| Panton Focused On Make Budget Response Understandable |
| Mon, May 26, 2025 |
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| And while the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in his speech, accused the Leader of the Opposition of Googling pointers or using Chat GPT to write her response, Panton explained that her goal was to break down the budget so that the wider Belizean public can better understand.
Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition
"It was my responsibility. I wanted to set a new tone. I had to lay out the broad macro policy issues that were glaringly not in the budget. A budget, as I said before, it's not just a ledger of numbers."
"It is a social contract that the government makes with the people of Belize. And what's in the budget really outlines a government's priorities. So what is not in the budget is indicative of the government's commitment or non-commitment to the people of the country."
"That was certainly, I think, the Minister of Foreign Affairs' assessment of my presentation is certainly ill-placed. I have put in a lot of work in critically looking at the policy issues that not only affect lives but the livelihoods of our Belizeans."
"That is our responsibility to look at where we can strengthen a system that is supposed to be built for the well-being of our human capital in this country."
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