| Wetherell meets with press during Provo visit | | Print | |
| Thursday, 25 March 2010 13:57 | |||
 After holding active town hall meetings in Salt Cay, South Caicos and Grand Turk, His Excellency the Gov. Gordon Wetherell decided to meet only with representatives from the press on his visit to Providenciales on Thursday, March 18. The governor said he chose the media roundtable in order to reach the largest Provo audience possible and address the broadest range of issues raised by the community. When asked if he would be presenting himself to the public in Providenciales at some point, he responded, “This is the format for now.” The discussion was lively with representatives from eight media organisations anxious to get answers to their most burning questions, most of which were not asked. With so many media and so many pressing questions, time ran short leaving most questions unanswered and many unsatisfied with the answers they did receive. Transparency, or lack thereof, has been a continual complaint on behalf of the public and the media. The governor insists he is trying to give as much information as he can. Some of the major issues discussed related to the current economic situation, the $85 million government loan to consolidate and pay off debts, crime and the refuse dump on Providenciales. The governor said the finances continue to be a significant struggle for the interim government, pointing to the legacy of unpaid bills, overextended bank accounts and irresponsible spending of the former government as the reason for the troubles. “Our responsibility is to put right the mess that we inherited,” he said. He laid out the administrations current financial priorities as: Permanent Secretary of Finance Delton Jones reported that coming to the end of the current financial year, the deficit is currently $28 million. The new budget year starts April 1 and is already expected to run at a deficit of $30 million. The topic of civil servants’ pay cuts of 10 percent across the board was also raised. Jones pointed out that currently the salaries account for 50 percent of expenditures, and the cuts are expected to bring in a total of $7 million in savings. Both the governor and Chief Executive Mark Capes had their salaries cut by 10 percent. Capes said part of the reason for the cuts is the dramatic reduction in revenue from $206 million in 2008-09 to $130 million in 2009-10. He also stated that drastic cuts in civil servant posts were not to be expected with the service currently running with only 1,705 of the 2,250 open posts. The governor reassured that crime, and staffing and resources for the police continue to be a top priority. While finances are tight, they are seeking cooperation from the U.K. and Canadian police for support. The garbage situation is “top of the agenda,” the governor said, and is expected to start improving in the near future. Although many questions went unanswered, the governor did agree to continue to give the media one-on-one face time on a regular basis. He committed to monthly roundtable discussions in Providenciales, where most media are based.
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