ANSA McAL chairman A Norman Sabga says while he believes there may be some cutbacks in subsidies announced in the upcoming Budget he does not expect the Government to make any drastic changes.
“I believe that with the shrinking revenue that Government has, some of the subsidies may have to be cut back. I believe there is enough revenue, however, to continue to create—with wise and prudent management—to see some growth in the society,” he said.
“I don’t expect any drastic changes from what is in existence going forward. I am not looking at a Budget where we are seeing huge drastic changes where it is significantly going to affect the livelihood of people. I think there is enough within the economy and the GDP (gross domestic product) of the country where we would have a stable country going forward. There are some adjustments that need to be made. I don’t see panic.”
Sabga said although the country is faced with reduced revenue, there is still enough for a well-run and well-managed economy.
“It really is a difficult time. If you think of any business or any household, if certain areas of your income are cut by 20 and 25 per cent, something has to give and with the falling energy prices you know that is where the country has found itself,” he said.
“I do believe that notwithstanding that—and when one looks at the total revenue of the country—even with a reduced Budget there is still enough for us to have a country that is well-managed and well-run. You are not going to be able to get all of the subsidies we may have had in the past, there may be some increases in areas where the Government stake has to be more.”
The two major problems facing this country, Sabga said, are productivity and crime.
“In productivity I am talking about being competitive on the world market and being able to produce in a competitive manner in Trinidad and Tobago, because if you achieve that you create more exports and more jobs and more opportunities and to be more competitive does not necessarily mean lower wages; it means more output, more efficient institutions that allow you to get your products to market,” he said.
Sabga said traffic and the cost of security are issues affecting the private sector. He does not expect a huge devaluation of the TT dollar.
“The Government said they were going to defend the exchange rate at $6.83, that was what the Minister of Finance said and I accept that fact that he is going to defend the exchange rate at $6.83,” Sabga said.
“If you take the speculation out of the exchange rate, there is enough US in the country that we can manage. The thing is to get the US into circulation and right now a lot of it is on deposits and so on. I do not expect a huge devaluation.”