Vasant backs Govt's covid19 response

Former trade minister Vasant Bharath supported the new measures announced by the Prime Minister to protect TT against the spread of covid19.

Referring to statements Dr Rowley made after a special Cabinet meeting on Monday, Bharath said, " I thought he said all the right things."

He added that he will wait to see what happens regarding the inter-ministerial committees Rowley spoke about.

Bharath observed that these are unprecedented and unpredictable times which countries larger than TT are grappling with.

"I support the Government of TT 100 per cent in its efforts to restore medical, economic and psychological stability to our country."

A former UNC minister, Bharath also said, "Let us, for once, put aside petty party politics and unite to fight this menace.

"Let us show the world what we are made of."

UWI economist Dr Vaalmiki Arjoon said, "The State’s back is now against the wall."

Arjoon said if Government decides to tap into the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) at this time, it means that "We will have to sell a higher quantity of equities, which the HSF fund is invested in, to raise money for budgetary expenditure, given that the capital markets are tumbling."

Arjoon also said the State may try to lower the reserve requirement ratio, "which will lower the cash that banks are required to hold." He explained, "This increases their excess reserves this will allow the State to borrow more money from banks to make up for the downturn in revenues."

Arjoon suggested that rather than lending these funds to the State, the committee chaired by Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon should collaborate with private-sector companies to use these excess reserves through public-private partnerships (PPPs), "despite the poor confidence that the private sector may have in the economy right now." He added these funds were estimated to be over $4 billion.

While monetary and fiscal stimulus are necessary, Arjoon said TT remains "very much import-intensive" and there is now a major shock to the global economy. He explained this makes it difficult to source consumables such as food items, medication and toiletries. He warned, "This will all be exacerbated with the current panic buying.”

Arjoon said TT needs to be more self-sufficient and "stop relying on other countries to feed us."

Former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine said, "Before covid19, I thought TT was going to have a tough time in 2020. Now it has been made a lot worse."

He observed that oil prices fell below US$30 per barrel on Monday.

"That is the lowest in four years. Lower prices for commodities means lower government revenue."

Ramnarine suggested Finance Minister Colm Imbert should further revise his revenue estimates. He did not foresee any impact on domestic natural gas production in the short term.

Ramnarine was concerned about covid19's impact on the manufacturing sector and small and medium enterprises.