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Develop wealth-producing rural areas

There's an old saying: when certain people sell you a corner spot, there's no future in it for you.

I'm told the government purchased Salvatori Building for many millions in the 1990s; it was a bad investment from the outset. Difficult to maintain, it fell into ruin, leading to total demolition in 2005. Now Minister Moonilal plans to construct a 30-storey high "Energy House" on the site. It'll probably cost considerably more than NAPA, the colossal white elephant that set us back by almost $1 billion. Dr Moonilal needs to hold his hand.

I've endorsed every move this Government has made to improve rural communities. With the shift away from PoS to the food basket areas, I was convinced the areas historically generating the wealth would be uplifted.

This proposed flagship project is offensive if it is based on the ground that in PoS there is no signature building that houses the energy corporations and so on, seeing that Port of Spain houses the Financial Complex, the Waterfront Complex, the Hyatt, Parkade, the unfinished Customs House, NAPA, Broadgate, Riverside Plaza, the Hall of Justice, the Prime Minister's official residence and several other ostentatious government structures. All these buildings attest to the wealth produced by our energy sector.

Madam Prime Minister, to provide a lasting legacy of our energy blessings, tend to the countryside areas which generated and still generate the oil and gas wealth!

Pastor Duncan Whitmore

Princes Town

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