INTRODUCTION/ VISION
Mr. Speaker, it is written in the good book "where there is no vision a people perish". Proverbs: 29:18. After 22 months, 2 budgets, 3 junior Ministers of Finance and 50 billion dollars, it is painfully obvious that the PNM has no vision for Trinidad and Tobago and absolutely no idea of how to prepare and position this country to face the challenges of globalization and the inevitable economic tidal wave of liberalization that is taking over the world.
What is there in this Budget Speech to answer? It really says nothing. Whatever else a Budget may be it is certainly not merely a statement of income and expenditure; of so much more money for this and so much more money for that. At this particular time one would have expected the Budget to address basic concerns in the society, the critical elements that have been missing in our quest to build a prosperous nation with happy people.
Mr. Speaker, I have been a Member of this honourable house for 27 years. In those 27 years, I have witnessed many a budget presentation and many a budget debate. Those 27 years of service in this honourable chamber have led me to two inescapable conclusions about the PNM and their approach to governance, life, and economic development.
As far as governance is concerned their strategy is to divide and rule.and they do it blatantly, shamelessly and without apology. It is a strategy in total contra-distinction to that of the UNC, which is one of national unity, inclusion and the removal of all forms of discrimination in the society. Theirs, Mr. Speaker, is a dangerous strategy. It is one that is ripping this nation apart. This population is polarized, as never before, with the inevitable consequence that national, social and economic life is moving backwards at an unprecedented rate.
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to life and economic management, their philosophy is: "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may never come". We can see it in their reckless spending, their lack of accountability and in their brazen sharing of largesse among their friends, families, wives and top supporters.
These Mr. Speaker, are the common threads that run through all PNM budgets. After listening to the Prime Minister's budget speech I can't help but be reminded of the old adage: "The more things change, the more they remain the same".
When the UNC was in government, we presented 7 national budgets. Each budget was part of an overall plan for the economic development of Trinidad and Tobago, and each budget built on its predecessor and laid the foundation for its successor. There was continuity from budget to budget. Each budget of the UNC was informed by and based on a clear vision that the UNC had for Trinidad and Tobago.
That vision, Mr. Speaker was "to transform Trinidad and Tobago into a knowledge-based society with a globally competitive, technologically driven, diversified economy that will sustain full employment, growing prosperity, equal opportunity, a secure life, social cohesion, and the highest standard of living for all citizens". I emphasize ALL.
It is a vision of T&T achieving its true potential and taking its place among the great nations of the world. It is a vision for the future, in a world where the philosophy of comparative advantage has given way to the imperative of competitive advantage. It is a vision of ensuring that our country is equipped with the requisite intellectual capital that will enable it to take part in the new knowledge driven global economy. Most of all it is a vision for ensuring that T&T participates meaningfully in mainstream of the new world economy.
Where? Tell me where in this Budget Speech is such a vision. 20/20 is a slang word, like Anaconda, Baghdad, collateral damage, traditional kidnappers. Did you know that the concept of Vision 20/20 was taken from the Malaysian Government; Anaconda, Baghdad, and collateral damage form the Americans during the invasion of Iraq? I think the Prime Minister should stop looking at CNN.
The 2004 budget Mr. Speaker, can best be described as a glorified shopping list. One gets the impression that the Minister of Finance asked each of his ministries to prepare a list of things they think the people would buy and be merely pruned that list to fit the amount of money he estimates he will have to spend. There is no coherent strategy that informs the budget, and the priorities that have been identified are only the most obvious, even to the uninitiated, while he avoids the real issue.
If the population were to ask itself, will I be safer tomorrow, will my job be more secure or will I have a job at all; how will I be directly affected by this budget, will the quality of my life improve? The only sure answer will be:
· I am sure that if I exercise my democratic right to march and protest, then the Riot Squad which will be better armed will be better able to brutalize me;
· I will have to pay more for gas; and
· It just might be possible that the Hon. PM has woken up for he has finally admitted that under his watch, crime has become a problem bigger than any other that T&T has ever had to face.
GLOBAL CHALLENGES / ISSUES/ MILLENNIUM OBJECTIVES
Mr. Speaker, the challenges of the global economy to Trinidad and Tobago and, indeed, the entire CARICOM region are:
· the challenge of the knowledge based economy which brings with it the challenge of equipping our citizens with the attitudes, values and skills to participate at the upper end of this economy;
· the challenge of global competition on a scale never before witnessed in the history of the world; trade negotiating skills and dispute resolution skills have become national imperatives in this situation;
· the challenge of innovation and the convergence of new technologies;
· the challenge of bridging the digital divide; and lastly, but by no means least,
· the challenge to create sustainable economic growth and alleviate poverty.
It is not about more money for corruption in CEPEP and NHA and URP!
Mr. Speaker we will not win in the new economic game merely by being the low cost labor supplier. We will win only if we are the country with the highest productivity. This means that our human resources are our most important resource for competing in the future and, therefore, our major challenge is to position our people to be among the most productive in the world.
And you are not going to do that putting a man to stand up by the side of the road in a blue uniform with a whacker in his hand.
Mr. Speaker, to better understand how we can position and prepare our country to meet these challenges, we must first have an appreciation of the international economic and geo-political environment that characterizes the world. The future of our country and, indeed, our region depends on our ability to interpret and forecast the international environment as it relates to the global economics. We must identify the major issues and deal with them.
Mr. Speaker, the major global issues of the day are:
· terrorism;
· trade liberalization;
· AIDS;
· growing levels of poverty;
· deterioration of the environment; and
· financial liberalization and the consequent international regulation of the trade in financial services that will follow.
The impact of SARS and the geo-political uncertainties caused by America's presence in Iraq have led to a slowing down of industrial production and trade growth. (IMF World Economic Outlook Sept. 2003)
In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the United States has waged an incessant war on terrorism with the military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, so far, being the high points of that war. The war on terror, coupled with domestic problems in Nigeria and in neighboring Venezuela, has made the international energy markets more volatile. The coming of Iraqi oil on the market will not be without its consequences.
Mr. Speaker, at home, the challenge of crime on an unprecedented scale has us all living in jail. The assault on the business community will make every young person, especially those of Indian descent, think twice, maybe ten times, before getting into business. It is as though there is a concerted strategy in motion for ensuring that the next generation refrains from business as a profession. For the young Indo-Trinidadian what he/she can expect is kidnapping and rape, and for the Afro-Trinidadian youth it is murder and mayhem. They are both victims of a government without a vision.
The worst part of it all is the lack of resolve on the part of the Government to deal with crime. Indeed, as we watch our country spiral into lawlessness, the Prime Minister continues to keep bad company. He dignifies these friends of his with the title of community leaders, and his Party hires them to terrorise the Opposition or corruptly run the government projects.
He and his Minister of National security continue to assume that the population has no intelligence and so bury their heads in the sand and pretend that average citizens are not affected by crime. They justify their incompetence by telling us that we should be happy because other places of the world have more crime. I wonder if this PM knows that majority of the population people are of the view that the Government actively promotes crime against people who are not PNM supporters.
Mr. Speaker, the most visible sign of maturity is people taking responsibility for themselves. On the matter of crime, the Minister of National Security and his Prime Minister blame everything and everyone else but themselves for the crime situation. It does not seem to have dawned on them that they are now in Government and that they are responsible. They do not seem to know that the population has put them there to find solutions. It is all part of the PNM mindset that says that accountability is merely an abstract concept. It is also the explanation for their failure to even attempt to account for Government spending. They believe they could hide their own corruption by accusing others of corruption.
