PROGRESSIVES ABSTAIN FROM BUDGET VOTE

The main opposition People’s Progressive Movement (PPM/Progressives) doubled down on its reservations about the national budget by refusing to participate in the Parliamentary vote on the document. The party’s members present during Friday’s sitting of Parliament all exercised the option of abstaining from the vote.

This followed several days of scrutiny in the Finance Committee in which the Progressives reiterated the concerns they had raised during the Budget Debate.

Maintaining their stance that the budget was overly focused on “tax, borrow, and spend” the Opposition PPM/Progressives members present - Roy McTaggart former finance minister was absent - registered “abstain” after party leader Joey Hew requested ‘division’, an individual voiced vote by each member after the members of the ruling National Coalition For Caymanians (NCFC) members unanimously voted in favour. Independent MP Chris Saunders voted in support of the government.

The budget was passed by the majority NCFC/Saunders vote, even though NCFC coalition member and Hon. Minister of Health, Environment, and Sustainability, Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, was also absent from the sitting.

In a subsequent statement, the PPM/Progressives leadership reiterated its position that the government’s borrowing plans were the main reason it did not support the passage of the budget. “Our first major concern is the proposal to borrow $236 million over 2026 and 2027 without a clearly defined plan for how these funds will be used. This lack of transparency is troubling.”

It said the borrowing plans would push the national debt to a record $634 million by the end of 2027. The party noted its concern about the NCFC Government’s intention to borrow an additional $85 million in 2028, “potentially raising total debt to approximately $655 million”.

The statement signed by PPM/Progressives leader Joey Hew goes on to state: “Secondly, the Premier acknowledged during the Finance Committee meeting that consultation with Caymanian stakeholders — particularly small business owners — is still underway on the Government’s proposed revenue measures.”

During the Budget Debate and in the Finance Committee meeting, the PPM/Progressives persisted in challenging the government on its policy assertions, especially over the revenue-raising and borrowing projections.

It was in the debate that Opposition Leader Hew had framed their concerns about the impact of the budget in the context of an imaginary ‘Janet from Georgetown’ - a struggling mother who would be left even more destitute due to the NCFC government’s policies.

Using that scenario to reflect how out-of-touch he felt the NCFC budget was, he said: “By the time Janet has paid those unavoidable costs, she is left with nothing, not for savings, not for emergencies, not for hope. This is not a story of laziness or irresponsibility. This is a reality of a Caymanian doing everything right and still falling short. And while this budget speaks to prudence, it offers her very little relief.”

In the post-budget-vote statement, the Opposition party said it “recognises that the Budget contains some positive initiatives”, however, Mr Hew said the concerns outlined prevented his party from offering full support. “We therefore abstained in the best interests of the people we represent.”