Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad says he is not in his position to win “popularity contests.”
Speaking on The Lens@177 this week, Prof Prasad mentioned that even in the best of times, finance ministers are not popular individuals.
“It’s not about me failing as Minister of Finance. It’s about not failing the country,” Prof Prasad stated.
“That is what I set out to do. That is what the honorable Prime Minister set out to do. That is what we set out to do as a Coalition Government.
“It is my job as Minister of Finance to ensure that we do the right thing.
“I am doing the work that will ultimately benefit our people, especially those with low incomes and the vulnerable, and that is the focus.
“And that is what I’m going to do during my term as Minister of Finance.”
He mentioned that he had developed an economic model that could assist future governments and his successors in working for the betterment of the country. This includes raising revenue.
Prof Prasad highlighted that sometimes raising revenue is beneficial as it enables governments to provide funding and support to the most vulnerable and low-income people.
“This is precisely the economic model that we have implemented as the Government since the last budget and in this budget.
“Even if we are not in power after the next election, any succeeding government will recognize the logic and benefits of what we accomplished in the last budget, what we’ve done in this budget, and what we plan to do in the next budget.
“By the time we complete all the budgets during my term, this country will be on much better footing for whoever comes into government thereafter.
“That’s the approach we’re taking in managing the economy.”