Justifiable Govt expenditure

These are infrastructural projects far removed from the tall buildings favoured by Prime Minister Patrick Manning or the $850 million Tarouba sports complex.

Constructing more buildings in the capital city brings little or no economic benefits, and will certainly negate the benefits of new roads or railways into Port-of-Spain. If new buildings are needed, there are many solid arguments for locating them in central and south Trinidad, as well as Tobago. As for the sporting centre, the thin excuses given for this project are already raising lively suspicions about the true reasons for wanting to spend such an exorbitant sum on a complex that will neither raise sporting achievement nor bring in significant revenue.

On the other hand, a better transport system will surely have economic benefits. It will reduce the number of hours commuters spend in traffic going to and from work, and it will facilitate the transportation of goods and services. Presumably, the Government will so arrange its 15-year plan that improvements will be seen within specific time-frames — every three to five years, say — and the disruptions of even the crawling traffic we now have will not itself last 15 years. We also expect the authorities to be extremely transparent about the outlay for this project. Fifteen billion dollars, even spread over 15 years, is no small money — and temptation will be all too easy for those persons controlling the purse-strings. Just as important is the matter of cost overruns — a failing which the Government has historically made a bad habit. These two ills can be mitigated by having transparent procedures from the outset.

This also holds true of the new port. But this project is even more important for the future of Trinidad and Tobago than the mass transit system. The fact is, it is impossible for a small island like ours to become developed without a modern and efficient port.

Singapore, a country which we often look to as an example of what we can be, made its port a priority when it first instituted its development plan in the 1960s. Fast turnover and efficient processing were the targets, and this was a key factor which persuaded multi-national companies to set up factories in that city-state.

In Trinidad and Tobago, however, air-conditioning breakdowns, industrial relations disputes, and one person just not showing up for work can still halt key procedures at the port. This increases costs to business people, both local and foreign, and helps stymie efforts to diversify our energy-based economy.

But Mr Imbert appears not to have ignored this issue, since he also announced that there will be new management for the port. Whether this will solve the work ethic problem that was created during the oil boom years remains to be seen.

Still, the important thing is that the Government appears to be on the right track with these two initiatives. We hope both are handled properly.