PNM legacy
- Trinidad and Tobago’s economy contracted by 20 percent
- The non-energy sector collapsed by 12 percent under the PNM
- The energy sector has plummeted by over 33 percent
- Agricultural output has collapsed by 50 percent
- Net foreign exchange holdings have dropped by 50 percent under the PNM from $10.5 US billion to $5.3 US billion. Today, TT has a mere 7.5 months of import cover
- Supplementary appropriation of $3.14 billion.
By Caribbean News Global 
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Delivering the finance supplementary appropriation bill 2025 and mid-year review 2025, on Wednesday minister of finance, Davendranath Tancoo, stated that “this government must clean up the mess left behind by their reckless mismanagement. Today we are here to pay bills caused by the PNM administration but for which they failed to make provision to settle. This is not just fiscal irresponsibility – it is economic sabotage.”
The mid-year review serves a dual purpose. First, to provide an update on the state of the economy. Second, to obtain parliament’s approval for proposed amendments to the Appropriation Act, 2025, “seeking a supplementary appropriation of $3.14 billion is simple: we are forced to supplement a PNM budget,” as presented by finance minister Tancoo.
Accordingly, “ The fact that the vast majority of the middle class has been thrown into poverty, that over 60,000 businesses have been struck off the register of companies, and an additional 6,000 businesses many of them Micro Small and Medium Sized Businesses having been forced to close – crippling the domestic small investment class,” the finance minister added. “The purchasing power of the vast majority of citizens has been slashed in some cases by as much as half as a compromised by skyrocketing food, essential healthcare, transport and bank charges. What none of us could ever have ascertained however was just how bad it had become.”
The PNM, “deliberately underfunded critical expenditures, planning all along to return after the election and demand more money – a shameless ploy to manipulate public finances for political gain,” and “the nation will not forget who put us in this dangerous position.”
What’s more, in the Standing Finance Committee meeting two days ago, this country heard the former minister of finance shamelessly confess that the economy was in a bad way.
Finance minister Tancoo, said:
“Today I want to tell the population: Be not afraid. The road may be long and winding. The task before us is hard. But as certain as the day follows the night, the sun will rise again and our country will bask in the sunshine again.”
The finance minister stated that the government of Trinidad and Tobago is finalising arrangements for the signing of a US$15M or TT$102M loan from CAF to undertake several coastal protection projects across Tobago.
According to the minister of finance talking points: “The last ten years of PNM rule has been a decade of debt, death and destruction for all of Trinidad and Tobago except the friends, family and financiers of the PNM.”
Wanton squandermania
Finance minister Tancoo presented to the House of Representatives that, “Adjusted general government debt has increased by 92 percent since 2015. Reckless borrowing by the PNM racked up the debt to $ 145 billion. External debt alone has more than doubled from US$2 billion to US$5.48 billion over the same period. That is a 167 percent increase. Money my government now has to find foreign exchange to pay.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s economy contracted by 20 percent contraction. That is the PNM legacy. The non-energy sector collapsed by 12 percent under the PNM. The energy sector has plummeted by over 33 percent, agricultural output has collapsed by 50 percent.
Under the PNM, 79 percent of businesses in AMCHAM T&T and EY’s 2025 Economic Outlook Survey declared no confidence that there will be economic growth, the finance minister expressed in the House of Representatives.
Reports indicate that net foreign exchange holdings have dropped by 50 percent under the PNM from USD 10.5 billion to USD 5.3 billion. Today TT has a mere 7.5 months of import cover.
“When you look at the Auditor Generals Report you will find over $30 billion in expenditure was unverified, could not be located, were not presented for audit or were not placed in the vote books in 2024. That is half the annual expenditure of the country! That is alarming. That is why they were so intent in not releasing the Auditor General’s Report,” the finance minister argued.
Serial underbudgeting – a calculated scheme of financial deception
Fiscal Outurn
The 2025 budget projected an overall fiscal deficit of $5.51 billion or 2.91 percent of GDP. An overall deficit of $3.97 billion was projected for the period October 1 2024 – 31 March 2025.
Revenue
Revenue collections projected for the period October 2024 to March 2025 were $24.58 billion. However, the actual revenue collected was $24.09 billion, resulting in a shortfall of 485.5 million in revenue. This almost $485.5 loss in revenue is very likely as a direct result of the under-resourcing of the one entity engaged in tax collection – the board of Inland Revenue.
Expenditure
The data also showed that the total expenditure was slashed by $1.01 billion for the first six months of the 2025 fiscal year. The total projected expenditure for the period October 2024 to March 2025 was $28.55 billion. However actual expenditure recorded for the six months was $27.54 billion, $1.01 billion less than projected.
Who did this? And why? Finance minister Tancoo queried.
“This was a deliberate action by then PNM finance minister at statistical conmanship, kicking the can down the road so that the new government coming in has to find the money to pay.”
The result is an “accumulation of over a billion dollars in arrears owed for wages and salaries, loan repayments, goods and services, etc; these figures do not take into account further billions owed in VAT, wage settlements and to contractors which the member for DMNE failed to budget to pay in his 2025 budget.
Budget deficit
The 2025 budget was predicated on an average oil price of US$77.80 per barrel and natural gas price of US$3.59 per mmbtu.
“Our estimation for oil and gas prices to the end of the fiscal year is US$66.00 and US$5.00 per mmbtu,” with this and other adjustments we anticipate a decrease in total revenue of $556.7 million, with a resultant overall deficit of $9.67 billion.
“We expect to fund the increased deficit principally via borrowings on the local capital market as well as by drawing down on existing multi-lateral facilities; work assiduously to improve the revenue mobilization capacity of the inland revenue division and explore further expenditure consolidation and efficiency initiatives in the coming months,” said finance minister Tancoo.
But first, “ this government is compelled to seek an additional $3.14 billion in supplementary funding, not because of unforeseen crises – but because the former government intentionally unde-rbudgeted for critical expenditure, knowing full well that the bills would come due,” finance minister Tancoo added.
“This is classic PNM. They spend money without any clear idea of where the money is coming from. No proper planning, no sustainable financing, just reckless expenditure masked as governance.”
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