Abel: Nothing sinister about 2017 Budget

Minister for Planning and Monitoring, Charles Abel, there is nothing sinister about the 2017 National Budget nor are there unsubstantiated figures contained in it.

In a media conference today, Abel said the 2017 Budget was presented in the same  new format which may have caused confusion in the Opposition ranks.

He said these following outbursts by the Opposition in Parliament yesterday during the Budget debate, over alleged inaccurate figures contained in the 2017 Budget.

Abel reiterated a statement by Treasurer, Patrick Pruaitch after Parliament ended, saying the budget papers are in order.

“The way the budget is presented its based on normal international accounting standards of how budgets are presented. Not only yesterday, but how the budget has always been presented. It just that they’ve updated to the latest 2014 IMF standards, starting from 2016.”

He further said “when we use our GDP, use our Debt, and come up with the ratios, there is nothing sinister, false or hoax about that practice. As I said the GDP was calculated with the assistance of the Australian Bureau of National Statistics, and I don’t think those allegations of the opposition are substantiated.”

Abel also reiterated the statement issued by Treasurer, Patrick Pruaitch, following yesterdays budget debate after Opposition Leader, Don Polye, called the budget a defective and misleading.

Polye alleged that figures in the budget did not correlate as the Appropriation Bill reads as over “K21 billion kina signed by the first legislative council” whilst the Treasurer’s speech confirmed the figure to be K12.9 billion.

Pruaitch later said in his statement that what was not understood by the Opposition Leader and some other MPs was that the K21.4 billion appropriations figure included K8.5 billion in short term public sector debt that needed to be rolled over in 2017.

“The K8.5 billion figure also includes debt finance for the 2017 Budget,” Pruaitch said, noting that when short term public sector debt occurs it is customary for the Government to roll this over.”

He reassured that the 2017 National Budget involved a total revenue of K11.09 billion with expenditure pegged at K12.96 billion for an overall deficit of K1.88 billion.

Author: 
Cedric Patjole