But Barrow was appalled at the casual way with which the PM justified high gas prices. He said that when in Opposition, Briceno railed and rallied against it. And he added that while the PM says the taxes are being invested into the country, the government seemingly still has a hard time funding certain sectors.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"While Prime Minister Briceno thinks that he is smarter than everyone, he's a bit too smart for his own good. That is the elitist mentality that this prime minister and this government has that there has been a complete reversal of position whereas when Briceno was Opposition Leader, he promised to keep the gas prices to $10. I ask the question very filled with good will because there could be a legitimate answer that well the cost to bring it in according to the retailer is XYZ or the prices are still high and they haven't transitioned to Belize but that was not his answer, his answer was that he's keeping is deliberately high in order to pay for all of this wonderful development that is happening in Belize. I don't know what is the difference when Prime Minister Barrow was there and the gas prices were high and the taxes n that were paying equally for the things that we need here in Belize however the difference is, unlike the fairytale that John Briceno paints, public hospitals are complaining about not having essential supplies. The CAT scan wasn't working again recently, teachers had to declare protest action in order for them to get a response from the Ministry of Education saying that they would finally get their increments for 2022 and 2021 and then there's the question of increments even prior to that so it's not all that the prime minister is saying it is but it was a stunning admission."
