Norton offers menu of measures to ease cost of living woes for citizens

"We have outlined the weaknesses of this budget, we have pointed out that it does not deliver poverty alleviation measures, we have shown you that it has no measures to reduce cost of living, we have shown you that it has no measures to create employment. We have showed you that it has no measures to develop people, this budget stifles the poor man", Norton told the National Assembly.

Norton offers menu of measures to ease cost of living woes for citizens

Outlining several shortcomings of the PPP Civic since it took office, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton this afternoon hammered the Finance Minister and the Government over the 2023 national budget, which he said will have a negative impact on the lives of citizens, since there are insufficient measures to deal with the rising cost of living and high inflation.

“We have outlined the weaknesses of this budget, we have pointed out that it does not deliver poverty alleviation measures, we have shown you that it has no measures to reduce cost of living, we have shown you that it has no measures to create employment. We have showed you that it has no measures to develop people, this budget stifles the poor man”, Norton told the National Assembly.

He said there are also issues related to governance that must be addressed in the country, adding that based on the budget, the government seems set to continue to ignore issues related to governance.

“Governance is an important issue and you can put how many proposals you want, if people do not believe, you will not succeed. Look at the amount of money you put in rice, and it failed and did worse than under us.”

The Opposition Leader said a people centered budget was needed and the government failed to deliver such a budget. Mr. Norton offered a number of recommendations to the Government, that he believes would aid in creating a better life for citizens who are facing daily hardships.

He said income tax should be removed from persons below the poverty line or those earning less than $150,000 a month, while indicating that much more should be done for senior citizens and students attending tertiary institutions should also receive monthly support.

He also called for a further reduction of the value added tax. When VAT was introduced by a previous PPP Civic government, it was introduced at a 16% rate. That rate was reduced to 14% under the APNU+AFC Government. Norton is now of the view that it could further be decreased to 12%.

He highlighted the government’s failure to involve the Opposition on key national issues, including issues related to the Elections Commission and the reform of Electoral laws.

The Opposition Leader also made reference to the state of security in the country, saying that a professional Police Force is needed.

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