HOW IS T&T'S ECONOMY FEARING?

[kaylex]

Former Central Bank governor: Cut fuel subsidy, Gate



Reshma Ragoonath
Published:
Saturday, August 23, 2014

Former Central Bank governor Ewart Williams
If government is serious about fiscal sustainability, it must have the political will to make difficult decisions, such as cutting the fuel subsidy and Gate. Former Central Bank governor Ewart Williams made this point yesterday as he addressed a pre-budget seminar at Guardian Media Ltd’s training room, Guardian building, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, which was attended by GML managing director Lisa Agard, editors and journalists.

Williams said as Finance Minister Larry Howai gets set to deliver the 2014/2015 national budget on September 8, he must consider what are the Government’s priorities and its fiscal policy. He said Gate (Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses Programme) is costing Government $4.5 billion annually and that is “unsustainable.” However, he said, the issue of Gate has now become a major political issue that has to be addressed, but everyone is afraid to address it.

“We have to look at the options; Should it be a loan? Should it cover certain subjects? Should there be a means test? These are the difficult issues we must confront and talk about,” he said. The fuel subsidy, he said, is another issue which no government wants to address and successive governments “keep kicking the can along” to the other. “We all know what needs to be done. We need to get the political will to address it and we need to start talking about it,” said Williams.

Tax reform, he said, was needed. Government, he added, had to do a lot through expenditure reform. “That is where the difficult discussion lies.” Williams said T&T was in a good position to experience more growth in 2014 after recording two per cent growth in 2013 and a four to five per cent reduction in debt which is “manageable.” However, Williams hastened to add, “All that glitters is not gold. The economy still depends disproportionately on the energy sector.”

T&T’s debt to GDP (gross domestic product), he said, is in a better position than most countries in the Caribbean. In 2013 it stood at 33.7 per cent in T&T as opposed to 109.8 per cent in Grenada and 126.4 per cent in Barbados. This percentage, he said, must continue to decline. “The worst economic problem a country could face is a debt crisis and it is in our interest to keep our debt structure manageable,” he said.

He T&T is in a position where “we should be working at fiscal sustainability. We should be moving towards putting our fiscal house in order.” Fiscal sustainability, he said, is where T&T has a system that could carry the economy along when there is no more oil and gas, a system where the revenue side is buoyant (responds to economic growth) and the debt is under control. However, he said strong fiscal and monetary policies are needed to get to that point.

Williams also stressed the need for more transparency in the budget presentation, which should include a debt table. He said citizens deserve to know how T&T is repaying the loans it took to finance public sector projects. “What are all the loans we as a country have to be paying? That is not unreasonable to be asking. Tell us about wages, about the taxes, but what are all the loans we are paying and how much are we paying?” he said. These figures, he said, should be included in the national budget or a supplementary document.

He also expressed concern about the lack of regulation of casinos, which, he said, “are efficient avenues of money laundering and that kind of business must be related to the demand for foreign exchange. “Any business that only deals in cash transactions must be audited on a weekly, even daily basis. Human nature is such that no one is going to report every cash transaction,” he added.

[kaylex]

I have said it time and time again... tertiary education should have remained the dollar for dollar... Dont know what PNM were thinking...

Secondly,,, the money spent on laptops ... is pure ass

These two intiatives will cost the public purse too much and they have minimal return...
Hope they cut them both...

The fuel subsidy must be cut... and a highway tax implemented...
Revenues through taxation must be increased...

the country in a hot mess.. We may have to borrow from IDB,WB AND IMF come 2016..... after the election... and cut public spending...

2015 Budget may be very well about spending the last set of oil boom money from the last patos admin.
Buckle yuh seatbelts guy... downsizing of the public sector.. freeze on wages... may ...may .. very well be on the horizon..

HOPE WE FIND SOME MORE SWEET CRUDE!!

[pete]

I don't think there will be any change to the fuel subsidy until after the elections.

[Advent]

cut gate ? good luck

[Allergic2BunnyEars]

I have said it time and time again... tertiary education should have remained the dollar for dollar... Dont know what PNM were thinking...

Secondly,,, the money spent on laptops ... is pure ass

These two intiatives will cost the public purse too much and they have minimal return...
Hope they cut them both...

The fuel subsidy must be cut... and a highway tax implemented...
Revenues through taxation must be increased...

the country in a hot mess.. We may have to borrow from IDB,WB AND IMF come 2016..... after the election... and cut public spending...

2015 Budget may be very well about spending the last set of oil boom money from the last patos admin.
Buckle yuh seatbelts guy... downsizing of the public sector.. freeze on wages... may ...may .. very well be on the horizon..

HOPE WE FIND SOME MORE SWEET CRUDE!!

While things need to be changed I think you might be overreacting a bit. Borrow money from IMF? Why? Things may not be perfect but we certainly are a long ways off from having to turn to an entity like the IMF. Debt to GDP is 33.7 and dropping.

Subsidies must be cut yes but GATE is a scapegoat imo as there is much more reckless wastage in other areas. The fuel subsidy alone dwarfs GATE by about 4 times yet we speak about GATE as if it's THE biggest albatross. It's not. GATE needs to be managed better. Dollar for dollar for some and full subsidy for some. Can be decided via a means test. Even so, GATE was allocated $650 million in 2013. Even if you drastically cut that in half versus say trying to cut the subsidy on fuel in half the savings do not compare.

