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  • 3 months ago
Treasurer of the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries, Kiran Singh, says delays at the port and persistent shipping problems are crippling local businesses.
He warns the sector is in dire straits, with many business owners bearing the brunt of the fallout.

Nicole M Romany reports
Transcript
00:00Treasurer of the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Service Industries, Kieran Singh, tells
00:05the Morning Edition the process for clearing items is extremely cumbersome.
00:11In fact, he says, the port system is lagging behind and is in serious need of modernization.
00:18We hear about the customs office having to deploy operations to Central and to South.
00:24We have to deal with the traffic congestion of leaving Port of Spain to go to San Fernando
00:29to return to Port of Spain to file documents, where is the digitization of the customs and
00:35exercise department?
00:37He warns that infrastructure is shockingly outdated, paper documents are still the norm, credit
00:44card payments are impossible and certified checks remain the only option, grinding the
00:49system to a crawl and piling on delays.
00:53Because it goes in a queue, in a line, in a loop.
00:57And that causes, that backlog gets heavier as we get to the Christmas season.
01:02Last year, for instance, was a nightmare.
01:05Goods sat on the port until carnival.
01:08People could not clear their goods.
01:09Goods became stale, outdated, the perishable goods become under threat.
01:14And we don't hear any answers as to how to solve these problems.
01:18Singh explains that business owners are facing mounting losses, forced to pay port staff over
01:24time just to move their goods.
01:27He notes that Forex is already hard to come by.
01:31And these extra costs are driving retail prices sky high, hitting consumers and the economy
01:37alike.
01:38He is calling on the government to step in, meet with all stakeholders and find a solution
02:05as quickly as possible.
02:10Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
02:12When Neil and Television, Shayne Ongel, he might have baptized the doors, again, and
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02:17...they love him.
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02:19...lustin some candy.
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02:21Future, Let me often escape from filters to connections him from the front and forth.
02:22If I leave himself, he knows towards them.
02:23Future, Antonio M. Romany, I need blame them from him.
02:24Data to come by himself but acknowledge...
02:25...the interest in the research, you don't think,
02:27...the interest in my opinion!
02:28I'm understanding the interest of Mr. Esto pilot, he knows what's going by...
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