ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Feb 24, CMC -Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle Monday urged protesters not to support a move by the Gaston Browne government to increase vehicle licence fees for funding a road rehabilitation programme.
The government says the financing model includes bank oversight, ensuring accountability for each phase of the EC$100 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) programme.
“Every cent raised from this bond will be utilized for roads. The agreement with the banks ensures that we must account for the first EC$10 million before we receive the next installment. There is full transparency,” Prime Minister Browne said.
He has sought to justify the increase in licence fees saying it is quintessential to raising the necessary financing to improve the country’s roads and does not view the proposed hike as burdensome, pointing out that licensing a Vitz motorcar is about EC$280, and as a result, a 40 per cent increase would be an additional $104 annually, which he said is less than nine dollars a month.
Browne said the average license fee for a motorcar is EC$450, equating to an increase of EC$180 annually under the proposed fees.
“We give thousands off in duty waivers, eliminated personal income tax to reduce the tax burden on individuals. Because of our benevolent policies, Antigua has the lowest tax burden in the region at 17.5 per cent, compared to the 24 per cent regional average. Fixing the roads would reduce the costs of wear and tear on vehicles, saving vehicle owners multiples of the EC$104, or EC$180 annually,” Browne posted on his Facebook page.
But as he joined several protestors outside the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday, Opposition Leader, Jamale L. Pringle, sought to make it clear that no increase, whether 40 per cent, $100, or even one dollars, should be accepted by the people.
“We have to stand, we have to show the people,” Pringle said, as he criticized the government for seeking additional funds just three months after passing a national budget.
“How can you come back now, without accounting for what has already been spent, and ask the people for more?” Pringle told the crowd.
He said the government’s approach is a deliberate strategy to justify the tax hike.
“They put it at 40 per cent first, knowing they need EC$100, just to make it seem like a compromise,” he said, adding that the government had already appropriated EC$95.9 million for road construction in the 2025 budget.
“Where did that EC$95.9 million go? That’s what people want to know,” Pringle said, calling for transparency from the Ministry of Works.
“Not a cent, not a dollar, the people say no!” he added.
The proposed increase is expected to be discussed in Cabinet next Wednesday before being debated in Parliament.
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