Senator Peyrefitte on 2021/2022 Budget

Michael Peyrefitte

Inside the House, the Senate debated the 2021/2022 General Revenue Allocation Bill. The budget reflects an eighty-million-dollar cut for the public service, as well as decreases in allocations for a few additional line items. But, with a one hundred and thirty-five percent G.D.P. to debt ratio, the Briceño Administration is hoping that the austerity measures reflected in the 2021/2022 budget will contribute greatly to rebounding the economy.  Opposition Senator Michael Peyrefitte criticized the budget, saying that it lacks imagination and creativity.

Michael Peyrefitte, Opposition Senator

“The overview is that there is nothing much to debate. It is pretty much a cut and paste document from last year. The only thing that the budget reflects that is the new is the eighty million dollars cut from the public service, which is the sixty million dollars cut representing salaries and twenty million dollars representing increment and the freeze that is  involved with the cut. Other than that, there is extraordinarily little in terms of imagination, very little in terms of creativity or what the government will do to grow the economy. You can cut all you want this year, but what will you do next year, cut again? When will you grow the G.D.P. so that that the debt to G.D.P. ratio will look good again? According to you, its looks so bad. And I have not seen from the financial approach of this government, anything that they are doing that is new that you have a government that was in opposition for twelve years. You came in power with a huge mandate, but it’s obvious that while you were in opposition you had no plan as to what you would do were you to become the government. So all the presentations were littered with criticism of U.D.P., and unhealthy consistent obsession with Dean Barrow. What I am trying to tell them is stop focusing on that and look forward.”