Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves on Monday offered a sharp critique of the New Democratic Party (NDP) government economic policies and what he characterized as a series of “breached” campaign promises.
The former PM critique was focused on fiscal “gimmicks,” the dismissal of workers, and the linguistic shifts the government has used to redefine its pledges.
Gonsalves dismissed the government’s “VAT-free day” as a marketing gimmick rather than a substantive economic policy. He argued that domestic VAT collection averages only about half a million dollars a day, and many items’ people sought—such as chicken wings—were already VAT-exempt.
He compared this to the $7.5 million in revenue lost during the traditional eight-week duty-free barrel concession, which he suggested was far more beneficial to the public.
Gonsalves criticized the dismissal of 180 workers from the housing program, noting that these were intended to be “ongoing workers” under the previous administration. He characterized the closure of this program as a move to “cut spending” and described the resulting impact on families as “heaviness” rather than the “lightness” the government promised.
The former pm accused the government of misleading the poor by claiming public assistance cannot be paid until the new budget is passed. He pointed out that by law; the government can spend one-twelfth of the 2025 budget in January to maintain recurrent and capital expenses.
Addressing the country’s $3.1 billion debt, Gonsalves insisted it must be viewed in relation to the GDP and emphasized that “arithmetic does not wait for any applause,” meaning the government must stick to factual fiscal reality rather than political rhetoric.
Gonsalves highlighted a significant “breach of promise” regarding what the public understood as a double bubble or an extra month’s salary and accused the Prime Minister Friday of using “weasel words” to claim they promised a “salary bonus” rather than a “bonus salary”. He noted that a full bonus for all public servants would cost approximately $35 million.
He questioned the government’s promise to provide backpay to public servants who were dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. He noted that the Court of Appeal had already ruled that the original government action was legal, making the basis for settling such cases in court unclear.
Gonsalves questioned the consistency of the government’s foreign policy, specifically whether they would sacrifice relations with Taiwan or remove Cuban doctors to secure CBI programs or hospital funding. He challenged the government’s claim that finishing the hospital is a priority over building a parliament, noting that the NDP had previously argued that the old parliament building was “perfectly in order” despite it falling apart.
Gonsalves summarized the current state of governance using the literary metaphor of “the unbearable lightness of being,” suggesting that the government’s attempt to project a sense of ease and “lightness” is actually masking the “heaviness” of job losses and broken financial commitments