These are the challenges and the issues that define our reality. The UNC, Mr. Speaker, was well on its way to ensuring that Trinidad and Tobago prepared itself for these challenges but, as fate would have it, on the 24th of December 2001, the former President of the Republic in flagrant violation of the Constitution selected a PNM Government. I suppose some people feel that two tax- free cars and the payment of medical bills justify this kind of thing. I call it morality and spirituality redefined. But we must not despair. It is said that democracy is not merely a system of government; it is also a learning process. The people have chosen they say. And by God! The people are learning.
IMF REPORT 2003/ EXCESSIVE SPENDING
Today, sadly, the country is once more held hostage by the slash and burn economic policies of the PNM. The same slash and burn policies and ideas that they practiced in the 1970's and early eighties when they presided over the oil boom of 1973 to 1983 have again resurfaced. The names have changed but the story is the same. PNM ideas of 2003 are the same old ideas of 1973. Instead of Special Works we now have CEPEP and NHA. Instead of oil boom we now have gas boom.
Again, Mr. Speaker just like they did in the 1970's, with disastrous social consequences, the PNM's focus is on an aggressive and accelerated housing program, geared not at providing relief for persons native to the communities where the projects are located but geared at house padding for the next general election. Anyone who has any knowledge of the kind of conflict and violence such a policy has caused on the West Bank between Israel and Palestine would tread warily with such a plan.
As George Bernard Shaw says: "A Government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." I don't think he was referring to Reverend Paul.
Mr. Speaker, one only has to read the IMF Article IV Consultation -Staff Report to see that the Opposition is not alone in its observation of the reckless and wild spending of the PNM since their return to government in 2001. In the IMF report, they caution the PNM about increasing non-discretionary spending. Listen to what the Report says (and I quote):
"The government needs to avoid the pitfalls from previous oil booms (wasteful inefficient, spending) and consider sustainable consumption in the context of the country's energy wealth."
That, Mr. Speaker, is the International Monetary Fund reminding the PNM of their sins during the oil boom when others described us as having a "carnival mentality" with "money passing through us as a dose of salts".
The report goes on further to say:
" On current trends, proven reserves could be depleted within 10 years, a relatively short period. Furthermore, the future oil price trajectory may be less favorable than currently envisaged which would further deteriorate fiscal revenue prospects."
The IMF further warns that (and I quote):
" There is a risk that public spending may be inefficient and unproductive as occurred in earlier oil booms, and crowd out the employment generating non-energy sector. Public expenditures should be tempered to what can be effectively and efficiently be spent, consistent with the country's absorptive capacity"
Mr. Speaker, in spite of all of this advice, untrammeled and wild government spending has again been inflicted on the country since the PNM assumed office some 22 months ago.
Apart from a few painted and neatly ordered stones we have little or nothing to show for the almost 35 billion dollars that the Government has spent, and for which there has been no accountability. In fact, Mr. Speaker the Prime Minister's philosophy is that instead of saving money to guarantee long-term economic stability he intends to spend that money on infrastructure. However, one is confused, as there is little or no evidence of infrastructural development taking place, even though hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent.
If one were to look around the country, one would note that there has been little or no improvement to the nation's infrastructure under the PNM and no significant capital investment projects. Where did all that money go?
In the last budget, the largest allocation went to Education and the second largest to Health, both critical service delivery areas. However, it is noteworthy that there was no construction of single new schools to serve the ever-expanding demand for education; there was no construction of hospitals and health centers. One wonders if the PNM can to build anything at all. We know they can pull down roofs. The Prime Minister, by his own admittance, has told us that the PSIP for 2002/2003 was a failure. (ND: August 29th 2003).
INCOMPETENCE IN GOVERNANCE
In all areas of governance, this government has demonstrated a remarkable capacity for incompetence especially in the areas of Economic Management, Health, Education, National Security and in the Office of the Attorney General.
The Ministers of Health, Education, National Security and the Attorney General in particular have all bungled their respective portfolios from one crisis to another demonstrating in each case an incompetence so incomprehensible that one is left with no other conclusion but that they are simply not up to the task at hand.
Mr. Speaker, in the area of Education, we read in the Guardian Newspapers of Sunday September 21st 2003, that the Ministry of Education has failed to pay monies to private secondary schools for children that were assigned to those schools. By failing to do so this Minister of Education has put the UNC vision for universal secondary education in Trinidad and Tobago is in jeopardy and uncertainty. Even in the area of providing "breakfasses" for our school children this Minister has bungled her portfolio causing severe deterioration in the school feeding programme, which the UNC had built up as one of the best in the Western Hemisphere.
In Health, the Minister of Confrontation and Conflict has been such a dismal and unprecedented failure that the Prime Minister had to call in the Minister of Public Administration - a non-elected Senator -- to handle the dispute with doctors. That was clear indication of who is really running the country. Even so the importation of doctors from Cuba to meet the increasing demand for medical professionals was another example of their myopia in solving the problems in our country. This is another stopgap measure of the PNM, a short-term solution to a long-term problem. A solution would of course be to expand the intake of the Faculty of Medicine at the University and train more doctors locally to meet increasing demand; but the PNM does not see that far into the future, just as it did not realize that to end the 11-plus fiasco all you had to do was build more schools.
Under the UNC, we established the highly successful EHS (the Emergency Health service.) Today, reports are that the service is run down with many ambulances in a state of disrepair. The PNM has a habit of running things down - even if it is a prayer in the Parliament. The proposal under the 2004 Budget to buy new ambulances could only work if adequate mechanisms are put in place to keep them working.but this is not the PNM way. Under the UNC administration we established VMCOTT (the Vehicle Maintenance Co. of T&T) for the purpose of maintaining government vehicles, especially police vehicles. The PNM has all but destroyed that too.
Under the UNC, there were always visible signs all over the country that the government was at work, that activity was taking place. There was the construction of the Piarco Airport Terminal, (of which we and thousands of other people are exceedingly proud), the San Fernando Bypass, construction on the National Library Complex, the upgrade of the road network and the construction of over 30 high schools and primary schools. Today all the signs of progress have vanished, except for CEPEP, which now stands for Continuous Employment Painting Every Pebble. The proposed overpass at the intersection of the Uriah Butler and Churchill/Roosevelt Highways has been shelved to the frustration of thousands of commuters.
Mr. Speaker, on a morning, the traffic jam starts as far East as Trincity Mall on the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway and as far south as the Munroe Road Flyover on the Uriah Butler Highway.. people are suffering, children cannot get to school on time, millions of man hours are lost, productivity is reduced, but still the cries from the public for the overpass go unheeded. All we get are the moronic smiles of a Minister who, in the short period of one year, in office is able to acquire million-dollar homes.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, I call on the government to act responsibly. Either build the overpass or do something else to solve that traffic problem. Doing nothing is not an option. We cannot be a competitive nation if our people spend their time in traffic jams instead of being on the job or in school.
REVENUE STABALIZATION FUND / IMF
I come now to a very important institution the UNC had setup and which the PNM seems bent on destroying. When we were in office, we were aware of the cyclical nature and the volatility of the international oil and gas markets. We were aware that Trinidad and Tobago as a small nation would be exposed and adversely affected by shocks in the price of oil. That is why, we established the Revenue Stabilization Fund, a move for which we were praised by the same IMF. Interestingly, Mr. Speaker, Norway, a country with one of the highest standards of living in the world has a well-developed Revenue Stabilization Fund with almost 100 billion dollars saved in it.
As I am sure you know Mr. Speaker, in their 2002 elections manifesto the PNM promised to bring to this parliament legislation relating to the Revenue Stabilization Fund. The Prime Minister in his budget speech of last year repeated that promise. To date we are yet to see this legislation, another example of the absence of a properly thought out legislative agenda. It should therefore come as no surprise that the IMF said that the government seems to be non-committal about reactivating the Revenue Stabilization Fund.
