Final Report Penal/Debe Local Area Economic Profile 1 Penal/Debe Local Area Economic Profile Final Report Submitted to: Permanent Secretary Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government Kent House, Maraval, Trinidad and Tobago March 11, 2016 Submitted by: Kairi Consultants Limited 14 Cochrane Street, Tunapuna, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Tel: 1 868 663 2677; Fax: 1 868 663 1442 Email: [email protected] i Table of Contents List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................ vi Acronyms and Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. vii 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 2 Area Information and Demography ........................................................................................... 2 2.1 Location ................................................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Geography ............................................................................................................................... 2 2.3 Population and Demography .................................................................................................. 3 2.3.1 Population and Household Size ...................................................................................... 3 2.3.2 Population Density ........................................................................................................... 4 2.3.3 Age Profile and Dependency ........................................................................................... 4 2.3.4 Ethnicity ........................................................................................................................... 6 2.3.5 Religious Affiliation .......................................................................................................... 6 2.3.6 Educational Attainment ................................................................................................... 7 2.3.7 Living Conditions in Penal/Debe ................................................................................... 10 2.3.8 Crime ............................................................................................................................. 13 3 Land Use and Land Resources ................................................................................................ 15 4 Municipal Physical and Social Assets .................................................................................... 16 4.1 Physical Infrastructure........................................................................................................... 16 4.1.1 Buildings and Road Infrastructure ................................................................................. 16 4.1.2 Storm Water Management ............................................................................................ 16 4.1.3 Water Supply and Distribution ....................................................................................... 16 4.1.4 Electricity ....................................................................................................................... 16 4.1.5 Wastewater Management ............................................................................................. 16 4.1.6 Solid Waste Management ............................................................................................. 16 4.2 Social/Cultural Infrastructure ................................................................................................. 16 ii 4.2.1 Dwelling and Building Stock .......................................................................................... 16 4.3 Social Facilities ..................................................................................................................... 17 4.3.1 Education ....................................................................................................................... 17 4.3.2 Health ............................................................................................................................ 17 4.4.3 Disaster Management ................................................................................................... 17 4.4.4 Social Services and Community Development ............................................................. 17 4.4.5 Recreation, Sports and Entertainment .......................................................................... 18 5 The Area Economy .................................................................................................................... 19 5.1 Gross Domestic Product in Trinidad and Tobago ................................................................. 19 5.2 Key Economic Drivers (Activities) ......................................................................................... 21 5.2.1 Industrial and Commercial Activities ............................................................................. 22 5.2.2 Commerce ..................................................................................................................... 23 5.3 Clusters or Value Chain Linkages......................................................................................... 23 6 Municipal MSME Profile ............................................................................................................ 24 6.1 Municipal MSME Survey (2015) ........................................................................................... 25 6.1.1 General Characteristics ................................................................................................. 25 6.1.2 Size of Enterprise .......................................................................................................... 26 6.1.3 Legal Status ................................................................................................................... 27 6.1.4 Primary Business Activities ........................................................................................... 28 6.1.5 Employment ................................................................................................................... 30 6.1.6 Markets and Annual Sales ............................................................................................ 30 6.1.7 Financing and Investment ............................................................................................. 31 6.1.8 Use of Internet ............................................................................................................... 32 6.1.9 Key issues faced MSMEs .............................................................................................. 33 6.2 Challenges and Opportunities Facing Entrepreneurs .......................................................... 34 6.3 Partners in Local Area Economic Development in Trinidad ................................................. 36 6.3.1 The Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development ......................................... 36 6.3.2 The National Entrepreneurship Development Company Limited ................................. 36 6.3.3 Micro-Enterprise Loan Facility ....................................................................................... 37 6.3.4 Background Agencies.................................................................................................... 38 7 Local Government System in Trinidad and Tobago and the CARILED Model ................... 39 8 Recommendations for Local Economic Development .......................................................... 41 8.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 41 8.2 Strategic Sectors ................................................................................................................... 42 iii 8.2.1 Energy ........................................................................................................................... 42 8.2.2 Agriculture and Food ..................................................................................................... 43 8.2.3 Eco and Cultural Tourism .............................................................................................. 43 8.2.4 Commerce and Distribution ........................................................................................... 44 8.3 Proposed Projects and Implementation Plan ....................................................................... 44 8.3.1 Establishing Institutional Structures within the Debe/Penal Regional Corporation ...... 45 8.3.2 Recommended Sectoral Initiatives ................................................................................ 48 8.3.3 Debe/Penal LED Implementation Plan .......................................................................... 49 8.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 53 iv List of Figures Figure 2.1: Location of the Municipality of Penal/Debe and the Distribution of Communities ............... 2 Figure 2.2: Age/Sex Composition of the Population of Penal/Debe, 2000,