PM hints at job cutsBy Richardson Dhalai Saturday, November 22 2008
He has asked citizens to tighten their belts in the face of tough economic times but Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday said he lives an un-extravagant lifestyle and if he tightened his own belt “it will reach my spine”.
As he drove through his San Fernando East constituency, on a tour of flood-affected districts, in a silver Mitsubishi Pajero, worth an estimated $500,000, Manning told reporters, during one of his stops, that he is not a man of excess.
“Just in case you didn’t know, I don’t live an extravagant life by any means. I don’t drink alcohol, there are so many things I don’t do. If I tighten my belt any further it will reach my spine,” Manning said.
On Thursday, in a televised address to the nation, Manning informed citizens that because of the downturn in the global economy due to falling oil and other commodity prices, Government has to cut its $50 billion Budget by $6 billion, and every ministry has to revise its expenditure.
He said citizens will have to tighten their belts as “things could get more challenging”, and asked the population to be “disciplined, discerning and inventive”.
Manning hinted at just how much more challenging things can become when he pointed out yesterday that the unemployment rate may rise again once Government cuts back on its expenditure.
“Government’s expenditure is going to go down and therefore unemployment could rise, in addition to which business would be affected by the credit squeeze and by the downturn in construction activity,” he said.
“Things could get a little more difficult, on the other hand, prices are going down so exactly how individuals are going to be affected they will have to work out themselves,” he added.
The price reductions Manning referred to are those for flour, bread and rice, however, according to the Central Bank yesterday, citizens still have to battle with high prices as inflation has risen to 15.4 percent, up from 14.8 percent.
In his address, Manning said ministries will review their budgets next week and the Government will determine which areas of expenditure have to be trimmed. He had assured that the more vulnerable will be taken care of by an increase in social spending.
Some of that is likely to go toward the victims of the floods of this past week in which a woman and three-year-old girl died, which damaged hundreds of homes and undermined pipelines, roads and other infrastructure.
Yesterday, Manning, Government MPs and senators went out to all 41 constituencies to assess the extent of the flood damage.
Since communities in his constituency did not suffer from the floods, Manning instead visited a former squatter settlement at Alamby Street, Ste Madeleine, from where persons were relocated to a government housing development.
The squatters were relocated to Tarodale Hills as they were affected by a gas pipeline in the settlement, Manning said.
“You wouldn’t believe how many houses were in here, and all of the people have been relocated to Tarodale Hills. So we are making headway in squatter relocation, the effect of which is to give people a better way of life, you see the housing conditions,” he added. Manning is expected to continue his constituency tour today.
