NEWS
Oil spotted in Tarouba River, clean-up operations underway
Several people, including workers from state-owned Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd, were seen doing clean-up operations in the Tarouba River on Monday after oil leaked into the river. Workers placed oil-absorbing booms at various points along the river to prevent the oil from spreading. The situation was said to be “under control,” and workers appeared busy trying to minimise the damage. The source of the leak was still to be confirmed and it was said to have started in an overgrown area with bushes near the condominium complex, The Residences at South Park in Tarouba. When Newsday visited the affected area on Monday afternoon, part was cordoned off. Oil and absorbent booms were also seen in the nearby river, as well as near the roundabout at the intersection of the Tarouba Road and the San Fernando Bypass Road and off Andre Avenue, Marabella, near Arch Street Extension, Vistabella. Read more here
No charges yet in Hannah Mathura murder case
The fate of the two suspects in the death of Hannah Mathura remained uncertain up to last night, as police officers and officials from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) continued to deliberate on whether they should be charged with murder. The 62-year-old mother and 66-year-old father of Mathura remain in custody pending those deliberations. Sources disclosed that the meeting, which began on yesterday afternoon, continued for a few hours as investigators reviewed the evidence gathered in “great detail”. The notes and evidence obtained from the probe were scrutinised by DPP officials. Read more here
POLITICS
PM joins property-tax debate despite being ‘ill’
Despite appearing to lack his usual vigour, the Prime Minister contributed to debate on the Property Tax Amendment Bill 2024 in the House of Representatives on Monday. After Princes Town MP Barry Padarath concluded his contribution, Dr. Rowley rose to speak. He told Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George, in a slightly hoarse voice, “I crave your indulgence and apologise for my physical condition which might restrict me in taking part in this debate.” Read more here
Kamla wants Property Tax Bill repealed
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has told the Government it will get no support from her party for the amendments to the Property Tax (Amendment) Bill and has called for it to be repealed. Persad-Bissessar was the first to respond after Finance Minister Colm Imbert introduced the amendment bill that will reduce the tax rate on the annual rental value of residential properties from three to two per cent during yesterday’s sitting of Parliament. “We are totally against the property tax because it is an unfair tax. It would cause more hardship upon the population. We do not support, whether it is zero per cent, two per cent, three per cent, any per cent. The whole property tax must go,” Persad-Bissessar said. Read more here
BUSINESS
CSO: Inflation rate 0.8% for February
The inflation rate, the rating that measures the changes in prices for all items, for February 2024 over February 2023, was 0.8 per cent, according to the Central Statistical Office’s (CSO) Consumer Price Index, released on March 18. The inflation rate represented an increase from 0.3 per cent recorded in the last consumer price index, for January 2024/January 2023. The inflation rate for the comparative period, February 2023/February 2022, was 7.6 per cent. Read more here
Scotiabank’s assets increase by $1b
SCOTIABANK Trinidad and Tobago Ltd realised an after-tax profit of $164 million for the quarter ended January 31, 2024. This marked an increase of $4 million when compared to the restated quarter ended January 31, 2023. Scotiabank recorded a profit before tax of $1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023, marking its second-highest in history. “On November 1 2023, The group adopted the new accounting standard IFRS 17, Insurance Contracts which replaced the previous Insurance standard IFRS 4. Read more here
REGIONAL
More ‘political will,’ financing needed to address hunger, malnutrition
With recent statistics showing millions affected by hunger and malnutrition, Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali has urged regional leaders to outline decisive polices that will reflect the political will and financing needed to address these food insecurities. The Head of State made this charge at the 38th Session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LARC) that is being held in Georgetown, Guyana this week. “Many of us say we want to end hunger and end starvation and malnutrition, but if you look at our budgetary allocation, it does not reflect that will; if you look at the expenditure profile, it does not reflect that will,” Dr. Ali said in his address to agriculture ministers and other leaders gathered at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Monday. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Haiti violence: Residents see no end to crisis as capital city reels from gang warfare
"Port-au-Prince is in panic mode," a friend in the Haitian capital texted me. Residents of Petionville, a wealthier area of of the city, are shaken after their most violent day so far in the country's spiralling security crisis. More than a dozen bullet-ridden bodies lay in the street - the victims of the latest gang rampage. As well as the early morning killing spree, the home of a judge was also attacked - a clear message to the country's elites vying for power. All this in what is supposedly the safe part of town. Read more here
19th March 2024