00:00President of the United Farmers Union, Shiraz Khan, tells the TV6 Morning Edition that he is pleased to see attention given to agriculture in the budget.
00:11However, he expresses disappointment with a $1.13 billion allocation for the sector.
00:18He also laments the impact of criminal elements on the farming community.
00:23There's supposed to be some protectionism for our citizens in the country, whatever sector you're involved in.
00:29You cannot have people stealing out 10,000 pineapples on an evening when you work all day and you're resting.
00:38And then it's being sold on a market and you're seeing your own things being sold that you planted out for and nobody could identify.
00:45So we need to put things in place.
00:47Meanwhile, the vice president of the Manufacturers Association, Emil Ramkissoun, agreed that crime is a major issue.
00:54But he also raised concerns about foreign exchange.
00:58The Exim Bank facility, you know, it was fully supported in the finances and raw materials, providing that you export and bring back the furniture back into the country.
01:10So we're a bit unclear as to what was said in the budget in terms of where it was an allocation of its loan type facility.
01:18And the former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and former Finance Minister, Senator Vishnu Danpol is raising alarm over the 10% starting point in public servants' salary negotiations.
01:43While he says he is pleased for the workers, he recalls that years ago, when Watson Duke negotiated a 14% increase, the back pay of $6 billion fell onto the next government to absorb, increasing recurrent expenditure by roughly $150 million.
02:03After a quick review of this year's estimates, he notes that the additional recurrent costs of 10% are not reflected in the official deficit announced by the finance minister, raising serious questions about where the funds will come from.
02:19You're going to have to look at commercial banking or external commercial banking.
02:25You're going to have to look at the heritage and stabilization fund.
02:28This is not an ordinary amount of money.
02:31Right.
02:31And it's going to take some doing.
02:33So while I said I am happy for the public servants, don't celebrate too much yet.
02:40Work with the numbers.
02:42Work with the estimates of our expenditure and see if the numbers are in there.
02:46I haven't seen them.
02:47And financial economist Dr. Dave Seereton tells TV6 that the public has, for too long, felt ignored by the government.
02:57When asked about the $1 cut in super gasoline and not premium, he said, it seems the government aimed squarely at easing the burden on the ordinary citizen.
03:09Well, I think the logic is that super gas is used by people with cars that are not as expensive as those who have turbochargers, the Mercedes, BMWs and so on.
03:21So they're trying to give some relief to the people at the middle and lower income end of the spectrum.
03:29With regard to the 10 percent, Dr. Seereton says that wage increases are often viewed only as a cost control issue, but there's more to consider.
03:40The economist says middle and lower income families tend to spend a larger share of their earnings.
03:47So supporting them generates a bigger impact on overall economic activity through higher consumption and multiplier effects.
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