Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his Cabinet will be told to move quickly and sell the Clico assets to raise much needed cash and also to float a major bond that could mobilise billions of dollars.
These are two major recommendations that the Prime Minister is to receive from his 22-member committee appointed to prepare a way forward to revive the economy, post the COVID-19 lockdown.
Several members of the committee who spoke with the Sunday Guardian on condition of anonymity, have said the Government was being urged to raise cash in this way rather than significantly increasing the country's debt stock by massive borrowings, while providing much needed stimulus for the economy.
Some members of the committee are urging the Government to sell the assets in Clico that includes majority holdings in companies like Republic Bank and Angostura, and raise the money for the stimulus and budgetary support.
The construction sector is also being looked at as a major area for investments.
This committee is also likely to give the Government ideas on what it can do to increase both demand and spending and to get people back to work.
Co-vice-chair of the committee and Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunt said he would neither confirm nor deny the information, but found it to be interesting suggestions.
"I am not discounting what you are saying, but that is why you plan and why you have a team and why you go through the process to get options, and all of those things you mentioned might be or might not be part of the recommendations," Le Hunte told the Sunday Guardian.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert has already projected that the country's deficit for 2020 alone will be $15 billion due to the impact of the coronavirus on government revenue, lower crude and natural gas prices and extraordinary spending.
Imbert has proposed that the country borrow part of the money on the local market and has already raised $500 million this way. He has also accessed multi-lateral funding in the sum of US$300 million, over $2 billion (TT) and has parliamentary authority to withdraw up to US$1.5 billion or $10 billion (TT) from the Heritage and Stabalisation Fund.
Le-Hunte said the short-term objective of the report will be about how to jump-start the economy with a focus on creating and sustaining jobs, increasing aggregate demand, increasing spending in the economy, increasing aggregate supply, enhancing and dealing with the social programmes, so that no one is left behind.
"Based on where we are projecting to come out, we are going to have to increase aggregate demand, aggregate spending, create jobs and there are a number of different issues," Le Hunte said.
He said one way of increasing demand and jump-starting the economy was in the construction sector.
Le Hunte explained, "What we are asking the construction sector is to give us a state of where you are and where you think you shall end, where is your baseline position now post-COVID, what are the types of projects, both in the public and private construction sectors that you have on your drawing board that you feel you could execute immediately, get going, because one way of increasing spending and getting people back out to work is via the construction sector. What are your projects, what do you need from me as a government to get these projects going?"
Asked if this meant that the Government was likely to spend even more money when there are such budgetary constraints and the flooring of revenue from the energy sector, Le Hunte said it could also mean a re-prioritising of projects.
"What are the construction projects? What are the expenditures that we currently have, what we were presently going and spend money on? Should we be spending it on that? Should we stop those things and refocus our spending in other areas?" He questioned.
The committee's vice-chair said the country also had to look at other areas of revenue since core earnings were insufficient to maintain T&T's current lifestyle. He was quick to add that if the Revenue Authority was able to ensure that the 200,000 people who are not today paying taxes were to pay their fair share, there will be enough money for the country to function.
He asked: "Are there other areas for revenue? Are there immediate leakages that need to be plugged, and are there new areas of revenue we need to explore? When you look at enhanced execution capabilities where do we need to work on immediately to improve? What are some of the social programmes that we have that worked, what are some of the social programmes we need to add in light of the new environment that we are facing?"
The Public Utilities Minister said people may return to work without the full pay they were earning before COVID-19 and the Government had to consider if there will be additional programmes needed to assist those kinds of citizens.
He said this was analogous to fighting a war and the country needed all hands on deck.
"When I win this war I now need to run an economy. There is another war I have to fight because when I come out of this war I will be in a battered state, I need to get people back to work, I need to do all of that. So while I am fighting this war I need to start to think about my recovery plan even while I am still in the war, because if I don't I will end the war and then I am now starting to put a plan in place."
Le Hunte added, "This is serious business, this is a time that T&T needs all hands on deck, this is not a time for confusion and bacchanal, we are in serious times. This is not a time for us to be divided. This is a time for us as best as possible to work together."