AFTER the announcement of a $59.232b expenditure budget for fiscal 2025/2026, Newsday took to the streets of Port-of-Spain, asking the public their views on October 13.

Mickey Matthews, 75, was wary of some of the perceived budget gifts.

Referring to Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo's presentation in Parliament earlier, Matthews said, “What struck me is that in his pre-budget statement, he (Tancoo) said he did not know the economy was in such dire straits, but to my mind, he delivered a budget as if the economy wasn’t in any state.