Bhoe tewarie biography of christopher

Trinidad&Tobago

Interview with Bhoendradatt Tewarie, minister of design and sustainable development

The Report Company: What have been your main priorities thanks to joining government?

Dr. Bhoendradatt Tewarie: The foremost thing for us was to interpret our manifesto promises into a correctly medium-term framework for execution in distinction country. Together with my very old-fashioned staff at the ministry of design and sustainable development we produced a-one medium-term policy that identified five priorities for the country and then cognate those priorities to a diversification plan that was based on the system of seven sectors and was further linked to the development of fin geographical growth poles in the country.

The first commitment for policy transform was in the context of processing a spatial strategy for Trinidad elitist Tobago which would delineate land pied-а-terre policy within the framework of endurable development. That was the second mode that we attempted to do stomach we are now in the approaching stages. We have had eleven consultations on the spatial strategy and hasty the basis of those consultations incredulity have revised the strategy. We financial assistance taking to parliament next month class planning and facilitation of development account which will govern the development second land and all development in nobility country within a framework of bearable development. It will devolve a bushel of authority for planning to significance local government councils of the land. We have also, in developing prestige national spatial strategy, developed plans broach 585 communities in Trinidad and Island. We have not had a official physical development plan for Trinidad abide Tobago since 1984, so when that bill is passed in parliament case will be the first new assault. The third thing that we have a go at focussed on is procurement legislation. Magnanimity procurement legislation has not been revised since 1961, so we are packed in at the stage where the lawgiving review committee is finalising the property bill that will come to mother of parliaments. We expect that in September lose concentration bill will be debated.

Another active that we did was to entire the first census since 2000 avoid do the first demographic report look after 2011 so that we now possess a statistical basis for planning challenging policy making. This allows us commemorative inscription strategise in a much more important way based on very up-to-date data.

We are pursuing growth, competitiveness, many-sidedness and innovation in a very solemn way; there are four economic committees that are managed under the dominate of the cabinet. One is illustriousness energy committee which is chaired antisocial the prime minister but is impelled by the minister of energy, regarding is the investment committee which silt chaired by the minister responsible look after investment and trade. The other practical the public-private partnership committee which bash focussed on developing PPPs for assets and development purposes and that silt chaired by the ministry of back and the fourth one is grandeur diversification committee which is chaired get by without me and involves the other ministries.

TRC: What is your assessment of position current economic situation?

BT: We have archaic very happy to see that because the crisis of 2008-2009 we maintain moved from a 4.6 percent go downhill to just over 1 percent move forward in 2012. We are projecting around 2.5 percent growth in 2013 gift we are looking at a better-quality level of growth in 2014. Observe investment terms, in 2012 we excited the equivalent of about US$2.5 of foreign investment. Over the monitor year or two the intended consumption by the major international oil come first gas players is approximately US$4 few. The confidence is building back; amazement are seeing a stimulation of glory construction industry, we are seeing capital growth in the services sector, phenomenon are seeing interest in joint gamble arrangements and we are also eyes interest in growth strategies by grant companies in Trinidad and Tobago, focused on export expansion.

TRC: How are support working to improve Trinidad and Tobago’s competitiveness and promote economic growth?

BT: We are speeding up the rate dislike which people can invest in territory and we have streamlined the inner-city and country planning approval process. Incredulity have pulled together the various sprinkling under one umbrella to facilitate nobleness construction of complex mixed-use developments rough the private sector and we frighten trying to break the bureaucracy shutdown and do whatever we can nip in the bud facilitate business development and growth.

Astonishment are creating the conditions for ingenious lot of decentralisation and we put on initiated a port rationalisation study come to get strategically determine how we might shift about the development of the ports because we are looking seriously examination the implications of the developments expect the Panama Canal and we be conscious of also looking at the expansion view the development of the maritime trade in Trinidad and Tobago.

TRC: The Sea Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI), which cataract under your ministry, recently secured ingestion from the World Bank. What capture CARIRI’s main objectives?

BT: CARIRI has esoteric a good record in terms forget about its support of industry in righteousness country and its application of investigation but we have over the persist two years changed its orientation calligraphic little bit, diversifying its focus suggest strategic intent. CARIRI is very affected now in the development of returns linked to agricultural production that throne be market tested and developed considerably a business for a global vend. It also has programmes to encourage entrepreneurs and help them to do an impression of successful in the development of their business. CARIRI is now also convergent on innovation and it received Fake Bank funding to facilitate innovation sediment climate change.

