Flow
Flow
TriniTuner.com  |  Latest Event:  

Forums

PNM in Gov't (2020-2025)

this is how we do it.......

Moderator: 3ne2nr Mods

bluefete
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 14659
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 10:56 pm
Location: POS

Re: Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby bluefete » April 2nd, 2025, 7:52 pm

paid_influencer wrote:i think so.

there was an antony bordain episode where some ultra-rich fella dining in opulence said the middle class exists as a buffer between the ultra-wealthy and the mob. But that middle class disappearing

the middle class is disappearing because of the neoliberal policies that have been allowed to run wild under the Rowley/Rajesh administration. ppl act like is an inevitable force of nature for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. but that can only go along until the social contract gets torn up and the society falls apart

just like the bordain guy said. we need that middle class to have a society that people (including the ultra-wealthy) want to live in.

Something as simple as paying people a living wage can bring people back into the social contract. Things like the much maligned baby grant at least moves us in the correct direction


https://www.tiktok.com/@digitalhousett/video/7426539333169057030

User avatar
sMASH
TunerGod
Posts: 25585
Joined: January 11th, 2005, 4:30 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby sMASH » April 2nd, 2025, 7:56 pm

Allyuh might be surprised to find out the amount of the treasury was syphoned over the last 10 years...

U reduce that flow, and u would get a lot available for the country

User avatar
sMASH
TunerGod
Posts: 25585
Joined: January 11th, 2005, 4:30 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby sMASH » April 2nd, 2025, 7:58 pm

People already make up their mind who they voting for. Going mosque , temple and shouter church is jess seasonal , that happened to coincide with the election.

User avatar
The_Honourable
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 10483
Joined: June 14th, 2009, 3:45 pm
Location: Together We Conspire, Together We Deceive

Re: Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby The_Honourable » April 6th, 2025, 12:17 pm

Assessing Imbert’s financial stewarship

The Ministry of Finance plays a central role in shaping economic outcomes – driving fiscal stability, investor confidence and the country’s capacity to manage growth or crisis.

Under the PNM administration former Minister of Finance Colm Imbert had a tenure of nine plus years, from September 2015 to March 2025.

How did he perform?

Economist Dr Vanus James told the Sunday Business Guardian it is important to observe that Imbert cannot be evaluated as an individual.

“He was a PNM minister of finance and, in the authoritarian system of government we run, that counts for quite a lot.

“So, evaluation of his tenure is the same as evaluating the tenure of the PNM. ...There are many relevant facts that could speak, like monetary policy, but perhaps the most important facts relate to the tasks of economic and political transformation,” James explained.

He noted that the promise of Vision 2030, for T&T to achieve developed country status by 2030, would have been 15 years after the start of Imbert’s tenure.

On this promise, he said the record of delivery is quite dismal.

According to the data provided by the UNSD (the United Nations Statistics Division, James said in 2015, T&T’s GDP per capita was US$18,614.17.

By 2020, real GDP per capita had declined to US$13,454.21 even though the country gave the PNM a second term, presumably because of the COVID-19 effect.

In 2023, the GDP per capita was US$16,329.35, about 12 per cent below the 2015 starting point and in the neighbourhood of what it is today.

Hence, over the 10 years, James said the country’s capacity to fund its living standards had fallen sharply and was more than 70 per cent below the target of US$55,000 typical of the developed economies.

“It would take many more than five years to close that gap,” James said adding, “Clearly, the policies adopted by the Rowley/Imbert and the PNM over the 10 years have failed by its own Vision 2030 standards.”

James further noted that Imbert and the PNM took office when the need for economic diversification from energy sector exports was painfully obvious.

He said US crude prices had virtually collapsed in 2015, falling by nearly 75 per cent to below US$25 per barrel.

“The budget was correspondingly in crisis. This was a case of the famous ‘gall and wormwood’ events that Lloyd Best warned about, and as always, because of high import dependence, it was accompanied by chronic shortages of foreign exchange.

“The collapse had contributed to putting the PNM in office, so the Minister and his party had to be keenly aware that whatever the necessary short-term survival measures, the most urgent task was to understand the reason we got into that mess and take urgent steps to set long-term solutions in motion,” James said.

He said that meant looking beyond oil and gas prices to the fundamentals of the economy, adding that “the underlying problems have been clear to economists for a long time, even though Imbert conveniently described them all as uninformed commentators.”

