UNC’s Dookeran calls on Govt to release IMF report

FORMER Central Bank Governor Winston Dookeran has called on Government to make public the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on the state of the TT’s economy.

The Opposition Member of Parliament for St Augustine expressed fears during a public meeting in Rio Claro on Wednesday night that many aspects of the local economy were “not right” and singled out falling income and rising inflation. Dookeran then disclosed that about one month ago, an IMF team was in the country conducting its regular exercise. This country is still indebted to the IMF. Dookeran said that while he was Governor of the Central Bank (1995-2000), the IMF report was made public. He said: “Up to today, the report has not been made public and tonight I make another call for the Government to release the last IMF report, so we can see where we are going.”

Dookeran denounced what he described as a high level of expenditure in the economy. He added that the country was not producing enough goods and services to sustain the current levels of spending.“We do not know what is the state of the economy.” He knocked the PNM regime’s ideas for building the economy, describing them as “old ideas of the past.” He referred to Government’s proposed introduction of the Student Revolving Loan to replace the dollar-for-dollar programme, policy of inclusion being replaced by the proposed setting up of the Centre for Ethnic Studies and building houses instead of communities. Dookeran also accused the PNM of being imprisoned by ideas and policies from the Eric Williams” (the country’s first Prime Minister) era.