AKEL will vote against the 2020 Budget
Statement by Charis Polycarpou, Head of the Economic Research Bureau of AKEL on the 2020 Budget
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 6th December 2019, Nicosia
The 2020 Budget is yet another anti-growth, anti-social and anti-people’s Budget, without a vision and following the same philosophy of previous years.
The Cyprus economy needs an overall strategy for growth that should aim at implementing a multi-faceted and balanced model, far from “get-rich-quick” policies and economic “bubbles”. Public finances must focus on building infrastructures and improving people’s standards of living. The main goal must be the combatting of income and social inequalities. Such a political direction isn’t populist, on the contrary first and foremost it is a policy generating growth and development.
Instead of pursuing such a policy, the 2020 budget sticks to the dogmatic obsessions of the neoliberal policy implemented by the Anastasiades-DISY government:
- Despite the improvement in public finances, overall public investments remain reduced in comparison to the pre-crisis period.
- Social benefits, with the exception of this year’s inclusion of expenditure on the General Health Scheme, remain stagnant.
- The state’s tax collection capacity remains problematic, while tax evasion is thriving.
- Non-performing loans and foreclosures are threatening the homes of households, but the government still has no affordable housing programs.
- Finally, the government continues to focus on the privatization of profitable semi-governmental organizations and the sell-off of public wealth and property.
For these reasons, AKEL will vote against the 2020 Budget.
