Economist Vaalmikki Arjoon says he is not concerned about the budget date, despite worries raised by some. In fact, he also disagrees with those who believe the country may be heading to the International Monetary Fund.
00:00Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, former Finance Minister Vishnu Danpol warned the country may be heading to the International Monetary Fund.
00:11He says he is projecting revenues of $54 billion for 2026 and adds that without the government showing clear additional revenue streams, there may be no other alternative.
00:24However, economist Dr. Valmiki Arjun sees things differently.
00:29I don't think we need to go to the IMF just yet. In fact, I recall just yesterday, one of the opposition senators indicated that, or hinted rather, that we're likely to be on the way to the IMF.
00:41But I don't agree with this whatsoever. First of all, we still have over five months of import cover.
00:49We have a healthy heritage and stabilization fund. The Economic Data Park shows it to be in the vicinity of about $6.3 billion.
00:57Dr. Arjun admits that the country's oil and gas production levels are currently lower than before, and foreign reserves have also fallen.
01:07Still, he tells the Morning Edition that while the budget is being presented against this backdrop, the focus must remain on building revenue.
01:16He says he hopes the budget would focus more on high-multiply investments, giving more priority to the areas that would provide greater optimal returns for the government and, by extension, the country.
01:30Giving more priority, for example, to capital expenditure.
01:33Over the last decade, the last administration, in my view, respectfully, would have under-budgeted the capital expenditure.
01:40It averaged about $3.75 billion per year.
01:44It ideally should have been higher because capital expenditure is that type of expenditure, for example,
01:50is where you're focusing more on boosting urban and transport infrastructure, focusing more on boosting the infrastructure and equipment at the port.
01:59He notes that there are several avenues for boosting revenue, highlighting the manufacturing sector, which he says has shown consistent growth over the past few years.
02:11He says non-energy manufacturing has performed remarkably over the last decade, growing by about 35.2 percent.
02:19Last year alone, growth was 12.2 percent, and he says in the first quarter of this year, it jumped to 19.4 percent.
02:30Dr. Arjun adds much of the success comes from food processors, who saw a staggering 74 percent growth over the decade.
02:39He is suggesting the country begins to deeper explore pharmaceuticals.
02:44We don't necessarily have the expertise to manufacture pharmaceuticals here in TNT just yet.
02:48So they bring in the finalized drug, but we do the packaging here in TNT and then export to the United States.
02:58And after a few years, we move up to the active pharmaceutical ingredient coming into Trader and Tobago,
03:04and we complete the drug here, package it, export it.
03:07And then after a few years, we will then have the expertise to manufacture the complete pharmaceutical item here in TNT,
03:14package it, and then export it to the United States and even other markets.
03:18He adds that this strategy could attract more foreign direct investment and boost the local economy.
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