FISCAL TRANSPARENCY IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

UNCLAS PORT OF SPAIN 000172 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB/IFD/OMA - JULIA JACOBY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN PREL TD SUBJECT: FISCAL TRANSPARENCY IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO REF: (A) State 16737, (B) 08 POS 127 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PROTECT ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (U) Post provides the following responses to ref (A) questions on fiscal transparency in Trinidad and Tobago. A more complete assessment of fiscal transparency in T&T is contained in ref (B). ¶2. (SBU) QUESTION: Is the central government expected to receive or is it already receiving U.S. foreign assistance funded using FY 09 funds? ANSWER: The Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) receives U.S. foreign assistance under the International Military Education Training (IMET) and International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) accounts. Proposed FY-09 allocations are $100,000 under IMET and $400,000 under INCLE. ¶3. (SBU) QUESTION: Is the host country's budget publicly available? ANSWER: The GOTT publishes revenue and expenditure information each year in presenting its annual budget to Parliament. Current projections as well as prior year outcomes are published by the Ministry of Finance and also posted at the Ministry's website, http://www.finance.gov.tt/, via the Budget Statement, the annual Review of the Economy report, and the Public Sector Investment Program. ¶4. (SBU) QUESTION: Are incomes and expenditures included in the publicly-available budget? ANSWER: Incomes and expenditures are included in the publicly-available budget documents. These documents provide reliable data for all general categories of revenue and expenditure, with explanations of any significant changes in specific line items from year to year. SHAPIRO