Government gets support for multi-billion dollar supplemental budget

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government Thursday received parliamentary approval for a TT$2.8 billion (One TT dollar = US$0.16 cents) supplemental budget that Finance Minister Larry Howi said would be use mainly to meet outstanding payments to public workers.
But opposition legislators refused to support the new fiscal measure saying that the coalition People’s Partnership government of Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar had not given adequate explanation for increasing its TT$58.4 billion expenditure that was approved as part of the 2012-13 national budget.
Opposition Leader Dr. Keith Rowley described the government’s projections for economic growth as “Anancy stories” adding that the public debt of the country was now estimated at TT$61 billion.