Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and his ULP government have still not apologised to the nation for their deliberate act of deceiving and misleading the nation in the 2007 Budget Address in parliament on 11th December 2006.

We remind the nation that the ULP government understated the public debt increase for 2006 by at least EC$ 9.4 million, and understated the figure for public debt to GDP ratio. The IMF said a debt to GDP ratio of 85% was too high; the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's benchmark is 60%. SVG’s public debt to GDP ratio could be as high as 88.4%.

SVG Green Party is very concerned. In December 2003, Dominica, with a high public debt to GDP ratio, had to call in the IMF to avoid its economy from collapsing. In a letter to the IMF the Dominican government stated ‘We already began the process of reducing wage costs in the 2003/04 budget by reducing wages by 5 percent. We intend to reduce the wage bill by 10 percent over the next two fiscal years mainly through a reduction in the number of positions. We plan to reduce the wage bill by 5 percent during the 2004/05 budget, and by an additional 5 percent the following fiscal year’. The Dominican government either sacked public employees or, made them work for longer for less pay, and also further devalued people’s financial standing by increasing taxes.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves cannot tell us where the money is coming from to pay public servants’ salaries of EC$ 193.1 million for the year of 2007. Every government employee should ask the Prime Minister where the money is coming from for their pay for the whole of 2007.

Also, the ULP government owed VINLEC over EC$ 21 million in debts for electricity and failed to tell the electorate - covering up their debt with VINLEC in the VINLEC accounts Year Ended December 31, 2004, which were published in July 2005.

The main component of successful management of social, financial and economic affairs of a country is revenue creation. However, the figures show that the economy is getting worse with a high growth of debt of about EC$ 100 million dollars a year. The whole emphasis of the ULP regime is to place high taxes on Vincentians and to beg from foreign countries. There’s no revenue creation.

The ULP government has deliberately betrayed the electorate. Vincentians expect an honest government and deserve an honest government. SVG Green Party calls again for the dishonest ULP government to apologise to the nation, resign and set a date for the 2007 general election.

St. Lucia has sent a clear message: governments that mistreat their nations, mismanage economies and put people’s livelihoods under pressure, get ousted. Just as the NDP was ousted in 2001, so we expect the ULP to be ousted from government at the ballot box. People are restless for their lives to be improved – an election must be called in 2007.

Signed…………………………..
Ivan O’Neal  BSc(Hons), MSc, MBA, Leader and Co-founder of SVG Green Party