NEWS
Students set fire to school
Students among 21 suspended by their principal for deviant behaviour, are suspects in the setting of a fire in the ceiling in one of the classrooms at the El Dorado East Secondary School yesterday. The early afternoon fire damaged a small portion of the ceiling of the classroom which is directly under the office of the Dean, which led officials to believe that the target was the office where files and other documents, including those related to student acts of indiscipline, are stored. “I was made aware of the fire by the Chief Education Officer and what the initial investigations pointed to,” Minister of Education Anthony Garcia said as he confirmed the incident yesterday. “The suspicion — and this follows initial investigations — is that those who set the fire were among those students who are to be taken out of the school. But I want to assure the national community that deviance in the nation’s schools will be stamped out.” The fire was also among a number of matters related to errant students engaging the attention of the Education Ministry resulting in 23 students overall being taken out of the school system yesterday alone. Read more…
T&T not in crisis—IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which concluded its latest mission to T&T on Tuesday, said the economy was confronting a major shock as a result of the sharp fall in energy prices but was not in crisis. The team, headed by Elie Canetti, which conducted its annual Article IV consultation from March 3-15, is projecting a one per cent drop in gross domestic product (GDP) this year as a result of job losses and supply-side constraints in the energy sector. “In addition, declines in energy-based revenues will constrain the Government’s ability to act as an engine of growth,” Canetti said in his report on the mission’s findings. Read more…
Lawsuit against ArcelorMittal in High Court
Despite suddenly closing down its Point Lisas plant and retrenching 644 workers last Friday in light of financial challenges, the lawsuit brought against steel producer ArcelorMittal (Trinidad) Ltd by its landlord, the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Ltd (Plipdeco), for allegedly polluting the port, Plipdeco's premises and other tenants with corrosive red dust continues to proceed at the High Court in Port of Spain. The lawsuit proceeded to trial before Justice Peter Rajkumar at the Hall of Justice yesterday as Plipdeco sought injunctive relief and monetary costs from the company for losses incurred caused by the emission of the dust emanating from ArcelorMittal's plant. At the start of the hearing, Senior Counsel Deborah Peake, who is leading Plipdeco's case, brought to the attention of the court the recent shutdown of the defendant's operation, saying a letter had been written to attorneys representing ArcelorMittal, seeking clarity on the current status of the company and its position in the case. Read more…
POLITICS
Marlene Axed
Port Of Spain South Member of Parliament Marlene Mc- Donald was yesterday fired as Minister of Housing by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley during a tense meeting at 6.30 pm, at the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair. Well-placed sources told Newsday that during the meeting, which lasted for about 30 minutes, loud voices could be heard. Sources added that McDonald later stormed out of the meeting, telling her driver that she had just been fired before making a call on her cellular phone as she entered her vehicle which sped off. A press release, issued at 7.47 pm, by Arlene Gorin-George, Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) stated: “Please be informed that His Excellency Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister under subsection (3) of section 76, subsection (1)of section 79, subsection (9) of section 3 and subsection (3) (c) of section 77 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has revoked the appointment of Ms Marlene McDonald as Minister of Housing and Urban Development. Read more…
Govt to review multiple board appointments
Government will be reviewing the practice of State corporation chairmen serving on other boards and receiving multiple stipends, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said yesterday. His comment at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, followed criticism by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar about such a situation concerning National Gas Company (NGC) chairman Gerry Brooks. In Parliament, three weeks ago Government revealed Brooks heads eight other NGC subsidiaries. On Wednesday, Persad-Bissessar also noted that Brooks is heading “11 or 12” boards of the Rowley Government. Read more…
...report shows Govt proactive, says Colm
Minister of Finance Colm Imbert said yesterday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed the current Government understood the economic challenges facing the country. He said the IMF noted the Government was taking proactive measures to deal with these challenges. Imbert was speaking during yesterday's post- Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. “This is quite a favourable report that we got from the IMF,” he said. He said Government was looking at measures to raise revenue, given the challenges with low oil prices. Read more…
BUSINESS
T&T Chamber: Job cuts not a priority
President of the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce Robert Trestail has given the assurance that members of that organisation will not be rushing to downsize their workforces because of the recession. He said putting people on the breadline is not a priority for T&T Chamber members and appealed to companies that might be forced to lay off workers to honour their obligations to pay severance benefits. In his address at the T&T Chamber’s Annual Meeting Business Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad in Port-of-Spain, Trestrail said when the employer/employee relationship comes to an end, full compensation and all entitlements must always be the operating standard. “I would like to assure the powers that be that with business it is never the first option to relieve workers of their jobs. In fact, that comes only after exhausting all measures to ensure the business can survive,” he said. Read more…
Increase in food prices inevitable
Following a warning from the Supermarkets Association that food prices will increase in coming weeks, local distributors said yesterday price increases were inevitable because of a range of factors affecting their operating costs. Consumer goods producers and distributors VEMCO Ltd and HADCO Ltd told the Express that while they had not yet increased their prices, adjustments will have to be made soon. HADCO Group co-chief executive John Hadad said the company had goods in stock but indicated that increases in foreign exchange will affect the prices of new imports. “HADCO has not yet increased prices at this time,” he said. “But as the foreign exchange rate increases, at some point in the near future, our prices will have to reflect accordingly.” Read more…
REGIONAL
Haiti and the Dominican Republic to pool resources to attract foreign direct investment
The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) in collaboration with the Centre for Facilitation of Investments of Haiti (CFI) and the Export and Investment Centre of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD), conducted a workshop on foreign direct investment (FDI) lead generation, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from March 15-17, 2016. CFI’s general director, Norma Powell, opened the session welcoming participants to the event, saying, “We are happy to work together with the Dominican Republic and other CAIPA (Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies) members in order to foster a spirit of cooperation in working to improve the investment promotion efforts in the region.” Echoing her sentiments, Florence Van Houtte, representative of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) in the Dominican Republic, explained that the workshop “is a concrete step in the right direction, to achieve both countries’ mutual objectives of enhancing their capacity and improving their cooperation in the field of trade and investment promotion”. Read more…
Merchants Of Speed - Class One Boys' 100m Set To Light Up Champs
Hang on to your seats! The merchants of speed take the track tonight, with sparks expected to fly at the National Stadium as the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships comes to a boil. The Class One Boys' 100m clash is one of the most eagerly anticipated events at this year's championships, with three youngsters, in particular, dominating the headlines in what will be a mad dash for the top of the podium. With the semi-finals set to face the starter at 3:50 p.m. and the final at 8:35 p.m., most attention will be placed on the lanes of St Elizabeth Technical's Nigel Ellis, Kingston College's Jhevaughn Matherson, and St Jago's Raheem Chambers. Three the hard way, and they are all feeling pretty good about their chances today. Despite running in a strong headwind, Ellis - the hottest sprinter in the class this season after his 10.20 burst earlier this year - cruised through his preliminary-round assignment in 11.04 seconds and insisted that he felt very strong. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Big-mouthed clown? China reacts to Donald Trump's rise
For months, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted China on the campaign trail, pledging to put tariffs on goods produced overseas and bring things like iPhone production back to the United States. Trump has even used a broken-English accent at a campaign rally to mock the negotiating style of Chinese businessmen. Beijing had previously downplayed any impact Trump's rhetoric could have on U.S.-China relations, reducing it as a mere "disturbance." But this week, that all changed. With Trump securing major victories on the road to the White House, China issued a scathing criticism of the U.S. election process and the candidate who has "opened a Pandora's box in U.S. society." Read more…
Migrant crisis: Turkey scrutinises deal at EU summit
18th March 2016