Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 15/Oct 05:48

What the budget did not include

THE EDITOR: The budget presented by Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo on October 13 resembles many of the past budgets. There continued to be reliance on income from oil and gas despite they no longer being the major sources of income for government. There was the halting of property tax without an explanation of where the funding will be sourced for local government development. The minister spoke of flood mitigation targets without innovation in approaching the subject like retention ponds and restoring the floodgate system. But the most critical issue was the mention of the reduction of foreign reserves from $11 billion in 2014 to $5 billion in 2025 without a clear plan to earn foreign exchange and stop the decline. Over the next few days and weeks with the debate starting October 17, much will be said about the budget. My take on it is not so much what was presented, but what was not presented. The revision of the Cepep and URP programmes did not indicate what will be their replacement. One solution that makes sense is to return to the local government restructure where the communities are once again given the mandate to manage themselves and to offer permanent employment in the maintenance and upgrade of the infrastructure in every community. The most important aspect that was missing from the budget was what is the plan to find the billions of dollars in foreign exchange required for long-term development and sustenance. Taxing the citizens, landlords, banks, and investors does not earn foreign exchange. In fact, these initiatives may dissuade local investment and cause many with foreign funds to invest abroad rather than locally. There must be an encouragement for businesses to invest heavily in areas that can earn foreign exchange. It is impractical for one to expect income without investment. It is therefore critical that there be major unprecedented investment in agriculture and tourism. Billions of dollars must be invested to get billions in return. In tourism, incentives must be given to upgrade hotel rooms to international standards, the bird sanctuary must be upgraded with hotel facilities, gift shops, restaurants, proper parking, eco-friendly boats, and security. The Gasparee caves, the Nariva Swamp, the mountains with their plethora of waterfalls and streams must be made safe for tourists and there must be a major marketing plan to make TT one of the best eco-tourism destinations in the world. Agriculture must also attract major investment. There must be initiatives to mass-produce cocoa, coffee, coconuts, citrus and exotic fruits like avocados and dragon fruit. Flowers, the Moruga Hill Rice, peppers and pineapples must be cultivated in a manner that attracts international markets. Such investment will always be reliable sources of income especially as income from oil and gas are likely to decline due to the production of electric vehicles, which are poised to replace the demand for gasoline vehicles due to production costs. There must be an unclouded vision for the long-term development of TT in a realistic, pragmatic, and sagacious approach. Hopefully, that can be forthcoming as the budget debate gets into gear. STEVE ALVAREZ via e-mail The post What the budget did not include appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.