Imbert defends tenure as finance minister

PUBLIC Utilities Minister Colm Imbert has defended his tenure as finance minister. Imbert served in the role throughout Dr Keith Rowley’s entire term as prime minister from 2015 to 2025.

When Rowley stepped down in March and Stuart Young was sworn in, Imbert was moved to Public Utilities.

Speaking at the PNM’s election rally at the Diego Martin Central Secondary School on April 16, Imbert blasted his critics who he said, “know nothing about nothing,” and have never done or achieved anything.

He accused the media of giving a voice to people who were biased and uneducated.

“Half of them buy their degree from some diploma mill. Dr this and Dr that, it’s a joke.

“But it's deliberate because they know that these people, some of them are former UNC MPs, some of them write UNC manifesto, some of them working right now for the UNC. They know that these people are not neutral, they're not impartial, they are liars.”

Imbert, without naming him, also criticised former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine.

At a UNC town hall meeting on March 27 in St Joseph, Ramnarine said, “Data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the Trinidad and Tobago economy is one of the seven worst-performing globally from 2016 to 2024, trailing behind nations like Venezuela, South Sudan, and Yemen, which have faced war or civil unrest.”

Referring to him as an idiot, Imbert accused Ramnarine of lying and said that information was not in the IMF publication Ramnarine referred to.

“It’s about a 100 pages (and) we read every single page, we read every single line, and we can't find it. It's not there.

“So the liar who said that, say he get it from a partner in the university and he don't want to call his name because we're going to go victimise him. But the fact of the matter is, if you look at the same publication...the 2024 IMF article 4 concluding statement says, ‘TT is in the midst of a sustained economic recovery.’

“That's what it says. There's nothing in there about the worst performing economy.”

Imbert added he ensured TT never went to the IMF for funding as the consequences would have been enormous.

“We have spent the last nine and a half years making sure that TT does not find itself in an IMF programme because… The first thing the IMF will say is devalue the currency!”

He defended the government's decision to not devalue the dollar.

“We have protected our dollar, because the first thing that will happen is inflation. Food prices will go through the roof. Everything imported into TT, which is a lot, the price will double. Everything will become more expensive and you will eat grass if we devalue the dollar!”

Imbert said the UNC, though, will have no choice but to do it in order to keep all their promises.

“All these measures the UNC want to do and cut that tax, cut this tax, reduce this, reduce that, give away this, give away that. Work it out, they want to devalue the dollar to 15 to1.”

He explained this will have severe economic impacts on the average citizen.

“If you're a public servant earning $10,000 a month and they give you a 10 per cent (increase), then you're going to $11,000. If they devalue the dollar to 15 to 1, you know what you could buy with that $11,000? Half of what you could have buy with the 10,000! You just cut your purchasing power by 45 per cent. That is what they're doing”

He said a PNM government will continue to float the dollar within narrow band.

“We don't allow the dollar to go past 6.8. (It could be) 6.79, 6.77, 6.75, but it ent crossing 6.8. That is called a managed float.

“So one thing you could be sure of when you elect the next PNM government, we ent devaluing the dollar. We will continue to protect it and defend it for the duration of our time in government. We ent doing that stupidness!”