Bill amendment caused decrease in revenue @ Cabinet Office- SFC Report
However, Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ms Sandra I. Ward revealed this while testifying before the 2023 Standing Finance Committee (SFC) in the HoA over the 2024 Budget.
Ms Ward made an informal presentation before taking questions from members. In her short presentation, she reported that regarding the collection of fees, “the Cabinet Office has been experiencing a decline over the past years, but it has been further impacted by the passage of the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2022 that was passed in the House in July of 2022.”
The CS continued that the Act established new residency rules for liquidations, therefore, “the number of liquidators that companies could use to complete liquidations had been greatly affecting the collection of fees since most of the fees came from liquidation notices,” she told the Committee.
She further stated that so far for 2023, $226,468.00 was collected and the total for 2022 was $300,342.00, and in 2021 it was $396,925.00.
Value on time?
The Minister for Health and Social Development and Member for the Ninth District Hon Vincent O. Wheatley thanked the CS for the excellent work she did facilitating Cabinet meetings. The Minister also noted that he “had not seen where the CS had put a value on the time she spent facilitating Members.”
The Leader of the Opposition and Territorial Member Hon Ronnie W. Skelton inquired why it was listed in the budget under expenditure of $50,000 for this year, and they projected to spend $50,000, but they are receiving $100,000 increase for next year.
The CS explained that the increase was for the ExcoTrack platform.
The Leader of the Opposition and Territorial Member further queried about the Cabinet Office having had a budget of $866,000 in 2023 and it projected to spend $826,000, but was expected to receive $906,700. He further asked if it was salary increases for next year to which the CS responded in the affirmative.
More work
The CS reported that they have been working on greening the Cabinet Office since 2018. They have been making tweaks to the Exco track platform, hence the increase in the license fee agreement, and they also completed works on digitising the National Security Council.
The Cabinet Office is responsible for three bodies - the Cabinet, National Security Council, and the Virgin Islands Cadet Corps, and they have the responsibility of facilitating meetings of the National Security Council, according to Ms Ward’s testimony before the SFC.
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11 Responses to “Bill amendment caused decrease in revenue @ Cabinet Office- SFC Report”
Along the way, she has accumulated much experience which has been beneficial to all the governments she has served. She deserves every penny she receives and more. She has earned her pay, so you lay off of her.
When you have dedicated your life to public service and has accumulated much experience as she has, let's talk about your pay.
A company need a liquidator when it’s being dissolved.
What does that have to do with collection of fees.
Over the years the Notice to state commencement of the Liquidation was being submitted to Cabinet Office for publication in addition to being published in the local newspaper and it was NOT necessary causing clients to waste so much money.