00:00The country tired, the people worried, and they're feeling the pain.
00:06Their faith is being tested time and time again.
00:10Opposition leader Penelope Beckles as she sums up the 2027 budget
00:15presented by Finance Minister Divindranath Tanku on Monday.
00:19The Minister of Finance spoke for just over 2 hours and 25 minutes
00:26to announce an increase in electricity rates and a series of new taxes.
00:32He announced fines, he announced penalties,
00:35all designed to make doing business in Trinidad and Tobago much more difficult.
00:42It is not an investor-friendly budget.
00:45As a matter of fact, this is a budget of great disastrous proportions.
00:51She described the budget as deceptive, destructive and deceitful
00:55and sought to sound a warning to the population.
00:58We have witnessed an accelerated passage of controversial legislation
01:02and obscene public attacks on independent senators.
01:07Beckles' accusations included the citing of the Senate president's casting vote
01:11on several pieces of legislation.
01:14The government is undermining the very seat of power in this country,
01:18railroading laws, avoiding scrutiny and accountability,
01:22and weakening our parliamentary institutions.
01:23This is a classic sign of growing autocratic rule.
01:30It did not stop there, the opposition said.
01:33The government was undermining independent media.
01:37Mr. Speaker, free press is fundamental to a functioning democracy.
01:42Yet we have witnessed repeated political criticisms of journalists and media houses,
01:47including the accusation of fake news and references to so-called 1% media.
01:53When the media has held the UNC government account,
01:57they are described as 1% media and dismissed as bearers of fake news.
02:02Beckles said the budget contained recycled promises to weaken the economy.
02:06Mr. Speaker, with two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth
02:10and two consecutive years of accelerating contraction in real GDP,
02:15I take no pleasure in saying what the Minister of Finance is afraid to say,
02:19what the central bank government may not want to admit,
02:23and what many economists are seeing, Mr. Speaker,
02:26this country is now in a recession.
02:30She says the increase in reserves is not because of management,
02:35but due to borrowing and withdrawals from the HSF.
02:39Since taking office, despite an unanticipated petroleum tax of at least $3 billion,
02:47and that tax, of course, is as a result of the war in Iran,
02:52there is no evidence that the government has deposited even one cent into the HSF.
02:57I would like the Honorable Minister of Finance, in his widening us,
03:02to tell us how much money this government has deposited in the HSF.
03:08What they also need to tell us, by the actions that they have been doing,
03:14whether or not they are breaking the law.
03:16The opposition leader then directed attention to human resource upheavals in the financial sector.
03:22She cited FCB, saying the sector demands confidence.
03:26Whilst this upheaval takes place, we in the opposition will keep a close eye, of course,
03:31on the developments and what is taking place at Republic Bank,
03:34another critical financial institution.
03:37And exodus has just begun at Republic Bank, another state-controlled financial institution.
03:43Beckels also rejected government's intention to divest certain state assets.
03:48These assets, of course, do not belong to this government,
03:51do not belong to the prime minister, they do not belong to the UNC,
03:54they belong to the people of Trinidad and Torrego.
03:59They represent investments, sacrifices, and resources of generation of citizens
04:08who built this country and contributed to its development.
04:12Rather than demonstrate the competence to restructure, rehabilitate,
04:16and improve the performance of state enterprise,
04:19as usually government is ready to take the easiest way outsell them,
04:22collect the money, and leave the future generations to deal with consequences.
04:27She also demanded that full funding be restored to local government corporations.
04:32I wish you to worry, Rupin Ryan, TV6 News.
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