Ministry of Finance (Trinidad and Tobago)
.svg.png) The "Coat of Arms" is used as the Ministry's seal. | |
| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Government of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Headquarters | Eric Williams Plaza, |
| Annual budget | TT$7,407,554,030.00 TTD (2025) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Deputy Ministers responsible |
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| Ministry executives |
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| Child agencies |
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| Website | http://www.finance.gov.tt/ |
The Ministry of Finance is a Ministry in the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The head of the ministry is the Minister of Finance and is appointed by the President of Trinidad and Tobago on the advice of the Prime Minister. The incumbent, Davendranath Tancoo was appointed on May 3, 2025. He replaced Vishnu Dhanpaul, who assumed office on March 17, 2025, succeeding Colm Imbert, who was minister from September 2015 to March 2025, Dhanpaul was appointed as minister following the appointment of Stuart Young as Prime Minister.
The Ministry's Permanent Secretaries are currently Suzette Taylor-Lee Chee (2024),[1] Michelle Durham-Kissoon (2016),[2] and Dexter Jaggernauth (2023, Ag) with Yasmin Harris as Comptroller of Customs and Excise.[1]
History
The first mention of The Ministry of Finance was in 1956 when an elected Minister of Finance would replace the Official Financial Secretary (British civil servant),[3] before Trinidad and Tobago, gained independence from Great Britain in 1962. The first Minister of Finance was Dr. Eric Williams, which followed the Trinidad and Tobago general election, 1956.
Ministers
- Eric Williams, 1957-1961[4]
- A.N.R. Robinson, 1961-1966[4]
- Eric Williams, 1966-1971[4]
- George Chambers, 1971-1974[4]
- Eric Williams, 1977-1981[4]
- George Chambers, 1981-1986[4]
- A.N.R. Robinson, 1986-1988[4]
- Selby Wilson, 1989-1991[4]
- Wendell Mottley, 1991-1995[4]
- Brian Kuei Tong, 1995-2000[4]
- Gerald Yetming, 2000-2001[4]
- Patrick Manning, 2001-2007[4]
- Karen Nunez-Tesheira, 2007-2010[4]
- Winston Dookeran, 2010-2012[4]
- Larry Howai, 2012-2015[5]
- Colm Imbert, 2015-2025
- Vishnu Dhanpaul, 2025[6]
- Davendranath Tancoo, 2025-present[7]
Divisions
The Divisions of the Ministry of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago
(in alphabetical order)[8]
- Budget
- Central Tenders Board
- Communications Unit
- Customs and Excise Division
- Economic Management Division
- Financial Intelligence Unit
- General Administration Division
- Inland Revenue Division
- Investments Division
- National Insurance Appeals Tribunal
- Office Of The Supervisor Of Insolvency
- Public Private Partnership Unit
- Strategic Management and Execution Office (SMO)
- Treasury Division
- Treasury Solicitor’s Division
- Valuation Division
Law Enforcement Units
- Trinidad and Tobago Customs and Excise Division:[9] They are responsible for enforcement of customs and excise laws.
- The Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT)[10] became operational in February 2010. Their responsibilities are to implement the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism policies of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Responsibilities of the Ministry
The Ministry of Finance has responsibility for most fiscal matters relating to the government, several state bodies and personnel departments of various public services.[11] Some of these are:
- Actuarial Services
- Banking (Central and Commercial)
- Borrowing (Local and Foreign)
- Budgeting/Budgetary Control
- Consolidated Fund
- Customs and Excise
- Debt Management
- Divestments
- Double Taxation Treaties
- Economic Management
- Financial Intelligence
- Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy
- Fiscal Matters
- Heritage and Stabilisation Fund
- Infrastructure Development Fund
- Inland Revenue
- Insolvency
- International Financing
- Investments
- Lotteries and Gaming
- National Insurance
- Pensions and Gratuities
- Personnel Department Matters relating to the role of the Minister of Finance as specified in various Acts governing the Public Service
- Public Procurement
- Public Sector Finance Management
- Special Funds
- State Enterprises (Corporation Sole)
- Strategic Planning and Execution
- Treasury
- Treasury Solicitor
- Valuation
Statutory Boards and Other Bodies
There are several Statutory Boards whose mandate fall under the Ministry.[11] Some of whom are:
- Central Tenders Board
- Deposit Insurance Corporation
- National Insurance Appeals Tribunal
- National Insurance Board
- National Insurance Property Development Company Limited
- National Lotteries Control Board
- Office of Procurement Regulation
- Trinidad and Tobago Securities Exchange Commission
- Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation
State Owned Enterprises
The Ministry has responsibility for companies which are wholly owned, majority owned, minority owned and indirectly owned by the government. Some of these companies are:[11]
Wholly Owned Enterprises
- CLICO Trust Corporation Limited (CLICO Investment Fund)
- Export-Import Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (EXIMBANK)
- First Citizens Holdings Limited
- Government Human Resource Services Limited
- Government Information Services Limited
- National Broadcasting Network
- Seafood Industry Development Company Limited
- Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre Management Company Limited
- Union Estate Electricity Generation Company Limited
Majority Owned Enterprises
- Caribbean Airlines Limited
- National Enterprises Limited
Minority Owned Enterprises
- Caribbean Investment Corporation
- DFL Caribbean Holdings Limited
- Trinidad and Tobago Development Finance Limited
- Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Bank Limited (TTMB)
Indirectly Owned Enterprises
- Caribbean Development Network Limited
- Caribbean Leasing Company Limited
- Caribbean Microfinance Limited
- Colonial Life Insurance Company Limited
- First Citizens Asset Management Limited
- First Citizens Bank (Barbados) Limited
- First Citizens Bank Limited
- First Citizens Brokerage and Advisory Services
- First Citizens Costa Rica S.A.
