Tobago Chamber: Time to overhaul financial sector

Finance Minister Colm’s Imbert’s dismal overview of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy reflects the need for an overhaul of the country’s financial sector.

This was the view of president of the Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Diane Hadad as she weighed in on Imbert’s virtual news conference on Wednesday.

Imbert painted a gloomy picture of TT’s economy, saying revenue for the first four months of fiscal 2021 was $2 billion less than anticipated.

This was due, in part, to the ongoing negative effects of covid19.

As a result, Imbert said the country’s main priority was to save jobs and maintain essential services. Requests for wage increases and backpay also cannot be considered, given the state of the economy.

Imbert also said state entities, such as the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), continue to be a burden on the economy and needed restructuring to ensure greater efficiency.

Hadad told Newsday on Thursday there needs to be widespread consultation among all stakeholders in the financial sector on the way forward.

She said when the pandemic started, almost a year ago, “I was the first person to say that the financial sector needs to be addressed and called to the table.”