Welcome to our interactive deep dive into Vanuatu's 2021 budget
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This year saw a remarkable sequence of emergencies that required our government to react quickly and decisively. Over VT9 billion in unbudgeted money was spent. In the last Ordinary session of 2020, the government introduced a bill to retroactively legitimise the expenditures.
No public money can be spent without the approval of Parliament. Vanuatu's legislation allows emergency spending of a small percentage of the overall budget in an emergency, as long as the amount is approved in Parliament in a reasonable amount of time. But this year was unique.
As a result, the government found itself in a situation where it had exceeded the maximum by a significant margin. This bill is a legal effort to legitimise these necessary expenditures after the fact. Parliament agreed to support the decision to spend this money first, and to request approval afterward.
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