COP: No vision in budget

THE 2018/2019 budget offers this country no vision for this country’s future. Congress of the People (COP) political leader Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan offered this opinion yesterday. Citing the increase in the price of super gasoline from $3.97 to $4.97 per litre, Seepersad-Bachan claimed this will reduce the disposable income of the middle and working class. According to Seepersad-Bachan, this will add to the burden that people have to face in an environment where sustainable employment is questionable.

She questioned the growth projections which Finance Minister Colm Imbert mentioned in his budget presentation on Monday. The former energy minister argued that most of the growth in the energy sector was the result of revenues from BP’s Juniper project. She doubted whether the seven percent growth figure in the non-energy sector which Imbert mentioned was accurate.

While supporting Government’s moves to strengthen social sector initiatives to protect the most vulnerable in society, Seepersad-Bachan asked, “Can we sustain this if there is a drop in energy revenue?”

Recalling initiatives being undertaken at the Public Administration Ministry regarding the ease of doing business in her tenure, Seepersad-Bachan asked what has happened to them. She wondered if there was transparency in the agreement between the National Infrastructure Development Company and China Harbour Engineering Company regarding a dry-docking facility in La Brea.

At a signing ceremony in La Brea last month, the Prime Minister said the facility will yield approximately 5,000 jobs and add seven per cent to the GDP in the long term. Seepersad-Bachan also said the public has no details about the Sandals Tobago project. She was concerned that concessions given to Sandals could result in local small businesses being put out of business. On Monday, Imbert described the project as one of six game changers that will encourage economic growth in TT.

The budget debate resumes in the House of Representatives today with the Opposition Leader’s response to the budget. The budget must be passed by the House and Senate by October 31. The House’s Standing Finance Committee, which comprises all of its 41 MPs, must also approve the budget before that date.