THE following are explanations of terminologies which may have been used in yesterday’s budget presentation and post-budget discussions. • Allocation—In the context of a budget, allocation refers to the process of distributing available financial resources to different departments, projects, or categories. It involves deciding how much money will be set aside or assigned for specific purposes, such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, or defence.
When a resource is assigned to someone or something. • Asset—A resource that has a money value owned or controlled by an individual or company. State companies and resources cannot be owned by Government or an individual.
• Balanced Budget—A budget where total incomes equal total spending for a given year. When the budget is not balanced, it is either in deficit (loss) or surplus (profit). T&T has only achieved a budget surplus once in the last 15 years—in 2022—and was due to an unexpected increase in oil and gas prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• Capital Revenue—Capital Revenue includes proceeds from transactions under the Government’s Sale of Assets Programme, related mainly to the repayment of debt owed to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago by Colonial Life Insurance Company (Trinidad) Ltd (CLICO). • Civil Society—Groups, communities, networks of non-profit organisations (NGOs) that are independent of Government (that is non-government). • Consolidated Fund—This fund refers to a.