In their advice to the government, the IMF suggests that the current Revenue Stabilization Fund be strengthened to enhance its flexibility, transparency and accountability. The Opposition fully endorses the recommendation of the IMF in this regard.
COMPETITIVENESS AND GLOBALIZATION
Mr. Speaker, this Budget is sadly lacking in vision and innovation. Whether we like it or not, we are in an increasingly globalized world. The competitiveness of our nation will be the key driver of economic activity. As I mentioned before, in this globalized environment, the philosophy of comparative advantage has given way to competitive advantage.
The World Economic Forum has reasoned that:
"True competitiveness is measured by productivity. Productivity allows a nation to support high wages, a strong currency and attractive returns to capital accompanied by high standards of living."
In its 2002/2003 Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum notes that Trinidad and Tobago shows: "notable competitive disadvantage in technology, public institutions and environmental indicators".
Mr. Speaker, it is common knowledge that the energy sector in spite of the large volume of capital that poured into this country over the last 10 years to construct the various ALNG Trains, the methanol and Ammonia plants, provided a disproportionate number of permanent jobs once the plants were completed and operational.
In fact, what we now have in this country is a state of jobless growth. In spite of the fact that the UNC during its term of office had been able to attract massive investments in the energy sector few permanent jobs were created once the plants came into operation. The 80,000 jobs we created were due mainly to our diversification efforts outside the energy sector. After 22 months of PNM corruption and maladministration the news from the Central Bank Economic Bulletin of May 2003 tells us that unemployment is rising. The figures of the Central Bank do not even take into account the loss of 9000 jobs as a result of this government's mindless, heartless, cruel, malicious and politically motivated closure of Caroni 1975 Limited. But I will return to this subject later.
Mr. Speaker, the Opposition believes that the current real rate of unemployment in Trinidad and Tobago lies in the region of 16 percent. This means that we are back to the days of 1995 when the Member for San Fernando was Prime Minister and unemployment was 18 percent. (CB Econ. Bulletin May 2003)
VISION 2020 / DIVERSIFICATION/ SECTOR SPECIFIC PLANS
Where in this Budget is the PNM's plan for diversifying this economy, if indeed it has one.? One would have thought that with all the platitudes being bandied about the place, Vision 20/20 and all, that this budget would have comprehensively and unequivocally addressed the issue of the diversification of the economy away from oil and gas. In terms of imperatives, this is one of the most urgent tasks facing T&T.
Mr. Speaker, while the winds of global change are blowing we must recognize that oil and gas will not be here forever. In fact there is a school of thought among petroleum economists and energy experts that oil is a curse. One only has to look at Nigeria, Venezuela, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq and Mexico to see how the oil wealth of those countries has never benefited the masses that continue to live in ever increasing poverty.
What is the solution? Mr. Speaker, when we were in office we proposed diversification through the development of the non-energy sector of the economy. Sector specific plans were developed for the following industries:
· Leisure, Marine;
· Chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics;
· Food and beverage:
· Food processing;
· Printing and Packaging
· Information technology/Electronics.
The basis for choosing these sectors was a study done by the consulting firm of TDI (Trade Development Institute) from Ireland. The study had been sponsored by the Commonwealth Development Council.
For each of these sectors Trinidad and Tobago has certain strengths and weaknesses. For example, our low energy cost is considered an advantage to these industries. In almost every sector however, there is a Human Resource deficiency that has to do with the absence of a critical mass of trained and skilled personnel required to drive such industries.
Information services and information technology products have become essential to the development of economies. The convergence of data communications and telecommunications is leading the way in the manner we do business globally. In the area of Information Technology in particular, there is a significant skills shortage in software development, project management and people with a good mix of IT and business skills. Studies also show; that almost 23% of the IT professionals trained in Trinidad and Tobago are migrating abroad to find better paying jobs.
For Trinidad and Tobago to be a player in the global economy, it is imperative that we deal with the current human resource deficiency in the IT sector. Instead of assisting the University of the West Indies to do just that, agents of the PNM, as part of their well known hegemonic agenda have aimed their guns at the University.
While the rest of the developed world rushes ahead, we cannot and must not be distracted by agents of PNM who preach race and hate. A computer terminal does not care if you are Indian, African, Chinese or Caucasian. It only cares that you have the skills and knowledge to operate it.
Mr. Speaker, the time has come for T&T to implement a whole new generation of economic measures that will give a quantum boost to our economy. Going forward will not be business a usual. Indeed it will be business unusual. What the Minister of Finance has outlined as a second generation of economic measures is not only inadequate; it completely lacks an implementation strategy. Moreover it contains nothing new.it merely repeats some of the ideas that the UNC had articulated during its tenure without addressing the problem of the capacity to implement.
It is time for us to start asking ourselves what is beyond the knowledge era and start preparing for that.
But I will return to this subject later. Let me for the moment touch upon another matter of critical concern for our economic survival.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (FTAA / CSME)/ MIGRATION INTO T&T FROM OTHER CARICOM COUNTRIES
Mr. Speaker, it is said that a leader must define reality. If this is indeed so, the Prime Minister must either have a warped view of reality or he refuses to face it all together. The reality is that when the FTAA is realized, the lives of the 800 million people living in the 34 countries of the Americas will be forever changed. Protectionism will give way to liberalization and the success or failure of developing nations like ours will be a function of our competitiveness as a whole.
Mr. Speaker, the Opposition understands that there are over 100 pieces of legislation that must either be amended or drafted anew, passed by Parliament and implemented if this country is to be readied for the FTAA. Laws relating to importation of foreign goods such as the Food and Drug Act need to be reviewed and updated if we are to protect our citizens from sub-standard products. Sadly, Mr. Speaker this government seems to have little idea or no concept of any planned legislative agenda far less a programme of work which will look at the statute books as regards FTAA; another example of their learned helplessness.
With the advent of the FTAA, it is expected that there would be an influx of foreign manufactured goods into this country. In this regard, we have heard nothing of the level of preparedness of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Bureau of Standards in the context of FTAA. Is it that they are waiting on a crisis to develop and people to die, as happened last month with the death of 13 babies at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex? In this matter the Minister of Health follows the example of his leader and his colleague the Minister of National Security. He takes no responsibility for this or any other health related matter, and blames everyone and everything else but his incompetent self. This is another manifestation of their incompetence, immaturity and inability to govern, to which has been added this Minister's arrogance and tactlessness. Some people say he is also very short.sighted.
Mr. Speaker, where in this Budget Speech is there any indication that any thought has been given or preparation made by the government for the accommodation of the concerns of the labor movement, environmental groups and other civic organizations into trade negotiations between Trinidad and Tobago and the WTO? Civil society has been completely ignored in this Government's strategy or lack of it) for trade liberalization. Government is literally telling civil society that it has no value to add in this matter. This is horribly disrespectful and ought not continue.
Globalization must be given a human face. So far it has been merely serving commercial interests. That is why poverty is one of its major consequences. It follows Mr. Speaker, that participation of civil society in trade liberalization is urgent and essential. T&T must do everything possible to ensure that civil society participates aggressively and meaningfully in trade negotiations, whether it be WTO, FTAA or the Association of
Caribbean States.
Local manufacturers are already bracing for the onslaught of the FTAA and the flood of foreign goods and services that would bombard the country. Yet, to date the government has done little or nothing to prepare or to assess the state of readiness of the local manufacturing and services sector to produce and export competitively on world markets in time for the implementation of the FTAA, which is expected to come on stream in 2005.
There is also the need, Mr. Speaker, to educate members of the public and the business community about the FTAA. In a recent survey conducted by Ernst and Young, it was discovered that some 62 percent of the local business sector remain in the dark about the real impact of FTAA and WTO rules.
