Trinidad and Tobago

Country: The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Capital City: Port-of-Spain

Area: 5,128 sq km (1,980 sq miles)

Population: 1.4 Million

Life Expectancy: 67 years (men), 74 years (women)

Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar

Major Language: English

PORT OF SPAIN, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022 (MIC) -

Following the money.

Trinidad and Tobago encountered the COVID-19 challenge even as depressed economic conditions threatened to worsen and the outlook appeared dim for growth and increased resilience.

A “period of transition” had begun in 2018 to withdraw from oil refining following decades of activity that provided jobs and revenue. Energy prices were depressed. Production was down, and the overall economic impact of successive global economic shocks undermined the prospects for sustaining traditionally deep and wide state support across social and economic sectors.

By the time the pandemic arrived in 2020, there were high anxieties regarding the economy, rising industrial unrest, political conflict, and geo-political arrangements that brought the country into the firing line over issues associated with political instability in Venezuela, as the twin-island state addressed a rapid increase in migrants from the neighbouring South American state.

The country was also not exempt from the effects of significant increases in shipping costs, disruptions in supply chains, consequential rising food prices, unprecedented job losses, depressed energy revenues and oil prices, and trade imbalances.

Importantly, as important sectors were either shuttered – as was the case with the retail trade – or faced terminal closure on account of a comprehensive pandemic lockdown, 2020 was also important as an election year during which the political opposition pressed home the depressed state of the economy. 

Yet, two and a half years later, the Keith Rowley administration has been reporting a turnaround in fortunes.

At a September 2 ‘Spotlight on the Economy’ seminar with private sector leaders, the prime minister was upbeat about the state of affairs and argued that his administration had been able to prove its detractors wrong on issues related to the currency exchange rate and the general health of the economy.

Questions however linger regarding precise accounting for all money accessed and spent on pandemic-related measures.

Economist, Mariano Browne, in an interview with MIC said there is not enough information regarding expenditure flows to determine the precise nature of the level of accountability. He said it was a fact that transparency and accountability on questions of public financing are “weak.” 

He said the usual pattern is for the Ministry of Finance to make a statement and only when there is “some pressure” he feels at liberty “to give a proper accounting of what the numbers were.”

Watch the full interview with Mariano Browne.

There was sharp public commentary on the tabling of the Auditor General's Report for 2021 in May 2022, for instance, which brought concerns regarding as much as US$4.4 million in unaccounted expenditure. Significant discrepancies and accounting gaps were also noted, with emphasis on the disbursement of grants. Download the entire report below.

In addition to loans and grants, over US$1.87 billion was withdrawn from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The drawdowns were explained as being necessary to address financial shortfalls resulting from pandemic measures. [Download link to Heritage and Stabilisation Fund Report 2021]

It has however been observed by some that in the absence of clearer guidelines regarding usage of such drawdowns, there has been difficulty determining how much had been allocated to address the budget deficit and what was spent on direct pandemic relief.

During his Spotlight on the Economy presentation on September 2, Finance Minister Colm Imbert did however cite a variety of external and domestic financial “buffers” that “allowed the government to access substantial financing during the COVID-19 crisis to protect and support the population.”

The minister revealed that these injections had contributed, among other things, to an “Overall Fiscal Stimulus Package” amounting to US$840 million or 3% of GDP – US$670 million on “Business Support” and US$170 million on “Social Protection Measures.”

There was a cash allocation of US$14.705 million (TT $100 million) to credit unions for assistance, through loans, to small and micro enterprises (SMEs). US$73.5 million was also raised locally to pay for the increased demand for goods and services as well as inject US$50 million into the teetering tourism sector.

Additionally, the country borrowed US$150 million (TT $1.02 billion) from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The government also signed two loan agreements with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for a combined total of US $150 million dollars. These loans targeted the public health sector, education and housing.

The country also secured US$20 million from the World Bank a move described by Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean as designed to “assist in providing critical medical supplies and equipment and will strengthen the capacity of the health sector.”

In an interview with MIC, Senior Operations officer of the World Bank, Federico Baechli, said in order for the country to benefit from such support “the World Bank set out a new approach to providing exceptional support in speed, scale, and selectivity to countries as they tackled the unprecedented threats posed by the COVID-19 crisis.”

“The Bank,” he said, “set up fast-track financing for COVID-19 response efforts through a combination of new projects, restructuring and emergency components of existing projects, and deployment of disaster finance instruments.” 

Baechli explained that “when a project is completed and closed at the end of the loan disbursement period, the World Bank, with input from the borrower and other stakeholders, compiles an Implementation Completion and Results Report, which evaluates the project’s outcomes, challenges, and lessons learned to determine what additional measures are needed to sustain the benefits derived from the project.”

“In addition, the evaluation team assesses how well the entire operation complied with the Bank’s operations policies and accounts for the use of Bank resources,” he said.

Publication of its findings ensures public scrutiny of the performance of the beneficiary country.

Download full transcript of the online interview with Federico Baechli: [insert link here]

A further US$712 million was also accessed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through special drawing rights in order to boost the country's net foreign reserves.

The US government, through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) granted Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) US$950,000.00 in pandemic assistance and the Canadian government donated US$4.645 million to assist the Caribbean in its COVID-19 response. 

The country also benefited from donations of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) from the People’s Republic of China, the United States of America, the European Union and South Korea, which also donated US$100,000.00. The 2021 Auditor General’s report however notes that the US$100,000 donated by the Republic of Korea “was not reflected by the statement provided by the Ministry of Health.”

The Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute has also sounded alerts regarding the country’s status on questions of accountability and transparency. Transparency International, for instance, ranked Trinidad and Tobago at 82 in 2021 according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. . 

Opposition Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, while responding to the Finance Minister’s Mid-Year Budget Review in May said the government had not gone far enough in detailing pandemic expenditure. “What have you done with all the money?” she asked.

Mariano Browne believes that among the main issues that help raise suspicion and scepticism is the fact that “government accounting is a little archaic” and that accounting for pandemic relief expenditure required the development of an accounting “subcategory” to separate such spending from what is “the normal expenditure position.”

Economist Dr Terrence Farrell, when interviewed by MIC said he believed fundamental restructuring of the way public business is conducted must be undertaken. He argued that despite the momentary hikes in energy prices and accompanying benefits the government’s fiscal management remains “unsustainable.”

In Dr Farrell’s view, the factors that stand in the way of a more orderly process of examining public expenditure and enlightened policymaking require more critical contemplation of the current state of affairs. He does not think this is the case at the moment.

Watch the full interview with Dr Terrence Farrell.

PORT OF SPAIN, June 1, 2022 (MIC) -

The country appeared to have breathed a collective sigh of relief on March 26 when Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that as of April 4, a majority of COVID-19 restrictions, with the exception of public mask wearing, would be relaxed or discontinued. 

Further, and effective June 1, vaccine requirements for entry into the country were also dropped as the country’s TTravelPass online entry approval system was abolished. There has also been notice of the imminent removal of the mask mandate.

A controversial “Safe Zone” regime introduced in October 2021, authorising the entry of only fully vaccinated people in selected areas, was also removed on April 4. An attempt to impose similar restrictions at public service facilities was heavily resisted and the option was eventually dropped.

The gradual relaxation of measures has brought a slow return to economic activity after two years of full and partial lockdown, and a menu of strong regulations. 

The Report of the Auditor General for 2021 (October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021) has however raised several questions regarding accounting for some areas of pandemic expenditure. Close to TT$293 million (US$43 million) was noted as explicit COVID-19 spend with about 10% of that sum remaining unaudited.

The report noted financial contributions from private sector companies toward pandemic support and a donation of US$100,000 from the Government of the Republic of Korea for Covid-19 mitigation measures, to be used for purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), but which “was not reflected on the statement provided (by the Ministry of Health).” 

The report also highlighted some areas of concern related to the expenditure at municipal corporations, regional health authorities and statutory bodies. 

Numerous breaches of financial regulations were cited, along with issues of improper financial management. 

The report spoke of the absence of approvals for deployment of unspent balances within local government bodies; the non-existence of separate accounts for unspent balances; flawed oversight processed involving use of Chairman’s funds, and weak accounting for humanitarian aid and other donations towards COVID-19 relief measures.

There were also concerns regarding several state-administered relief efforts including a Food Assistance programme. The report concludes, for example, that “The procedures for the processing of applications were not followed.”

See Chapter 6 Special Reports.

Meanwhile, in his May 17 mid-year budget review, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, claimed that every sector was on the road to economic recovery in the face of favourable market conditions in the energy sector. 

The 2022 budget had projected an overall fiscal deficit of TT$9.095 billion (US$1.3 billion) or 5.81% of GDP. However additional revenue from high oil and gas prices is expected to be used “firstly to reduce our budget deficit.” 

Imbert said the serious adverse effects of the pandemic, combined with expenditure patterns, had led the government to borrow considerable sums of money to keep people in jobs, to support the health sector, acquire vaccines, provide relief to the most vulnerable, pay mandatory expenses, and manage transfers and subsidies. 

By the end of 2021, the public debt rose from TT$104.7 billion (US$15.4 billion) to TT$130.6 billion (US$19.2 billion). According to Imbert, the situation is being mitigated by positive cash flow from world-wide economic recovery and the impacts of the war in Ukraine on oil and gas prices.

The minister disclosed that there had been no local or international borrowing to finance government expenditure since 2021. As a consequence, the public debt has been reduced by $800 million dollars less than it was in December 2021. 

Financial Analyst and CEO of the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, Mariano Browne, has however warned that a return to economic activity is not an automatic return to growth. He believes fallout from the war in Ukraine is largely responsible for the gains being recorded.

He said there will be growth, but it could easily disappear with an inflationary spiral.

Anticipating a long-haul with the pandemic, the government convened a “Roadmap to Recovery Committee” tasked with making recommendations on the way forward.

There have been questions about implementation of the recommended measures and little is being heard about the fate of the report. 

Even so, state employees at the heart of the COVID-19 fight and recovery have been complaining about being left in the cold.

For example, though they complained about being ignored on questions of pandemic leave, gratuity, and burnout, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Registered Nurses Association Idi Stuart said they rose to the demands of the pandemic. 

However, he believes critical errors were made with the distribution of manpower which affected the death rate.

Stuart nevertheless concludes that things have improved even with the dismantling of the parallel healthcare system. 

On January 30, 2020, when the WHO declared the novel corona virus a public health emergency of international concern T&T immediately imposed travel restrictions on anyone coming from China. 

These restrictions were extended to other countries overtime which culminated in T&T closing its border on March 22, 2020. Some argued that the government had left its citizens stateless in the process. 

On March 16, 2020, schools were initially closed for one week, but by September, all students had to transition to online learning. T&T immediately put a parallel healthcare system in place to treat COVID-19 patients and continued to maintain essential services in the primary healthcare system. 

The transition to online classes however came with several challenges. The Ministry of Education, principals, teachers, parents and students scrambled to purchase devices, adjust the curriculum to the online platform and learn how to function in that environment. 

Professor Brian Copeland, outgoing Principal of the University of the West Indies, said the transition was very challenging, but UWI responded quickly and was able to assist the government with PPE’s, research, counselling and more.

