Opposition Leader Godwin Friday has outlined what he said should be the areas of focus of Budget 2025, which Minister of Finance, Camillo Gonsalves, is slated to present to Parliament on Monday.
“We need a budget first of all, of honesty,” he said, adding that the Estimates presented to lawmakers has “a whole big hole, where they don’t know where the money is going to come from…” he told a New Democratic Party press conference in Kingstown, on Wednesday.
“If you don’t have the money, don’t make promises that can’t be delivered,” Friday said.
Gonsalves is slated to present the Estimates to Parliament for approval later on Thursday.
Friday said that the opposition is proposing that the government reduce VAT from 16% to 13%.
“… this is an election year. It’s a good time in which they could take that advice and do it,” he said, referring to the promise that the opposition has been making since the campaign for the November 2020 general election.
“Create VAT-free periods, or VAT-free shopping days at certain points in the year,” he further said, adding that the opposition is suggesting VAT-free days around August when people fro back to school or in December to help ease “the cost-of-living crisis that is crushing people”.
Friday said the government should use Budget 2025 to create an annual bonus for all public servants to ease the cost-of-living crisis and to redress hardships from low wages, adding that SVG has the lowest wages in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
“We need also to create a bonus system for public assistance … at the end of the year, and for those persons at the lower end of the NIS scale, … with one-off payments to help them to cope with the high cost of living.”
Friday said the opposition has proposed these things before, adding, “… and we are saying this is time now for the government to pick them up.
He called for a review of the import duties on items such as motor vehicles to reduce costs and the removal of red tape to make the process more efficient.
“… importantly, this budget cannot be a budget that takes money out of people’s pockets anymore. This cannot be a budget of taxes. So, there must be no new taxes in this 2025 budget; the people can’t take anymore,” Friday said.
He said that debt constrains the government’s finances as 36 cents of every dollar the government collects has to go to service debt.
“So, people have to meet more of the needs that the public purse used to attend to, and on the other hand, you’re taking money out of people’s pockets through taxes. That’s unconscionable. We say this year, no new taxes.”
He said the unemployment situation in the country is untenable as it is too high.
“So, we need to create a national employment action plan to reduce unemployment. … This must be done urgently,” Friday said, and suggested that the government invest in a national youth programme that supports young people affected by unemployment.
“For example, invest in TVET institutions that deliver quality training and reliable certification,” he said, noting that Minister of Education, Curtis King had suggested some time ago that the government had to change direction and focus on technical and vocational education and training.
“There’s no indication of that last year in the budget, and certainly we’ll look for it in the Estimate, but here we are saying that you must invest in a TVET institution that is worthy of the challenge that the country confronts in getting our people trained and certified to be able to do the work that we expect of them.”
Friday said the government must also create an employment action plan that brings together businesses, unions and other stakeholders “so that we agree on the priorities for the future.
“Government can’t just go off on its own and sort of doing things and believe that everybody else now must follow them. This is something that has to be done as a collaborative effort. It’s that important.”
The opposition is also recommending the creation of a national innovation hub to support young entrepreneurs, artists and creatives.
“We also have to have a national crime plan to address the crime situation across the country,” Friday said, adding that people feel insecure.
He said that while homicide is the worst example of crime, there are also break-ins, sexual violence against young women and girls, and praedial larceny.
“So, we need to have a crime plan. The government has to put that forward. That’s what should be in this budget. This should be a fully-funded programme addressing the rising rate of crime in the country, and we should have a plan that incorporates all the stakeholders in society.
“That is police, churches, social groups, ordinary citizens, to steer young people away from crime into more constructive activities. And also, we have to have international cooperation,” he said, noting that despite all the gun crimes, SVG does not manufacture guns.
SVG recorded 44 homicides in 2024, one less than the record set in 2023, which eclipsed the previous record of 42, set in 2022.
The opposition leader said there must be international cooperation in stemming the flow of guns and forensic services available to help in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences.
Friday said the government must deliver an infrastructure programme across the country to improve roads, bridges, and particularly the feeder roads that lead into the farms, adding that agriculture is part of the productive backbone of the economy.
He said there should be dedicated instruction plans in every constituency to deliver better roads, drains, bridges, jetties, the airports, playing fields, hard courts and other public facilities.
“Let’s have a plan to get this done for the people of our country,” Friday said, adding that regarding social programmes, he would like to see the government put forward a national health insurance plan.