Following a recent visit to Trinidad and Tobago where he met with its business community, Guyana’s Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud says that Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo’s assessment of that country’s economy’s heavy dependency on the oil and gas sector is “realistic” and that the two private sector heads disputing this are being disingenuous.
Persaud told Stabroek News that he addressed a meeting organized by one of the Private Sector groupings in Trinidad and business persons there are “enthusiastic about coming to Guyana”.
Persaud told this newspaper on Saturday “I was in Trinidad and Tobago, a few days ago, and met with these two individuals and I’m very sure they are seized with their country’s true economic realities. Guyana values our relationship with T&T and stands ready to offer any advice to help our sister CARICOM state navigate out of its current economic condition”.
Couva Point Lisas’ Chamber of Commerce head, Mukesh Ramsingh, and Richie Sookhai, President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce, labelled recent comments about Trinidad and Tobago by Guyana’s Vice-President as unfortunate, saying it is not a proper assessment of T&T’s current state, according to the Trinidad Guardian newspaper.
Persaud said that he met both men while in Trinidad and felt that their reported responses don’t reflect what twin island republic’s reality.
“The comments by these two business representatives are a bit disingenuous, but understandable. VP Jagdeo never questioned the importance of close Trinidad and Tobago-Guyana ties, nor our commitment to regional integration,” he said. “What’s wrong with a leader making a factual observation about another country’s economic state, especially given the interdependence of our economies both at the bilateral and regional levels? If TT’s economy is such a bright star, why do we have close to 100 companies from Trinidad and Tobago in a desperate campaign to dominate our economic space at a rate unheard of in any CARICOM country?” he questioned.
During an outreach in Essequibo last week, Jagdeo told residents that government will invest some of the monies from its oil and gas resources in infrastructure and other sectors in order to ensure a diversified economy.
“We will invest some of the oil and gas resources into building the infrastructure so that non-oil and gas, in the future, can generate the jobs. If we don’t do that when this oil money goes we will, like many countries in the world. Look at what is happening in Trinidad now. Trinidad is falling apart and that is putting it mildly. No jobs to sustain areas… negative growth, can’t see the light of day for the near future… ” Jagdeo had said.
On Friday he clarified that his statements were based on economic reality and not intended as an attack on Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, the country or its people.
“The fact is Trinidad – and this is indisputable – that its economy is reliant on one sector- the oil and gas sector. That is a fact. I have had discussions with several leaders there about a post-oil and gas economy, so this has nothing to do with Rowley, this has to do with the economy in T&T going for a long period only relying on one sector,” Jagdeo told a press conference on Friday. He said that the state of Trinidad’s economy, which shows evidence of the Dutch Disease, is not just pointed out by him, but is evidence-based.
“If you look at the newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago, every day you will see them saying they are having currency problems, currency shortages. And it is a fact that they have had a long period of low growth. Yes, COVID has exacerbated it but before COVID, it is fact. So what I am saying is not anything new.”
Stabroek News reported on Sunday, last, that Sookhai and Ramsingh told the Guardian that Jagdeo’s views are not a proper assessment of T&T’s current state. “It is quite unfortunate that officials from Guyana made negative comments towards T&T’s economy. At a time when the world is coming out of a pandemic and we are dealing with wars in different parts of the world, we in the Caribbean region should look at unifying into a self-sustaining superpower,” Guardian Media reported Sookhai as saying. “We have had our challenges like many other countries, we are a resilient people and our sectors are picking up and moving once more.”
Sookhai said further strain should not be placed on the relationship between T&T and Guyana. “It is unfortunate that people at the helm want to put more pressure on the strained relationship.” He said many international companies have been looking to set up shop in T&T. “We have a resilient manufacturing sector, a construction sector, our oil and gas is not as what it was, but we are a major player and those comments should be reconsidered.”
Trinidad PM Rowley on Saturday said that he will not be distracted by Jagdeo’s comments. “A lot of people comment about us, some favourably and some not”. He would later add, “I will not engage in any toing and froing, except to say a lot of people have spoken of us. Thankfully, most of them speak well of us.”