By March 29, 2020, the government was implementing a stay-at-home order where only essential workers were allowed to go out to work. 

That decision ignited a series of judicial challenges and reviews into the Public Health Regulations. One of the most widespread debates was whether the police could enter one’s private property to enforce the Public Health Regulations. The government stopped all social and recreational activities.

However, the authorities permitted hosting of the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 Cricket Competition (without spectators) between August 18 and September 10, 2020.

By then, a General Election had already been staged on August 10, 2020, returning the People’s National Movement to office, but following public campaigning blamed for a subsequent spike in COVID-19 cases. 

A politically charged atmosphere however persisted beyond the elections and activities that gained the support of the opposition United National Congress (UNC) were widely blamed for successive increases in the number of cases detected.

The Prime Minister’s invitation to Trinidadians to travel to Tobago for the 2021 Easter holidays was also cited as a likely cause of an upsurge that continued for months.

The country went on to witness a massive increase in cases. Up until mid-April 2021, daily cases averaged under 100. But things changed dramatically with May 2021 recording 13,085 confirmed positive cases and 326 deaths. 

The sharp increase in cases and deaths led to declaration of a State of Emergency (SOE) on May 15, 2021, including a 9:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew. It took more than three months before efforts were made to effectively restart the commercial sector, and the reopening of the borders on July 17, 2021. 

The country secured its first (delayed) tranche of vaccines through the COVAX facility on March 31, 2021, and rolled out a vaccination policy against the backdrop of significant vaccine hesitancy and hostile political action against pandemic measures.

By then, the opposition United National Congress (UNC) had complained about stay-at-home measures and encouraged citizens to go about their business. It had called for an SOE in 2020 but said it was ineffective when it was eventually imposed in 2021.

Key opposition spokespersons railed against the employment of the China-manufactured Sinopharm vaccine which had earned early WHO approval. 

Senior opposition MP, Dr Roodal Moonilal, is quoted as warning against the prospect of a “guinea pig” vaccination programme and was quoted in the local press as saying: “Questions must be asked on the efficacy of this Chinese vaccine.”

It was a position later recanted by his party as cases rose and the programme correspondingly gained momentum.

The initial lockdown led to a dramatic slowdown in commercial and industrial activity, with resulting job losses, unemployment and under-employment. The Ministries of Finance, and Social Development and Family Services were tasked with initiating a series of relief measures.

It was clear, following the period of restrictions that economic recovery could not be sustainable in the absence of, among other things, measures to improve the ease of doing business through better streamlining of government services.

It has not been a simple task. The slow and eventually abandoned plan to introduce a digital vaccination certificate provided evidence of a decided lack of capacity, even with the introduction in 2021 of a dedicated Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Among its mandates are improvements in online connectivity which, together with a shortage of devices among the school population in particular, had proven to be a major shortcoming during the lockdown period.

Among the sectors heaviest hit by the pandemic measures was tourism. Tobago, which relies heavily on this area of economic activity, was on the verge of collapse.

Chairman of the Tobago Business Chamber, attorney Martin George however argues that the pandemic is not solely to blame for the state of tourism in Tobago.

He said the sector needs drastic attention from all directions including the repeal of the Foreign Investment Act which prevents foreigners from investing on the island and further developing the sector. He said tourism cannot survive on just the domestic market and needs to be approached from a Caribbean perspective.

Until then, he does not see the sector recognising its full potential but admits that access to international flights again has boosted economic activity on the island.

It is still early days in the re-emergence of one of the region’s more dynamic economies. There are fears about new waves of the virus and its variants even as vaccination rates remain relatively low.

The IMF Country Report of March 2022 estimated growth of 5.4% growth in the current fiscal year. 

And based on Minister Imbert’s revelations, it appears T&T is on track to moderate economic recovery. 

But there is considerable uncertainty as the pandemic experience has left a trail of hardships many believe will require much more than ministerial pronouncements and technical estimates.

Port of Spain, March 3, 2022 (MIC) -

The day after the COVID-19 virus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, T&T got news of the first positive imported case. 

Since then, the health system, although isolated somewhat from COVID care by a parallel health system, has been seriously impacted. Declines in non-emergency cardiovascular surgery, diabetes management, orthopaedic care, childhood immunisations and the mental well-being of public health workers are just a few areas which are of concern to the medical and national community. 

The health system has also shown significant resilience in how it has coped with the pandemic, part-facilitated by loans from multilateral agencies and donations negotiated by the foreign service and government. 

The Parallel Health Care System

At a televised conference right before the first case was announced, T&T’s health minister Terrence Deyalsingh outlined some of the initial measures the government was taking to protect the health system and the population. 

“All the surgeries both elective and emergency, all your A&E (Accident and Emergency) services have to be running. Dialysis has to continue, kidney transplant surgeries have to continue, cataract surgeries have to continue, everything has to continue because you don't want to be treating your COVID-19 patients in your regular hospital network,” the minister said.

At the same media event, he listed facilities that were being prepared to care for COVID-19 patients in isolation. The picture however changed drastically just a few days after. 

By March 15, 2020, the Ministry of Health had announced to the country that all elective surgery would be suspended in public hospitals to preserve personal protective equipment, other vital resources, and ensure the availability of intensive care beds in the event that COVID-19 hospitals became overburdened. 

Beneficially, during the pandemic, T&T has functioned in the ecosystem of the Caribbean and has been assisted by the multilateral cooperation and integration arrangements in which it participates. 

This has materialised in donations and grants of millions of US dollars, vaccinations, personal protective equipment and even field hospitals. Donations have come from the Development Bank of Latin America, Inter-American Development Bank, European Development Fund, the governments of India, China, Canada, the USA and the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility. 

The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) has been an active player regionally in pandemic recovery. March 2020 saw CAF offering its members an “emergency regional credit line of US$50 million” for health emergency investments. 

In April 2021, CAF made a US$400,000 donation to T&T for management of the pandemic. That donation was primarily to fund the protection of frontline medical workers and to contribute to patient care at the height of uncertainty in the pandemic 

In August 2021, CAF also approved a US$ 50 million loan to T&T to help dull the impacts of the health crisis. 

T&T has also had some US$ 169 million in approved loans from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for medical, fiscal, and social relief from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The initial $100 million-dollar loan, approved in July 2020 and disbursed in two tranches, was intended to help fund the public health response to the emerging crisis and to assist the state as it provided social relief while the economy was on pause. 

It partially covered some of the expenses generated by the creation of the parallel health system. The loan also supported government’s salary relief grants, food programmes and relief grants to businesses as they fought to survive during national lockdowns. Repayment of the loan will span 20 years with a five-year grace period. 

T&T also negotiated loans of US$45 million and US$24 million with the IDB. They were granted, respectively, to strengthen fiscal policies to support post-COVID recovery plans with “effective and fiscally responsible policy measures”. The 24-million loan was aimed at supporting minimum levels of quality of life for people made vulnerable by the losses of the pandemic.

The World Bank has also contributed to T&T’s COVID-19 response with a US$20 million loan. It is intended to assist the country in strengthening its national health system for emergency COVID response. 

The US government also featured with donation of two field hospitals to augment T&T’s already-established COVID hospital network. The facilities, worth a reported US$1.5 million provided the country with an extra 80 hospital beds as case numbers and those hospitalised with serious COVID illness rose. 

Great Uncertainty

In T&T, like many other Caribbean countries, the pandemic triggered great uncertainty in healthcare. There were shortages in personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators among other items. The divide between public and private health care became more apparent as the shortages in equipment and COVID testing facilities flicked the emergency mode switch in public hospitals. 

Non-Communicable Diseases 

Compared with other countries in the Caribbean, T&T has experienced a high death rate among COVID patients. Some 3,600 patients have died in T&T (as at Feb. 25), compared with the 2,808 in Jamaica (almost twice the population). A Committee commissioned by the Office of the Prime Minister in January (See TORs here) to investigate the country’s performance during the pandemic found: “There were high rates of comorbidity among patients who died, especially hypertension and diabetes.” 

The Committee’s report notes that T&T has one of the highest rates globally for NCDs. They account for over 60% of deaths annually.” People living with heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, especially those who rely on the public health system have suffered as a result of the pandemic. 

The high rates of NCDs among the patients who died or who were hospitalised for COVID-19 were notable. More attention needs to be paid from a young age to the prevention and management of NCDs to ensure that our citizens become and remain healthy,” the report says. 

The report also warns that major trouble could be ahead if major changes are not made to lifestyle and health. 

“It is likely that citizens with NCDs would again be at increased risk for poor outcomes if and when there is another event such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The clinical staff who have been hired temporarily and whose contracts would be discontinued at the end of the pandemic should be redeployed to respond to the NCD morbidity debt that has accumulated during this pandemic.” 

Due in large part to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, T&T is ranked 22nd among countries with the highest COVID-19 Case Fatality Ratio - 3.20% of those who become infected with COVID-19 will die. 

Cardiovascular Care

A local newspaper article on adult cardiac surgery in the early stages of the pandemic showed that from April to June 2020, non-urgent cardiac surgeries were suspended and the number of cardiovascular procedures at two major facilities - public and private - was reduced from 35 per month to 58 over the two-month period. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in T&T, accounting for 25% of deaths annually. 

The parallel healthcare system allowed for the continuation of emergency and urgent cardiac surgery since the pandemic reached T&T. However, the national lockdown mandated to reduce the spread of the virus triggered a national shortage of blood donations important for standby during cardiovascular surgeries. 

Diabetes

President of the T&T Diabetes Association Andrew Dhanoo fears that the reduction in clinic dates, resulting in reduced case management and care, is imposing further pressure on the system. 

“There are many many persons who have reached out to us … (who) are not able to see the doctor. And of course, many elderly persons really need that physical interaction… and we have had that limitation at public health facilities, “he said.

“We need to change that. We need to get back into management, because I am fearing that there is going to be an explosion of diabetes complications in the near future.”

Dhanoo said unfortunately, but understandably, the NCD pandemic has been neglected because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“There have been issues with persons who needed surgeries were not able to get it because of the stretch on the capacity of our health system, on the capacity of our physicians,” he said.

He cited “persons who have had to get eye surgeries, retinography surgeries had been suspended for some time. Again, it comes down to if your house is on fire or if a part of your house is on fire, you are going to put out that fire first. The most urgent need was the many persons who have been infected with COVID-19… and the Association does understand why those decisions had to be made.” 

He agrees with the proposal made by the COVID-19 Committee to use all the resources allocated to deal with the pandemic for NCDs after the pandemic threat subsides. 

Cancer

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an increase in cancer-related deaths in T&T. On a popular television medical show, specialist oncologist Dr Ammiel Arra said “the recent scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic has done us no favours in the battle against cancers of all types.” 

He noted that the pandemic has caused the double threat of deferred attention, combined with the risk of contracting COVID. 

“If colorectal cancers are detected at an early stage, they can be cured by simple surgical or endoscopic removal, preventing the need for major surgery, radiation treatment or chemotherapy,” he said. “Delays in the presentation of patients who avoid seeking medical care, as well as prolonged waiting times to access adequate workup, and limited resources to initiate treatment have become commonplace in the pandemic era.”

COVID-19 has also had a serious impact on preventative health programmes in T&T. Many children in primary schools around the Caribbean have been out of schoolhouses, playgrounds, and other open spaces for almost two years. 

