Tancoo: Imbert crippled the economy

OROPOUCHE West MP Davendranath Tancoo accused Finance Minister Colm Imbert of ruining the Trinidad and Tobago economy by a series of missteps, the latest being his feud with Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass.

Tancoo levelled his claim in a statement on January 30, the day after the Privy Council sharply criticised Imbert's appeal against a ruling to let Ramdass challenge an investigating into her monitoring of the 2023 public accounts.

The Privy Council said the investigation could arguably be viewed as "one sided" and potentially aimed at deflecting blame from the minister in the whole imbroglio.

Amid the Ministry of Finance's erroneous understatement of revenues initially by $3.4 billion and then by just $2.6 billion, Ramdass had refused to accept the amended accounts, so that the amended accounts ultimately went to Parliament but with disclaimers from her office.

Tancoo said the imbroglio had come at a cost to the country, for which he blamed Imbert.

He remarked, "The recent débâcle in which the Minister of Finance publicly attacked the integrity of the Auditor General in a matter which has cost the taxpayers dearly, including Imbert's spectacular failure at the Privy Council, has further compromised business and investor confidence in the country.

"What is most unfortunate is that despite these spectacular failures of Colm Imbert and the Rowley/Young Cabinet, no one has been held accountable."

Imbert, in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) later said, "The Opposition is promoting a false narrative about my involvement in the audit of the public accounts for 2023.

"There is no missing money. The public servants made an accounting error. As minister, I have no role in this matter except to seek to ensure they fix their mistake."

Tancoo cited a lack of confidence seen in a recent economic pulse survey conducted by Amcham and Ernst & Young.

He said, "It is obvious that the local business community are reeling from the brunt of the PNM’s ten-year period of corruption, waste, mismanagement and lack of policy geared towards economic resuscitation, and are finally speaking up."

He said Imbert's policies were creating a hostile environment especially for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME’s) plus sabotaging investment in the country.

"The failure to meet VAT obligations, serious challenges at the port, the devastating effect of crime and the complete inability to access foreign exchange are just some factors that have compromised MSME’s in particular."

Tancoo said the report said many business people who lacked confidence in the TT economy had cited the "lack of a clear development plan."

He said, "Nobody is surprised. The economy is now 20 per cent smaller than it was in 2015.

"Prices have more than doubled while wages remain stagnant and Imbert has borrowed billions, both locally and internationally, without creating any substantial new revenue streams to repay this debt." He said Imbert and the Cabinet had crippled the economy.

"It is my view that this is deliberate," Tancoo alleged.

"PNM government policies have polarized the wealth of this country into the hands of a small One Percent of the population, to the detriment of the small business community and the middle class."

He said the Government’s inequitable distribution of foreign exchange (forex) remained a major obstacle to growth.

"I stated that the forex cartel created by the PNM is destroying MSMEs. Large conglomerates – often politically connected – seem to enjoy priority access at better rates, while smaller businesses are forced to pay exorbitant black-market premiums.

"This rigged system stifles competition, discourages investment, and leads to business closures. SMEs simply cannot survive if they can’t access affordable foreign exchange to import machinery, raw materials, or other essential inputs."

Tancoo underlined the critical role SMEs play to strengthen the economy.

"When you spend money at smaller businesses, there is a high multiplier effect. More of that money flows back into the local economy – through wages, utilities, or purchases from other suppliers – generating new jobs and spurring growth.

"Larger corporations tend to save their profits at the banks, limiting how much of that money circulates locally and thereby less jobs, less investment and less economic growth."

He said MSMEs must have equitable access to US dollars at the official rate.

"That alone will create jobs, widen the tax base, and bring in the revenue needed to fund critical sectors.”

Tancoo said when the Government took office in 2015, they hospitals, high tech training facilities, new schools and new sporting facilities intended to expedite sport, health and education tourism.

"This PNM administration simply abandoned those facilities that are now overgrown by forests after a decade.

"For the past ten years, the PNM has failed in every aspect of governance. It is up to the citizens now to remove them and save TT when the election bell rings.

"When the UNC wins, everybody wins!”