00:00The head of the Tobago Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Curtis Williams, says the
00:07Tobago budget contains several promising proposals, but, he says, that long-standing challenges continue to stand in the way of
00:16development.
00:17We're talking about Marriott coming in, the excitement going on. What are we going to feed the people with? We
00:22need agriculture. What are we going to do? Energy. Listen to me, Marlon, today, you know some of the plants
00:29on the island, as it was stated, that they don't have water. Water becomes an issue. So if today we
00:33haven't water issue with some of the plants, you can imagine when Marriott and other players come into the field,
00:38what will happen, Marlon? We've got to be in the pool or in the sea because there will be no
00:43water if we don't study the infrastructure.
00:45He also points to tourism as a key opportunity, but says attracting more visitors will require greater investment in the
00:55island's accommodation facilities.
00:57When we look at the plants today, Marlon, most of them, if not all of them, need upgraded. They are
01:03not three- and four-star Marlon. They are one-star sometimes. Some is no-star. They're really in a
01:09dire speed of repair.
01:11So we are asking the THAA with the same breath and the same energy you're bringing in the direct flight.
01:17Can you work with these plants on the island to bring them up to some standard?
01:23The chamber president further laments bureaucratic delays as a major concern, citing lengthy approval processes and land ownership challenges.
01:33So doing business is something that we had to look at because we want to attract direct investment.
01:39But when the direct investment come and see all these bottlenecks, we're talking about the land license issues that we
01:44haven't spoke about.
01:45We haven't, Marlon, we shoved that in our corner, but it's still an issue.
01:48So we need to know who will take ownership of it, whether the THAA is going to take ownership of
01:52it to make the process a little smoother and faster and better for the investors who want to come into
01:58the space.
01:58But we leave it hanging.
02:00Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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