Imbert to present 2025 Budget on Sept 30

Senior Political Reporter

The 2024/2025 Budget will be presented on Monday, September 30.

The date was announced by the Finance Ministry yesterday in a two-line statement: “The Minister of Finance, Hon Colm Imbert, MP, wishes to advise that the 2025 Budget will be presented on Monday, September 30, 2024.”

The upcoming Budget will be the fifth and final one for the PNM Government for its second term, which began in August 2020. It’s also the Government’s 10th Budget since the Dr Keith Rowley-led PNM first won elections in September 2015.

The Budget is expected to be delivered by Imbert in the House of Representatives on the afternoon of September 30.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is expected to reply on October 4.

In an immediate reaction yesterday, UNC Shadow Finance Minister Dave Tancoo told Guardian Media, “This is an election year and citizens already know what to expect. We predict a mamaguy budget brimming with promises and gaslighting.

“People already know that what this Government has not done over the last nine years, despite spending $530 billion, they will not do in this their last year in office. The PNM’s priorities in office have crashed our economy, generated the worse crime wave in T&T’s history, raised debt to its highest ever level, destroyed the middle class and small and medium and medium-sized businesses and sabotaged the quality of life and standard of living of the vast majority of citizens,” Tancoo claimed.

He added, “Nobody believes the minister’s promises and election gimmicks. We need a new government of the people, for the people and by the people. This PNM Government has shown itself as against the interests of the population.”

Political analyst Dr Shane Mohammed said, “Minister Imbert’s financially strapped so there may be nothing creative. There may be some internal borrowings ahead or from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund and he may include election goodies as miniscule as they may be, but he’ll certainly try to provide the public with some level of election distraction.”

The 2023/2024 Budget which Imbert presented in October 2023 was a $59.209 billion package with the highest allocation for ministries going to Education ($8.022B).