The nation's revenue, to offset its total
annual expenditure, comes from the collections of taxes, duties and royalties;
taxes on (personal income) salaries and wages, on (consumption) sales and value
added, on (operations) business levy and green fund, on (corporation) profits,
etc. Such revenue generating activities are encouraged and facilitated via
Economic Drivers, which designs, implement and review the conditions for
investment, employment and, the resulting, taxation. Operating on 5.48% of the
nation's total current expenditure budget, Economic Drivers are administered by
the Ministries of Energy and Energy Industries, Agriculture, Lands and
Fisheries, Planning and Development, Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Labour and
Small Enterprise Development, Trade and Industries, and Tourism.
The Ministry
of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI), along with its responsibility for the strategic development of the
energy and mineral sectors, monitors and reports on; crude oil &
condensate production, drilling, completions and workovers, natural gas
production and utilization, crude oil - imports, exports and refining, natural
gas processing and petrochemicals. The Ministry re-launched the reconstituted
Permanent Local Content Committee with a mandate; to continually and closely
monitor activities in the energy sector to ensure that all projects include
opportunities for the development of the expertise of nationals and maximizes
the level of local content and local participation. MEEI was alerted to a
possible oil spill in the Gulf of Paria in the vicinity of the San Fernando
wharf and conducted extensive onshore surveillance of the area, however, there
were no sightings of an oily substance, and therefore, the source of the spill
could not be identified.
The Ministry
of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries was reunited to create the appropriate
structure in which policies and services could be delivered and focus on good
governance and in particular the work of the Agriculture Development Bank
(ADB), NAMDEVCO, the Praedial Larceny Squad and all the ministry’s agencies
have a clear mandate and are held accountable. The Ministry, based on dialogue
with and recommendation by the local livestock farmers and industry
experts, will implement an embryo transfer programme to assist with the
improvement of local breeding stock. In other related
news affecting the fishing industry, samples from various species of
fish from the South and northwest peninsula of the nation have been sent to the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laboratory for testing on toxins.
The Ministry
of Labour and Small Enterprise Development (MOLSED),
along with its primary objective for the
continuous encouragement of a sustainable, productive, and stable industrial
relations climate in the nation for employees, employers and entrepreneurs. The
Ministry pledges to developing the Friendly Societies movement, hosted
numerous meetings with unions and the business associations to forge relations,
met with stakeholders of the Credit Union and Co-operative Societies to advance
policies and facilitated discussions on the recent lay off of hundreds of
contract employees at the Arcelor Mittal Steel Company. The Ministry launched
the Domestic Workers
Register Campaign and a nationwide sensitization campaign to raise
awareness amongst workers and employers on the increase in the national minimum
wage and the related benefits and entitlements. The
Ministry’s programme Enterprise Investment Fund (EIF) provides funding to well
structured, innovative business support programmes targeting the Micro and
Small Enterprise and Co-operatives (MSEC) Sectors.
The Ministry
of Planning and Development, focused on national development based upon a
framework for economic, social and environmental progress reinforced by the
work of its technical and supporting units, launched CARIRI’s CARISupport,
a one of a kind helpdesk meant to provide quality ICT support to Micro Small
and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) that do not have full access to this
in-house. The Ministry’s Town and Country Planning Division observed a
developing pattern to convert residential homes into homes for the elderly and
intervened to set policies. The Environmental Management Authority EMA
identified the source of oil discharged into the Diego Martin River. The
Central Statistical Office (CSO) announced the release of the Labour Force
Bulletin and the release of the monthly Index of Retail Prices.
The Ministry
of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, the nation’s eco-socioeconomic relations with foreign governments, regional and
international organizations, through negotiations and monitoring of the
relevant agreements and treaties, comprises its missions and consuls abroad and
locally based foreign representatives. The Ministry invited Tenders for
the Supply and Delivery of One (1) Jet- A 1 Refueler to the Trinidad and Tobago
Defence Force (Air Guard), Ministry of National Security. The Ministry met with
immigration officers at a training workshop on Customer Service. The Ministry has been in
direct contact with its Honorary Consul to Turkey relative to the safety and
whereabouts of nationals who are in Istanbul, Turkey following the attack at
Ataturk Airport, Istanbul in which at least twenty-eight (28) persons were
killed. The Ministry received numerous diplomats and many representatives
presented credentials abroad.