Further, James said for more than 65 years up to 2015, the country had been warned of the need to address the undereducation and hence undercapitalisation of its labour market and the potential it offers for successful shift away from excessive dependence on oil and gas.

He added that every year since 2015, the record has shown that more than 60 per cent of workers in the labour market have failed to achieve the minimum of five O-level subject passes and not more than 20 per cent have achieved the tertiary education needed to anchor a process of innovation and creativity for economic diversification.

“Compare that 20 per cent to more than 43 per cent in countries like Singapore or the USA. To head in the direction of a Singapore, the school system would have to be changed to include a skill-intensive track at all levels and, to address the brain drain. It would also have to be extended into the workplace using an apprenticeship system with certification. However, the Rowley/Imbert regime seemed completely unaware of this situation, asserting from time to time that the education system was supplying a flow of workers adequate to meet the country’s development needs,” James stated.

He argued the trick to transformational growth in that situation is international collaboration to engineer a shift into production and export of the capital services.

Recessionary pressures

The Sunday Business Guardian also reached out to economist Dr Vaalmikki Arjoon who said under the former finance minister, the economy faced deep recessionary pressures, persistent fiscal deficits leading to surging debt, credit rating downgrades, tax hikes, and a steep rise in the cost of living.

Specifically, he said Imbert’s tenure saw GDP contracting by 17.6 per cent, with five years of negative growth.

Arjoon noted that while declining energy production and the pandemic were key drivers, structural challenges – weakened private sector competitiveness and institutional inefficiencies – further weighed on performance.

“Revenue shortfalls, under-diversified income streams, tax leakages, and restrained expenditure cuts to prevent worsening economic fallout, led to cumulative deficits of $71 billion over nine years, and the Consolidated Fund overdraft increasing to $47.76 billion—$14.4 billion higher than in 2015,” he explained.

For the Ministry of Finance to finance these deficits, borrowing surged. Public debt rose by $65.1 billion to $140.5 billion by September 2024 (74.7 per cent of GDP), while external debt more than doubled to US$5.58 billion.

Arjoon said though this helped temporarily bolster foreign reserves, it potentially limits future fiscal flexibility, diverting financial resources to debt service instead of investments in infrastructure and human capital.

Also, he said it also raises the risk of future tax increases or spending cuts to service debt, further stifling the private sector activities.

Heavy borrowing triggered credit downgrades – Moody’s lowered T&T from investment-grade Baa3 in 2017 to now speculative Ba2, while S&P downgraded us from A in 2015 to the lowest notch of investment grade at BBB–, but we are still investment grade thanks to assets like the HSF.

To offset declining energy earnings, Imbert broadened the revenue base by raising and introducing new taxes, which cushioned fiscal shortfalls but ultimately stifled business investments and increased living costs.

Arjoon noted one key reform was raising the corporation tax from 25 per cent to 30 per cent, reducing after-tax profits and hampering SMEs’ ability to reinvest, pay salaries, and expand operations.

“This harsher tax environment also contributed to foreign investors withdrawing from our economy, with total FDI net inflows from 2015 to 2023 amounting to negative US$3.18 billion,” he added.

Another key reform was the gradual reduction of the fuel subsidy, which drove the price of super unleaded up from $2.70 to $6.97 per litre since 2015.

Arjoon noted that while this helped reduce the subsidy burden, from $2.1 billion in 2015 to $1 billion in 202, it also raised transport costs, straining households and increasing business expenses, especially in manufacturing and agriculture.

Likewise, he said adjusting VAT from 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent while reinstating it on many previously zero-rated items triggered a 7.7 per cent surge in food prices, disproportionately affecting low-income households, who spend 46 per cent of their income on food.

Arjoon also noted that weakened consumption led to a shortfall in the government’s $12 billion revenue target in 2016, with actual collections at just $7 billion.

“Though some relief came with the removal of VAT on select basic foods in late 2021, food prices still rose by 14 per cent in the following year and now stand 46 per cent above 2015 levels,” he said.

To ease rising living costs, the MoF gradually raised the income tax allowance from $5,000 to $7,500 per month. This offered limited relief to lower-middle-income earners but short of offsetting the broader cost-of-living increases, while not benefitting those earning under $5,000.

However, Arjoon said delayed VAT refunds added to the financial strain on the private sector, particularly SMEs struggling to meet basic expenses like salaries and utilities.

