Treasurer says budget ‘legal’

TREASURY Minister Ian Ling-Stuckey, pictured, says the 2019 Supplementary Budget made the 2019 budget “legal”.
He was responding to Opposition Leader Belden Namah’s comments on the supplementary budget, saying the 2019 Supplementary Budget referred to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
“It (Consolidated Revenue Fund) is a key part of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). It is the account that receives all funds in our nation whether they be taxes, excises, fees, charges, or loans,” Ling-Stuckey said.
“So the Consolidated Revenue Fund includes funding from loans and other forms of financing according to our Constitution and the PFMA.”
Ling-Stuckey said at the policy level, the supplementary budget recognised the year’s economic mismanagement.
But he warned that it could force PNG down “an unsustainable deficit and debt path”.
“The first step is to be transparent and recognise that there is K1,874 million in hidden expenditure pressures and cost-overruns relative to a fake 2019 Budget,” he said.
“On the advice of NEC, the Parliament then agreed to introduce cuts of K1,482 million to reduce the size of the deficit. These were very real and painful cuts.
“Despite fixing up 80 percent of these cost-overruns, it was just not feasible to cut the last 20 percent to get back to the unrealistically low 2019 Budget levels.
“So there was still K392 million extra, required to synchronise the fake 2019 Budget figures with the reality of expenditures even after massive cuts.
“Given that revenues are falling at the same time as expenditures are rising, these additional funds or appropriations will have to be financed from borrowings.”