DAILY BRIEF
THURSDAY 28TH MAY, 2015
NEWS
Anxious time ahead for Jack
After embattled Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner spent last night in jail after failing to secure bail, the United States Justice Department now has 60 days to produce a formal request for his extradition to the US to face racketeering and other charges on which he has been indicted there. This is where the former football executive and former People’s Partnership (PP) national security minister, now on eight charges, stands after yesterday’s move by US authorities on Warner and 13 Fifa and Concacaf officials from various countries. Warner was with Fifa since 1983 and was a vice-president and Concacaf president until his suspension and eventual resignation from the roles in 2011 amid corruption allegations. Read more...
TT will cooperate
PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday said “it is with no pleasure” that she had to inform Parliament and the country of a request from the United States Government for the extradition of Chaguanas West MP and former FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner, following his indictment on racketeering and fraud charges in the US. “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has received a request from the Government of the US for the provisional arrest for the purposes of extradition of TT citizen Jack Warner, alias Austin Jack Warner, pursuant to the extradition treaty between the Government of the US and the Government of TT, signed, March 04, 1996. Mr Warner is wanted to stand trial for racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering offences in the United States,” the PM stated, adding that this country will cooperate fully with the US authorities. Read more...
T&T excited over visa-free travel to Europe
T&T citizens greeted with joy the news that T&T Ambassador to Belgium Margaret Allison King-Rousseau will sign an agreement today to allow this country’s nationals to travel visa free to much of Europe. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran confirmed, in a brief telephone interview yesterday, that there will be a meeting today, during which an agreement will be signed permitting visa-free travel to the 26 countries of the Schengen area in Europe. The agreement will be signed at the margin of the EU-African Caribbean and Pacific Ministerial meeting taking place in Brussels. “I expect that tomorrow (today) we will sign an agreement with the European Union on this matter,” Dookeran said. He refused to give further details on the issue, preferring to wait until the ink had dried on the agreement.Citizens were less modest in their comments, however, as many shared their excitement on social media. Read more...
POLITICS
London hits THA $M shortfall
Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville Londom has described as electioneering and punishment the Central Government’s nonchalance over Tobago’s shortfall of $102 million.London made the statement on Tuesday in an update to Tobago on the matter, where Central Government short-changed the Assembly in providing its third-quarter fiscal allocation. The THA has repeatedly called on the Ministry of Finance and the Economy to explain why its funds were cut, and to rectify the shortfall but no real answer has been forthcoming. The Chief Secretary described the situation as “untenable” and “dangerous”, saying that Tobagonians should not just dismiss the issue as a tiff between the Assembly and Central Government. “Why was it 102 (million dollars)?” London asked. “Couldn’t it be 204 (million,) or 306 (million)? I don’t know. So if we accept this cut in the third quarter, what is our position in the fourth quarter? Therefore it pains me when I hear Tobagonians say that they believe the Tobago House of Assembly has money, and therefore the Tobago House of Assembly should not worry. “It’s not the Tobago House of Assembly (that) should worry. The people of Tobago should worry. Read more...
Moonilal: I would not be silenced or intimidated
Government Whip Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday said he would not be “silenced or intimidated” by legal threats in relation to the email allegations affair. It has been reported that Moonilal has been issued with a pre-action protocol letter by attorneys acting on behalf of former chairman of the Integrity Commission Ken Gordon. However, Moonilal yesterday said he had not yet received the letter which reportedly threatens legal action in relation to comments made by Moonilal in correspondence. “I have not read his concerns, but I am determined that I will not be silenced or intimidated by any action and threat to go to court,” Moonilal told reporters yesterday at the International Waterfront, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain. “I want to stick to a principle to say that I will not be intimidated and my right to freedom of expression and speech will not be suppressed. Mr Gordon was in a very high, public office when he met with Dr Rowley at his private residence and like all office-holders, like myself, Mr Gordon is accountable for his actions and his conduct must be transparent.” Read more...
