By Prior Beharry
IN a Budget response sounding like an election manifesto, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar not only slammed the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government but outlines plans to “rebuild and restore Trinidad and Tobago.”
In the Lower House on Friday, Persad-Bissessar was about 30-minutes shorter than when Finance Minister Colm Imbert presented the 2022/2023 Budget in the Lower House on Monday.
The Opposition Leader’s contribution was entitled: Budget 2023: an Evil act of Brutality against the Poor and Working Class. Prime minister, Poor People have Feelings Too.
Among her plans to rebuild the country after eight years of PNM and calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to call general elections, she said was to reopen the now-closed oil refinery at Point-a-Pierre.
She said, “We believe the Government must re-examine its plan and we are proposing to restart a reformed Pointe-a-Pierre oil refinery. By reopening Petrotrin, we will have greater fuel security, save foreign exchange, provide meaningful jobs and ensure the company continues to contribute to the Treasury.”
Persad-Bissessar also called for the regimes for personal and corporate tax to be simplified.
She called for the agriculture sector to be jumped started.
Persad-Bissessar said, “We believe there must be a jump start to our agriculture sector by leasing 25,000 acres of former Caroni lands to create agricultural parks, while spending at least 10% of the PSIP (Public Sector Investment Programme) to develop agricultural access roads, irrigation and drainage for these agricultural parks.”
She wanted more investment in renewable energy and identified several prosperity engines to create new jobs, transform the economy and create more revenue.
These included:
- Brechin Castle Agro Processing Complex;
- Sugar Manufacturing Facility;
- East West Biotechnology Manufacturing Corridor;
- Sevilla Digital Innovation Park;
- Tamana “Solartech” Renewable Energy;
- West POS ‘Trini Creative Arts Street/ Area’;
- East POS Steelpan Manufacturing Facility;
- Piarco Aircraft Maintenance Repair and Operations Hub;
- Cedros/ Moruga Southwest Peninsula Economic Zone;
- Point Galeota Energy Logistics Hub;
- Plymouth International Cruise Ship/ Marina Complex;
- Making Tobago a duty-free zone; and
- Port of Spain Port revitalisation
So why did she not say as well, to start back BWIA Airways.
We had closed BWIA and started CAL. We closed the Refinery and opened Paria Trading, is it not the same?
So she should also call on bringing back BWIA