Video: Premier On Politics, Finances & More
School yard politics are still being practiced and now is not the time to be involved in those types of practices, Premier Craig Cannonier said today [Mar 28] at a press conference.
“The world is passing us by…we are in a global economy competing here,” said the Premier. “We can no longer be so insular we are fussing among ourselves.”
“It is important that we get back on the world stage and start competing again. And that the businesses that are here we shore them up, and that we introduce jobs back to the table. But that can only happen if we shore up the businesses that are here, and we let the world economy know that we are here to do business.”
“We have an economy, right now, and a budget the OBA, as a Government, inherited. And it is frightening what is happening. Within March itself, I want to be clear here, this March we were close to not being able to pay our bills as a Government.
The Premier continued, “This should be concerning to the country. This is something we inherited, but this Government will walk us through and will be responsible in bringing us out of the situation we are in. But these are things that we have acquired from our predecessors, but we will not shy away from them, we will go after them with a tenacity.”
The Premier also discussed the elimination of term limits, the Minister’s pay cuts, the change to car licensing fees for seniors and more.
Video of the Premier’s full comments today:
The exchange of words between the two parties started earlier this week when Opposition Leader Marc Bean noted that the OBA have now been in power for 100 days, and said the PLP is concerned at “how so quickly things have seen to have gone astray.”
Mr Bean said the OBA have broken eight promises, citing the the promises to suspend term limits for two years, reduce spending and the debt, cut the travel budget, decrease the size of cabinet, not hire consultants, lower health care costs and more.
The Premier responded later that day saying the PLP is still “resorting to school yard fighting tactics to provoke nonsensical dialogue none of which will benefit Bermuda or Bermudians.”
OBA Chairman Thad Hollis then said, “The truth of the matter is that the One Bermuda Alliance, in its first 100 days in office, has realized that the problems it has inherited are worse than ever the PLP was willing to admit. We now know that the country’s economy is in worse shape than even the most pessimistic of us predicted.”
Noting that the OBA did make promises during the election campaign, Mr Hollis said they have delivered some in the first 100 days including giving employers a two-year payroll tax break for new hiring, setting up the SAGE Commission, reducing consultancies and frequent travel, cutting Ministers’ pay, setting up the Tourism Authority, inviting an Opposition Member to sit in Cabinet and more.
The PLP responded saying the OBA has “still has not answered questions raised regarding their first 100 days,” and called on the Premier to explain why under his leadership the OBA broke promises.
Update 4.26pm: The PLP responded, their statement can be read here.
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- PLP Calls For The Truth About Salaries | Bernews.com | March 28, 2013
School yard politics is too polite a description Mr. Premier – cut to the chase and call the PLP obstructionism for what it is, gutter politics.
Thank God we finally have a Premier that is putting Bermuda first, rather than a populist Premier that took Bermuda to the brink just so that she MIGHT secure enough votes to win the election. With the PLP it is about politics. With the OBA it is about Bermuda.
@VIctor, this reveals that the weakness of Mr Cannioner as leader of the OBA. This also reveals the weakness of the OBA, blank on ideas, blank on how to move Bermuda forward, no solutions to diversified our economy. Particularly, a government that promised me they could move Bermuda forward and had real solutions pre-election. This indicates that they were not honest, or transparent at all. This makes me regret voting for the OBA, as they seem to have fail in all what they have promised, as well as have no way to generate money in our economy or create other revenue streams.
Now they are attempting to play the scare-tactics to grip at the heart of folks, but folks see right at the heart of the matter, and that is the OBA never had any ideas to move Bermuda forward in the first place. It was merely a power game to win votes.
Why did this guy have a press conference, and say nothing.
Just a joke. This train wreck of a premier-ship is sad to watch.
Did Bean lie or not? Yes or no?
He lied didn’t he.
Premier Cannonier,
Why are you trying to blame the PLP for something in March, when you took office in December? Did it come as a surprise to you that you had to pay bills in March? So you were OK in January and February, but all of a sudden March was a problem and it is the PLP’s fault?
How long are you going to try and blame the PLP for everything? Take some responsibility and get on with the Job you were elected to do!
Sincerely,
Annoyed OBA Voter
annoyed OBA voter, you are clearly not an OBA voter.
the reason why he is blaming running out of money in March, is because, when they OBA won the election in December, the PLP’s 2012/2013 fiscal year was still in effect. so the budget that the PLP made up (which was the case in the last couple of budgets presented by PC) in February of 2012, was still well in effect on 17th December.
and to your last point
“How long are you going to try and blame the PLP for everything? Take some responsibility and get on with the Job you were elected to do!”
