Opposition Leader questions Govt’s revenue projection in Budget 2024/2025
The Leader of the Opposition, Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC MP, is questioning alleged inconsistencies in Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s estimates and revenues outlined in the 2024/2025 National Budget.
During her response in Parliament earlier today, Mrs Persad-Bissessar said Minister Imbert missed the mark and failed to account for job creation, social safety nets, revenue generation, national security and unaccounted funds outlined by the Auditor General.
Under the theme, “A Decade Of Debt, Deficits, Destabilization, Death And Destruction”, the Opposition Leader stated that the estimated revenue of $54.224 billion was not adding up.
Mrs Persad-Bissessar also pointed out that the Finance Minister failed to say that he had borrowed $107 billion in nine years—from 2015 to the end of fiscal 2023/24.
As she kicked off the Budget Debate, the Opposition Leader accused government of limiting of all negotiations for wage increases to 4 per cent previously, and now 5 per cent.
She says it is a move that facilitated the diminishing of employees’ purchasing power.
Meanwhile… Long before the Opposition Leader made her rebuttal to the Finance Minister’s Budget presentation in the Parliament today, scores of UNC supporters gathered outside the Red House and staged a protest demonstration this morning.
The protesters booed government ministers as they arrived for Parliament, even as they called for Kamla Persad-Bissessar to be the next Prime Minister.
Some protesters said they were disappointed with this year’s budget and had been hopeful that more would be done for public servants, youth and pensioners.
“We just decided to come to give the political leader the full support that she needs at this point, because people are totally fed-up of this government. The country is just getting harder and harder, each-and-every day,” said one UNC protester. “I didn’t see they mentioned anything about the increase for the pensioners. That is something I think should have been increased.”
The Budget Debate continues over the next few days.
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