00:00President of the San Fernando Business Association, Daphne Bartlett, says the budget addresses several important areas, including the social support
00:09for vulnerable citizens.
00:10However, she believes a greater investment in agriculture and tourism could unlock significant opportunities for economic growth and reduce the
00:18country's dependence on imports.
00:20One of the areas that we keep talking about in our association is that we have two very low-hanging
00:28fruits, as they call it, which is agriculture and tourism.
00:34While we do have three arms of tourism and agriculture is moving ahead, as I keep saying, Okra is growing
00:40six weeks.
00:41So, it's not a long, drawn-out process, and I would hope to see that they revitalize the sugarcane industry,
00:52because we are importing sugarcane-paying forex from Guyana, which we should not be doing, because we have all the
00:58infrastructure for sugarcane growth, which would create employment and agriculture.
01:04Bartlett says revitalizing local agriculture, including the sugarcane industry, could create employment while reducing the foreign exchange spent on imported
01:14goods.
01:14She is also encouraging greater support for locally produced food, arguing that consumers and policymakers both have a role to
01:22play in strengthening domestic production.
01:24She says the private sector must also look beyond traditional employment and encourage young people to develop their own skills
01:32and establish their own businesses.
01:34You should try to train yourself into something where you can employ yourself, where you can become an entrepreneur.
01:42And I'm seeing that is increasing in Trinidad, because if you look online, you would see so many new ones
01:48making, baking, packaging, doing lots of stuff.
01:53They are also importing and have online shopping.
01:56And these are people who are not very well-educated, but they've learned the system.
02:00And we want to create a scenario where people don't look for a job, but where they employ themselves.
02:09While the association is optimistic about the budget's potential, Bartlett says the real test will be whether the announced allocations
02:17and the promises translate into tangible results.
02:20She points to the proposed reopening of the refinery as a potential source of jobs and economic activity for communities
02:27in South Trinidad.
02:28She is also calling for improvements to the tourism sites and other facilities to ensure the country can capitalize on
02:36its tourism potential.
02:38The minister is now in charge of ensuring that those things really come to fruition and we see tangible results.
02:46Bartlett says the business community will be watching closely to see how the government executes its plans.
02:52Having that sustained investment in local production, tourism and employment opportunities will be essential to translating the budget into meaningful
03:00benefits for citizens and businesses.
03:04Charlotte Kisto, TV6 News.