.. your PLP government left the fiscal purse of OUR island is such a doggone mess that the OBA realized they couldnt do what they planned to do in the amount of time that the opposition keeps harping on them to do.
think about this way, do you think that if the OBA lost in December, that they coffers would not have dried up, and more money would not have been needed? i highly and seriously doubt that!
go gly a kite, ’tis the season!
What a joke the OBA knew the situation, this is a poor press release report. It does reveal for sure, that OBA has no alternative ways or ideas to diversified Bermuda’s economy. Pre-election they promised me on the doorstep they did, but I am now come to realize I was lied to by the OBA government. This press conference proves the OBA are dead on ideas of a new way going forward. Now trying to use scare tactics to win the hearts of the people back. This is unacceptable from a government who pre-election told Bermuda they can manage and do anything for Bermuda. Well we know now do we, it looks like my vote should have been given to the PLP, at least they had creative ways to improve our economy.
Bean lied this week. Admit it.
When is the Premier going to stop hiding behind written speeches…..
i dont see him reading off of any paper lady.. he speaks how he feels, something that your old PLP ministers could NOT do. i dont think i saw one PLP minister not reading word for word from a piece of paper.
You can’t be serious?? I have seen Paula, Ewart, Alex and Jennifer speak on their feet many times.
@ sonoso says: so the OBA should have make the Ministers salary cut retroactive, like they did the Senators raises… every little thing counts…
is this all you have to complain about woman??
and furthermore, is that what you PLP supporters are resorting to? specifics and minute details??
where were you during the PLPs time in power to nitpick?
Rhonda. For once get the facts. When Cox reduced the salaries by 5% last year, the law that she and the PLP passed said the reduced salaries would last until March 31, 2013, or the next General Election, whichever comes first.
That was the law passed by the PLP.
So the salaries reverted to the full amount at the date of the election, because the PLP law set it up that way.
The first chance the new government got to change the law and reduce salaries by 10%, they did it.
Stop being such a f//@king idiot.
You mean like the A$$ rabbit you put as a leader. Poor Craig he gets no respect for being the team Easter Bunny, and that’s all he is. Craig Simmon says JUMP!!!!!!!!
Is that your response to the facts? Pathetic.
What a state we have been left in!! But I have to admit, what a breath of fresh air this Premier brings to the country! Even under so much presure, he is a gentleman.
The need for the Premier to make such a Press Conference, suggest that the OBA are in trouble, and folks are now seeing the light. The OBA seems to attempting to covering up their butts. This conference reveals that they are lost, and have no real ideas to grow out economy as promised on the door steps. Election is over, and they are now not able to produce.
The fact that the PLP held a nonsensical press conference this week to engage in gutter schoolyard politics, rather than focusing in the things that really matter, shows that they are desperate. They will anything, no matter how misleading or untrue. They care about themselves, and they don’t care about Bermuda or Bermudians. The PLP is being unpatriotic to Bermuda.
Weedy, your posts are all revealing the depth of your stupidity. You say you voted for the OBA, but you say that after 100 days they are in trouble. Answer me why Bermuda is in trouble? Is it because of the OBA? They have still been working off a PLP budget and did not have money to pay the bills. When the PLP got in power they started with a UBP budget, the civil service used 38 cents of every dollar earned, leaving 62 cents for other expenditures and programs. Presently 72 cents out of every dollar earned goes to the civil service, only leaving 28 cents for everything else which inclueds a debt of $172,000 per day in interest payments alone. This is what they inherited not what they had caused. The problem is that people like yourself, don’t really care about Bermuda, you just care about your PLP gaining power. Let me end with this, when you can’t pay your bills, that means you can get product, ie food, madicine and services etc… A lot of us made fun of third world countries in the past, but that is the way we are heading thanks to people like us that believed in a labor, black government. Well they have sold us out, because we are in this situation because of them and all of us who voted for them the last time when Dr Brown was Premier. It will be a long time coming before I trust and would vote PLP. So weedy, if you were of sound mind, you would see that it will take at least 20 to 25 years of sound decision making and trust on the part of the business sector to get Bermuda back. They have the right people in place, the problem now is trust Bermuda or stay where they are if they are happy.