Williams Chides PNP For Advocating ‘Reckless’ Spending to Meet Short-Term Needs

Finance Minister Fayval Williams has slammed the Opposition PNP for what she says are calls for reckless spending to satisfy short-term wants.

She drilled down on the importance of prudent fiscal planning ash she opened the 2025-2026 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Mahiri Stewart tells us more.

The Finance Minister contrasted the current administration’s management of the economy with those of the past.

According to Fayval Williams, there are attempts to get the Holness government to utilise the country’s Net International Reserves, NIR, in order to alleviate the current economic hardships.

But she rejected these calls as irresponsible as she opened the budget debate as the country’s first female Minister of Finance and the Public Service.

The country’s NIR are at a record high of just over 5-point-6-billion US dollars.

This is well above the internationally accepted standard.

The NIR are designed to act as a strategic buffer to satisfy foreign exchange requirements in case of a major shock.

The minister says dipping into these reserves to satisfy short-term concerns would be detrimental to the country.

The Finance Minister also outlined that all the country’s macro-economic indicators remain on the right track.

This includes reducing debt to Gross Domestic Product, GDP, to 68-percent by the end of the Fiscal Year.

She contrasted the current Holness administration with what she labels as the run wid it governments of the PNP.