World Bank officials are in T&T to assist and advise the Government on several pressing matters, including a review of expenditure in all key areas of Government activity and spending in areas such as education and national security, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.
Imbert said the officials were invited to T&T during a meeting he and Central Bank representatives was having with them and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington earlier this week.
“That team is already here. They returned with me from Washington on Tuesday and they are already meeting with officials in the Ministry of Finance,” Imbert said, adding that during the Washington discussions with the IMF and the World Bank they asked that the Government be given technical assistance.
“We have made arrangements for experts, primarily from the World Bank, but also from IMF, to give us advice on a number of pressing maters,” Imbert said, adding that the matters include to “determine an appropriate oil and gas fiscal regime in the current environment of low oil prices and declining production in our oil and gas fields.”
He said T&T needed to model a fiscal regime that could maximise revenue for the Government and also would provide sufficient incentives to oil companies to expand their exploration, drilling and production.
He said the Government was also to get assistance with the disaggregation of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund. Imbert said his team had also met the original team which assisted in the formation of the legislation to establish the fund in 2006.
“That same team is returning to assist us after having looked at the performance of the fund and being the persons who gave the original advice they are very well placed to help us going forward,” he insisted.
On the issue of public expenditure, Imbert said the World Bank’s review would determine “if we are getting value for money (and) we are also getting assistance for an appropriate foreign exchange policy and a number of fiscal and monetary matters.”
He said if all the proposed measures worked well the country would benefit following “this period of uncertainty.”
Imbert said the amount of money available to run the country from the current overdraft facility at the Central Bank was only $1 billion.
Asked about public perception that the new Government had not done enough to kick-start the economy and was afraid to spend money, Imbert said Government was not afraid of spending money but was unable to spend what it did not have.
He said because of the prevailing economic conditions, “everyday now, probably a first for a minister of finance, I get a report from the Central Bank on the (status) of the overdraft (facility), every single day.”
Imbert said yesterday’s report said “we are at 84 per cent of the overdraft, which means we just have over $1 billion available to run the country.” He said that figure “runs the country for about five days.” He had previously claimed the bank’s overdraft facility was significantly depleted by the former People’s Partnership Government.
Imbert also said yesterday Government would give a moratorium for car dealers to make the necessary adjustments in the wake of pending 50 per cent increase in taxes on luxury vehicles.
In his mid-year budget review on April 8, Imbert said vehicles with an engine size exceeding 1999cc would have to pay increased taxes.
Yesterday, Imbert said the moratorium should be between two to three weeks but added the period would be announced when he presents two orders for debate to approve the increased taxes in the House of Representatives on Monday.
Imbert said the moratorium was being considered after businessmen and others requested it. He said the measures must be approved by April 29.