On the weekly Opposition radio programme “Just the Facts”, on Monday 7th March, Opposition Leader Cora Richardson-Hodge quoted from an article which appeared in The Anguillian newspaper with regard to rising commodity prices and the pending GST.
In that article, the Premier was commenting on the rising prices of goods resulting from the war currently taking place in Ukraine and the lead up to the GST which will be implemented in Anguilla on July 1, 2022.
The Premier’s remarks which stirred the Opposition’s dissatisfaction come from the following Anguillian quote: “In terms of how the rising cost of living in Anguilla — which is impacted by the Russia/Ukraine war — will be affected by the implementation of the GST in Anguilla, Dr. Webster stated: ‘“GST is a broad-based tax and so rising prices will be rising prices…”’
“This is the ultimate quote that comes from our Honourable Premier,” Mrs. Richardson-Hodge noted, “when asked about the impact of GST in terms of controlled prices. I think that this response, ‘rising prices will be rising prices’, falls very short of any sort of response from a leader of Government business in terms of what is taking place right now in Ukraine and its impact on Anguilla. Our Government needs to be doing something at this point in time in order to lessen the impact as much as possible.”
“There is a recognition that the war in Ukraine has created an energy shock, she said. “We know that there are rising fuel prices as a result of this war wherever you go. In Anguilla, the cost of fuel increased last Friday to US$7.07 per gallon. Oil now on the global market is selling for US$100 per barrel. This is the highest cost since 2008.”
Mrs. Richardson-Hodge continued: “When the bulk fuel surcharge was increased from EC$100,000 to EC$750,000, we [the Opposition] debated it in the House of Assembly. In fact, we were dead set against such an increase. Our position was that such an increase should not be implemented unless there was a way to minimise the impact on the consumer.
“But the Honourable Premier got up in the House of Assembly then and said that he will have on-going discussions with the fuel suppliers. However, as of now there has been nothing put in place to lessen the impact of the increased bulk fuel surcharge. So, as far as the general public is concerned, that bulk fuel charge increase has gone directly to be borne by the general public.”
Mrs. Richardson-Hodge said that in a recent quarterly meeting with Her Excellency Governor, Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam, she suggested to the Governor that while there is limited scope in the legislation, based on the existing structure, still the Government can look at the bulk fuel price and adjust it until the war issue with Ukraine and Russia is resolved, and fuel price is stabilised or decreased.”
“But if you are the Government,” she said, “you cannot say ‘rising prices will be rising prices.’ You must look at options and think outside of the box. You must find ways in order to alleviate the impact of the cost of certain goods in Anguilla.”
