Ministers Call For Shift From Traders To Producers At TTMA Event
Is Trinidad and Tobago truly a diverse economy, or are we just a nation of traders?
That was the blunt question facing the panel at the 75th anniversary of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) Leadership Discussion on positioning the economy of Trinidad and Tobago..
While the hydrocarbon sector continues to dominate our exports, several Government Ministers are calling for a radical shift in how we produce and consume.
On diversification, Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development Dr. Kennedy Swaratsingh noted that T&T already has a diverse economy. However, it is not contributing to the projected level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
« What we don’t have is enough effort being placed on the diversified sector. It is not true that we don’t have agriculture or we don’t have manufacturing, but as you yourself would have alluded to, the President in his speech would have talked about it. At the end of the day, it’s not contributing enough to the Trinidad and Tobago economy. The questions we have to ask ourselves are what do we need to do in order to raise that level of contribution? In other words, while the hydrocarbon sector is 30% of GDP, it’s about 70–80 % of exports. How do we inverse that? How do we shift and allow you to contribute more than the 20%? »
Responding to a question on VAT returns for manufacturers, Minister of Finance Davendranath Tancoo explained that challenges have delayed the process. He further pointed to deficiencies within the Board of Inland Revenue that the Ministry is working on fixing.
« One of those factors is the deficiencies within the BIR itself, which we are focused on fixing. The other part of this thing is the revenue streams themselves and the ability to refund that quickly. And the third thing is, in fact, the audits that are required to be done to ensure that what we pay off is what is actually, due is the wrong word, but what we pay off is actually what should have been paid off. There are a series of moving parts here, all of which we are juggling at the same time to find a solution. What I can tell you is that a solution is coming. »
Responding to an argument that the government pockets 30% from manufacturers, Minister Tancoo said those funds are essentially a subscription to a functioning society. Beyond the direct grants and subsidies often discussed in Parliament, there is a vast network of services that keep the country moving.
« You said before we take 30 % without doing anything. You would walk outside, the lights are lighting here, somebody’s paying for that. Somebody’s making sure that that happens and somebody’s making sure that the infrastructure for that to happen exists. You walk outside on the road, the road exists. The fuel that you use also exists. All of those things, the staffing that you have that has to exist, et cetera – all of those things are paid for by the government. And somehow, we must fund those things. »
In a bid to promote local products and services, Minister of Trade, Investment and Tourism Satyakama Maharaj stressed the importance of investing in our own. Through the Buy Local Build Trinbago campaign, he noted that this can be achieved.
« We used to make toothpaste, TCB hair relaxer. We used to make everything. Everybody’s been
wiped out. We have become a nation of traders, net importers, supporting factory workers in
foreign lands, while we should be doing it at home. So we have launched a Buy Local, Build Trinbago campaign. It’s a patriotic campaign, but it has to be followed by policy, and this is what we’re looking at. »
The annual TTMA event amplified the urgent need to pivot from a « nation of traders » to a « nation of producers » by backing patriotic campaigns with the institutional efficiency and hard policy required to make the diversified sector a primary driver of the economy.
