NEWS
$7M to fight Zika
Government has allocated $7 million to the 14 municipal corporations to aid in the fight against Zika. Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Franklin Khan made this revelation at a local government reform forum at the Siparia Market on Wednesday evening. Khan acknowledged the first case of Zika in Trinidad and Tobago and said that his ministry has been working closely with the Ministry of Health to combat the virus which has been linked to birth defects in children born to women infected with the disease. Additionally, Khan admitted that he had hoped to allocate more funds to the corporations, but was not able to secure the funds to do so. “We are working closely with the Ministry of Health on the Zika virus. We have just allocated seven million to the regional corporations for clean-up, five hundred thousand per corporation. Funds are limited and I wanted to allocate one million each, but we weren’t able to get the funds. There will be a major clean-up campaign for white waste and containers that could possibly hold water,” Minister Khan said. Read more…
Speak out against ills in society
As hundreds of secondary school students from schools in Port-of-Spain walked through the city on Wednesday to express their disgust and concern over the apparent rising crime, including that of violence which seems to be pervading the country, Roman Catholic Archbishop Fr Joseph Harris urged them to be the change they wanted, which was so badly needed. Dressed in their respective school uniforms some 14 schools, including Success Laventille, St Mary’s College, St Anthony’s, Providence Girls’, St Charles, Holy Name Convent, Fatima College, Servol, St Joseph’s Convent, Belmont Boys’ and Corpus Christi silently marched for peace which began around 9 am at Lord Harris Square, Pembroke Street. Read more…
Zika Zap
MONTHS after she was supposedly cured of the virus, Diego Martin resident Adia Sampson still experiences the aches and pains of chikungunya late into the night. With news yesterday that Trinidad's first confirmed case of Zika was a 61-year-old Victoria Gardens, Diego Martin woman, Sampson now wonders what the physical toll would be, should she contract the Zika virus. Read more…
POLITICS
Suruj ‘crashes’ PNM Meeting
Attendees at a Local Government Reform Forum in Siparia on Wednesday evening, as well as PNM Government Ministers were visibly surprised when former Minister of Works and Infrastructure and now Opposition MP Surujrattan Rambachan, showed up at the forum to air concerns and gripes about local government reform. Rambachan cited the fact that he had lived in Avocat for most of his life and had served on the St Patrick County Council from 1983 to 1987 as two reasons for his interest in attending the meeting.
In attendance at the forum were Dr Lackran Bodoe Fyzabad MP and UNC member; Nicole Olivierre, Minister of Energy; Edmund Dillon, Minister of National Security; Kazim Hosein Mayor of San Fernando and others. Rambachan, in support of some of the PNM’s propositions for local government reform, said that like the PNM, the People’s Partnership (PP) also had a vision for the improvement of local government. Read more…
Prakash quits as COP leader
Continued division and badgering may have contributed to the resignation of Opposition MP Prakash Ramadhar from the post of Congress of the People political leader a year before his term of office ended, sources hinted yesterday. Elections for the post of COP leader are due next year but Ramadhar resigned Wednesday night. The party, however, confirmed he remained a COP member and MP for St Augustine. Party general secretary, Clyde Weatherhead, yesterday said Ramadhar had tendered his resignation to the party’s national executive on Wednesday night. Read more…
Kamla: I wish them the best
It is in the hands of the Congress of the People (COP) membership to elect a leader in keeping with the democratic process, says Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Asked for a comment on Prakash Ramadhar's resignation as COP political leader, Persad-Bissessar told the Express by phone yesterday that this was the COP's internal business and she did not want to comment. However, when pressed with further questions, Persad-Bissessar said the COP, like the United National Congress (UNC) which she leads, is a democratic party and the way forward depends on its members. Read more…
BUSINESS
World Bank Group makes US$150M available
To support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the Zika virus outbreak, the World Bank Group (WBG) announced yesterday that it has made US$150 million, immediately available. This amount was based on the country’s demands for financing, and followed extensive engagement with governments across the region, including sending teams of technical experts to affected countries. If additional financing was needed, the WBG stood ready to increase its support.In a statement, yesterday, the WBG said the release of initial projections for the short-term economic impact of the Zika virus on the region would be modest, US$3.5 billion, or.06 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in 2016. The WBG noted, however, that these initial estimates were predicated on a swift, well-coordinated international response to the Zika virus. They also assume that the most significant health risks—and related behaviours to avoid transmission— were for pregnant women. Read more…
Foreign used dealers protest over delays
Foreign used car dealers say their storage costs are adding up as scores of six-year-old vehicles ordered before Government introduced a new policy are stuck on the ports in T&T and Japan. President of the T&T Automotive Dealers’ Association (TTADA) Visham Babwah is now claiming victimisation and is accusing Government of deliberately delaying the import licences they need to clear the vehicles. Under the new policy, which was announced by Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon last month, sets a new age limit of four years on foreign used vehicles. She later said vehicles which had already been purchased or were en route to Trinidad and Tobago prior to January policy revision be exempt from the change. Read more…
Prestige Holdings records improved revenue, profits
Even though it experienced a difficult start in 2015 due to the impact of the new minimum wage on costs and sales coupled with significant labour problems, Prestige Holdings Ltd has reported it “delivered a solid performance” by the end of the year with improved revenue and profitability compared to 2014. This was evident in the company's consolidated audited results for the year ended November 30, 2015. In addition to the improved revenue, the restaurant management company said it continued to reduce its long-term borrowings and improve its working capital. Its debt/equity ratio at the end of 2015 stood at 12:88. Read more…
REGIONAL
New light shed on Cayman Islands corruption probe
The decision from the Information Commissioner’s Office in the Cayman Islands on Tuesday ordering the release of reports relating to Operation Tempura shed some new light on the ongoing Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) investigation into Martin Bridger, the former head of the discredited and controversial internal police probe. The details of why he has been on the RCIPS radar for more than two years without ever being interviewed about his alleged crimes remains sketchy but it appears he is under the spotlight for the entire conduct of the ill-fated operation. Read more…
JLP Launches 'Credible, Realistic, Practical And Bankable' Manifesto
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness yesterday brought a surplus of adjectives to describe the party's 2016 manifesto he dubbed 'The Partnership for Prosperity'. "In describing our manifesto, I would say that it is credible, realistic, practical, and bankable," Holness said, in the presence of his long-time mentor, Edward Seaga. Scripted in easy-to-comprehend language, the manifesto launched at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel was the party's much-rehearsed 10-point plan. "The partnership is about improving your life," Holness told the gathering. "Our mission is to grow our economy to create jobs that put power and independence in your hands to fulfil your dreams." Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Donald Trump challenged over 9/11, Iraq War comments
Donald Trump acknowledged Thursday that he "could have" signaled support for invading Iraq during a 2002 interview with Howard Stern. "It was probably the first time I was asked that question," the GOP presidential front-runner told CNN's Anderson Cooper during a South Carolina town hall. "By the time the war started, I was against the war." He also noted he "wasn't a politician" at the time of the interview. Read more…
Islamic State: Bombing strikes militants in Libya
19th February 2016