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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he just has to follow the dictates of the Man Cow aka Lipstick Hag.
The LOO is 100% correct. This ALP budget is based on quicksand. The “surplus’ is an accounting fiction! It doesn’t exist and will never materialize. It’s good for one day of soundbites and headlines to impress the simpletons.
Perfect name for him Mr. Byam ” the LOO’ 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 that’s exactly what he is and where he belongs too 😆 🤣
Let me try this once again with a simple example.
I run a business and my sales are $1,000,000.00
My Cost of Goods sales are $ 500,000.00
My Gross Profit is $ 500,000.00
My Overhead expenses are $ 200,000.00
My Net Profit is $ 300,000.00
That is my Profit and and Loss Statement
My Balance Sheet however is a different thing
Accounts Receivable $ 800,000.00
Fixed Asset $ 200,000.00
Inventory $ 500,000.00
Total $1,500,000.00
Bank Overdraft $ 500.000.00
Accounts Payable $ 400,000.00
Retain Earnings $ 600,000.00
Total $1,500,000.00
The above example shows I have a profit according to my Profit and Loss Statement. But on my balance sheet it is not translated in Cash in the bank. All because my customers do not pay me. They are on credit. And who know how many of them are bad debt. Government can announce a surplus but that is just on the books, but the treasury is empty, because the monies they expect are not coming in as they hoped. People do not like paying tax. Any kind of tax. Maybe if we all change our attitude and start paying our taxes on time, government will have the money to do what they need to and have to do. Just maybe. So remember when you say government doesn’t have no money, it simply means you didn’t pay your taxes. Cause that is why government doesn’t have any money. Unless you can proof that they wasted the money they got, or corruptly embezzled it.
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