Chaguanas mayor chides ‘absentee owners’

Chaguanas Mayor, Surujrattan Rambachan has called on Port-of-Spain Centred Corporate Community Bodies to invest in the development of the Borough of Chaguanas.

Speaking to Sunday Newsday in a telephone interview, Mayor Rambachan said: “The greatest challenge is the absentee of landlords, which means they (businessmen) set up businesses in Chaguanas, make profits but do not in turn invest in the infrastructural outlook in the borough.” Rambachan went on to give an example of this saying: “A major bank who makes an average of $500,000,000 in profits, when asked to contribute to the borough found it very hard to spend only $2,000 to the upliftment of the borough.” “Compare that to the First Citizens Bank, who made less profits in their financial year, and who decorated a Christmas Tree in the middle of Chaguanas Main Road,” he added.

Rambachan noted that at present he is trying to get the Unit Trust Corporation to re-develop part of the Endeavour Road into a proper boulevard. He said that in the very near future he intends to speak to the Port-of-Spain Corporate Community on a one to one basis and also hold a major consultation with them, concerning how they will partner the re-development of the inner borough of Chaguanas.

Rambachan stated, “One of my objectives, as Mayor, is to make Chaguanas the country’s major retail centre and the only way that will happen is if the business community becomes more open minded.” He added: “While the year 2003 was a learning experience for me, I would like for the new year 2004 to be very beneficial, in so doing, investment must be first priority, and when that happens it will then incur the attraction of shoppers into the borough, which will definitely increase the economy of the borough.”