SONJI PIERRE-CHASE
In this edition of the TT Chamber's column, we are proud to feature the inaugural address of our incoming president, Sonji Pierre-Chase.
Ladies and gentlemen, first and foremost, it is important to not just say thanks but also to give credit.
I take this opportunity to express my profound thanks to our immediate past president, Kiran Maharaj, for her unwavering commitment to the chamber.
Not only did she successfully steer our ship on course for the last two years, but she is also credited with ensuring the chamber remained resolute in its vision and mission.
My task today is to express to you, our members, what my plans are as incoming president.
As enormous as that task seems, it is not insurmountable.
At the chamber, we fundamentally believe in stability and continuity, as we see this as the path to prosperity.
Last year's theme of our annual business meeting was Pathways to Prosperity and this year it is Creating Shared Prosperity, Turning Talk into Action.
Built on a robust 146-year history, the chamber is not just about talk, but about action – we don’t just talk the talk, we turn talk into action!
The building blocks for our shared prosperity are already in place, industriously laid by my predecessors, all leaders in business in TT and the hard-working team at the secretariat. My mission, therefore, is simple, to continue building on that sturdy foundation laid by my predecessors, to continue advancing the interests of our members with the aim of building a stronger and more resilient TT.
When I say we don’t just talk, we act, I can proudly say today, that over the last 146 years, we have assiduously advocated for our members’ and by extension all businesses interests. Whether it was lobbying for changes in policies, legislative changes, improvements in the ease of doing business or seeking new measures that would contribute to economic growth, we have done it and will continue to do so. We saw success in our VAT refund lobby with the Ministry of Finance and Minister Imbert, with SMEs receiving their VAT refunds earlier this year.
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When over the many decades we have been saying to the government, we need diversify our economy, to foster the non-energy sector and wean our dependency off oil and gas, we did not just stop at lobbying. We aggressively focused on our SME sector, that today, more than 66 per cent of our members are SMEs.
Through our Nova Committee and the contributions of our board members, Christine Stone and Marc Persaud, we have ardently worked towards building this sector, as we see it as the backbone of a strong economy.
With this fervour, we signed an MoU with the TT Stock Exchange to support the listing of SMEs.
We also collaborated with CAF and Eximbank to host our inaugural SME Conference, Catalyst – Propelling SMEs for Success.
The conference was not a two-day talk shop, but a measured commitment through the Ministry of Finance, CAF and Eximbank, focussed on
