Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has agreed to a request from the Tobago Division of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for a meeting.
The Office of the Prime Minister says the meeting will be held on January 22nd.
Rowley is also expected to meet on January 23 with officials of the Tobago House of Assembly to discuss Tobago’s development agenda for 2018 and beyond.
The Tobago Chamber wrote to the Prime Minister last Thursday requesting the meeting to discuss the air and seabridge issues which plagued Tobago for much of 2017.
Tourist arrivals in Tobago have seen a significant decline in the past year because of issues in getting to and from the island.
Chairman of the Tobago Chamber Demi John Cruickshank told the T&T Guardian on Tuesday that “the private sector has always held out an olive branch to say we want to work with the Government.”
He said the situation in Tobago in 2017 was bad “businesses have not paid loans for three months and after three months the banks can call in those loans.
We have had a horrible year in terms of business on the island.”
He put the blame squarely at the doors of the Port Authority and those in Trinidad who were in a position to fix it.
He said the Chamber is not issuing any warning to the government but the Chamber “was very happy that the Prime Minister responded to our letter and we are looking forward to the Prime Minister and his team working along with the private sector to fix the economy of Tobago.”
The Chamber has also requested that Finance Minister Colm Imbert attend the meeting. Imbert is the chairman of the inter-ministerial team mandated to find a passenger ferry for the sea bridge.
President of the Inter-Island Truckers Association Horace Amede said he is looking forward to the discussions and is going with “an open mind.”
He said “my take on the issue right now is that the private sector in Tobago should get involved in looking for a vessel to run the route between Trinidad and Tobago. But they need approval from the government because they will have to pay the subsidy.”
But he said he awaits the proposals of the government to deal with the seabridge issue.