Senior Reporter
jesse.ramdeo@cnc3.co.tt
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has described the 2026 National Budget as “a budget for the people,” defending her administration’s measures aimed at job creation, wage adjustments, and fuel price reductions.
Addressing the media in the Rotunda of Parliament shortly after Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo delivered his first Budget presentation yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said the Government was focused on rebuilding the economy and ensuring that ordinary citizens directly benefit from growth.
“My Government made a simple promise, to protect the people and manage the economy responsibly. I’ve been listening when everybody was reading out their wishlist, ‘do not raise the price of gas’, we did better, we reduced the price of gas. And the second cry that was heard was ‘don’t raise the price of food’ and instead we tried to reduce the price of food.”
The Finance Minister announced that the Government intended to end state funding of criminal gangs by phasing out the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP). Persad-Bissessar said details about the Government’s plans for job creation would be forthcoming.
“The minister mentioned that he put half a billion dollars into an unemployment fund, and we will use that fund to fill vacancies. How soon? Very soon. I will speak to this next week when I speak on the Budget, and immediately after I speak, we will be rolling it out. We have been working on it for a few weeks now. We will start rolling out the jobs for people to apply, and these will be real jobs with real people, not ghost jobs. We have identified so far about 8000 vacancies. People come, they get their applications, they go down to a centre, the Couva Cycling Centre (National Cycling Centre), we do have a great plan.”
The Prime Minister pushed back against Opposition criticism, insisting that the fiscal package was carefully designed to restore confidence and opportunity. She also defended the decision to reduce the price of super gasoline by one dollar, arguing that citizens had been overburdened by what she called the People’s National Movement’s overcharging in previous years.
“They were overcharging you all the time, they miscalculated it, and they were overcharging and keeping the money in their pockets, to do what? Because they have nothing to show after nine years to the people. You remember Imbert, ‘I raised the price once, twice, and three times, and they haven’t riot’ and I told them they will riot with their fingers, and they did it.”
Persad-Bissessar also defended the decision to peg the Budget on an oil price assumption for 2026 of US$73.25 per barrel, compared with US$77.80 per barrel in 2025; and natural gas price assumption at US$4.25 per MMBtu, compared with US$3.59 per MMBtu in 2025.
“We didn’t use Brent, it is a package in order to project for the future. We feel comfortable with that projection, and therefore, we are not using Brent; Brent is just one projection.”
She also cautioned against what she described as “naysayers” who doubt the Government’s commitment to deliver on its 10 per cent wage increase for public sector workers, emphasizing that the measure was both affordable and necessary.
“A detractor saying across the floor that you give them 10% and taking back 3% in contributions by employees. Let me make it very clear, don’t get chain up. We are going to give them 10%, the increase in NIS takes effect, we propose a phased approach implementing a 3% in the contribution rate effective January 5, 2026, and another 3% in the following year. They already twisting. This thing will come into effect next year; the 10% the public servants are getting is not for next year. This thing does not kick in until next year, so all this money for the 10% happened in the past.”
Persad-Bissessar said the Budget was not aimed at “getting the rich richer but a balance for everyone.”
