Historic budget to be presented in Trinidad & Tobago today

PM Patrick Manning

Monday, October 6, 2003

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: Trinidad & Tobago's Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Patrick Manning, will present a whopping $21.8 billion budget to the islands' House of Representatives today. 

The Trinidad Guardian yesterday quoted a top official in the twin-island Republic's Finance Ministry, as saying, "It is the largest budget ever in T&T's history." The $21.8 billion figure, the official added, includes all expenditure, interest and capital repayments. 

The largest portion is expected to be given to the Education Ministry, which is run by Mr. Manning's wife, Education Minister Mrs. Hazel Manning.

The National Security Ministry, manned by Minister Mr. Howard Chin Lee, is due to get the second largest allocation to help battle the crime surge in the country. Millions are expected to be allocated to new crime-fighting technology and a billion dollars set aside for additional social programmes aimed at quelling the burgeoning murder and kidnapping rates, the Guardian said.

The PM is also expected to announce thousands of new jobs in construction.

The is almost $2 billion more than the ruling Peoples National Movement's 2002/2003 fiscal package, which totalled $20 billion, and nearly $5 billion more than the projected expenditure of one of the country's top economists, Dr. Dhanayshar Mahabir, said the paper. 

Debate is likely to begin a few days later, when the Opposition responds to the package.

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