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“[…] While the government has made much of fiscal consolidation and social spending, it has left precious little fiscal or strategic room to manoeuvre should Trinidad and Tobago find itself caught in the crossfire of a conflict between Venezuela and the United States.
“Regardless of the duration or intensity of such a confrontation, the implications for our country are profound… Yet, nowhere in this budget is there evidence of contingency planning for that possibility…”
The following Letter to the Editor on the scope of the Government’s 2026 Budget was submitted to Wired868 by Anthony Bennett of San Fernando:
Copyright: Office of Parliament 2025.
The recently delivered national budget has, quite glaringly, ignored the elephant in the room—the precarious geopolitical situation unfolding just miles from our shores.
While the government has made much of fiscal consolidation and social spending, it has left precious little fiscal or strategic room to manoeuvre should Trinidad and Tobago find itself caught in the crossfire of a conflict between Venezuela and the United States.
Regardless of the duration or intensity of such a confrontation, the implications for our country are profound.
Photo: Washington Post.
Trinidad and Tobago’s economy remains heavily dependent on the energy sector, both as a source of export earnings and fiscal revenue. Any attack—direct or collateral—on our offshore platforms, gas pipelines, or petrochemical facilities would cripple production, disrupt revenue flows, and destabilise the wider economy.
Yet, nowhere in this budget is there evidence of contingency planning for that possibility. There are no enhanced allocations for critical infrastructure protection, no mention of strategic reserves, and no sign of a framework for rapid economic response.
It is as though our policymakers assume that global volatility will conveniently bypass us.
A responsible national budget in 2025 should anticipate not only domestic demands but also external shocks. The current posture reflects neither foresight nor prudence.
Trinidad and Tobago cannot afford to be complacent while sitting at the edge of an unfolding geopolitical storm.
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I think they did account for the u.s./Venezuela/ TNT (desperately trying to insert itself) conflict. The oil price the budget is based on suggest that the finance minister/Gov’t is anticipating a shift of some sought that will drive oil prices up from its current levels to the $73.00 the budget is based on. Traditionally oil prices have responded to volatility caused by wars and rumours of wars. I sincerely hope that I am wrong but this is yet another issue that maybe predicting our future in the shortterm.
Calypso History Month. So, a good time to remind our government that it is not a good idea to be deliberately ignoring Lord Kitchener’s warning not to “siddong on the river stone and (be) talking the river bad.”
And a timely response too to Bryan St Louis for whom the UNC Government has seemingly not put a foot wrong.