“These delays were driven by both revenue constraints and lengthy audit processes at the BIR. To settle growing arrears, the Ministry of Finance began issuing VAT refund bonds in 2020, amounting to $9 billion to date. While giving some financial relief, this not only increased public debt but also reduced foreign exchange availability in commercial banks, as energy companies – major refund recipients – redeemed bonds for TT$ instead of converting US$ through the banking system,” Arjoon explained.

On the institutional front, the impasse with the Auditor General over a $2.6 billion revenue reporting discrepancy highlighted serious governance issues. Arjoon said instead of engaging in transparent dialogue to resolve accounting discrepancies, Imbert’s “confrontational approach -characterised by attempts to pressure and investigate the Auditor General-” exacerbated tensions and undermined institutional independence.

He said this not only risks diminishing trust in fiscal governance but also distracted from addressing deeper structural challenges in T&T’s public finance system.

Regarding other areas, the former minister of finance also championed the T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA) which is conceptually supposed to modernise the tax system, reduced tax leakages with higher compliance rates, Arjoon argued. However, he noted, concerns have been raised about how insulated the TTRA will be from political meddling, and whether its structure might compromise its very goals of fairness in tax collection.

https://www.guardian.co.tt/business/ass ... b523abe3d3

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 8th, 2025, 3:12 pm

Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) Commander Dr Daryl Dindial continued salary and wage negotiations with representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA).

Read more:
https://www.cnc3.co.tt/cpo-continues-wa ... er-unions/


The greatest pappyshow is about to unfold before your very eyes
FB_IMG_1744139501852.jpg

User avatar
The_Honourable
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 10483
Joined: June 14th, 2009, 3:45 pm
Location: Together We Conspire, Together We Deceive

Re: Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby The_Honourable » April 8th, 2025, 4:33 pm

Stuart with another press conference?

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 8th, 2025, 4:35 pm

The_Honourable wrote:Stuart with another press conference?
Honourable is an everyday thing with him now free publicity

bluefete
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 14659
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 10:56 pm
Location: POS

Re: Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby bluefete » April 8th, 2025, 4:45 pm

hover11 wrote:
The_Honourable wrote:Stuart with another press conference?
Honourable is an everyday thing with him now free publicity


Any chance he gets to say "vote for me" for free.

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 8th, 2025, 4:49 pm

bluefete wrote:
hover11 wrote:
The_Honourable wrote:Stuart with another press conference?
Honourable is an everyday thing with him now free publicity


Any chance he gets to say "vote for me" for free.
Every day is at least one or two election gimmicks to buy votes. By election day with all the spending the Treasury will be empty and the new government will say it is running on fumes. On the other hand, they should have elections every day to see if the government of the day will awaken from its deep lethargic state of mind and inaction.

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 8th, 2025, 4:57 pm

T&T's OFAC license has been revoked by the United States essentially dragon is dead

Gladiator
punchin NOS
Posts: 3931
Joined: April 20th, 2006, 9:43 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby Gladiator » April 8th, 2025, 8:07 pm

hover11 wrote:T&T's OFAC license has been revoked by the United States essentially dragon is dead


Everybody was telling the shithong that :?

User avatar
The_Honourable
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 10483
Joined: June 14th, 2009, 3:45 pm
Location: Together We Conspire, Together We Deceive

Re: Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby The_Honourable » April 8th, 2025, 9:21 pm

CNC3 fb page was LIT with this news

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 10th, 2025, 11:45 am

Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem

Redress10
30 pounds of Boost
Posts: 2642
Joined: July 15th, 2014, 1:04 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby Redress10 » April 10th, 2025, 11:57 am

hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 10th, 2025, 12:29 pm

Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me

User avatar
st7
3ne2nr Toppa Toppa
Posts: 5340
Joined: October 23rd, 2006, 1:13 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby st7 » April 10th, 2025, 2:30 pm

hover11 wrote:
Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me


the handout and gimme gimme culture.

sufferer oui

Gladiator
punchin NOS
Posts: 3931
Joined: April 20th, 2006, 9:43 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby Gladiator » April 12th, 2025, 9:44 am

st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me


the handout and gimme gimme culture.

sufferer oui


Settling wage negotiations is a handout? you serious bro?

