingencies, this is reasonable, but when you come back you budget for a hundred dollars, you come back and say I want twenty five more dollars then there is something with your budgeting and you are not anticipating what you may or may not need or you better come up with a good explanation as to what requires you to divert you from your budget in such an extreme fashion. Especially we came here on October 25th with a supplementary. Now, we are coming back here December with another supplementary. So what the government is telling us is that in October they needed more money that they had budgeted for to take them to March 2022. So we have to assume that when you bring a supplementary budget in December you are saying that something happened between October 25th and today to make you believe that you need more money that you didn't anticipate that you needed in October. The government has to explain the urgency."
He went on, line by line, criticizing the bill and what he characterized as a lack of clarity and detail.
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte, UDP Senator
"The court of appeal personal emoluments, they need another $156,000. You didn't know that in October? Have there been new court of appeal justices sworn in between October and now that have to be paid that we didn't anticipate in October, we didn't know that? Why budget for that now?"
"Ministry of public service rent and leases, the approved estimates is 6.2 million. You're asking the assembly to approve from between now and March an additional 1.8 million. Thats just under one third of your total budget. You didn't know that in October? What new has to be rented so for the remainder of the financial year for 1.8 million dollars? What new spaces that was created that wasn't there in October that occurred between October and now that you have to rent and ask the people of Belize for 1.8 million dollars, what?"
"Public utilities: you need 12 million dollars between now and March 2022 and I think I heard the prime minister said that this is for street lights or something like that, but then you didn't know that in October, how come you just know that? How come you didn't know that in March? It is a major project 12 million dollars. There is no excuse. You have to explain to the Belizean people how come you just know you need 12 million dollars for that."
"They have here scholarships/training. Is it training for scholarships, train people to get scholarships or is it scholarships training or what - 1.584 million dollars between now and March 2022. Now the budgeted approved estimate is 1.8 million.; So you budgeted 1.8 million dollars up to March 2022 in March total, but yet in December less that 4 months before the end of the budget cycle you come and ask for 1.5 million dollars. What are you doing?"
Senator Elena Smith also rose to add that with teachers and public officers forced to take the 10% cut, she agrees that there should be more clarity in regards to the appropriation bill in what is supposed to be a time of austerity.
