With crime in Trinidad and Tobago continuing to seriously compromise normalcy in the business sector, the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry is stepping up its anxiety level, expressing “deep concern” over what would appear to be a continually escalating crime wave and the danger that it poses to the ability of the country’s business sector to benefit from a condition of normalcy.
One significant statement that reflects the extent of concern in the business sector over the crime wave has come from the country’s gas stations’ Owner Dealers Association (ODA) which is now warning that one of the consequences of the worsening violence may well be the end of the country’s 24-hour-service gas station operations. The wider business community, including the T&T Chamber, was quick to endorse the statement made by the ODA alluding to “the alarming rise in crime and its significant impact on the business community, particularly in relation to 24-hour service stations and the potential threat to night-time economic activities”. It added that the media statement issued by the ODA “underscores the crippling effects of crime on the operational safety and sustainability of service stations, which provides essential services to the public”.