Mottley lambastes ‘debate of false choices’
A DEBATE of false choices.
That’s how Opposition Leader Mia Mottley described the 2017 Estimates and Expenditure debate which was laid by Finance Minister Chris Sinckler in the Lower Chamber yesterday.
During a relatively short response of just over 50 minutes, Mottley noted that while the Opposition, on the invitation of Sinckler, would come on board to assist Government on charting the economic path forward, it has actually been offering advice every year since 2012.
To this end, she charged that it was not a serious invitation and one that should not have been made on the floor of the House.
“The Minister was seeking to make a political point rather than making the serious point he ought to have been making having invited us to engage in a serious national debate. This became a question of are you going to cut fees, pensions. I am not surprised. Because the first thing that this government has always done is to go and look at the most vulnerable,” she said, pointing to the job cuts in 2013.
Mottley charged that on Page 26 of the BLP’s Covenant of Hope, a clear identification of how to address fiscal governance is identified.
She charged that the ruling DLP must get beyond the stage of the “personality aspect of politics”.
“This country is in trouble and no 30 people can decide what kind of lifestyle Barbados must have from now on , what we must drop or not drop. Because that is a decision for the 274 000 of this country.”
Mottley also charged that in 2013 October BLP issued a number of questions to the Minister of Finance. Including section 48 and 49 of the Central Bank Act noting that at the time it was holding less than 500 million in government paper. “Had the Central Bank complied with statutory duty as far back as 2013, 14 or 16, we would not be in this position today.”
Mottley described Government as a great debt collection agency, and cautioned that Barbados could find itself with the same fortunes of two of its Caribbean neighbours.
“This is what happened with to the Jamaican economy, where the Jamaicans got stuck in a rut and there was no hope, no growth and this government is intent on keeping us there. And I say to you that our decision in this country is- do we get in and out of this difficult position in the next two to three years or do we get into a revolving door of a Jamaica or Guyana?”
She said the problems facing the island are bigger than BLP or DLP. “It has to do with the fact that 1.7 billion in debt service, the printing of 50 million per month in salaries. The declining reserves to the point of less than ten weeks. All combining to create the perfect storm. And the perfect storm is going to hurt those at the bottom more than anybody else in the country.”
She further charged that the Estimates laid would essentially be a sterile debate since the Minister also stated that he will be coming with new initiatives within a “ few weeks.”
The Opposition Leader said if the Minister were truly serious about a joint effort, a special committee would be set up by the end of this week.
“If we are serious, let this House go into immediate committee from tomorrow morning and let us discuss in the context of the Heads of the Estimates without prejudice to the speech from the Rt Hon Member who is independent.
“Let us go in an discuss how best we can treat to producing a document by the end of the week that makes sense, that reflects a direction that is an interim direction until the people of Barbados can have their own say. But what we are doing is wrong. And there can be no band aid over this open wound,” she argued. (JH)