St Lucia local manufacturers criticise Trinidad PM over remarks on aid

The St Lucia Manufacturers Association (SLMA) Friday criticised Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar over remarks that aid to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries badly hit by Hurricane Tomas must bring benefits to her country.



Persad-Bissessar is paying her first visit here since her election five months ago to get a first hand view of the destruction caused by the storm that is also being blamed for the deaths of 14 people over the last weekend.



In her statement, Persad Bissessar said that Port of Spain would “have to look at ways in which we would be able to assist".



“But you would recall my comments earlier this year, when I said there must be some way in which Trinidad and Tobago would also benefit. So if we are giving assistance with housing, for example, and that is one of the areas that we (the Prime Minister of St Vincent and myself spoke about, then we may be able to use Trinidad and Tobago builders and companies, so that whatever money is given, rebounds back in some measure to the people of Trinidad and Tobago."



On Thursday, she told reporters in Trinidad that her statement had been taken out of context by the media.



SLMA president Paula Calderon said that manufacturers believe it is pertinent to inform that the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) imports from Trinidad and Tobago on a ratio of eight to one.



She said the sub-region maintains an active investment flow through the provision of services including banking, accounting, financial management, insurance and construction.



“Additionally, we have remained steadfast to supporting Trinidad and Tobago’s oil industry at the expense of lucrative deals offered by another oil rich country,” Calderon said, adding , “it cannot be that the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago is unaware of these activities taking place between her country and the OECS.”



“Never before in the civilized world, particularly among western styled democracies has humanitarian aid ever been linked to “trade- offs.”



“The mere suggestion of this by a CARICOM member state to another is an insult to the spirit of the Treaty of Chaguaramus, of which Trinidad & Tobago is a prime beneficiary,” she said in a statement.



Calderon said that the SLMA appreciates the kind expressions of solidarity by Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) and sympathies from the Supermarket Associations of Trinidad & Tobago.



“We are a proud people, with a noble heritage of survival in our veins. Even in our darkest moments a faint light beams at the end of the tunnel and we are assured that we will survive,” she noted.



The Trinidad and Tobago leader Friday held talks with with Prime Minister Stephenson King after presenting a container of emergency supplies and undertaking a tour of the affected areas.



“We will stop at nothing in ensuring that our brothers and sisters in the region receive the level of support required in this time of urgent need,” she said in a short statement.



Prime Minister King said that his early “guesstimate” of US$100 million worth of damage inflected by the hurricane has risen to US$500 million and climbing since the initial tour by helicopter on Wednesday. He admitted that what he saw in the Soufriere hinterland especially “really and truly devastated my own psyche”.



Meanwhile, emergency supplies were continuing to arrive here from the regional and international community, even as the island struggled with critical water storages.



Communication and Works Minister Guy Mayers said that while excavation units, working round the clock, were finally able to reach the main Roseau Dam the level of destruction there would result in further delays in an adequate water supply.



“It’s going to take at least another week before we can get those pumps working again and in the meantime we will have to explore other means of making the vital resource available across the island.”



He said that while there were a few small catchment areas which would commence supplies of about four million gallons a day, the daily requirement for St. Lucia is about nine million gallons.