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  • 5 months ago
The fiscal deficit ballooned to 9.7 billion, as the government sought more money to run the country

Government members joined the labour movement for Labour Day celebrations

and the Finance Minister warned the country to keep an eye out for counterfeit bills
Transcript
00:00In sport, cyclist Nicholas Paul took gold in the elite men's sprint final at the National
00:09Velodrome, competing at the Carnival of Speed event. Paul had a tough journey to the final
00:15after he defeated Kwesi Brown 2-1 in the semi-final, before beating Great Britain,
00:21Hailey Marcus, by a similar margin.
00:23Here goes Paul now, Paul starting to wind up that game, starting to take things a little
00:31differently now. Paul, off the saddle, now he sits and there he goes, Nicholas Paul is
00:40just going to drop the hammer on Hailey. Nicholas Paul is on his way, racing. Hailey has stayed
00:49with him, but Nicholas Paul, too strong.
00:54And the TNT men's football team will take on Saudi Arabia tonight for their chance to progress
01:00in the CONCACAF World Cup. Coach Dwight York shared his sentiments ahead of the game.
01:07Trinidad and Tobago lost 5-0 to the USA before drawing 1-1 with Haiti in Group D of the CONCACAF
01:13World Cup. They are now in a must-win situation against Saudi Arabia come Sunday. Coach Dwight
01:18York wants TNT to play on the front foot, saying that the team often gets off to a slow start.
01:24We are a reactive team rather than a proactive team. So we need to be better at that. Certainly
01:30at the beginning of the game, we seem to end relatively well. So we need to sort of turn
01:37that around in many respects. We need to start well from the beginning. And I think if we have
01:41a little bit more self-belief, a little bit more self-confident, play football, that's the way I know
01:47this team can play and the ability that we have within the team, it's just to have a little bit
01:52more courage and to trust each other, I will say. Having been a player himself, York understands what
01:58it's like performing under pressure. Even though things have not gone TNT's way, the coach is pleased
02:03with the energy in the camp.
02:04The morality within the team and the spirit within the team is relatively high. And as you said, if anyone
02:11said to us that we have an outside chance when this group was first obviously drawn, going into the
02:18last game, if one said that we were going to have a chance to get to the quarter-final stage, I think
02:24that's just so much of a plus and everything to play for. Looking back at the clash against Haiti,
02:30the friend speaking country missed a penalty, which could have ended TNT's campaign. But York has put
02:36that behind him. We could have easily have lost the game and we won't be having this conversation of
02:41being in the competition. However, in football, you need a little bit of luck. It gives us a little bit
02:45impetus going in, a little bit more encouragement in terms of, you know, there's still that possibility
02:51of really qualifying. So there's a lot on this game. York says competing against quality teams at the
02:57Gold Cup is a big plus, as the TNT players soon have to focus on preparations for the
03:03FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
03:03And that's a wrap on the past seven days on six. I am Renessa Cutting. If you didn't catch
03:12this segment in its entirety, you can find it on our website, www.tv6tnt.com. And you can find all
03:20these stories and more on the TV6 mobile app. Thanks for choosing TV6 and do have a great evening.
03:27good evening.
03:35Thank you for joining us.
03:48Good evening and welcome to the past seven days on six.
04:02I am Renessa Cutting.
04:04Here's what made the news this past week.
04:07The fiscal deficit ballooned to $9.7 billion
04:10as the government sought more money to run the country.
04:14Government members joined the labor movement for Labor Day celebrations
04:18and the finance minister warned the country to keep an eye out for counterfeit bills.
04:25As for usual, if it was happening, it was on six.
04:28Let's get right into it.
04:30The finance minister delivered his first mid-year budget reading last week
04:34in which the government sought an additional $3.4 billion to manage the country's affairs.
04:41But the finance minister said the UNT-led government will fix the ballooning deficit
04:46as he made a major announcement regarding the foreign exchange challenges.
04:51The reason we are here today, Mr. Speaker, is to seek a supplementary appropriation of $3.14 billion.
04:57And the reason for that is simple.
04:59We are forced to supplement a P&M budget.
05:05This is not our shortfall.
05:07This is the latest chapter in the P&M's long history of serial under-budgeting.
