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  • 1 year ago
Budget 2025 was presented, and much to the surprise of many, contained some "budget goodies"

The Energy Minister called out Patriotic Energies Ltd. for alleged fake financials

And one business chamber said T&T is losing millions in investment, because of crime
Transcript
00:00Good evening and welcome to the past seven days on six.
00:21I am Vanessa Cutting as what made the news this past week.
00:25Budget 2025 was presented and much to the surprise of many contained some budget goodies.
00:32The energy minister called out patriotic energies for alleged fake financials.
00:38And one business chamber said TNT is losing millions in investments because of crime.
00:44As per usual, if it was happening, it was on six.
00:47Let's get right into it.
00:50A conservative fiscal plan was presented by Finance Minister Colin Minberg last week.
00:55As you read the 2025 budget plan entitled Steadfast and Resolute Forging Pathways to Prosperity.
01:02And while many were expecting no budget goodies this year, the finance minister came bearing
01:07good news for public sector workers in the form of an increased minimum wage.
01:13Several thousand public sector workers will see an increase in pay effective November
01:181st, thanks to a decision by the government to increase the minimum wage by $2 an hour.
01:25We will increase the minimum wage earned by public sector employees from $20.50 an
01:31hour to $22.50 an hour, an increase of $2 per hour or 9.8%.
01:40This increase is expected to cost the government $75 million in fiscal 2025 and will take effect
01:48from November 1st, 2024, two months from now.
01:52And even as some public servants are yet to accept government's 4% wage increase offer,
01:57the finance ministers put 5% on the table for the next bargaining period.
02:03For the next three year period, 2020 to 2022, the government, even in the face of our challenging
02:12financial circumstances, has decided to offer public sector workers an increase of 5%.
02:23This increase is estimated to cost the government an additional $475 million per year.
02:31VAT refunds also featured in the budget presentation.
02:35Recognising that companies depend on VAT refunds for cash flow, the Ministry of Finance intends
02:43once again to issue interest-bearing VAT bonds in fiscal 2025 in the sum of $3 billion, with
02:52a target date for issuance of January 31st, 2025.
02:57However, on this occasion, these bonds will be issued in a manner that does not create
03:02difficulties or shortages in the local foreign exchange market.
03:06Small and medium enterprises who are owed refunds will be paid in cash by December 31st, 2024.
03:17In what would be his 10th budget presentation, Finance Minister Colin Mimbut presented his
03:229th deficit budget, which featured estimated revenues and expenditures, almost identical
03:28to the initial 2024 budget.
03:31We expect total revenue of $54.224 billion, $54.224 billion, with total expenditure of
03:46$59.741 billion, resulting in a fiscal deficit of $5,517,000,000.
04:00The Finance Minister presented a conservative fiscal plan, opting to peg the budget to oil
04:05prices several dollars below the projected value.
04:08The U.S. Energy Information Administration current short-term outlook estimates the price
04:14of Brent food in 2025 to be $84 a barrel, but we are going to be very conservative.
04:22Our oil price assumption for 2025 will be U.S. $77.80 per barrel, compared with U.S.
04:31$85 per barrel in 2024.
04:35And our natural gas price assumption will be U.S. $3.59 per mm BTU, compared with U.S.
04:44$5 per mm BTU in 2024.
04:48And while many were expecting national security to shoot away with the lion's share of the
04:52fiscal allocation this year, this critical ministry maintained its historical position
04:58of third in the line-up.
05:00Education and training, $7.512 billion, health, billion, $7.512 billion for education and
05:10training, health, $7.571 billion, national security, $6.113 billion, public utilities,
05:23$3.221 billion, infrastructure, $1.862 billion.
05:32The Finance Minister also announced the government's plan to sell its shares in Clico and renewed
05:37the government's commitment to selling or leasing the state refinery.
05:45But the opposition leader slammed the Finance Minister's budget figures for supposedly being
05:50inaccurate and claimed that two of the bidders for the refinery have serious allegations
05:55of impropriety surrounding them.
