Former Premier David Saul believes Bermuda's Constitution Order outlines the Minister of Finance has final say on Government's expenditure and is more than a "cog in the wheel".

Last week Minister Paula Cox told the Bermuda Sun: "The Minister of Finance operates as a cog in the wheel. My role is to add value and to provide input on fiscal positions taken in various ministries. I can indicate support or objection. However the sponsoring minister(s) knows that I cannot overrule their request unless I have others who join with me to support and uphold my position."

However, yesterday Dr. Saul said sections 95 and 96 of the Constitution Order state monies may only be expended "upon the authority of a warrant issued under the hand of the Minister of Finance". "Under the Constitution the Minister of Finance has the responsibility to protect the public purse," he said. "It is no one else's job but the Minister of Finance, no one else has that responsibility in the Constitution, not even the Premier."

Yesterday, when asked to for further explanation, Ms Cox replied: "The Constitution provides that once the budget has been approved by the Legislature in the form of the Appropriation Act, the Minister of Finance issues a warrant that allows for expenditure against the approved budget.

"The Appropriation Act allocates the expenditure to Ministries and departments for which Ministers and their senior officials have responsibility."

According to Dr. Saul between May and November every year the Ministry of Finance collects requests from various government departments for the next budget as well as submissions from bodies such as the Chamber of Commerce and the international business sector about their projections for the coming year. The Ministry then looks at the previous year's expenditure and revenues as well as projected revenues for the following year before going before the Minister with their recommendations.

t is at that point when the Minister of Finance is expected to go through various department's requests and rule out ones that will result in more government expenditure than the projected revenues will bring in, Dr. Saul said.

Once that is complete the budget debate takes place in the House of Assembly and the Minister of Finance delivers the budget with her approved expenditures. Other government ministers then outline what their respective departments will do and how much it will cost taxpayers and the budget is then passed.

If a ministry requires further funds, outside those granted to them by Parliament, they must go to the Minister of Finance and explain why they need the funds, Dr. Saul said.

He added that the Minister must then decide if extra funds should be granted, or if the Ministry in question must make unilateral cuts within its own departments in order to find the funds they need. If extra funds are deemed necessary by the Minister it must be brought before Parliament and debated.

"The Minster is the sole one who has that responsibility [to decide if extra funds are warranted] it has nothing to do with collective responsibility.

"I sympathise and empathise with the current Minister," he said. "I was fortunate that I had a Cabinet who were all business people and a Premier that was a business person, so when the crunch time came they knew we had to bite the bullet.

"She is in exactly the same position as I faced, but she does not have the support of a Premier and Cabinet that understand when the Minister of Finance says no it means no."

Shadow Attorney General John Barritt was a member of the United Bermuda Party Cabinet when Dr. Saul was Finance Minister and said no Cabinet Paper which proposed expenditure went before Cabinet for consideration unless it had the approval of the Ministry of Finance.

"I do not believe that this was just a preferred or prudent practice which the United Bermuda Party employed when it was Government [EmDash] although it was that," he said.

"I believe it was rooted in, and dictated in part, by the special role which the Minister of Finance is expected to play under the Bermuda Constitution Order.

"I found Minister's Cox comment [ a cog in the wheel ] more of a revelation than an explanation."