(Trinidad Express) – Finance Minister Colm Imbert spent two hours yesterday afternoon detailing how he said the previous administration mismanaged the economy and squandered the country’s money, before calling on citizens to help reverse the decline.
Imbert’s budget revenue was pegged at $60.28 billion, while expenditure was $63.048 billion based on oil being sold at US45 a barrel.
Among the actions to be taken to reduce the budget deficit and generate revenue lost from declining oil and gas revenue, citizens were told that with immediate effect, they could expect a 15 per cent increase in the price of super gasoline and diesel.
Delivering the new government’s first budget, having taken office September 7, Imbert said the increase was the beginning of the PNM Government’s plan to roll back the fuel subsidy, which had cost the country $19 billion in the past four years.