- First Citizens Financial Services (St. Lucia) Limited
- First Citizens Investment Services (Barbados) Limited
- First Citizens Investment Services Limited
- First Citizens Securities Trading Limited
- First Citizens Trustee Services Limited
- First Citizens (St. Lucia) Limited
- NEL Power Holdings Limited
Budget
The Ministry of Finance financial allocations are distributed through the national budget.
| Year | Total Allocation | National Budget | Percentage of National Budget | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $6,644,866,532.00 | $54,581,467,181.00 | 12.10% | |
| 2020 | $6,605,822,807.00 | $57,388,076,726.00 | 11.52% | |
| 2021 | $5,276,379,653.00 | $56,498,472,820.00 | 9.34% | |
| 2022 | $6,227,104,681.00 | $58,974,346,470.00 | 10.56% | |
| 2023 | $7,013,578,526.00 | $69,379,928,103.00 | 10.11% | |
| 2024 | $6,325,484,110.00 | $64,467,985,780.00 | 9.81% | 2 |
| 2025 | $7,407,554,030.00 | $63,530,583,090.00 | 11.66% | 2 |
Note 1: Information from page 58 of a summary of expenditure for the Ministry of Finance (MOF) for the period 2019-2025 By the FINANCIAL SCRUTINY UNIT of Office of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.
Note 2: Quote on page 58 in MOF summary "For the Fiscal Years 2019-2023, actual figures were used to calculate the total allocation. However, estimates were used to calculate the total allocation for the Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025."
Note 3: Quote on page 58 in MOF summary "Total Allocation for the Ministry of Finance =Recurrent Expenditure + Consolidated Fund Expenditure"
References
- ^ a b "Public Service Commission promotes officers in the Ministry of Finance". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "Permanent Secretaries – Ministry of Finance". www.finance.gov.tt. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ Meighoo, K.; Dumas, R.; Ghany, H.; Kuboni, O; Reddock, R.; Richards, G.M.; Ryan, S.; Samaroo, B. (7 December 2012). "The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago" (PDF). The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Hansib Publications. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Former Ministers of Finance - Ministry of Finance, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago". February 21, 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
- ^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament". www.ttparliament.org.
- ^ Bartlett, Joey (2025-03-17). "Vishnu Dhanpaul is the Minister of Finance". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
- ^ "New Cabinet sworn In: Full list of appointments". Trinidad Express Newspapers. 2025-05-03. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "Divisions - Ministry of Finance". www.finance.gov.tt. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
- ^ "Customs and Excise Division – Ministry of Finance". www.finance.gov.tt. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
- ^ "Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago – Ministry of Finance". www.finance.gov.tt. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
- ^ a b c Trinidad and Tobago Gazette No. 46 Vol. 64 Thursday 20th March 2025; section 409, pages 853-854 https://printery.gov.tt/e-gazette/2025/Gazette/Gazette_No._46_of_2025.pdf
- ^ "Budget Summaries – Parliament". www.ttparliament.org. Archived from the original on 2025-03-10. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
- ^ "Publications Budget Summaries" (PDF). Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. 7 Apr 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2025. Retrieved 7 Apr 2025.
External links
- Ministry of Finance - Official Website in English