Planning Ministry hosts pre-budget forum

The Planning and Development Ministry will hold a pre-budget forum today at the UWI, St. Augustine, Learning Resources Centre from 10 am to noon. This information was contained in an invitation issued by the ministry yesterday. The ministry indicated that aspects of the 2017/2018 Budget, details on the National Development Strategy Vision 2030 and its role in the budget will be discussed at today's forum.

As part of the 2018 National Budget, the Institute of Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) is in the process of formatting a gender score card for TT. The ministry said this is being done since the Government is interested in addressing gender inequalities, and as such has developed a tool to comprehensively integrate a gender perspective into deliberations on the budget. Last Friday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said he will make an announcement about Budget Day this week.

By law, the Budget must be passed in the House of Representatives and the Senate by October 30. Imbert presented the 2016/2017 Budget in the House on September 30, 2016.