Dookeran promises genuine dialogue in preparing a national budget

Winston Dookeran took a giant step Saturday to fulfilling his campaign pledge to consult the people as he hosted a meeting of his Tunapuna constituents.

The move by the People’s Partnership Government includes a plan to convene a meeting of young people to hear their views on what should be included in the national budget, Dookeran said.

"For the first time, we shall have a special session for the young people of Trinidad and Tobago to be engaged in the process.

"I...invite all those young people to come together and to participate in a session that we shall call shortly so that you can make a difference in your ideas on what you feel Trinidad and Tobago needs in this process,” Dookeran announced.

He was delivering the feature address at the formal opening of the Tunapuna Partnership Council, in El Dorado.

"Change does not come simply by saying it. Change comes by doing it. And doing it is what I will continue to do," the finance minister said.

One week ago Dookeran revealed that the Government would face some major economic challenges due to the poor management of the economy by the previous administration.

On Saturday he told his audience he has already started work on the new budget with meetings with technocrats in his ministry. He pledged to democratise the budget process through dialogue with business and labour leaders, civil society representatives and housewives.

“I have begun the process of charting the new budget for Trinidad and Tobago and already we have designed a new approach and I have had discussions with all those in the Ministry of Finance, who in the past, have gone through an exercise which they call a consultation,” he said.

“What they (PNM) called consultation was simply hearing what they have to say, not listening to them and doing what you want to do.

“So, I have told them that my first task is to redesign the consultation process. We can change this name to the dialogue process because we want to begin dialogue with all the stakeholders in the country.

"Regrettably, we have to do this rather quickly, but we shall commence a new dialogue process with all the stakeholders in the country.

“Those stakeholders will, of course, come from the business sector, the labour sector, civil society and the household sector."