NEWS
New NDATT executive elected
The National Drama Association of TT (NDATT) elected a new executive body at its annual general meeting on November 24. The new executive committee will hold office until 2021. Those elected were outgoing secretary Safa Niamat-Ali as president, outgoing area representative, east (acting) Peter Craig as vice president and former public relations officer (PRO) Paula Lindo as secretary. Treasurer Kirt Davis was re-elected to the position. Samara Lallo was elected PRO, Leslie-Ann Beckles as education officer and area representative south Geneva Drepaulsingh was re-elected to the position. Read more here
POLITICS
PNM loses ground: 7-7 LGE tie as UNC makes inroads
The UNC snatched the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation from the PNM, and won new seats on several corporations across Trinidad as the ruling PNM lost ground in local government elections yesterday. The UNC won Sangre Grande by five seats to three. UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the party made significant inroads and voters “sent a clear message to the PNM.” UNC deputy leader David Lee urged the Prime Minister to call the pending 2020 general election. In Sangre Grande, the UNC won by wrestling away the swing seat of Sangre Grande North West by 4,134 votes to the PNM’s 3,361 votes, while defending its own marginal seat of Cumuto/Tamana (1,864 to 1,304 votes.) Read more here
Rowley: PNM won the most seats
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last night put a positive spin on the PNM’s performance in the Local Government Elections. Speaking to supporters at the party’s Balisier House headquarters after the result showed a 7-7 tie for the 14 regional corporations, he declared that the party had won the most seats, capturing 71 of the 139 electoral districts. However, in the two marginal corporations, Sangre Grande and Siparia, the PNM was defeated by the UNC, winning just three seats each to the UNC’s five. Rowley, who described the campaign as difficult, expressed disappointment that the party did not pick up seats “in one or two areas where we had hoped to improve our position. But while we are disappointed we did not pick up in that area, which was the Siparia effort, we are not surprised. We are quite pleased that we have in fact won the most seats.” Read more here
BUSINESS
New minimum wage is now law
Some of the new measures that were announced by Finance Minister Colm Imbert in the 2020 national budget have come into effect on Sunday. In a full page advertisement yesterday, Government reminded citizens of the measures that took effect from December 1. From this month, employees of the Unemployed Relief Programme (URP) and the Community-Based Environment Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) will get a 15 per cent increase in their wages. Trainees of the On-the-Job Training Programme will see a ten per cent hike in their stipends while the intake for the programme will be increased from 5,000 to 8,000 trainees. The new minimum wage of $17.50 also takes effect from this month, up from $15 per hour. Read more here
REGIONAL
Cash Crash - Collisions To Drive Up Premiums As Insurers Rack Up Half A Billion In Losses From Road Carnage
Jamaican insurance companies racked up underwriting losses totalling $570 million over the first half of this year, mainly because of the carnage on the roadways, which has claimed close to 400 lives. The more than half a billion dollar in losses recorded between January and June is in stark contrast to the $170 million underwriting profit insurance companies realised over the first six months of last year, according to the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ). Underwriting profit or loss is the difference between the premiums charged by an insurance company and the claims and other expenses they pay out. Read more here
Govt scraps MoFA’s Director General post
The Government of Guyana has scrapped the position of Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and instead appointed as Permanent Secretary a long standing staff to head the ministry’s administration. Simultaneously it has indicated that the former director general, Audrey Waddell will be reassigned upon completion of her annual leave which she has proceeded on. Speculations were rife over the weekend regarding the fate of Waddell as well as talks of reshuffling at the ministry. In a statement on Monday the Ministry said it has recently undertaken a number of administrative actions with a view to promoting greater efficiency in the discharge of the core mandate and essential functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a critical moment in the nation’s history. Read more here
INTERNATONAL
Trump heads to London fundraiser
The President is now on his way to a fundraiser in London in the midst of the ongoing NATO meeting. The fundraiser is being hosted by Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee for the Republican National Committee and Trump’s campaign. The event is expected to raise $3 million, the source said. The White House added the event to the President's public schedule Monday night. The fundraiser will be hosted by Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, co-chair Tommy Hicks Jr., national finance chair Todd Ricketts, and Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale, according to the invitation. Read more here
North Korea unveils town hailed as 'epitome of civilisation'
3rd December 2019