Of course Trinidad will drop on the Competitiveness Index. And so we may continue to do until we address finding the solutions to the problems. While Terrence Farrell is right about the historical issues that have kept T&T from moving forward and we need to solve that lack of a "slam dunk" attitude in the working of institutional bodies; we need to turn to what can also make us move forward.
Seems there is a tacit agreement between the private sector and government politicians and technocrats to continue to blame each other for the stagnation and inertia in the economy but to refrain from doing anything necessary to solve it. And they go on and on, driving the public to boredom and disinterest until another season of discussions begins.
So let me offer a starting point–since 2007 we passed a legislative act called the Fair Trade Act and maybe two years later appointed a Fair Trade Commission. Since then what has transpired? Not much.
We need to proclaim the rest of the Act, set up the Commission as functional and begin to adjudicate and regulate fair trade practices. This is a first step to eliminate market dominance by certain players and remove barriers for entry into domestic markets. People must feel safe to invest and innovate and they must feel assured their innovations and ideas won't be hounded or cast aside illegally by competing interests operating under no rules of engagement or containment.
Investors, especially local ones, must be protected from anti-competitive behaviour. This is taking the example of the liberalised telecommunications market regulation experience down to the level of the small and medium sized business investor.
Everyone keeps saying that we have a competitive market structure in T&T so we don't need regulation (the VAT reduction debacle) but that is exactly what is needed. Not a price control regime but competition law.
By the way, induction of the Fair Trade Commission would catapult us up maybe five notches on the index. Ever wonder why Barbados is higher than we are? They have a functional Fair Trade Commission. Apparently, this is a fundamental requirement for the Index.
Notwithstanding this, Farrell's complaint about institutional functioning still stares us in the face but this is at least a start in the right direction.
John Thompson