He entered the Parliament Chambers to loud cheers and desk thumping by his colleagues some of whom grabbed his hand as he passed, even as he momentarily had one hand in midair giving the impression that something good was in store, but when he concluded, perhaps even some of Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s colleagues might have agreed with an opposition heckler that it was a ‘three-hour death announcement’.
The Minister spent some time regaling the House on the fact that it was the third budget the Government has presented in just about one and a half years and it was only the second budget to be presented before the commencement of the fiscal year.
The Government delivered on its campaign promise and finally reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2% and this announcement saw many on the Government side thumping their desks, but the opposition was like a roaring lion when the Minister slipped in the tax for electricity and water bills; and if you listened carefully