Roseau, Dominica – February 3, 2010…… When Parliament meets on Thursday, February 4, 2010 for the First Meeting of the First Session of the Eight Parliament, attention will be given to the significant sums the Roosevelt Skerrit-led Government has invested in the country’s infrastructure.
Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit will present the Supplementary Appropriation (2008/2009) (No 4) Act 2010 to Parliament for its approval.
The legal authority for the Supplementary Estimates can be found in Section 80 (1) of the Commonwealth of Dominica Constitution Order 1978, as well as in Section 12 of the Finance Administration Act, Act No 4/94.
The Supplementary Estimates refer to advances made from the Contingencies Fund during the fourth quarter of the 2008/2009 fiscal year.
Of the total amount of $22,577,153.15, $11,759,647.92 was financed using grant funds, $10,530,992.73 came from local funds and only $268,512.50 constituted loans.
A review of the Schedule of Supplementary Estimates for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2008/2009 (April-June, 2009) reveals that significant sums were expended on infrastructural works across the country in that period.
The sum of $500,000 was spent on the Tan Tan Sea Defence Project Phase 1 to meet expenditure relating to the road component of the Project. An amount of $3.5 million was also spent on the Roseau to Melville Hall Road upgrade to meet contractual obligations relating to the construction of the first phase of this vital piece of road.
The sum of $3.720,165.00 was used as Government’s counterpart contribution for the continuation of works on the Roseau Road Reinstatement project to June, 2009. The Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development is funding this project in partnership with the Government of Dominica.
Through the Ministry of Community Development, an amount of $120,000 was used for the completion of the Resource Centre at Tete Morne. The sum of $120,000 was spent on road improvement in the community of Bense.
In the last quarter of 2008/2009, an amount of $708,769.00 was used by the Ministry of Education to meet the cost of additional maintenance required for the successful hosting of the One-day International cricket matches staged last year at the Windsor Park Stadium.
The Government of Dominica through the Ministry of Education also bought a new school bus at a cost of $186,810.00 in that period to transport students from Petite Soufriere and Good Hope to the Castle Bruce Secondary School.
Through the Ministry of Public Utilities, an amount of $1,409,546.71 was expended as additional resources were required for the undertaking of coastal and river protection works under the Melville Hall Air Access Improvement Programme.