One would have thought that in this Budget the government would have devised a comprehensive plan to assist local manufacturers in upgrading their facilities and to retrain their staff in preparation for FTAA. Again, as with the legislative agenda, there is an absence of planning, an absence of a vision. This Budget really lacks depth.
Mr. Speaker, T&T is the economic powerhouse of the Caribbean. The development of CARICOM equals the development of T&T. It is in our interest to make sure that all of the CARICOM Protocols are implemented. But this Government seems blissfully unaware of the importance of trade liberalization.
Mr. Speaker it is time for T&T to put trade negotiations on the front burner of our foreign/commercial policy. The economic future of T&T is likely to be impacted upon by trade negotiations more than by any other economic phenomenon that we now face. Yet, not a word, not a thought in the Budget.
Trade negotiations are a complex matter. Do we have the technical capability to participate as meaningfully as we need to in negotiations? Do we have enough trained and qualified people? Are we mobilizing our human resource in this regard, or are we excluding those whom we believe do not share our political affiliation? Are we discriminating against our qualified citizens on the basis of race and political affiliation? If you exclude them, they will migrate to other countries and you will soon find them negotiating against you. Is the budget for trade negotiations adequate? Are we making any impact at the policy level of the international institutions? Are we in a position to deal effectively with dispute resolution?
Mr. Speaker, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO!
Trade negotiations were a matter that the UNC had started to deal with in earnest. But members opposite, without vision as they are, have relegated it to the dustbin. I urge them to put it at the forefront of their economic strategy.
I wish to warn the PNM that they neglect trade negotiations at the long term economic peril of T&T. Posterity will not forgive them for it.
ENERGY POLICY / OIL / NATURAL GAS / LNG / OIL PRICING
Mr. Speaker, Trinidad and Tobago is now the largest exporter of Natural Gas to the United States, indeed we are the largest producer in the Western Hemisphere. Revenues from Natural Gas have now surpassed those earned from oil. In the March 2003 edition of Latin Finance, Professor Anthony Bryan of the University of Miami wrote, and I quote:
" The government and society together need to find a mechanism to spread the growing energy wealth and determine how these resources can be best invested to create a sustainable economic base for current and future generations."
To date, Mr. Speaker, we have seen no credible plan presented by this government to use the revenues from Natural Gas to create a sustainable economic base. The Opposition is in total agreement with economist Dr. Dhanayshar Mahabir. He recommends that the greatest benefit of this gas revenue would be derived if it is saved and invested so that economic stability can be preserved in an environment of uncertainty and volatility. But the philosophy of saving and investing for the future seems to be anathema to the PNM. I remind them again of the example of Norway which I mentioned earlier and strongly recommend that we do the same.
What savings ratio is the Minister proposing in this budget? Is his projection of the oil price realistic or optimistic? What will be the effect on the budget balance if the price of oil is less than he predicts. This is another case of lack of strategy.no target has been set for savings.
The Opposition is equally concerned about the current natural gas reserve/production ratio, which is constantly decreasing given that production rates have increased with the coming on stream of Atlantic LNG's trains II and III. Given the current rate of depletion of existing reserves, it is expected that proven reserves will be exhausted by 2020. That is the real vision.. Some experts have even calculated that we have only 15 years of natural gas left.
At present rates of production of LNG, 60 percent of proven natural gas reserves have been committed to Trains I, II and III. When train IV comes on stream, it is estimated that 80 percent of proven reserves will be committed exclusively to the LNG industry.
Mr. Speaker, there is also the issue of gas prices on the international market, since we are no longer solely reliant on oil and we now have natural gas to widen the revenue base, gas revenues and gas pricing have become an essential part of budgeting. For the last 12 months gas prices averaged at or about 5US dollars per mmbtu. Energy analysts predict that this price would fall 4US dollars per mmbtu for the next 12 months. Again, Mr. Speaker an example of just how volatile international energy prices can be.
In early August of this year the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez who according to this Prime Minister is responsible for crime in T&T paid a visit to T&T. Coming out of that visit was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between this country's government and the government of Venezuela. Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister as a trained geologist fancies himself as a person with some knowledge of the energy sector. The Opposition understands that the proposed eastern Caribbean gas pipeline may now be expanded to carry gas to Cuba and Puerto Rico. Apart from the obvious engineering, technical and economic challenges posed by the construction of such a pipeline, a new dimension has now been added that represents a geo-political quagmire of sorts given that Puerto Rico is an American territory and Cuba is persona non grata in the eyes of the American government. Is this another case of foot in mouth?
Be that as it may, the more immediate issues for us lie in the following questions:
1. What is the Government doing about the current take or pay arrangements between the National Gas Company and BP Amoco as the new LNG Trains are being negotiated?
2. Is the virtual monopoly status of BP Amoco as a gas supplier being addressed in the negotiations?
3. Can the Government give the nation the assurance that the issue of taxes is being addressed in a manner that T&T will be reasonably assured of a steady and predictable revenue stream from gas in the future?
4. What assurances are being given by the investors about the development of downstream industries if T&T allows the new Trains?
5. What will be the status of our reserves if the new Trains of LNG are allowed?
Mr. Speaker, the budget does not seriously address the problems of the local on shore dimension of the industry. The Opposition is very concerned about what is being seen as the death of the local onshore oil industry in Trinidad. The onshore oil industry in Trinidad has virtually ground to a halt under the watch of the PNM over the last 22 months.
Current land production is approximately 60,000 barrels per day. It is estimated that some 300 million barrels of oil remain buried in mature fields in south Trinidad. At present there is little or no drilling activity on land in south Trinidad. This has virtually paralyzed the onshore oil industry a development that one would have thought would have caught the attention of the geologist Prime Minister and his energy czars. The neglect of this historically important component of the energy sector has seen countless opportunities for economic development and job creation lost. The government continues to turn a blind eye to the calls being made by the South Chamber, for the tax regime as it relates to the exploitation of mature onshore fields to be revisited. All they have got so far are promises, promises and more promises.
In the Guardian of September 18th 2003, the South Chamber accused the Prime Minister of reneging on his promise to revise the fiscal regime for onshore production. The Chamber added that the onshore oil industry now faces terminal decline and the loss of thousands of jobs. (Ref: TG: Sept 18th 2003, papers by Dr. Jim Lee Young).
What more warning does this regime need? How long must the onshore sector wait? The fact of the matter is that taxation and government facilitation are important components of the competitiveness equation of industries. The UNC therefore demands that the Government deals with the onshore oil sector as a matter of urgency.
ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT / MISMANAGEMENT
Mr. Speaker, while the government of the day seems to be reveling in the fact that we are poised for increased revenues due to oil and gas, the hard truth is that the PNM have a history of mismanaging periods of economic booms. The IMF has warned the PNM against counting their chickens before they are hatched. The PNM, however, seem not just content with counting the chickens but on killing, cooking and serving it to their party supporters and financiers. For them, the world "boom" means time to party and have a good time. In this regard, the party has already started the feeding frenzy at the national trough with an obscenity that defies imagination.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that government spending is based on expected future revenue streams from oil and gas. This spending is therefore anticipatory and demonstrates the guesswork that passes for long term fiscal planning under the PNM. The Prime Minister boasts that politicians are for the first time directly involved in planning the budget. He must be talking about the PNM. In any event it is a confession that when he was Prime Minister between 1991 and 1995 his Minister did not have the opportunity so to do.
Mr. Speaker, under the UNC, every Minister was fully involved in the budget exercise. The budget was not only our tool of financial planning; it was the basis of ministerial accountability. It may well be that this is the first time that PNM Ministers are involved in the budget exercise, but with the UNC full ministerial involvement was a way of life.
