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Sir Joe, appointed Minister for Financial Stability, warns of ‘challenging times ahead’

Sir Joe Bossano was formally appointed Minister with responsibility for Financial Stability on Wednesday, losing no time to stress that the community faced a “challenging time financially” as it recovered from the Covid crisis.

He was speaking a day after the Cabinet held an emergency meeting to begin discussing the next budget in the early summer.

Sir Joe’s appointment, first flagged by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo in a New Year message earlier this week, was formalised on Wednesday when Mr Picardo advised the Governor, Vice Admiral Sir David Steel, to add the portfolio to his existing ministerial brief.

“I stated in my New Year’s Message that I would be asking the Governor to appoint Sir Joe as Minister with responsibility for financial stability,” Mr Picardo said.

“I have now done so.”

“I look forward to working with Sir Joe, my Cabinet colleagues and the Financial Secretary, Albert Mena, in casting a post-pandemic and post-Brexit Budget for our nation for coming years that will be designed to ensure our long-term financial stability and the regeneration and sustainability of the excellent public services that the Government provides for the community.”

“Our next budget, which will be in early summer, will provide an excellent opportunity for the Parliament to debate the measures we will propose for this basis in our estimates for the financial year 2021 to 2022.”

Sir Joe added: “I am working already on the measures the Chief Minister and I will propose to the Cabinet in order to put our post-Covid and post-Brexit Budgets on a firm footing.”

“It will be a very challenging time financially for our community as the last year has destroyed government revenues around the world, even in the oil producing states.”

“Every nation on the planet is facing a serious challenge and we are no better and no worse than all others.”

“We have a responsibility to put our public finances back on a firm footing quicker than others though, and we have already held an extraordinary Cabinet meeting this week, which the Chief Minister called and chaired at my request, in order to ensure that we waste no time at all in getting our finances back on track from the extraordinary costs of the past twelve months.”

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