Dookeran: Govt setting up TT for fall

ST AUGUSTINE MP Winston Dookeran charged that Government was using the 2004/2005 Budget to set up Trinidad and Tobago for a major economic fall and viewed it as nothing but a political public relations campaign to win the 2007 general elections. Speaking during the Budget debate in the House of Representatives yesterday, Dookeran said there was a 75 to 80 percent increase in demand for goods and services in TT, but the nation’s income-generating capacity was lagging behind. He argued that the patterns of expenditure outlined in the Budget was “setting us for a fall in years to come.” The UNC MP claimed that Government was impotent in its economic policies and reverting to the failed economic policies of the 1970s. Dookeran said despite the current windfall TT is experiencing from high international oil prices, not enough was being done with regards to economic diversification or addressing the society’s ills in a meaningful way.

“This Budget has missed the boat. I wonder whether this Government knows how this economy works? When energy prices fall, we will then be able to see the folly in the foundations we are setting today,” he declared. He claimed the underlying rationale of the Budget was to build a nation “where everyone is a client of the State.” Dookeran said he was not opposed to measures such as increasing old age pension and disability grants but such social welfare measures were “a minuscule response to a major challenge” now facing TT. “Winnings will be short-lived,” the UNC MP warned. Dookeran applauded Prime Minister Patrick Manning for setting an inflation target of four percent in the Budget, but said Government must do more to further reduce inflation. He said Central Bank independence was vital to this process but claimed that under the PNM, the bank “is becoming another Government department which does not augur well for (TT’s) monetary policy.”

Dookeran wondered whether by reviewing the country’s oil and gas tax structure, Government was implying there was “mischief by oil companies” in TT. He suggested that these companies place their shares on the local stock market. Dookeran said TT’s performance dropped in the 2002 Competitiveness Index because of Government’s economic policies, and a July IMF Article IV Consultation Report demonstrated that. He also called for the creation of a heritage fund and for Government to make a clear statement on the nation’s foreign exchange rate. Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson Regis said Dookeran’s claims were false and criticised him for condemning Government’s social sector initiatives. She said that Government had instituted measures to alleviate poverty over the short, medium and long term. The minister added that Government was “treating human development holistically.”