Government considers ways to cut fuel costs, utility bills : Cayman News Service

(CNS): Acting Finance Minister André Ebanks said the government was considering ways to help people cope with the cost of living crisis and high summer electricity bills. However, a bailout program like the one introduced in 2022 would now cost about $8.6 million. Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart called on the current administration to use the windfall in tariffs that exists as a result of inflation to lower fuel import duties for a year and subsidize electricity bills during the summer months.

During the recent parliamentary debate on private member application Introduced by McTaggart and seconded by Barbara Conolly, Ebanks said cutting the fuel tax for the year would reduce government revenue by $17 million.

Despite this, the acting prime minister said the application was being accepted and his intention would be considered, albeit with strong conditions. He said the government wanted to help people but had to do so through financially sound means.

Mr Ebanks said the government was not immediately able to identify savings elsewhere to cover the $17 million loss “at this stage”, indicating that a better approach would be to help those most in need rather than across-the-board reductions or support.

“The government is aware of the significant financial burdens our citizens are facing. We are currently considering taking proactive measures to alleviate the financial burdens of our citizens, but we need to look at it holistically,” he said.

Mr Ebanks said that despite the budget constraints, the Treasury and senior officials across government would be looking closely at the state of the public finances in the first half of the year and the outlook for the second half and seeing what could be done to find more money. They would then consider that in the context of other proposals and see which ones would have the “most immediate impact that we can afford”.

“We all want to help our people,” Ebanks said, adding that the government would consider the proposals. But in accepting the motion, he said there was a real world out there and that there were other expenses to balance.

As he made the case for the government to cut fuel tax and introduce a subsidy on electricity bills, McTaggart noted that the fall in inflation did not mean the cost of living crisis was over, as prices continued to rise. He said the government’s job was to help people when they were hurting, and with everyone expecting a very hot summer, cutting tax and reintroducing the electricity bill relief scheme could provide some relief.

McTaggart suggested prices in the Cayman Islands are now at least 20% higher than when the current government took power in 2022. However, prices have not risen evenly, with utilities and rent rising by about a third, he said, referring to the recent public outcry following the CUC implementing an annual interest rate hike, which is part of its agreement with the government.

McTaggart listed some of the food items that have seen a dramatic increase in price, as well as fuel costs. Meanwhile, wages have remained flat, with many Caymanians working in low-wage jobs. He said Caymanians have faced huge increases in the cost of basic goods they buy every day, while their wages have barely increased, if at all.

After the debate, he thanked the acting prime minister for his calm response and urged him to do what the resolution called for, saying the government could afford to do so. He said all MPs were aware of the problems because they faced a steady stream of needy constituents every day. But the number of people in need was growing as bills rose and the cost of living crisis deepened. But he said he did not have ten or twenty thousand dollars to hand out every month.

Watch the parliamentary session on CIGTV below: