Crime leads to curfew

Fear of crime has reached such levels that some businessmen have resorted to a self-imposed curfew once the sun sets, leaving areas within Penal/Debe with no commercial activity.

This was revealed by Penal/Debe chamber president Rampersad Sieuraj who said that all of the optimism businessmen had with the dawn of the year was replaced with fear and pessimism amid a murder toll that has jumped into double figures within the first four days of 2018.

Sieuraj said the escalating crime situation has transformed the once bustling region into a virtual ghost town from between 7 pm and 8 am daily. “Crime continues to impact the business community and it is no longer possible to journey in the Penal Debe area probably after 6 pm and see any kind of business activity.

Businesses have ceased to operate after 6.30 pm as they have basically imposed a curfew on themselves. It’s no secret that every home right now is a jail where everybody is barricaded and behind burglar-proofing,” Sieuraj said.

He added that people have stopped reporting certain types of crime, as this seems to be a waste of time since the police appear unable to deal with the situation. “From the crime position, we hope government would be able to institute some plan to positively impact the business community,” he said. “Some businesses have actually experienced decreased sales of up to 50 per cent over the Christmas season due to crime.”

In full agreement was Couva/Point Lisas Chamber president Ramchand Rajbal Maraj, who said crime is scaring away businesses from this region and he called for an increase in police/army patrols.

“We would like to see improved manpower at the Couva police station as well as vehicles and the combination of police and army patrolling the streets. Community police must be visible,” Maraj said.

The two agreed that government has to stop talking about diversifying the economy and actually begin to move the economy away from its dependency on oil and gas.

“In light of the fact that government has been in office two years and change yet nothing has been done, and given the situation in oil and gas dependency there is no foreseeable light on the horizon,” Sieuraj said. “It is very difficult to understand what is the government’s plan to uplift the business community.”

He said a light manufacturing park should be developed in the region to encourage the movement away from retail into manufacturing. Maraj said the local cocoa and honey industries are prime candidates which could also bring in much-needed foreign exchange.

Sieuraj said the heads of several business chambers including Tunapuna; Cunupia Business Association; Siparia; Penal/Debe; Rio Claro; Chaguanas and Couva/Point Lisas, would have a roundtable discussion on the Revenue Authority on January 17, at the Couva/Point Lisas office to discuss the potential impact the Authority could have on the business community.