Budget part 1

We do this every year and every year we do the same thing. We expect to receive 'X' amount of revenue and we expect to spend 'Y' amount. What is it that successive administrations cannot see, or I should say, further than the next election. The revenue stream for this country has collapsed so it cannot be business as usual.
We all know the story, we all know who did what and who screwed up and who put what in the HSF. What we have not seen is a radical way in doing it differently. Things are very different in 2017 and therefore we must recognize this and take the proverbial bull by the horns and make the change today.

How to budget:

The current system of budgeting is outdated, does not work and is a recipe for disaster. Ministries are asked every year for their wish list. A lot of work goes into this exercise beginning in April of any one year. Submittals are made to the Ministry of Finance/Planning (MFP) and the line Ministry sits and waits. There is some justification of ones proposals but this is academic. There is really no one in the MFP that understands the actual workings of a Ministry and therefore a lot of what is being proposed flies over the head of the committee.
When the final list is compiled one wonders if the MFP understood one word that was said at the meetings.
This is where approximately $10 - 15.0 billion is wasted, mis-spent, and or finds its way into the pockets of the corrupt.
I will give a couple real examples of mis-management and mis-guided use of public funds.


Licensing office:

Revenue approximately $150,000,000.00
By allocating an equivalent amount to complete the Motor Vehicle Authority (MVA) the estimated revenue generated would be an additional $150-200,000,000.00 per annum. Within the first full year of operation of the MVA the State would have recovered its immediate investment with the total investment being recovered within a five (5) year period. The additional revenue would be realized from the correct and proper taxes and fees being collected and the instant removal of corruption at the Licensing Office.

Road paving:

What does it cost this country to pave roads using bitumen. Based on what I have seen on our major highways the paved surface lasts about (36) months before the exercise has to be repeated. This does not only cost an exorbitant amount but you have the cost of sitting in traffic during the repaving exercise plus a surface that is inadequate . What is the cost of using La Brea asphalt? Surely this must be far more cost effective, the same time it takes to lay bitumen would be the same time to lay asphalt. OK, so the paving contractors might not like you, so! By not utilizing the bitumen for road paving we could then create new industries like asphalt shingles, or waterproofing membrane. Our bitumen supply is dictated by the throughput of the PaP refinery.

Engineering capability:

There is little or no engineering supervision on the smaller public works sites. A simple box drain ends up a catastrophe because the level is going the wrong way, the concrete mix is poor, there is no reinforcement in the structure. In some of the Regional Corporations there is not a single civil engineer on staff to supervise hundreds of projects. In some cases where there is a civil engineer the person may have just graduated with zero work experience.
The wastage as a result of poor or non existent on site supervision not only costs hundreds of millions of dollars annually but there is the other issue of poor infrastructure in communities.
One solution would be to have a permanent engineering division in all Regional Corporations to manage the funding received for projects.
The current system of spending public funds with no supervision is simply not acceptable. The cost of establishing an engineering group to manage public expenditure is far less than the wastage and corruption currently being experienced.

Weigh stations:

The theft of aggregate is well known. Legal quarries are not monitored and illegal quarries flourish. One way of dealing with this problem would be to establish weigh stations in the areas that mine aggregate. Every truck with a load of aggregate would have to be weighed, a 'quarry delivery note' would have to accompany every load. If a truck is stopped without a certified copy of a weigh station for the current load then the truck is impounded and the driver charged for theft.
The hundreds of millions of dollars stolen every year and the royalties the state should be receiving from quarrying would more than pay for the installation and operation of a series of weigh stations.

These comments and recommendations are just a simple way of doing business without a single job being lost, new job opportunities, additional revenues for the State, a major check on corruption and a better way to manage the country's business.

We will continue the conversation looking at all aspects of the country's economy and simple ways and means of saving taxpayer's money, creating efficiencies and rooting out corruption. Comments are most welcomed!