Did Faber Get the Memo on the Wrong Budget?

Patrick Faber

Representative for Collet Patrick Faber spoke at length today, but interestingly the major portion of his presentation did not touch on the Budget for the fiscal year 2016/2017. He instead spent much time on the 2006 budget presented by then Prime Minister Said Musa. It wasn’t exactly clear why Faber chose to revisit a ten year old budget, but the fact that he did was not lost on Musa who seemed to think he’s picked up a high-level U.D.P. stalker.

Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet

“When he was Prime Minister and in his eighth year, he said government took the decision to rein in the deficit because we recognized that fundamental imbalances had emerged in our fiscal accounts time was not on our side in correcting those imbalances. He said the alternative would have been to continue to delay the adjustment with potentially disastrous consequences for economy and our nation. He had to slow things done. Remember the economic train that they were talking about that Ralph had helped them to lead; it had ran away and they were having serious problems.  And like the ostrich, he for a long while was burying his head in the sand when of course some of them from this side at that time started to rein him in and the people of the country. We must not forget the unions and everybody else started to agitate for changes to be made and so in order to try to save face and to appease some of his own colleagues who was telling him how terribly wrong he was going and the people of this country who were outside of these national assembly meetings rioting and trying to make sure that things go the right way. He had a change of heart and tried after so many years to make things right, but it was too late Mister Speaker. The writing was on the wall already.”

Said Musa

Said Musa, Area Representative, Fort George

“Over the past one hour and twenty minutes, you would have thought that we were debating the budget of 2006/2007. I felt a little privileged in fact, honored that the Member for Collet Division, the Minister of Education, would spend so much time trying to debate a Musa budget of 2006 instead of trying to make his contribution to the 2016 budget debate. But I supposed this wannabe Prime Minister could not find it within himself to really concentrate on the budget before us today, so he harps back to the 2006. And it makes me feel that this man has an obsession, an obsession with me Mister Speaker.”