...But will Tobago ‘buy in’?

While the Tobago House of Assembly has reported a high degree of satisfaction among the majority of stakeholder attendees in the initial talks with the chain, Patricia Turpin, President of Environment Tobago said the environmental impact of the proposed development is yet to be discussed and she is asking the Chief Secretary and the resort chain when are they going to speak to Tobago’s environmentalists.

Turpin referred to a comment she said was made by Minister Young, who told the meeting that environmentalists were being consulted and that the project was being Tobago driven. She contradicted this saying that it was being run from Trinidad.

“This is something I totally disagree with. It is being driven from Trinidad.

Nobody has been consulted on Sandals.

This is the whole point. The transparency towards the project has been nil. We have never had questions answered and we would like some answers. And I believe it is not going to happen until we get that plan in hand.” Turpin said based on the presentation, it appeared that the plan for the hotel was the one from the previous application for a certificate for environmental clearance made by Angostura more than a decade ago.

Other persons who considered themselves worthy of an invitation to the talks were upset that they were left out.

One such person was Curtis Douglas, the Progressive Democratic Patriots’ Plymouth Golden Lane candidate in next year’s THA elections. Douglas, who said he was there to represent the All Tobago Fishing Association said he was told by a representative of the Chief Secretary’s office that he would be unable to enter.

“That is disturbing for the people of Tobago. I want to know if Tobago is being sold out privately. I am concerned about the fishing community and I have to make my contribution. The people of Tobago will all become bellboys here.

We do not need another hotel in Tobago.

What we need is proper marketing. I saw the consultation on the news and thought it was a public consultation. But instead it is for a chosen few.” However, Chief Secretary London has said that a committee is being set up to get the views of those stakholders not included in the initial phase of discussion.

“In our position, you have to make a choice between the kind of forum that will make for a particular kind of interaction and once you exceed that number the quality and the tone of the interaction changes and that was the challenge that we had. So yes, we to make some choices and once you make choices, there are going to be some people who didn’t make the cut and there are reasons for that. However, the process in which we are engaged allows everybody to have an input.” London said that soon anyone who felt left out would have the opportunity to make their contribution. He also said public consultation was built into the Environmental Management Agency’s process for approval for any development and that these would take place in due course.

Regarding concerns raised by Environment Tobago, The Chief Secretary and Adam Stewart, Sandals CEO, told those present that discussions on environmental impact were still in the future but were going to happen at some point, as yet undetermined.

Invited stakeholders included the Tobago Chapter of the Chamber of Commerce, the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, the Crown Point Community Partnership Association, the Canaan Bon Accord Community Council, representatives from the Buccoo village council, the Tobago Agricultural Society, Save Our Sea Turtles, the Buccoo Reef Trust, the Dive Association, as well as various divisions of the THA.