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Initial Budget Reaction – a statement from the Hon N.H. Cole Simons JP MP, Opposition Leader & Shadow Minister for Finance

By February 17, 2023February 22nd, 2023No Comments

The late Bishop Desmond Tutu once said: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

Today’s reading of the Budget offered very little hope to the people of Bermuda. In fact, it gives the opposite. Will there ever be a light at the end of the tunnel where the economy is concerned?

Firstly, in our opinion, the Premier did not deliver a Budget for the people; but instead an election budget. Full of promises but really nothing for us to believe that better days are truly coming.

Premier Burt and the Progressive Labour Party are not in touch with reality. How can the Government believe that the economy is fine while people are continuing to struggle to survive and many continue to leave the island on a regular basis.

It’s easy for Premier Burt to make numbers appear positive when comparing them to those accrued during covid. Saying everything is fine does not make it so. It shows the people of Bermuda how tone deaf the Premier is to their issues. We are well past the time of believing anything he says.

The PLP Government seems proud of its failings. It has not executed its first Economic recovery plan, and instead of fixing it, it’s now trying to create a second one. It doesn’t make sense!

The PLP did not offer much for economic recovery instead its spending a lot of time rehashing old initiatives. How much longer can Premier Burt hide behind the excuse that he is still formulating a plan?

It feels like the government is seeking to take credit for the successes of International Business. Bermuda should remain reserved where digital assets are concerned; they are in competition with traditional local financial institutions. We should still be careful about alienating the Bermuda financial community.

The PLP is woefully inadequate, and Bermuda will continue to suffer, until there is a change of Government.

To date, Premier Burt’s promises regarding the Fairmont Southampton have been not been delivered.

Morgan’s Point is a pipe dream. Let’s grow the economy first and clearly identify alternatives.

The PLP does not seem to care about the health and wellbeing of the people of Bermuda. There is no mention of health care reform.

There’s very little help for people in need of social services in Bermuda. There is minimal to support the aging population and we didn’t hear anything around the school environment and how we are going to support teachers and support services.
There’s nothing that speaks to the thousands of people who have left Bermuda who felt there was no hope for them on island. What hope do we have for Bermuda?

And has it has been said before by a very articulate young Bermudian, McKenzie Tuckett, the national youth strategy is not working.

Where is the hope for Bermuda and its people? There doesn’t seem to be much and for this, the PLP simply cannot be proud.