00:00Williams tells the Morning Edition, Tobago is in a desperate economic state, and that
00:06there is no time for rest, immediate steps must be taken to improve the ease of doing
00:11business and tackle the underlying challenges that are stalling growth.
00:15There's a lot of work, and I don't think, I mean, as from today on one, I think that
00:20that hit the road running, there's no honeymoon period for the THA, and it meant that business
00:25have to continue, and you have to continue at a pace, a pace with transparency, a pace
00:30with accountability. There's no sleeping time, there's no time to take a break, it's
00:34time to really get things going, because Tobago is in a dire state as we speak.
00:39He also urges the Chief Secretary to be transparent and prudent in awarding contracts, warning that
00:46business confidence hinges on fairness and accountability in public procurement.
00:51There's not much happening, not much private sector here, but the idea of contracts going
00:57to these folks, the private aspect of Tobago, the contractors in Tobago, the service providers
01:03in Tobago, is the only way we can build capacity. If the contract is going elsewhere, there's
01:08no way we can build capacity. So we are asking the assembly to break these projects into different
01:13classes, maybe in four pieces instead of one big whole, so that the smaller contractors and
01:19service providers could bid on these projects and be successful.
01:23On the island's autonomy, Williams says, greater independence in key business areas could add
01:29to economic stability and flexibility.
01:33When you have that kind of thing going on to our country and all the different approvals,
01:36taking you four years, all my investors run out on me, everybody wants to know what's
01:41going on and everybody that's gone and leave you now with your project. And there now, because
01:46of the time frame in which you have to get all these approvals from the EMA, from the
01:51Tower Country Planning, from the Fire Service, from Wasa, Marlon, these things take too long.
01:56Because if these things were centralised under the Tobago Assembly, then it might have been
02:00a faster process.
02:05Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
