Kamla predicts devaluation

Lamenting the current high rise in prices, she blamed Prime Minister Patrick Manning. “The Government is in a spending orgy, so they have taken the prices in this land to the highest level.”

She said the Government was trying to blame everyone else for the high inflation. “They want to blame all kinds of persons for the inflation, the high cost of living, the high construction prices and the high food prices, when the only one to blame for inflation is Manning and his Government.”

Saying inflation occurs when too much money is chasing too few goods, she said the Central Bank was trying to fight inflation by removing excess money from the financial system, but this was being countered by the Government’s extravagant spending on its mega-projects.

“The Central Bank and Government are in a fire-fight, bouncing heads together, and the result is that the economy is in serious, serious trouble.”

She said the economy is in crisis.

“In addition to the suffering of people in this land for housing, for food costs, for basic needs, what is going to happen when it collapses is that we could well face a devaluation of the Trinidad and Tobago dollar.” She saw a devaluation as being possible.

“Our food bill importing is already $3 billion and you have the dollar collapsing on you, what is your food bill going to be?’”

She said a devaluation would send up the prices of everything.