Parties take each other to task on job creation

Make text smaller Make text larger

Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards claims the governing party’s election platform has no plan to grow jobs.

But the Progressive Labour Party denied that in a statement of its own saying that the One Bermuda Alliance is guilty of being obscure with its plans.

“Simply promising that the Government will grow ‘thousands of jobs’, as the Premier said, is not a plan,” said Mr Richards.

He added that the OBA’s “Jobs and Economic Turnaround Plan” will “create 2,000 jobs and restore confidence and opportunity to our troubled economy.”

Mr Richards also questioned Premier Paula Cox’s statement that her administration had demonstrated “sound fiscal management” and the ability to “manage budgets in a prudent pro-growth manner.”

“The Government’s record over the last seven years says it has not managed budgets prudently. Government is now in its fifth straight year of deficit spending, meaning it spends more than it takes in and has borrowed more than a billion dollars to fill the gaps. That’s not prudent management in my books. What’s more, until the Premier took the reins as Finance Minister there had been no such deficits in Bermuda’s modern history,” Mr Richards said.

A statement from the PLP noted that its platform offers “plenty of specifics to help get Bermudians to work” including Job Corps, One Stop Career Centre, a new bond market and “a regulatory environment for Islamic Finance to bring new investors and international business dollars into our economy”.

The statement added that the OBA had been silent on its plans.

“They aren't telling us what their Cuts & Pain Commission has planned. What will their unelected Cuts & Pain Commission cut? Is your FutureCare safe? Is your DayCare safe? Is the EEZ safe? Are job training programmes safe? Are our public schools safe? Do you really trust Bob Richards, the OBA and their Cuts & Pain Commission to protect the jobs, schools, programmes, benefits and opportunities that you and your family rely on?”

Make text smaller Make text larger

Take Our Poll