The PNM Government has reduced the allocation for the National School Dietary Services Ltd, handling the school feeding programme, from the 2015 level of $250 million to $235 million in 2016 since Government is going to “be looking very closely at this company,” Finance Minister Colm Imbert confirmed yesterday.
Imbert spoke about the situation during the Finance Committee’s scrutiny of 2016 budget aspects pertaining to the Education Ministry.
He was responding to a query from Opposition MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh on the reason for a $14.5 million cut in the school feeding allocation.
Gopeesingh asked if Government was “cutting meals” or “student numbers.” Imbert said the reason for the cut was because Government recognised there was a lot of overspending in 2015.
He said: “We have chosen to reduce allocations where there was a lot of questionable expenditure and a lot of allegations of contracts being awarded under very questionable circumstances,
“And this one, the National Schools Dietary Services Ltd, is a company where we are going to be looking very closely at the contracts that were awarded in 2015.
“And we do believe we can provide the same amount of food to the same amount of children with the same amount of dietary nutrition in it and quite possibly, have a higher quality for less money... because of what happened in this country in 2015... because of the corruption, waste and mismanagement, that’s the answer.” Imbert added.
Education Minister Anthony Garcia was also asked by Gopeesingh about a reduced allocation in education concerning minor equipment and if that was for the laptop programme which the PP government had instituted over the last term. Gopeesingh asked if the PNM Government had provided allocation for it.
He noted the PNM while in Opposition had criticised the laptop programme.
Garcia said there was a budgetary allocation for laptops and Government was not omitting laptops.
He said the allocation for that was in the 2016 estimates of $45 million. Garcia added: “Yes the laptops will be provided but right now we are reviewing the infrastructural needs of the schools before giving out the laptops.
In other discussions we have been saying, the schools must be properly equipped to use laptops as a learning tool.”
UNC MP Suruj Rambachan asked if any contract had been given out for acquisition of laptops for secondary schools in the first year and if that was included in the $45 million. Garcia said he would provide the answer to that in writing.
On Rambachan’s query about reduced expenditure for schools’ security, Imbert explained it had been reduced from $169 million to $157 million since Government felt it was necessary to see if there was duplication, examine expenditure over the past term, look at contracts for security services, see if Government had obtained value for money, whether there had been transparency in the contract and if the situation had not been inflated.
Garcia as well as Rambachan and UNC’s Ganga Singh confirmed they had been receiving concerns about furnishings for early childhood care centres.
Garcia said if there was need for more funding, that would be dealt with in the mid-term review.
Gopeesingh was told he would get in writing the explanation on why the scholarship programme was moved from the Public Adminstration Ministry to Education.
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The Finance Committee was to have concluded examinations by last night, the fifth and final day according to its regulations. Debate on the 2016 budget is expected to begin in the Senate at 10 am today and end by weekend.
Parliament officials said the Office of the Prime Minister was last on the Finance Committee agenda to be scrutinised yesterday. Prime Minister Keith Rowley was not present in the chamber for the earlier part of the session between 10.30 pm to 3 pm.
Last Friday, Government had requested the Opposition, which sets the agenda and fields the questions in the Finance Committee, if the OPM could have been scrutinised then as Rowley was available then.
He had not been when the committee began last Wednesday and Thursday and the OPM had been listed among the ministries to be done early in the agenda.
But Opposition whip Roodal Moonilal had said that day’s agenda had been set already and the item could have been rostered last.