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The last three articles, “No easy way to fix strategic errors”, “Finding the right Policy mix” and “Transforming a society” provided a brief comparison between Singapore’s development experience and that of Trinidad and Tobago. In response, a former government minister argued that the comparisons provided valuable insight into Singapore but did not directly address T&T’s failings. In rephrasing his comment, he asked, “Does Trinidad and Tobago have an economic policy? And if yes, what is it?”
The short answer is that since 1974, every T&T government has relied on the energy sector to drive economic growth and has redistributed the energy rents derived to the rest of the economy. This policy explains why the economy has oscillated between boom and bust. The diversification effort has never been given the consistent emphasis it deserved. The promotion of manufacturing was not based on a coherent policy mix that enabled positive reinforcement. The result has been individual successes that are too weak to dethrone the energy sector as the economy’s dynamo. Further, even though we boast of the skill sets developed in the energy sector, we have not applied those learnings to other industries.
The lessons learnt in developing the petrochemical industry, the key role played by nationals in developing this sector, or the mistakes made, are largely undocumented. Abundant natural gas does not adequately explain why Trinidad and Tobago became the world’s second-largest exporter of ammonia. That story is entwined with foreign direct investment and a cadre of homegrown engineers who cut their teeth in solving the process issues at WR Grace, who went on to develop the backbone of the petrochemical sector. Political short-sightedness led to the loss of what should have been a flagship of T&T’s industrial capacity: CLICO Energy, now part of the Proman Group.
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