NEWS
NIB aims for digital transformation in 2 years
Executive Director of the National Insurance Board of TT (NIB) Niala Persad-Poliah has said the board is hoping to digitally transform its paper-based system within two years. Persad-Poliah made the statement last Thursday during a public accounts committee inquiry into the audited financial statements of the NIB for the financial years 2014 to 2020. Read more here
Healthcare Horrors: Dead within hours of testing positive for COVID-19
It was the week before Christmas and COVID-19 cases and deaths in Trinidad and Tobago were reaching record highs. On average, 27 people succumbed to COVID-19, with over 700 new cases daily. At the time, the Delta COVID-19 variant of concern was ravaging the population, sparing no community. In the predominantly agricultural village of Rio Claro, a month-long horror began for one family after their matriarch fell ill. Out of an abundance of caution, she sought antigen testing privately, which returned a negative result for COVID-19. Read more here
POLITICS
Trade Minister to meet foreign-used car dealers Wednesday
Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, last Tuesday, told the Senate that she intended to meet with the leadership of the Automobile Dealers Association this week over their concerns about the foreign-used car industry even as she noted their Inability to meet the quotas given for the import of such vehicles. Contacted for comment, the association's head, Visham Babwah, confirmed the meeting was set for Wednesday afternoon. Read more here
PM suggests permanent secretaries appointed from private sector
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has suggested that private sector experts should be considered for Permanent Secretary posts as he expressed his concerns that the best people are not always the ones appointed to the position. Dr Rowley made this suggestion at the opening of Nutrimix’s Next Generation Hatchery in Couva yesterday, while lamenting the archaic system of the Public Service. “There’s a huge suite of decision-making in this country that needs to be modernised, starting with how does one become a permanent secretary,” he said, noting that during his many tenures in government, the poor decision-making at the top of ministries lead several projects to become stagnant or discarded. Read more here
BUSINESS
JMMB earns J$8.82 billion in profits over 9 months
JMMB Group Ltd net profits skyrocketed by 119 per cent to J$8.82 billion for the nine-month period ending December 31, according to its unaudited financial results, released on Monday. The results indicated that JMMB’s Net operating revenue went up by 33 per cent to J$21.98 billion, its net interest income went up 18 per cent to J$8.98 billion and its operating profit went up 55 per cent to J$7.98 billion. Read more here
T&T needs a 21st century public service
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has called on citizens, especially those who work in various Government agencies, to have a more “can-do” attitude. Speaking at the opening of Nutrimix’s Next Generation Hatchery in Couva yesterday, Dr Rowley listened attentively to the challenges the company faced to have the facility completed. Read more here
REGIONAL
All eyes on Guyana as Int’l Energy Conference&Expo opens
Over 650 delegates– attending virtually and physically– and some 150 businesses will be at the Marriott Hotel from today until Friday, to participate in Guyana’s flagship 2022 International Energy Conference and Expo. The event is expected to put Guyana at the centre of the global discourse on energy, oil and gas and sustainable development. At a press briefing on Monday, Communications Director Alex Graham and the event’s Chief Executive Officer, Angenie Abel, highlighted some of the goals and expectations for the conference. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine-Russia tensions: Russia pulls some troops back from border
Russia says it is pulling back some of its troops from near Ukraine after a build-up raised fears of an invasion. The defence ministry said that large-scale drills continued but that some units were returning to their bases. Ukraine warned to wait to see proof of the pull-out, saying "when we see the withdrawal, then we'll believe the de-escalation". More than 100,000 Russian troops have massed at Ukraine's border. Russia has always denied it is planning an attack. The build-up has brought increasingly grave warnings, with the US saying an invasion could come at any time. Read more here
15th February 2022