PNM: Election promises put government into a corner

I GONE: Arouca/Lopinot MP Marvin Gonzales leaves the chamber during the sitting on October 10 of the Lower House. - Photo by Grevic Alvarado

THE opposition PNM says government has put itself in a difficult position ahead of the budget to be presented in Parliament on October 13, given the plethora of promises the UNC made during campaigning for the April 28 general election.

At a media briefing on October 10, at the Red House press conference room, Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles said with the price of oil hovering at around US$50 per barrel, she is waiting “with great interest” to see how government intends to approach the budget.

Asked how he would have approached the budget, had the PNM not lost the election, former finance minister Colm Imbert said government faces two major problems as oil prices and production are both on the decline.

“The government gets its revenue from the petroleum sector in two ways. The price and the volume. Volumes are down. Price is down. So the budget estimates, unless they are going to be inflated, government is going to have a real problem in terms of achieving the kind of revenues it needs to run this country,” he said.

Imbert said he expects the budget spend to be near $60 billion, but added it will be “very, very difficult” to sustain that amount of expenditure.

“It's impossible for them to generate that kind of revenue. But they raised expectations in the country that the country needs about $60 billion a year to run…And that does not take into account all the promises they made.

“I have no idea what they're going to do, but I certainly would not have, supported the kind of promises they have made.”

Imbert said he hopes government will be “genuine and honest in terms of revenue,” adding the opposition will be paying attention to that figure.

“We will look at the revenue and we have a fair idea of what it should be. I hope they're not going to inflate it generally.”

Imbert noted the government also still has outstanding bills to pay adding, “They've made life very difficult for themselves,” based on their fiscal management of the country so far.

Beckles reiterated Imbert’s point noting, “The fact that you have basically done away with property tax, where are you going to get this revenue?

“You have closed down the TT Revenue Authority, so we are waiting very patiently to hear what is their position on revenue generation.”

Asked what they were most hoping to see in the budget, Beckles said the issue of job loss needs to be addressed.

“What is the government's position as it relates to the whole issue of Cepep, URP and the Reforestation Programme,” Beckles asked.

The government shut down the programmes earlier this year, claiming there was mass corruption, and vowed to provide meaningful employment instead to those who needed it.

“Almost 40,000 plus people are on the bread line. They talked about an audit and a number of things, but we wait eagerly because that's a large number of people.”

Beckles and Imbert, supported by several other MPs, said the government must also show a commitment to paying salaries on time as they recalled some citizen’s were unable to cash their pension cheques last week.

The opposition leader warned that should never happen.

“People went to the bank with their pension cheque and the bank said there is no money. We haven't ever heard of that in TT. I don't recall us never getting into that situation.”