TT
MP Hedwige Bereaux argues... The good and bad of industry
Tony
Howell
La
Brea MP Hedwige Bereaux wants industrialisation and skills training
to be the legacy he leaves behind for his constituents.
By
Sherwin Long
The
Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworld.com 02 05 06
La
Brea, like much of Trinidad’s south-western peninsula,
is on the cusp of change. The National Energy Corporation has
begun clearing land at the proposed site for the Union Industrial
Estate.
Already,
it has redefined La Brea’s borders as some residents of
the Square Deal squatting settlement have been relocated.
The
1,340 acre estate is carded to house downstream plants for methanol,
ammonia, urea and an aluminium smelter.
Critics
of the estate’s establishment have raised concerns over
its environmental impact.
Others
clamour for sporting facilities, better road networks and a
regular supply of water to be in place before any production
begins at the estate.
Coincidentally,
MP for La Brea Hedwige Bereaux wants industrialisation to be
his legacy.
In
an interview, at his San Fernando law office, last Friday, Bereaux’s
mood ranged from unruffled to combative.
For
the past 14 years he has been La Brea’s parliamentary
representative and he described unemployment in La Brea as endemic.
Bereaux
considers industrialisation to be the saving grace for his constituency.
“Remember
La Brea had the first industrial estate in Trinidad and therefore
a lot of people see working in an industrialised situation as
what they should be doing. It is difficult to get them to turn
back the clock.”
When
asked whether La Brea benefited from this industrialisation,
he was guarded.
However,
he was adamant that La Brea’s future infrastructural development
went hand in hand with the advent of more industry.
“I
want them to come first. If I put too much pre-conditions in
advance, and they don’t come, I kill the goose that was
going to lay the golden egg.
“You
hit the belly and the head will bow. If you have the development
all the things that are required in a developed area will come.
The very people who come with the development will have to ensure
it is there.”
He
paused, taking a break to sip coffee from a cup with the label
“No 1 MP Bereaux.”
Habitually,
he pointed with his left index finger when making his case.
Throughout
the interview he spoke with the confidence of a man who has
held office, virtually unchallenged, for 14 years.
In
spite of his self-assurance, when the Business Guardian visited
the area in December 2005, some La Brea residents called for
better roads, a more consistent water supply and playgrounds
for the community’s youth.
Bereaux
admitted the roads in parts of La Brea were “terrible.”
He
attributed this to the geology of the area with the Pitch Lake
causing the asphalt on roads to shift.
He
mentioned Boodoosingh Junction and the Sobo Extension Road as
areas needing serious repair.
He
revealed that he had appealed to Works and Transport Minister
Colm Imbert on several occasions for the completion of the repairs.
However,
he steered clear of criticising Imbert and instead diplomatically
said the Government had the money and will to fix the roads
of La Brea. He deferred all questions on when the repairs would
start to Imbert.
For
Hedwige Bereaux, the repair of La Brea roads was secondary in
importance to bridging other gaps and smoothening other rough
spots.
While
describing unemployment as endemic in La Brea, the former Caparo
RC teacher said currently plans were afoot to reverse that trend.
He
added that in early January a youth survey he commissioned had
identified around 150 unemployed youth in the district.
Bereaux
said he set up a meeting with the youth at the La Brea community
centre on January 19 to help steer them to the Government skills
training programmes.
He
explained that by March these youngsters would be acquiring
skill in fields related to the aluminium complex which will
be housed inside the Union Industrial Estate.
Personalising
the struggle of some La Brea youth, Bereaux reminisced on growing
up across the road from barrack houses in Chaguanas.
He
said the reason he worked extra hard during exam times was because
success in his subjects would guarantee employment.
Grudgingly,
he admitted the scenario was different for his constituents.
“Part
of the reason why some of the young people appear to not want
work or tell themselves they do want training is because they
don’t believe they will get work,” he said.
“The
practice of the contractors and employers in La Brea has been
to give grave difficulty in hiring people from the La Brea area.”
He
said this trend was changing but alluded to training provided
by the National Gas Company where no job is guaranteed after
the training.
Bereaux
denied that he was speaking out against the same enterprises
he was welcoming but said for sustainability to be guaranteed
one had “to beat the companies on their head to gear this
thing towards long-term development.”
Lean
on me
Bereaux
was quick to acknowledge that he had a duty to secure employment
for his constituents.
In
fact, he gushed when talking about some of his plans to cure
the endemic unemployment.
However,
he dispelled any talk of his actions fostering a dependency
syndrome in La Brea.
His
anger came to the fore when dismissing these claims.
Bereaux
said his constituents who were labelled as wards of the State
were simply getting their just due.
Alluding
to this country’s oil wealth, he said T&T’s
riches belonged to all citizens and not just those with qualifications.
“We
are not giving them anything. That is their right as citizens
of this country,” he fumed. “They are not wards
of the State. These people are collecting what is theirs. Write
that!”
A
film of sweat formed on his clean-shaven head.
Bereaux
tried regaining his poise.
He
gave an example of the Government aiding the business class
in a similar way to the unskilled and unemployed.
Bereaux
focused on the poultry industry.
“So
when you are a millionaire and you getting 85 per cent subsidy
from State because of duty on foreign chicken that is not a
dependency syndrome?
“I
am not implying they did any wrong by being millionaires but
they are also beneficiaries of state policies,” he said.
La
Brea legacy
Even
on the eve of the entrance of Union Estate, Bereaux is rumoured
to be bowing out of politics.
He
neither confirmed nor denied the rumours but welcomed anybody
who would want step up to the crease for La Brea.
Reiterating
that he wanted his legacy to be industrialisation and technical
education, Bereaux compared himself to explorer Sir Walter Raleigh—the
man who first used La Brea’s pitch to caulk his leaking
ships.
He
wanted to be the man to usher his constituency into a new era.
“My
grandfather told me, ‘You must not let your own money
cut your skin.’ And I always believe abject poverty and
luxury cannot co-exist comfortably therefore when you are doing
well you want the next person get something too.”
Bereaux
kept his index finger suspended in the air as if he had more
convincing to do.
“Industrialisation
would give the people what they want,” he said in finality.
