{"id":123657,"date":"2021-02-08T14:58:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T18:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=123657"},"modified":"2021-02-08T14:58:26","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T18:58:26","slug":"response-to-budget-2021-jamale-pringle-leader-of-the-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/response-to-budget-2021-jamale-pringle-leader-of-the-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"RESPONSE TO BUDGET 2021: Jamale Pringle, Leader of the Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mr. Speaker, Good Morning.<\/p>

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On behalf of the United Progressive Party, I rise to respond to what should have been the most important Budget Presentation of this Administration.\u00a0 I say \u201cshould have\u201d because, like the rest of Antigua & Barbuda, I remain deeply disappointed by what was presented.<\/p>

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For nearly three hours, we listened.\u00a0 For more than 50 pages, we read.\u00a0 And, yet, nowhere could we find a paragraph, a sentence, or a phrase that contained either \u201chope\u201d or \u201cempathy\u201d for the people of Antigua & Barbuda.<\/p>\n

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Not a word of understanding for the plight of the middle-class.\u00a0 Not a murmur of sympathy for the despair of the poor.\u00a0 Not a hint of relief for the small and medium-sized businesses.<\/p>\n

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Hence, we could not help but wonder if the Minister of Finance lives in the same Antigua & Barbuda that we inhabit.<\/p>

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The Presentation was titled \u201cMaintaining a Healthy Nation and Restoring a Vibrant Economy,\u201d and so I will speak about the Nation\u2019s health first.<\/p>\n

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Mr. Speaker:\u00a0 Less than two weeks ago, the Prime Minister boasted that \u201cwe are amongst the few countries in the world with a low rate of death, a low rate of infections, a high rate of recovery, and no known community spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But, between December 31st and last Friday, February 5th<\/sup>, we recorded 140 new infections<\/strong> of the COVID-19 virus.\u00a0\u00a0 Almost as many in that six-week period as we recorded in the whole of 2020.<\/p>\n

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There are 28 persons hospitalized as compared to two<\/em> (2)<\/em> at the end of December, and 105 active cases now as compared to six (6) then.<\/p>\n

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Most important, Mr. Speaker, the dashboard also showed that there were 51 more local cases than imported<\/em>.\u00a0 And, yet, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health are still trying to convince us that there is NO community spread.<\/p>\n

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Mr. Speaker, there is no time<\/em> in the history of Antigua & Barbuda that we have been more worried<\/em> about our health than we are now; not even at the height of the AIDS pandemic.<\/p>\n

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Do you know why we are so worried, Sir?\u00a0 Because the people of Antigua & Barbuda do not trust the authorities. They don\u2019t trust them to tell us the truth, and, worse, they do not trust their abilities to handle what is happening.<\/p>\n

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This distrust is well founded, because, despite the urging of myself, the UPP and the public, the Government never saw the need to implement random testing.\u00a0 Not even to the frontline workers, despite a number of promises to test them first.<\/p>\n

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And, Mr. Speaker, even if you read through the Budget Statement with magnifying glasses, you will find no concrete plans to stem the spread, or even a programme to educate the people.\u00a0 Just business as usual while everything unusual is actually taking place.<\/p>\n

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All the Prime Minister says is: \u201cOur Government will continue to do everything possible to guide our nation successfully through this era….\u201d\u00a0 But do WHAT exactly? We are yet to hear.<\/p>\n

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I can only hope that the management of the vaccines, when they arrive, will be handled in a more professional and transparent manner than we have seen so far.<\/p>\n

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In the meantime, the mantra continues to be: \u201cPunish the People,\u201d as if we are not being punished enough in this stumbling economy already.<\/p>\n

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LIAT\u00a0 <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Prime Minister makes reference to the LIAT situation in his presentation, and describes it as \u201ca major threat to regional air travel and to regional integration itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But while he has gone to great lengths to see LIAT rise again, it is rising on the breaking backs of the workers, most of whom have been at home, unemployed, since last March when our borders were forced to close.<\/p>\n

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Again, Mr. Speaker, I invite you to search the Budget Presentation.<\/p>\n

Apart from one small paragraph where the Government \u201cpledges to do all in its power to address their legitimate concerns\u201d of the severed LIAT workers, there is no mention of any PLAN to pay.<\/p>\n

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Only what the Prime Minister insists on calling\u00a0\u00a0 \u201ca compassionate payment\u201d to them.<\/p>\n

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