Imbert rips Hyatt’s rescinded plan to stop accepting TT cash’

Lead Editor – Newsgathering

kejan.haynes@guardian.co.tt

Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday issued a stinging criticism of the Hyatt Regency’s recent rescinded decision to not accept TT cash, describing it as “foolishness.”

He was speaking in the Lower House as he wrapped the 2025 Budget debate.

Speaking on the issue for the first time publicly, he added, “And it is a good thing that the Hyatt rescinded that foolish decision to tell citizens of this country that they’re no longer accepting Trinidad and Tobago dollars. Foolishness!

“The good thing, they move fast and they get rid of it.”

He also rejected claims that the decision would have affected the Government’s plans to go “cashless.”

“One hotel do nonsense, and that will stop us from proceeding where 1.4 billion people in India using cashless. In India, 1.4 billion people in China using cashless, 1.4 billion people in Africa using cashless. Eight hundred million people in Europe using cashless. That’s over five billion accountants, 5.05 billion people in the world using cashless, and we in little Trinidad and Tobago, we must stay behind the rest of the world,” Imbert said.

Guardian Media reached out to the Hyatt for a response to Imbert’s comments, but none was forthcoming up to press time.

On Saturday, Hyatt Regency posted a message on Facebook stating that effective November 1, it would be accepting all major credit cards and only US dollars, British pound sterling, and euros. After criticism on social media, however, it quickly retracted the decision, saying an error was made in releasing the statement.

On Monday, Imbert posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, “As Corporation Sole, the MOF has no oversight role over the operations of the Hyatt but will investigate the currency aspect of the matter.”

Udecott also condemned the statement, saying the Hyatt Regency Trinidad must accept TT dollars as payment for goods and services.

Despite the push for cashless transactions, on September 23, amidst criticism that property tax was being collected in cash and not through online payments, Imbert also posted on his X account, “On August 16, 2024, we published the National Financial Inclusion Survey Report 2023. This survey confirmed that 82% of our citizens prefer to deal in cash, rather than online payments, and 85% do not have a credit card. So why is the media demanding that all payments be online?”

In a subsequent post on X, he noted, “The irony is that while the Leader of the Opposition has declared that she is resolutely opposed to any transition to cashless payments in T&T, because in her mind this would compromise private banking information, the UNC Opposition Couva South MP is demanding online payments!”

But in the House yesterday, he turned his attention to Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

“The reason why the member for Siparia is opposed to cashless transactions is that the member wants to deal in cash because cash is not traceable. It is not traceable. There’s no record. So if you collect cash and you spend cash, there’s no record,” Imbert said.

He said the push for cashless would also help with tax collection. He said there were people making millions of dollars not paying their fair share. He said there was no intention to go after the nuts vendor and the doubles vendor.

Expenditure for OPM

Imbert also defended two allocations to the Office of the Prime Minister, which Persad-Bissessar raised concerns about.

On the $50 million allocation which Persad-Bissessar said was for “feteing,” Imbert highlighted the differences in expenditure between his Government and her People’s Partnership. He noted that during her tenure, she spent $14 million in 2010 on official entertainment and hosting conferences. He said that cost ballooned to $35 million in 2012 and $44 million in 2014.

“Forty-four million dollars in one year, whereas our Prime Minister spent $54 million in five years,” Imbert noted.

As for the $400 million Persad-Bissessar accused the Government of spending on “ghost buildings,” Imbert explained that the money would be spent on arrears to the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago. He listed numerous projects being completed by Udecott, including the EBC head office, the Social Development head office, the Point Fortin administrative complex, the Jean Pierre Complex, the central block of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, and more.

“They are currently owed $318 million for work already done for the Government. That’s TT and $13 million US dollars with respect to the redevelopment of the central block. That’s what they’re owed right now. You add up those two, and you’re going to cross $400 million. That alone will eat up the $400 million that we have inside there for them,” Imbert explained.

In total, he said Udecott is owed $1.2 billion for past, present, and future projects.

“I went and added up every single allocation in every single ministry for every single development project. When you add it all up, you come up to about $500 million, and we have a block vote for Udecott of $400 million. That’s $900 million; they will still be out of pocket, $300 million in fiscal 2025.”

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