In T&T as they prepare for a mixed-mode return in April, the COVID-19 vaccine is not the only concern for children and parents, as routine childhood immunisation against mumps, measles and rubella, yellow fever and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases gets set to dip dangerously low - below herd immunity. 

The Herd Immunity Curve

T&T, like other countries in the Caribbean and world, has reported a considerable reduction of some 10 percent in childhood immunisation (below the 95% considered herd immunity) against diseases such as Mumps Measles and Rubella (MMR) and yellow fever. 

Health Minister Deyalsingh says that he and his team have been looking at the re-emergence of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) worldwide triggered by the pandemic. 

“It is with very deep concern that I now tell the national population… that we have seen a significant drop in the number of children accessing the mumps measles and rubella (MMR) vaccines and we are now down to about 83 and 85% whereas herd immunity is seen as 95%,” the minister said.

Common childhood vaccines include jabs against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis, mumps, measles, rubella, and chickenpox. 

To enter a primary school, parents must present their child’s updated state-issued vaccination card. The government administers state-sponsored vaccines for over 18 diseases. 

Globally, the WHO estimates that in 2020, some 23 million children were unable to receive the benefits of routine childhood immunisation - 3.7 million more than in 2019.

Deyalsingh says that the issue kicked his ministry into follow-up action. “In managing these numbers, we started since last November reaching out individually to parents because we have the database at the health centres to bring in their children to be vaccinated… we are seeing the re-emergence of some childhood diseases post-COVID which would not be there pre-COVID because of the whole issue of vaccines.”

“I just want to express my fear that these numbers are not good enough,” the minister said.

The Anti-Vax Cycle 

“Vaccine hesitancy” as defined by a committee of the University of the West Indies on vaccine hesitancy is: “any delay, rejection or refusal in the acceptance of vaccines despite their availability”. 

The report goes on to state vaccine hesitancy is driven by fear of side effects and the speed with which vaccines were developed. 

Healthy doses of non-medical confidence in traditional herbal remedies, strong immune systems and conspiracy theories also drive vaccine hesitancy in the country. 

In T&T, mistrust in the COVID-19 vaccine is fairly widespread, with approximately half of the 1.3 million population being categorised as being “vaccine hesitant.” Almost a year after vaccinations first entered blood streams in T&T, the health ministry is reporting that 50% of the population is now fully vaccinated.

The anti-vaccination sentiment, Minister Deyalsingh noted, existed in T&T before the pandemic. Yet, the crisis has re-awakened it and disturbed the upward trend in childhood immunisation rates that he oversaw as health minister since 2015. 

The UWI report found that much of the vaccine hesitancy of today is linked to decades-old myths about then-emerging vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella. 

Monitoring the Problem

Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram says the public health system must be on high alert for childhood diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), especially since most medical professionals have not seen some of the diseases during their time as practitioners, and this, therefore, may require re-engaging training. 

Health Workers

The COVID Committee’s report critical staff shortages. “Almost every single doctor we met complained of overwork almost to the point of exhaustion,” the report said. “At some sites, young doctors had to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Often, this involved three or four doctors sleeping in the same room.”

Nurses have been bearing a significant share of burden in the treatment of patients during the pandemic. 

“Nurses complained of having to work long hours in PPE often without a break to drink water or go to the washroom… Some nurses spoke of the psychological pressure they felt when confronted with many deaths in a day. They also spoke of the extreme mental stress they faced whenever one of their colleagues died from COVID.

Port of Spain, December 16, 2021 (MIC) -

Even as T&T officials engaged the dilemma of the phased reopening of schools, at least seven outbreaks were recorded throughout the system as at the end of November.

Between October 4 and November 5, the Ministry of Health reported 217 suspected cases of COVID-19 within the school system. 

Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh said that by December 1, 54,000 children between the ages of 12 and 18 had taken a first dose of the approved Pfizer vaccine while 48,000 had received a second dose. 

He urged all 100,000 citizens aged 12-18 to get vaccinated while children between the ages of 0 and 11 remain ineligible and lamented a high degree of vaccine hesitancy among parents on behalf of their children.

Senior Paediatric Emergency Specialist Dr Joanne Paul disclosed that there have been four recorded deaths and 320 hospitalised paediatric cases since the beginning of the pandemic. According to her, 65 of these cases have suffered from Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). 

However, since children ages 12 to 17 were given authorisation to receive the Pfizer vaccine, there have been no new reported cases of MIS-C. 

“We started to have the vaccination drive for the adolescents between 12 and 17 from August this year but from September this year we have had no MIS-C cases in that age group, so the vaccination has actually stopped the MIS-C cases in that age group,” Dr Paul said.

On March 13, the government announced that all learning institutions would close. Physical classes were substituted with online learning, but logistical challenges became more apparent as time passed. 

Students from low-income households who were part of the formal classroom setting were unable to access online learning platforms due to a lack of technological devices and/or a Wi-Fi connection. 

In August 2020, Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly had noted that there were 225,000 registered primary and secondary school students across both islands with approximately 65,000 students without access to online facilities. Annually, 19,000 children enter the school system with approximately 12,000 graduating from secondary school without basic qualifications.

Advisor to the Board of the Home-schooling Association (HATT) Dr Fiona Rajkumar suggests that this method of new learning is “emergency remote-teaching” since the onset of the pandemic. 

“When the Government declared that parents and teachers should engage in ‘home-schooling’ they were really urging people to engage in pandemic schooling or emergency/remote-teaching during the lockdown phases of the pandemic as traditional schooling was transferred to the home,” she suggests.

Noting that many families cannot access devices for online learning, The Ministry has been distributing such to those most in need by implementing a ‘means test’. 

As at August 2021 there were 23,000 applications to receive support through this programme. Though 22,000 devices were received through iGovTT and the ‘Adopt-a-School’ imitative, the Ministry distributed just 12,000 devices. Over 6,000 applications were also not processed due to incomplete documentation. 

In a notice dated November 01, the Ministry reopened the means test used to determine the eligibility of students for the allocation of laptops, to cater to the students who missed the opportunity of applying during the first application period in April.

The means test is used to assess the eligibility for the allocation of laptop computers to students in both government and government-assisted primary and secondary schools. This closed on November 22.

In January, data provided by the Ministry showed that 46,770 students at both primary and secondary level, had never logged on to portals facilitating online learning.

The data also pointed to the fact that 39,861 primary school students, 6,909 secondary school students and 2,195 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) had been unable to access online learning resources provided by the ministry.

Meanwhile, as at October 6, 2020, the Ministry of Education noted that devices were distributed to 8,000 teachers. “We have approximately 13,000 teachers on record and not all have requested Ministry of Education laptops,” said Minister Gadsby-Dolly.

However, even with devices, lower income families still face challenges. An example is Sherry-Ann Yearwood from Valencia in Trinidad who is the mother of two young daughters in primary school. 

Fortnightly, she is paid TT$1000.00 (approximately US$150). With online learning, other resources such as electricity and an internet connection that weren’t priorities before, became necessities. 

In an attempt to get connected, she was told it would cost TT$7,537 (approximately US$1,100) to connect her house to an electricity pole located metres away from her property. 

Adding to this, according to the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), the most basic internet package costs TT$145.00 (about US$21) a month which is still difficult for many families such as Yearwood’s to afford.

The psychology and socialisation of students have also been negatively impacted. The Ministry noted that 51.9% of primary school students and 52.1% of secondary school students reported difficulty in staying focused during online learning. 

Students also reported feeling more stressed than usual. “My home felt like a prison because of the pandemic. I can’t go anywhere and have to stay home unless it’s completely necessary to go out. I also love to play outside and to go swimming,” wrote nine-year-old David Ryan, a standard three student at the Diego Martin Government Primary School. 

In May, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said 2,000 primary and secondary school students dropped out of T&T’s education system since the pandemic began. 

PM Keith Rowley noted this with great concern but suggested that this was not surprising as children and families did not get the kind of support they should have had. 

“I have clients who are ‘A’ students in the classroom, but online they are C and D students. They don’t know how to manage that change because of external and internal pressures,” laments Clinical Psychologist and Traumatologist Haniff Benjamin.

In March 2021, a Joint Select Committee on Social Services and Public Administration learned that the Student Support Services Division of the Ministry of Education received more than 5,400 distress calls since the beginning of the pandemic, but has been operating at 20% staffing, with only 23 trained professionals in the Unit.

Senior Lecturer in English Studies at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Errol N Benjamin suggests that online education and its limitations in terms of full cognitive development are likely to lead to a generation of the cognitively impaired, ill-equipped to face the complex challenges of the workplace in a developing society.

Psychologist Sule Joseph suggests that the psychological constraints affecting children have increased exponentially during the pandemic. Current mental health issues include increased anxiety, depression, paranoia, and stress due to isolation, fear, the inability to access online classes and inadequate teaching methods.

Furthermore, the lack of socialisation and recreation has affected the behavioural patterns of children. According to Gender and Development Studies expert Dr Gabrielle Hosein, exercise has become a “miracle cure.” 

Noting the difficulty when outdoor exercise was prohibited, Dr Hosein used the example of her 10-year-old to highlight the negatives of ‘stay-at-home’ orders on children. 

“(She) falls apart when stuck indoors without sufficient physical activity; Her behaviour, mood and co-cooperativeness changed,” Dr Hosein said. 

“I’ve come to realise how much children mired at home and without an outlet for their emotional energy are quietly crumbling even if neither they nor their parents realise,” she suggested. 

Adding to this argument, the Government implemented “Safe Zones” where only vaccinated individuals were allowed to patronize establishments such as restaurants and cinemas but children 12 years and younger were prohibited. 

Businessman Derek Chin argues that children of this age range should be allowed to attend as the lockdown has allowed for limited social and human interaction, which has led to depression. He argues that such a policy makes no sense and only creates segregation.

Hanif Benjamin says while education was difficult before the pandemic, COVID-19 has separated students even further apart as the ministry emphasises academia while ignoring the deterioration of children mental health. 

“There are gross inequities, from the start of the pandemic, which has caused serious mental health challenges and has led to risky, suicidal behaviour,” said Benjamin.

Reports of child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse increased in the 21 months of the pandemic. Statistics from the Child Protection Unit (CPU) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) indicate that from January 1, 2020, to September 31 2021, 1,722 cases of child sexual abuse were reported. 

“Sexual penetration is one of the most prevalent offences and in most of the cases, the victim knows the perpetrator,” states Senior Superintendent Claire Guy-Alleyne, Head of the CPU. 

The CPU has encountered some difficulties in investigating reported cases as in many instances, victims are often too traumatised to speak about their abuse and/or parents sometimes refuse to cooperate with the officers.

Haniff Benjamin believes that not all cases are being reported and that statistics could be much higher. He notes that when children are sexually assaulted, especially by those closest to them, that trauma can negatively impact the rest of their lives if they don’t receive help. 

“You have to remember that our children are being schooled all day, every day by the social media, by the internet. Whether you like it or not, they are being taught and we are not counteracting what information they receive,” he said.

Haniff Benjamin also stressed the importance of having open conversations with children, “so when they receive that information, it is truth to them until otherwise proven to not be true.”

