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PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Cornelius de Weever says budgetary amendments from his ministry are near impossible, as the ministry has reached a bare minimum and any additional cuts would not enable the ministry to execute the legislative tasks with which it is tasked.
He was attempting to explain why his ministry had not been able to comply with the budget demands as stated by the Committee for Financial Supervision.
"In order to pass the 2014 Budget, the private sector now pays its own fair share of health care premiums which provides medical insurance to their clients and family members for such a low price," De Weever said in a press release Tuesday.
De Weever made a request to amend the budget as it relates to the health care expenses of civil servants; to transfer these costs from the budget of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA to the budget of General Affairs or allocate them to the personnel budget of each respective Ministry by means of an allocation key.
He said the budget of VSA in particular was pegged to a year plan, including key performance indicators, and to an end-of-year report that accounts for every penny spent.
"I believe all other ministries that function without a year plan should reform and provide more accountability. In addition, the Ministry is finalising a National Strategic Plan 2014-2017 with a multiannual operational plan and budget, which will limit the absorption of any sudden or unexpected reductions and ensure continuity within the ministry," he said.
"I would like to point out that the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour submitted a budget close to the financial parameters as outlined by the Ministry of Finance for the preparation of the 2015 budget.
"Any additional budget cuts placed on my Ministry while other ministries expand their costs does not reflect the importance of introducing cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancing measures to meet the capped country budget."
He said he "cannot emphasise enough that with no signs of a robust economic recovery in sight, the need for a sufficiently-funded social safety net and supporting social programmes remain imperative and any further decrease in the budget can be considered detrimental."
