Outgoing Minister of Finance Hon. Hiro Shigemoto says that he has responded to the Committee of Financial Supervision (CFT) two letters dated May 9, 2012 with respect to the 2012 National Budget.
The CFT correspondence was concerning a perceived deficit related to the 2012 budget.
"I would like to set the record straight with respect to certain circles in the media misinforming the community. In my two letters to the CFT of May 14, 2012, I address the first quarterly report wherein it is explained that due to the increased income for the first quarter as well as the under spending of the budget 2012, we do not foresee a deficit as yet.
"There are other issues which need to be dealt with in the budget amendment and for which coverage must be sought. However, as I mentioned in my press conference last Wednesday, those are decisions which need to be made which will have consequences for the 2013 National Budget and further if they are not dealt with, i.e. methodology of calculating the payment of cost of living adjustment from 2011 onward, increasing the pensionable age or going over to a pension calculated on the average salary as opposed to the end salary. These are decisions which the new government have to deal with as they were about to be dealt with by the outgoing government.
"Furthermore both letters from the CFT were answered by my person and sent via fax and email to the secretariat. Had the Today Newspaper checked its facts before printing the story they would have known this although the knowledge of such doesn’t guarantee that they would have printed it as it starkly contradicts their story," Outgoing Minister of Finance Hon. Hiro Shigemoto, said on Sunday.