05:12Finance minister Devendranath Tanku delivering his first statement
05:16for the mid-year review of the government's budget
05:18since the UNC and its coalition of interests won the 2025 general election on April 28th.
05:25And he made a major announcement as he gave his assessment of the state of the economy.
05:30We will take no advice from those on the opposite side who have collapsed this economy.
05:38We have a plan.
05:39We know how to fix it.
05:40And we will fix it, Mr. Speaker.
05:44Mr. Speaker, to address persistent foreign exchange shortages,
05:47we will collaborate with the necessary stakeholders to establish a foreign exchange allocation committee
05:53to bring greater transparency, equity and strategy to the allocation of scarce foreign exchange resources.
06:00The 2024-2025 budget passed by both Houses of Parliament last year
06:06during the former P&M-led government had a projected deficit of $5.517 billion.
06:14Our estimation for oil and gas prices to the end of fiscal year 2025 is $66 per barrel
06:22and $5 per MMBTU.
06:26With this and other adjustments, we anticipate a decrease in total revenue of $556.7 billion
06:34with an overall result on fiscal deficit for 2025 of $9.67 billion.
06:43That is the P&M legacy, Mr. Speaker.
06:46That is there, $9.67 billion.
06:51The theme of the 2025 budget under the former P&M administration was
06:56Steadfast and Resolute, Forging Pathways to Prosperity.
07:01Given the state of the economy at present, we are forced to fund this increased deficit
07:07principally by our borrowings on the local capital market
07:11as well as by drawing down on existing multilateral facilities.
07:15Mr. Speaker, we will work assiduously to improve the revenue mobilization capacity
07:22of the Inland Revenue Division.
07:24Last week, the House of Representatives, via the government's majority,
07:28passed the repeal of the Trinidad and Tobega Revenue Authority
07:32established by the former P&M-led government.
07:36Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
07:38Meanwhile, former finance minister Colm Inbert warned the government
07:42that it is heading down a dangerous path in relation to its high budgetary spending.
07:49Inbert said the future of the oil and gas industry is in jeopardy
07:52based on what has been transpiring recently,
07:55compounded by what he stated is a projection by Standard & Poor's
08:00of declining hydrocarbon resources.
08:03I wouldn't even bother with the statements made by the Honorable Prime Minister
08:08about gas from Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, Wales, from Barbados,
08:16because that has already been debunked by the governments of those countries.
08:23There is no gas to come from Venezuela, and they seem to be happy and gleeful about that.
08:28Happy and gleeful. In fact, they seem to want to go to war with Venezuela.
08:36Inbert cited projections made in 2024 by the IMF,
08:41saying that the UNC met over seven months of import cover,
08:45compared to the international standard of just three months.
08:49According to him, buffers like the Heritage and the Stabilization Fund
08:53were rated at around 20% of gross domestic product.
08:57But he suggests that the situation will change in the future and not for the better,
09:03saying a lot of the revenue sources have been scrapped,
09:05including property tax, amid a long list of campaign promises.
09:10If they do what they say they are going to do,
09:14you're going to have a ballooning of public expenditure up to $70 billion a year,
09:19and you're not going to collect more than $50 billion.
09:21And therefore, they're going to be putting this country into a tailspin.
09:26I am certain that when the rating agencies come again,
09:31we are certainly going to lose our investment-grade rating.
09:35We had to a quick break. We'll have more news when we return.
09:38Welcome back.
09:46The government, headed by Prime Minister Kamala Fasad-Basasa,
09:50joined the trade union leaders for their Labor Day celebrations in Fisabad last week.
09:55Fasad-Basasa announced that a committee is to be set up
09:58to look into restarting the pointer pair refinery,
10:01and the date has been given for a report to be handed over to the government.
10:06The trade unions formed part of the United National Congress' election campaign
10:11and mounted the political platform of Prime Minister Kamala Fasad-Basasa.
10:15Well, she has mounted this at the Labor Day celebrations
10:18at the Charlie King Junction in Fisabad,
10:21announcing a plan that takes one of her campaign promises one step closer
10:25to the intention she signaled.
10:27That has to do with the reopening of the Petrotrin refinery in Pointe-Pay.
10:32Fasad-Basasa said places like Pointe-Forte in La Brea and Fisabad,
10:36depended on the refinery, apart from the 5,000-plus workers she outlined
10:40that were placed on the bread line.
