Williams urges corporate TT to help solve community woes

ENERGY MINISTER Eric Williams yesterday appealed to Trinidad and Tobago’s corporate community to do more to help Government and other national stakeholders prevent people from falling into a life of crime and to address other social ills. Addressing the launch of the 2005 British Gas of TT (BGTT) Energy Challenge at the Marriot Courtyard Hotel at Invaders Bay, Williams said the positive results of this type of cooperation were evident in his Port-of-Spain South constituency. Explaining that his constituency included places such as Sea Lots, John John and sections of Port-of-Spain known as “behind the bridge,” Williams identified crime and unemployment as two of the major problems plaguing his constituency.

“We have people who are well known to the police, who are now trying to find ways to straighten out their lives. We have people coming to us for the very clothes on their backs,” the minister said. However, Williams said invaluable assistance from corporate citizens had greatly helped him as a parliamentarian to bring much needed relief to persons within his community — including keeping them out of a life of crime. Williams disclosed that within recent months, $140,000 had  been raised to meet pressing problems within the constituency from education to employment. Noting that the BGTT Energy Challenge has raised in excess of $1.6 million to support the work of local charitable organisations throughout the country during its two years of existence, Williams said it was “a salute to the combined efforts of the energy sector and the wider corporate community, working together for charity.”

The minister said while energy sector companies primarily meet to explore ways to deepen and diversify their participation in the sector, “It is not often that the opportunity arises for you to collaborate on community issues or more significantly, that you have the chance to pool your considerable resources to effect positive social change on the local landscape.” Williams said Government viewed initiatives like the BGTT Energy Challenge as “an avenue through which we can build and fortify networks among governmental, non-governmental and multinational partners in the energy sector to realise a more efficient and effective development of our petroleum sector” which would redound to the benefit of the entire population. Foundation for the Enhancement and Enrichment of Life (FEEL) chairman Clive Pantin and United Way patron Zalayhar Hassanali shared Williams’ sentiments about how corporate citizens have helped to improve the lives of persons in communities throughout TT.