The Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce has criticised Diego Martin MP Colm Imbert over comments he made in the Lower House regarding proposed city status for Chaguanas.
CCIC head Baldath Maharaj said Imbert stood in Parliament and dismissed Chaguanas becoming a city as “nonsense”.
Maharaj said, “He didn’t just attack a piece of legislation, he insulted the work, sweat, and success of every business owner, worker, and resident in Central Trinidad.
“Calling the growth of Chaguanas nonsense shows a total disconnect from reality. Look around. Chaguanas is already a city in every way that counts. Long before politicians started debating titles, our entrepreneurs built Chaguanas into the retail powerhouse in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Maharaj said thousands of people come into Chaguanas daily to shop, trade, work and do business.
“We generate a massive, disproportionate share of the tax revenue that keeps this nation running. We create thousands of jobs in retail, finance, tech and construction. Chaguanas is not begging for handouts, Chaguanas is carrying a major piece of the national economy on its back.”
Maharaj said city status is not a prize to be granted by Parliament or a political pawn to be tossed around in debate.
He said, “It is a formal recognition of what the people of Central have already built. Upgrading Chaguanas to a city means securing the proper funding, security and municipal resources our people pay for and rightfully deserve.
“To discount our advancement as nonsense disregards the core engine of Trinidad’s commerce. The Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce stands shoulder to shoulder with every resident and business owner in our borough. We do not care about party lines or political games, we care about progress.
“I invite any leader who doubts our worth to step out of Parliament, walk the streets of Chaguanas, look at our bustling economy, and tell the people here that their contribution is nonsense.
“It is time for national leaders to stop downplaying our value and start rallying behind the region that keeps Trinidad moving forward. Chaguanas has earned its status. The time for city status is now.”