According to the United Nations General Assembly, the effects of the pandemic place children at greater risk of child labour. Minister of Labour, Stephen Mc Clashie addressed this issue by urging all citizens, including employers and parents, to adhere to the law by not allowing children below the age of 16 to work. 

The Labour Ministry acknowledges that over the course of the pandemic, children have become more vulnerable to being placed in the labour market due to financial challenges. There are no updated statistics on child labour in Trinidad and Tobago as the last survey was completed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2006.

The Ministry implemented support services to alleviate these effects and prevent children from becoming victims of child labour. An example was the launch of its ‘Free to be Me Child Labour E-activity Pack,’ an interactive e-booklet of engaging learning activities on child labour. 

Minister Mc Clashie championed this initiative, acknowledging the importance for children to have the freedom to enjoy their basic rights to an education and childhood.

Child nutrition was also in limbo as students registered under the Ministry’s ‘National School Feeding Programme (NSFP), initially had no access to meals. Before schools were closed, 79,000 students in 800 pre-school, primary and secondary schools were provided with breakfast and lunch meals on a daily basis.

The Ministries of Social Development, Education, Agriculture and Finance collaborated to provide “nutrition boxes” containing fresh produce for a one-time delivery to all students registered on the NSFP. This was estimated to cost TT$29 million (US$4.3 million). 

Parents received the temporary food support in the form of a market box valued at $250 (US$37) per box to cover the school term between October and December 2020. This in only a one-time payment and is expected to cost $29 (US$4.29) million. Furthermore, Minister of Finance Colm Families with multiple children received more than one box of produce. 

Similarly, a family with more than one child attending the same school and registered with the NSFP was entitled to more than one box. A release by Minister of Social Development and Family Services, Donna Cox states that the programme was due to the “urgent need to provide food security, where the nutritional needs of students are maintained, while they are away from school.”

The support from the government saw both positive and negative reviews. While registered households benefitted, there were complaints suggesting that nutrition boxes contained paltry amounts of substandard food items. 

“It would seem that some are being mischievous and removing items from the bags before they take photos to post for circulation on social media,” responded Minister Cox to criticisms. Such boxes contained pineapple, melons, bodi, tomatoes, cucumbers, callaloo, plantain, sweet peppers, melongene, cocoa and milk. 

This ensured a “balanced and nutritional meal for the children,” said Nirmala Debysingh-Persad, CEO of National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO).

Similarly, the Government issued 50 food support cards to each Member of Parliament for distribution to families of children who are registered for the NSFP under the remit of the Education Ministry. 

A first issue for cards distributed in March 2020, each had a value of TT$1,020 (US$150) while cards distributed thereafter were topped up in the sum of TT$1,530 (US$225) for three months. These support measures ended on September 30. 

As the pandemic ensued, on July 12, the Ministry of Education hosted a meeting with education stakeholders to discuss a draft of the reopening guidelines for the academic year 2021/2022. 

At this meeting, recommendations on the close supervision of students, the need for access to substitute teachers, vaccination of older students and all non-teaching staff, isolation for infants from students in higher classes and prioritisation of attendance for examinations were analysed.

On September 23, the Ministry issued guidelines for the physical re-opening of schools on October 4. Initially, the guidelines stated that secondary schools throughout the nation would re-open for fully vaccinated students of forms 4 to 6 only. Teachers were instructed to attend classes to complete the delivery of the required curriculum though they were and still aren’t mandated to declare their COVID-19 vaccination status. 

At that time, 39,120 children between the ages of 12 and 18 years old were vaccinated.

On October 8, Minister Gadsby-Dolly said students of forms 1 to 3 who are vaccinated will be allowed to return to physical school. She also noted priority focus on the reopening of physical schools to allow children to return safely. 

The minister noted at least 15 consultations had been held with stakeholders since August 2020 on school operations with seven between July and September 2021 on the physical reopening of schools.

“We met three times with TTUTA (Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association) which represents teachers) on July 13, August 12, September 14,” the Minister noted. 

On October 14, TTUTA denied claims that it was consulted by the Ministry. “TTUTA notes that this decision was made and announced to the public before consultation with the recognised majority union,” the organisation said. 

Association President, Antonia De Freitas, said if the ministry insisted on bringing students back out to physical schools, online learning should end. “We would want to return to normal terms and conditions for working professionals,” she said.

On October 20, Minister Gatsby-Dolly said all secondary school students in forms 4 to 6 were required to return to physical classes and from October 25 the relevant teachers would no longer be required to teach online classes. 

As of October 9, data from the Ministry of Health showed that 49,853 or 54% of students between the ages of 12 to 18 years had received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and 36,540 or 40% have received their second dose. Also, 30% of forms 4 to 6 students were fully vaccinated. 

“The government does not hold, nor accept the position that the physical return of students to the classroom should be further delayed,” exclaimed Minister Gadsby-Dolly. 

As it related to forms 1 to 3 students, would remain engaged in remote learning. “Unless otherwise advised, these students will return to the physical classroom in January 2022, term two of the academic year,” the Minister reiterated.

On October 21, the union stated that teachers would comply with the instruction by the Ministry for all students in forms four to six to return to school. However, it noted that it is the ministry’s responsibility to provide safe spaces for them to operate in with the COVID-19 virus still a major issue concerning the operation of schools.

As Term I for academic year 2021/2022 concluded on December 10, Minister Gadsby-Dolly has promised that an announcement regarding the plan for academic Term II, which is due to begin on January 3, 2022, will be made in due course. On December 11, she stated that meetings between several education stakeholders, inclusive of TTUTA have been productive and a list of measures would soon be made public.

By the start of December, with the advent of the Omicron variant, a surge in cases and deaths, and a greatly slowed vaccination programme, there remained concern about the precise path to be taken by authorities on the full resumption of face-to-face classes throughout the school system.

Port of Spain, october 15, 2021 (MIC) -

By October 14, more than 43% of the vaccinable population had received a first shot of COVID-19 vaccines, with 40% recording full vaccination. There however remained concern at occupancy rates in the country’s parallel health care system which is devoted entirely to the treatment of patients affected by the virus.

On October 11, a system of national “safe zones” went into effect with restrictions on access to previously shuttered enterprises including inhouse dining at restaurants, bars, casinos, betting pools, cinemas, theatres, gyms and fitness studios, and waterparks.

The new regulations require that only vaccinated people over the age of 12 bearing vaccination cards with identification are permitted entry. Staff at such establishments are also required to be vaccinated or in possession of a negative PCR test not more than 14 days old.

On September 27, the more infectious Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus was confirmed to be at community spread but the number of new cases and deaths remained at plateau levels.

Following earlier complaints about limited availability of a selection of vaccines, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Janssen vaccines, were made available. 

However, due to the high levels of vaccine hesitancy and vaccines nearing expiration, the government took the decision to donate 37,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to regional neighbours. The Bahamas has received 2,500 doses, St Kitts and Nevis (3,000) and Dominica (4,500 doses).

Food Imports

One of the main areas of concern during the course of the pandemic has been reliable and consistent access to affordable food supplies. Trinidad and Tobago is subject to market-driven, variable import costs for goods and services because of its reliance on external production and a shallow domestic resource base.

The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) indicated a 5.1% in food prices from June 2021, led by surging prices for cereals, sugar, and vegetable oils. Local food importers costs have increased due to an international shortage of shipping containers, higher shipping costs (freight and insurance) and reported requests for payment in US dollars.

A heavy reliance on international hydrocarbon sales through the export of oil, natural gas and downstream products - the pandemic has not only exacerbated pre-pandemic conditions but has exposed the vulnerabilities of a heavily import-reliant food and agriculture sector.

The nation’s food import bill was TT$5.67 billion (Approx. US$820 million) in 2019 and over TT$4 billion in 2020. Spending on cereals, fruits, and vegetables alone exceeds TT$1 billion annually. 

The FAO’s ‘Food Price Index’ for T&T increased by 31% in July 2021. The CBTT July Economic Bulletin 2021 revealed a 5.1% increase in prices in June 2021 compared to 3.2% in January 2021. 

The Central Statistical Office showed that headline inflation moved from 0.9 % to 1.8% for the same period, averaging 1.1% 

The report says, “Food price inflation is expected to continue its recent upward trend in the short to medium term. Given pandemic induced global food supply shortages, international food prices have surged in recent times.” Furthermore, core inflation averaged 0.8% from January to June 2021. 

Since January 2021, basic commodities such as canned corned beef rose by 36%, yellow split peas and lentils by 34%, brown sugar by 25%, and canned tuna by 15% whilst other food items are set to increase by 50%. From September 2020, the cost of wheat has increased by 30%, corn by 57%, rice by 27%, sugar by 50% and soya bean oil by 133%.

Core inflation measures the cost in goods and services but does not include food and energy as their prices are extremely volatile. Headline inflation measures the rate of change the average price of a standard basket of goods and services consumed by a family.

Global Factors

The pandemic has created a global shortage of shipping containers and a steep increase in freight. In January 2021, four shipping companies said they would only accept payments for freight in US currency. Local food distributors and suppliers have stated that to get containers onto ships in time, a priority fee must be paid.

President of the Food Distributors Association, Michael Seheult adds that the cost of shipping from China increased by 500%. Food and agriculture products represented an annual average of 4.09% of total Chinese exports to T&T, worth almost US$17 million. In 2018, total Chinese exports to T&T were estimated to be approximately US$348 million.

“To give you an example, a container that we used to import out of Korea for example, a 40-foot container, would cost $3,000 or $3,500, that is now costing $15,500 for a 40-foot container,” he says. 

Distributor Kumar Maharaj says, “We used to pay US$2,500 for a 20 ft container from Australia, but it has now gone to US$12,000 and it is expected to go up again.” 

Fiscal Measures

In Budget 2021, government announced a 12.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) charge on “luxury items” such as apples, pears and strawberries but failed to enact such and repeated the same measure in Budget 2022. This policy hopes to curb the demand for such goods, reducing the amount of foreign exchange on these imports.

A ‘stimulus package’ of TT$500 million for the agricultural sector, adding to the TT$1.198 billion allocated to the sector in the 2020/2021 budget was also announced but there is no clear accounting as to how this was spent.

The government also proposed a tax-free industry, removing taxes and duties on all inputs and resources registered for agricultural purposes to reduce imports, increase productive capacity and accessibility to domestic produce. Still, there has been an increase in prices of agricultural supplies such as urea, herbicides, and other supplies of up to 30%.

The Government has indicated their plans to use the Land Settlement Agency to allocate 150 plots of land every ear over the next three years for developing farming and promote a new generation of enterprising farmers and owners of agribusinesses through the Youth Agricultural Homestead Programme (YAHP).

The Budget 2022 presentation also allocated a TT$300 (US$43.4) million agriculture stimulus package designed to support the country’s food production sector, focused on local food and nutrition with support for farming infrastructure, technical capacities, and other areas within the farming industry.

Climate Change

Climate change has also negatively affected food and agriculture, evidenced by problems for both produce and livestock farmers. 

It is estimated that climate change conditions will reduce T&Ts annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 34%. As an example, in 2021, a prolonged rainy season shocked the local beekeeping and honey harvesting industry. This had the impact of reducing the access of bees to nectar and pollen. 

