Senator Massiah says Budget Was “Lacking and Empty”

United Progressive Party’s Senator David Massiah expressed his deep disappointment with the last national budget, describing it as lacking and empty.

The Senator’s comments came after he and other opposition members expressed concern over the lack of transparency and fairness in the budget preparation process.

Opposition members were particularly critical of the government’s decision to exclude them from the budget preparation process, which they felt was unfair and unrepresentative of the people’s interests.

Following the Prime Minister’s budget speech on December 15, opposition members from both the House of Representatives and the Senate boycotted subsequent debates, citing their exclusion from the budget preparation process by the government.

Senator Massiah reflects the deep-seated frustration and disappointment among the opposition members, who feel that the government has not only sidelined them but also failed to address the pressing concerns and needs of the people.

The UPP’s People’s Parliament, held at the Freedom Hall, allowed Senator Massiah and other opposition members to voice their concerns and connect with the people on issues that matter to them.

“The budget did not address fundamental concepts and concerns of Antigua and Barbuda and the citizenry. The budget was more of a campaign seeking to appease the people who would support the government. It is lacking and did not address the economic concerns and what is likely to become of the various changes in the environment that is coming”, Senator Massiah said

He said there were no plans for the workplace in the country, lamenting that the 2% increase in the Antigua and Barbuda Sales Tax (ABST) crushed the population.

“It is clear that the govenment doesn’t know what it is doing. They have not done any analysis to show us that the increases are justified. For all of its failures its bad fiscal performance, it is seeking to put a plaster on a wound that is bigger than it can handle,” Senator Massiah added

Meanwhile, Senator Massiah, the General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union, raised the issue of the former and present LIAT workers.

He reiterated that the ABWU will seek legal action against the receiver of LIAT Cleveland Seaforth.

“The administrator has to answer to the people of Antigua and Barbuda because he has not done his fiduciary responsibility to answer our questions. We need to know what he has been doing for the past three years when he was supposed to be there for 120 days”, Massiah lamented