Chief Sec: Tobagonians must welcome foreign investors

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine is advising Tobagonians to be open to foreign investments.

Speaking during the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association’s (THTA) first ever Tourism Forum held on July 24 at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, Augustine said if the tourism sector was to grow, the island must be open to foreign investments and investments from those not born or naturalised in Tobago.

The THA, he said, could not and should not be building hotels on the island.

“It was a colossal mistake for the THA to purchase hotels. We are not in the core business of running hotels, we are in the business of governing. The business of running hotels is for the private sector and it is the job of the THA to facilitate those investments, to support those investments.”

He added: “For us in the THA, we are making an open call for anybody who is desirous of investing in Tobago through hotel development to come and you will get our support and you will get our support to the extent that you are operating in an environmentally conscious manner.”

To this end, he called for a reform of the land license regime, noting that what currently exist is not working.

“What we have now is that for a foreign investor to invest in the island, the minister of finance must give approval for purchasing or leasing or owning some land asset. The poor minister of finance hardly knows the villages in Tobago by name, doesn’t understand the cultural nuances, doesn’t understand where what is and must figure out whether to say yes or no. It is understandable why over the last decade or so since this regime was put in place why we’ve had next to no approvals for purchase of land assets in Tobago by foreigners – that can’t work.”

The best arrangement, he said would be to shift the regime to Tobago, which must be part of the autonomy conversation. He said it must be that those who preside over the island get the opportunity to do the assessment and to make that determination.