Prime Minister and Finance Minister in parliament to discuss supplementary budget 2023

The public meeting to discuss the Supplementary Budget 2023 was held in Parliament. Supplementary Budget is when during the year the Government notices that the Budget that Parliament approves at the beginning of the year, changes. For this, Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes and Finance Minister Xiomara Maduro were in Parliament.

The Prime Minister explained what a supplementary budget is by giving examples of changes in Budget 2023. In his policy on security and social, Minister of Justice and Social Affairs, Rocco Tjon, wants changes to work on the “Veilige Bario” project to make our neighborhoods safer. Also for Casa Blanca and Casa Briante where our special people live, Minister Tjon wants more money seeing that the subsidy is not enough. In these cases, Minister Tjon had to look in his own budget where he could draw to allocate the money in these projects. Because in the original Budget Parliament did not approve these changes. These extra funds should come from the funds of the supplementary budget and with the condition that it will not become an additional expense for the Government.

Under the leadership of the Minister of Sports and Education, Endy Croes, it is up to all schools to have more funds available for the standard bedragen for each child. For this to be possible, a law should be passed first to increase the money so that each school has more money.

The Prime Minister expressed that unlike the previous cabinet of another signature, when he himself was in opposition, the government of that time also came with a supplementary budget but only in the last days of the year. In the meantime, they have already made the changes without first consulting Parliament. The Wever-Croes cabinet is moving forward with policy changes to be approved by parliament before the changes are made.

Another difference is that the government of another signature was asking for extra money, and not looking for the money in the budget that has already been approved and making additional expenditures for the government. Cabinet Wever-Croes, on the other hand, when it wants to make changes, seeks in the Budget to approve from where it can be removed and used for the changes it wants to make. This is “budget neutral”. Kiermeen is not asking for any extra money from Parliament.

Caft’s conclusions are also positive. I am very proud of the work of the Minister of Finance and his team and today we are defending it in Parliament. Parliament has the opportunity to approve the changes before making them. Parliament is part of the Government’s decision, the Prime Minister said.