The Finance Minister said they would be able to access that programme “in due course.” He added that Government is entering the final stage to deal with depositors who have $75,000 and over.
“We will be returning to Parliament shortly to get the necessary authority to move in that direction...as the facts become clear and as the situation changes, so shall we change.”
Speaking in Parliament on legislation to increase the national budget, Dookeran noted that Government has made payments to 80,000 “small” Clico depositors and the final stage, involving paying larger depositors, is coming up.
Dookeran also said Government made payments under the “compassionate window” mechanism to 123 depositors who had medical and other pressing needs.
The minister told legislators the economy is finally “getting out of the woods “and that he is laying groundwork for sustainable growth.
"We can see the blue of the sky now,” he said. “I don’t think the anxious moments will remain with us. We are now projecting a budget beyond $50 billion. We’re now in the business of getting the economy rolling again and we have changed the financial expectations to reach that goal.”
Dookeran spoke of "early signs of recovery" in the stock market, the reduction of excess liquidity in banks, lower unemployment and growth in real estate mortgage loans. The minister said there would be an acceleration in expenditure in the next six months.
Dookeran said government could not meet early expectations to pay everyone until it had brought the economy to a safe place, noting that cash balances in 2010 were down to $5 billion. He said once the People's Partnership government took office it worked on improving that and within six months the balance had grown to $8.93 billion.
He said that allowed the government to pay contractors and settle other debts. Dookeran said Government has covered a substantial portion of the $7 billion involved in numerous letters of comfort to banks which the PP administration inherited.
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