Cut Expenditure – Ken Thompson tells Gov’t

Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, Ken Thompson has told the government to drastically cut spending.

In his view, if the government fails to do that, the domestic debt exchange programme and the subsequent International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal will fail to achieve their intended purpose.

Mr Ken Thompson said this in an interview with TV3.

A Finacial analyst, Mr Joe Jackson also said although the government is caught in a difficult situation as it seeks to close a deal with the IMF, it must also take actions to deal with the problems internally as a way of convincing the people to accept the debt exchange programme.

Speaking on the Big Issue on TV3 Monday, February 13, he asked the President to cut down the size of his government.

“Cut down expenditure, cut the size of government so that we can know that you understand the issues. We still have as many ministers as we have,” he said.

Reading the pensioners who are resisting their inclusion in the debt exchange, Mr Jackson said: “we know you are between a rock and hard place but sit with them and neg them.”

The pensioners have been picketing at the Ministry since Monday, February 6 to be exempted from the Programme.

A former Chief Justice Sophia joined them to picket at the Finance Ministry on Friday, February 10 against their inclusion in the debt exchange.

Speaking to journalists she said “These are all people who have worked, they have worked very hard, they could have left the country when others were going but they stayed, they worked for the nation.

“We have had our ups and downs. A lot of us were from generations where we were encouraged to save for tomorrow and all that. We have been through times where all your savings become nonsense because of some government policies, then over the years, bit by bit, people have become more confident in the economy and investments.

“Quite a number of people here today, when they retired last two years they have put everything into government bonds, it is a contract and now all of a sudden, you virtually want to, at gunpoint, force them to agree with you that the repayment of the yield of their investment should be as you dictate it. Why?”