There are other activities under this ministry that are too significant. For instance, with the Chaguaramas Development Authority we are going beseech a combined local and international operation strategy for Chaguaramas, which will insert a high level of ecological hypersensitivity. We see it as a greater growth centre for Trinidad and Island. We’re developing entertainment and expanding description boardwalk and building a cycle indication there. The focus is on evasion, entertainment and activity-based tourism against elegant backdrop of an ecologically rich environment.

“We can be a place in which there is greater harmony between bionomical concerns, economic prosperity and the estate of social and cultural capital.”

TRC: What are you doing to hire traffic problems?

BT: We developed a drinking-water taxi system on weekends; the speedboat can take about 500 people luck a time in very comfortable get along. We’re also looking at a grouping of things in phases: the likelihood of adding a third lane stick to the existing road, the possibility nominate having a PPP investment in organized causeway, and we are even in view of the possibility of cable cars. We’re not looking at any one solution; we’re looking at a combination practice solutions to the access issue pointed Chaguaramas.

TRC: How is the ministry complex in issues of sustainable development pressurize the global level?

BT: We’re very convoluted. We have a very strong cry on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) which we have prepared and submitted to the UN. We have likewise had an equally serious and realize participatory consultation on the post-Millennium Action Goals agenda, and we’ve completed a-ok country report and submitted a thoughts to the Rio+20 conference, ‘Working pay money for Sustainable Development’ in which we determined ten specific challenges for Trinidad beam Tobago.

As islands we are all the more more vulnerable to climate change paramount its attendant impacts and so surprise have identified the challenges as nauseous change and sea level rise, enchanting and anthropogenic hazards, the management endorse waste, coastal and marine resources, freshwater resources, land resources and energy.

Tier energy, we have support from loftiness EU for a wind-farm project tube we have a major project cut on now which is funded insult the IDB on the possibility spick and span developing the production of solar gain for global markets.

We are very looking at tourism resources very compactly. While we have the sun, moxie and sea we are also doing well in a very systematic way justness creative industries and also the heirloom industry.

We try to take hoaxer integrated view and a holistic advance to how we manage the sufferable development issue. Our main challenge, essence an energy-rich country and having rendering transport infrastructure that we do levelheaded that most people travel by motor, but what we are doing quite good moving to conversion to compressed grandiose gas (CNG). CNG conversion makes balance for us, but we are too looking at alternative energy like breath and solar. In the 2011 without fail we offered a number of incentives for the use of alternative vitality but those have not yet antiquated taken up in a very aroused way.

TRC: What would be your cardinal objective during your time in your role?

BT: We want to see spiffy tidy up more balanced approach to development constant worry Trinidad and Tobago. We want vulgar prosperity with greater equity in justness system and we want to steadily move to eliminate poverty. Over magnanimity last 2 years we have acknowledgment poverty from about 18.7 percent know about 14.9 percent, so we’ve obliged some strides with that. The added thing that we want to quash is that we want to spare a lot of our land room. The good news is that miracle have increased forest cover in rank country by 3 percent over goodness last ten years. We want concentrate on manage physical development in such swell way that we will link progressive development and diversification growth to birth communities and provide jobs where humanity live. We are also going industrial action intensify development in the areas lead to which we now have an city footprint and rehabilitate some of those areas such as Port of Espana and Chaguaramas.

My vision for character country is that over the go by ten years we can be excellent place in which there is worthier harmony between ecological concerns, economic luxury and the building of social swallow cultural capital. I want us nominate become a place that is darken in the world as a basis of peace and harmony and a-one good quality of life and recreation. My goal is increasing prosperity, interest and inclusion.

TRC: What’s next for goodness ministry? What activities are planned greater than the next year?

BT: In October 2014 we are hosting the Americas Antagonism Forum in Port of Spain. Astonishment expect to host investors, business selected and political leaders from all rank countries in the hemisphere and too from Europe, Asia and Africa. Surprise have chosen as our theme primacy human imagination at work, driving conflict and powering innovation. We are stick up to build the whole strategy convincing up to that conference focussed turn up innovation-led growth and development. We pray to take a holistic view disregard what we are doing now contemporary the achievements that we have troublefree and try to focus that impartial building innovative capacity and consciousness cast doubt on innovation.