Mr. Speaker, the IMF has warned that a 50 percent decline in oil price would mean a 4 percent fiscal deficit by 2005 and an 8 percent fiscal deficit by 2008. Experts in oil pricing point to the seven-year cycles of spikes and valleys in the oil industry. If this is accurate, and the last oil price trauma was in 1998 when the price fell to 10 dollars a barrel, then we may be looking at another major pricing event in 2005.
Mr. Speaker, the Budget falsely speaks of a stable currency. The fact is that under the PNM, there has been a devaluation of the Trinidad and Tobago dollar. In June of 2002, the dollar stood at 6.1787 to the US dollar, 12 months later in June of 2003, the dollar was devalued to 6.2861 to the US dollar. That is a devaluation of almost 10 cents or 1.74 percent. Analysts predict that further pressure will be placed on the TT dollar in 2004.
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has grudgingly admitted that the public debt increased by $2.3 billion during the fiscal year. What he did not say is that the total public debt is expected to be 68 percent of GDP by the end of 2003; this represents an increase of one and a half percentage points on the public debt as it stood at the end of 2002. In 2001, when the UNC was in government, we had placed a moratorium on borrowing.
That moratorium has since been ignored by the money guzzling PNM whose appetite for money is whetted by their desire to use and abuse state resources and monies for the purposes of buying elections, as was marked by the obscene spending spree in the run up to the October 2002 general election and again for the 2003 local government election.
Once more therefore, I urge the PNM to follow the advice that I have given for the Revenue Stabilization Fund. Any decline in the price of oil can spell disaster for T&T. The Fund must be treated as a device for stabilizing the economy in periods of difficulty. I emphasize once more that cycles are a proven feature of the world economy. If we ignore this lesson the PNM shall repeat its mistakes. Experience has taught me that the only thing the PNM has learnt from experience is that the PNM has learnt nothing from experience.
Mr. Speaker, it is said that it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all possible doubts. We are now confronted with that injudicious comment from the Prime Minister about the proposed merger of First Citizens Bank with the Unit Trust Corporation. The Prime Minister, it seems cannot leave well enough alone. Under the UNC the First Citizens Bank became one of this country's great success stories. Does the Prime Minister know that any attempt by the PNM to merge the First Citizens Bank with the Unit Trust Corporation will require legislative changes that can only be approved by this Parliament; this is not the prerogative of the Cabinet or any so called "citizen" or pseudo-citizen. That statement by the Prime Minister regarding the proposed merging of the two financial institutions, coming on the verge of this budget has dealt a severe blow to the confidence that people have in these organizations. This Prime minister has a penchant for putting his foot in his mouth.
Mr. Speaker, I want the population to understand that the issues in this proposal are:
· Will the financial sector benefit from more or less competition?
· What are the synergies that are possible from a merger of these two institutions?
· Who will benefit from such a merger?
· Should the growth of FCB and the UTC come from expansion within T&T or should they grow outside T&T?
· Is the relevant strategy for FCB be a merger with another pseudo government institution or should it be divested? In a related question it should be asked if the business of commercial banking and financial services is the business of the state?
If these issues are examined, the UNC has no doubt that a merger of the two institutions could only be to the advantage of fattening the pockets of the PNM and their cohorts.
CRIME / ITS IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY
Mr. Speaker, I now return to the issue of crime and its impact on the economy as I promised. No patch-patch, now-for-now hair-brained scheme of this government to reduce crime, no Public Relations hyped up crime plan and no amount of money that they throw at crime will save the people from the criminal beast that the PNM has unleashed on this society. The Frankenstein that they have created when they embraced the criminal element in the 2002 general election campaign cannot and will not be tamed by those who created it, fed it, clothed it and cuddled it from infancy to adulthood. The PNM cannot deal with crime because they are part of the problem; and if you are part of the problem you cannot be part of the solution. They are the problem.they cannot be the solution. I have said on numerous occasions that there is a symbiotic and interlocking relationship between the PNM and crime. The government cannot with one-hand fight criminals and with the other hand embrace hard-core criminal elements as part of it political strategy of dealing with the opposition.
That relationship explains the fact that the crime wave of today, marked by kidnapping and murder, has followed the PNM into office. Last year we had a record number of 172 murders, by the first week in of October this year the figure was 176. What these statistics mean is that a murder is committed in this country every 36 hours. It seems that the only area where the PNM has the capacity to out do itself is in the area of crime.
Mr. Speaker, you would recall that when the Member for San Fernando East was Prime Minister in 1991 -1995 there was a similar wave of criminal activity. So much so that in 1994 he had to fire his Minister of National Security and make himself Minister, the only effect of which to increase crime. It seems that crime follows this Prime Minister; he is the pied piper of crime and criminals whom he shamelessly dubs "Community Leaders". When the UNC came into office, we dealt with crime and drugs decisively. Drug lords were executed; we didn't sell them cars. We did not put them in charge of the projects or give them huge NHA contracts for creating ghost gangs so that they could earn hundreds of thousands of tax-payers dollars with which they buy guns and drugs and fast cars.
Mr. Speaker, there are serious consequences for economic development, if this crime wave continues. There is a nexus between rising criminal activity and economic decline. These sentiments and similar sentiments have been expressed time and time again by the various Chambers of Commerce whose members have been kidnapped, murdered and brutalized. It is only some dotish PNM members of DOMA who think the PNM is doing a good job and that the UNC is responsible for every thing that is happening.
Mr. Speaker, because of the government's total incapacity to manage the crime situation in the country, businessmen are leaving. The business people of Chaguanas and Princess Town and Couva and Barrackpore have demonstrated how they feel. Many have already sent their children abroad to live. As a result families are split up with children living abroad and parents living at home in fear. That is the reality of Trinidad today. It is a reality that the Prime Minister would deny as he buries his head in the sands of his incompetence.
Crime is already having an adverse effect on business. Current reports indicate that consumer spending has decreased. People are afraid to spend money on new cars and for renovation to their homes. Businessmen are not borrowing to expand their operations out of fear that this may be interpreted as a signal of their prosperity, which may make them or their children a kidnapping target. There has been a flight of capital as people lose confidence in ability of our banks to keep private their financial status.
Mr. Speaker, the old adage that "nothing succeeds like success" has been turned upside down by this incompetent PNM Government. Whereas the pending boom in revenues should have the effect of increasing business activity the PNM has succeeded in achieving just the opposite. Instead of venturing into new enterprises businessmen are planning to close business and leave Trinidad in frustration to escape crime and kidnapping leaving behind an entrepreneurial vacuum and precipitating capital flight. Mr. Speaker, this situation is not conjecture, this is not hearsay, this is the hard reality. It is a reality that has descended on this country ever since the PNM returned to office in 2001.
Crime also has serious consequences for the tourist industry, which could impact on revenues collected from tourism, job security in the tourism sector and further expansion of the industry. In December last year the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom issued a travel advisory that stated (and I quote):
"We believe Trinidad and Tobago to be among a number of countries where there may be an increased terrorist threat. British nationals should exercise vigilance, particularly in public places frequented by foreigners such as hotels, restaurants and shopping malls."
That travel advisory caused the cancellation of visits by two cruise lines, P&O and Princess Lines. In true form, the Prime Minister sought to blame the entire affair on the Opposition.
Mr. Speaker, in the final analysis the fundamental question that citizens must ask is: Are you safer today than you were 22 months ago? The obvious answer to that question is a profound NO that resonates through the country as a reminder of the incompetence of the Prime Minister, his Attorney General and the Minister of National Security.
