Enill:
Government to decide removal of gas subsidy
Trinidad Express
Petroleumworldtt.com
03 30 08
Government has not yet reached a decision on whether
to remove the subsidy on gas, Energy Minister Conrad
Enill said yesterday at a press briefing at
Trinidad Lake Asphalt offices, La Brea.
Enill
said a recent statement he made on the subsidy
was interpreted by the media
to mean "we will
be taking away the subsidy."
"Nothing could be further from the truth," he
said.
Enill said the present position was that government
was doing an analysis of the situation to understand
what were the options.
"Once that is done we will make the findings
available to the public." he said.
Enill
said: "The gas subsidy
today is approximately $2 billion, and revenue
increases from oil do not
equate with expenditure increases. You have to
sit down to determine the best use of your resources
taking into account that those who cannot afford
it must be helped."
Enill
said it was not the policy of government to create
circumstances by which
the people of
Trinidad and Tobago will find themselves suffering
as "a consequence of government's policy."
He
said in Trinidad and Tobago "we
pay a higher price for petroleum products because
we
import the products to refine them. In a high price
environment the government's expenditure is also
increasing at the same level as the rest of the
world."
Enill
said government has commissioned a study on gas
subsidy, and when the study is
completed "we
will discuss the matter with the relevant authority".
He visited the area yesterday to get first hand
knowledge on plans to improve the operations at
the pitch lake.
Story by Louis
B Homer from
The Trinidad Express, South Bureau
The
Trinidad Express
Saturday, March 15th 2008
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