Yachties

I was amazed to see that our customs department, not known for independent thinking or originality had closed all the gas stations in Chaguaramas. The logic is that Yachties are buying gas at prices subsidized for Trinis. Now firstly this has been going on for 40 years or so and no one noticed, and second the yachties are one of our few alternative revenue sources and a wonderful employer of Trinidadians throughout Chaguaramas so why oh why penalise them? I can see tourism people shuddering.
This week I saw an article that explained it all. The person who ratted on the yachties was the CEO of our own gas company, yes believe it, but the underlying story is one of Trini entrepeneurship. What apparently has been happeneing is that some enterprising Trinis have been filling up tanks of gas on their boats and going to other islands and selling gas cheap. Lovely story. Well it got back to the big man in Trini gas and he sicked the customs on the yachties.
The result is that because of a few Trini businessmen, Trinidad is now about to lose its whole yacht industry worth millions a year and all the yachts will leave Trinidad. How very sad and how stupid to take a sledge hammer to crack a nut.