THE economy is in a difficult place but the unemployment rate is not bad.
So said economist Dr Ronald Ramkissoon on Saturday in an interview on the state of the economy.
With two weeks having passed since the swearing-in of the new Government, Ramkissoon believes it is still assessing the underlying conditions with respect to the economy.
He said that it is still early for them and a comprehensive package, in practice, will have to be seen for economic revival.
“I think the initial indication is that it is not in a good place—the economy, that is—and I think that they are in the process of looking at certain possibilities,” Ramkissoon said.
He said that the Government’s plans would have to be laid out, and that “We will have to monitor whether there is going to be a positive change in the various economic fundamentals; but this will only happen in the course of time.”
Ramkissoon further stated, “We have to wait to see, first, a comprehensive package for economic revival; and we then have to monitor how the various programmes, projects are being implemented and what the results of those projects or programmes are.”
He said that there have been several years of deficit, with the economy continuing to be in deficit, and that the economic environment is not buoyant. “In summary, the economy is in a difficult place,” he said.
He, however, said that there are still savings in the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF), and noted some foreign exchange is being generated by the energy sector. He added that the unemployment rate “is not bad”.
Ramkissoon said that the economy currently needs actions to conserve foreign exchange and conserve expenditures to be more in line with this country’s revenue positions. He noted the economy needs activities that will either save foreign exchange or generate new sources of foreign exchange in the shortest possible time.
At her first Cabinet meeting on May 8, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said it was discovered that the country was being run on a month-to-month basis by the past administration, with expenditures consistently exceeding revenue.
She, however, said that her Government has the plans, policies and willpower to fix it, and went on to outline measures to fund the $4.42 billion deficit for May.