By Pierre Small
January 30, 2009
Tobago’s tourism on brink of collapse: In light of all the latest developments internationally on the economic and tourism front, coupled with bad strategic planning from Trinidad’s Ministry Of Tourism and the Tourism Development Company, it appears imminent that Tobago’s tourism sector is heading for a collapse. With Tobago’s hotel occupancy rate now at 30%, and this is the peak of their tourism season, there is cause for severe alarm. Unless the financial stability of Tobago’s hotel owners and the tourism industry is as guaranteed as death, Tobagonians are headed for very hard times that will result in an uncomfortable pattern of lifestyle changes.
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The handing over of prime Caroni lands to selected companies certainly raises cause for concern about the government’s agricultural policy and who benefits from it.
It is imperative on the Manning Administration having regard to the current global financial and economic meltdown that is ravaging all Latin American economies to appreciate that it cannot spend over $2bn to provide an April platform for the conduct of hemispheric multilateral diplomacy as if it is business as usual. Since May 2008 when the T&T Concept Paper detailing the agenda of the Fifth POS Summit of the Americas was accepted, the economic, social and trading conditions in the 34- membership of the OAS including in the USA and the Summit Host, T&T, have deteriorated radically. Latin America is not the same today.
January 24, 2009
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IT was an emotional moment, watching Barack Hussein Obama take the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States of America. While hundreds of millions around the world must have experienced joy on seeing the first non-white take that historic leap for “Black man”, for people of my generation and those older than us, the emotions were different. Joy, yes. But that was a miniscule part of the memories that filled our minds as we watched the swearing-in, barely able to hold back the tears welling up in our eyes.
THERE was a time when the moment things turned sour in this country, those who could afford it would simply flee to the USA, Canada or Europe. That happened mainly among professionals who were educated here at taxpayers’ expense, entrepreneurs who rose from running one-door shops to the multi-million-dollar enterprises. The one aberration to this pattern occurred in the late 1980s, when thousands of ordinary people, mainly Indians, fled to Canada as refugees, claiming they were oppressed by an African-dominated state machinery.