The Standing Finance Committee (SFC) is in session. That Committee is made up of all the elected members of the House of Assembly. The Financial Secretary as the Chief Accounting Officer is its technical expert.
The role of the Speaker of the House changes to Chairman of the Committee and, as is customary in the House, those asking as well as answering questions must address the Chairman.
The purpose of the Standing Finance Committee is to ensure that all members of the Honourable House have the opportunity to get their questions answered regarding the budget allocations. It is also a last opportunity to make changes to the draft estimates.
Every Accounting Officer across Government and Heads of Statutory Bodies are called in, perhaps except for the Managing Director of the Financial Services Commission.
FSC likely has a special session with the Cabinet where they can sensitize Government about the Commission’s activities and the legislation required to maintain BVIs status as a well-regulated financial services jurisdiction.
The FSC is, by law, allowed to collect and hold government revenue. It is then shared based on a pre-agreed formula.
At the beginning of the budget process, the UK Government agrees a medium-term fiscal plan with the BVI Government.
Then, before the budget speech, the draft estimates are approved by the Cabinet where the Governor sits as Chairman. That means the UK government is fully involved in the territory’s financial planning and has the opportunity to offer guidance.
At the SFC, the Accounting Officers are called to speak and be questioned on every aspect of their budget that may be of interest to Honourable Members. By the end of the process, the Members are well briefed.
The theatrics that we call the budget debate is therefore a show for the Members to perform for the cameras and their constituents for they already have answers and explanations for everything they will say puzzles them as they debate the budget.
There was an occasion when the Members did not wish to perform for the cameras. It was the day they enacted the ‘Greedy Bill.’ As now seems to be the prevailing practice in BVI public life, Caesar hid behind God.
They knew that the Council of Churches was having its National Day of Prayer on the day they debated the Greedy Bill. The church had already bought out the airtime on all local stations that day so the Members were able to make the heist on the treasury sans witnesses.
In politics, timing is everything.
Once the House approves the Budget, it then must receive the approval of the UK government by the Governor’s assent. That allows the UK to ensure that they are not exposed to contingent liabilities for the Territory’s financial manoeuvres and maybe to check that in the course of its borrowing, we are operating within the borrowing guidelines that was agreed with us.
On our Fridays, we should also strive to understand how government works.
Happy Friday!