When Finance Minister Colm Imbert presented the 2019 mid-year budget review a few weeks ago, he assured that T&T had weathered a 38 per cent reduction in government revenue between 2014 and 2016 with and prudent financial management had managed to stabilize the economy.
He said the inflation rate was at one per cent in 2018, the lowest in decades and declared: “Our active and enlightened social agenda is geared to averting marginalization and alleviating poverty. Our well-targeted social safety net is protecting the vulnerable from the short-term costs and dislocation of adjustment.”
However, even with these assurances, some citizens said they have not felt the effects of economic growth and struggle to meet thetir financial obligations, buy food, maintain their household and support their children.
Some of them share their stories.
*Names have been changed to protect the identities of interviewees.
NAME: Ingrid King*
PROFESSION: Teacher.
YEARS OF SERVICE: 15.
LOCATION: South Trinidad.
CHILDREN: Two, ages 11 and eight.
MARITAL STATUS: Married: Husband was retrenched from his job at a downstream company which folded following Petrotrin’s closure in 2018.
EDUCATION: UWI graduate with a BSc in Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography; and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education.
INCOME: $6,000 a month.
MONTHLY EXPENSES: $3,000 for groceries; $1,000 for school transport; $1,000 payment on loan to assist her mom with cancer treatment; $800 payment to credit union for home repair loan.
ADDITIONAL EXPENSES: An average of $500 for electricity every two months; $500 for WASA every three months.
JUGGLING ACT: When she has to factor in the utility bills, Kibg often dips into the grocery allocation which means less food in the home.
NO LUXURIES: We do not have cable because that is a luxury. It is just bare necessities. No going to dinner or movies, no going to Chucky Cheese, those are luxuries too.
SACRIFICES: Walks to work to save money.
PRAYER: Asks God daily for kids not to get sick as they cannot afford health-care.
BACK-UP: Credit union accoubt but tries to leave that for when there an emergency like in September when she has to buy books, bags and uniforms.
Not reassured by Government’s claim that the economic situation is turning around, King said: “They are very disconnected from the people on the ground.”
“I don’t think they actually understand what is going on. I remember when the Minister said the last gas increase was not going to affect the average man, but our taxi fares went up. It is time to get real and and stop playing politics with peoples’ lives.
“We call ourselves the working poor. It’s sad but a lot of the public servants now are the working poor. We live pay cheque to pay cheque. It is not that we do not want to save, but the fluctuations in bills and food won’t allow us to.”
King said her husband was frustrated after being turned down for several jobs because local businessmen prefer to hire the foreigners as they can pay them less than the minimum wage and no taxes.
NAME: Diane Charles
AGE: 48.
LOCATION: Maloney.
PROFESSION: Domestic worker.
YEARS OF SERVICE: 17.
CHILDREN: Eight.The two youngest and a grandchild are all in primary school.
INCOME: $1,000 per week.
EXPENSES: $330 per week for lessons; $620 for school transport per month; a credit union loan of $2,173 per month; HDC rent of $350 per month; hire purchase loan of $350 per month; and groceries totaling $1,800 per month.
ADDITIONAL EXPENSES: $600 electricity bill every two months; school outings and field trips.
Charles said: “I am spread extremely thin. I am feeling the pinch tremendously food-wise and also with the extra lessons for my children.
“We need more jobs for unskilled people like myself. I can’t continue to clean somebody’s house until I reach 60 to get NIS, so give us options. I may not be qualified to be a nurse but I can clean the ward so at least I would be able to get a pension. You don’t get a pension when you do domestic work. So through it all, I have to try and save a little bit of money but I can’t and will eventually become a strain on the economy.”
NAME: Lystra Mc Kenzie*
AGE: 29.
LOCATION: Bamboo Settlement.
CHILDREN: Two, ages six and two.
INCOME: $1,150 per week.
EXPENSES: $500 for groceries each week; $300 every two months for electricity; just under $200 for water which is paid every three months; and a monthly internet bill of $165.
ADDITIONAL EXPENSES: Used to spend $200 a week for gas but that has increased to between $300 or $400 now justs keep topping up enough to get the children to school and back home.
McKenzie said: “I walk my kids down to the savannah by us. They can run and play, it have some swings there. We don’t really go out.
“I recently did some extra work and my daughter asked to go to Grand Bazaar to eat and I cried when I came back home because everything came up to over $200. I was like this could have helped us so much but she did well in test and she asked me. Going to the movies is a no no, we have Youtube so I try to make it fun at home by making popcorn for them.”
NAME: Maria Singh*
AGE: 38.
LOCATION: Princes Town.
CHILDREN: Twin girls aged 14.
MARITAL STATUS: Divorced.
PROFESSION: Domestic worker.
INCOME: $7,000 a month.
EXPENSES: $3,000 for groceries; an electricity bill of $650 every two months; $300 for water every quarter; internet bill of $250 per month; and transport of $1,500 a month.
Singh said: “Before, the children could have gone for a little recreation, whether it is the mall or a movie or an outing with friends but they can’t do that again. They can’t take part in any extra-curricular activities again,I had to stop them from music classes. They can’t go anywhere unless it is in school.
“I just know the standard of living is raising and people just cannot cope . . . I know I can’t. I used to have a car but I had to sell it to help cover expenses as I was helping to rebuild my mother’s house.”
Shoppers spending less
An official at a supermarket in central Trinidad said there has been a decline in consumer spending over the past year.
“Customers are shopping. Maybe their baskets are about ten per cent less than what it might have been two years ago, but they do shop,” he said.
“They may not choose the high end detergent, they may choose something costing less but when there are offers on on the high-end products, they do buy it once it is within their budget.”
The official added: “Our sales have not been affected because we operate on a very low price structure and people know this and they do come to us because they know they are getting value for their money, so we have a larger customer account.“We have been able to maintain our sales despite the way the economy is right now.”