05:57Here's a summary of her three-hour and 40-minute contribution.
06:03I dedicate this response to Budget Statement 2025 to the 99% of persons who have been abandoned
06:12by this PNM government.
06:14The opposition leader responds to Kom Inbert's 2025 Marathon Fiscal Package.
06:20Minister Inbert spoke for five hours and 13 minutes to announce a $2 per hour minimum
06:27wage increase to some workers and a 5% new offer to public servants.
06:34The minister joked about doubling his time to 10 hours.
06:38I would have preferred had the minister doubled the minimum wage increase to $4 and the offer
06:48to public servants to 10% instead.
06:51Her assessment of the plan, to be steadfast and resolute, forging pathways to prosperity,
06:57was that it was devoid of any plan to lower food prices, attend to the needs of senior
07:03citizens, generate more revenue, fight crime or create jobs.
07:08Honourable Minister spent over five hours reading the PNM's eulogy, fighting to convince
07:15the population but failing to convince them of anything worthwhile.
07:22Drilling down on the figures, Bassad Bassasa says the revenue was miscalculated.
07:27Inbert said revenue was $54.224 billion, but when one adds the oil revenue, non-oil revenue
07:35and capital revenue,
07:37Madam Speaker, these figures add up to $53.224 billion in revenue, not $54.224 billion.
07:46That will also mean, she says, that the deficit for 2025 will move up by $1 billion.
07:53It will in fact be, according to the opposition leader, $6.5 billion and not $5.5 billion.
08:01She accuses the government of leading the country into a debt trap, borrowing $107 billion
08:08in nine years, forcing future generations to spend most of their lives to repay.
08:14When we add a further $12.8 billion Minister intends to borrow in 2025, this government
08:21would have borrowed $119.8 billion in 10 years, from 2015 to end of fiscal 25.
08:30If we were to add the approximately $17 billion drawn down from the HSF, we would see that
08:36this government has access financing of about $136.8 billion to finance spending.
08:43At this point, Prasad Biswasa took a swing at what the national population was spending
08:48their time discussing.
08:49Instead, it was the same old story of glibness, intellectual laziness, shallow commentary
08:57and in some cases, shameless pandering from some sections of the business community.
09:03At the same time, they continue waiting with begging bowls for contracts.
09:09They say greed has no shame.
09:12Even as government hinted at the sale or lease of the refinery as a revenue-generating
09:16measure, the opposition leader cautions the population to not be misled.
09:21None of these companies are known to have any track record in the refinery industry.
09:26I think we are going on another mamagai run.
09:29Before every election, we are hearing we are going to find someone to lease or buy the
09:34petrochemical refinery.
09:35Elections come, elections go and nothing happens.
09:39There are serious questions and allegations about improper practices by at least two of
09:45these preferred bidders.
09:47And while painting a story of doom and gloom, she notes the $29.7 million increase in the
09:54entertainment allocation at the office of the Prime Minister for this fiscal year.
10:00She says even after half a trillion dollar expenditure by this administration over ten
10:06years, there has been nothing to show.
10:09In her three-hour and 40-minute delivery, Prasad Bisasar shared her intentions if elected
10:14into office.
10:15Among her plans are to expand the ambulance services to rural areas, establish a national
10:21cardiac center, finish the oncology center, review the CDAP listing, introduce a continuous
10:28assessment component of the SEA exam, establish a full-fledged technical vocational university
10:34and legislation for corporate manslaughter.
10:42But the finance minister explained the disparity in the figures via Twitter, saying, quote,
10:46it is shameful that the opposition leader does not know that the Green Fund and Unemployment
10:52Levy are not appropriated to the Consolidated Fund.
10:57We had a quick break.
10:58We'll have more news when we return.
11:05Welcome back.