User avatar
st7
3ne2nr Toppa Toppa
Posts: 5340
Joined: October 23rd, 2006, 1:13 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby st7 » April 12th, 2025, 10:47 am

Gladiator wrote:
st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me


the handout and gimme gimme culture.

sufferer oui


Settling wage negotiations is a handout? you serious bro?


i okay with FAIR wage negotiations, but it need to reflect the productivity of the workers. but when hover have no shame in doing no work because he 'working on 2013 salary' and boasting that he 'making more money than all of us here', how much are they really being overpaid for no efficiency in government services? to me, begging for more money when you do absolutely nothing when the day comes, and staying in de wok because you collecting money for doing nothing is real sufferer thing.

it hadda make sense, especially when these short term promises have long term economical effects. audits have to be done to see if there is too much manpower like how dey do it for WASA.

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 12th, 2025, 10:56 am

Gladiator wrote:
st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me


the handout and gimme gimme culture.

sufferer oui


Settling wage negotiations is a handout? you serious bro?
Why you feeding the troll....you not seeing this man is a clown looking for attention. Everybody knows when publics servants get backpay that will stimulate the economy this idiot thinks he is doing us a favour

User avatar
st7
3ne2nr Toppa Toppa
Posts: 5340
Joined: October 23rd, 2006, 1:13 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby st7 » April 12th, 2025, 11:02 am

hover11 wrote:
Gladiator wrote:
st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me


the handout and gimme gimme culture.

sufferer oui


Settling wage negotiations is a handout? you serious bro?
Why you feeding the troll....you not seeing this man is a clown looking for attention. Everybody knows when publics servants get backpay that will stimulate the economy this idiot thinks he is doing us a favour


lulz... gotta stop projecting hovie

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 12th, 2025, 2:26 pm

st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Gladiator wrote:
st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me


the handout and gimme gimme culture.

sufferer oui


Settling wage negotiations is a handout? you serious bro?
Why you feeding the troll....you not seeing this man is a clown looking for attention. Everybody knows when publics servants get backpay that will stimulate the economy this idiot thinks he is doing us a favour


lulz... gotta stop projecting hovie
You sure are obsessed with public servants you sure you don't want to be one? I not projecting anything the next time I have to see work is September seems you more focused on my wuk than me

User avatar
st7
3ne2nr Toppa Toppa
Posts: 5340
Joined: October 23rd, 2006, 1:13 am

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby st7 » April 12th, 2025, 4:45 pm

hover11 wrote:
st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Gladiator wrote:
st7 wrote:
hover11 wrote:
Redress10 wrote:
hover11 wrote:Dhanpaul: Wage negotiation could cost taxpayers billions

https://trinidadexpress.com/business/lo ... nbCbX3CSyg


That's your job to figure it out sir, that's why you are being paid such an exorbitant salary with perks , don't really care how you you do it as that sounds like you problem not a me problem


Why are you like this? Why do you even care. You have business on the side etc. Matter of fact you should resign ya public sector work and go fulltime in your private job.
Because either way I'm a taxpayer and he works for me


the handout and gimme gimme culture.

sufferer oui


Settling wage negotiations is a handout? you serious bro?
Why you feeding the troll....you not seeing this man is a clown looking for attention. Everybody knows when publics servants get backpay that will stimulate the economy this idiot thinks he is doing us a favour


lulz... gotta stop projecting hovie
You sure are obsessed with public servants you sure you don't want to be one? I not projecting anything the next time I have to see work is September seems you more focused on my wuk than me


i'd say something mean to you but that would be homophobic

User avatar
death365
Shifting into 6th
Posts: 2126
Joined: June 24th, 2013, 2:30 pm
Location: San Juan

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby death365 » April 14th, 2025, 6:33 am

I guess this tread running till 2030.
IMG-20250410-WA0000.jpg

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 14th, 2025, 7:47 am

Does former prime minister Dr Keith Rowley find it unsettling that he left office with public servants having 2013/2014 salaries while the salaries and pensions of politicians and top managers in the public service were increased?

Saw this question asked by the express but they didn't ask the right question, does he care.....

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 17th, 2025, 9:25 am

Is this the same guy who laughed at the citizens while he was sending up the price of gas?n̈
FB_IMG_1744896167388.jpg


https://www.guardian.co.tt/business/is- ... f73ab023a9

It is impossible to assess the performance of Colm Imbert as this nation’s longest continuously serving minister of finance without looking at the economy he inherited when he was appointed by former Prime Minister Dr Keith Christopher Rowley in September 2015.

