Tewarie blames 'obstinate, belligerent ministers' for Sandals withdrawal

Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie has added his voice to the withdrawal of Sandals Resorts International (SRI) from the Tobago project, saying the blame has to rest with the Prime Minister and his “obstinate, belligerent ministers.”

At a media conference at the Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday, SRI CEO Gebhard Rainer said the “consistent badgering” and “negative publicity” had forced the company’s withdrawal from Tobago.

In a media statement, Tewarie described the withdrawal as “unfortunate for Tobago and for the tourism sector in TT.”

He said the project had become mired in controversy as Rowley and his ministers failed to properly explain the project to the population.

“From the very beginning, no one in the government would explain the project properly. The story changed as they moved from one explanation to another, as if no citizen would remember what they said before.

“Simple questions about environmental concerns, the structure of investment, the role of private-sector investment, the extent of concessions and how the government planned to optimise the beneficial impact of the Sandals presence here were treated with antagonism and were not answered directly and transparently.”

Tewarie said the “net effect” of this was “confusion in the minds of almost every citizen, negative publicity and doubt in the mind of the principal investors.”

Rowley and his ministers, he said, must take full responsibility for their "refusal to level with the citizens of this country, on whose behalf any government of TT governs.”

He said the debacle involving the Tobago ferry had not helped the situation.