PM Matthew Wale says the Budget, not the Throne Speech, will provide the fiscal test for Government commitments
PRIME Minister Matthew Wale says the Government is committed to fiscal responsibility, clarifying that the Speech from the Throne is a policy statement that sets direction and not a budget document.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Wale said it is a “simple constitutional truth” that the Speech from the Throne outlines the Government’s programme and legislative agenda, while the detailed financial framework is properly presented through the national Budget.
“The numbers follow in the instrument our Constitution prescribes and that instrument is the Budget,” Prime Minister Wale stated.
He said work is already underway within the Ministry of Finance and Treasury and the Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination to develop a medium-term fiscal framework.
The Prime Minister said this would be presented to Parliament through the 2027 Appropriation Bill later this year.
“That is where the fiscal envelope will be laid before this House, line by line, as it should be. This House will test every commitment of the Speech against it,” he said.
Prime Minister Wale also addressed criticisms raised during the debate, noting that no previous government, including those led or served by the current Opposition Leader, had attached a costed medium-term fiscal framework to a Speech from the Throne.
The Prime Minister said the Leader of Opposition knows better as a former Prime Minister and should not mislead Parliament and the people.
“Not one,” he said.
“And that was not a failure of those Governments; it was the correct understanding of what a Speech from the Throne is.”
Prime Minister Wale stressed that fiscal credibility must be judged through the Budget process where all commitments are scrutinised transparently by Parliament.
“The measure of fiscal credibility is the Budget and this Government will meet that measure in this Chamber before this year is out,” the Prime Minister said.
Prime Minister Wale said the Government remains committed to responsible economic management and ensuring that all policy priorities announced in the Speech from the Throne are backed by a credible and accountable fiscal framework.
SOURCE//: OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER PRESS RELEASE
