Chambers: SoE end may not save businesses

in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

AS OF MIDNIGHT on Wednesday night, the six-month long state of emergency (SoE) was discontinued by government two weeks before it was set to expire. While the move is a welcome one, on Thursday, some business chambers said there was still some concern over the turnout of customers and the rate of business for the Christmas season, especially with infections on the rise. TT Chamber of Commerce chairman Gabriel Faria, in recalling the chamber’s earlier call to remove the SoE or reduce the hours of the curfew, said the removal of the SoE would give businesses more time to operate. “The key...

11 November

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Tobago Chamber: Government paying lip service to private sector

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in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

Tobago Business Chamber chairman Martin George has accused the Government of paying lip service in its efforts to develop Tobago's private sector. George said if the Government was serious, it would repeal the Foreign Investment Act, immediately reopen beaches on the island, and remove VAT from all goods and services there. His comments come three days after the Prime Minister gave the commitment that the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), once controlled by the PNM, will continue to shoulder the burden of providing employment, until the private sector is robust enough to take over. Dr Rowley said the expansion of the island's...

11 November

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Reopen island’s beaches: Call from Tobago Chamber

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in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

THE Tobago Business Chamber is urging the Government to remove restrictions on beaches, as the organisation believes the beach ban has outlived its usefulness. The chamber chairman, Martin George, in a video post sent to the media yesterday, said that most Trinidadians who visit Tobago for vacation always want to go to the beach with their families. “It is high time that the restriction be lifted as the beaches are also a tourism revenue earner and many people who work at the various beaches have been out of a job for several months,” George said. Many other bar and restaurant owners in Tobago...

11 November

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As Tobago hotel closes, George says clear vaccination policy needed

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in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

As Tobago’s economy continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin George, Chairman of the Tobago Business Chamber, believes that Government should look to vaccination as the key to recovery. In fact, he’s of the view a stronger approach, one rooted in legislation, is necessary to help the economy rebound and return to Tobago to some semblance of normalcy. George was commenting on the temporary closure of award-winning Tobago resort Coco Reef Resort and Spa, which today announced that it couldn’t continue to operate amidst continued uncertainty. Owner John Jefferis said the resort’s reopening will be announced in due course, when...

11 November

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Tobago Chamber: Gov’t must consider mandatory COVID-19 vaccination

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in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

The time has come for Government to consider going the route of mandatory vaccination to continue easing restrictions to allow closed business sectors to reopen. This, from Chairman of the Tobago Business Chamber Martin George who said the quickest way for the country to get back to a state of normalcy is to “legislate to vaccinate” against COVID-19. George, in a video message, said T&T’s COVID-19 vaccination rate remains too low and will present the risk of new waves of infection if other sectors are reopened. He said the move to reopen the retail sector next Monday is a positive step, but the...

11 November

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George: Do more to develop Tobago’s private sector

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in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

Chairman of the Tobago Business Chamber Martin George believes that not enough has been done to support the development of a strong private sector. George made the comment as he weighed in on recent issues raised on the Tobago House of Assembly campaign trail as it relates to employment opportunities for Tobagonians. He said: “We have seen over the years, the deliberate destruction of the private sector, the dismantling of all the processes and procedures which would support a viable and sustainable private sector in order to ensure that there is the continuing dependency upon the Tobago House of Assembly.” According to George,...

10 November

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TOBAGO BUSINESS CHAMBER calls for the Gov’t to set a Jan 1st deadline for Mandatory Vaccinations.

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in Tobago Business Chamber

TOBAGO BUSINESS CHAMBER calls for the Gov't to set a Jan 1st deadline for Mandatory Vaccinations. It's Chairman MARTIN GEORGE calls for the re-opening of Beaches in Tobago and Repeal of the Foreign Investment Act and a removal of VAT from all goods and services in Tobago as measures to immediately re-vitalize the Private Sector in Tobago. https://youtu.be/MiK5JO4thEw ...

13 October

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Tobago safe zones not all ready

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in Newspaper Articles, Tobago Business Chamber

The lifting of restrictions on restaurants, cinemas, casinos, gyms, and bars on Monday, allowing them to reopen as safe zones for vaccinated customers only, proved challenging for many of these businesses in Tobago, which remained closed. According to the Ministry of Health, in a safe zone all staff members must be vaccinated. Customers are also expected to show their vaccination card to enter a safe zone and have one form of ID in their possession while on the compound of a safe zone. Workers who can’t be vaccinated because they are pregnant, recently recovered from the virus or have any other medical...

12 October

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