Government up to last Tuesday had not yet answered questions by Members of Parliament (MPs) on the draft 2026 budget. These were to be submitted after a five-week period ending August 4. However, it regards a 292-page report.
MPs had until July 2 to present written questions, which were then ratified in a Central Committee meeting on July 6 and forwarded to the Council of Ministers. The latter is part of a new procedure intended to improve efficiency but criticised from the opposition benches.
Nevertheless, thousands of questions were sent in, with United People’s (UP) party faction member Francisco Lacroes alone claiming more than 1,070. This prompted a comment by President of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams (DP) that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for such should lead to higher quality and not bigger quantity.
In any case, the sooner an already very late budget can be handled the better. At this point, the common goal should be to at least do so before the opening of a new legislative year in early September, when the 2027 budget is also due. Debating endlessly on a budget already eight months into its current year would seem to make far less sense than under normal circumstances.
Up to now, no mention of the budget was made in a tentative preliminary schedule of parliamentary meetings this week provided to local media for their information. Meanwhile, mid-August looms just ahead and the clock is ticking.
