Farley: Dragon deal 'death' reflects need for diversification

TOBAGO People’s Party (TPP) political leader Farley Augustine says the US government’s decision to revoke the licences it had previously granted to allow Trinidad and Tobago to monetise gas from the Dragon and Manakin-Cocuina cross-border gas fields with Venezuela reflects the need for this country to diversify its economy.

Prime Minister Stuart Young announced the development on April 8 during a news conference at Whitehall, Port of Spain. The licences were granted to TT by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Addressing a political meeting in Plymouth on April 8, Augustine described the news as unfortunate.

“On my way here, I heard the unfortunate news – and this is absolutely not news that we are going to celebrate. But is news that for every political organisation, every non-governmental organisation, every faith-based organisation, every parent, every child, must actually pay attention to,” he told supporters.

“We heard the unfortunate news that, as of right now, the Dragon gas deal is dead. And it is so unfortunate that for us, we live in a part of the world where other countries bigger than we are can actually determine our prosperity and our future, and that another country, being sovereign and separate and independent from us, can determine whether or not we can enter into an arrangement with another neighbouring country.”

Augustine, who is also the THA Chief Secretary, said small islands like TT were often at the mercy of larger, developed countries.

“Whether we like it or not, that’s just the way the world swings. In Tobago we say, ‘Donkey say the world not level.’ And certainly, the world we live in, small island territories like TT, are at the mercies of the metropolitan countries up north.”

Very often, he said, “We simply have to get along and hope for the best.”

But Augustine said the news was critical for every political organisation contesting the April 28 general election.

“The next five years will be absolutely important for us as a people. Important because the next five years, we have to get all of our songs correct. The maths must maths for the next five years.”

He blamed the government for the development.

“We are at the brink whereby we had a PNM government, who, due to poor fiscal management, poor social infrastructure and investment, has left us at the mercy of what is happening in the global space.”

Augustine reflected on the country’s socio-economic climate when the National Alliance for Reconstruction won the 1986 general election.

“In some ways, I am starting to feel as though this has eerie similarities to 1986. Because in 1986, when the country rose up and voted out the PNM, it was a little late, because by then oil and gas prices were at an all-time low.

“We were in significant deficit as a country and the then NAR government had to figure out a way to govern with unemployment rising, having to give people VSEP, lay people off.’”

He recalled several measures were implemented at that time to stabilise the economy, including the introduction of value-added tax and the Alien Land Holding Act as a way of attracting direct foreign investment.

Augustine believes economic diversification is a must.

“As a country, it is abundantly clear that we need to diversify our economy now. As a country, we cannot continue to keep all of our eggs in one basket and hope for the best. We have to grow an economy that is larger than just oil and gas outputs. We have to look at other areas which Trinidad and Tobago has a competitive advantage.”

He said the TPP’s candidates David Thomas and Joel Sampson, if elected, must join with their other colleagues in the Parliament to ensure the economy is diversified “to the extent that oil and gas is not the sole breadwinner of the country.”

Augustine suggested the cocoa industry could be one of the avenues through which that could be achieved.

“We have the best grade of cocoa anywhere else in the world. It is no secret that other countries and companies purchase our cocoa to mix with commodity grade cocoa so that you can get that rich flavour that we have.”