FINANCE Minister Vishnu Dhanpaul said it was always a "privilege and honour" to serve his country, addressing reporters after being sworn in at President's House, St Ann's, on March 17.
"My number one priority is to drive economic growth." He said such prosperity solves a lot of problems such as foreign exchange (forex) availability.
Asked about his transition from retired public servant to active politician, he said,"I don't think I will have a steep learning curve."
He said as former PS he had worked with many former finance ministers of all political hues (PNM, UNC and NAR) since Wendell Mottley in 1991.
"I think it is a very thankless job to be a minister. You can't 'win' but you can do your best."
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"Something I could tell the population: I promise to do my best. And when my best stops being good enough, I know when to leave."
He said earlier that day he had spoken to his predecessor Colm Imbert.
Asked about his reaction to his appointment, he replied, "Shocked. But as I said, I am all about TT. It is not about me. I am secondary to the matter.
"It is about helping my country. I am a fiercely patriotic man and TT will always be my country."
He was asked about the finance minister's relationship with the Auditor General, after the Privy Council criticised his predecessor's probe into Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass.
Dhanpaul said said he has had "fantastic" and "cordial" relations with past auditor generals, saying, "I don't see why it should change now."
Asked if his transition into politics breached the Public Service Regulations, he said he was retired; there was no cooling off period after retirement; and People's Partnership minister Emmanuel George was ample precedent for this.
Asked if he could take tough decisions, Dhanpaul said the population would have "no hardships."
He vowed, "Not under my watch. That is not going to happen."
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Asked if the population could face tough times, Dhanpaul said economic policies do not have to put pain onto people.
"We are not going through austerity measures. At least I have no intention of implementing austerity measures to literally punish the population.
"We are going to keep it simple, we are going to keep it above board, we are going to keep it with integrity and get the job done."
He said he was very disappointed in the British Government's sudden recent imposition of a visa requirement on TT nationals to go to the UK. "We were ambushed."