11:08One day after Ansel Roger held a news conference and suggested that the government unfairly
11:13denied Patriotic a chance to run the refinery, Energy Minister Stuart Young took to the Parliament
11:19floor and said categorically that the reason Patriotic was not successful was because they
11:24had submitted a fraudulent proof-of-financing document to the Evaluation Committee.
11:30Energy Minister Stuart Young came to the Parliament dropping bombs today as he revealed that Patriotic
11:36was given not one, but two opportunities to show proof of their ability to finance the
11:41refinery's operations, at which point they provided a document for a large sum of money,
11:47all cash.
11:48Lo and behold, as part of that second opportunity is a document that I have in my hand here
11:54today that appears to be a swift message of a cash wire transfer of 1.5 billion US
12:04dollars on behalf of Patriotic Limited, Patriotic Energies and Technology Company Limited, receiving
12:15one and a half billion US dollars at a local bank in Trinidad.
12:21Stuart Young says further checks would reveal the document to be fraudulent.
12:25And I can stand here without fear of contradiction, here and outside, as I might do later on,
12:32and say it is not a real document, so therefore, unfortunately, they could not move forward
12:38because the document that was produced as proof of financials is not real.
12:44Fake, fraud, fraudulent.
12:47And that, Mr Deputy Speaker, through you, to the population, is the truth of why Patriotic
12:55couldn't make it.
12:56The Energy Minister's comments came one day after OW2 President General Ansel Roger suggested
13:02yet again that the government had unfairly dismissed Patriotic's refinery bid.
13:08Every unfair game must play over, yes, and rest assured, this is an unfair game.
13:16Attempts to reach Roger were unsuccessful.
13:19The Energy Minister also referenced the Dragon Gas and Coquina gas deals negotiated with
13:24Venezuela and called on the population to keep these in mind when they go to the polls.
13:30Do you think that the same President Maduro or the same Vice President Delcy Rodriguez,
13:35who now also carries the portfolio of Minister of Energy, would do business with the UNC?
13:41So picture this, what would happen to that future that the PNM government has secured
13:48for children from 2027?
13:50Because the Venezuelans do not need to continue with it if they don't like those who attack
13:56them weakly.
13:58The Energy Minister was speaking after the opposition leader made her post-budget contribution
14:03in which she accused the government of leading the country into a debt trap and of not properly
14:08managing the country's affairs.
14:11A narrative the Energy Minister summed up as a blatant untruth.
14:15There can be no better independent measurement of a government and of a country's fiscal
14:23stability than the IMF and the rating agencies.
14:28Having just completed an Article 4 by the IMF, as well as Standard & Poor's, Moody's,
14:34Carey Chris and Finch, this government has managed us very well and all have continued
14:42to give us the highest levels of ratings.
14:45In response, Patriotic Energy Services Limited said the cabinet-appointed Evaluation Committee
14:51and Scotiabank International both accepted its preferred financier.
14:56Patriotic also said that its preferred financier can stand the scrutiny of any due diligence
15:02process.
15:03Patriotic Energy Services Company Limited is a company owned by the Oilfields Workers
15:08Trade Union.
15:09The union, which represented workers at Petrotrin before that state-owned oil company, was restructured
15:15by the government into Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Limited.
15:18That move by the government in late 2018 resulted in the closure of the oil refinery in Pointer
15:24Pier.
15:25It remains closed.
15:27Patriotic previously sought to be the preferred bidder for the refinery but was unsuccessful.
15:34The government says the refinery will be restarted once a preferred bidder is selected following
15:39a tendering process which involves a cabinet-appointed Evaluation Committee and Scotiabank International.
15:46Patriotic again sought to be the preferred bidder.
15:48During the 2025 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Friday, the Energy Minister
15:53explained why Patriotic's second bid was not accepted as he referred to a document that
15:59he said appears to be a swift message of a cash wire transmission on behalf of Patriotic.
16:29On Saturday, Patriotic issued a statement in which it claimed that the statement made
16:48by Energy Minister Young in Parliament on Friday, October 4th, was misleading and mischievous.