Mr. Speaker, the government's gross incompetence when it comes to dealing with crime is demonstrated by statements made by the Prime Minister over the last four months. A careful study of these statements would indicate that the Prime minister does not have a clue of how to deal with this problem and that is demonstrated by his proposals for dealing with this serious issue in this Budget.
On June 5th 2003 at a post Cabinet press conference the Prime Minister, being forced to admit that crime was getting out of hand, promptly blamed the high crime rate in Trinidad on Venezuela.
By September 11th 2003, at another post Cabinet press conference, the Prime Minister had come to the conclusion that Trinidad and Tobago was a very secure country and that the average man in the street has nothing to fear. If perchance you should get killed that was mere "collateral damage".
Just one week later on September 19th 2003, the Prime Minister comes full circle and at a consultation on social development admits again that levels of crime in the country are un-acceptable.
Recently, (after séance-like meditation I imagine), he came to the conclusion that the latest kidnappings are not the work of the traditional kidnappers. I can only guess that the "traditionals" being his friends must have told him so.
The shifting and inconsistent opinions of the Prime Minister as regards the country's crime situation is a matter of concern given that he chairs the National Security Council. The Prime Minister seems to change his mind on the state of the nations security on an almost daily basis. I pray that he continues these post cabinet press conferences.
When the Prime Minister runs out of people to blame he instinctively turns to the Opposition. His latest salvo has been to blame the Opposition UNC because we refuse to support PNM legislation that would make kidnapping a non-bailable offence. And he has some dumber PNM stooges in DOMA mouthing his allegations like an uncontrollable echo. Let me for the umpteenth time stat our position.
In our entire legal history, for more than 300 years, there have been only three offences for which there is automatically no bail pending trial. They are: murder, treason and piracy. That means that if you are merely charged (that is, accused) of one of these offences you must stay in prison pending trial no matter how long it takes to bring you before the courts. In fact, right now there are several persons in our prisons awaiting trial for several years charged with murder on the mere say-so of another person, sometimes the killer himself. You can kill a man and when you charged by the police all you have to do is tell the police that if you are granted immunity from prosecution you are prepared to say that Mr. X hired you to do the crime; and Mr. X will be charged and imprisoned without bail pending trial.
There are some people in this country who expect us to give that kind of power to this criminal government so that if they wish to lock up without bail any opponent all they have to do is get any one of their criminal friends to kidnap somebody, get an amnesty against prosecution to say that Panday hired them to do it and hapless opposition member is in jail without bail until thy kingdom come. They expect me to give that kind of power to a Government that planted drugs and ammunition in the home of a member of the Opposition just before the 2002 elections. DOMA if you think that I am going to do that you couldn't be dumber.
Our position is, has been and continues to be, that until such time as there constitutional reform that prevents the Government from abusing such power, let the judge decide if a person accused of kidnapping will get bail or not.
Now that we have got that out of the way, let us see what the Prime Minister has proposed for dealing with the most pressing problem in the country; CRIME.
After 22 months in office we hear that the Government has now declared war on the criminals. What was it before now? Peace and love, hugging and embrace? It is obvious that their criminal friends have not heard the Prime Minister or they are still laughing at his joke: the kidnappings and the murders continue as if he had not spoken. What are the initiatives of this so-called war? Former Colonel Peter Joseph (now Brigadier) who was Commanding Officer of the Regiment is mandated to establish a Special Crime Fighting Unit. The functions of the Unit are not clear but as to its composition the Prime Minister says "we shall draw on persons from any of the services in the country, the Police, the Regiment, Coast Guard, Prison, Fire Services, Volunteer Defence Force." To whom is the Prime Minister referring when he says "we"? The Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Commissioner of Police? It is important to know because this proposal may very well be illegal.
Since the Prime Minister does not specify the functions of this Unit I can only presume that the purpose of a crime-fighting unit is to fight crime. But fighting crime is the function of the Police; they are trained to do just that: fight crime. The function of the Army is to fight war against external; and they are trained to do just that. The army may assist the Police in a particular instance of instances, but they cannot take over the function of crime fighting; that is the function of the Police. What is more the Regiment does not and cannot have control over the Police. The Police Service Act has specifically given operational control of the Police to the Commissioner of Police, not an officer of the Regiment. Whence, therefore, shall Brigadier Joseph derive his power to control the Police?
I don't think that the Prime Minister (I almost said the Crime Minister) has given proper thought to this proposal. If there is a crime-fighting unit outside the Police Service what will the rest of the members of the Police service do? Also fight crime? From whom will they take instructions and orders? What is the role of the Commissioner of Police now? Who will be in charge of the PNM's new heavily armed Riot Squad? No wonder the criminals are still laughing.
There is another proposal of the Prime Minister, which I find puzzling if not laughable, and that is the establishment of a Special Security Commission to act as a Think Tank on crime prevention and detection. And whom will the Think Tank include? Messrs Overand Padmore, John Donaldson and Herbert Atwell. But aren't these the same gentlemen who were employed as Special Advisers to the Ministry of National Security for the past two years at exorbitant salaries? What were they doing if not thinking and advising the Minister of National security? Maybe they will get some new ideas if put in a tank. Hence a Think Tank.
But where does all this leave us? If there is going to be a new crime-fighting unit, a new tank of advisers on crime what is left for the Minister of National Security to do? Is this a novel way of firing him from the job without firing him?
Mr. PM, all the indications are that you cannot solve the oppressive of crime without constitutional reform. I warn you that the next generation of entrepreneurs is migrating. You and your government are responsible; you are responsible for destroying the capacity of this country to grow from internal resources. Some people think that is a deliberate strategy. My duty is to warn and I warn that the consequences will be terrible. It is you and your colleagues that have unleashed this tiger on the populace. You are giving the impression that you are trying to grab this tiger by the tail. It may have started to turn around and bite you. Next it will devour you. You need help; the help of a new constitution
I emphasize again that the Government is responsible for dealing with crime. For too long the PNM has been blaming forces outside itself for the crime situation. Mr. PM you and your Minister of National Security must take responsibility. You have the power, the resources and the authority to fight crime. USE IT. Right now you are behaving like immature adolescents. You are running this country, not the Opposition. It is your job to find the solutions. If you need our help you will get it but you must end the rank discrimination and oppression that are taking place in the society
Let make it quite clear. The UNC will support any move to deal with crime. But we demand constitutional reform as a precondition of our support. Mr. Speaker, the Constitution is the foundation of our society. But, events have overtaken it. Whatever structure we seek to build on this foundation, be it an economic program, a social program or a crime-fighting program, will collapse because the foundation is weak. We want meaningful crime fighting programs that are built on a rock. But the friends that the PM keeps prevent him for addressing the issue of the quality of the foundation.
I say again for the nation to hear. The UNC is ready to address the issue of constitutional reform at this moment.now, that is.
If the PNM is serious about fighting crime, then I invite you to open the discussions on constitutional reform now.
It is ironic that this Government is unable to deal with kidnappers and robbers and rapists but you are able to find hundreds of policemen to prevent decent citizens from expressing their displeasure with crime in Chaguanas. Decent people cannot march and speak freely anymore except they are PNM supporters. But the criminals can. And to add insult to injury you propose yet another crime fighting plan as the main plank of your budget.
This is hypocrisy! Why should anyone believe you? The UNC certainly does not. The only war you are fighting is against the decent, law-abiding people of Central and South Trinidad. Look at the brutal manner you have treated the workers of Caroni (1975) Ltd.
