And what does the Opposition think of the budget. Well they’ll
debate in on March 19th and 20th but we got a little back and forth going today.
Hon. Mark Espat, PUP Deputy Leader
“In essence what the government has done is to show an overall $36
million surplus by simply holding back on the capital 2 and capital 3 investments.
And so while they would boast that the current budget shows a surplus, the fact
is that the very important investments that were boasted about in last year’s
budget, a significant percentage of those projects have not unfolded on the
timetable that the government projected they would. In the case of the new budget,
at least the government is being more realistic, they are projecting I believe
a $52 million overall budget and I think it was almost comical that the Prime
Minister would say that they are ramping up capital 2 and capital three and
going for broke when in fact their last budget, the cap 2 and cap 3 expenditure
were budgeted at a greater amount that the investments in cap 2 and cap 3 in
the new budget.”
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
“He is talking foolishness. When you compare the outturns last year
with what we are proposing this year he is talking absolute nonsense. This is
163 point odd million dollars in terms of the capital budget of which a hundred 
odd million comes from cap 3. So that is just flying in the face of the facts.”
Hon. Johnny Briceno, PUP Leader
“Nothing jumps at me to say wow this is what the government is doing,
this is how they are going to be helping poor people, this is how we’re
going to stimulate the economy.”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“Well it is what it is. It is the best that can be done in circumstances.
There is simply no point in pretending that things are as they were even last
year. Everybody, every day sees the images on television, hears the international
on the radio; the world is going through perhaps the most wrenching crisis in
a generation. That we are part of that the world, that has affected us in particular
ways and so there is no point pretending this is a time of plenty. It is not.”
Hon. Mark Espat,
“I think the important question that is on the minds of the Belizean
people is what is in this budget for them. What is in this budget for the public
officers, what is in this budget for the taxi drivers, what is in this budget
for the farmers, for the retirees and I did not hear from any movement towards
any of the 21 pledges in the UDP manifesto. Pledges like lowering mortgage rates,
pledges like 5,000 new jobs in tourism, pledges like a thousand homes, pledges
like lowering the cost of living. So I think those are some of the questions
that will be asked.”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“The fact is that this global crisis has occurred, it seems to be
getting worse before it gets better. In the circumstances we will do everything
that we can do to be flexible, to be creative but the expansionist push that
we had anticipated is not going to happen this year certainly.”
And later on we’ll have much more from the House of Representatives
as the Leader and Deputy Leader of the PUP discuss rebuilding the opposition
after a third successive devastating defeat for Belize’s grand old party.
Not surprisingly they have different ideas about how to move forward.
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