16:55Patriotic said what the Minister presented on the Parliamentary cover was not Patriotic's
17:00financial partner that met with the Cabinet-appointed Evaluation Committee.
17:05Patriotic said the solely selected financier would have been submitted to the Evaluation
17:09Committee and Scotiabank International, which both accepted as Patriotic's preferred financier.
17:17Patriotic further said that the Evaluation Committee would have interviewed and vetted
17:20Patriotic's preferred financier and at no time did Scotiabank International or the Evaluation
17:26Committee raise any concern about the preferred financier.
17:31Patriotic emphasized that there was some level of comfort and satisfaction with the preferred
17:35financial partner.
17:37Patriotic says that they remain confident that their preferred financier can stand the
17:42scrutiny of any due diligence process and invites same.
17:48In his 2025 budget statement in the House of Representatives on Monday, September 30th,
17:53Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced that there is now a shortlist of three companies
17:57to restart the refinery via the evaluation process.
18:02They are the locally based CRO Consortium, Inca Energy LLC based in the USA, and Oando
18:08PLC, a company based in Nigeria.
18:12Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
18:16This is the past 7 days on 6.
18:26Thanks for staying with us.
18:28Three people were detained by police in relation to a case of child abuse last week.
18:33The three are all relatives of the toddler.
18:36When TV6 News spoke with Assistant Commissioner of Police Wayne Meister, he said he had received
18:41information on Wednesday afternoon about a physically abused one-year-old child in
18:46the Claxton Bay area.
18:48He said a team comprising officers from the TTPS's Child Protection Unit and Southern
18:53Division Task Force was immediately assembled and dispatched to the home.
18:59On arrival, I made observations and I observed that a one-year-old child lying on a bed with
19:07visible signs of physical violence.
19:11I instructed the task force and the officers of the Child Protection Unit to detain three
19:17persons, two females and a male, and they are presently assisting the Child Protection
19:23Unit with this investigation.
19:27The child was taken to hospital for both treatment and further assessment.
19:31TTP Meister on Thursday said around 70 per cent of murders in central and south Trinidad
19:37are related to instances of domestic violence, and thanks those who shared information on
19:42the case.
19:43I want to take this opportunity to thank the neighbours, persons close by who would have
19:48said, you know, seen something and they would have said something, and I want to urge members
19:53of the public to continue, as you see something, say something.
19:56We are not interested in your identity, we are just interested in the information.
20:01So let us know exactly what is taking place, don't just say it's a domestic issue.
20:09Meantime the president of the TNT Chamber of Industry and Commerce lamented that three
20:13foreign investors have shied away from this country because of the high level of crime.
20:18The chamber's president said this resulted in the loss of a couple million US dollars
20:24in foreign investment.
20:26The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce held its post-budget meeting
20:30on Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency, the day after the finance minister delivered the government's
20:35budget statement in the parliament for its new financial year.
20:40During the panel discussion, concerns were raised about two key issues with regard to
20:44economic activity in Trinidad and Tobago for fiscal 2025.
20:50Those concerns were raised by economist and former independent senator Amrita Deonarine.
20:55For some reason we always end up looping back to this problem of not only crime, but
21:03the problem of foreign exchange as well.
21:05Unless we lift or remove those two binding constraints or constraints to growth in our
21:12country, then all these policies, all the dedication that is going into crafting policies
21:19to diversify the economy, to attract foreign direct investment, to grow the labor force,
21:27to improve the quality of the labor force, to improve productivity in the country, it's
21:32not going to happen until we deal with those two issues.
21:37The moderator of the panel discussion, the chamber's president, Kiran Miraj, made a startling
21:42revelation regarding what she identified as potential investments in the local economy
21:47that did not occur.
21:49I know that we have lost investors because I have three cases now.
21:54Two weeks ago I had two, now I have a third case of investors saying the crime situation
22:00is one of the reasons why they don't want to come right now.