10:43What we have done as a government,
10:46we have agreed to establish a committee
10:50to develop a strategy to reactivate the Guaracara refinery.
10:55Your representatives will be on that committee together with other experts.
11:06But we have to go in there and assess what is there before we can go forward.
11:12So do I have your permission to set up this committee
11:15to explore the strategies for opening that refinery, reopening it?
11:20Do I have your permission?
11:22Fasad-Basasa brought with her what she said was a Cabinet note outlining the plan.
11:27She did not read it, but she did add some more details.
11:30The intent is, as I discussed with Comrade Roger,
11:33for us to put the committee in place as soon as possible
11:37to give us a report within two months, at least within two months,
11:41an interim board for us to go forward.
11:44The Prime Minister also committed to developing a workers' agenda,
11:48which leader of the joint trade union movement, Ansel Roger, spoke more to.
11:52He said it is very much in focus,
11:54and there are plans to change several aspects
11:57of what the working class is dealing with at present.
12:01The commitment to end the proliferation of contract work
12:05in the public service and statutory borders and other state enterprises.
12:11The commitment to amend labor legislation
12:14in the shortest possible time
12:17to ensure trade union successorship
12:20at key state enterprises and state agencies.
12:24He further said there is a commitment to better wage increases
12:26for workers, another one of the UNC's campaign promises.
12:30There's a commitment to settling all outstanding negotiations,
12:36starting with the offer of no less than 10%
12:39with the consolidation of COLA.
12:43We're all going to work.
12:45We're all going to work together
12:47and exercise whatever is necessary
12:52to ensure that that happens.
12:54And while a time frame has not been set
12:57for when this will come to fruition,
12:59President of the Public Services Association, Felicia Thomas,
13:02said she's expecting the wage increases
13:05for public servants around September or October of this year.
13:09It's around the time the new government
13:11will present its first budget to the country
13:13since being elected.
13:15Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
13:17And two years after an incident
13:20at the Nyquan Energy Plant
13:22claimed the life of a Massey Energy employee,
13:25the incident report was laid in the parliament
13:27on the anniversary of his death.
13:30In keeping with the Order of Justice Avicent Quinlan Williams,
13:33who just over a week ago
13:35quashed the Energy Ministry's decision
13:37to withhold the 2023 Nyquan incident report,
13:40it is being made public.
13:42Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand the final report
13:46and this report has been laid in the parliament.
13:49It's a victory for the widow of Allen Lane Ramkissoun,
13:52Sarah Ramkissoun,
13:53who took the ministry to court
13:54over the refusal to make her privy
13:56to the incident report
13:57surrounding the death of her husband.
14:00Energy Minister Dr. Rudal Munilal said
14:02before the tragedy,
14:04the Nyquan plant was experiencing problems,
14:06including low production rates, product quality,
14:09and there was instability of a fractionating column,
14:12which is a long tube with a temperature gradient,
14:15separating different liquids
14:17based on their boiling points.
14:19Nyquan was attempting to address these issues
14:21through means such as modification procedures.
14:24According to Dr. Munilal,
14:26between June 12th and 13th, 2023,
14:30Nyquan workers noticed a hotter than usual column
14:32and then a leak at the bottom of the column on June 14th.
14:36On June 14th, the Nyquan operators
14:39and contractor team determined
14:41that there was no major activity that night
14:43and there would not be any hot works required.
14:45The team then undertook a review
14:48of the work carried out early in the day.
14:50That night, Ramkissoun, a father of two,
14:53and the husband of Sarah Ramkissoun,
14:55was replacing a nitrogen hose.
14:58There was no instruction to turn off the valve
15:01prior to removal of this line.
15:04Mr. Ramkissoun removed the hose
15:08and was awaiting the steam hose to connect
15:10at the same point.
15:12It was at 12.55 a.m. that colleagues heard
15:14Mr. Ramkissoun cry for help
15:16and saw that he was engulfed in flames.
15:20Despite receiving treatment locally and in Colombia,
15:22Ramkissoun died on June 18th, 2023, Father's Day.
15:27Mr. Speaker, the potential causes for the fire
15:31included the movement of flammable contents
15:33from the wax storage tank to the nitrogen steam hose inlet.
