Budget debated in the House

Two weeks ago the budget for 2004-2005 was presented by Minister of Finance Ralph Fonseca. Today, the Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow had his say. Patrick Jones reports from Belmopan.

The meeting started with the presentation of reports from committees, all of which were ordered to lie on the table. And Minister of Foreign Affairs Godfrey Smith introduced a bill that sets the process in motion for Belize to de-link from the Privy Council.

Patrick Jones, Reporting

“When the debate on the 2004-2005 budget resumed, Opposition Leader Dean Barrow came out firing on all cylinders. With carefully woven phrases like: artificial growth, cruel hoax, or trilogy of woes, Barrow sought to convince the House that the 2004-2005 budget is inadequate.”

Referring to statistics presented by the Minister of Finance, Barrow spent most of his hour and a half speech making his case.

Dean Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“But we say that the inaccuracies are often times deliberate rather than accidental. They don’t arise because of any systemic flaws or lack of institutional capacity. We accuse the government of clear-headed if cold-hearted, deliberate cooking of the books.”

PUBLIC SECTOR BORROWING

Dean Barrow

“In 1998 Madam Speaker, the public sector borrowed twelve point eight million from local banks; in 2003, twenty-six point four million. That is the explanation for the liquidity crisis. The banks have no money to lend to the private sector because the public sector has crowded out the private sector. This government, it has all gone into this government’s maw, this government’s insatiable appetite for wasteful spending is what is crippling credit to the private sector.”

EXPORTS

Dean Barrow

“But madam speaker, what is the true reality of the productive sector, the export sector? Sugar production remains at 1998 levels in 2003, but with earnings fifteen million dollars or seventeen percent less. And remember Madam Speaker, with globalisation, in fact there is a specific attack I think mounted on the E.U. sugar protocol even now at the W.T.O. by Brazil, so we know that the trade preferences are going, and we know again the Presidents of the Orange Walk and Cane Farmer Associations were part of the chorus made to sing for their supper two weeks ago. Sugar prices, Madam Speaker, are down fifteen percent, while the production level remains the same and the prognosis is for things to get worse.”

UNEMPLOYMENT

Dean Barrow

“With inflation at two point six percent and the productive sectors in difficulty, there is one thing that completes this trilogy of woes. Unemployment is on the rise. Since 2001 it has been steadily increasing, and again this is their figures, which I don’t believe. So I think whenever they say anything you add or divide by four. But according to their own figures, since 2001 unemployment has risen from nine point one percent to ten point four percent in 2003. Now, I don’t understand how in these circumstances the minister can talk about unprecedented growth, new revitalised economy, exceptional surge in production.”

BUSINESS TAX

Dean Barrow

“Madam Speaker, the budget proposes, but the government has already passed a four point five million dollars increase in business tax. This particular increase hits hardest where it hurts most. That is because the threshold for being taxable for small struggling professionals: your carpenter, your cabinetmaker, your plumber, your electrician, your auto mechanic. The threshold has been brought down from the fifty-four thousand dollars it used to be and the moment these people make over twenty thousand dollars, they will pay business tax now. Again, the many middling and small individuals that depend on rent of their houses as their only source of cash income will be punished in two ways. Before the tax increases Madam Speaker, they only used to pay tax on rental income over one thousand six hundred and fifty and the tax was at the rate of one point five percent. Now all rents over eight hundred dollars, as opposed to the sixteen fifty, will be taxed and at double the old rate of one point five percent; it’s now gone up to three percent. These people represent the lifeblood of the economy. These people represent the ethic, the spirit of the Belizean nation and these are the people on whom the minister in terms of those that are self-earners is lowering the boom.”

BUDGET SURPLUS

Dean Barrow

“When you look at the figures for recurrent expenditure. Now Madam Speaker as I said, apart from the fact that you have three months, the last quarter of the financial year, for which there are no numbers, so they can say what they want. There is also that everybody knows the recital of this litany of woes on the part of suppliers to government. The Deputy Prime Minister had to have his station cut them off, cut off the credit because they couldn’t pay their fuel bills. And that is replicated throughout the supply sector in this country. The government owe everybody and can’t pay.”

In conclusion, Barrow called on every sector of the Belizean society to work together or separately do whatever is necessary publicly to register their protest at what he called “this bogus budget and the punishment that the taxes are visiting on the people of this country.”

Prime Minster Musa was the first to respond to Barrow’s rebuttal, saying that there is something for everyone in the budget.

Prime Minister Said Musa

“This budget will further strengthen the economic fundamentals of the country for sustainable economic growth. At the same time, the budget contemplates that if we are to maintain progress, peace, order, social stability then we must share the fruits of the tremendous economic growth that has taken place equitably with all the Belizean people. That’s the whole thrust of what this budget is about. It is a good budget for a good country. It is a good budget Madam Speaker because of the sound economic policies that has brought about this almost five percent growth in the economy. No economy in the region has achieved this. Yes, almost doubling the size of the economy to two billion dollars. Domestic exports up by twenty-one point five percent. What does this mean, are they just numbers? No it means that the Belizean people are working and producing, we are feeding ourselves we are becoming more self-reliant, more self-sustainable, and more independent. That is what these figures mean.”

And Deputy Prime Minister Johnny Briceño also rose to support the budget.

Johnny Briceño, Deputy Prime Minister

“We all recognize the budget we are debating today is a challenging one. It is a budget that challenges us to make the kinds of decisions so that we can have sustainable development. It is not about an eat and feast. Madam Speaker we have to ensure that we can have sustainable development, we have to ensure that we could continue to create more opportunities for our people. We have to ensure that we can keep the thousands upon of thousands of students in the schools. That is why for the very first time we are investing over one hundred and twenty-seven million dollars in education. Never in the history–only possible under a People’s United Party government. So that while the Opposition can spend time finding ways to attack these bold ideas that the Minister of Finance have put forward today Madame Speaker, we will do our best to represent the best of Belize. We will build a modern nation because the people expect us to build a modern nation.”

Patrick Jones, for News 5.

Also on the agenda today were three bills for second and third readings. At news time the budget debate was still going on at the National Assembly. Patrick Jones will have more on the questions put to the ministers on Monday’s newscast.