22:04You know, they're going to go somewhere else and they'll see what happens in two or three
22:07years if they're going to expand, they'll take a look at Trinidad.
22:11But we've lost a couple million U.S. as a result of that.
22:15So it is crippling us, no matter what anybody says it is, and we have to do something about it.
22:21Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced several new anti-crime measures for fiscal 2025, including
22:27the addition of 2,000 vehicles to the fleet of the police service over the next three
22:31years, with 500 vehicles expected in the first phase, and what he called a special anti-crime
22:38operation unit.
22:39The chamber's president said crime is an economic adversary that erodes the very foundation
22:44of the nation's prosperity.
22:47We know that there is no one solution.
22:49We need to launch an attack that addresses all the arms of this chaotic octopus.
22:55In my mind, I see eight arms, socioeconomic factors, law enforcement, legislation and
23:02judiciary, the prison system, community engagement, technology utilization, policy coordination,
23:11and education and youth prevention.
23:15But there were also expressions of optimism about the potential for investments.
23:19That was a focus of the presentation by Invest TT President Sekou Alain.
23:24Having sat as Invest TT President for some time, that aspect of competitiveness of Trinidad
23:29and Tobago from an investment standpoint, both for local and foreign, because local
23:33investors in Trinidad also invest in other regional destinations, has always been very
23:38important.
23:39And so the creation of the Trinidad and Tobago Trade and Investment Promotion Agency is a
23:45significant strengthening of the institutional framework for the facilitation of exports
23:51and the facilitation of investments.
23:54The Finance Minister had announced the recent establishment of a new state agency through
23:59the amalgamation of export and investment promotion services previously managed by state-owned
24:05companies, including Invest TT and Export TT.
24:09Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
24:13Sport is up next.
24:14Keep it here.
24:15In sport, the West Indies women enjoyed a disappointing start to their ICC Women's T20 World Cup campaign,
24:30falling to South Africa women by 10 wickets in their Group B opener in Dubai.
24:34Half-centuries from the South Africa team saw the Bruteers make a light work of South
24:38Africa's chase, reaching 1-9-10 without loss, with 13 balls to spare.
24:44West Indies lost the toss and were put in a bad by South Africa in their Women's T20
24:48World Cup opener in Dubai.
24:53Captain Hayley Matthews was caught behind of the bowling of Marizanne Kapp for 10.
24:57And Kiana Joseph was dismissed by non-Kululeko M. Laba for 4 to make it 18 for 2.
25:05Another key player in Deandra Doughton was dislodged for 13, with Kapp taking a second
25:09wicket.
25:11But M. Laba did most of the damage as she then removed Shemaine Campbell for 17 and
25:15Chanel Henry for 0.
25:18M. Laba ended with 4 for 29, her last wicket being that of Aaliyah Alleyne for 7.
25:23Stefanie Taylor would top score with an unbeaten 44 of 41 deliveries.
25:29And Zeda James hit 15 not out during their unbroken partnership of 35.
25:33West Indies closed on a modest 118 for 6 from their 20 overs.
25:38When the South Africans responded, Captain Laura Woolfart and Tasman Brits were the openers.
25:46They were feasting on the West Indies bowling while in pursuit of a small total.
25:51The ladies in maroon were unable to dislodge the pair.
25:58The two batted like champions and went on to register half-centuries.
26:06Woolfart got the winning run to end on 59 not out, while Brits was unbeaten on 57.
26:11The South Africans got to 119 for no loss in 17.5 overs to accomplish a 10 wicket win.
26:19And that's a wrap on the past 7 days on 6, I am Renessa Cutting.
26:25If you didn't catch this segment in its entirety, you can find it on our website www.tv6tnt.com
26:33and you can find all these stories and more on the TV6 mobile app.
26:37Thanks for choosing TV6 and do have a great evening.
26:48www.tv6tnt.com
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