NAR wants $1B port in Tobago

The Tobago arm of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) is calling for tomorrow’s National Budget to allocate a billion dollars to build a new sea-port in Tobago. In a statement yesterday, the Tobago NAR said the island needed new infrastructure to protect future generations from unsustainable development. The NAR’s infrastructure wish-list included “one billion dollars for a new port and half-billion for a comprehensive waste water collection, treatment and redistribution system to protect the marine environment.” The party also wanted a boost to the island’s pool of teachers and to protect its natural heritage.

Saying development meant the building of institutions and the architecture of the mind, NAR urged allocations for training at all levels and the upgrading of the island’s pool of skilled labour. The NAR wanted Tobago to develop its own educational strategy based on its culture, instead of mindlessly following certain fashions which sometimes diminished their Heritage Festival. Tobago youth were at risk, said NAR, from BET values replacing Tobago values. “The Budget must provide resources for immediate and rapid intervention in the areas of self-reliance, not dependency on the Treasury.” The NAR also wanted the Budget to promote a cultural renaissance in Tobago.