Paula vs Assam on competitiveness

Assam, a former diplomat, former Tunapuna MP and businessman, told the meeting that Trinidad and Tobago’s competitiveness ranking is now lower than those of its Caricom neighbours Barbados and Jamaica, while this country’s ease of doing business rating has descended to a rank lower than those of Barbados, St Vincent, St Lucia and Grenada.

Gopee-Scoon, spoke to Newsday on Tuesday at a workshop on quality at the Bureau of Standards, Macoya.

She said very little was done in the past five years on these two indices, but now Cabinet has set up a committee under the secretariat of her ministry to create an enabling environment for business. The committee includes officials from the Ministries of Planning, Finance and Public Utilities. “All these agencies, all of us are charged with renewing and redoing their processes, in the shortest time-frame, so that at the end of the day TT can match its international rivals when it comes to competitiveness and ease of doing business.

“TT is in a place at this time where he really have to resuscitate the non-energy environment.” She said support must be given for new areas of business, such as in the agriculture, maritime and tourism sectors. ‘We have to ensure all of our business environment is competitive enough and up to stand that we can welcome investors into TT, and that even our local investors can find opportunities idea enough to re-invest. So we are actively working and this follows the Bureau of Standards which is ensuring that all the standards are put in place to ensure we develop a National Quality Infrastructure that directly impacts.”