{"id":12894,"date":"2025-01-05T20:41:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T00:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/?p=12894"},"modified":"2025-01-05T20:41:14","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T00:41:14","slug":"mixed-reactions-from-business-groups-to-pms-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/2025\/01\/05\/mixed-reactions-from-business-groups-to-pms-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed reactions from business groups to PM\u2019s announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

A business chamber has expressed concern that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that he is stepping down without a successor in place and with general elections around the corner. The Confederation of Regional Business Chambers (CRBC) believes this could put doubt in the minds of investors.<\/p>

CRBC coordinator Jai Leladharsingh said: \u201cThis is creating a lot of uncertainty among the business community and has put a halt to domestic investment and over the last few years we have not seen any foreign investment at all. Again, a worrisome situation.\u201d<\/p>

Weighing in on the prime minister\u2019s legacy Tobago Business Chamber chairman Martin George said Dr Rowley was instrumental in the closure of Caroni Ltd, the Petrotrin refinery, the closure of BWIA, and the subsequent formation of Caribbean Airlines.  <\/p>

\u201cGranted, all three state enterprises were loss leaders and it could be argued that ultimately the country saved millions if not billions by these closures, it\u2019s difficult to hail as monumental success, the closing down, as opposed to the building up of things,\u201d George said.<\/p>

\u201cSadly, though, he has never been able to straddle the political divide, and even in the slightest way has been able to project himself as Prime Minister of all of T&T. He has been Prime Minister for himself, his party, his supporters, and sycophants.  <\/p>

\u201cHe missed and passed up on several opportunities to show himself as the bigger man, instead preferring to descend into the arena and get into petty squabbles with Watson Duke, THA\u2019s Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, and others of the lesser ilk,\u201d George added.<\/p>

The president of the Fyzabad Chamber of Commerce wished Dr Rowley an enjoyable retirement.<\/p>

\u201cThe PM\u2019s decision must be a difficult one for him, having served as an MP for so many years, and as PM for almost ten years. However, Dr Rowley may have realised that his leadership is not bearing the results the citizens expected and decided the time is now to bow out as MP.\u201d<\/p>

Samuel George, chairman of the Gasparillo Chamber of Commerce said any new leader has to engage with the people and communities.  <\/p>

\u201cHe or she must put policies in place that will be of benefit to the people of our country. The new leader must show compassion, and empathy, and must close the existing chasm between the government and the people.\u201d<\/p>

T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce CEO Vashti Guyadeen Vashti Gayadeen said it was admirable that Dr Rowley wanted to prioritise his family. Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce president Baldath Maharaj said the announcement represents a changing of the guard in T&T\u2019s political landscape, ushering in a period of reflection and transition for the nation.<\/p>

He said Rowley steered the country through major challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, energy market volatility, and pressing social and economic issues.  <\/p>

\u201cThe Chamber recognises his contributions and thanks him for his service and dedication to national development,\u201d he said.<\/p>

BY: ANDREA PEREZ-SOBERS<\/strong><\/p>

Mixed reactions from business groups to PM\u2019s announceme<\/strong><\/a>nt<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A business chamber has expressed concern that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that he is stepping down without a successor in place and with general elections around the corner. The Confederation of Regional Business Chambers (CRBC) believes this could put doubt in the minds of investors. CRBC coordinator Jai Leladharsingh said: \u201cThis is creating a lot of uncertainty among the business community and has put a halt to domestic investment and over the last few years we have not seen any foreign investment at all. Again, a worrisome situation.\u201d Weighing in on the prime minister\u2019s legacy Tobago Business Chamber…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12894"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12895,"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12894\/revisions\/12895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/martingeorge.net\/v2\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}