BUSINESS
Chaguanas Chamber 'disturbed'
Chaguanas Chamber president Richie Sookhai said yesterday that members were deeply disturbed by the corruption allegations for which Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner has been indicted in the United States. A 47-count indictment was unsealed yesterday morning in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging 14 defendants, among them Warner, with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offences, in connection with the defendants' participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves through the corruption of international football, according to a statement released by the US Justice Department. Sookhai said the charges will have an impact on the Chaguanas West constituency, which Warner has represented since 2007. Read more...
TTMA sign MOU with Tertiary Education
The Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) and ten participating manufacturers to address the shortfall of skilled, semi-skilled, technical and professional labour in the manufacturing sector. This will allow for job creation, a greater contribution to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and an increase in international competitiveness. The MOU comes after weeks of factory tour visits conducted by Tertiary Education and Skills Training Minister Fazal Karim and officials from the MIC Institute of Technology and the National Energy Skills Centre, which sought to address the issue of labour shortages. The agreement will allow for the development of a two-tiered apprentice system for the manufacturing sector including the establishment of the On-the-Job-Training (OJT) Manufacturing and an Export Manufacturing Apprenticeship Programme (EMAP) premised on the dual-system of education and work-based training including the use of Workforce Assessment Centres and Worker Productivity Schools for the next seven years. . Read more...
Ansa Bank achieves second highest profit
Gregory Hill, managing director of Ansa Merchant Bank said 2014 as a “fantastic” year for the investment bank. “We did $5 billion in transactions, easily the amount of any other merchant bank including large commercial banks in T&T. There was the $1.5 billion bond issue arranged by Ansa Merchant Bank solely and placed in the domestic capital market. “We followed that up with a $1.2 billion transaction to fund the housing programme for the country. Also, our mutual funds continue to deliver very strong results. If you are not an investor now, you need to come and see us,” he told shareholders at the bank’s annual general meeting at the ANSA McAL’s Group head office, Tatil Building, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. Read more...
$1.4m in shares cross TTSE floor
Overall market activity resulted from trading in 11 securities of which two advanced, four declined and five traded firm.Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 190,291 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $1,441,835.58. JMMB Group Limited was the volume leader with 100,000 shares changing hands for a value of $53,000, followed by Guardian Holdings Limited with a volume of 35,420 shares being traded for $501,217.70. FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited contributed 25,000 shares with a value of $125,000, while National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited added 9,784 shares valued at $17,122.Massy Holdings Limited enjoyed the day's largest gain, increasing $0.05 to end the day at $64.10. Read more...
REGIONAL
More Caribbean governments should invest in LIAT, say regional PMs
Vincentian Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Brown have urged Caribbean governments that are not major shareholders of regional airline LIAT to change that status by giving meaningful financial support to the airline. Both made that appeal at last week’s CDB sponsored seminar on making air transport work better for the Caribbean. Gonsalves spoke in his capacity as chairman of the group of shareholder governments of LIAT. Browne said, while LIAT must seek to improve its operations, the airline needs to be subsidized, arguing that LIAT is making a significant contribution to the integration process and should be supported by the governments of the region.It’s not clear what the position of the new Team Unity administration in St Kitts and Nevis on LIAT will be. Former prime minister Denzil Douglas said his government had in its last six months in office been taking a critical look at the LIAT problem. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
Singapore Airlines jet loses power in a storm
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 with more than 180 passengers on board temporarily lost power to both of its engines as it passed through a storm, the airline has said. Flight SQ836 was en route to Shanghai from Singapore on Saturday when it "encountered bad weather at 39,000 feet about three and a half hours after departure," a spokesperson for the airline told CNN Wednesday. "Both engines experienced a temporary loss of power and the pilots followed operational procedures to restore normal operation of the engines. The flight continued to Shanghai and touched down uneventfully at 10:56pm local time," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that both engines were thoroughly inspected and tested upon arrival in Shanghai with no anomalies detected. Read more...
28th May 2015