Chamber heads agree: Sell state assets to private sector

AT least two chambers have supported the TT Chamber's call for the sale of state assets to the private sector, adding that there must be conditions to benefit consumers.

President of the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce Ramchand Rajbal Maraj said the sale must be in the hands of people with reputable characters and good track records. This, he said, is to ensure that private-sector investment does not become a case of "jumping from the pot into the fire."

"I think that is the way to go. I agree...once the State is not managing the assets properly and if it is costing taxpayers more money. It does not make sense selling assets to private people who do not have a track of doing good business and making a turnaround."

At the annual post-budget analysis breakfast meeting on Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency, TT Chamber president Reyaz Ahamad called on Government to sell state assets to the private sector, saying, "It’s not government business to do business."

Ahamad suggested that Government reduce its involvement in managing certain aspects of the economy and let the private sector invest.

Maraj told Newsday yesterday: "The intention of wanting to sell assets in the first place is because one wants to see a turnaround. So, assets must go in the correct hands."

Speaking on behalf of the Penal/ Debe Chamber of Commerce, its president Rampersad Sieuraj said members support the call. However, one must be conscious that private-sector investment would not necessarily serve the community.

"One has to be cognisant of the fact that private-sector investment assesses the economy in terms of the Government’s inability to deliver services for which the country faces. Yes, we support that statement.

"At the same time, we suggest that in the interest of the consumers, the motive should not only be one of profitability."

The private sector, Sieuraj reiterated, should not see any investments in terms of just making as much money as possible.

"We are supportive, but somewhere there must be measures to ensure there is a level of compliance, equitability, fair pricing and so on."

The call for divestiture comes after the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and its company Patriotic Energies and Technologies Co Ltd recently won the bid for the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery with a US$700 million offer. The refinery, now called Guaracara Refining Co Ltd, was previously run by the State.

OWTU'S president general Ancet Roget is abroad and could not be reached for comment. OWTU’s education and research officer Ozzy Warrick promised the union would respond "at a later date."