Changes in weather patterns, resulting from climate change, has also seen trees either flower earlier than expected or not flower at all. In context, bees pollinate 95% of fruits and vegetables. Climate change has seen this sector of T&Ts agricultural industry decline by 75%. 

Livestock, Poultry and Farming

Livestock farmers have twice seen an increase in imported feed prices for 2021. High global demand with underwhelming supply levels and resulting increases in major feed inputs such as such as corn and soya bean, are largely responsible for these developments. 

According to state-run National Flour Mills, price increases in inputs range from 2.8% to 5.9 % and the increase in landed cost of feed grain for 2021 is over 50%. 

This will have a trickle-down effect on the consumer. For example, the Poultry Association states that an average of 42 million chickens are produced locally on an annual basis and about 1 million chickens are consumed weekly.

This means that eight out of every 10 chickens consumed in T&T are sourced locally. The country therefore remains a net importer of poultry products. 

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has said that from the month of June 2021, the average price per pound of chicken was TT$7.33 but for May 2021, it was TT$7.14. The ripple effects by the increase in the price of feed have subsequently led to increases in the price of eggs, poultry and other poultry by-products. 

The average annual imports of poultry and poultry products from 2016 to 2020 was TT$112 million (US16.48 million) while exports accounted for TT$3.5 million (US$515,000) for that same period.

As it relates to cultivation, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Pennelope Beckles noted an upward trend in this sector as labour force statistics show that between June 2019 and June 2020, employment in agriculture increased 44%. This represents a growth from approximately 20,000 to 28,800 people. 

Swiss based company Nestlé invested TT$10.3 million over the last three years in dairy farming. The Dairy Development Programme which focuses on milk production has seen 42 farms benefitting in four key areas of forage and feeding, animal health, fertility and farmers entrepreneurial skills. Furthermore, the company provides 16% crude protein concentrate ration at cost price to farmers, selling approximately 150 bags per week.

There are currently 105 farmers registered to supply fresh milk with Nestle averaging 5,000 litres a day amounting to 86% of all the local milk produced in T&T.

Nutrition Security and Food Sustainability

The FAO defines nutrition security as “all people, at all times, have sufficient, safe and nutritious food for an active and healthy life.” 

This is affected by factors including the unavailability of food and a lack of resources to obtain food. 

In the instance of T&T, climate change affects the domestic food supply chain and a lack of foreign exchange affects the availability of food and the ability of the nation to procure foods. 

Consumers do not have the purchasing power to acquire foods that help create a balanced diet and are essential to achieving nutrition security. A reduction in the poverty rate does not necessarily translate to improved food security though it is an underlying cause of food and nutrition insecurity. 

According to the ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 Report,’ T&T registered a reduction in the number of undernourished people between 2014 and2020; This represents a drop from 11.1% to 6.7%.

Funding

Trinidad and Tobago has received international financial support for agriculture, food resources and nutrition through a variety of loans, grants and donations. 

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is funding a US$45 million initiative entitled, “Programme to Strengthen Fiscal Policy and Management to Support Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery in Trinidad and Tobago.” 

This seeks to strengthen fiscal policies to support the nations efforts to execute a post-COVID-19 recovery plan. An example of such a fiscal policy is that of the expansion of the list of basic food items of which VAT will be removed as announced by Minister of Finance Colm Imbert during his budget presentation on October 4. 

T&T is also benefitting from a US$1000 million loan from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and a US$100 million loan from the IDB for implementing financial measures to assist the government in alleviating the negative economic impacts of COVID-19. 

Initiatives being financed from such funding include food staps and food boxes in which 136,000 families benefited from 185,000 food boxes.

Furthermore, NOVO a private technologies firm, invested $60 million in a state-of-the-art, technology-driven, agro-processing project while other pending investments include a berry farm in Tobago.

As the dates of which the statistics were calculated suggest, these are pre-pandemic figures. Whether this figure increases due to COVID-19 is yet to be calculated. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to progress globally, the effects of the pandemic have contributed significantly to issue of food and nutrition security in T&T.

Port of Spain, August 9, 2021 (MIC) -

Regionwide Trinidad and Tobago was relatively slow off the mark with both the receipt and administering of COVID-19 vaccines, trailing several neighbouring Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states prior to the commencement of its own vaccine rollouts in April.

By July though - and following a number of administrative missteps initially marked by long lines at vaccination sites and failed attempts at online appointments - the country had considerably accelerated the process both through the arrival of vaccines and much smoother operations at an expanded network of vaccination centres, eventually including private sector players.

The pace picked up in June and July.

There however remain live debates surrounding the question of vaccine brands – the vast majority of purchases have been China’s Sinopharm, followed by donations of Oxford-AstraZeneca – vaccine hesitancy based on a variety of factors, selective private sector demands on their employees, and the controversial suggestion that the government should legislate mandatory inoculation.

Following an acceleration in the programme in June and July, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh on August 7 described a dramatic slowdown in vaccination rates as the month opened as “abysmal.”

Road to the vaccines

It was back in September 2020 that the country had endorsed a Guarantee and Indemnity Agreement between the Government and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, for the COVAX Facility.

On October 9, 2020, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh announced that a US$9.7 million (TT$66 million) purchase agreement had been signed for the acquisition of 462,000 vaccines via COVAX - enough for approximately 33% of T&T’s population. 

The country is classified as a “self-financing” member of GAVI. Countries are eligible for full financial support if their average Gross National Income (GNI) is less than or equal to US$1,630 over three consecutive years. 

As such, since 2019, the nation has not been entitled to full financial support from the alliance. Self-financing countries are guaranteed sufficient COVID-19 vaccine doses to protect a certain proportion of their population, depending upon their individual investments in the fund.

Self-financing GAVI participants can request enough doses to vaccinate between 10-50% of their population. However, no country will receive enough doses to vaccinate more than 20% of its population until all countries in the financing group have been offered this amount.

T&T has however acquired vaccines via other sources. Apart from COVAX, the country has received Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BionTech and Sinopharm vaccines from the United States of America, India, China, and other CARICOM Member states. 

The nation is also expected to benefit from the African Medical Platform’s delivery of 800,000 doses of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccines to CARICOM purchasers. 

The country’s total COVAX purchases are in the order of 100,000 to 120,000 doses of the Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccines. On March 30, a first instalment of 33,600 doses arrived.

On April 13, a donation of 40,000 doses of the Oxford-Astra Zeneca from the Government of India was received through that country’s “Vaccine Maitri” Initiative. 

On April 21, Minister Deyalsingh also announced that 250,000 Pfizer vaccines and 625,000 Janssen vaccines had been ordered from the Africa Medical Supplies Platform. An undisclosed sum was paid for the acquisition.

This has, however been followed by successive delays. On July 3, the prime minister said CARICOM was expected to receive approximately 800,000 doses from the Platform by mid-July from which the country was expected to receive about 200,000. 

On July 28, Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne said that supply of the single-dose Janssen vaccine via the Platform were “at the stage of logistics and shipping.” As at August 5, a shipment was yet to arrive. 

On June 13, though, the Ministry of National Security received a “small donation” of 80 vials of Pfizer vaccines from the United States. Ten days later, the Ministry of Sport and Community Development also announced the receipt of 20 doses of Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine from the Government of South Africa, intended for the country’s Olympic athletes bound for Japan.

Donations

From CARICOM Member states, T&T received donations of 2,000 Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from Barbados; 16,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, from St. Vincent and the Grenadines; 9,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca from Bermuda; 10,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from Grenada and 5,000 doses of the Sinopharm Vaccine from Antigua and Barbuda. 

On May 19, 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccines also arrived in T&T as a donation from the Government of China. 

It had by then been announced that the country had committed to an order of 1.5 million Sinopharm doses from China. An initial order of 100,000 Sinopharm vaccines was made and on July 12, the prime minister said a shipment of 800,000 doses of these vaccine would arrive the following day. 

It was also disclosed that efforts were being made to acquire Pfizer vaccines from the United States for secondary school students. 

On August 04, Canada announced a donation of 82,000 AstraZeneca vaccines. The supplies landed on August 5. On August 11, a COVAX shipment was also due with 100,800 doses of the same brand.

To date, the country has received some 1,267,140 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 1,105,000 Sinopharm, 161,700 Oxford-AstraZeneca (prior to the two most recent shipments), 400 Pfizer and 40 Janssen.

The vaccine backstory

On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO), declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) after the agent that causes the new COVID-19 virus was discovered. After this declaration, scientific and academic institutions in collaboration with manufacturers began working on the development of a vaccine(s).

The WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing unlicensed vaccines. 

Trinidad and Tobago committed from the start to adhere strictly to WHO guidelines both for clinical guidance in treatment and for use only of WHO EUL approved vaccines. 

As the country’s borders reopened on July 17, the government indicated that nationals fully inoculated with only WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines may enter the country without having to undergo state-supervised quarantine. 

One national returned to T&T from Canada, fully vaccinated with a Pfizer/Moderna mix based on assurances by the Canadian government. However, he was denied entry and had to immediately return to Canada as the Government of T&T indicated that this was in keeping stipulated WHO guidelines. 

So far, WHO has approved first dose AstraZeneca and second dose Pfizer-BioNTech and first dose AstraZeneca and second dose Moderna-NIAID. There are countries that employ other combinations.

Vaccine hesitancy has been a major issue in T&T due to many factors including generalised mistrust of vaccines, conspiracy theories circulating on social media regarding efficacy and effectiveness and even xenophobia towards the readily available Chinese made Sinopharm vaccine.

Arguments have even been made that sufficient information has not been made available to the population and that information drives have been inadequate. This is despite aggressive media campaigns by official agencies and groupings led by private sector organisations and the media industry.

An MFO (Market Facts and Opinions) Consumer Economic Sentiment (CES) conducted in May 2021 suggested that only 35 percent of the population were at that time willing to take a vaccine. 

The study suggested that “persons aged 65 and older age cohort (possibly high comorbidity groups) were more likely than any other age group to express an interest in being vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Young persons, the survey proposed, are the most hesitant about taking the vaccine, indicative of social media influence and individualistic ways.”

Furthermore, the study said, “media announcements of two deaths, including that of (Energy) Minister Franklin Khan (in April), shortly after being inoculated created the sharpest dip in feelings of doubt about being vaccinated.” 

As some businesses, not including retail enterprises, resumed operations on July 19, following a two-month lockdown, some major food establishments made it mandatory for their workers to be vaccinated or face the prospect of expensive, regular PCR testing. 

This has occurred even as public hospital case loads declined by remained relatively unmoved and as the country continued reporting daily casualties.

The Ministry of Health is also coordinating ‘Vaccinate T&T’ - a public education campaign to encourage people to get inoculated. 

Minister Deyalsingh explained: “The pillars of the campaign are founded on facts, not rumour, not hearsay. These are: the COVID-19 vaccine is safe. The COVID-19 vaccine works, millions attest to that. The COVID-19 vaccine, plus adherence to guidelines, is the way to control the spread of the virus.” 

He further suggested that the country should, “vaccinate to save lives and livelihoods.” The campaign uses the symbol of the peace sign which forms a “V” which, according to Minister Deyalsingh, does not only signify “vaccines” but “victory”.

