September 9 ,2020
Today, when the long-delayed National Budget 2020 is presented to the National Assembly it will be done in the absence of the main opposition APNU+AFC.
A statement from the party explained that its parliamentarians will be “with the people” rather than in parliament when Budget is presented by Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill.
“The APNU+AFC Coalition views it as imperative and paramount that leaders be with the people who are hurting and in anguish and who are in need of support, solidarity and comfort at this time,” the party stated added that it had announced two days of national mourning – Tuesday September 8th and Wednesday September 9th following the “heinous killings of Isaiah Henry, Joel Henry and Orlando Jonas”.
The statement goes on to criticize the series of measures that have already been announced claiming that “it appears as though the fraudulent and illegitimate PPP regime is geared to present a budget that is shrouded in deceit.”
As an example of this apparent deceit the party cites the “grand promise to the disciplined services to restore the one month end-of-year ‘bonus’ claiming that instead these officers have received “a mere two week fine change.”
“This represents a betrayal of the disciplined services,” they contend while reminding that the APNU+AFC Coalition consistently improved and increased the salaries of the disciplined services and all public servants.
The increases were received on a monthly basis as opposed to “the PPP tradition of a one-month handout”, the party stressed adding that these are the same soldiers and policemen that the PPP have deployed to suppress legitimate protests on the West Coast Berbice.