Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development, and Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Kennedy Swaratsingh, said the 2025/2026 National Budget is designed to ensure all sectors do their part in improving the economy.
The Minister was speaking at a post-budget conference on Wednesday hosted by the Greater Tunapuna Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Arthur Lok Jack School of Business.
He lamented that very little has changed in Trinidad and Tobago over the last 10 years, putting the blame solely on the previous government for centralising several sectors.
“I remember years ago, we lived the mantra that government or the public service was not designed to implement, was designed to facilitate, designed to legislate, designed to develop policy. And so, given this portfolio, one of the things that we sought to do in this budget is to create the beginning of a new partnership. Economic growth will not come to this country without everybody playing the role that it was designed to play.”
The Minister assured that in the coming months, the government will address the ease of doing business, ensuring greater facilitation in an effort to fast-track the economy.
“In other words, there are multiple mechanisms that we can use in order to be able to fast-track our development agenda. The next four years, therefore, will be characterised by implementation. So this budget, as I said, provide a balance and is asking persons who would have benefited more than others to start contributing a little bit more to the development of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Chief Executive Officer of the UWI Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, Mariano Browne, emphasised that the pillars outlined in the National Budget are meant to foster economic growth.
“The strength of our people and the strength of an economy is the capacity of its people, not merely the resources that are in the ground because you extract those, you move those, you sell those. What’s left afterwards in terms of what you’re going to do if you don’t have it? That’s where we are, and the real issue is how to re-pivot the economy to doing other things.”
Mr. Browne said what is needed is transformation and, in a large sense, the National Budget has achieved that.
He cautioned that strategic action and clear messaging to the population from the government is needed to drive national transformation effectively and fully.