Let Venezuelans work legally in TT

VENEZUELANS who are in TT legally should be allowed to work, even if it’s temporarily, once they prove why they are here and that they are in the process of regularising themselves and their refugee status, Nirad Tewarie, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce of TT (AmCham) has said.

“(This) will expand the tax base and it will likely result in less exploitation, not only in terms of human benefit but also in the work of the state to protect and detect (such breaches),” Tewarie told the audience at AmCham’s Economic Outlook 2019 event yesterday at the Hyatt Regency Port of Spain. It will also show “in a very tangible way” that while this country “is standing in solidarity with the Venezuelan people who are suffering while the political situation there plays itself out.” It will cost this country very little if it is managed properly, with the aid of international organisations, he added.

Venezuela has been in the grips of an economic crisis marked by hyperinflation and massive unemployment among other problems, causing a number of economic migrants and refugees to come to TT, often illegally. There’s also political tension between the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and the leader of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, over who is the constitutional leader of the country. Venezuelan navy vessels also controversially intercepted an exploration vessel chartered by oil giant ExxonMobil in Guyanese waters last December, claiming it had encroached on Venezuelan territory.

“We have to be demonstrably more aware of the political risk in Venezuela and if, as is touted, the National Assembly is in any way dissolved or undermined, whether by the president or the judiciary, then we have to be doubly careful that anything we do today will not jeopardise our real access to (Venezuela’s natural gas) fields in the future,” Tewarie said.

Last August the Prime Minister and Maduro signed a government to government agreement to allow for the first time, TT to process Venezuelan natural gas from the nearby across border field, Dragon.

Tewarie’s comments came after National Gas Company (NGC) chair Gerry Brooks presented his outlook on the economy, calling Venezuela “very important to TT and its energy mix.”

“What it is for us is a critical balancing between sovereignty, good neighbour principle and management of Caricom relationships. It is not something we can walk away from. It is a delicate walking of a tightrope to ensure we provide Venezuela with the benefit of our infrastructure and facilities while at the same time we are being respectful to the rights of our Caribbean colleagues,” Brooks said.