15:38In conclusion, the report made several findings.
15:42There are 15 findings in the report
15:44and recommendations for improving.
15:47However, Dr. Muni Lal said
15:49there's nothing to implement as Nyquan Energy
15:51is in receivership.
15:53He accused the former administration
15:54of spending in excess of $68,000 taxpayer dollars
15:58for external legal counsel
16:00to deny the man's widow access to the report.
16:03But former Energy Minister Stuart Young stated
16:05that it is a draft ministry report
16:08which excludes the comments of Nyquan
16:10would equate to a breach of Nyquan's constitutionally enshrined right
16:19to equality before the law
16:21and protection of the law.
16:24Dr. Muni Lal said the decision was unadvised
16:26from Attorney General John Jeremy
16:28and this is what followed.
16:30Despite the government bench calling
16:38for Young's statement to be withdrawn
16:40it was not heard by the Speaker
16:42and so the members were encouraged to move on.
16:45Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
16:49This is the past 70s on 6.
16:52Thanks for staying with us.
17:01Two business owners called on the government
17:03to have increased security features
17:05on polymer notes
17:06but the halting of the printing
17:07of the new $100 bills has more.
17:10Counterfeit with the new money
17:11and over and over it has not stopped.
17:16Businessman Gari Aboud is raising concerns
17:18over the circulation of counterfeit $100 bills
17:21in the market.
17:22This is new counterfeit money
17:24that I got yesterday.
17:26If you look at the two bills
17:28you can see this is the legitimate bill.
17:31Now the infrared shows up the green
17:34of the watermark.
17:36Look at the counterfeit.
17:37It does not have the green watermark.
17:41So the colour is slightly darker.
17:45The $100 doesn't show through this mark here.
17:47Look at it here.
17:48The $100 throws through in the watermark.
17:50His concerns come as the government
17:52has instructed the central bank
17:54to halt printing of the new $100 polymer bill
17:57which was to feature the redesigned coat of arms
18:00with the steel pan
18:01in place of Columbus' ships.
18:04Our new government have said
18:06that they're halting the new bills
18:08with the new idea of changing the coat of arms.
18:13Okay, we support that.
18:16We support that.
18:18But put other features in
18:20that stop people from stealing from our poor.
18:24The man who only get in a couple hundred dollars a week
18:27and the bank doesn't take it
18:28might lose 30% of his earnings.
18:33Meantime, coordinator of the Confederation
18:35of Regional Business Chambers,
18:37Jai Lillard-Harsing,
18:39is echoing Abood's call,
18:40though he admits
18:41that his membership has not reported any increase
18:44in the circulation of counterfeit notes.
18:46Usually, the banks have to hold those counterfeit notes
18:49and call the police and give it to them.
18:53And then, of course,
18:53the police conducts their investigation thereafter.
18:57What is interesting is that the polymer notes
18:59were created and replaced the coat notes
19:01because that was put in place to mitigate
19:05and as much as possible prevent counterfeit.
19:08So we in the Confederation are a bit surprised
19:11to see that the counterfeiters
19:13have found a way to imitate these notes.
19:17It's quite disturbing.
19:19The government has not disclosed a reason
19:21for the decision to stop the printing of the notes.
19:24On behalf of the business community,
19:26I would call on the government.
19:28I would like the government
19:28to level with the population,
19:31the business community
19:32and all other important stakeholders
19:34what's really happening with the $100 notes.
19:37It appears to also,
19:39there's a little matter of the coat of arms.
19:41Not at the coat of arms.
19:42We changed the coat of arms,
19:44but maybe they are detecting the counterfeit
19:46because of how the coat of arms is designed,
19:50maybe by the counterfeiters
19:52that people are picking it up.
19:53I'm making an assumption here
19:55and that if that is the case,
19:57they may have to do some reprinting
19:59in order to mitigate that.
20:02How it is done,
20:04I cannot give the methodology,
20:06but what I can tell you
20:07is that this must be addressed immediately
20:10because this could cause further losses in business.
20:12The finance minister is urging members of the public
20:15to stay vigilant
20:16and to report every instance
20:18in which counterfeit currency is encountered.
20:22What is required now
20:23is an even more vigilant population
20:27to ensure that these criminals
20:29who are engaged in counterfeiting our currency
20:31are caught and put to justice.