The real push should be with respect to fuels. Even so, something must be put in place to wean the population slowly. If the government was really serious they would move prices of super and diesel up in very small increments (e.g. 25 cent increase per litre) and actually complete the CNG push they like to talk about. More stations, incentives for people to switch. Mandate that maxi taxis be converted to cng. Heck bite the bullet and switch it out for the maxi owners if need be at a cost to the government. Payback for that would not be long. Mass transit is another option that should be looked at but before we talk about just cutting this and that left, right and centre we should think about the implications of cutting these services and the impact on persons who already under pressure.

Reference: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business ... 71821.html

[88sins]

Somebody trying to scare the economy?

[src1983]

He is talking about the legal economy, the underground one still going strong

So we have nothing much to worry about

[zoom rader]

I have said it time and time again... tertiary education should have remained the dollar for dollar... Dont know what PNM were thinking...

Secondly,,, the money spent on laptops ... is pure ass

These two intiatives will cost the public purse too much and they have minimal return...
Hope they cut them both...

The fuel subsidy must be cut... and a highway tax implemented...
Revenues through taxation must be increased...

the country in a hot mess.. We may have to borrow from IDB,WB AND IMF come 2016..... after the election... and cut public spending...

2015 Budget may be very well about spending the last set of oil boom money from the last patos admin.
Buckle yuh seatbelts guy... downsizing of the public sector.. freeze on wages... may ...may .. very well be on the horizon..

HOPE WE FIND SOME MORE SWEET CRUDE!!

The idea of free tertiary education by the PNM was to help the less fortunate gain access to higher education. It should revert to dollar to dollar, it will help as students know that they can't play the fool or become professional students.

As for the public service, there is too much dead weight and less productivity. This should be downsized by getting rid of non productive servants. Servants need to account for their productivity.

Road tax should be reintroduce and not via the pump. Bring back the tax disc system to be paid via the post office or bank. $3000 for each vehicle a year, don't pay and the state sizes your vehicle. There are too many cars parked on the road and can't drive. It's an eyesore and it blocks the roads .

Wage freeze I don't agree with, it should be linked to productivity as too many ppl get paid for doing next to nothing or no work.

Doubles men need to start paying taxes, some of these ppl make over a grand a day tax free.

[Redman]

I say leave the subsidy...it remains the most broadly received benefit form the oil and gas.
Cutting benefits should not come before the govt corrects its own issues
Make the system efficient. Stop the leakages.
Increase local production of oil to feed the refinery......we spend 7m USD on foreign oil a day.

[pete]

As much as it's nice to benefit by having nice cheap fuel, that only encourages wasting it or illegally selling it in other countries on the black market. That said I'm hoping to get a diesel pickup soon. (So knowing my luck the price will increase soon)

[Toni Phraser]

T&T Economy = Healthy
T&T Standard of living = Dying to live

[Crackpot]

T&T Economy = Healthy
T&T Standard of living = Dying to live

Baaaaaa sheep

[Valentines Escorts]

that post is just like you a waste baaaa

[rfari]

Is here too?

[Valentines Escorts]

is your here real fari?

[rfari]

is your here real fari?

Nope

[Toni Phraser]

is your here real fari?

Nope

Neither is your understanding of socio-economics and racism

[rfari]

is your here real fari?

Nope

Neither is your understanding of socio-economics and racism

Meem comment on either. You jumpout yuh self dey proxy

[Toni Phraser]

Yuh in d wrong treads dan, check saucy pow for something along your lines

[rfari]

Yuh in d wrong treads dan, check saucy poe for something along your lines

Nah

[Crackpot]

Yuh in d wrong treads dan, check Delmon Baker for something along your lines

*fixed*

[Toni Phraser]

^^Fixed like our failed society

[bluefete]

HOW IS T&T'S ECONOMY FEARING?

HOW IS T&T'S ECONOMY FEARING?

HOW IS T&T'S ECONOMY FEARING?

Oh, I get it! It had to be FEARING given how the PP is running the country. Thanks.

[Eau de Antoine]

hush yuh scummy warp fagface

d only ting u get is a long slander plick from satan

if our society was living in fear of God, there would be no reason to live in fear

[bluefete]

^ You join tuner just because yuh vex yuh school vacation almost over?

[Eau de Antoine]

If yuh old ass lookin for answers try GATE, its a half handout

If you lookin to enter d gates of paradise, sign up for HDC use your visaface

[88sins]

If yuh old ass lookin for answers try GATE, its a half handout

If you lookin to enter d gates of paradise, sign up for HDC use your visaface

I'd call you stupid
But that might just be an insult to the word stupid


So I'll just say, judging from your postings, your mind resembles the northern directed orifice of a south-bound jackass













& stop usin yuh baby picture as yuh avatar. ah doubt anybody online want to know what yuh look like

[bluefete]

If yuh old ass lookin for answers try GATE, its a half handout

If you lookin to enter d gates of paradise, sign up for HDC use your visaface

I see you are one of several newbies to the forum who seemed to have signed up (within the past few days) exclusively, to try and take Pioneer's trophy away from him.

Well, if you have a paucity in your vocabulary and are unable to enunciate, elucidate and propagate profusely, may I suggest that you acquaint yourself with a manual offering of vocabulary words and meanings.

Do have a nice day.

[God is Great]

^^ Look at this slandering paidgun fabricating lies

Ting fall in alyuh nastyman garden or wah, living a sinful skettel life for years and years then asking why we have to live in fear.

Fortunately, we are not easily swayed nor have the time to properly dress your warped scunt

[rfari]

Jehovah witness yes