00:00The first national budget under the new UNC administration will be presented on Monday, October 13th.
00:08Officials at the Finance Ministry are currently finalizing key documents and reports
00:12to support what will be Finance Minister Devindranath Tanku's first full fiscal package.
00:19Senior sources at the Ministry tell TV6 News the presentation is expected to be a lengthy one
00:25with a primary focus on what the UNC has described as widespread mismanagement under the previous P&M administration.
00:33It remains to be seen whether Minister Tanku will surpass the country's longest ever budget presentation,
00:40a record currently held by former Finance Minister Korm Imbit,
00:44who spoke for five hours and 44 minutes during the 2024-2025 budget on September 30th.
00:52As anticipation builds, sources remain tight-lipped on whether this budget,
00:57the first of five expected over the UNC's term, will include any goodies for the public.
01:04The government has consistently cited economic mismanagement by the P&M
01:09as the root cause of the current economic hole facing Trinidad and Tobago.
01:15While this is Tanku's first full budget, it is technically not his first fiscal intervention.
01:21In June 2025, he tabled a mid-year budget review, the Finance Supplementary Appropriation Bill,
01:28which added approximately $3.1 billion to national expenditure.
01:33Now, the crunch is on.
01:35Once presented on October 30th, the budget must be debated and passed by October 31st
01:42to allow for the President's assent.
01:44This is necessary to ensure government operations can continue,
01:49including salary payments, project funding, and essential services.
01:54Under parliamentary procedure, the opposition leader is entitled to respond
01:57three days after the presentation, making Friday, October 17th the likely date for her reply.
02:05With the Diwali holiday falling during the debate period,
02:08Parliament will have just nine weekdays to complete the debate in both houses
02:13and secure the President's assent.
02:16While Parliament typically does not meet on weekends,
02:19urgent circumstances could warrant additional sittings,
02:23effectively extending the window by four extra days if required.
02:27The original 2025 national budget presented by the PNM was set at $59.741 billion,
02:36with major allocations including health at $7.571 billion,
02:41education and training at $7.512 billion.
02:45However, with the UNC's mid-year revision, the total budget now stands at just under $63 billion.
02:53The expected deficit for the fiscal year is $9.67 billion.
02:59TV6 will bring you full coverage of the budget presentation on October 13th,
03:04as well as the ensuing debate.
03:06Arvishit Tawari, Rupinarayan, TV6 News.
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