By Thad Hollis, Chairman, One Bermuda Alliance, March 11, 2013

Opponents of the One Bermuda Alliance Government want people to believe it favours business over Bermudians.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Everything the Government is doing is to get Bermuda working again for the thousands who are unemployed, the thousands earning less than before and the thousands looking to grab onto something, anything that can help them pay their bills and feel better about their lives.

To make these things happen, the Government is doing all it can to grow the economy, which is the number one challenge facing Bermuda today.

By Thad Hollis, Chairman One Bermuda Alliance, March 1, 2013

This morning the Opposition in the House of Assembly – comprised of members of the former PLP Government – will read its Reply to the OBA Government’s Budget Statement for the coming fiscal year.

On the basis of its preliminary response to the Budget last week, the Opposition will attack the Government’s Budget for lacking vision, bold action and relief for Bermudians  in need.
But before Shadow Finance Minister David Burt ramps up the rhetoric he would do well, on behalf of his colleagues in the former Government, to formally apologize to Bermuda for leaving the Island in the worst, most perilous financial position in its modern history.
Without an apology and formal recognition of the role played by the PLP Government in Bermuda’s economic decline, Opposition criticism of the current Government will hold little water.

Unless Mr. Burt convincingly separates himself from his Government’s practices and policies that saddled the Island with more than a billion dollars of debt, massive year-to-year operating deficits, mass unemployment and credit rating downgrades, the Opposition will have little credibility as advocates for a better way.

Finance Minister Bob Richards has announced the appointment of a six-person Spending and Government Efficiency Commission, a move promised by the One Bermuda Alliance in its election platform.

Minister Richards said the Commission’s primary objective will be to “streamline Government processes, including Quangos, improve delivery of services and make Government more efficient, more cost-effective, more transparent and more user-friendly.”

In a statement today, the Minister said: “On February 8th, during my post Throne Speech press conference, I announced that, in order to eliminate wasteful Government spending and reduce the public debt, Government will table legislation, in the upcoming budget session, to establish a Spending and Government Efficiency [SAGE] Commission.