Arthur, Mascoll ‘misleading’

Article by rhondathompson

Opposition Leader Owen Arthur and Clyde Mascoll are giving the people the impression that the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) was responsible for this Government’s current account deficit and that our revenue from taxation was greater than the expenditure on an annual basis.
So claims Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Industry and Business Development, Dr David Estwick, speaking tonight on the Democratic Labour Party platform in Coach Hill, St John, where he represented Mara Thompson who is contesting in the St John by-election against Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate Hudson Griffith.
But by quoting from the Barbados Estimates and Expenditure 2009-2010, he said this document showed the tax revenue was $254 million, the operating expenditure of the Government was $1.7 million, the statutory expenditure was $706 million, and the debt service was $900 million.
He said this added up to $3.4 billion, when the revenue was only $2.6 million.
He asked who, therefore, created the problem – the BLP or the DLP? (MB)