EASE UP

FREE UP: Finance Minister Colm Imbert reacts at the end of his three-hour-long budget presentation in the House of Representatives yesterday.  PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI
FREE UP: Finance Minister Colm Imbert reacts at the end of his three-hour-long budget presentation in the House of Representatives yesterday. PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI

AFTER four years of belt tightening, Finance Minister Colm Imbert "eased up" the population with several measures in the 2019-2020 budget. These included making the agricultural sector tax free for registered farmers; increasing the minimum wage from $15 to $17.50 per hour; increasing wages for URP and CEPEP workers; pension for daily-paid workers in the public service; housing construction programmes for small builders; increased stipends for On-the-Job (OJT) trainees and removing taxes and duties on LED bulbs.

In presenting the budget in the House of Representatives on Monday, Imbert boasted the PNM "did it our way" over the last four years, to put the economy on a growth path without foreign intervention. In justifying this year's $53 billion budget, he quoted Jamaican singer/songwriter Bob Marley. “’Some people feel the rain, others get wet’ which means that it is our experiences that mould us, and the outcome depends on how we deal with difficulties,” he said. Government MPs thumped their desks as Imbert added, "We in the PNM will continue to get up and stand up for what is right." Despite three elections on the horizon, Imbert said the PNM's expenditure is nowhere near the $62.4 billion spent by the predecessor PP government in 2014.

When it assumed office in September 2015, Imbert said the PNM encountered "a serious crisis" which was partly created by the "negative consequences of some irresponsible and reckless economic policies."

To stimulate domestic agriculture, Imbert said all taxes and duties will be removed on "all inputs and resources for farmers registered for agricultural purposes." Through this measure, Imbert said all aspects of agriculture, including the the processing of local agricultural products will be made "a tax free industry."

In raising the minimum wage by $2.50 per hour, he said, "This measure will benefit approximately 194,000 people in the workforce." URP and CEPEP workers will receive a 15 per cent increase in their wages. The fees paid to CEPEP contractors will also increase by 15 per cent. These measures take effect on December 1.

To resolve the long-standing issue of daily-rated public service workers being unable to receive a pension, Imbert said workers with an appropriate minimum length of service "will be eligible for the minimum public service pension of $3,500." This measure will take effect next year.

With 175,000 people waiting for Housing Development Corporation (HDC) homes, Imbert said small and medium-sized contractors will be offered a programme to build batches of five to ten houses at a price of $500,000 each. He identified the village programme where houses costing $120,000 are built, as another measure to provide affordable housing to citizens. Government, he continued, will also launch a new housing loan initiative that will provide up to $300,000 to people who want to build their own homes. Imbert said while it costs Government almost $1 million to build an HDC house, people expect to receive it at $500,000 or less, and many of them cannot afford those houses.

OJT trainees will benefit from a ten per cent increase in their stipends. Imbert said the intake for the programme will be increased to 8,000. These measures take effect on December 1.

He announced the removal of taxes and duties on LED light bulbs, a ban on the importation of Styrofoam for use in the food industry, and the elimination of plastic water bottles in government offices. Speaker, Bridgid Annisette-George, told MPs the Parliament has already banned the use of plastic water bottles within its precincts. Imbert announced the removal of arrival forms at airports. He said TT received $2.4 billion of revenue from the recent tax amnesty, the National Investment Fund (NIF) paid $224 million to thousands of members last year, and a second NIF will be launched next year.

He also said Government has successfully closed the book on the Clico fiasco.

The budget was based on an oil price of US$60 per barrel and a gas price of US$3.02 per unit. Education, national security, health, public utilities, works and transport, rural development, housing and agriculture received allocations of $7.5, $6.4, $6.1, $3, $2.9, $2.4 and $0.7 billion respectively. Imbert was interrupted several times during his three-hour-long presentation by Opposition complaints, and steupsed when Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie's cell phone rang while he was speaking.

Government MPs laughed at Naparima MP Rodney Charles when Annisette-George said she thought he was supporting the Government when he tried to invoke a standing order. The budget debate resumes in the House on Friday at 10 am, when Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar gives her response.

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