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Faber Explains Why Cabinet Bit the SSB Bullet
posted (June 19, 2019)

We also asked Faber about the increase in Social Security contributions. He hopes to lead the UDP into the next general election and, so, taking more money out of workers - slash - voters - paychecks stands to affect him the most.

As you saw last night, the PUP is all over this one - alleging mismanagement of the Social Security Fund, and electioneering by the SSB CEO’s. 

But, beneath all the polices are the numbers: there hasn’t been an increase in contributions for 17 years now - which means the hike was overdue by an entire 7 years - years which all fell during the tenure of the Barrow administration.   

And so, we wondered why they simply left the situation untouched for so long. 

We asked Deputy Prime Minister Faber about his government’s avoidance of this problem - and a dangerous kind of brinkmanship. Here’s how that conversation went:

Hon. Patrick Faber - Deputy Prime Minister
"While it is that it is unfortunate that we have to ask for that kind of increase, I think that it is indisputable that this is something that is very much necessary. We reject wholeheartedly those comments, especially coming from the Opposition that says that our administration in fact has used the SSB as a slush fund. That may have been once upon a time, but certainly not under this administration, and we emphasize that wholeheartedly. And we ask the Belizean people to be mindful that this is an initiative that all Belizeans need, and we cannot afford to have this initiative collapse, because it is so very necessary for the sustenance, especially of our retired folks."

"I want to make it clear that indeed, it is never ideal. Politicians are often boxed in a corner, and find it difficult to do things that are important because of the pressure from the electorate. But, when you see a political party, one that is now proven itself to be very viable, says you know what, it’s time for us to do the right thing, unless you want us to end up in a bigger hole. And again, I’ve made this point in terms of the wider government pension, which is not on the table now, but I can tell you we need to look at [that] seriously again, because that too will crash if we don’t make some changes. The government keeps pumping in 100% of the contributions, for such a pension scheme and gratuity package for public servants, teachers, police officers. We’re going to crash, and any responsible administration will have to face that music at some point or the other, no matter how far we kick the pan down the road."

Later on in the news, we’ll have more from the Deputy Prime Minister, in which he discusses his impression of the promising young students who scored the highest grades in this year’s Primary School Examinations.

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