It
has been long realized and accepted that Infrastructure Management directly
affects productivity; outputs driven by comfortable and safe work and play
spaces, such as; water and electricity, industrial parks, administration offices,
community centers, open parks, transport hubs, roads and bridges, etc. Utilizing
19.97% of the nation's total annual allocated expenditure to maintain and
expand public spaces, the Infrastructure Management category consist of the
ministries of Public Utilities, Works and Transport, the Tobago House of Assembly,
the ministries of Rural Development and Local Government, and Housing and Urban
Development.
The
Ministry of Public Utilities faces
the challenge of delivering, Water, Electricity, Postal Services and Telecommunications,
at sufficient levels of efficient infrastructure investment to support economic
growth and enhance the living standards of citizens. The Regulated Industries
Commission (RIC) is an independent, statutory body established to ensure the
promotion of the highest quality of utility services at fair and reasonable
rates, while building a credible regulatory regime that responds adequately to concerns
and also to ensure fairness, transparency and equity in the provision of
utility services throughout the nation.
The
Ministry of Works and Transport is constantly
engaged in numerous road and bridge repair and expansion projects. The Ministry
via its Licensing and Traffic Warden Divisions renewed its commitment to road safety and proposes to amend
the Legislative Framework governing the Fixed Penalty Traffic Ticketing System
and introduce a Demerit Points System. The Ministry also signed
an agreement to facilitate the sharing of data collected by the Ministry along
the east coast of Trinidad. This study aims to gather relevant physical data in
a comprehensive manner and present said physical evidence in a format that is
suitable for referencing, analyses, scientific research, decisions support and
policy development.
Tobago House of Assembly (THA)
administers and implements policies through secretariats: Agriculture, Marine
Affairs, Marketing and the Environment, Community Development and Culture, Education,
Youth Affairs and Sport, Finance and Enterprise Development, Infrastructure and
Public Utilities, Public Administration, Information, State Lands and Energy
Matters, Planning and Development, Settlements and Labour, Tourism and
Transportation and Health and Social Services.
The
Ministry of Rural Development and Local
Government offers Building and Land Development Control, Public Health and
Sanitation, Roads drains and other physical infrastructure, Information and
education, Burial and cremation services and other Community Services. The
Ministry also engaged in 14 consultations throughout the nation on Local Government
reform clearing the path for legal and financial empowering of the cities,
boroughs and regions to manage their own allocated budgets.
The
Ministry of Housing and Urban
Development provides quality, affordable
housing solutions for first-time home-owners who fall within the low to middle
income brackets and associated community facilities for use by these families,
via the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). The ministry also engages
the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT ) to
transform the structural landscape of communities across Trinidad and Tobago
through its development portfolio.
The
Ministry of Public Utilities, with 25.38% of the Infrastructure Management
budget, has started inviting contractors to supply and install solar system in
low income households, to reduce the use of electricity generated for petrol chemicals,
decrease the nation’s carbon footprint and increase the use of renewable energy
sources.
The
Ministry of Works and Transport, with 22.03% of the Infrastructure Management funding,
has mandated the National Infrastructure Development Company Limited (NIDCO) to
construct a first class road from Valencia to Toco and a new Fast Ferry Port in
Toco. NIDCO will also undertake the construction
of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway Extension from Wallerfield to Manzanilla.
Tobago
House of Assembly (THA), with 20.65% of the Infrastructure Management budget,
days away from elections must communicate plans to their constituents, while permanent
staffs work on budget submissions.
The
Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, with 22.10% of the Infrastructure
Management funding, having recently held elections must now engage in
implementation of their election promises, while permanent staff work on budget
submissions.
The
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, with 9.84% of the Infrastructure Management
budget, works with the Trinidad & Tobago Mortgage Finance Co. Ltd (TTMF) which
offers low cost mortgages to Buy a Home, Build a Home, Buy Land, or for Home
Improvement and Home Equity.
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.
