Trinidad and Tobago House passes $63.4 billion budget

The House of Representatives has passed Trinidad and Tobago’s 2027 national budget, which outlines approximately $63.4 billion in planned expenditure for the upcoming financial year. Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo presented the fiscal package, which includes allocations for social assistance, national security, infrastructure, economic development, and public-sector expenditure.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar described the budget as a “rebalancing of policy” designed to benefit law-abiding citizens. The administration intends to prioritize the private sector as the primary driver of economic growth. Key components of the plan include increased salaries, backpay, and social support, while simultaneously cutting spending on what the Prime Minister characterized as “wasteful welfare schemes, ghost employees and failed projects and programs.”

To redirect public resources toward healthcare, education, and infrastructure, the government plans to divest loss-making state enterprises. The administration aims to attract fresh capital and investors to modernize these facilities and turn them into profitable entities. The Appropriation Bill now moves to the Senate for further debate.