20:33The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago
20:36has issued on several occasions
20:38the safety features
20:40associated with the currency of Trinidad and Tobago.
20:42I urge citizens to familiarize themselves
20:45with those safety features
20:47and to familiarize themselves
20:48with some of the defects
20:50that are currently present
20:51in the counterfeit currency circulating.
20:54I urge citizens to report every instance
20:58in which fake currency is found in their possession,
21:02to pay close attention
21:03to who they are getting currencies from
21:05and to ensure that together
21:07we can stop this nasty trend
21:09of counterfeit currency.
21:11Meantime, citizens are being encouraged
21:13to invest in anti-theft devices
21:15for their vehicles
21:17after at least six cars were stolen
21:19over a 24-hour period last week.
21:22The incidents occurred in South and East Trinidad.
21:26Car thieves went on a rampage this week,
21:29stealing at least six vehicles in 24 hours
21:32in South and East Trinidad.
21:35The first incident occurred
21:36in the San Fernando Police District
21:38involving a silver Nissan AD wagon
21:41valued at $45,000.
21:44In the Gasparillo Police District,
21:46a 28-year-old pharmacist
21:48discovered a dark-ray Kia Cerato
21:50valued at $103,000 missing.
21:54The vehicle was later found stripped in San Juan.
21:58In Valencia,
21:58silver Nissan B-14
22:00valued at $10,000
22:01was reported stolen
22:03from an open yard at Paradise Lane.
22:06Meantime,
22:07in the Tunapuna Police District,
22:08a white Nissan Tida
22:10valued at $35,000
22:11was stolen
22:12in Monte Grande, St. Augustine
22:14and later recovered damaged
22:17at Venus Drive in Mucoya.
22:18While in Arima,
22:20two Nissan Tidas
22:21valued at $35,000 each
22:24was stolen.
22:25Former sergeant
22:26with the stolen vehicles unit,
22:28Christopher Swamba,
22:29says
22:29if the TTPS
22:31were to get to the bottom
22:32of car stealing,
22:33the police would make huge inroads
22:35in other forms of crime.
22:37And this is not a crime
22:39to take lightly.
22:40It is a serious thing.
22:41To commit a murder,
22:42you need a vehicle.
22:45To commit a larceny,
22:46you need
22:46you commit a kidnapping,
22:49robberies,
22:50and the list goes on.
22:51Anything you want to do,
22:53you have to have
22:54mobility
22:54and you're looking
22:56for the fastest cars
22:57that you're getting
23:00and colors
23:01that will blend in
23:02with the regular colors.
23:04You won't go out
23:04and steal a red car
23:06or you'll go out
23:07to a green car.
23:07You're looking for a white
23:08or a silver,
23:10you know,
23:10that will blend in.
23:11He believes
23:12improving public trust
23:13and confidence
23:14will go a long way
23:16for the TTPS.
23:17Intelligence
23:18is very, very important.
23:20You must have
23:20proper information.
23:22How you get information
23:23is from an informant
23:24and you have to use
23:25that information
23:27to turn it into
23:29intelligence,
23:31you're intelligent,
23:32and the information
23:34you're coming
23:34that you're getting
23:35from your intelligence,
23:36you can now use it
23:38as evidence
23:40in matters.
23:42He's offering
23:43the following advice
23:44to vehicle owners.
23:45So the safest thing
23:46is to get
23:47that brakes pedal lock.
23:50The gear shifter
23:52that you have,
23:52the automatic,
23:53that people lock in,
23:54that doesn't really
23:55make sense.
23:56Another thing,
23:57if you're parking
23:57in a public car park,
23:58what you can use
23:59is the steering lock.
24:00You can use
24:01one across the steering
24:02that they sell
24:03at these parts place.
24:05Use it across.
24:07The only way,
24:08the only way
24:09they can remove that
24:10is by cutting it
24:11and no car thief
24:12want to spend time
24:13to alert the public
24:15that something
24:16is happening
24:17in that vehicle.
24:18Or you can use two,
24:20one,
24:20to lock the steering
24:21and one,
24:21to lock from the steering
24:22to eat your foot brake.
24:24Sport is up next.
24:25Keep it here.
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