THE PROPOSED 2000/2001 budget for the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) is $129 million, a 52 per cent increase over the $85.1 million the previous year.
The budget came before Cabinet on Monday and, according to Information Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson, the OUR said that the hike was due to an increased need to retain consultancy services.
The regulation authority said the ongoing liberalisation of the telecommunications sector had imposed the "urgent need" to engage international consultants for a one-time study. The proposed study will examine several areas of Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited's operations, including cost of capital, cost structure, interconnection agreements, the price cap regime, and the framework for administering the numbering system.
The OUR said these were areas in which its staff has no prior experience, and the required skills were not available in Jamaica. The cost for this project is budgeted at $35.5 million, out of a total "third party services," or consultancy, of $53.7 million. Consultancy services cost the OUR $18.8 million last year.
