THE EDITOR: Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro had pledged and mortgaged Venezuelan assets to foreign firms to the extent that, when Maduro sought to break free of the contracts, the firms extracted liquidated damages and penal damages via the International Court of Arbitration. It crippled the industries including mining.

They had also closely placed their international assets abroad among homogeneous circles, leaving the latter with de facto control on their own terms.

Here in TT the Rowley Government has established very tight relations with foreign firms and it is not publicly known what the separation consequences would look like should TT decide to withdraw from the relations and "terminate contracts."

The Government's partiality to foreign oversight would be an area of concern; since the implication would be that there is a scheme to guard the arrangements against an incoming government altering things. This is a big issue; if the foreign energy companies control the wellheads, the thinking would be that they should have "such vast resources" and not a small nation like TT that owns it.

From appearances, certain Tobago politicians support the set-up which gives "Tobago independence" and its politics of whatever manifestation, at least a tacit nod. I surmise that the overall idea or paradigm originates in Trinidad; and its leadership was offered to Rowley.

For its Tobago shades, I nickname it "the Signal Hill construct." It has roots in Club 88 but not only is it different to Club 88, Club 88 is unable to master it. Only particular members of Club 88 want to be in it. It harkens to ideas of Tobago's destiny to determine Trinidad's fate drawn from the time Tobago assisted the Chacon machinations.

A further big overhang of the Signal Hill construct is the budget process. The Government can insist on "extra monies" when they have been designated. For example, "it is forecasted that TT will need 200 EV charging stations," therefore, the entities are obliged to meet this part of the "bid round" or "tax" or "royalty." Reflecting also some bias within "emphasis on climate control."

E GALY

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