Critics agree that parliamentary amendments must precede Cabinet’s ‘surplus’ mandate to statutory corporations

Critics agree that parliamentary amendments must precede
Cabinet’s ‘surplus’ mandate to statutory corporations
 
Parliament reportedly is set to meet very shortly, and it might be to
legalize the Cabinet decision that calls for statutory corporations
and government- operated companies to pay their surplus into the
Consolidated Fund.
 
This decision, taken by the Gaston Browne Cabinet late last year,
was announced in January, and mandated these bodies to deposit a
minimum of 50 percent of their profits or surplus into the Treasury.
 
However, the United Progressive Party’s chairman, D.Gisele Isaac,
says this executive decision is not legal until it is made so by way of
parliamentary amendments. 

UPP Chair D.Gisele Isaac.
 
Meanwhile, community activist Linley Winter agrees with Isaac. He
notes that statutory corporations are guided by their legal
requirements; hence, unless there are amendments to give power to
the Cabinet decision, then the mandate is illegal. 
 
Winter says that, personally, he has no issue with the request –
provided that the corporation or government company is not
handing over its entire surplus, rendering it incapable of fulfilling its
mandate. 

That was Linley Winter.
 
In the meantime, Sylvester Browne – who has served on two
statutory boards, himself – says there might be a few entities in
which this directive is already enshrined in the laws that govern
their operations. 

But, he says, the Central Government cannot force this decision on
the other entities simply because it is unable to meet its financial
obligations.

That was Sylvester Browne, a former board member of the
Development Control Authority and the St. John’s Development
Corporation.