The private sector has also played a significant role in mass vaccination campaigning and action. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the T&T Manufacturers Association, the Supermarkets Association, and other major private sector entities, including independent media, have lent support and resources. 

On July 3, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce released a statement saying: “We are looking forward to seeing the acceleration of the ‘Vaccinate to Operate’ campaign, which would allow for more business sectors to open safely.” 

‘Vaccinate to Operate’ has however been employed as negative messaging that favours campaigners who suggest that it signifies high-handed action by the state and private sector actors.

Mandatory vaccinations have thus become a part of the national discussion. Arguments of Employers Rights vs Employees Rights, Constitutional Rights and Human Rights, Contractual Agreements vs Workplace Agreements and The Individual vs Society have been debated. 

However, no policy as it relates to mandatory vaccinations has been formally implemented by the Government.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has said that though mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19 is currently a topic of discussion across the globe, government has not yet considered this. He also noted that the European Court of Human Rights has been discussing whether mandatory vaccination is the way forward.

During a July 15 television interview, the prime minister said that while the Cabinet has not discussed such a course of action, he did not believe that mandatory application constitutes an invasion of individual rights. 

“It is to protect human life and … where the majority would like to preserve their life, where there is something available, then the Government would have to take that decision,” he told interviewer, former Opposition MP, Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie.

In the meantime, a workplace vaccination policy is in the making by the Ministry of Labour to guide both employers and employees across the public and private sectors on the issue. 

The matter is currently before a tripartite committee comprising representatives of the trade union movement, the private sector and Government. 

There is however a view that any legislation brought forward by the Government in relation to mandatory vaccines would require a three-fifths majority because of its impact on human rights.

Constitutional expert Dr Hamid Ghany, for example, argued that while the constitution makes provisions for Parliament to legislate in a manner inconsistent with human rights provisions, such a demand can be challenged in court, where it will have to be determined whether such a decision is a “reasonable infringement”.

The government meanwhile hopes the country will achieve “herd immunity” by the end of the year. This requires 984,095 members of population to be fully vaccinated. As at August 6, 417,070 people had received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 228,175 whom had gone on to receive a second dose.

The shipment of 800,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China means that up to 60% of the adult population can be vaccinated. The Canadian donations also now mean there is a limited choice of brand/manufacturer, along with a final COVAX shipment of over 100,000 was also due to land in early August.

So far, the going has been slowing, with a declining number of takers. “Herd immunity” is appearing to be some distance away. The Keith Rowley administration is hoping the force of law would not eventually be required to take the country over the line.

Port of Spain, June 1, 2021 (MIC) -

Overview

On May 11, TT’s daily new COVID-19 deaths per million people stood at 3.98 - the highest in the world. As of May 30, the total number of recorded deaths stood at 479 and the seven-day average of deaths was 15, the highest in T&T since the pandemic began. 

To this date 93,293 citizens or 6.7% of the population received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1,179 citizens or 0.1% of the population are fully vaccinated.

On May 3, Prime Minister Keith Rowley implemented tighter lockdown restrictions for three weeks. At the time, the country’s total tally of 11,313 cases and 174 deaths since the start of the pandemic was still less than half the global average per capita.

On May 15, a State of Emergency was declared and a curfew imposed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. The highly transmissible Brazilian variant, first identified in a Venezuelan migrant, was cited as a factor for the increase in cases. Public health regulations, which were due to expire on May 22, were extended to July 4.

As the month ended, there were early indications of a slowdown in infection rates. 

Based on a Market Facts and Opinions’ Consumer Economic Study 2021 on a random sample of 973 people in T&T between April 14 to May 3, 35% of the population are willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine once they become available, 20% were undecided and 45% were reluctant.

At successive media briefings, government officials were also signalling the heavy economic cost of the pandemic social support measures together with the growing needs of the public health sector – the parallel COVID-19 facilities in particular. 

External Support

Loans

Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert has clarified that while there are several loans that had been approved by benefactors for budgetary and other support during the pandemic, only US$200 million had been accessed as at May 20. He has also disclosed that as a result of pandemic conditions, there was a budgetary shortfall of close to US$730 million.

IDB

The government has borrowed US$100 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to deal with budgetary support, revenue shortfalls due to public health restrictions, to assist with providing liquidity, and to assist those who are most vulnerable. This was disbursed last year and spread across all ministries and agencies financed by the Consolidated Fund.

There was also an additional US$24 million in repurposed loans from the IDB to help reimburse the government for advances made in support of cash transfer programmes including food card and grants for the disadvantaged. The advance is yet to be made.

World Bank

A US$20 million loan was also approved by the World Bank to bolster Ministry of Health expenditure in the areas of the vaccination programme, hospital equipment, PPE, and medical supplies. These funds have not yet been disbursed.

Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (CAF)

T&T has also borrowed US$150 million loan from CAF – US$100 million has been received and employed as a policy loan for 2020 budgetary support. The remaining US$50 million is for treatment and care for hospitalised patients, non-pharmaceutical consumable, infrastructure, biomedical equipment, and payment of salaries and wages for health personnel, and PPE for the Ministry of Health.

China

A US$204 million policy loan for budget support has been approved by the Chinese Development Bank but has not yet been accessed. Of this, 15% is for “Chinese elements” that may include the acquisition of vaccines. 

Other Assistance

United States of America (USA)

The US Embassy of TT donated two (2) field hospitals to the Ministry of Health. These field hospitals are helping to reduce the strain on the parallel healthcare system by providing an additional 80 hospital beds. This donation is valued at US$1.5 million.

(https://tt.usembassy.gov/u-s-government-donates-two-field-hospitals-to-the-ministry-of-health/)

European Union (EU)

The Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations has approved approximately US$3.3 million (EUR2.7 million) for the protection, education and health of Venezuelan refugee and migrant children in six nations, one of which is T&T. 

This programme is being implemented through a partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and will run until March 31, 2022.

A May 17 release says the EU is using this grant to implement another two projects in T&T that address the day-to-day challenges faced by refugees and migrants from Venezuela, including the “Response to Recovery – COVID-19” (https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/trinidad-and-tobago/98600/eu-continues-assist-venezuelan-refugees-and-migrants-trinidad-and-tobago-and-region_en)

The EU has also signed a grant contract with T&T’s Red Cross Society, in support of migrants and refugees. (https://newsday.co.tt/2021/04/27/eu-defends-covid19-vaccine-help-to-trinidad-and-tobago-region/)

T&T has meanwhile received PPE comprising 7,500 N95 respirator masks and 13,000 surgical masks from the European Union through the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme of Support for Health Security Strengthening for Prevention and Control of Outbreaks of Communicable Diseases in the Caribbean, implemented CARPHA

(https://carpha.org/More/Media/Articles/ArticleID/448/Trinidad-and-Tobago-Receives-EU-Supported-COVID-19-Personal-Protective-Equipment)

Regionally, the EU provided a grant worth US$8.6 million (EUR8 million) to CARPHA on April 28, 2020 to increase the capacity of CARPHA and Member States to respond to outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus and strengthen public education programmes on communicable diseases. 

(https://www.carpha.org/More/Media/Articles/ArticleID/321/Caribbean-Countries-Benefit-from-European-Union-Funding-to-Fight-against-COVID-19)

The EU also provided funding for a collaboration between PAHO and CARPHA to fund the down payments of a purchase over one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for Caribbean Member States. 

(https://www.paho.org/en/news/16-10-2020-carpha-paho-and-eu-partner-guarantee-equitable-access-more-1m-doses-anticipated)

Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO)

T&T has been identified by PAHO as one of the countries in the Americas facing the challenge of steeply rising numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Last September PAHO, on behalf of the WHO, provided 10 oxygen concentrators purchased through the United Nations COVID-19 Supply Chain. The donation also included a bundle of six months’ consumables, accessories, and spare parts for the devices. (https://www.paho.org/en/news/30-9-2020-pahowho-donates-oxygen-concentrators-trinidad-and-tobagos-ministry-health-support)

Together with PAHO, Canada donated US$950,000 to provide essential equipment and supplies to six Caribbean nations including T&T. 

The contribution was part of a five-year subregional programme between PAHO and Canada, aimed at reducing the heath consequence of emergencies and disasters in the Caribbean. 

The donation is to be used to acquire essential PPE, laboratory and medical equipment, as well as supplies to be used by health care workers and hospitals in The Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and T&T.

PAHO’s T&T country office also donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Ministry of Health on May 24.

(https://newsday.co.tt/2021/05/25/paho-donates-ppe-to-trinidad-and-tobago/)

Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has donated US$750,000 to support CARPHA’S coordinated COVID-19 response in the Caribbean. 

The grant is to promote regional health security through the coordination of the regional health response to the pandemic and was made available through the IDB Japan Special Fund, signed on June 5, 2020. 

T&T is listed as a beneficiary country to the grant with listed activities running from July 2020 to May 2022.

(https://carpha.org/More/Media/Articles/ArticleID/336/IDB-Contributes-US-750K-to-Support-CARPHA%E2%80%99s-Coordinated-COVID-19-Response-in-the-Caribbean)

(https://carpha.org/More/Media/Articles/ArticleID/429/CARPHA-IDB-Japanese-Collaboration-to-fight-COVID-in-the-Caribbean-Region#:~:text=In%20May%202020%2C%20the%20IDB,(COVID%2D19)%20pandemic)

The United Nations (UN)

On March 14, the Ministry of Planning and Development stated that it had reprioritised funds from a US$3.7 million grant it received from the United Nations to support the Government’s efforts in addressing the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Whilst an exact figure was not provided, the Ministry stated that funding was reallocated in early in 2020 to focus on health and education. (https://trinidadexpress.com/business/local/t-t-spent-un-sdg-funds-on-covid-19-health-and-education/article_e3e1662a-9f13-11eb-b57d-cf518b54274e.html)

Vaccine Support

Trinidad and Tobago has received donations of vaccine doses, so far, from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members Barbados (2,000), Grenada (10,000), and St Vincent and the Grenadines (16,000), and from Associate Member, Bermuda (8,000). Vaccines have also been received from India (40,000) and China (100,000).

There are hopes that a promise by US President Joe Biden to contribute up to 80 million much-needed doses to countries experiencing shortfalls in the acquisition of vaccines will significantly bolster the region’s stock by the end of June.

Meanwhile T&T has signed bilateral agreements with China in relation to the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines. (https://newsday.co.tt/2021/03/16/china-promises-to-help-trinidad-and-tobago-with-covid19-vaccines/)

The country has ordered 1.5 million Sinopharm vaccines which are not included under a donation of 100,000 Sinopharm vaccines from the Chinese government. The purchase will cost the country somewhere between US$15 million and US$22.5 million depending on price negotiations. 

(https://newsday.co.tt/2021/05/11/trinidad-and-tobago-to-take-chinese-loan-to-buy-chinese-vaccines/)

So far, two shipments of vaccines totaling 67,200 doses have been obtained through the COVAX Facility. There are pending purchases of 250,000 Pfizer vaccines and 625,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines from the Africa Medical Supplies Platform.

On May 24, it was also announced that T&T is seeking COVID-19 vaccines from the EU following an announcement on May 21, by EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou, that the European grouping is developing a mechanism to share surplus vaccines with developing countries.

