On September 8, 2010 the new Government presented its first budget. According to the Finance Minister Winston Dookeran: “Our Budget comes at a time when we must make clear choices:
The choice to reprioritize spending to better serve the people;
The choice to build a new momentum for our economy’s growth and expansion;
The choice to make our regulatory bodies more accountable to the public;
The choice for business leaders to be bold and confident to take the risk of investment and sacrifice immediate profits, with lower income for their executives;
The choice for workers to participate in the economic process and improve their future well being.”
Budget Flowchart
I think his choice of words (no pun intended) is appropriate because as a citizen we have the choice to criticize the budget or to analyse the plans. In reading some comments on Facebook and a couple posts on local newspaper websites, it seems the critics are having a field day.
A main part of getting the country to accept the budget is the Finance Minister’s ability to present and market his plan which is similar to a Marketing Director presenting to his Board of Directors for approval. I have not read the entire budget but in looking at the key points and the table of contents, it seems to have all the elements of a good marketing plan. It starts with an overview of the current state of the economy and then outlines the vision for the sustainable long term growth in the future. The competitive environment and the growing economy are also examined. The financial action plan gives an overview of the outcomes and projections for 2011 and lays out the fiscal and other measures to achieve economic growth.
In terms of listening to the needs of its customers, or in this case the citizens, the Minister’s introduction headline is “Facing the Issues & People’s Pain”. As our Prime Minister always says “serve the people, serve the people, serve the people” is the mandate of the Government. It seems that they want to engage and satisfy their customers.
As with any marketing plan, the budget ends by identifying the progress of the main activities and highlighting what was achieved. It seems to have all the right parts. I’ll leave it up to the experts to analyse the content and I do hope for the sake of our country that this budget sets us on the path for sustainable growth and development.
