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As I mentioned before, this is the 6th Budget Debate in which I have participated. However, this one is unique, not only for me, but I suspect in the history of these deliberations. There has been the need for adjustments in light of developments which occurred following my opening presentation. The interesting point is that very little attention has been focussed on many of the substantive points made in the opening presentation. Such has been the impact of the tax measure on petroleum which the Leader of the Opposition has now termed "a comparatively minor tax problem". Nonetheless, even as we recover from the reactions, the country must return to deal with some of the fundamental issues which have been raised. I will attempt to revisit some in this presentation, but hopefully the same will be done in the ensuing sectoral debate, as well as in discussions in the public media. The country needs to come to grips with some of the issues. The peculiar circumstances have necessitated adjustments on the part of everyone. The Prime Minister's decision to involve a group of non-government persons via the Moses Committee, and the willingness of those asked to serve, is one commendable indication of flexibility in the face of a national crisis. The ability of both Government and Opposition to come to agreement on a revised schedule is another example. In that regard, I wish to express publicly my appreciation to the Opposition Spokesman on Finance, in that even on the day on which he spoke it was necessary for me to introduce changes to the sources of revenue by means of a Ministry Paper. Nonetheless, he proceeded with his presentation. For all the above reasons, this closure has to be one with a difference. It is necessary to address several audiences simultaneously. This is always true, but the demands are even greater this time around. There is need to do the usual, of responding to various critical assessments of the Budget; there is need to speak to some of the issues underlying the reaction to the hike in the tax on gas and there is need to speak to concerns of various special interest groups making some suggestions as to how each can contribute to a solution. However, even after we address these social, political issues, the fundamental matter at hand is that we are still debating a Budget and regardless of how we package it, we have to return to economic and financial basics. It is a matter of how a country, with limited resources, seeks to -
This latter issue is often seen as being the concern only of Government and more directly, the Ministry of Finance. However, given the need to borrow to meet some of these obligations, we need to convince creditors, domestic and external, that the programme which is advanced is credible and that they are certain of being repaid. Whilst our obligations to domestic creditors are no less important, external creditors are a special kind. There is no question that they too are concerned about internal social problems, but in the final analysis their major concern is that they be repaid. Thus what we need to assess is the extent to which the recent developments may have affected their confidence in our credit worthiness. The question of how the presentation should be pitched has always been one which elicits varying views - finding the right mix to address all constituencies, has been made particularly difficult this time around. Within the context of all the above, I outline the manner and structure of this closing presentation. First, I will indicate some lessons which have been learnt; next I will examine the main criticisms made by the Leader of the Opposition, the Opposition Spokesman on Finance and the Leader of the NDM; third, I will return to FINSAC - still misunderstood, but oh so vital to the future of the country. Fourth, I will speak to some important additional steps which have been taken since my initial presentation and then I will wrap up my presentation and then formally close the Debate.
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