Jul 02 - GSD Claims Government Continues to Deceive the Public on Public Finances
In response to the Government’s most recent statement on the state of public finances, which continues ‘to deceive the public’, the Opposition has insisted that the Chief Minister is using the Financial Secretary’s memo to ‘to create an entirely false picture that there was only £20 million left in the kitty in December 2011. That coupled with the fact that during his reply at the time of the Budget he compared our public finances with those of La Linea, was calculated to create the impression that we were broke when he was elected into office and that he has performed a financial miracle in 18 months.’
The GSD claims that Gibraltar’s cash reserves in December 2011 were at £265 million. They note that it is therefore not true to say that there was only £20 million left in the kitty. They also point out that at the date of the memo, the Government could only use £20 million of the cash reserves as the use of them is limited by reference to the level of net debt. A short time later at the end of the year, the Government received an influx of cash revenue from tax receipts, causing cash reserves to increase, and net debt to decrease.
GSD Leader Daniel Feetham noted that ‘the significance of the Financial Secretary's memos is simply informing the new Government about the possible need to seek supplementation from Parliament, a common procedure in any Western democracy, until Government revenues were received as they were expected to come in and did actually come in at the end of December and early 2012. To describe the Memo as "Doomsday" is part of the Big Lie that Mr. Picardo wants to spin and shows how he is prepared to sink to the depth of misconstruing and spinning a Memo by a senior public servant for his own political ends’
In reference to GSLP By-election candidate, Albert Isola’s claim on GBC yesterday evening, that the Government had cured the debt issue by reducing expenditure and attracting inward investment, Mr Feetham insisted that nothing could be further from the truth. He added that recurrent expenditure has risen considerably. He added, ‘recurrent departmental expenditure has risen by £39 million. The Future Job Strategy on its own is costing the taxpayer £12 million a year and rising. By March 2014 recurrent expenditure will be £66.6 million a year more than in March 2012. Taking into account capital expenditure and the redemption of Debentures the money spent by Government in the last 18 months is well in excess of £200 million. Additionally there has been no new investment which can justify a miraculous turn around in public finances in 18 months.
It is the GSD, which has sought to clarify and expose the Government’s misinformation on the subject.
We encourage the electorate to send a very clear message that they are fed up of such tactics and that they will not be duped again by voting for our candidate Marlene Nahon on Thursday.’
