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THE GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY | | | Author: | | Date: 2010-01-12 00:00:00 |
| THE GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Congress of the People’s Political Leader, Winston Dookeran tells the Caribbean Construction Digest Magazine.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago has been chided for not paying enough attention to the development of a proper public sector infrastructure programme, to aid the struggling construction industry, during these testing economic times.
Noting that the mechanism used for the expansion of the construction industry in neighbouring Guyana and Suriname was the creation of public infrastructure projects, Congress of the People’s political leader, Winston Dookeran, said that the Trinidad and Tobago government has done poorly by comparison.
Dookeran addressed the challenges and the developmental needs of the local construction industry in the feature interview of the Caribbean Construction Digest’s (CCD) October-December 2009 issue.
“The government’s allocation to infrastructure in T&T continues to be minimal and therein lies one of our major problems. It never ceases to amaze that the country has enough money to host international summits and other frivolous projects but very little to spend on a reliable road and drainage programme; especially since a well developed and properly functioning infrastructure plan is one way of maintaining a level of sustainability within the sector.”
The former Central Bank Governor accused the government of being misguided; being bent on creating the symbols of development rather than focusing on the substance thereof.
He encouraged the construction industry to look south into Guyana, Brazil and Suriname for enormous opportunities for “joint venture type arrangements where the experience and expertise of local contractors and consultants can easily be absorbed.”
Dookeran suggested that the activity within the industry over the last 10 years have equipped the workforce with considerable amounts of experience and knowledge.
“There is always opportunity in chaos, but we must be wise enough to recognize it and brave enough to embrace it,” he told CCD’s Nalinee Khemraj.
He used the opportunity to advise the construction sector to more quickly adapt new technologies within the building process if it is to rise amidst the immense challenges that it is facing and will face in the future.
This was just one of the several measures that the COP leader highlighted as important going forward, as he also called for a greater emphasis on safety and noted improved pension and health plans for workers.
“These (pension/health plans) must be designed to adequately provide for workers despite the project oriented nature of work within the industry,” Dookeran said.
He noted that the construction industry will feel the pinch of the overall state of the economy.
Dookeran told CCD that the issue of tax incentives for both on-shore and offshore investments must be looked at in the context of the construction industry to inject some energy into the sector.
“A properly implemented taxation regime could be used to create a stimulus within the sector,” he said.
Dookeran called on stakeholders within the industry to engage the government in a tax regime which promotes growth as he chided the government for not being proactive in this regard.
“A number of incentives are offered to firms within the energy industry, especially multinational corporations, thus it seems only fair that local small and medium enterprises (even large firms) be given similar type incentives, especially since the construction industry is often used as the catalyst to stimulate the economy.”
As he examined the economic climate, Dookeran said that some may be fooled into believing that good times were just around the corner because the government continues to spend on “grandiose projects”, he however called for caution.
“Given the government’s lack of performance and the many other issues plaguing the construction industry, one must be cautious that these projects could be slow in implementation…if they get off the ground at all.”
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