By CLINT CHAN TACK Friday, September 19 2008

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Ian Collier...

TRINIDAD and Tobago must take advantage of a booming economy now to “step up” to developed nation status or fall into the abyss of economic depression which this country last witnessed in the 1980s. TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Ian Collier issued this challenge to the nation on Wednesday, five days before Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira presents the 2008/2009 Budget in the House of Representatives.

Addressing the 30th anniversary celebrations at the Label House Group Ltd’s plant in Frederick Settlement in Caroni, Collier said there could be no doubt that TT is now at “the most crucial and precarious phase of its development today.”

“As we all know this country has more money and more money flowing into it than any other time in its history,” he stated. While the Chamber has been critical of the Government’s handling of crime, Collier seemed to soften that position somewhat ahead of the Budget. “Despite a myriad of problems such as indiscipline, lawlessness, gang warfare, high food prices, labour shortages, rampant inefficiencies, excessive levels of wastage and a far too high rate of inflation, our economy is booming,” he said.

Given the resources which the country now possesses and those that it expects to receive, Collier said: “The opportunity to be transformed into a comprehensively diversified world class economy is as real in TT today as it will ever be.” He added once all the country’s stakeholders collectively resolve to work together, TT “could be the next Singapore, Dubai or Ireland of this world Once the right mind set is in place, nothing is impossible,” Collier stated. However to achieve this goal, Collier stressed that more emphasis needs to be placed on the development of the non-energy services sector.

He said while TT is “globally respected” for its energy sector, “we should not allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security while the going is good. Unless we commit to substantially lessen our country’s vulnerability from the vagaries of the globally driven hydrocarbon sector, the negative impact of the 80s could well be revisited,” the Chamber president warned. Explaining it was possible to be both a jack of all trades and master of all we survey, Collier said the Chamber has identified an international financial centre (IFC), information communication technology (ICT) and tourism as three catalysts to fuel growth in the non-energy sector of the economy.

Noting that establishment of the Tamana InTech Park by Eteck demonstrated Government’s commitment to ICT, Collier said: “We must aggressively move to develop specialised clusters in both the US mega million dollar health care outsourcing business and the global energy services directly.” He added that without ICT, the country would become uncompetitive in the global economy and “be left behind.” Collier further stated that a strong IFC fosters a strong ICT industry and tourism is a natural consequence of both. “Tourism is a sleeping giant waiting for the right political will to awaken. Once and for all, we must commit to tourism,” he said.

Collier said one only needed to look at Singapore to see how an IFC, ICT and tourism have combined to result in that country being catapulted from a sleepy port in 1965 to a dynamic economy today. Adding that Singapore was twice the size of Tobago and has a population of 4.6 billion people, Collier said that country had been able to move its citizens from a condition of “State dependence to self-reliance.” Collier also suggested that Government consider a Portuguese language initiative in order to tap into the lucrative Brazilian market to the south of TT. Trade and Industry Minister Dr Lenny Saith was supposed to attend yesterday’s function but cancelled due to another engagement. Sources yesterday said Saith was engaged in meetings at the Eric Williams Financial Complex in Port-of-Spain yesterday with Prime Minister Patrick Manning, Nunez-Tesheira, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne and technocrats about the Budget.