Rowley: What we give to Sandals, we give to TT

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says anything that the Government gives to the Sandals resort in Tobago would be given to this country as the hotel will be Government operated.

He was speaking on Thursday at a People's National Movement public meeting held at Barataria Community Centre.

At the meeting Rowley also took aim at some commentators speaking about diversification.

"You always hearing about diversification, diversification. It's an annoying word. Because some people are still making $25 a week writing in newspapers and writing columns about diversification. Annoying. When you ask them 'diversify into what' they can't tell you. What would you do to diversify the economy, especially if you abandon the energy sector? They can't tell you. But they on television, they on radio, they on newspapers - diversification. Let me tell you what our diversification is. Our diversification is to find the things we can do and just do them."

He said one of the areas being looked at was tourism via the 800-room Sandals resort project in Tobago.

"All this questioning about 'what you going to give them' and 'what you going to get' and 'when you going to do it' coming from the pontificators who don't know their front from their elbow and those are the people who are trying to harass you when the day come into difficult circumstances. We are trying to lead you into the light; them turning down your bulb."

He said Government would be using the same model as with the Hilton and Hyatt where Government would build the resort and it would have the Sandals label.

"Anything we give to the Sandals project in Tobago we give to ourselves."

Last month Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat reported in Parliament the Memorandum of Understanding between this Government and Sandals Resorts International was signed on October 10, 2017. In Parliament Opposition members have posed a number of questions about the Sandals MOU and Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal had described it as a "secret" deal.