CARONI (1975) LIMITED / DISCRIMINATION
Mr. Speaker, there is a strong link between discrimination and national development. If one group of people feels that there is a planned system of discrimination against them, they become de-motivated and disillusioned; they withdraw their enthusiasm; they sub-conscientiously work against anything you propose because they view it with suspicion. Those members of that group, who are better qualified or have the resources to do so, will contemplate migration to other countries. There is a brain drain. If you drive away your intellectual manpower who will implement those proposals which you have advanced in the Budget, haphazard though they may be? Do you think the square pegs you are forcing into those round holes will ever achieve anything?
Mr. Speaker, the statistics as regards brain drain and loss of intellectual capital are frightening to say the least. The statistics tell us that 47% of all citizens who migrate are persons with a tertiary education. There is a cost to this, a cost that the nation must bear.
It cost the nation hundreds of thousands of dollars to educate a citizen from primary school up to the tertiary level. When that person leaves this country that investment in human development is lost. The big winner in all this is of course the country to which that citizen migrates. Mr. Speaker, all evidence points to the fact that since this government came to office 22 months ago, that process of brain drain as well as entrepreneurial flight has been greatly accelerated.
The brain drain has been aggravated by the crime situation and the insidious practice of the developed world to offer scholarships to our brightest and best. Parents who can afford it, and many who can't are sending their children away for education. Many of these scholars never return. Your Budget is not worth the paper it is written on if there is not a sufficiency of manpower to implement your proposals.
I now turn to the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited and the retrenchment of its workers. Mr. Speaker, ever since this PNM regime stole the elections and returned itself to government, they seem to have had an obsession with Caroni (1975) Limited. That obsession is a common thread that runs thought their incompetence-laden 22 months in Office. Last year, they threatened the workers of Caroni that they would shut down the company if the UNC did not come to the Parliament to help them elect a Speaker.
The obsession culminated with the retrenchment of 9000 of Caroni's workers. That singular act by the PNM will forever be recorded as the greatest act of fascism, racism, discrimination and political victimization ever carried out in the history of Caribbean politics. Mr. Speaker, that obsession stems from their desire to destroy the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union, an organization that they see as the cradle of organized political opposition to the PNM. It is also no secret that the majority of the workers of Caroni (1975) Limited have traditionally never supported the PNM. This would therefore explain the ease with which this vicious PNM Government has socially and economically displaced an entire community.
To date, Mr. Speaker, there has been no national consultation on the future of Caroni and the PNM has failed to tell us what is, was or will be their plan for the industry post July 31st 2003. That a government can shut down a company and displace an entire community without so much as the inkling of an idea of what to do next demonstrates either the highest degree of incompetence or the highest degree of malice towards the people and the communities of the sugar belt. I am in fact tempted to believe that it is a combination of both. What is worse you then proceed to hire my former Attorney General in the capacity of a real estate agent to sell the lands of Caroni. Was that part of the "done deal"? Oh, it is too humiliating to bear!
Mr. Speaker, let me at this point, make it unequivocally clear that it was never the UNC's intention, nor was it ever a decision the UNC Government, to close down Caroni and to retrench its workforce. That is part of the vicious propaganda being spread by the PNM and its newfound allies. In fact, our plan for Caroni included the expansion of the Company's activities by the invitation of private sector participation in the company's operations. That plan would have seen not a single worker fired but would instead have seen the retention and extension of the existing work through its subsequent expansion as new technologies and new investment were introduced.
In fact, this process was started by us with the invitation for private sector participation in the Rum Division. In that regard, CL Financial, showed an interest in the rum distillery and its operations. However before anything could be done, the PNM and its agents in the press began to spread the propaganda that the distillery's rum stocks was worth one billion dollars and that we were selling it out to our friends in CL Financial. The result of this vicious lie was that in disgust CL Financial subsequently withdrew their offer of participation.
Today, we hear nothing of the famous one billion dollar rum stock. What we are hearing of is a planned land grab that would see Caroni's lands given to PNM financiers and supporters.
Mr. Speaker, a paper prepared by the University of the West Indies, also warns of the potential of a land grab by political investors. That paper also reminds the government that there is a National Physical Development Plan, which was passed by the Parliament in 1984. That plan governs land usage in Trinidad and Tobago. Any deviation from this plan is therefore illegal.
What is the government's plan for the future of the 75,000 acres of land that belong to Caroni? What Mr. Speaker is the role of the mysterious Estate Management and Business Development Company in distributing those lands? What mechanisms will be put in place to guarantee that the process is transparent? Would displaced workers of Caroni be given priority in accessing those lands? We expected the Budget to provide some of the answers to these questions. Instead, one hears of secret and cabalistic meetings of the junta in Whitehall on Saturday's to discuss with so-called investors the sale of Caroni's lands and the company's future.
Mr. Speaker, the Opposition calls on the government to publish and make public as part of a national consultation on Caroni, a comprehensive plan on how it intends to re-structure the company and what it intends to do with the thousands who have been rendered jobless.
We are convinced that this PNM Government has no plan for
Caroni except to grab its lands. This action of closing down Caroni was forced down the throats of the workers. The workers were threatened that if they did no accept VSEP they would be dismissed anyway.
History will record that this vicious regime chose to mete out brutality to the sugar workers for racist and political reasons. It is only a matter of time before massive poverty, unemployment and vagrancy to set upon the land that is Central Trinidad. This PNM government must carry the burden for the pain and suffering that it has set in motion. May God have no mercy upon them; and may they not inherit even six feet of that land.
I warn the Minister of Agriculture that from this closure there will be fallout that he and his Government have even not begun to imagine. He is the most callous of them all. He has rained down depression and death on the sugar workers. He has not listened to their pleas. He has laughed at their tears. He has ridiculed their leaders and rubbed their faces in the ground. He has forced retirement upon them while he gladly spreads the nations resources on unproductive work for his party supporters.
Mr. Minister of Agriculture, you have scorched the earth in Central Trinidad.the earth will remember you for this.
TERTIARY EDUCATION / QUOTA SYSTEM AT UWI
Mr. Speaker, I now turn to education. It is a pity that the PNM has extended their discriminatory vision to the University of the West Indies. One well-known PNM ideologue and close confidant of the Prime Minister has even called for a quota system at the University of the West Indies and at the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Technology. That gentleman sits on the Board of the Management of the Central Bank. When he speaks, he speaks as a member of the Government and an officer of the Central Bank. It is also understood that he has strong backing for his ideas and programmes from the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet.
Mr. Speaker, if the PNM were allowed to manipulate the admissions process at the University of the West Indies to serve their hegemonic causes, it would mean an expansion of the discrimination that was so ruthlessly effected at Caroni. It would lead to a contamination of the integrity of the University and would undermine its independence. This issue is a serious one and one that demands serious attention and scrutiny by all stakeholders since it involves not only our tertiary education system but also the lives of thousands of young people.
In keeping with the imperatives of knowledge based society, the UNC in 2001 sought to increase enrollment in tertiary institutions from 7% of the population to 20%. To accomplish this, we introduced the Dollar for Dollar plan where the government would pay 50% of student's tuition fees. I recall that the member for San Fernando East when he was Leader of the Opposition said that the plan was a failure and called on us to abandon it.
The latest enrollment figures at the University of the West Indies for students registering for the academic year 2003/2004 prove that the Member for San Fernando East was wrong. That figure now stands at 11,500 an increase of 23% over last year's figure and 100% when compared to the figure for 1999/2000. That the Dollar for Dollar plan is a success is to the credit of the UNC.
Mr. Speaker, the Dollar for Dollar plan is not for any one race or any one group, it discriminates against no one. It is our philosophy on this side, that a rising tide raises all ships.
Mr. Speaker, the University of the West Indies is central to the economic development of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. In this regard, it should be noted that the economic success of Ireland and South Korea have been credited to the creation of companies owned by nationals based on university spawned innovation and inventiveness. In this regard, the University of the West Indies at St Augustine must be empowered and given all the resources required to develop a strong graduate school.
