Parliament on Monday approved a supplementary appropriation bill seeking its approval for the regularisation of a total sum of $26.4 Million spent by the Government in the last quarter of 2015.
The Minister for Finance and Treasury Hon Snyder Rini when tabling the ‘2015 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2016’ at the Second Reading Stage $8.3 Million of the total sum was for expenditures under Contingency Warrants and $18.1 Million for expenditures under Advance Warrants.
He said the 2015 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2016 does not provide for additional expenditure but instead regularises expenditures made under Contingency Warrant and Advance Warrant.
Minister Rini said Contingency warrants allow for unforeseen and urgent spending where it is not practical for the government to provide funding through the original 2015 Appropriations Act 2015.
He said the expenditures incurred under this section include $2.2m for outstanding house rent and office for Ministry of Agriculture and livestock Development; $4.9m for outstanding electricity bills for Ministry of Health and Medical Services; $0.2m for outstanding telephone and fax bills for Ministry of Aviation and Communication; and $1m for food supply to villages in the Malaita Outer Islands.
The Minister for Finance and Treasury said Advance Warrants which are used to create appropriations where donors are providing funding through the Treasury for services rendered in 2015 include $8.4m disbursement to Landowners from the sale of log proceeds;
$9.3m for the implementation of the infrastructure rehabilitation and development projects by members of the Parliament under the Republic of China (ROC) for the 50 constituencies; and $0.3m for the implementation of the ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) at Customs Department by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Contributing to the debate on the bill, the Minister for Communication and Aviation Hon Peter Shanel Agovaka said the bill was quite important to his ministry as it catered for its telephone and fax expenses.
He said the Ministry of Communication and Aviation has been using the civil aviation fund to meet some of its telephone and fax expenses but since he and his permanent secretary were reassigned there last year they stopped that because the fund is basically geared towards safety applications of airports.
The Committee of the Whole House and Third Reading stages of the bill were also concluded today.
Meanwhile, Government Business for Parliament this week as announced by Prime Minister in Parliament today is as follows;
- A motion by the Prime Minister for Parliament to congratulate the Republic of China’s new President Her Excellency Dr Ing-Wen Tsai and Vice President His Excellency Dr Chien-Jen Chen on their election victories on behalf of the people of Solomon Islands;
- A motion by the Prime Minister for Parliament to congratulate the Republic of China’s new President Her Excellency Dr Ing-Wen Tsai and Vice President His Excellency Dr Chien-Jen Chen on their election victories on behalf of the people of Solomon Islands;
- A motion by the Prime Minister for Parliament to resolve into the Committee of the Whole House to consider National Parliament Paper No: 15 2016 –White Paper on the Election Systems that could be adopted in Solomon Islands;
- 2016 Supplementary Bill 2016; and
- Motion of Adjournment. This adjournment motion is necessary to allow the Prime Minister to attend the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) meeting and Melanesian
Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders’ summit which will both be held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
