Caption: Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo
By Alicia Chamely
FINANCE Minister Davendranath Tancoo is assuring citizens the budget for the 2026 fiscal year will show a step in the right direction for the country’s economic outlook.
He, however, is also reminding the country that they will not see an immediate 180-degree turn in the economy, rather they will see the movements aimed at getting there.
Tancoo was speaking with reporters on Wednesday night at a reception to honour the 2025 Chevening Scholars hosted by British High Commissioner Jon Dean at his official residence in Maraval.
Questioned about the upcoming budget and the country’s economic outlook, Tancoo said, “It is challenging but you will start seeing change. Change will come, but for change to come we must take the decisions to initiate that change today, so you will not necessarily see 100 percent, a 180-degree turn in the economy, but you will see a step in the right direction.”
“I think what you will see after the Budget is positive movements, guaranteed to go towards growth and development, put into the next five years to get to where we want to get to,” the minister said.
He said, “Citizens are very well aware of the difficult circumstances the former government left this country in. But rest assured that we will make things better, and we are committed to doing that… the budget for fiscal 2026 will be the direction, it will show the direction that this country will go in over the next four and a half years.”
Asked whether provisions were being made to facilitate the ten percent starting offer in upcoming public servant wage negotiations as promised by the United National Congress (UNC) during their election campaign, Tancoo said, “We have given commitments to make specific payments with regards to the Public Services Association and so on, we will keep to our agreement, we will keep to our commitments we have made. So, provisions would have been made in the budget for those circumstances.”
He noted that negotiations had not yet started, but said things were being put in place to facilitate and settle negotiations.
As for the date of the budget, Tancoo said the government had a tentative date, but it was dependent on ensuring all documentation had been submitted by the various ministries.
Though he wished not to delve into the specifics of the budget, he did hint at new initiatives that would be included.
Tancoo said, “Some new initiatives are coming in the budget that I think will be very important and very interesting to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.”
