Private sector accused of being lazy

The private sector must play a bigger role in driving the nation’s economy said Ryan Lewis, Director, Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA).
“The budget is read and done by the Government but the bigger question is what is the private sector doing. That is where the jobs will be, where you all are looking for. A lot of you all will want to go into new innovative businesses. So what is the private sector doing to provide more jobs for you? I believe in the last 10 years the private sector has been lazy. I think that the private sector has been dependent on the Government.”
Lewis spoke yesterday at the St Mary’s College, post-budget panel discussion held at CIC, Port-of-Spain.
He said there need to be new innovative jobs driven by technology.
“How many app developers do you think there are in the country?” he asked.
Lewis said that manufacturing is 6 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it is the country’s future.
However, he said T&T has been losing its competitiveness and it will no longer be the business capital of the region if it continues along this road.
“T&T has always been the envy of the rest of the region. We were the business centre for 30 years. What it will take is a private sector plan supported by the Government framework.”
He said the aim is to double manufacturing output by 2025.