The Tobago business community is warning Government and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) not to repeat the mistakes of 2017 which virtually crippled the island’s economy of Tobago.
The warning came as the Tobago Chamber asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at which they want Finance Minister Colm Imbert in attendance.
Chairman of the Tobago Division of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Demi John Cruickshank said a letter asking for the meeting was sent last Thursday and the Office of the Prime Minister is working on a date and time. The business group has asked for the meeting to be held at a hotel in Tobago, to facilitate all the stakeholders in Tobago.
Cruickshank, who is optimistic the meeting will take place before the end of the week, said the Chamber asked for Imbert to attend the meeting because “we are more comforted by Minister Imbert. When we met with him at the Magdalena Grand about four Wednesdays ago to discuss the loan guarantee programme, he was on the ball. He did not fool us.
“He said listen, I know what the situation the boat crisis will create and if it is not fixed in two months, the economy of Tobago will crumble. He felt the pain of what we going through. That is the first time a senior Cabinet minister said I understand the problem and will try to fix as quickly as possible.”
Imbert is the minister in charge of a four-member team charged with sourcing a passenger ferry for the seabridge.
Cruickshank said the business community in Tobago is not averse to the government inviting private sector participation on the air and seabridge.
“That will lead to greater efficiency,” he said.
Cruickshank said while the Chamber had gone easy on the THA led by Kelvin Charles in 2017 that will change in 2018.
“They have to bring solutions to the table. They must realise that tourism is the lifeblood of this island,” he said.
Cruickshank said the business community had hoped that after a bad financial year that the recent Christmas would have been brighter. Instead, it was one of the worst years in terms of sales, he said.
“It was extremely slow, dead beyond our expectations and only picked up the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas.”
Although there were cruise ships in the Port of Scarborough over the holiday period, that did not help.
“Basically the people did not spend and to compound that the traditional Tobagonians did not spend as expected,” he said.
In addition, the Trinidadian tourist market which Tobago depends on, never took off “because there was chaos on the airport to get flights and the seabridge has its own problems.”
With no sign of a turnaround of the economic fortunes of Tobago, Cruickshank said workers are in danger of losing their jobs.
“I am not sure what will happen to employment levels after January/February. Some of the members saying they cannot hold on to staff and may have to start sending people home if there is no positive step by Government to fix the problem,” he said.