The intense debate on the government’s plans to increase the fees paid annually to licence motor vehicles continued in the Upper House, the Senate when it convened a sitting on Wednesday.
The decision to raise the licence fees has caused much discussion among members of the public and in a bid to appease vehicle owners, the prime minister announced that the proposed 40 percent increase across the board has been adjusted and already approved by the Lower House, the House of Representatives.
In piloting the Bill in the Senate, Leader of Government Business, Senator Shenella Govia, provided the rational for the government to raise the user fees noting that the monies will be specifically dedicated to road repairs. She pointed to the ongoing road repair programme that is even causing traffic delays because many secondary roads have beene closed off in order to affect repairs.
“The increase (in fees) works out to be 28 cents a day for most vehicle owners; how can anyone say that 28 cents per day is onerous?” she queried.
Senator Govia stated that the nation’s road network is in urgent need of repairs and what the government is asking is for the driving public to assist with financing this costly undertaking by paying more for their annual licences.
However, Leader of Minority in the Senate, Senator David Massiah, pointed to the need for accountability on the part of the Transport Board for the monies that it has collected in past years. This has been a theme of the opposition members in the Lower House as well.
But the government’s senators responded well noting that claims that Antigua and Barbuda residents were being over-taxed were highly exaggerated. Senator Dwayne George noted that the Gaston Browne Administration was a responsible and caring government and that it would never place unnecessary burdens on the people.
Following a spirited debate, the legislation was passed by the Senate and it will go before the Governor General for his accent into law.
