That assurance has come from Finance Minister Winston Dookeran, who told the media he is not considering any change to that.
Speaking with reporters at a briefing session at his ministry, Dookeran said the focus of the new budget woiuld be jobs and investment. And he noted the budget would be designed within a three-year time frame.
The revenues and expenditures would change annually, he explained. However the economic policy governing the budget would remain the same.
Dookeran said the philosophy behind the budget is based on the growth achieved in 2011 and it would anticipate the potential global risks.
“Our job has been to climb out of the era of negative growth. We have been ahead of the curve in identifying the global risk ahead of us and today I think we can safely say that we have a long way to the journey of fiscal sustainability during the last year," the minister said.
“That is reflected in the way we are trying to deal with the demands of the Treasury and at the same time negotiate the inheritance we had acquired upon assuming office,” he said.
He disagreed with the view of reporters that the country lacks confidence in the economy.
“Confidence is not as negative as it appears,” he said. He added that there is growing confidence but it is not as rapid as many expected.
With respect to public sector investment, he said that will increase to six per cent of GDP and non-public sector investment will go up to 10.12 per cent of GDP.
He reiterated that some things - such as the fuel subsidy and the land and building taxes - would remain fixed.
Dookeran pledged that there would be no increase in land and building tax. He accepted that the old system is not right. However he said the Government had not found a right way to handle the issue.
The minister also revealed that the Government received a $2 billion windfall from revenue collected from delinquent taxpayers who took advantage of the tax amnesty.
Commenting on the current budget, Dookeran said at the end of the third quarter the records showed a ssurplus rather than a deficit. However he explained that for clarity he has wait until the end of the fourth quarter to know the full performance.
"So while there might be a deficit in the expenditure on the public sector investment programme, it is not likely to eliminate the deficit," he said.
The Minister noted that oil and gas prices turned out slightly better than projected, leading to a small increase in Government's revenue intake. On the general performance of the economy, Dookeran said the Government has "preempted some of the negative consequences of the external risks that is now facing the world".
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