OBA’s De Couto On PLP Government
“Affordability, accountability, and stability are the themes Bermudians are seeking, yet the Government’s hypocrisy and failure to deliver is breathtaking,” Shadow Finance Minister Dr. Douglas De Couto said.
Dr. De Couto said, “The PLP Government and its Ministers are living in an alternate reality from most Bermudians.
“The Government constantly praises and celebrates itself using taxpayer money, but the truth tells a different story.
“As the Auditor General’s recent report shows, Ministers have been travelling around on our dime, without even bothering to keep track of their spending properly.
“And when asked in Parliament about the total cost of that travel, including that of civil servants, as usual, the Government shamelessly refuses to answer. All this despite being legally required to track that spending in accordance with its own policies.
“While Ministers strut and parade around on stages overseas, Bermudians silently face and endure challenges such as high food prices, rent, and electricity bills, along with many other hardships we hear about on their doorsteps.
“While Ministers attend private international conferences halfway around the world, we’ve lost a generation of children due to a failing education system, constantly in transition, during years when youth development demands the most stability..
“While Ministers turn international travel into self-promotional tours, there are 1,400 fewer Bermudian jobs than in 2017, and according to the Home report, more than 1,100 Bermudians are without stable housing.
“Affordability, accountability, and stability are the themes Bermudians are seeking, yet the Government’s hypocrisy and failure to deliver is breathtaking. The irony is not lost when the island sees Ministers invite the youth to be part of Bermuda’s future, then try to block progress on absentee voting.
“Ministers proclaim Bermuda’s new Corporate Income Tax as the solution to all our problems, but then say it’s so sensitive that they can’t even tell us how much companies have paid.
“Ministers claim progress on Immigration policies, but the Fairmont Southampton project is staffed with up to 150 Cuban nationals, who are granted government waivers for visa requirements*.
“The Government claims it’s been working hard for you, but perhaps the most impactful legislation passed this year was to give themselves and their colleagues who lost seats or retired a retroactive pay rise.
“The fact that this was the first law passed after the election shows where this Government’s priorities truly lie.
“*Bermuda Immigration and Protection [Prohibition of Entry] [No. 2] Order 2025.”
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