Vaccine issue worries Chamber

■ Kim Boodram

kim.boodram@trinidadexpress.com

THE Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce has expressed concern that this country is yet to access a reasonable tranche of Covid-19 vaccines that would allow the Government to start a public inoculation drive.

The business community regards this as a critical booster towards restarting the local economy.

Chamber chief executive officer Gabriel Faria said last week the time is 'now' for Government to focus towards a very structured vaccination campaign that also tackles, head on, any negative public perceptions of the products that could cause 'vaccine hesitation'.

This is being seen in some countries where the vaccine is available but people are wary, he said, and it is affecting public uptake of the vaccines.

Faria said he has spoken to 'numerous businesses' that are willing to support the Government's efforts, even as they struggle, since they recognise the potential detriment to the economy further down the road.

He repeated that the Chamber had only commendation for the Government's stewardship from March 12, 2020, when Covid-19 first appeared locally.

The business community is grateful that the Covid-19 infection rate is now showing a rolling average of three to six infections per day, which is considered successful by regional and global standards. But some of the methods used to beat the virus in T&T, including severe restrictions on recreational activities and closed borders, are now impacting employment and disposable income, which is trickling down to several crucial markets.

Permanent demise?

The business community is concerned that economic challenges arising out of the current alignment of trade circumstances, if kept up much longer, could see some sectors meet a permanent demise.

'We have seen the challenges in the supply chain in vaccines, however, the role of leadership in any environment is not to explain the reason for failure but to change the outcome,' Faria said, noting that the business community is anxious to make way towards 'herd immunity' in the Covid-19 future. 'How do we access vaccines and start herd immunity, so we can restart the economy?' he asked .

He said it must be recognised that the energy industry 'will not provide the buffer it did in years gone by'.

It is the private sector that will drive economic activity, he said, adding: 'I believe and am hopeful that the Government recognises that it has to collaborate with the private sector because it can no longer rely on revenue from the energy sector.' Faria said Trinidad and Tobago should pay attention to countries that have already vaccinated notable portions of their populations, including Barbados and St Vincent in the region.

He said vaccination should be the focus of the Government and private sector, where some companies were willing to vaccinate their staff out of pocket.

The ANSA McAL conglomerate has indicated a willingness to assist Government in sourcing and funding vaccines. 'The private sector recognises the potential risk in not achieving herd immunity as quickly as we can,' he said. 'Based on this, we had a meeting with the Ministry of Health and the private sector feels confident that from an operational perspective, on the ground, the Ministry has a plan to administer the vaccines... if they receive it. The greatest concern is not operationalisation but the access.' Faria said the T&T Chamber has reached out to the International Chamber of Commerce, which is campaigning for universal access to vaccines to smaller economies.

It also has ongoing discussions and 'a great meeting' with Canada's deputy minister for the region 'to see if there is any support we can get from Canada'.

Balancing lives and livelihoods

He said the Chamber had again reached out to the Ministry of Health and was still committed to supporting efforts to open up more segments of the economy, as it also recognised the limitations of the Government's resources. He said Government's capacity to support those in need had to be considered and the Chamber had recognised that the State 'was not able to provide the support that other developed markets were able to'.

'Based on this, it is crucial that, as a country, we manage the balancing of lives and livelihoods,' he said, directing attention to Canada's model for keeping Covid-19 at bay with restrictions while supporting small and medium businesses, in particular, as did the United States. 'Trinidad and Tobago didn't have the luxury of giving people their salaries and allowing businesses to close,' he said.

Last January, Finance Minister Colm Imbert stated at a news conference that Government had withdrawn about US$1.2 billion from T&T's sovereign wealth fund, the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF), between January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and drawn down in two fiscal years - 2020 and 2021.

Imbert put the national community on alert that a further drawdown was imminent, in order to mitigate a projected shortfall in revenue for the first quarter of 2021.

He also warned trade unions that a choice may have to be made between higher wages and workers' jobs.

Faria noted the Ministry's first quarter report said that revenue from taxes, especially corporation and value added tax (VAT), was down and this was directly linked to economic activity.

'Because of the lockdown and restricted activities, many sectors are still not able to operate one year later,' Faria said.

'This includes the events and entertainment sector, bars and restaurants are still facing significant restrictions, many businesses still have restricted opening hours. They are the most impacted and those are the sectors that contribute the most to disposable income,' Faria said.

He drew reference also to the yachting industry as a small but notable source of foreign exchange and called on Government to 'get that sector restarted responsibly'.

Reopen the borders

'We need to focus on reopening the borders,' Faria also stated. 'The reality is that the compliant are the ones that are most impacted when these restrictions are put in place. The borders are still open to the non-compliant.' Faria noted the associated challenges but said a responsible and structured approach could be taken and it has been shown that new Covid-19 infections as a result of arrivals into the country were not a significant source of spread. 'It is tedious and a distraction for business,' Faria stated. 'Especially for Tobago, that is so dependent on tourism.'

He said simple operating requirements, such as getting a repair or installation worker for equipment, is now difficult.

'As a country, we have to ask ourselves if we can afford not to do the right thing,' he said. 'We have the resources and it's where we direct these resources, we have some important issues to address.' He said it was 'unfortunate that in a country like Trinidad and Tobago, with the right GDP and size of economy, that businesses have been closed for one year, with little or no financial support'.

Faria said amid rising unemployment or reduced employment, the Government's debt to the private sector was rising. He said the pharmaceutical sector was owed 'hundreds of millions' and while the State made some effort to pay off some outstanding debt in VAT refunds, hundreds of millions were still owed.

He asked whether the Government would have the capacity to honour its obligations, saying: 'It's debt they took from the private sector.' Faria recalled that according to trade unions, some 60 wage settlement negotiations are outstanding, some as long as ten years.

'No one can come out winning if T&T loses,' Faria said, stressing caution that the measures used to cure Covid- 19 are 'not worse than the disease'.

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES: Gabriel Faria

...one year later