Support for end to $2 billion subsidy

Monday, January 21 2008

THERE IS strong support for Trade Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s suggestion that Government review the annual $2 billion vehicle fuel price subsidy.

University of the West Indies (UWI) lecturer Gregory McGuire said yesterday that he is happy that a Minister of Government has finally come forward and made the statement on the record.

McGuire, an Energy Economics lecturer, said of the huge subsidy, “It is wastage of our natural resource assets, artificially keeping the cost of vehicle maintenance down. Once oil went beyond US$50 a barrel, it ought to have been capped.”

He also lamented that people do not recognise the extent of the subsidy they have been getting.

Some well known businessmen also agreed that the time has come for Government to review its position on the costly endeavour.

One of the entrepreneurs, said, “This $2 billion a year subsidy is horrendously too much of a brunt for tax-payers to bear. It is time that people in this country pay the full price for their fuel consumption, as the financial bonanza TT is currently experiencing will come to an end. When the money runs out, they will still have to pay the full price.” The businessman said Government should have started reducing the subsidy to a zero rating over a three or five year period and continue tallying what it would have subsidised on an annual basis to place the money in the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund. At September 2007 the HSF stood at $11 billion.



Signaaaal!

Wap SHOT! Take it in all yuh mudder cont. That is PNM for you.

Subsidy goin, rise in gas price and wap shot, everything goin to sky rocket again.

All yuh love the PNM and COP.

Take it in all yuh cyat.