Budget recycled, says Minority leader

In an immediate response to Secretary of Finance/Planning Dr Anselm London’s budget presentation yesterday, Jack, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Congress (DAC), told journalists, “When you look at what has been achieved in the last three or four (THA) budgets compared to what has been proposed, it is actually a re-proposing of a number of the measures.”

“The budget presentation leaves a lot to be desired; so I think that I must congratulate the Finance Secretary, he has done a fantastic job of rhetoric and ole talk,” said Jack.

Jack, who is expected to kick off the budget debate in the House on Thursday, said it was well and good for one to make promises in the House of what they would do.

“But one of the things that we need to do is to check it against what you have achieved, and that is where I find these budgets seem to be lacking...it doesn’t set out anything for the future.

“Seven billion dollars in ole talk in the last five years. When you look at what we have been able to achieve for $7 billion, I am quite sure any conscious Tobagonian will have to agree that it cannot be equated with what we see on the ground.

“And that is my concern,” the Minority Leader declared. Meantime, his colleague councillor Hochoy Charles, the DAC political leader, found that “nothing has changed.”

Declaring that “(it) is ole talk going on”, Charles added that a more adequate response to the THA’s 2006/2007 budgetary proposals would be forthcoming from the minority benches at Thursday’s plenary sitting which gets underway at 1.30 pm.