The Minister of Finance and Planning, Armand Achaibersing, is not awake to the so-called criticism of the Recovery Plan 2020-2022 by opposition members. On the contrary, he said that the plan is well substantiated and elaborated, which makes the criticism from the opposition appear very opportunistic. Yesterday, the government responded to various questions posed by assembly members when discussing the Recovery Plan and the 2021 budget.

Achaibersing compared the Stabilization and Recovery Plan 2016-2018 with the current Recovery Plan 2020-2022. For example, the 2016 plan was sketchy and many measures had not been worked out. Time periods, clear descriptions were missing and often no costs and sources of funding were stated. In the previous government’s plan, nothing was written about monitoring, communication and course.

Achaibersing pointed out that the prominent opposition members, who were then in parliament and some in government, found it necessary to conclude an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The then coalition did not protest against the IMF. A weak Stabilization Plan was then adopted without much criticism. The minister noted that all those ‘beautiful things’ that Member Stephen Tsang is suddenly missing in the current Recovery Plan were not present in the then government’s Stabilization Plan when they adopted it.

The minister went on to say that he has never seen an evaluation of the 2016-2018 Stabilization Plan. He also regrets that it has not been implemented and the agreement with the IMF has not been implemented. “Had it been done then, we wouldn’t be talking about the same thing again a few years later in a situation that has gotten a lot worse,” said the minister.

“If the situation then was such that the government thought it should go into business with the IMF, then now the situation is one degree worse, don’t blame the government for turning to the IMF,” the statement said. minister of judgment. He asked opposition members to be consistent.

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