GRENADA-BUDGET-Opposition Leader points to inconsistencies in the 2023 budget.

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, Opposition Leader Dr. Keith Mitchell has claimed that some of the allocations in the budget presentation delivered by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dickon Mitchell on Monday were inconsistent with figures set out in the Estimates.

He voiced concern as he responded to the EC$1.3 billion (One EC dollar=US 0.37 cents) budget delivered on Monday in the House of Assembly.

“Based on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, these areas have gone up by $2 million and $5 million, respectively. I remain baffled by the inconsistency between what was said in the budget and the numbers in the estimates,” Dr. Mitchell said

“Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister stated on page 12 of his budget statement that the budget for the Ministry of Agriculture is EC$54.3 million, the largest ever with a EC$14.3 million dollar increase. Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure the Prime Minister was reading but the budget for the Ministry of Agriculture, as set out on page 468 of the Estimates, is EC$39.4 million.”

Identifying other discrepancies, the Opposition Leader noted that the Ministry of Infrastructure is said to have had the largest budget of EC$143.1, as stated on page 12 of the speech delivered by the Prime Minister.

“However, page 338 of the Estimates contradicts his quoted numbers, reflecting a budget of $131 million, $98 million less than what was spent by the efforts of the NNP [New National Party] administration. Mr. Speaker, it baffles me that the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister presented numbers in a speech, making grand statements that contradict the actual estimates, which is the most important document,” he said.

“In other words, there is one in the Prime Minister’s speech and one in the document. I don’t know which one to believe…but it cannot remain so. They have to mesh; they have to be consistent. These glaring errors continue to show a disconnect between the budget speech presented and what was budgeted by the government,” said Dr. Mitchell, who became Opposition Leader in June 2022 after his NNP lost the general election.

The Prime Minister presented the 2023 budget on Monday under the theme ‘Vision 2035: People-Centered Transformation, laying the foundation for resilience, empowerment, and growth”.