In the two financial years before Mr Imbert became T&T’s minister of finance, the previous administration of the People’s Partnership collected $47.97 billion in current energy revenues—$28.05 billion from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2014 and $19.50 billion between October 1 2014 and September 30, 2015.

According to the 2019 Review of the Economy, in the first two years of Mr Imbert’s stewardship—which would have been from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2017—the Government collected $15.63 billion in current energy revenues. That means the revenues from the energy sector, then and now the main driver of the domestic economy, declined by 67.41 per cent in Mr Imbert’s first two years.

For the five years October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2015—which is a period that roughly coincides with the People’s Partnership administration—that political party spent an estimated $285.31 billion while collecting $265.28 billion in revenue, according to Business Guardian calculations of appendix 21 of the 2016 Review of the Economy.

That same dataset indicates that of the $265.28 billion in revenue in that period, current energy revenues accounted for $128.68 billion in fiscal 2010 to 2015. That is about 48.5 per cent of total revenue.

In the first five years of Mr Imbert’s control of the T&T Treasury—that is the period from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2020—the Government collected $205.44 billion. In that five-year period, the PNM administration collected $51.27 billion in current energy revenues, according to the 2021 Review of the Economy. That means that 24.95 per cent of the total revenue collected in Mr Imbert’s first five years came from current energy revenues.

If my calculations are correct, that also means that at $51.27 billion, the Ministry of Finance under Mr Imbert would have collected 60.15 per cent less in current energy revenues than the $128.68 billion that T&T earned in the five years of the People’s Partnership administration.

Transfers and subsidies

The 2016 Review of the Economy also indicates that of the $285.31 billion spent during the period October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2015, a total of $147.72 billion was spent on transfers and subsidies.

That means 51.77 per cent of the total expenditure in the five years of the People’s Partnership’s stewardship went to transfers and subsidies.

By my calculation, the T&T government, with Mr Imbert controlling the economy’s financial reins, spent a total of $253.35 billion in the five-year period October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2020. Of that amount, $131.32 billion was spent on transfers and subsidies, amounting to 51.83 per cent of the total spent. That would have been 11.1 per cent less than was spent by the People’s Partnership.

Hard road to hoe

From the above, there is no doubt that in the first five years of his nine and half term, Mr Imbert had less money to spend, given the dramatic decline in current energy sector revenues. That would have meant less foreign exchange and also a reduced amount of money that could be spent on transfers and subsidies.

That line item in the budget, transfers and subsidies, is how the current and past administrations have maintained low electricity and water rates, “free” education and healthcare, including the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP), reduced cost of inter-island transportation by air and ferry, lower fuel prices than the economic cost, lower cost housing for middle-and-lower-income households etc.

Transfers and subsidies, in my view, have been the means by which administrations past and present, have transferred money from the energy rents to the population and limited the impact of higher prices on the majority of the population.

Imbert’s pros

Moderate inflation—In the nine years from 2016 to 2024, the average annual inflation rate (as measured by the per cent change in the consumer price index) was 2.28 per cent;

The reasons for this moderate rate of inflation include the amount of money spent on transfers and subsidies and maintaining tight control over the public sector wage bill (which some may see as a con);

Fiscal prudence—Apart from 2020 and 2021, when the fiscal deficit totalled over $29 billion, according to the 2024 Review of the Economy, the current administration maintained a tight grip on expenditure to ensure that Government borrowing did not get out of hand. He did not, for example, promise public servants a double-digit wage increase in the 2025 budget, when he knew that that would have curried favour with a significant percentage of the working, and voting, population.

Imbert’s cons

Lack of growth—The former minister of finance has been criticised by a member of the Opposition United National Congress for presiding over an economy that he argues was the seventh worst performing economy in the world for the period 2016 and to 2024. That seems to have generated a great deal of heat. In my view, to base the performance of an economy solely on its growth rate ignores many other salient variables such as the rate of inflation, the level of unemployment and the level of transfers and subsidies, which support the standard of living in a country. On the other hand, T&T economy has indeed grown slowly in the last 10 years;

