As gathered from engagements by NACTA with various segments of the population, supporters of all political parties and labor unions, the public has a positive response to the addition of $3.2 B to the 2025 national budget. The survey is being conducted by Dr. Vishnu Bisram for NACTA. The public welcomes the mid-year budget review by the Finance Minister Dave Tancoo and $3.2 billion addition to this year’s budget. But they question whether the increase is enough to revive the ailing economy. And they also say complain that they haven’t gotten a clear sense of the state of the economy as well as availability of foreign exchange. Summer travelers are complaining about lack of foreign exchange to go on vacation. Will foreign exchange be available as it was during Kamla Persad Bissessar’s first term in office, they ask. The public is looking forward to an audit and a report from the central bank on the state of the economy and who or what businesses sapped up the billions in American dollars of foreign exchange over the last decade.
The public is pleased that the new PM has moved quickly to address economic matters. She will not get a long honeymoon for people would expect quick change in their lives. Kamla has achieved a stunning political upset last April 28, running on an anti-Rowley and anti-Stuart platform and promising to revive the ailing economy. She won a landslide victory.
Supporters and critics of the Kamla say she needs to deliver soon on promises because patience last only a few months. The government has already completed a month and half in office. She will have to boost the lackluster economy and fortify it in what is turbulent times. And the public remains supportive for now. But patience will wear away as the government crosses the 100 days mark.
The new government will have to quickly turn around stagnancy as the country moves from a prolonged period of sagging fortunes. Respondents say the Finance Minister, Dave Tancoo, has started off a bit late with the mid-year review. But the public feel that Tancoo has done well as he points out the difficult times ahead and exposes the shortfall in energy revenues and the projected deficits.
Tancoo will need all the support he can get from colleagues and economic experts to turn around the sagging economy. Now a three times elected MP, Tancoo knows that he and the UNC government will be judged on how they fare in addressing the economic malaise left by their predecessor, including significant job losses and the hobbling of industries. The public eagerly watches him and the government on how they manage the economy. The public was not very pleased with the predecessor government on the handling of the economy and scarcity of foreign exchange.
The public feel that injection of $3.2 B is a good boost to help rebuild the economy. But the public await answers to questions about the true state of the economy. They want the new government to do a thorough auditing to see how much is available in the treasury from the budget. Will the addition to the budget be enough to take the government thru end of September when a new annual budget is due?
