COMMANDER KAMLA PM takes control of crime-fighting National Operations Centre By Ria Taitt Political Editor The National Operations Centre (NOC) has been moved from the Ministry of National Security and placed under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), according to the Draft Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure, 2015. The NOC, the body which co-ordinates national joint operations, disaster and emergency crises, and interagency operations, was listed as an expenditure item under the Ministry of National Security in 2014 when it was allocated $80 million. This year, it has been placed as a “new sub-item” under the Office of the Prime Minister and has been allocated $355.6 million, according to the Draft Estimates of Recurrent Expenditure, 2015. The document does not explain the reason for the significant increase. Asked to explain the transfer of the NOC last night, National Security Minister Gary Griffith said the NOC always fell under the umbrella of the Prime Minister because she is head of the National Security Council. “The NOC deals with all aspects of national security. The Prime Minister is the chair of the National Security Council...however, for all operational purposes, it is run on a daily basis by the Ministry of National Security,” he said. He noted almost every arm of the NOC involved national security personnel. However, he said administratively, it came under the Prime Minister. Where there is a manmade or natural disaster, it would function from the OPM because it might dictate a joint working relationship among several ministers,” he said. “Now that we are totally establishing the NOC, funding, payment and expenditure are coming under the Office of the Prime Minister,” he said. The Office of the Prime Minister is spending $408.6 million more than it did last year and much of this increase is going towards the NOC. According to the docu- ment , the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), which was under the OPM, has been moved to the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. allocations Other allocations of interest under the OPM are the $1 million allocation to the “National Association of Administrative Professionals”. Also, after a one-year hiatus, the Divine Echoes orchestra returns to the Office of the Prime Minister as an expenditure item and would receive $60,000. The Divine Echoes orchestra was created by former prime minister Patrick Manning in 2007 and received millions. Its allocation was $1.4 million in fiscal year 2013. In many of the ministries, there is an increase in the allocation for contract employment. In the Office of the Prime Minister, $12 million has been allocated for salaries to public servants but $13 million has been allocated for salaries for contract employment. The biggest increase in expenditure comes in the Ministry of the People and Social Development, which has been allocated $848.2 million more in 2015. According to the Draft Estimates of Expenditure, 2015, the lion’s share of this increased revenue would go towards the Senior Citizens Grant, which has been allocated $2.8 billion ($535.5 million more than 2014); social assistance, which was allocated $409 million ($155.6 million more than 2014); the Disability Grant, which was allocated $429 million ($82 million more than 2014); and the newly created “Relief for Underprivileged Mothers”, which has been allocated $120 million and is a new “sub-item”. According to the document, under the heading Ministry of Finance, Caribbean Airlines has been allocated a whopping $718 million in 2015, an increase of $465.2 million over last year’s allocation of $252 million. The document also reveals there were no deposits to the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund last year. The last deposit was in 2013 when $271.7 million was deposited. One ministry that has seen a dramatic decrease in allocation is the Ministry of Sport, which was allocated $231.1 million less than it received in the last fiscal year. The SPORTT company, which managed the controversial LifeSport programme, received an allocation of $134 million. Under Transfers, SPORTT also received an allocation last fiscal year of $149.1 million, which is not continued into 2015. According to the document, CEPEP (Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme ) has been allocated $594.2 million in 2015. The document also shows less money has been allocated to all local government bodies. $130m for legal fees In the Ministry of the Attorney General, some $130 million has been allocated to the payment of fees in 2015, $18 million more than was given in 2014. The bulk of this allocation is for forensic investigation. The cost of retaining local attorneys is estimated at $27 million. trinidadexpress/news/COMMANDER--KAMLA-274562051.html
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:46:33 +0000