Minister of Foreign Affairs Fitzgerald Bramble is facing intense scrutiny following a public statement in which he denied that the New Democratic Party (NDP) ever promised to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) within its first 60 days in office.
Despite the Minister’s insistence that such claims are “wrong,” archival evidence from the party’s own campaign communications and parliamentary records tell a different story.
During a recent interview on Hot97, Bramble sought to clarify the administration’s early performance, giving the government a self-rated “10 out of 10” for its first two months in power. Bramble asserted that the government had met every promise designated for its 60-day window.
According to Bramble, the specific 60-day commitments were limited to:
- A public servant salary bonus.
- A designated “VAT-free day.”
- The doubling of public assistance.
When confronted with the promise to reduce the overall VAT rate from 16% to 13%, Bramble labeled it a policy for “future implementation” and flatly denied it was intended for the 60-day timeframe, stating, “nobody can fool me on that one”
The Minister’s version of events is directly contradicted by the NDP’s own published materials. On October 2, 2025, the NDP website explicitly quoted Opposition Leader Godwin Friday stating that the party would “reduce the 16% VAT on everyday goods and residential electricity… within 60 days if elected to office”.
This promise was listed alongside the salary bonus and the doubling of public assistance—commitments Bramble now claims were the only ones on the 60-day schedule.
Furthermore, an AI-driven fact-checking tool also flagged the Minister’s statements as inaccurate, reporting that the 16% to 13% reduction was indeed a central pillar of the NDP’s 2025 election agenda for its first 60 days. Bramble has dismissed these findings as “wrong”
The controversy has also played out on the floor of Parliament. Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves has accused the NDP government of “backing away” from its cornerstone campaign pledge. Gonsalves noted in February that instead of the promised immediate reduction, the government has pivoted to “study the matter” with plans to report back at the end of the year.
Gonsalves warned that because “money is fungible,” the government may eventually be forced to impose new taxes on income or productive capacity to compensate for the missing VAT revenue.
As the administration continues its term, the gap between campaign rhetoric and executive action remains a point of contention, leaving the public to reconcile the Minister’s “10 out of 10” performance rating with the documented promises found on the party’s own website