OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said enough workers have been vaccinated for the Prime Minister to reopen more businesses.
She addressed the issue in a statement on Friday headlined, We must save our retail and service sectors.
"The Rowley Government’s continued forced lockdown of our retail and service sectors without a clear plan going forward is unacceptable and tyrannical."
She said while lockdown measures had been needed at the start of the covid19 pandemic to contain the infection, flatten the curve and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed, a year later and after much financial hardship endured by citizens, the current lockdown was not working.
"Covid infections have not slowed, and the harsh restrictions have led to thousands of businesses closing their doors permanently.
"Rowley says he is balancing lives and livelihoods, but lives and livelihoods are one and the same.
"If thousands of people can no longer pay their rent, their mortgage or buy food for their families, our nation will soon be facing an enormous social disaster."
She dubbed the Government "the most economically ignorant administration in our history," alleging Rowley did not recognise that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up 85 per cent of all registered businesses and generate over a quarter of Trinidad and Tobago's GDP.
Persad-Bissessar said everyone was facing this crisis together, yet Rowley and his financiers behaved as if they existed in an exclusive part of TT shielded from the rest of society.
"Let me be clear, if our economy sinks, everyone, regardless of political affiliation, class or race is going to sink with it.
"At least one business group has indicated that retail businesses are fully prepared to restart, given that approximately 60 per cent of workers in the sector have been vaccinated, and they have already implemented health protocols."
She urged Rowley to take urgent steps to re-open this vital sector where almost 80,000 jobs were at stake.
"We must act now to preserve jobs and the economic stability of TT," Persad-Bissessar concluded.
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