Well, I have received a reply to my Freedom of Information Act request. It reveals that there is no letter of authorisation for the Government of Anguilla to borrow funds from the Social Security Board. All the borrowing from the Social Security Fund has been unauthorised. Unauthorised borrowings to this date amount to some EC$43 million. At this rate the Fund will be depleted, I estimate, in two years time.
This is the correspondence I have received:
This is the attachment referred to:
I have to tell you that I am grateful for what I consider to be a prompt and complete response to my request.
I would like to hear what you make of it all.
Related posts:
FOI responses are written to answer what is asked and no more. They are not necessarily intended to be helpful or friendly. Accordingly, when you asked for letters, you were told there are no letters. If there are emails, telephone conversations or face-to-face discussions, well, sorry, you didn't ask about that.
ReplyDeleteHubert said in the last meeting of the House of Assembly that he thought they had borrowed $30 million from Social Security. Now we learn that it's $43 million.
ReplyDeleteHaydn said on the radio last week that the policy based loan from CDB includes EC$50 million, to be used first to pay back Social Security and then to meet civil service wages.
These wages are about $10 million a month, including some $16,000 to Haydn. The next payday is in about 10 days. It looks to me that by the time we get the $50 million, all of it will have to be paid back to Social Security. If so, where do we get the money for next month's payroll? More "unauthorised" looting of Social Security? Is there a difference between "unauthorised" and "illegal"?
I'm told that a FOI request from Turks and Caicos was refused on the basis that the OTs fwll outside the ambit of the legislation. Is there some authority on this point?
ReplyDeleteFascinating blog btw.
The question arose several weeks ago whether the governor approved this unauthorised borrowing from Social Security, in ExCo or otherwise, if if Hubert and Tommy did it behind the governor's back. This question remains unanswered
ReplyDeleteThe $24 million loan seems to be the loan that Hubert has referred to as $20 million, and is from some entity in Trinidad. It has nothing to do with the Social Security borrowing.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the FOI request from the TCI being refused, Don didn't ask for anything from Anguilla. He asked the Foreign Office what THEY had in THEIR files in THEIR office.
ReplyDeleteLetter responding to FOI request is a welcomed step forward and will result in more transparency and accountability. The expediency with which it was rendered is indeed gratifying.
ReplyDeleteThis constant borrowing to pay civil servants salaries and expenses is disgusting to say the least. The days of the big boys spending and salaries are over, except for some civil servants.
ReplyDeleteThe top 20% of civil servants salaries and expenses need to be revised to reflect todays world.
As Hubert said the administration needs an overhaul to save money.
These same civil servants gave a deficit budget to Hubert and he should have thrown it in the bin and rejected any deficit budget.
These same civil servants want taxes imposed on all of us just to ensure their salaries are paid.
What a torrid state of affairs.
Well done with the FOI, if we can't get answers from Anguilla we should get them through an FOI to the FOC.
I nailed that one, didn't I? - Scotty
ReplyDelete