TANCOO: FDI collapses under Rowley Regime
“The UN/ECLAC report shows a collapse in the Foreign Direct Investment that the government has tried to hide.” says MP Davendranath Tancoo.
The Oropouche West MP was commenting on the recent ratings in the UN ECLAC (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) report on Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022. It shows that Trinidad and Tobago is among the worst performing Caribbean countries for 2021, with reported FDI of negative US $778 million. This means there was more FDI leaving than coming into the country.
Ironically, in her contribution, Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon, boasted in her Budget Presentation for Fiscal 2023, that “Trinidad and Tobago recorded the second largest FDI inflows in the English speaking Caribbean in 2021; the Bahamas at US $360 million; Trinidad and Tobago at 342; Jamaica at 321; Barbados at 239; Grenada at 144; St. Kitts at 40; Haiti at 23.”
Tancoo said “the statistics provided show what seems to be a deliberate attempt by the Minister to misinform the national population. While the Minister’s figures for Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitt’s and Nevis were true as reported by the UN/ECLAC Report, it was curious that the Minister’s figures for Trinidad and Tobago’s FDI were completely wrong. The same source specifies that the FDI for Trinidad and Tobago was not positive inflow of US $342 million as the Minister claims, but minus US $778 for the 2021, meaning we had a large negative OUTFLOW of FDI! completely opposite to the Minister’s report to the Nation.”
Tancoo said “Moreover, the fact is that the absolute change in FDI between 2020 and 2021 according to the UN/ECLAC Report was (minus) – US$1,834 million. I look forward to the Minister of Trade explaining to the population how exactly she managed to provide the correct FDI information about the rest of the Caribbean but strangely provided completely wrong information on Trinidad and Tobago.”
While the Government would predictably claim that the COVID-19 pandemic was the reason for the outflow of FDI, it should be noted that all countries in the world experienced COVID as well. Yet they managed to grow and attract FDI. The 2022 Report shows that while the rest of the world has seen a growth in FDI by an overall average of 40.7 percent, Trinidad and Tobago’s FDI fell into negative.
The collapse in FDI represents the lack of confidence by international investors, the lack of business opportunities, and the failure of the government to improve the ease of doing business in this country.
The MP who also Shadows the Ministry of Finance, predicts that next year’s figures will show some improvement due to the higher oil and gas prices that temporarily improved the foreign revenues as the economy started to reopen after COVID restrictions. Tancoo cautioned however, that has nothing to do with this government, and will not explain the reason why the rest of the Caribbean bounced back, faster and better than us, as Trinidad and Tobago will continue to do badly in the FDI ratings.
MP Tancoo declared “Statistical conman ship has no place in reporting to the nation. The government has failed to create the infrastructure and environment for transformation of the economy and seems to have resorted instead to statistical manipulation to create the illusion of transformation. It is for this reason that no one can believe anything this government says.”