City of Port-of-Spain Local Area Economic Profile (Final Report) City of Port-of-Spain Local Area Economic Profile (Final Report) Submitted to: Permanent Secretary Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government Kent House, Maraval, Trinidad and Tobago 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] February 29, 2016 Table of Contents List of Figures ......................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................ vii Acronyms and Abbreviations................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 12 1.1 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................................ 13 1.2 Content of the Port-of-Spain Local Area Economic Profile .................................................. 13 Chapter 2 Area Information and Demography ..................................................................................... 14 2.1 Location ................................................................................................................................ 14 2.2 Population and Household Size ........................................................................................... 16 2.3 Population Density ................................................................................................................ 16 2.4 Age Profile and Dependency ................................................................................................ 17 2.5 Ethnicity ................................................................................................................................ 18 2.6 Religious Affiliation ............................................................................................................... 19 2.7 Educational Attainment ......................................................................................................... 20 2.8 Living Conditions in Port-of-Spain ........................................................................................ 23 2.9 Crime ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3 The City’s Natural Resources ............................................................................................. 27 3.1 Land Use and Resources ..................................................................................................... 27 3.2 Fresh Water Resources ........................................................................................................ 27 3.3 Coastal and Marine Resources ............................................................................................ 28 Chapter 4 The City’s Physical and Local Assets ................................................................................. 29 4.1 Concentration and De-concentration .................................................................................... 29 4.2 Physical Infrastructure .......................................................................................................... 30 4.2.1 Storm Water Management ............................................................................................ 30 4.2.2 Port Facilities ................................................................................................................. 30 ii 4.2.3 Industry, Finance, Commerce and Distribution ............................................................. 30 4.2.4 Housing .......................................................................................................................... 31 4.2.5 Transportation ............................................................................................................... 32 4.2.6 Hotels ............................................................................................................................. 32 4.2.7 Entertainment, Restaurants and Bars ........................................................................... 32 4.2.8 Sports ............................................................................................................................ 33 4.2.9 Official Buildings ............................................................................................................ 33 4.3 Social Infrastructure .............................................................................................................. 33 4.3.1 Hospitals and Health Services ...................................................................................... 33 4.3.2 Educational Facilities ..................................................................................................... 33 4.3.3 Other Social Facilities .................................................................................................... 34 4.3.4 Historic Facilities ............................................................................................................ 35 Chapter 5 The Local Area Economy .................................................................................................... 36 5.1 Gross Domestic Product of Trinidad and Tobago ................................................................ 36 5.2 The Area Economy ............................................................................................................... 38 5.2.1 Key Economic Drivers (Activities) ................................................................................. 38 5.2.2 Occupational Groups ..................................................................................................... 40 5.3 Key Business Activity ............................................................................................................ 41 5.4 Stakeholders in Development Planning ............................................................................... 41 Chapter 6 Profiling Port-of-Spain’s MSME Sector ............................................................................... 43 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 43 6.2 Legislative, Policy and Institutional Framework for MSME Development ............................ 45 6.2.1 Legislative and Policy Framework ................................................................................. 45 6.2.2 Institutions and Public Programmes .............................................................................. 47 6.3 Entrepreneurial Development in Trinidad and Tobago ........................................................ 54 6.4 The Port-of-Spain MSME Sector (MSMEs Survey, 2015) ................................................... 55 6.4.1 General Characteristics ................................................................................................. 56 6.4.2 Size of Enterprise .......................................................................................................... 57 6.4.3 Legal Status ................................................................................................................... 58 6.4.4 Primary Business Activities ........................................................................................... 62 6.4.5 Employment ................................................................................................................... 64 6.4.6 Markets and Annual Sales ............................................................................................ 65 6.4.7 Financing and Investment ............................................................................................. 67 6.4.8 Use of the Internet ......................................................................................................... 69 6.4.9 Technical Support .......................................................................................................... 70 iii 6.4.10 Key Issues Faced by MSMEs ....................................................................................... 73 6.5 Challenges and Opportunities Facing MSMEs .................................................................... 74 Chapter 7 Local Governance in Port-of-Spain ..................................................................................... 78 7.1 The Prevailing Local Government System ........................................................................... 78 7.2 Local Government Reform.................................................................................................... 79 7.3 Local Economic Development and Local Government ........................................................ 81 7.4 Caribbean Local Economic Development Programme ........................................................ 83 Chapter 8 Recommendations for Local Economic Development ........................................................ 85 8.1 Development Issues ............................................................................................................. 85 8.1.1 Human Resource Development ...................................................................................