Government: People, Business must lead growth

Government and business emerged from three hours of discussion yesterday with greater optimism on how budget adjustments will work to preserve economic and social stability.

Following what Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar described as an important conversation with the business community, representatives endorsed the approach taken in dealing with the current environment, and expressed their commitment to working with the Government on projects and initiatives to further expand the economy.

The Prime Minister assured business people that she would ensure that the present challenges are managed in a way that places people and country first, and also a strong focus on preserving the economic and social stability.

She noted that the Government’s first approach includes review of our PSIP and recurrent expenditure with the aim of identifying savings of approximately $4.5 billion.

Further savings, the Prime Minister said, will be derived from a lower oil price generating a lower demand on Government for the petroleum subsidy, adjusted possibly to $1.7 billion.

“With the best made plans, accelerating development, increased growth and stability, it is the people we depend on to make it happen,” the Prime Minister noted. “Sectors cannot expand, the economy cannot grow, the future cannot be secured unless the policies we implement and the vision we pursue place the people as the drivers of progress.”

Business people endorsed the statements made by Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar and welcomed the thrust to engage the private sector in Public-Private Partnerships.

Members of the business community identified two issues that are critical to their operations – shortage of labour and foreign exchange.

On the latter, the Ministers of Finance and Trade, Industry and Commerce were mandated to meet as a matter of urgency to develop a sustainable plan to manage foreign exchange supply.

With regard to the shortage of labour, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) and the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) have agreed to partner with the Government to develop a programme to address this issue and provide a workable solution.

Another area to be considered is initiatives to improve efficiency of revenue collection.

On the matter of divestment, businesspeople welcomed the Government’s push to allow the private sector and the people of Trinidad and Tobago greater ownership of the country’s assets. The Prime Minister assured that the concerns about the process were carefully considered, and affirmed that there would be transparency and accountability in the sale of Government’s assets.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar reiterated that this is no time for sudden changes in the direction of economic development policies.

“We have the capacity, we have the will and we have passion to secure our future and we will emerge stronger, together,” she concluded.

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