An emotional Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon shed tears yesterday as she appealed to members of the American Chamber of T&T (AmchamTT) to be hopeful despite the recession currently facing the country.
In the keynote address at the group’s breakfast seminar, Economic Outlook 2016, Gopee-Scoon called on the private sector to invest in T&T and continue to be patriotic.
“Let us not see 2016 as one of hardships but as one of opportunities. It’s a year for opportunities, it is a chance to really think about what we can and what should be done. Of course there is the possibility of choices, there is the benefit to really acknowledge our potential and to realise our fullest potential,” she said
“This a wakeup call and I want you to answer it. At the same time I am asking you as citizens of T&T ...you have to support your country in every which way and style,” she said before becoming overcome with emotions. After regaining her composure, Gopee-Scoon said: “I really want the private sector to look inwards and develop new training programmes, human development programmes as well as to divert increased learning towards research and development. Yes it is a belt tightening time but it is a period for innovation. We are very serious about fostering innovation.”
The minister told the gathering: “Government’s traditional revenue streams are severely constrained and there is a need to implement measures that not only bolster government income, but to do so in a way that does not inhibit firms from investing and expanding, especially small and medium-sized firms, and also in a way that does not negatively affect our citizenry, especially the most vulnerable.”
Gopee-Scoon said there was an urgent need to remove the bureaucracies in the way business is done in T&T since this impacts directly on the country’s economic
“Bureaucracy and costly procedures continue to inhibit investment and business activities in the country, with reforms being recorded in one indicator. This is a priority for the Government,” she said.
“The ministry will lead the charge and prioritize specific improvements in strategic indicators, such as dealing with construction permits and trading across borders, so that Trinidad and Tobago becomes a place in which entrepreneurs and innovation can be facilitated and encouraged.” She highlighted the proactive and strategic approach by Government to seeking export markets and facilitating relationships that would lead to increased foreign exchange.
“The Ministry of Trade and Industry, through exporTT and on your advice, is considering the establishment of commercial trade facilitation offices in Guyana to serve the Guyanese and Surinamese markets, and in the Dominican Republic to serve that and the Haitian markets.”
Gopee-Scoon urged AmchamTT members “not see 2016 as a year of strife and hardship, but as one for opportunity—an opportunity to think about what can and should be done, an opportunity to make those choices that we may not have made five years ago, an opportunity to really acknowledge our potential and realise our fullest potential.”
In his opening remarks AmchamTT president Dr Ravi Suryadevara affirmed the group’s confidence in T&T.
“Despite the current economic reality, we are still a very robust economy, far better jurisdictionally, socially and economically than most of our neighbours and while we may not be adequate on an individual basis, as a nation we are still very stable,” he said.