BASSETERRE, ST KITTS – Leader of the Opposition, the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has accused Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris of presenting “a gloom and doom” 2017 Budget on Wednesday.
Responding to the Budget Address on Thursday, Dr. Douglas, a former Minister of Finance took Prime Minister Harris to task for departing from the written document and adlibbing during 50 percent of the delivery described by an opposition senator Hon. Nigel Carty “as a delivery on a street corner talking garbage.”
In his three hour presentation, the St Kitts and Nevis statesman told parliamentarians and the Nation that the 2017 Budget is an attempt to paint a rosy picture through hyperbolic instances.
“The Draft Estimates tell the story of gloom and doom. It indicates definitively that the country is moving in the wrong direction and that very difficult times are ahead unless there is a dramatic and comprehensive change in the policy instruments that are being employed. Unfortunately I do not think that the current government have the capacity or the will to initiate that change.
Notwithstanding the numerous policy commitments of Dr. Harris in the Budget address, only a small percentage of them will be implemented because of the various conflicts within the Budget Estimates itself and the lack of unity or goodwill by the so-called Team Unity Government.
He said very few policies are being implemented and the ship of state is going adrift.
“I do not even think there is a captain onboard any longer,” said Dr. Douglas who was of the view that the situation has inflicted great pain “on our young people in particular, who suffer from high unemployment or in jobs that pay well below wage levels that are inconsistent with their efforts and capabilities.”
Dr. Douglas accused Dr. Harris of “a deliberate attempt to exaggerate and provide hyperboles, misstatements and in many instances outright lies in Parliament to paint a rosy picture.”
“In an open economy like ours, taxes on international trade are a good gauge of what is happening in the economy. When things are good the taxes on the international trade should increase, hence every citizen of St Kitts and Nevis must be concerned when in the Estimates, the estimated revenue on taxes on international trade for 2017 is EC$2.5 million less than the previous year,” said Dr. Douglas, who pointed out that taxes on international trade in 2016 from the approved estimates was expected to generate EC$185.8 million.
“The estimates for 2017 show EC$183.27 million , less than the previous year, yet the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is talking about an economy in expansion and doing well. A closer look at the components of taxes on international trade will show that the government is projecting that relative to the previous year’s estimates, the non-refundable duty-free levy will be down in 2017, which means that there will be less shopping in this area of revenue generation.
“Customs Service charge will be down in 2017, which means less imports into St. Kitts and Nevis. The travel tax will be down in 2017 and that means less travel in and out of St. Kitts and Nevis. It means the economy is not expanding as Dr Harris is making us to believe. It is contracting and the small man in the streets are aware of what is happening because while those in here are trying to put more money in their pockets and the pockets of their families, the small man is getting nothing and cannot be fooled,” Dr. Douglas said.
He said the Value Added Tax (VAT) on imported goods will drop by EC$11.2 million in 2017, an indication that the economy will contract in 2017 relative to the economy in 2016.
The former prime minister said based on figures in the Estimates one can conclude there could be some arbitrariness in the Estimates or a deliberate attempt to manipulate the figures to mislead and deceive the citizens into thinking that the state of the economy is better than it really is.
“Under Income Tax revenue, EC$61.1 million was collected from companies in 2015. The collection is now projected to drop to EC$50.6 million in 2016, yet less than a month ago Prime Minister Harris was saying something completely different, thus misleading the country,” said Dr. Douglas, who said the Estimates also show that Total Capital Expenditure will fall by nearly 60 percent to EC$56.5 million in 2017 from EC$127.7 million in 2016.
He accused the Prime Minister of putting in the budget a range of capital projects that he knows that does not intend to implement and is only to paint a rosy picture and window dress.
“A case in point is the Basseterre High School. I declare to the citizens of this country, the parents and the students, that you will get no new BHS in 2017. The figures do not show it. The Team Unity Government has been fooling you. There is no new BHS built in 2017. It is open naked lies presented to us yesterday (Budget Day.),” said Dr. Douglas.
“The Primary Balance and the Overall Balance are all heading in the wrong direction. It is being estimated that the actual Current Account Balance of EC$238 million recorded in 2015 will now fall dramatically by 44 percent to EC$131.3 million in 2017. This Budget is a farce,” said Dr. Harris, who referred to the theme printed on the cover of the Budget Address: ‘Working together – accelerating growth and building resilience.’
“Accelerating growth my foot. Dr. Harris really means decelerating growth. Even the theme of the Budget is misleading,” said Dr. Douglas, who pointed out further that the actual primary balance which was EC$141.2 million in 2015 is now estimated in 2017 to be EC$58.3 million.
“Dr. Harris’ own figures show that the economy is contracting. The actual overall balance which was EC$127.4 million in 2015 is EC$33.4 million, a decrease of over 73 percent,” said Dr. Douglas, who expressed concern that the overall public debt will begin to rise again.
*This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKN PULSE. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical errors within press releases and (or) commentaries. The views contained within are not necessarily those of SKN PULSE.