There have been direct efforts at securing vaccines from several manufacturers. The government has announced that Moderna cannot make any supplies until October.

Sanofi vaccine's clinical trials are still ongoing and a non-disclosure agreement has been signed with Covaxin of India.

The country is hoping that up to 10% of the population, approximately 134,000 people, will be fully vaccinated by the end of August 2021.

State Relief Programmes

So far, the country has spent over US$52 million on social relief programmes that have included food and income support, disability, and senior citizens grants together with assistance extended through religious institutions and rental assistance to people who lost income as a result of pandemic measures. 

Additionally, the Ministry of Finance has coordinated the payment of salary relief grants, expedited tax refunds and overdue Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds. Grant offers were also extended to small and medium enterprises, and micro-enterprises. The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services has administered income-support grants.

As cases rose and new lockdown measures imposed in April and May, including the state of emergency and ensuing curfews, several relief programmes were revived in May. At the end of May, 14,331 individuals applied for the salary relief. The dominant sectors include food/restaurant employees and people employed in the retail sector.

Income support grants were also reintroduced in May for employees mainly in the informal sector who had lost their means of income. A Food Baskets Programme was introduced to serve 25,000 households and may be extended to September.

Other programmes re-instituted or bolstered included the availability of soft loans for small and medium enterprises and loans and grants for other small entrepreneurs.

Heritage and Stabilisation Fund

On March 26, 2020, an amendment to the HSF Act was passed in Parliament to allow for withdrawals of up to US$1.5 billion during the financial year. In 2020, the withdrawals were used to provide funding for COVID-19 relief, for social welfare, such as senior citizens’ pensions, for salaries and wages, for payments to contractors and suppliers of goods and services, and for PPE, health care, medical equipment, hospital construction, and other subsidies and transfers, a press release from the Ministry of Finance stated.

Between 2019 and 2020, the government withdrew close to US$80 million under the normal conditions caused by shortfalls in petroleum revenue and US$900 million under the new provisions with respect to dangerous infectious disease, the COVID-19 provisions.

For the 2021 fiscal year, the government has withdrawn US$292 million “under the normal system arrangements the system was set up for”, according to Finance Minister Colm Imbert, and US$300 million for pandemic support.

As at mid-May, the net asset value of the Fund was US$5.691 billion. In response to claims that his administration had severely depleted Fund holdings, Imbert said that in 2015 when the Rowley administration came to power, the balance was US$5.655 billion.

Port of Spain, April 12, 2021 (MIC) -

Despite a dip in the infection rate during the month of February, there was evidence of an upward trend toward the end of March. This eventually led to the withdrawal of a decision to permit open air team sports and further delay the gradual re-opening of the school system.

On March 27, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at a press conference warned there was no money to finance rental assistance, food supplies and job loss grants, as had been the case in 2020, should infection rates reach critical levels. 

He urged citizens to heed the health regulations as the state was unable to financially support the public or businesses should there be cause for another lockdown. On April 6, it was announced that the prime minister had himself contracted the disease.

This coincided with commencement of the country’s vaccination programme at 21 state health facilities throughout the country. There were logistical difficulties associated with the rollout as frontline health workers and people over the age of 60 with non-communicable diseases began receiving the 33,600 doses that arrived in the country on March 30.

It was subsequently announced that a further 40,000 does of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were due to arrive as a donation from India on April 12.

Among the emerging issues as the country addresses the demands of the pandemic are concerns over the quality of official procurement processes. The passage of amended procurement legislation remained under critical review by several key sectors.

Procurement Legislation 

On December 08 2020, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (http://www.ttparliament.org/legislations/b2020h17g.pdf)     was passed in parliament. The passage of this bill allowed for the establishment of The Office of The Procurement Legislature (OPR). 

The Procurement Act is intended to replace Trinidad and Tobago’s Central Tenders Board and update the government’s processes for contracts tendering, making it more transparent.

However, the government has faced criticism from various bodies such as the Joint Chambers, The Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC), the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI) and the political opposition. 

This main issue resides in Clause 5 of the bill that amends section 7 (2) which seeks to remove legal, financial accounting, auditing services, medical services or any other service as the minister may order, determine from the remit of the Procurement Regulator. Essentially, under the Act, government – to – government contracts are exempted from any scrutiny by the OPR. 

Speaking on a local television programme, Chairman of the Procurement Board of Trinidad and Tobago (PBTT) Moonilal Lalchan took issue with the amended Procurement Legislation from the point of vaccine procurement stating: “We knew that we would have required the vaccines a little while now, since last year and therefore planning should have been in place. I am not sure what sort of planning would have taken place but here it is that if we continue to treat this as an emergency month on month off, we will end up paying an abnormally high price.”

In terms of transparency, Lalchan noted: “We need to keep the public informed as to what we are doing in terms of acquiring these vaccines and not be in a position to hide the information.” 

The United States of America

Trinidad and Tobago received US$475,000 in aid from the United States of America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago. This was announced on April 24, 2020 by then US Ambassador, Joseph Mondello. 

The Defence Force Heliport Facility also received funding worth US$88,692.81 from the United States Embassy for COVID-19 relief in the effort to address continue issues associated with undocumented Venezuelan migrants.

CAF – DEVELOPMENT BANK OF LATIN AMERICA

On April 03, 2020, the Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) - Development Bank of Latin America donated US$400,000 to the government, to help in the fight against the spread of the pandemic. According to a news release by CAF, this donation sought to strengthen Trinidad and Tobago’s emergency response mechanisms and to reinforce the protection, and safety of medical personnel working in the prevention, mitigation and care of patients affected by this global COVID 19 pandemic. Luis Carranza, C.E.O. of CAF stated, “… this donation is the first one of several actions we are undertaking to contribute to strengthen prevention, mitigation and medical care, in order to preserve public health in the country.”

On April 15, 2020, CAF also approved a $US50 million loan to mitigate the COVID-19 health crisis in the country. According to a news release by CAF, the loan aims to strengthen Trinidad and Tobago's capacity to respond to and prevent the crisis caused by COVID-19, through direct financial resources and the recognition of expenses and investments aimed at reducing risk or mitigating the impact of the pandemic in the health of the population. CAF’s C.E.O. Luis Carranza noted, “These emergency funds will back the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in its efforts to fight Covid-19 from different fronts, from improving health services to preserving the country´s economic resilience.”

 Following this, CAF announced that on June 29, 2020, two loan agreements with CAF worth US$150 million, were signed. The first loan of US$100 million is to provide financial support to the Government’s economic programs, implemented to contain the social, economic and financial emergencies generated by COVID-19, and aims to have a counter cyclical impact on the country’s economy. The second loan of US$50 million related to that of the one announced on April 15 2020. 

The loans were signed at the Ministry of Finance, Eric Williams Finance Building, by The Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago Mr. Colm Imbert and CAF’s Representative to Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Gianpiero Leoncini.

PAHO – PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION

On June 26, 2020, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr Carissa F. Etienne noted via a news release that Trinidad and Tobago would benefit from a US$5.3 million contribution made by the Government of Canada to PAHO’s COVID-19 response in the Caribbean. 

The funds sought to assist in the training of healthcare workers/officials and laboratory personnel, strengthen data collection and surveillance in the form of equipment and personnel, as well as implementation of risk communication plans. 

Earlier in the year, the government of Canada contributed CA$1.5 million to PAHO – part of which was assigned to Trinidad and Tobago for the procurement of laptops to support the collecting, processing, and analyzing of clinical/epidemiological data, the training of Critical Care Nurses, and for medical equipment and supplies for isolation facilities.

On October 16, 2020, The European Union Barbados in Barbados announced that it was donating US$2 million to Caribbean countries in order to procure vaccines when they became available. This was to be done in coordination with PAHO and CARPHA. The EU funding which will finance the down-payment for more than one million doses of a successful vaccine for regional countries has already been transferred to the COVAX Facility, through its Vaccine Alliance of which Trinidad and Tobago is a part of and would benefit from. Luis Maia, Head of Cooperation at the EU’s Barbados Office, stated “The European Union is pleased to be participating in this proactive initiative that ensures that whenever a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available there will be adequate dosages for the Caribbean given its economic and other vulnerabilities.”

On March 29 2021, PAHO announced (https://www.paho.org/en/news/29-3-2021-canada-scales-its-support-paho-its-covid-19-response-caribbean) that the Government of Canada contributed an additional CAN$1.2 million, aimed at providing essential equipment and supplies in the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. 

According to the release, “The donation by the Canadian government will be used to acquire essential personal protection equipment, laboratory and medical equipment, as well as supplies to be used by health care workers and hospitals … as part of PAHO’s technical cooperation in the fight against the pandemic. 

“It will also help strengthen communication efforts around public health risks, continued promotion of protective measures and community engagement.” 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Government of Canada has donated over USD$8 million to support PAHO’s technical cooperation to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas.

IDB – INTER AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Trinidad and Tobago has US$124 million in IDB financing for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 2, 2020, the institution announced that it granted a US$100 million loan to the country to finance its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and promote an economic recovery after the pandemic ends. 

According to a press release on the IDB’s website, “Trinidad and Tobago will use part of the money to support household income and business liquidity during the pandemic through tax refunds, salary grants, food stamps and rental assistance. It will also use the loan to buy medical equipment and hire medical staff. The loan will also go to implementing the Fair Trading Act (FTA), which involves promoting competition in local markets, lowering the cost of essential goods for consumers, and increasing private sector productivity.”

The 20-year, dollar-denominated loan comes with a 5.5-year grace period and charges an interest rate based on Libor.

On February 26 2021, the IDB announced a US 24.5 million loan agreement (https://www.iadb.org/en/news/trinidad-and-tobago-increase-social-support-vulnerable-groups-idb-help) to fund a programme for people most affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

It is intended to ensure that basic quality of life standards for vulnerable persons are maintained in the immediate period and during the country’s economic recovery. This loan will aid over 25,000 existing beneficiary households of the Food Support Programme in which women are expected to represent about 60% of the beneficiaries; 20,500 households with school-age children who received the School Nutrition Program prior to the COVID-19 emergency; 2,000 low-income persons aged 65 and over; 500 adults 18-65 years of age who are permanently disabled from earning a livelihood; 39,233 households with persons who have suffered involuntary termination, suspension, or loss of income in the informal sector.

CARIBBEAN PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY - CARPHA

On June 5, 2020, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a grant worth USD$750,000.00 to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). The grant seeks to promote regional health security through the coordination of the regional health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to support regional integrated efforts to address common health and economic issues impacting on the sustainability of Caribbean economies. 

It was made available through the IDB Japan Special Fund and will be used for specifically the enhancement of Laboratory Response Capacity at CARPHA, mobilize surge and strengthen real-time disease surveillance and response through the CARPHA Regional Travelers Health Program (THP) for all 26 of the Agency’s Member States. Activities under that Grant are expected to kick off from July 2020 and run until June 2022.

On October 21 2021, it was announced via CARICOM Today (https://today.caricom.org/2020/10/16/carpha-partners-with-paho-to-ensure-caribbean-states-equitable-access-to-covid-19-vaccine/)  that CARPHA  with funding from the European Union (EU) entered into an agreement with the PAHO to support Member States’ participation in the COVAX Facility. 