The Ministry
of Trade and Industries participated in the Caribbean
Business Leadership Forum, revised Policy and Procedures to regulate the
Foreign Used Car Industry, Scrap Metal Policy, published investment and trade
policy documents, compared Food Prices before and after changes to the VAT
Regime. The Ministry’s Consumer Affairs Division monitors food prices
throughout the nation and launched its awareness campaign. The Ministry
outlined its investment and diversification agenda, opened the hair and beauty
trade show, met with export stakeholders to develop National Export Strategies
and readied exporters to trade with Panama, the European union, Venezuela and
China.
The Ministry
of Tourism serves
as a catalyst to help make the nation a premier tourist destination. Sandals
Resorts International was in Tobago to undertake an extensive aerial tour of
the western peninsula of Tobago looking at prime real estate properties for
possible investment. The Ministry welcomed the luxury cruise liner MS Asuka II,
a Japanese registered cruise vessel, into the port of Port of Spain, hosted the
Ultimate Culinary Competition’s Awards Ceremony organized by the Trinidad
Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Association and has positioned tourism as one
of the industry pillars in its efforts to diversify the energy dependent economy.
The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries
(MEEI), utilizing 30.38% of the Economic Drivers funding, is well advance with
negotiations to access a sustained and sufficient supply coming from the
Venezuelan fields which will be processed in Trinidad and Tobago, and offer
supply of an export product into our current and other markets, helping to
supply the Caribbean with natural gas.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and
Fisheries, utilizing 26.76% of the Economic Drivers budget and with access to
numerous tax free concessions, recently hosted
discussions between Trinidad
& Tobago and Venezuela focused on the areas of
fishing and maritime concerns of mutual relevance to both countries.
The Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise
Development, utilizing 13.90% of the Economic Drivers funding, will undertake a National Manpower Audit and
give consideration to the Labour Economic
Alternative Plan (LEAP), the prioritization of labour legislation,
representation on state boards and the issue of back-pay. The
Co-operative Development Division of the Ministry of launched its
Co-operative Agribusiness Networking Exercise (C.A.N.E.) to develop
co-operatives in the agricultural sectors to address the issues of poverty alleviation,
employment creation and the empowerment of vulnerable groups.
The Ministry of Planning and Development,
utilizing 11.13% of the Economic Drivers funding, will participate in the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Regional Project 'Integrating Water,
Land and Ecosystems Management in Caribbean Small Island Developing States'. The Ministry’s European
Development Fund (EDF), Project Planning Reconstruction Division (PPRD), Social
Economic Policy Planning Unit (SEPP), Technical Corporation Unit (TCU) and the
Delegation of the European Union (EU) participated in a nine day training
session on Financial and Contractual Procedures in the Framework of the
European Development Fund.
The Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs,
utilizing 8.97% of the Economic Drivers budget,
attended the opening of the 71st General Debate of the United Nations General
Assembly, the High-Level Event on the Entry-into-Force of the Paris Climate
Agreement and the 19th Inter-sessional Preparatory Meeting of the Ministerial
Council of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). The Ministry advises of
the closure of its High Commission in Uganda. The Registration
System for Nationals Abroad (RSNA) is a free service provided by the
Ministry for nationals travelling overseas or living abroad.
The Ministry of Trade and Industries,
utilizing 6.25% of the Economic Drivers budget, is engaged in the Strengthening
of the Single Electronic Window for Trade and Business via an Inter-American
Development Loan. The Ministry welcomed
international calypso icon, Dr. Mc Cartha Linda Lewis, also known as Calypso
Rose, after her recent achievements under the auspices of Because Music, one of
Europe’s top music labels. The Ministry continues to publish its policy documents
for each and every sector of the nation’s economy based on trade and non-energy
industries.
The Ministry of Tourism, utilizing 2.61%t of
the Economic Drivers funding, visited with International Tourism Bourse (ITB)
Berlin, which has been taking place since 1966, and is the leading Business to
Business (B2B) Platform for Travel and Tourism. Sandals Resorts International
announced its proposed establishment of a 750-room hotel at No Man’s Land,
Tobago. The Ministry continued its data collection initiative with the recent
launch of the business data component of the Tourism Baseline Survey project, hosted over 17 tour operators
and online travel agents (OTA) from North America and the United Kingdom and
welcomes Air Canada Rouge’s new nonstop service between Toronto and Trinidad.
The nation’s Economic Drivers are mandated and empowered to diversify the
economy and balance revenue resulting from Energy, Agriculture, Trade and
Tourism, while attacking investment and creating jobs with the
necessary support from strategic
planning and international relations.
Rationale
T.A.J
& Associates Company Limited uses this occasion to
comment on topics that have been covered, both academically and by the
mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment opportunity, not
to invoke any social action.
