Budget date blunder

AFTER the Prime Minister last month promised the budget would be in “early October” and a few days ago kept the country in suspense by saying the annual fiscal presentation “will be soon,” the Ministry of Finance on October 7 finally announced the date. However, an unprecedented communications blunder by UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo hours earlier effectively stole the government’s thunder. Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo has not yet risen to address MPs, but his October 13 speech already seems off to a shaky start.

No rules govern a budget day’s announcement. But by convention, the flourishing of the date is an important matter, reflecting the magnitude of the annual financial plan. Few moments are of graver import on the annual calendar. If there is any time when the public expects sureness, as well as the projection of confidence, it is when the treasury’s appropriations are unveiled. The market is watching.

So, Dr Meighoo’s sharing of online materials this week even before official word had come boggles the mind. He almost immediately retracted a flyer he had distributed with the date, saying, “No official announcement has been made. I mistakenly shared someone else’s post.” He later seemed to speculate that a TV station report had triggered “false” circulations. But if it took the public relations officer of the ruling party mere minutes to realise that he was wrong to have shared what he shared, it is difficult to understand why he did not make checks beforehand.

The deeper problem is a communications ethos under the present administration that blurs the line between social media and more conventional verified channels. The irony is that Dr Meighoo, who is not a formal part of the government, has shown why relying exclusively on disinformation-addled platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Twitter for disseminating official announcements is far from harmless. It’s a risky, if not dangerous, practice.

Reshuffled this month by the Prime Minister were a swathe of ministerial portfolios. But it seems one function needs closer attention: communications. The responsibility for centralised messaging falls under her office. That might have to change.

The October 13 budget date is the latest in decades, with only 2002’s October 21 date being later. Still, it is in line with usual expectations given the September 30 closure of the fiscal year; Colm Imbert in 2023 presented the budget on October 10. With set timetables for legislative stages converging this year with a holiday season, it’s an open question if the process will be wrapped up before October 31. The opposition worries about a shutdown. Questions also abound as to why the presentation has taken so long. What’s clear is we could have done without this week’s needless and unforced fumble.