According to Dr Joy St. John, Executive Director of the agency: “CARPHA has an 8 Million Euro grant with the EU that was signed in April 2020, which includes 3 Million Euros for the purchase of vaccines or treatments when they become available. The EU has approved the use of a portion of these funds to assist CARPHA Member States meet their down payment obligations to participate in the COVAX Facility.” 

WORLD BANK

The World Bank, via its website on July 8, 2020 announced that it had approved a US$20 million for Trinidad and Tobago’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Project that seeks to strengthen national systems for public health preparedness. 

Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean stated: “It will assist in providing critical medical supplies and equipment and will strengthen the capacity of the health sector.”

The terms of the loan state a maturity period of 8 years with a grace period of 7.5 years.

The COVID-19 Emergency Response Project aims to detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen systems for public health preparedness in Trinidad and Tobago. 

The proposed Project’s components will support the Government’s capacity to detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19. Specifically, it will support the identification and treatment of patients with COVID-19 to minimise disease spread, morbidity and mortality. 

The proposed Project will implement climate-change adaptation measures when possible, and address gender issues, as necessary. The following are the components which are still under review: 

One major component of the project comprises Emergency COVID-19 Response Efforts (US$19.75 million). This component will provide immediate support to the National COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan. 

In providing support through the procurement of medical equipment and instruments key to the detection and treatment of COVID-19, this component will prioritise infection control in health facilities, the investigation of detected COVID-19 cases, and disease detection capacities through the provision of laboratory equipment and supplies. 

This component will also focus on the provision of health services, particularly intensive care services.

In providing support for healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients, this component will aid procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the training on the use and disposal of PPE and the safe operation of medical equipment. Technology under this component will prioritize the use of energy efficient goods/services and climate smart technologies for medical supplies/devices. 

One sub-component of this portion of the package addresses the Strengthening of Case Detection and Recording. This sub-component will finance laboratory equipment, supplies, test kits and reagents for the diagnosis of COVID-19 during the outbreak.

There is also a sub-component on Strengthening Case Treatment. This sub-component will focus on strengthening healthcare services in order to provide a comprehensive range of treatments for positive COVID-19 cases. Financing under thus subcomponent include:

1. Essential equipment for disinfection and sterilization procedures including medical supplies and other supplies necessary for efficient hospital waste management; 

2. key health care delivery inputs, including personal protective equipment and other medical supplies for frontline health workers involved in patient case management;

3. medicines and equipment for the treatment of COVID-19 patients 

4. training of health staff on appropriate clinical care for COVID-19 patients and the safe disposal of medical waste. 

Technology under this component will prioritize the procurement of climate smart technologies for medical supplies/devices, when possible. 

The second major component involves Project Management and Monitoring (US$0.25 Million). This component will focus on financing the operational costs of strengthening the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) Priorities include: 

1. Financial Management (FM), the procurement for some items not procured through UN agencies, environmental and social requirements, and audits of the Project;

2.  Monitoring and evaluating the Project. 

These activities will be carried out in accordance with WBG guidelines and procedures.

The Emergency Response Project is being prepared under the World Bank’s Environment and Social Framework (ESF). 

As per the Environmental and Social Standard ESS 10 Stakeholders Engagement and Information Disclosure, the implementing agencies should provide stakeholders with timely, relevant, understandable, and accessible information, and consult with them in a culturally appropriate manner, which is free of manipulation, interference, coercion, discrimination, and intimidation.

CDB – CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Regionally, the CDB has approved “a multi-pronged financial package to help our members, which includes policy-based loans of US$140 million; emergency loans totalling US$67 million to seven countries; and US$3 million program to provide essential personal protective equipment for Caribbean health care and frontline workers in 14 countries.” 

Of this, Trinidad and Tobago received 2,624 Tyvek Suits, 9,372 Surgical Masks, 5,074 Goggles, 8,247 Isolation Gowns, 18,744 Nitrate Gloves and 2,624 KN95 Masks. 

In cultural industries sector, the CDB through its CIIF Emergency Grant Programme, has provided US$100,000 in emergency grants for cultural industry practitioners impacted by the cancellation of events due to the pandemic. The country saw 119 applications to the programme, the most of any member state. 

THE HSF – HERITAGE AND STABALISATION FUND

In 2020, the country withdrew approximately US$1.2 billion from its sovereign wealth fund, the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF). That sum covers the period January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and the money was drawn down in the fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

In fiscal 2020, US$900 million was withdrawn from the Fund and so far for fiscal 2021, US$300 million has been withdrawn for budget support. 

The HSF has been a cushion for T&T’s economy as the Government has used it when it has struggled with revenue to meet salaries and other budgeted expenditure. As of September 2020, the Fund stood at US$5.73 billion.

To mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, the Government initiated a comprehensive stimulus package which needed funding - some of which came from the HSF.

On March 26, 2020, an amendment to the HSF Act was passed in Parliament to allow for withdrawals of up to US$1.5 billion during the financial year, in the event of a health crisis, a natural disaster or a precipitous drop in budgeted revenue.

Port of Spain, February 28, 2021 (MIC) -

The first case of COVID-19 in Trinidad and Tobago was recorded on March 12 when a national who had returned from a trip to Switzerland was diagnosed. A cluster of cases involving 40 of 68 nationals who were on a Caribbean cruise was registered on March 21. This was followed by the closure of national borders for all but approved air and sea travel on March 22.

On March 22, the disease claimed its victim in the country. The ensuing stringent measures formed part of a national lockdown that exempted workers in selected categories and activity in the energy sector.

The impact of the border closure and population lockdown exacerbated a deteriorating economic situation. In the first few months of the pandemic alone, pandemic relief programmes cost the government over US$150 million. And, by the end of the year, it was estimated that at the current rate of economic contraction, the country would have fallen short on revenue by close to US$1.5 billion by the end of the fiscal year in September 2021.

The country has however benefited from financial support from several international benefactors in order to better manage its pandemic measures.

International assistance from foreign governments and international financial institutions have contributed toward efforts by the country to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic. It is estimated that the country has so far received US$500 million from external sources in COVID-19 based economic relief.

United States of America

The country has received US$475,000 in aid from the United States of America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via the US Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago. This was announced on April 24, 2020 by then US Ambassador, Joseph Mondello. 

The Defence Force Heliport Facility also received funding worth US$88,692.81 from the United States Embassy for COVID-19 relief in the effort to address continue issues associated with undocumented Venezuelan migrants.

CAF – Development Bank of Latin America

On April 03, 2020, the Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) - Development Bank of Latin America donated US$400,000 to the government, to help in the fight against the spread of the pandemic. 

On April 15, 2020, CAF also approved a $US50 million loan to mitigate the COVID-19 health crisis in the country. Following this, the finance ministry announced that on June 25, 2020, two loan agreements with CAF worth US$150 million, were signed. 

The first loan of US$100 million was signed to provide financial support to the Government’s economic programmes for social, economic, and financial emergencies generated by COVID-19. The second loan of US$50 million was signed to strengthen Trinidad and Tobago’s health care responses to the crisis. 

Pan-American Health Organization – PAHO

On June 26, 2020, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr Carissa F. Etienne noted that Trinidad and Tobago would benefit from a US$5.3 million contribution made by the Government of Canada to PAHO’s COVID-19 response in the Caribbean. 

The funds sought to assist in the training of healthcare workers/officials and laboratory personnel, strengthen data collection and surveillance in the form of equipment and personnel, as well as implementation of risk communication plans. 

Earlier in the year, the government of Canada contributed CA$1.5 million to PAHO – part of which was assigned to Trinidad and Tobago for the procurement of laptops to support the collecting, processing, and analysing of clinical/epidemiological data, the training of Critical Care Nurses, and for medical equipment and supplies for isolation facilities.

Inter-American Development Bank - IDB

Trinidad and Tobago has US$124 million in IDB financing for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 2, 2020, the institution announced that it granted a US$100 million loan to the country to finance its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and promote an economic recovery after the pandemic ends. 

According to a press release on the IDB’s website, “Trinidad and Tobago will use part of the money to support household income and business liquidity during the pandemic through tax refunds, salary grants, food stamps and rental assistance. It will also use the loan to buy medical equipment and hire medical staff. The loan will also go to implementing the Fair Trading Act (FTA), which involves promoting competition in local markets, lowering the cost of essential goods for consumers, and increasing private sector productivity.”

The 20-year, dollar-denominated loan comes with a 5.5-year grace period and charges an interest rate based on Libor.

IDB – CARPHA

On June 5, 2020, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a grant worth USD$750,000.00 to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA). The grant seeks to promote regional health security through the coordination of the regional health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to support regional integrated efforts to address common health and economic issues impacting on the sustainability of Caribbean economies. 

It was made available through the IDB Japan Special Fund and will be used for specifically the enhancement of Laboratory Response Capacity at CARPHA, mobilize surge and strengthen real-time disease surveillance and response through the CARPHA Regional Travelers Health Program (THP) for all 26 of the Agency’s Member States. Activities under that Grant are expected to kick off from July 2020 and run until June 2022.

World Bank

The World Bank, via its website on July 8, 2020 announced that it had approved a US$20 million for Trinidad and Tobago’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Project that seeks to strengthen national systems for public health preparedness. 

Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean stated, “It will assist in providing critical medical supplies and equipment and will strengthen the capacity of the health sector.”

According to the World Bank, the Government’s plan focuses on the procurement of key medical supplies needed for testing and diagnosis, inputs for infection prevention and control in health facilities, personal protective equipment for staff and the provision of training on appropriate clinical care and safe waste disposal. The terms of the loan state a maturity period of 8 years with a grace period of 7.5 years.

Caribbean Development Bank – CDB

Regionally, the CDB has approved “a multi-pronged financial package to help our members, which includes policy-based loans of US$140 million; emergency loans totalling US$67 million to seven countries; and US$3 million program to provide essential personal protective equipment for Caribbean health care and frontline workers in 14 countries.” 

Of this, Trinidad and Tobago received 2,624 Tyvek Suits, 9,372 Surgical Masks, 5,074 Goggles, 8,247 Isolation Gowns, 18,744 Nitrate Gloves and 2,624 KN95 Masks. 

In cultural industries sector, the CDB through its CIIF Emergency Grant Programme, has provided US$100,000 in emergency grants for cultural industry practitioners impacted by the cancellation of events due to the pandemic. The country saw 119 applications to the programme, the most of any member state. 

Heritage and Stabilisation Fund

In 2020, the country withdrew approximately US$1.2 billion from its sovereign wealth fund, the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF). That sum covers the period January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and the money was drawn down in the fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

In fiscal 2020, US$900 million was withdrawn from the Fund and so far for fiscal 2021, US$300 million has been withdrawn for budget support. 

The HSF has been a cushion for T&T’s economy as the Government has used it when it has struggled with revenue to meet salaries and other budgeted expenditure. As of September 2020, the Fund stood at US$5.73 billion.

To mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, the Government initiated a comprehensive stimulus package which needed funding - some of which came from the HSF.

On March 26, 2020, an amendment to the HSF Act was passed in Parliament to allow for withdrawals of up to US$1.5 billion during the financial year, in the event of a health crisis, a natural disaster or a precipitous drop in budgeted revenue.