Tancoo eager to assess Trinidad and Tobago's revenue, debt

Davendranath Tancoo, the new Minister of Finance says his ministry will need to assess the country's revenue and debts before moving on to dealing with the economy.

He said the government could get funds by addressing some of the concerns listed in the Procurement Regulator’s 2023 report, like $5 billion which was spent in inappropriately given contracts, but it also had many immediate revenue-generating plans which would be revealed later.

Speaking to members of the media after the ceremony swearing in ministers of government at President's House, Port of Spain on May 3, he was asked about any possible action concerning a series of Facebook posts by journalist Ken Ali which claimed the PNM administration engaged in secret borrowing of $1.5 billion in the lead-up to the 2025 general election.

He said the government could not renege on the loans if proper procedures were followed.

“What we need to do, first and foremost as the PM has indicated, is to assess the state of the economy. And I can assure you I will be taking a close look at what has transpired with regard to our loans and our finances over the last few months.”

He said the Auditor General’s report was due, and the report from 2023 which led to a $2.6 billion discrepancy in the revenue figures had to be resolved. Also, he said the mid-year review was coming up, possibly in June, and it would be critical to assess the state of the country’s revenue and expenditure going forward.

“So there are several issues that will immediately face the Ministry of Finance as we are going in, including the foreign exchange crisis and dealing with the foreign exchange cabal.”

Repealing the Revenue Authority Act was a major campaign promise for the UNC and a priority for the government. Tancoo said it would be inappropriate for those who followed the law and paid property tax to be penalised if the law was removed. He said it was likely those taxpayers would be refunded, but said the issue would be addressed more thoroughly at a later date.

He added that he hoped not to follow in former finance minister Colm Imbert’s shoes, as he intended to do a much better job.

“I hope I would bring a different level of transparency, accountability and public awareness of the fund of TT, how its money is spent, how much money is received, etc.”

Former prime minister Stuart Young, in a Facebook post, also responded to the claims made by Ali saying it was an attempt to mislead the country.

"These borrowings are part of the normal course of conduct of running the government and are not in any way out of the ordinary," Young said.