Any compromise of admission standards at our institution of highest learning will be a backward step. The solution is not to be found in lowering standards. It is to be found in creating new opportunities and implementing strategies that make tertiary education more affordable to more people. The PNM must learn that prosperity does not come from taking from one group to give to another. It only comes from creating more for everyone.
Mr. Speaker, success in the future will come from leveraging human resources for competitive advantage. In that context, the quality of our human resources will be our most important source of competitive advantage in the future.
Any thought of reducing standards at UWI, whether admission standards or the quality of the programs must therefore be seen for what it is.the thoughts not of yesterday's people, but of day before yesterday's people.
GOING FORWARD
Mr. Speaker, earlier I said that it is time for us to implement a whole new generation of economic and social measures for the development of the people of T&T. I mentioned also that the future would not be business as usual but business unusual.
I now wish to turn to this topic.
Our goal for the future must be to make T&T one of the most competitive nations in the world.
This means that our people's productivity must be second to none. The quality of our governance must be unsurpassed and our physical infrastructure must be first class. It also means that our financial system must be world class and our bureaucracy must be efficient and transparent. Our education system must produce graduates that can be employed by the industries of the future and our health system must be able to deal effectively with our people's problems. Competitiveness also means Mr. Speaker that our justice system must be fair, independent and efficient.
In this context we must realize that incentives and legislation for the development of industry cannot be a one-size fits all model. T&T must implement a legislative and incentive framework that is sector specific. In addition we must move to a system where incentives are performance based.
Sector development strategies must also address the human resource requirements of sectors, the requirements for physical infrastructure, international marketing support, the utilization of cutting edge technology and competition policy.
In developing sectors Mr. Speaker, we must ensure that there is intense competition between firms, Government must provide an enabling environment, customers must be demanding and the industry cluster must be strong and competitive.
Mr. Speaker, a cluster development strategy is critical for success, for going forward. Industries do not become internationally competitive without a strong support system. It is necessary to have exporters supported with suppliers of services, parts, assemblies, sub-assemblies that are intensely competitive and very strong.
Government should also support strong industry associations e.g. manufacturers' associations, chambers of commerce etc. These bodies assist their membership to compete in the external environment, represent the views of the business community to the Government and make industry information available.
Trade unions and workers' organizations must be treated with respect, and where workers are not organized they must be protected by law. That is why we in the UNC insisted on putting union representatives on the Boards of State Enterprises. It is a pity that the PNM has removed them all. Without people economics have no meaning.
Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that development cannot take place without investment, and few countries in the world have all the required financial resources for its development. It must therefore attract foreign investment. Everyone also knows that T&T has received no Foreign Direct Investment in the last two years. This is the same country that under the UNC became the country with the highest per capita FDI in the world. What has happened? Why has all the foreign capital dried up? I'll tell you what happened.
The PNM happened!
Do you really expect people to come here to invest huge sums of money when they can never be sure they will not be the victims of crime? In T&T crime, especially kidnapping and murder followed the PNM while the leader of the Government persisted in keeping the company of the perpetrators of coups and leaders of organized crime.
PNM plus Crime equals political instability. And investors shy away from political instability.
But FDI is essential for growth, job creation and the competitiveness of T&T. So what do we do?
In this context Mr. Speaker, I wish to recommend that the Investment Promotion Act, on which the UNC had begun work must be completed and enacted. And you will have our support if it comes with constitutional reform.
Mr. Speaker, while we are on the subject of investments, there are two other initiatives that are sorely required at this time. They are:
1. The Venture Capital Regime must be comprehensively overhauled. There is an excellent task force report on this subject and Government will do this nation a big favor by implementing the recommendations of that report.
2. The Company Laws need to be reviewed to give troubled businesses a safety net. At present, the only real option a business has if it is in financial difficulty is bankruptcy. T&T needs something resembling a Chapter 11 in the US to give businesses a chance to recover from financial difficulty.
In addition, both for the sakes of our citizens' safety and in order to attract FDI, the PM must reform the constitution, stop keeping bad company, appoint a competent Minister of National Security and deal comprehensively with crime. Since that is not possible he should consider the option of resigning.
Mr. Speaker, I mentioned earlier that certain sectors had been identified in which T&T had the potential to become internationally competitive. It is essential that Government pursue a strategy to so make these sectors viable and competitive. But to launch ourselves meaningfully into the mainstream of the new global economy, we must target other sectors as well. In this context we must look at biotechnology, microelectronics and high technology manufacturing.
The commitment to develop the Wallerfield Science and Technology Park was contained in the UNC Manifesto long before the PNM copied it. It is move in this direction. This is a project that was conceived and developed under the UNC. But Mr. Speaker the enabling environment for Wallerfield to succeed has not been touched. Unless this environment is created, in other words, unless the requirements of a high technology cluster are put in place, Wallerfield will turn out to be nothing more than a glorified industrial estate.
Wallerfield is our chance to be a creator of knowledge rather than merely a purchaser and consumer of knowledge from the developed world. But the legislation, incentives, infrastructure, a human resource development regime and an international marketing regime must be put in place. This project is not simply about land preparation, roads, utilities and a few speculative buildings. It is much more and the PNM will do well to read the reports that have been done on this project.
I wish to turn now Mr. Speaker to the tourism industry.
First I wish to say that Tobago needs a new modern airport. This should not be a subject for debate. It is an overdue infrastructural need for our sister island and the sooner we build it the better. Enough said on that.
It is also time to review comprehensively the Tourism Master Plan. Much has changed since the Plan was done. It is now approximately eight years old.
September 11 was a significant event in the life of the tourism industry. The adverse international advisories that were issued against T&T and the rise of exciting new destinations are also significant. But there have also been significant developments within the industry. These included the passage of the Tourism Development Act, which repealed a piece of legislation that was over thirty years old. In addition many of the recommendations of the Plan, including several studies have been done.
Crime has impacted very negatively on the industry while the level of Government support to market the destination is less than most of our Caribbean colleagues.
Does this Government have a position on cruise ships? Is anything going to be done about the cruise ship terminal?
The job creation potential of the tourism industry Mr. Speaker is tremendous. Tourism jobs will be a meaningful substitute for CEPEP jobs. It is also an industry that can bring a lot of investment and foreign exchange.
I strongly recommend that T&T pursue this industry aggressively.
Mr. Speaker, as we move forward to create jobs and to improve the quality of life of our people, let us not forget that there has been an increasing level of poverty in T&T since the PNM came to power 22 months ago.
The UNDP Human Development Report downgraded T&T from 49 to 54 with respect to our rank in dealing with poverty. In other words, under the PNM, the poor have become poorer and absolute poverty has increased.
Mr. Speaker, during the period that the UNC was in power, we steadily increased the Old Age Pensions, kept the level of taxes down, removed VAT on many items, passed the Maternity Benefits Act, created the Women's Second Chance Program, created universal free secondary education and did many other things to alleviate poverty.
The ineptness of the PNM in this regard is compounded by the effects of trade liberalization that have aggravated the poverty problem worldwide.
The PNM seems to think that the solution to the problem is to fritter away the nation's patrimony in things like CEPEP but nothing can be further from the truth. The solution lies in implementing measures that ensure that the next generation will break out of the dependency syndrome and that everyone will be employable. In other words we have to make the population productive and we have to create sustainable jobs. This we can do only by implementing the new economic measures that I have outlined.
Our problems will not be solved by reducing the Budget to a shopping list, as has been the case this Budget that can only be described as pathetic. Our problems will only be solved when we find the formula for living together as one people, free from discrimination, free from the fear of group domination, advancing on the basis of merit in a society that provides equal opportunities for all.
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