‘It’s not about how much you have, but how you use it’ – Indar fires back at APNU+AFC’s ‘no oil money’ claim

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Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar

As the APNU+AFC continues to blame the lack of oil revenues for failing to deliver on its promises to the people during its time in office from 2015-2020, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar has mocked these claims, reminding that the former administration collected $90 billion annually from increased taxes and yet, there is nothing to show for how they spent it.

He made the remark during his contribution to the 2025 budget debate on Wednesday evening.

“Yuh stifle growth, you tax everything under the sun…incompetence was the height of it under their management. It’s not how much money you have, it’s how you use the little that you have…,” Indar said.

“They were collecting $90 billion more in taxes and did nothing with it. You know what $90 billion can do Mr Speaker? $33 billion building 121km of roads in the hinterland, $90 billion cudda build 333km, you know what they did? Zero!”

After entering office in 2020, the Irfaan Ali-led government had reversed over 200 taxes which were imposed under the former APNU+AFC coalition.

Successive budgets of the current PPP administration were financed by no new taxes.

Among other things, the APNU+AFC had imposed taxes or increased taxes on a number of products and services such as tax on private healthcare and private education, Value Added Tax (VAT) on water, electricity, health products, food, drainage and irrigation fees, agriculture land lease rates, mining and agriculture machinery, domestic travel, etc.

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