After today’s National Budget presentation by Minister Imbert, the Opposition and Government will engage in the cliched sparring over it.
Serious intensive diversification remains the perpetual panacea and just as constant is the seeming dearth of intelligence, imagination and downright laziness by the Government to do the needful. After having spent five billion from the Heritage and Stabilization Fund on COVID, the Government continues to flounder even in the face of valid but languishing recommendations of their own Roadmap to Recovery committee.
Another recurring concern is the troubling increase in food inflation of fifty percent over the past year with both Kiss Bakery and KC confectionary raising their prices just this week in response to increases in raw materials brought on by the Pandemic. Internationally there has been a surge in prices of commodities like sugar, wheat and vegetable oils. Central Bank has warned that food inflation will be further propelled by rising transportation costs brought on by adverse weather condition delays. This will contribute to our further consternation when we go to the supermarket.
The convenient post-colonial victim, Agriculture, lay fallow over the last six years. Our food import bill haemorrhages billions yearly but “food security” is merely persistent political lip service. The Roadmap committee recommended a five hundred million dollar stimulus package which was ‘poorly used and distributed’ according to Vasant Bharath, Former Minister of Agriculture and a member of the Roadmap Recovery committee.The use of the St. Augustine Nurseries for housing by HDC by the PNM government is a prime example of not being serious about agriculture. The same can be said about the former People’s Partnership when in 2011 agricultural lands were bulldozed by HDC for housing. At least then Minister Bharath stood with the farmers in solidarity.
It is time we push agriculture up to the front of the class. Our Trinitario Cocoa is rated as the best in the world in the production of chocolates, this definitely demands more investment. Growing our own food and changing our demands towards locally grown produce should be the path taken to reduce our food import bill. The reason that many of our people came to Trinbago in the first place was for cocoa, coffee and sugar. Slavery and Indentureship is over but the palate for those commodities never ends. The lines at Rituals and Starbucks are reminders. Let’s get back to the plantations, as the owners this time!
Our energy sector has not escaped and shortfalls in natural gas affected production of liquified natural gas and ammonia lowering revenues this year. The wastage by the NGC board of 400 million taxpayers’ dollars is unforgivable , the entire A&V Drilling debacle that cost the country 120 million dollars with further a 10 year contract may yet cost us another billion dollars without us knowing what really happened. The taxpayers will continue to pay these ransoms, religiously.
Global economies and energy companies are continuing towards renewable energies. We have recently been experiencing erratic weather, the major feature of climate change. The reduction of our carbon footprint is of critical importance in our own green efforts. The move to solar energy has been tabled for decades but still hasn’t been widely implemented, locally, as the cost to set up a home unit is very expensive. In 2013 the former PP government gave a 25 percent tax break on solar panels but that incentive did not result in desired subscription. This should be revisited. The ban on single use plastics and the re-introduction of the Beverage Container Bill are another two ready options to reduce land and water pollution and alleviate flooding.
Our Tourism sector has badly declined due to the Pandemic and recovery is craved sometime in 2023. However in the meantime, the enabling environment must be established. The Tobago tourism sector is pushing ahead with the construction of the new Tobago terminal and with investments from the private sector in new hotels. Will the government be more concerned with milking these projects politically before the THA elections instead of fully focusing on long term economic benefit of the entire country?
So here is my budget wish list:
1.Sustainable job creation.
2.Measures to reduce food inflation.
3.Crime reduction strategies in light of recent home invasions, robberies and theft.
4.Implementation of the pepper spray legislation.
5.Effective encouragement and expansion of agricultural production.
6.Deferral of Property Tax until the economy revives.
7.Increased investment in more small and medium businesses. Increase in number and significance of business grants/loans to help businesses recover and survive.
8.Expansion of the social safety net to help vulnerable families and the payment of all salary grants.
9.Rapid Digitization of the Economy.
10.Water security for all citizens.
11.A programme to ensure proper roads and drainage maintenance.
12.Implementation of Local Government Reform.
A lot of chest beating from Minister Imbert on managing Covid to justify the $5 billion expenditure mixed along with blaming the compromised Opposition for the country’s woes is expected. The budget debate after the first two speakers will degenerate into pure politics with the real issues being swept aside again. The country expects a reset of the economy. Will we be disappointed by the reality?