Independent Senator and economist Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir says that a recession means different things in different countries.
Speaking after the rededication of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, on Independence Square, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Mahabir said, “It is known that this economy has been in a slowdown for quite a while.
“How you define a recession is subjective, it changes from country to country.
“Some people use two quarters, some people use three. I see our Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran is using four.”
He said in any event when you find income falling, you find a recession.
Mahabir said the problem before the country was how to solve it.
He said that solutions have to be found and he would be coming up with solutions in Parliament.
Mahabir said he hoped that the Executive and the Government would implement some of them.
Businessman Derek Chin said that from a businessperson’s point of view a recession was something that everyone had to be concerned about.
He said sometimes matters were beyond the country’s control, seeing the levels oil prices had fallen to, which would obviously affect revenue into the future.
Chin said like every other government official, Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran had to sensitise the population to the fact that this was a realistic problem and citizens had to tighten their belts and hopefully, as a nation, we had the discipline and could come together to ride it out.
He said foreign exchange issues and the ability to purchase products to sell, layoffs and job cuts were challenges.
Chin said that the country needed the necessary discipline, having been spoilt for many years, and it now needed to be a little more thrifty in terms of spending.
When asked about Rambarran’s statement that the early signs of a recession would be businesses cutting back on investment, Chin said that would result in a reduction of disposable income and would affect everyone.
Chin said that he had investments in the works right now, and he had to decide whether to move forward with them or hold back a while which affected the vibrancy of the economy.
When asked if he foresaw more layoffs and wage freezes in the new year, he said he believed they were coming.
Chin said that the country was still very highly dependent on the energy sector, which was starting to see a lot of layoffs because revenue was not there anymore.
He said hopefully things could change dramatically.
There was a lot of turmoil in the Middle East and all it took was a little spark to ignite there for the oil prices to move back up again. (CKS)