Opposition leader, Kamla Persad-Bissesar has chastised the Finance Minister Colm Imbert who she said presented an “election budget” with an “insulting” increase of “peanuts” for the people whilst millions are earmarked for vanity projects and contractors.
Persad-Bissessar said “on paper” the budget “sounds great” as she noted Imbert spoke of the thousands of CEPEP, URP and MTS workers who would benefit from the $2 increase in minimum wage.
She said the $2 increase to public sector workers only, which amounts to about $16 a day more, is insufficient given the high cost of living in this country.
“It is an insult to offer 5% to workers. Undoubtedly some PNM-aligned unions will praise this and readily accept. But the majority of workers know that the cost of living has increased tremendously. This additional 1% is an insult,” she said.
“The combined increases of transport, taxes, soon to come higher utility rates, land and house prices, rents, security, property taxes and healthcare costs due to deliberate Government policy will continue to erode citizens purchasing power, she said.
SHe said a United National Congress (UNC) government will increase the minimum wage to $25 and offer public servants a 10% hike in wage negotiations.
Persad-Bissessar said after the “fiasco” with the Auditor General she does not trust the data presented by Imbert as she pointed out there is no independent data because the promised National Statistical Institute was never delivered.
She said the reality is the oil and gas sector and the manufacturing sector are dead and Imbert’s budget, full of repeated promises, does not reflect the reality on the ground.
“The reality on the ground…no police cars, no medicines, no books for children, no water in taps, no food on our tables, no jobs and, on top of all of that, $3 billion remains unaccounted for,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said, under the Dr Keith Rowley Government, there has been a “decade of destruction” with a legacy of “banditry, broken promises and betrayal”.
She noted that pensioners make up 10% of the population yet Imbert said there is not enough money for increases to social grant, including public assistance, but at the same time he announced millions to be spent on hotels.
The Government’s priorities are misplaced and not people-centred, she said.
“This Government has pushed our country into a debt trap. Instead of frontally admitting the truth and seeking help to fix the problems, the minister keeps spending money while generating none, putting generations of citizens in debt,” she said.
“Our children will have to repay the moneylenders for this corruption and mismanagement, and in the meanwhile, they won’t be able to afford their own homes, or to start and maintain families like previous generations did,” she warned.
She added she was not convinced that all the grand infrastructure projects Imbert promised will ever be realised.
She said she simply does not believe Imbert, that the Prime Minister was the “town crier” who spoke recently about holding strain and difficult times ahead.
The Opposition Leader said the majority of PNM promises have never been delivered including projects such as a ferry port in Toco, a San Fernando to Mayaro freeway, and a mass transit system.
“I don’t believe majority of what was said today,” she said,adding that for years there has been talk about Dragon gas and lucrative energy projects.
Persad-Bissessar also poured doubt over Imbert’s boast about a tourism resurgence given this country’s level of crime.
She also reminded that the PNM has been unable to deal with crime in the face of $60.83 billion spent since 2015 in national security.
“The promise of 2,000 new vehicles for the police service, body cameras, increased staffing and a series of new equipment for the Forensic Sciences Centre begs the question, what has this ministry done with the $60.83 billion it received since 2015 when they took office?” she asked,
Imbert, she said, also wants to buy four new patrol boats and eight high-speed interceptors but there are 30 boats currently parked up for repairs.
“If this Government couldn’t make improvements regarding the crime situation with $60.83 billion, why would anyone believe that the $6.1 billion allocation will cause any improvement,” she said.
The health sector is in “shambles” as she criticised the failure of the Government to open the Couva Children’s Hospital which could have prevented the death of 18 babies at the Port of Spain General Hospital.
On the issue of property tax, Persad-Bissessar said people are paying out of fear that they will be penalised and that their property will be seized.
She said there is no grace for pensioners as whatever taxes they do not pay will be passed down to whoever inherits their property.
The Minister, she warned, also has the power to increase the property tax to 10% without the Parliament.