The Belgian Workers Party, PTB, is calling on Wallonia’s government to release its budget tables by the start of October.
Minister-President Adrien Dolimont "claims these budget tables, which reflect political choices, are ready, but refuses to release them before the municipal elections,” Germain Mugemangango, head of the PTB group in the Walloon parliament, charged on Friday.
“The Walloon government needs to find €2.7 billion and must explain how it plans to do so,” Mugemangango added.
“From the regional policy declaration, we see that they intend to impose taxes, for example, through the autonomy insurance and the revision of the vehicle registration tax," the PTB parliamentarian noted.
"They are also planning to privatise public housing and care homes, among other measures," he added. "And they’re going to implement austerity, which will have a negative impact on the employment they claim to promote.”
For the far-left, the Mouvement Réformateur and les Engagés “have been promising the moon during the campaign, but it’s a scam.”
“Despite all their rhetoric about getting people back to work, this government will reduce employment subsidies that help municipalities," Mugemangango charged. "Up to 20,000 jobs are at risk in Walloon municipalities due to the non-indexation of APE [Employment Promotion Assistance] points,” he added.
The regional legislator also charged that a planned reform of unemployment support would increase the number of people relying on social assistance centres, forcing municipalities to support them financially.
“This money will have to come from somewhere, and it’s likely that municipalities will decide to raise taxes to make up for the shortfall,” the PTB official warned.
