A blueprint for chaos on the horizon.
That is how former planning minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie described actions being taken by the Government.
He was making his contribution to the debate in the Lower House yesterday on a motion on the Increase of Loans Ceiling under the Development Loans Act, through which the Government is seeking to borrow $50 billion.
Tewarie said chaos might very well be on the horizon because what the Government was saying was different from what it was doing.
“The gap between what the Government is saying and doing will make people very uncomfortable.
“You are saying no one will lose their jobs but thousands were terminated in the last three months and more are coming.
“You are saying you are consulting with the trade unions but there are unilateral wage freezes at the National Gas Company.
“How long will the $15 million inducement to the unions guarantee the good will you now enjoy?” he asked.
Referring to the expected introduction of VAT on zero-rated items in January, Tewarie asked if it was not the unemployed, underemployed, working and middle classes who would have to fund this source of revenue for the Government.
He said Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran disclosed yesterday that food inflation would rise to double digits, a significant portion of it VAT induced.
Tewarie said the Government had brought the economy to a standstill.
“The construction sector has gone into decline,” he said, adding that hundreds of construction workers have been sent home.
The burning question about the $50 billion the Government was seeking to borrow was, “Why so much money?” he asked.
“This is the question for us on this side, not so much that you came to ask for an increase in the borrowing limit.
“Why so much at the beginning of your term? This is the equivalent of one year’s budget.
“You can’t expect the Opposition to give the Government support carte blanche to borrow so much money.
“You want to tell the public of our sins by the way you are organising your narrative but why so much, what are you spending it on and how are you going to pay for it?
“We don’t know your debt management and debt repayment strategy. Why do you need almost 71 per cent more fiscal space than you already have?”
Tewarie said monies owed contractors was nowhere near $50 billion and he suspected some of the money they were hoping to borrow would have to do with development projects, making mention of the government’s proposed rapid rail project.
Tewarie asked whether government’s strategy was to drive state development and stimulate the economy through borrowing.
“I think this will be the wrong strategy,” he said.
He said the challenges facing the economy could not be solved by borrowing, austerity measures, taking an IMF prescription and raising taxes alone.
He said when he left the Planning Ministry, he left a ten-year plan for the country which public servants were working on.
Tewarie asked the Speaker for an amendment to the motion which, in essence, asks that no more public procurement be facilitated until related legislation comes fully into effect