ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN STATES
FOURTH ORDINARY MEETING OF THE MINISTERIAL COUNCIL
Bridgetown, Barbados, December 11, 1998
Agreement No. 2/98
BUDGET OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE YEAR 1999
The Ministerial Council,
Pursuant to:
1. Articles IX paragraph (b) and XII of the Convention Establishing the Association.
2. Agreements 2/95, 2/96 and 2/97 of the Ministerial Council.
3. The recommendations presented by the Committee on Budget and Administration, adopted during the VI and VII meetings held in Havana, Cuba and in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, respectively.
HEREBY AGREES TO:
a. The distribution of quotas and contributions of Members remains as stated in Annex II.
b. An additional heading, "Temporary Staff" will be included in the Budget.
c. The breakdown into heads will be as follows:
|
1999 Budget |
% based on 1,349,502 |
% based on 1.5 Million |
||
|
MC |
Ministerial Council |
66,136.86 |
4.90% |
4.41% |
|
S1 |
International Staff |
746,361.01 |
55.31% |
49.76% |
|
S.2 |
Local Staff |
98,905.98 |
7.33% |
6.59% |
|
S3 |
Official Travel |
90,083.73 |
6.68% |
6.01% |
|
S4 |
General Administrative Expenditure |
185,554.27 |
13.75% |
12.37% |
|
S5 |
Consultants and Meetings |
149,460.15 |
11.08% |
9.96% |
|
S6 |
Temporary Staff |
13,000.00 |
0.96% |
0.87% |
|
Total |
1,349,502 |
100.00% |
89.97% |
d. The Budget for expenditure by the Association for [1998 and] 1999 will be calculated based on the collection of US$1,349,502 in contributions.
3. Authorise the Special Committee on Budget and Administration to make an assessment, and decide on the review and modification of the breakdown by heads at the request of the Secretary General under any of the following circumstances:
a. If the Governments of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Haiti, as Member States ratify the Convention Establishing the Association, and pay the relevant contributions.
b. If any of the States, Countries or Territories to whom associate membership is open signs and ratifies the Convention Establishing the Association, and pays the relevant contributions in accordance with Article IV, paragraph 2 of the Convention.
4. To maintain the structure and composition of the International Staff component of the Secretariat approved by in Agreement 2/95
5. To approve the structure and composition of the Local Staff component in accordance with the recommendations of the VII Meeting of the Special Committee on Budget and Administration, which also includes the addition of a Local Area Network Administrator as a permanent member of local staff.
6. To approve the Official Travel Policy of the Secretariat recommended by the VII Meeting of the Special Committee.
7. To take note of the Revised Budget for 1998, approved by the Special Committee on Budget and Administration in its VII Meeting, in fulfilment of Agreement 2/97 of this Council, which presents a breakdown into heads as follows:
|
1998 |
||||
|
Approved Budget (Revised) |
% based on 1,349,502 |
% based on 1,5 million |
||
|
MC |
Ministerial Council |
63,575.00 |
4.71% |
4.24% |
|
S1 |
International Staff |
656,595.82 |
48.65% |
43.77% |
|
S2 |
Local Staff |
71,660.27 |
5.31% |
4.78% |
|
S3 |
Official Travel |
116,443.30 |
8.63% |
7.76% |
|
S4 |
General Administrative Expenditure |
209,219.33 |
15.50% |
13.95% |
|
S5 |
Consultants and Meetings |
160,830.29 |
11.92% |
10.72% |
|
RESERVES |
71,177.98 |
5.27% |
4.75% |
|
|
Total |
1,349,502.00 |
100.00% |
89.97% |
|
8. To note with satisfaction the existence of a Salary Scale for Local Staff at the Secretariat as decided by this Council in Agreement 2/97 and approved by the VII Meeting of the Special Committee on Budget and Administration and which will take effect from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2001. This scale is to be reviewed and considered again, together with the budget for the year 2002.
9. To note with satisfaction the hiring policy for Temporary Staff approved by the VII Meeting of the Special Committee on Budget and Administration.
10. To take note of the Reports of the External Auditor on the Financial Statements and Balance Sheet of the Secretariat for the year 1997.
11. To note with satisfaction the existence of a Staff Evaluation System for the staff of the ACS Secretariat as decided by this Council in Agreement 2/97 and approved by the VII Meeting of the Special Committee on Budget and Administration.
12. To continue to use the auditing services of Ernst & Young for the 1998 accounting year.
13. To request that the Secretariat submit quarterly summaries of budgetary execution to Member States and Associate Members of the Association.