Madam Speaker, Honourable Members, I rise today to deliver the Budget Statement for the 2025 Financial Year. This is my 10^th Budget presentation, which comes at a pivotal moment in our Government’s steadfast and resolute pursuit of economic prosperity, social equity and sustainable growth. Before getting into the details of this year’s Budget, I must express my gratitude to Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley, our Prime Minister and Leader of this PNM Administration, for his support and astute leadership over the past 9 years. It has been a privilege to serve as Minister of Finance and to steer the fiscal affairs of our nation since the inception of this Administration in September 2015.

Reflecting on the challenging circumstances that characterised our entry into office, it is essential to acknowledge the turbulent economic landscape which confronted us in 2015, with declining commodity prices and production levels, followed by COVID-19, global inflationary trends and shortages, conflicts in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war. We had to manage this hostile economic environment in the face of an overdrawn government bank account and a disconnect between government expenditure and revenue, where expenditure had increased by 40 percent over the period 2010 to 2015 without a corresponding increase in revenue.