00:00Opposition MP Brian Manning maintains that the budget is misleading and fraudulent.
00:07He tells the Morning Edition unions have praised the 10% wage increase but remain silent on
00:13the higher retirement age and NIS contributions.
00:17He warns the increase will ultimately cost everyone including public servants and hints
00:24at an ulterior motive by the government.
00:27And also we believe that this government wants to have a reason to access the HSF fund within
00:32the next fiscal year. We are setting the stage for that by setting this improbable energy price,
00:39I believe it's in the budget here, at $73.25 per barrel and $4.25 per MMBTU. That is absolutely
00:47fantastic. There's no possible way that that is going to be achieved in this current global
00:53energy environment. Mr. Manning, who previously served as Minister in the Ministry of Finance
00:58under the PNM, says the country can expect limited revenue from the energy sector due to global price
01:05fluctuations and reduced production over the past several years.
01:10In fact, we have been so challenged in terms of revenues from the energy sector that this government
01:16would renege on its cancellation of the Dragon deal and decide to revisit that project which they
01:22had been battling against for the past decade. As soon as they get into office, they decide,
01:26you know what, let's rethink this Dragon deal because they are that desperate for revenues.
01:31Manning says securing the Dragon gas deal could benefit the country, Venezuela and the global economy.
01:38However, he expresses doubt that the current government can successfully see the effort through,
01:45citing what he describes as callous and thoughtless statements by several government officials,
01:52including the Prime Minister regarding Venezuela.
01:55Why would Venezuela want to negotiate with such persons in the situation that they are in? We had one
02:00minister talking about another one of our allies nuking Venezuela. How do you, you know,
02:08say something like that and then go look a world leader in the eye and attempt to negotiate a reasonable,
02:14mutually beneficial deal? It's difficult. I would be extremely surprised if this government can pull
02:21it off. I hope they can for the future of Trim Nara to be. On the scrapping of the CPEP and URP programs,
02:28the MP says local government services have collapsed since the new administration took office,
02:35saying, flooding has worsened, drains remain uncleaned, and garbage collection and grass cutting have
02:42suffered, services the CPEP once supported. He describes the move as a cost-cutting exercise
02:50driven by funding shortages in an attempt to uphold the 10% wage promise to the PSA. He also criticizes the
02:59scrapping as a vindictive attempt to dismantle what the government views as a PNM program. Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
Comments