Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says Budget 2027 will benefit “law-abiding, hard-working, honest citizens” while defunding what she described as the PNM’s “swine culture” of laziness, hatred, dishonesty and racism.
Persad-Bissessar made the strongly worded declaration following the passage of the 2027 National Budget in the House of Representatives.
She said the budget makes provisions for increased salaries, backpay, payments for goods and services, social support, development programmes and projects while cutting expenditure on what she described as wasteful welfare schemes, ghost employees and failed projects and programmes.
But the Prime Minister reserved some of her strongest language for the PNM and the political culture she accused the party of fostering.
“The PNM’s swine culture of laziness, dishonesty, race grifting and hatred is being defunded,” Persad-Bissessar said.
She argued that government policy was being rebalanced to prioritise law-abiding, hard-working citizens.
Persad-Bissessar went further, saying that while Budget 2027 would bring benefits to hard-working and honest citizens, people who adhere to what she called the PNM’s “swine culture” and “engender laziness, hatred, racism and incompetence” would “continue to struggle”.
Those descriptions represent the Prime Minister’s political characterisation of the PNM and its policies.
Turning to the economy, Persad-Bissessar said the Government’s policy is to facilitate the private sector becoming the main driver of economic growth and development in the coming years.
She argued that a prosperous private business sector would ultimately benefit wider society.
The Prime Minister also defended the divestment of loss-making state enterprises, saying the process could unlock their economic potential by attracting fresh capital and experienced investors, improving management and modernising outdated facilities.
She said divestment could transform loss-making enterprises into profitable and productive businesses while creating sustainable jobs, expanding opportunities for local suppliers and entrepreneurs, generating tax revenue and reducing the financial burden on taxpayers.
Persad-Bissessar argued that this would also allow Government to redirect public resources towards healthcare, education, national security, infrastructure and improving citizens’ quality of life.
“Our responsibility is to secure the best possible value for the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” she said.
Her message following the Budget’s passage was uncompromising: Budget 2027 represents what she sees as a fundamental change in how public resources are allocated and which sections of the economy Government intends to encourage.
Persad-Bissessar ended by wishing citizens a wonderful week “filled with love”.
