While the talk in the country is the much debated 5% National Reconstruction Levy or return to Income Tax, the people should pay some attention to the 2006 budget to be presented on Friday by Finance Minister Anthony Boatswain.

The ruling New National Party (NNP) government of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell has demonstrated over the years that it does not use the occasion of the budget to introduce new tax measures to raise revenue for the State.

Apart from the plans to unveil the newlook levy, GRENADA TODAY does not anticipate any major announcement about new taxes to bring in badly needed funds to help in the massive rebuilding process that is needed in this country. Our expectation is that government might look at increasing user fees for existing services offered in order to help the financially-strapped island.

This country is already over-taxed to the mountain top and cannot be taxed any further at this point in time. The people in the Tri-island State should pay particular attention to the Minister of Finance on Friday since it will be the first real budget to be presented by government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Ivan and Emily. It should give some real insights into the thinking of the Mitchell government for the rebuilding of the island and the road ahead for the country in the immediate and medium term.

GRENADA TODAY has information to the effect that government is looking at taking another 10 million U.S from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to help facilitate its commitment to staging matches in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

This newspaper doubts very much that the details of the NIS arrangement would be outlined to the people in Friday's budget as the government on the NIS are still in the process of soliciting Board members to solicit their support on the issue. GRENADA TODAY would like to hear from the Mitchell government about its plans for the rebuilding of a number of historical and important buildings in the country as a matter of priority.

We refer in particular to Parliament, the Governor-General's Residence on upper Lucas Street, and Mt. Royal, the official home of the Prime Minister of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Our suggestion is that the Parliament building be restored and turned into a full-fledged legal complex to help strengthen the justice system on the island.

The newlook building can be used to house sittings of the Court of Appeal and also serve from time to time as a regular high court in the country. Certain adjustments could be made to some of the other smaller courts.

For example, we would like to see a Special Court to deal speedily with matters of praedial larceny and crimes committed against visitors to the island. It is our firm view that government should give some serious consideration to relocating Parliament to Mt. Wheldale where two historic but badly devastated buildings are located - the former homes of Revolutionary Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and imprisoned former deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard.

There is nothing wrong in the State constructing as part of the newlook parliament building an area to facilitate major conferences and offering them for rent to the private and public sectors. This facility can help bring in much needed finance into the Government Treasury.

And the truth of the matter is the country is badly lacking in proper and modern facilities for staging international conferences and forums like a Heads of Government summit or meeting of leaders of the sub-regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

There is nothing wrong in government taking the lead and building a modern centre for hosting conferences and renting it out to make a profit for the State. As a matter of fact, the government should look at building a state-of-the art cultural centre as part of the rebuilding process in order to look at ways of earning new revenue from outside of traditional sources.

The private sector should not complain if government enters into the fray since the opportunity has been there for them a long time now to break the ground for such projects.

These projects can pay back for themselves over a period of time and bring in much needed funds for the State. It is far better for the government to provide guarantees for this kind of financing rather than the manner in which it was duped of millions of dollars in recent years by a number of fly-by-night foreign investors such as Miller and those associated with the Levera project.