(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bisssessar said Wednesday that despite projections that this country’s budget would have been in a deficit of billions of dollars, figures at the end of this half of this fiscal year, shows a surplus. Persad-Bissessar said though the revenue was lower than expected, the country was in a $47 million surplus.
She said: “For fiscal 2014, 2015, we’ve completed half of the fiscal year and in spite of the falling oil prices, I’m very happy to say that it was projected that we would have a deficit at this time, at the close of half of the fiscal years, a deficit of $3.9 billion. The good news is we have no deficit…At the end of the half fiscal year, we are now recording a surplus that is to say more income, more revenue than how we spent of $47million…Of course our revenue was lower than we expected but we were able by prudent management of our economy, of our spending, not to go into $3.9billion deficit but to come out with a surplus.”
Persad-Bissessar who was speaking during the opening of the La Brea Police Station, praised her government ministers including Minister of Finance Larry Howai.
Several ministers were present. Member of Parliament for the area Fitzgerald Jeffrey was also present.
Following her speech Persad-Bissessar invited a group of protesters to the stage.
The Prime Minister said she met them close to the entrance, and they asked for her intervention on work related issues and issues related to safety and security.
She said: “I indicated (to them) I have a Cabinet inter-ministerial team which deals with labour and work-related matters and which is composed of several ministers and the Minister of Labour. On Friday I invite you to join us at the Committee Room at Parliament, Minister McLeod and other minister will speak with you and seek to resolve your issues.”
Spokesman for the group, employed with Trinidad Off-shore Fabricators (TOFCO) Darryl Nelson told the media that they were working on BP’s $13 billion Juniper platform and they had “safety concerns and money issues.”
He said: “We need help from anyone right now. We came down to seek the intervention of the Prime Minister.”
Following Persad-Bissessar’s invitation, the group sang happy birthday to her. Persad-Bissessar turned 63 years last week Wednesday.
The official opening of the station took place Wednesday, six months after police officers began working from the building.
