Barbados Today

Government spent less on its wage bill between April and December last year than it did during the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year.

As the Freundel Stuart administration struggles to keep spending in check, the latest Central Bank report issued yesterday revealed that expenditure on wages and salaries fell from $583.7 million to $579.2 million, a $4.5 million decline.

While Governor Cleviston Haynes did not say how the reduction was achieved, it was one of the few areas in which the administration recorded gains, another being goods and services, which recorded a decline in expenditure of $6.7 million, falling from $242.3 million to $235.6 million.

Local non-profit organizations also had their revenue from Government slashed, with such income down by nearly 50 per cent.

Between April and December last year, Government spent $12.9 million on non-profits, compared to $24 million for the corresponding period in the previous financial year, according to the Central Bank report, which did not specify which agencies suffered a cut.

The document showed that on average Government had spent $35 million per year on non-profit agencies over the past six years, a figure that is unlikely to be matched this fiscal year with only two months left.

However, while Government succeeded in reducing spending in some areas, the declines were insufficient to drive down overall expenditure, which grew by $9.9 million to reach $2.3 billion during the period under review.

The report revealed that transfers and subsidies accounted for the largest increase, rising by $49.9 million to reach $803.4 at the end of December.

Grants to public institutions rose by $38.9 million to reach $515.4 million, while grants to individuals rose by an additional $32.1 million to $243.1 million.

According to the report, expenditure on external debt declined by $600,000 to $122.9 million, while expenditure on domestic debt rose by $17.7 million, up from $465.5 million during the same period the preceding fiscal year.