ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, January 9th, 2012  – Government has recently confirmed several initiatives to boost its reserve fund. In speaking with the Department of Information and Public Relations, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE said the cost cutting measures which will take the form of a 50-percent cut in performance increments in 2012, a 7-percent cut in operational expenses of individual ministries and departments, together with a cut in the pay package of elected officials.

These cuts will be used to significantly boost appropriations to the reserve fund, thereby paving the way for a stronger fiscal position. In providing background to the recent initiatives, the finance minister explained, “Government is now acting as a result of the current global economic climate, which has affected governments around the world in their ability to retain public officers and engage in public investment initiatives.”

This decision is also driven by the current state of the Government’s finances. Honourable Smith added, “This Government has made a commitment to its public officers, and to the people of this country that no Government employee will be laid off as a result of cost cutting measures. And, true to form, we have made several decisions that allow us to retain our civil servants, while at the same time cutting costs significantly.”

He continued, “Government’s capital programme is also somewhat more conservative than in the past. Notwithstanding the cuts that are being made, we have still maintained a robust, yet conservative public investment programme while significantly boosting fiscal reserves for 2012 and beyond.”

January 9, 2012 The finance minister also reaffirmed Government’s commitment to responsibly managing the Territory’s fiscal affairs saying, “The people of this country have given the Government the responsibility to manage their fiscal affairs in a prudent manner and to prepare a future for their children.”

Premier Smith noted, “We take this commitment very seriously and the people of the Virgin Islands can rest assured that we will be doing everything in our power in the very near future to ensure this is the case.” The Premier ended, “Our single most aim, in the interim, is to elevate the Virgin Islands to a position where our fiscal position is strong and we are able to meet the needs of our people efficiently and effectively. However, before we can address all the needs, we need to first do some housecleaning.

We need to get our house in order. As a result of this, public officers are expected to maintain or improve on the quality of service they have provided in the past, but they will have fewer financial resources with which to do it.”

The cuts in both performance increments and operational expenses are consistent with Government’s agenda to improve fiscal management practices and reduce expenditure levels. 

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