By Claudia Liburd
Nevis Reporter: SKNVIbes.com
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| Mark Brantley |
(Charlestown; Nevis): Executive member of the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), Mark Brantley has expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of national debt since the installation of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) into the Nevis Island Assembly (NIA) on July, 10 2006.
He told SKNVibes.com in a recent interview that the national debt is something that small islands and even individuals have to encounter. He gave examples that if one wants a car, a home or a bit of land one must go into debt. Invariably, he said all of us go into debt whether it is by credit card and it is no different for a country.
"If you go out and incur debt to build a home or buy a piece of land then clearly you have acquired an asset in exchange for the debt," he said. "My presentations to the Budget Debate in the Nevis Island Assembly in December of last year focused on the hypocrisy in my view of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) because when they were in Opposition and even now that they are in power they castigated the CCM party saying that national debt is too high."
"They say that we were reckless in the way that we managed the affairs of the country in incurring a debt of EC $280 Million (M). That debt included the debt of NEVLEC, Solid Waste Management, Nevis Air and Seaports Authority, those statutory corporations including the Nevis Housing and Land Corporation as well as the NIA debt. So it is a complete picture of the debt as they met it at EC $280 M."
Brantley added that the point he is trying to make is that under those 14 years the CCM incurred a debt of $280 M dollars and that includes unprecedented infrastructural development including an airport, seaport, hospital, infirmary, new roads etc. In addition, he mentioned during that period there were five major hurricanes including Hurricane Lenny which shut down the Four Seasons Resort for an entire year.~~adz:right~~
Brantley then intimated his concern for the large disparity in the debt the CCM party incurred in 14 years as compared to that incurred by the NRP party in six months while naming debt a necessary vice to attaining assets.
"Debt is necessary and the thing is what do we do and what we get in exchange for that debt. My concern is that when the new government speaks of debt and suggests that $280 million in 14 years is too high we must now look at their performance in six short months," he said.
"They have admitted that they borrowed $15 M to do the Barnes Ghaut Road, $28 M from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), $30 M from the Bank of Nevis and last year they were forced to borrow $2 M to pay civil servants. They racked up $75 M in six months compared to $280 M in 14 years under the CCM," he concluded.
Mark Brantley who is a lawyer by profession, is the most recent member of the CCM party. Brantley is a nominated member for the CCM and has sat on the Opposition benches since the July 10th elections when the CCM party lost power.
