PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday declared nothing will distract her from ensuring that the country is protected against the dangers of falling global oil prices. Persad-Bissessar urged citizens “don’t panic” adding she will address the nation on the state of the economy and how Government will deal with falling oil prices next Thursday. She made this declaration at the final post-Cabinet news conference for 2014 at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, Chancery Lane, San Fernando. Persad-Bissessar also announced the House of Representatives will sit 24 hours later to debate the Finance Bill. When the House completes its debate on that legislation, Persad-Bissessar said she will hold consultations with stakeholders on the state of economy and the way forward. Persad-Bissessar, who left immediately after making her statement and took no questions from reporters at the briefing, declared in her speech, “I remain doubly focused on the task at hand. Attempts to distract my attention and energies from my responsibility to lead and manage the affairs of this nation will not deter me from my goal of a prosperous and secure nation.” Reiterating that she remains concerned about falling oil prices as the new year looms, the Prime Minister said, “I will speak to the nation on the state of the economy on January 8, 2015. I will address the issue of falling oil and gas prices and their implications for Trinidad and Tobago and outline the way forward in the year ahead.” She then announced that on January 9, “the Finance Bill will be debated in the House of Representatives.” Persad-Bissessar explained this bill will “give life and traction” to the measures announced in the $68 billion 2014/2015 Budget which Finance Minister Larry Howai presented in the House in September. The Prime Minister said she looked forward “with keen interest in the ideas and suggestions which the stakeholders and citizens will share as we deepen our partnership in the interest of a prosperous and secure” country. “In the mean time, feel secure in the fact that your Government is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and working with you in mind every single day,” she said. Reiterating there will be “no cut to affect the vulnerable and the underprivileged as well as health sector reform and crime fighting” and job creation remains high on Government’s agenda, Persad-Bissessar said in 1995 she was part of the United National Congress (UNC) administration under then Prime Minister Basdeo Panday which had to manage the country’s affairs against a background of low oil prices. “I am therefore not daunted by the current situation but instead feel very confident of our ability to mitigate the impacts of lower energy prices whilst preserving jobs and promoting economic growth,” she said. While telling reporters her Christmas season was “enriched by the thousands of happy faces of children” who interacted with her during her toy distribution drive, Persad-Bissessar did not speak about the controversial billboards bearing her face, that were erected during the season. “Those happy faces gave me inspiration and the strength to continue to do the best that I can for our country and our people and to work harder with the next generation in mind,” she said. With general elections due next year, Persad-Bissessar said as she reaches the end of her first term as Prime Minister, the country “is in a better place than when I inherited the responsibility for its administration.” Reiterating that the People’s Partnership (PP) coalition has been “the most scrutinised administration” in the country’s political history, Persad-Bissessar boasted, “We enjoy today political stability, economic growth, financial stability, lower levels of poverty, and increased financial support for pensioners and the vulnerable in our society.” She said under the PP, 75 labour agreements were settled; the subsidy on gas prices has been maintained; social welfare benefits have increased; universal childhood education has been advanced and the public can look forward to improvements in health care with the opening of the Children’s Hospital in Preysal by mid-2015. “All of this has been achieved without any new taxes (personal and corporate) in the last five years,” Persad-Bissessar boasted.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 16:35:22 +0000
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