House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George received a preview of the weekly excitement ahead for her the next five years when she was forced into pop-up mode to deal with the baptism of fire the Rowley PNM Government rolled out for Opposition PP Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar in yesterday's Budget debate.
"It's not even excessive noise...it's just incessant noise," Persad-Bissessar remarked at 11.21 am after more than an hour of PNM "pounding (and not their desks) as she debuted the Opposition's thrust via her Budget reply.
After the pomp, ceremony and (some diplomacy) of Parliament's launch and initial salvoes fired by the Rowley PNM Government in the first order of the Parliamentary business–the Budget–yesterday's debate saw former Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar taking up the mantle of a new politically downgraded role post election in the teeth of strong PNM picong and rumbling.
She may be accustomed to the landscape but Annisette-George was forced to her feet numerous times to quell PNM "overexuberance" at Persad-Bissessar's new role and delivery. She eventually started eyeing the PNM side generating heat and once directly admonishing Finance Minister Colm Imbert (that she was hearing him). But she fell into step briskly (later giving PP's Bhoe Tewarie three seconds to wind up).
Like Imbert's Budget speech which hit the PP from its beginning, Persad-Bissessar's reply on what she deemed PP's strong political position elicited PNM barbs and laughter from start to end of her contribution when the Government desk-thumped their approval that she'd concluded.
With such a start, seems there's no room for those minded to attempt to raise House standards. But Persad-Bissessar, pressing on, braved remarks hurled her way.
"When you can't the heat you tend to explode, but when you're in the kitchen, you have to take the heat," she told PNM MPs. Imbert, an old hand at "heat," had on Monday delivered a politically-charged Budget presentation, capitalising on opportunities represented by the oil drop price and previous PP economic management. He would have had a very easy task in formulating a post-election victory Budget–simply basing his address on PNM's election manifesto, and inserting economic data, some of what he still has to explain to a public by now wary of claims from any government.
With the defeated PP's presence Imbert had a ready target to blame for economic conditions and prepare the public in the event of tougher measures later. He "sweetened" the mix, in synch with the immediate post election victory period by fulfilling various PNM first-year plan promises–though some will leave a sour aftertaste of costs when fully manifested.
Budget documents raise questions on how, for instance, Vat reduction will raise the 2016 estimated $12bn revenue, as well as use of the current VAT rate for three of the 12 months of 2016 collection. While a dampening of the economy will obviously affect VAT revenue, another scenario ahead involves whether the necessary public servant paradigm shift regarding the Revenue Authority–a thorny issue for the Manning PNM–will be achieved in less than a year to achieve projected results.
Figures also raise questions whether Government is targeting people, off-radar such as the self-employed. Clarification is needed on aspects of draft revenue including extraordinary receipts, realistic projections and oil company profits in the current climate.
All of this, with the codicil of a review and possible changes by March, a timeframe coinciding in the event Government has to campaign for Local Government polls next October and which may constrain draconian measures.
Debate for the Opposition PP, began its bid to recoup political image and public confidence. PNM's pressure on Persad-Bissessar wasn't exactly surprising in the face of a large Opposition and leader whose stocks are still strong. After the two hours of "ribbing," the final "insult" was PNM's selection one of the most junior, non portfolio-ed PNM MPs–Laventille East's Adrian Leonce–to reply to her.
More importantly, it remains to T&T to find out in coming months which side's economic claims are accurate and whether the facts and figures will indeed "drown out the fiction," as Persad-Bissessar believes.