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PM Pulls Plug On Senate Hearings
posted (September 7, 2017)
Last night, we had coverage of the Senate Hearings on Immigration which resumed yesterday, after a month's break. Well, these upcoming sessions may very well be the winding down of the hearings because the Government does not intend to pay any more money to cover it.

In a letter dated August 3, Prime Minister Dean Barrow wrote to National Assembly Clerk Eddie Webster to make that position clear.

The Prime Minister says, quote "You wrote on July 20, 2017 on behalf of the Special Select Committee, requesting a supplementary allocation of $124,202 to cover sittings through to November of 2017. Then, on July 21, 2017, you wrote again asking for another supplementary allocation of $41,350 to pay outstanding bills of the Committee as of July 31, 2017.

By the Ministry of Finance calculations, the Committee's expenses, before your two recent letter, amounted to $146,000. And, the Committee has been sitting for 8 months."

His letter then says, quote,"GOB will in fact provide the two supplementary allocations requested in your letters. But, I hereby serve notice that no further allocations will be approved hereafter. GOB is extremely hard-pressed to find extra-budgetary allocations (such as the ones for the Select Committee) to deal with the newly reconstituted Integrity Commission and implementation of UNCAC. I therefore repeat that there can be no further disbursements to the Committee after these last 2 requests are Honored." End quote.

So, the Government will provide funding which should last into November. That puts the Senate Select Committee on a deadline to complete the hearings before the money runs out.

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