Recently, the Tobago House of Assembly Secretary of Finance, Joel Jack presented the Assembly's 2016/2017 Budget. His requirement to run Tobago for the next year was $5.3 billion.
One of the requests was $296.7 million for tourism and transportation. What exactly is the THA Tourist Department planning to transport and what type of vehicles are they hoping to purchase? Stretch limos, cadillacs and Rolls Royces maybe? On the topic of public funds being wasted and thrown away on so-called tourist development projects, it is nothing short of madness.
Recently, I visited the idyllic fishing village of Buccoo. There I had a wonderful meal with friends upstairs in a relatively new restaurant, overlooking the sea and crystal clear waters with numerous fishing boats serenely moored. After eating, we all went for a stroll at the water's edge, right up to a dilapidated concrete platform that was supposed to serve the fishermen as a jetty.
On this rundown slab of concrete, there were no facilities for the honest, hard working fishermen. Fuel has to be purchased at a regular gas station, transported to the concrete platform and syphoned into the gas tank in the boat. Coupled with this, there was no running water, electricity or wash down facility there. Zero facilities for the fishermen and no chance of creating boat cruise tourism with such basic infrastructure.
On departing the rundown waterfront area, on the right hand side of the road is a very impressive and large outdoor facility with manicured lawns and comfortable seating for hundreds. I had to admire such a beautiful facility in the middle of tiny Buccoo Village.
At that point passing on the roadside was a fisherman toting a wheel barrow weighed down with a huge container with fuel for his boat. Sweating and exhausted, he was happy to rest for a while and chat with me. I enquired what the impressive facility was and he immediately responded, "Dat is we latest goat racing facility."
I told him that it was truly impressive and enquired "How often does it get used?"
He stunned me with his reply, "Once a year."
I could not believe what I had heard so repeated my question, whereupon he looked me square in the eye and said, "Yes mister, dey does only use it once a year."
Stunned by his confirmation, I then enquired, "Do you have any idea how much the entire facility cost?"
He then said "Everybody around here say it cost the Government $50 million. I think dat is about right."
That day I departed beautiful Buccoo Village absolutely depressed. $50 million spent on magnificent facilities to race goats once a year and still no facilities to develop a tourist industry and little or zero infrastructure to help the fisher folk.
It would be helpful if the THA were to come down from cloud nine and get sensible investment priorities sorted out and stop throwing away scarce Treasury funds on nonsense.
Andy Campbell