Dear Editor: Gov’t should encourage local carnival entrepreneurship over cheap imports

“[…] Most carnival costumes (beads, bikinis, feathers, clothes, uniforms, caps, wire bending, etc) are now manufactured in China at reasonable costs—transport included.

“We definitely have the skillsets in Trinidad and Tobago to make these simple products.

“Pan Trinbago (PTB) and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) can provide the location, factory infrastructure, and machinery to make these garments. The secondary schools for years have been producing tailors, seamstresses, and garment constructors with no guarantee of jobs…”

The following Letter to the Editor, which urges Trinidad and Tobago to expand its local carnival industry, was submitted to Wired868 by Kelvin McClean of San Fernando:

Many foreign entrepreneurs are looking at their present skills and resources and collaborating with others, with other skills and resources, to satisfy the reliable desires of the many for the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

Why can’t the local communities examine their respective talents and resources and collaborate with others locally to satisfy the requirements of our carnival?

For example, most carnival costumes (beads, bikinis, feathers, clothes, uniforms, caps, wire bending, etc) are now manufactured in China at reasonable costs—transport included.

We definitely have the skillsets in Trinidad and Tobago to make these simple products.

Pan Trinbago (PTB) and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) can provide the location, factory infrastructure, and machinery to make these garments. The secondary schools for years have been producing tailors, seamstresses, and garment constructors with no guarantee of jobs.

A joint venture in this regard can ensure a ready commerce of demand and supply of all these needs. Of course, the guidance of the present senior tailors, etc, would be necessary in this enterprise.

In summary, a collaboration between PTB, the GOTT, the band leaders, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Trade, the Labour Unions, the (un) employment agencies, et al can collaborate in this and other ventures.

The site of the garment factory can be on the 13 acres in Trincity or elsewhere, that PTB has simply refused to even conceptualize on a strategic level. Subventions, sponsorships and gate receipts from pan events are PTB’s strategy.

PTB does not intend to look outside the pan-box to raise any revenues. However, those revenue poles will never be able to support pan sufficiently.

But this is one of the times that I see a possible positive outcome of the UNC’s victory. The UNC will not give PTB $280 million to build any Pan headquarters in Port of Spain. That negative reaction can be the first positive stage of defeating the oft-mentioned mantra, that Afro-Tribagonians can’t do business.

If PTB feels that this type of business is beyond their in-house capabilities, they can simply hire a company to do this and other types of work for them.

So, let’s contact the respective UNC authorities in this regard. UNC may like the possibility of boasting of a self-sufficient enterprise that they have a significant role in.

I am thinking of Fuad Abu-Bakr, who has a role in the UNC and is a PTB member who is known to oppose Ms Beverly Ramsey-Moore. Freddo, McGui, SSS. We have many contacts.

Let’s do this.

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