Exchange rate uncompetitive—The domestic economy has grown slowly in the last 10 years, because Mr Imbert, and the Cabinet of which he is a part, have not been as successful as they should have been in attracting new investment in both the energy and non-energy sectors. In my view, this is because the current administration has ruled out, and continues to rule out, allowing a carefully managed flotation of the country’s main exchange rate (the US$ to TT$). As has been argued in this space, and the other one, for the last 12 years this month, a managed flotation makes the cost of imports more expensive and the cost of exports more competitive. In doing so, flotation encourages exports and discourages non-essential imports; it encourages investment in exports and it drives the repatriation of capital; and

Echo chamber—Mr Imbert’s main failing is that he failed to expose his ideas to the robust critique of people outside of a small circle in the PNM. The Government ignored the free advice, provided by the highly respected duo of economists Wendell Mottley and Euric Bobb in the pages of this publication last November that “…as stakeholders continue to demand that ‘the Government do something’ we must not lose sight of the fact that experience teaches us that an administrative system is burdensome, inefficient and less effective than the market-based system in place over most of the last few decades.”

And I am sure the Government did not ask, for example, the advice of the now defunct Economic Development Advisory Board, which was chaired by top-notch economist Dr Terrence Farrell, about the efficacy of T&T’s exchange rate with specific reference to the flotation in April 1993.

bluefete
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 14659
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 10:56 pm
Location: POS

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby bluefete » April 17th, 2025, 2:22 pm

From Ken Ali - UNC:

SECRET PRE-ELECTION CITY PORT DEAL
ON the eve of the general election, the government has quietly named a company to take over the port of Port of Spain.
There have been no public disclosures or discussions with Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union (SWWTU), which represents the 1,500 port employees.
An official document – revealed on the election hustings by UNC firebrand Dr. Roodal Moonilal – states that on April 14, 2025, a Filipino company was officially favoured to run the city port.
An evaluation committee recommended to the Cabinet Oversight Committee that International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) “be awarded” the tender to operate the billion-dollar facility.
Over the years, ICTSI has been involved in several controversies relating to labour practices, contract disputes, and claims of violations of labour laws in various countries.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation made several formal allegations against ICTSI, some of which were resolved in international arbitration.
An analysis said the outrage against ICTSI “highlights challenges in balancing business interests with labour rights and ethical considerations...”
The government invited tenders on July 17, 2024, and there were six bids for the port, which handles around one million 20-foot long containers a year.
ICTSI was adjudged to have “fulfilled all the requirements...”
The evaluation committee was headed by Nigel Edwards, Executive Director of the Unit Trust Corporation.
Other members were Jonathan Soo Hon, Demi John Cruickshank, Dominic Rampersad, Shalana Mahabir, Commodore Garnet Best, and Candice Gomez Baptiste.
The country has not been informed, and SWWTU was not consulted on the pre-election privatisation move.
Moonilal said the prime national assets are being sold “under the cover of darkness” and queried whether displaced port workers would receive severance pay.
The government has refused to honour a 2015 collective agreement for a pay deal for port employees.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 17th, 2025, 2:30 pm

You know how long they was trying to sell that port...wonder what the workers going to do , port workers don't play

bluefete
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 14659
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 10:56 pm
Location: POS

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby bluefete » April 17th, 2025, 2:40 pm

hover11 wrote:You know how long they was trying to sell that port...wonder what the workers going to do , port workers don't play


You mean the PNM port workers? LOL.

User avatar
eliteauto
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 14175
Joined: March 10th, 2006, 1:36 am
Location: PPP
Contact:

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby eliteauto » April 17th, 2025, 8:39 pm

hover11 wrote:You know how long they was trying to sell that port...wonder what the workers going to do , port workers don't play

IIRC it's not. a sale, it's a management contract, it's been around for a while. Probably a way to bust the union and increase efficiency

User avatar
hover11
TriniTuner 24-7
Posts: 11969
Joined: July 10th, 2016, 4:15 pm

Re: PNM in Gov't

Postby hover11 » April 17th, 2025, 8:41 pm

eliteauto wrote:
hover11 wrote:You know how long they was trying to sell that port...wonder what the workers going to do , port workers don't play

IIRC it's not. a sale, it's a management contract, it's been around for a while. Probably a way to bust the union and increase efficiency
Why do it 10 days before the elections and no discourse amongst stakeholders. I don't know what kind of underhand contracts you accustomed to but this is definitely not standard practice

Advertisement

Return to “Ole talk and more Ole talk”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests