Innovative Democratic Alliance (IDA) political leader Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus has described as hypocrisy, the Government's decision to lift the state of emergency while the beaches remain closed.

'Let us not talk about the hypocrisy in lifting a state of emergency and we haven't heard anything about the beaches,' she said on Monday at a simple function to present the IDA's 13 candidates for the December 6 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election.

'It is okay to lift a state of emergency by Wednesday so the campaigning could start large but when the beaches needed to be opened for our own economic survival, they remain closed.'

Tsoiafatt Angus, who is contesting the Bethel/New Grange electoral district, added, 'When the beaches are supposed to be open for our mental well-being, they remain closed. When the beaches are supposed to be open for our seniors and those who are ill, who go to the beaches to make themselves well again, the beaches remain closed.'

She said beaches create much-needed revenue for Tobagonians.

'We cannot continue like this or else we are going to become paupers in our own island. The beach is considered to be one of our prime assets where we attract persons from elsewhere to come and enjoy. When we continue to have the beaches closed, our tourism product is devastated.'

Tsoiafatt Angus said it made no sense to give hoteliers and guesthouse operators grants to upgrade their premises when the beaches are one of the main reasons tourists visit the island. 'There is something wrong with that.'

The post Tsoiafatt Angus: Why lift SoE when beaches remain closed? appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.