There were nine yes votes and zero no votes late Tuesday night when the House of Assembly passed the 2014 Appropriations Act, after amending it in committee.
Opposition members declined to participate in the public debate about the 2014 budget because they were unsatisfied with the budget and government’s handling of it, according to opposition member Julian Fraser.
Mr. Fraser (R-D3) walked out of the House Monday shortly after the meeting began, telling reporters outside that he and other members of the opposition were boycotting the debate in protest of the budget itself, which he described as “a farce on the people of this territory.”
“It’s a budget that does not address the real needs of our people,” Mr. Fraser said, adding that the opposition’s viewpoints hadn’t been properly considered in the budget document or the recent Standing Finance Committee sessions. “If we sit there and approve the budget, it will seem to us as if we’re legitimising this.”
Representatives on from the National Democratic Party-led government said they were disappointed that their colleagues didn’t join the discussion, but they all stood to discuss — and defend — their budget.
Several of the nine National Democratic Party representatives who participated in the debate lauded Dr. Smith’s leadership in guiding the territory to its highest projected revenue ever.
See the Feb. 13, 2014 edition for full coverage.
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