TEWARIE: PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS BEST

Planning and Sustainable Development Minister Bhoe Tewarie says private/public partnerships is one of the best ways to keep T&T's development on track.

Speaking at a UNC cottage meeting at Trinzuela College, San Fernando on Thursday night, Tewarie said the People's Partnership will continue to execute its policies once it gets a second term in office.

He told scores of supporters that the San Fernando waterfront project remains high on government's agenda adding that it will boost tourism and provide employment. Local investors will also benefit from the projects and the development of the various growth poles which will help stimulate the economy.

He also reminded the audience that government brought T&T out of a financial crisis:

"When we came into office the economy was in crisis. We had the financial crisis to manage, it was severe. Institutions were collapsing and the economy had to be managed well. The world crisis system never settled while we were in government but we managed to deal with inflation, reduce unemployment and we opened up education in this country like never before," Tewarie said.

"We have seven strategies for development and 10 flagship projects. We said we are going to have public private partnerships and we will have private sector spending in a number of projects. We cannot risk having a situation where the economy is stopped from growing. If your economy contracts, unemployment grows and scarcity occurs," Tewarie added.

He called on the citizens to continue to work with the government to achieve its objectives and added that some seats such as Arima and San Fernando West were showing victory for the UNC.

UNC candidate Raziah Ahmed also told supporters that she wanted a cleaner and more beautiful city. She said once the San Fernando waterfront project is completed, San Fernando will have opportunities for tourism and growth.

During an interactive session, one resident, Glenroy Hall, asked Ahmed to consider putting a museum in the south city as it was rich in Amerindian history.

Another resident, David Mowlah-Baksh, also asked Ahmed to consider providing better opportunities to the people on the northern side of the constituency. He explained that this group were among the poorest in the southern regions.

Ahmed vowed to devote her time to the people and said consultations will be held to discuss the museum.