This year should be “much better” than the last seven years, which were difficult, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has said.
Asked what the country can expect in 2023, he mentioned a number of initiatives, including property tax.
In an exclusive interview in late December, he said a major development the government had been working on for the past three years or more, and which had now been completed, was the restructuring of Pt Fortin Atlantic LNG producer.
“This puts us in a good position to play a more beneficial role in the gas sector. We expect Heritage and its associates to make a greater effort in oil production. We can also look forward to the completion of the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate, which would be another great initiative.
“In the non-oil sector, encouraging the manufacturing sector is going well and we will have a lot more to say about that in the new year,” he said.
He said the country could also look forward to the “early” promulgation of procurement legislation in 2023.
“We are also making 2023 a year where we will be extremely focused on our road infrastructure, especially our secondary roads, which have not been given the attention they should have been given because we were so focused on the pandemic and the economic collapse from which we had tried to get out”, he said.
“We also intend to pay attention to new initiatives in agricultural production and agricultural activities and the involvement of many young people in agriculture. Because one of the problems we have faced in agricultural production and farming is the loss of the oldest agricultural population that has either passed or is very old,” he said.
In the field of local government, the Prime Minister said that the reform of local government will be implemented this year.
“We expect that the property tax will start working and the revenue will be collected and spent by the local government bodies and this will improve the capacity of the government at the local level to respond to the population,” he said.
He said the central government would supplement this revenue.
Siparia and Diego Martin are also expected to receive city status this year.
“We expect to operationalize the Revenue Authority, which would improve our collection of taxes due. “Efficient tax collection will be a major development in the country’s business,” he said.
Regarding water supply, he said the government intends to continue with the loan program for WASA to bring about a significant restructuring of the Authority as well as an improved water supply. He said the government hopes to address the chronic problem of water leaks and unavailability in some communities.
“There are other important things that we expect to do in terms of national security, such as improved maintenance of Coast Guard (equipment), and there are some decisions that will be made there,” he said.
Regarding the Housing Development Corporation, he said that the government hopes that through the restructuring of the HDC, it will identify those who will benefit from a housing assistance program and improve the maintenance of the housing stock.
“And we look forward to working with THA in Tobago to ensure that Tobago’s economy is not hampered. I hope that politics and political unrest will not hinder the development of Tobago. The Tobago terminal building, the tourism factory and making Tobago more broadly – work will continue on these things,” he said.
The government and the ministers have done quite well
Asked to assess the performance of his government and its ministers, the Prime Minister said he believed his government and his ministers were doing quite well under difficult circumstances.
“I’ve been in football teams, cricket teams and I know that in every team there are some people who do better than others and you don’t need 11 people to win the game but you need everyone to pull their weight. Of the 11, some will make the team score and the Cabinet is very much like that.
“Most of the people in the Cabinet are younger people who are in their second term, so they can’t pretend they are brand new and have to make their impact. And as the Government goes for a third mandate, we want to be judged for what we have done with the two mandates we have had. We do not mind the misinterpretation of others who claim that nothing is happening and that people are suffering. This is a conversation of our critics. But try and ask what the alternative is.
For example, if we had not restructured Petrotri to manage the financial burden facing the Minister of Finance, what would be our position? There is no conversation devoted to what the alternative might have been, and that is our conversation. And we are very proud to have provided guidance, support and management to the country during this very difficult period.
The 2015-2022 period, if you look dispassionately at the options that were available to each government of Trinidad and Tobago, only then would you be able to fairly and balancedly assess the government’s performance because it was not an easy one, and it still is not is, an easy period; “2023 should be much better and we will continue to make decisions, taking into account the people who will be affected by them,” he said.
Tobago’s self-government bills will expire
Asked about Tobago’s self-government bills, which have faded into the Order Letter, the Prime Minister said his government had 22 seats and had done everything it could with those 22 seats.
Saying that the Tobago bills came out of many consultations, in Tobago and in the Joint Select Committee in Parliament, he said that the PNM campaigned in Tobago asking the electorate to support the PNM position and asking Parliament to give Tobago what was advanced. on invoices.
“The PDP (Progressive Democratic Patriots) campaigned against (the laws) and won the 2021 THA elections. So what can we do with the bills? We can’t shove it down Tobago’s throat. The only good thing is that the people of Tobago were able to take a stand on the bills and unfortunately they did not support the PNM position. If you looked at the election as a judgment on bills… and it became part of the election campaign, it did not find favor with the people of Tobago. So we’re not going to try to push it… it’s going to expire in Parliament… I haven’t heard any change in (Tobago’s) attitude. The THA Act exists and there is a certain amount of localization of Tobago politics and its administration, and that should be allowed to flourish and take its course.”
Asked to comment on the current fragmentation within Tobago’s House of Assembly, the Prime Minister said he did not want to comment other than to say that the government would ensure respect for the laws of the land and that the PNM remains committed to the development of Tobago. .
“I have seen something that is cause for concern – and this is not politics – I have seen Secretary James and the Chief Secretary saying that the EMA Act does not apply in Tobago and that what applies in Tobago is what the THA tells the EMA to do “I would like to ask the Chief Secretary to take proper legal advice on this because it is fraught with danger,” said the Prime Minister.
Tobago contractors should be given priority in THA contracts
On the issue of whether Tobago contractors should be given priority in THA-funded projects, the Prime Minister said he believed that should be the case.
“The policy that has been followed is that the tendering process allows contractors in Tobago, for good reason, to bid slightly higher than other contractors. If they are five or ten percent higher than the low bid from outside Tobago, they should be considered. This is the politics I know. Because you want to build capacity and cost in Tobago, because you don’t have that economy of scale, you have a higher built-in cost. If you allow the free market without this consideration, you will never build the kind of capacity in Tobago that the island economy requires and that means Tobago will always be at a disadvantage,” he said.
He added: “The current government in Tobago is unfortunately taking the position that Tobago’s contractors are all corrupt because they worked with PNM and they should be penalized because they are under audit and should not get any contracts unless the audit clears them.” them. from all kinds of nebulous accusations.
“And as long as they are doing all their contracting awards to Trinidadian contractors, all that does is that the money allocated to Tobago, which is meant to feed, nurture and encourage a Tobago economy, will find its way to quickly returned to Trinidad. . And that will not serve Tobago well.”
Succession planning
The prime minister, who had said he would step down at the end of this term, was asked if he had engaged in succession planning and if he had created a pool of people from which the PNM and the country could choose its next leader.
He said he saw it as part of his responsibility being a leader at this time and having a long career in public life, to ensure that the PNM was able to provide the leadership the country requires as it moves forward.
“We just had internal elections and you would have seen what I consider important changes in the party executive. This approach will continue. In January we will implement our new executive and prepare to move forward. I’m not picking people and holding them up and saying this is my choice. But we open the door and let people in.
“PNM is constantly recruiting new people. And I believe that the country will still look for its leadership from its political parties and it is up to the political parties to present themselves. We (in PNM) are confident that we are the only organization that takes its duty seriously and that the country can look to this party at any time for the necessary leadership it requires,” he said.
