By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE island-wide blackout on Wednesday has raised serious concerns about contingency plans, security and the country’s ability to deal with emergencies.
President of the Supermarket Association of Trinidad and Tobago (SATT) Rajiv Diptee said businesses continue to suffer during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He told AZPNews.com on Thursday, “The business community has suffered not just economically but socio-economically throughout the pandemic. It is important at this time to have contingency plans in place at key state enterprises to ensure the continuity of operations. Water, electricity and communications are all inextricably connected. The taxes paid upfront where Business Levy and Green Fund Levy are concerned should be used to place contingencies.”
He said, “While some stores have generators for auxiliary power, the outage yesterday was for a long period meaning that diesel reserves became an issue. The lawlessness unchecked by such an event is a massive deterrent to business owners and potential foreign direct investment. As a nation, we cannot have events like these far less the second to occur within a calendar period.”
Diptee asked, “Where is the accountability and what is being done in terms of preventative maintenance mechanisms and the review of such systems where the generation and distribution sides are concerned?”
Why no address from President or PM?
Agricultural economist Omardath Maharaj said, “A national emergency should have been declared and appropriate efforts made to assure and inform the population. The President and Prime Minister should have already addressed the nation; both of whom are silent and missing in action.”
Maharaj who lives in Chase Village, said, “Through their national security apparatus, there should have been an increased alert causing community police patrols and other visible operations. None of which were seen in the area to give residents and business owners some relative comfort given that crime, unemployment and hopelessness are also confronting the population and our community.”
Security fears
Businesswoman Charmaine from Caroni told AZPNews.com that she had no confidence in security in Trinidad and Tobago especially as Gary Griffith is no longer Commissioner of Police.
“The blackout caused me a lot of fear as a business owner. I closed at 4 pm and as the night grew older it became more fearful. Our security system stinks and is not reliable. In my mind, I keep thinking bandits would hit any time. No lights, no water, no communication,” she said.
And a woman from Gasparillo told AZPNews.com, “It felt like we were in the 1960s.In 2022, there should’ve been some kind of contingency planning in event of blackouts: emergency or backup data services, implementation of solar traffic lights, street lights, allow more accessible solar power services for all in general.”
The most unacceptable
The political leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) Phillip Edward Alexander called for heads to roll.
He said losses by food businesses will run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Alexander said, “Small businesses trying desperately to survive the consequences of this failed government’s bipolar policies as well as a comatose, lost at sea, reactive opposition were hit hard financially yet again, with no Chamber or Association to seek financial relief for them either on top or below the table…”
He said, “For all the times we ever reached unacceptable, yesterday was the most unacceptable of all.”
Alexander added, “If we the people do nothing. If we fail to unite and stand together to end this nightmare, we will be responsible for everything to come in the future.
“This morning the Minister of National Security and Communications should both be fired, called to office and summarily dismissed.
“As should the Commissioner of Police.
The Minister of Public Utilities should be kept on for as long as it takes to investigate how multiples of independent power generating facilities not only went offline at the same time, but also crashed the entire national power grid.”
