NEWS
COSTAATT crippled by GATE policy
Former Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim has expressed concern over the fall in student enrolment at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of TT (COSTAATT). In a media statement yesterday, Karim said changes to the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses programme (GATE) by the Dr Keith Rowley administration was manifesting in “low student numbers across all tertiary institutions.” Read more here
Judgment reserved in highway lawsuit
High Court judge Kevin Ramcharan has reserved his decision whether environmental activist group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) should be granted leave to pursue its lawsuit challenging the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to approve the controversial Churchill-Roosevelt Highway Extension to Manzanilla. Ramcharan indicated that he would need time to consider the issue after hearing lengthy submissions on it during a hearing in the Port-of-Spain High Court, which continued well past 7 pm yesterday. Read more here
UWI gears up for hard times
Campus principal Prof Brian Copeland admitted yesterday that The University of the West Indies (UWI) has not been spared by the economic downturn. In a statement from the St Augustine campus, Copeland said the university has to “innovate” and “the current economic downturn that is affecting organisations, institutions and individuals region-wide has not spared UWI”. Read more here
POLITICS
Kamla tells AG: Let’s meet on crime
Lamenting 48 murders for 2018, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday invited Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to meet urgently to find bipartisan ways to tackle crime. In a statement she said she had replied to the AG’s recent correspondence. Read more here
Petrotrin’s overtime bill stands at $22m
Despite facing a financial bind, the monthly overtime bill at State-owned Petrotrin is $22 million, while its annual wage bill to its 5,000 employees amounts to $2 billion. This was what was revealed before a Joint Select Committee (JSC) chaired by Finance Minister Colm Imbert on Energy Affairs, as senior management of Petrotrin was yesterday interrogated into the operations of the energy company at the ANR Robinson Room, Tower D, Port-of-Spain. Read more here
PM: Crime-fighting measures being blocked
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley expressed frustration yesterday over being blamed for the murders taking place in the country. He lamented that a crime-fighting measure— the installation of port scanners to prevent the inflow of guns — is being stymied because a union leader says it will affect workers’ scrota. Read more here
BUSINESS
Banking sector addresses access to financing
Access to financing is sometimes difficult for players in Trinidad and Tobago's energy sector, particularly for smaller service providers, but First Citizens Group CEO Karen Darbasie says this is not due to a lack of willingness by local banks. "What we need to understand is that energy sector companies are very complicated – it's not like providing a mortgage on a house." Read more here
T&T, Venezuela near agreement on Energy
T&T and Venezuela have moved one step closer to finalizing the terms and agreement surrounding gas supply between the two countries. A release issued by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) yesterday said that a meeting between a Venezuelan contigent and representatives from T&T took place yesterday to continue discussion on cross-border gas supply from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Read more here
Key NCB director resigns
A senior director at NCB Financial Group (NCBFG) has resigned from the Jamaican company’s board in the midst of its controversial US$400 million attempt to take control of Trinidadian insurance company Guardian Holdings. Read more here
REGIONAL
I Meant It! - PM Remains Steadfast That J’cans Should Not Sleep In An ‘Oven’
Often reminded, and sometimes lambasted by his political opponents for failing to fulfil his election promise to make Jamaicans sleep with their doors and windows open, an emotional Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday refused to back down from that commitment. Last year, 1,616 Jamaicans died violently, and up to January 20 this year, more than 100 persons have been killed. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Rohingya crisis: US diplomat quits advisory panel
Trump stirs pot with Mueller interview offer
Robert Mueller wants to talk to Donald Trump. The President wants to talk to the special counsel -- so it's a done deal right? Not quite. Trump appeared on Wednesday to make a significant gesture by telling reporters that he wanted to testify to Mueller -- and was ready to do so under oath. Read more here
25th January 2018