Abdulah: PM, Kamla failed to diversify economy

Both the Prime Minister and opposition leader have failed to diversify the economy said the leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference at MSJ’s headquarters at Lord Street, San Fernando, Abdulah said the pair had failed to transform the economy and the relations of economic powers.

He said the gap between the rich and the poor had gotten wider in the last ten years.

Abdulah accused the Government of failing to ensure that young graduates coming out of secondary schools and out of universities could find decent work.

“All it is offering them is OJT employment, nothing in terms of sustainable work. The agricultural sector is continuing to decline, the same with the fishing sector,” he said.

He said when the head of a household fails, he/she causes only the household to suffer. When a CEO or chairman of a company fails then it is the shareholders and, most times, the employees who suffer the consequences.

“When the head of a government fails, the entire population suffers the consequences. What we have in TT today is the failure of the head of Government, Dr Keith Rowley, to address the country’s economic circumstances.

Abdulah recalled that hundreds of Unilever workers were retrenched.

He accused the Government of not making a “single effort” to meet with the company and to persuade the company to stay in the manufacturing sector in TT.

Abdulah added, “As far as the Government was concerned, it was the company’s private decision. The same thing happened with ArcelorMittal. The Government did not even lift a finger to say to the company it had an obligation to stay in TT.”

The consequences of the closure of Petrotin has been absolutely devastating to businesses, workers and families, he said.

The gas production is insufficient to meet the demand for gas and so many plants are operating at a sub-optimum level. The country, he said, is not getting any sense of a clear strategic direction for the gas sector.

He charged that the previous administration led by Kamla Persad-Bissessar had also failed. There were no investments in creating sustainable development.

“We cannot have the PNM return to office and the UNC, all they are offering is ole talk and promises. But their track record is also a failure. We lay the blame at the feet of both leaders.”