Pringle challenges government’s surplus claim, says it’s built on unpaid bills
Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle on Monday dismissed the government’s declaration of a more than $100 million budget surplus, arguing that the country’s finances appear stronger only because the administration has not met key financial obligations to citizens and businesses.
Delivering his response to the 2026 national budget, Pringle said the surplus outlined by the prime minister “is not a surplus” and instead reflects months of unpaid bills across multiple ministries.
He told Parliament that suppliers have gone up to six months without receiving money owed to them, while some landlords have locked government departments out of their buildings over rent arrears.
Pringle also referenced last week’s closure of schools, saying teachers were forced to take action because the government had not paid money due to them.
He argued that the disruption highlighted a contradiction between the administration’s account of a healthy fiscal position and the day-to-day struggles in public services.
Contractors, he added, continue to face similar delays. “One man said to me, ‘It’s the 50th time I’m going down to the Treasury, and they’re telling me to come back,’” Pringle told legislators. “So I had to close my business and lay off workers, because the government that is boasting about this surplus cannot pay.”
He said these experiences undermine the government’s narrative and show that the claimed surplus stems from withholding payments rather than economic strength.
Pringle described the situation as a “default,” arguing that the administration is giving the public “false hope” while people cannot feel any improvement in their daily lives.
Pringle said the unpaid bills, teacher unrest and contractor complaints raise serious concerns about the true state of public finances. He maintained that the government must address these outstanding obligations before presenting what he described as an overly optimistic picture of the economy.
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