Finance Minister Winston Dookeran says the People's Partnership government will have to hold on some of its campaign programs because of declining revenue. Speaking at a Rotary function in Penal, the minister said all the country's economic indicators are declining "so we have to arrest the decline. Our job is to restore and prevent that decline."
However he said the pledge to provide a $3,000 pension to seniors is guaranteed. “It was a mandate that we received from the people and mandates that are given to us by the people must be honoured. And if it has to require a change in priorities of expenditure, we will do so,” Dookeran said.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said last week the necessary legislation will soon be introduced in Parliament to change the grant to Old Age pension. Dookeran said he is working on the financing proposals for it.
"It is a commitment that we want to have a minimum level of support to those in the community who have worked so hard in the past. So there is a philosophical intent in what we are doing and it is part of what I call the inclusion,” Dookeran said.
Another guaranteed program is GATE, he said, noting that the new government would keep its campaign pledge to expand the program to help students at the tertiary level.
Dookeran did not identify which programs would have to go on the back burner. However he told reporters his ministry is currently working on identifying them. he reiterated that the Ministry will be holding consultations with various stakeholders to solicit their views on what they would like to see in the budget.
“I want to hear from them what their expectations are and we’ll be doing other groups for the whole week in full-day sessions, to get what the expectations for people are,” Dookeran said.
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