NEWS
Petrotrin Blanks Parliament
“It's unbelievable.” That, in short, was how Independent Senator David Small yesterday described the position taken by Petrotrin officials in relation to an ongoing investigation by a Parliament oversight committee. It is understood officials of the State-owned company have refused to answer specific questions relating to a controversial decision taken earlier this year to drop a lawsuit against its former board and its former executive chairman Malcolm A. Jones, a current member of the Cabinet’s Standing Committee on Energy. In blanking queries from the Parliament Committee, Petrotrin has cited legal advice. Small, the chairman of the Joint Select Committee on State Enterprises, is this morning due to issue a warning to Petrotrin, as well as all State enterprises, telling them that they cannot avoid the scrutiny of the Parliament’s committee system by using the tack of citing commissioned legal advice. Read more…
Catholic church leads petition for pardon: Mercy for remand prisoners
The head of the local Roman Catholic Church Archbishop Joseph Harris is leading a petition seeking to “free” remand prisoners who have been behind bars longer than the maximum prison term they would have gotten if they had been found guilty of their crimes. The petition which has been circulated to priests and parish administrators across the country recently aims to attract sufficient signatures to trigger mercy for hundreds of prisoners, particularly those charged with minor offences. A remand prisoner is one who has been charged with an offence but is awaiting trial. Many of them are on bail but are unable to meet the requirements to obtain bail. This year has been declared the “Jubilee Year of Mercy” by Pope Francis and it is in this context that Harris is seeking Presidential Pardon for some incarcerated on remand. Read more…
Thema Takes Them On
The Trinidad and Tobago Gymnastics Federation (TTGF) has been given until Wednesday morning to respond to a letter issued yesterday by attorneys representing gymnast Thema Williams. The letter called for a dispute resolution or the TTGF will face legal action. Read more…
POLITICS
House meets on motor vehicle tax today
Up to yesterday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert was still deliberating on the question of the extent of a moratorium to be imposed in relation to a new tax on “luxury” cars. Imbert is due to address the issue today when the Parliament meets to consider procedural matters meant to implement new taxes and duties announced in the midyear review earlier in April. On the scope of the moratorium, Imbert yesterday said, “No firm decision yet, but it will be based on how long it normally takes the vessel that brings cars from Japan to reach Trinidad. This will cater for vehicles that were in transit on April 8.” Imbert announced the moratorium last Thursday at the Cabinet media briefing. Read more…
Seizing guns before entry
National Security Minister Edmund Dillon says the T&T Coast Guard has an integral role to play in the fight against crime. He was speaking during his address at the T&T Coast Guard passing out parade for the 52nd recruit intake at the Heliport Training Facility, Chaguaramas, on Saturday. “Crime is the number one issue and the T&T Coast Guard has a key support role in the crime fighting arsenal.“Our borders require stringent protection, which is why the Coast Guard’s maritime presence must be a dominant force, acting as a deterrent to any illegal and criminal entry of persons or items through our maritime space.“In the fight against crime and criminality the most important resource of any organisation is its people. Read more…
Prakash quits as COP head
Former political leader of the Congress of the People (COP) Prakash Ramadhar, whose term expired at midnight, said yesterday his exit was not only an “unburdening” of the party but also an opportunity for all those who wish to “show their true colours”. Read more…
BUSINESS
Hotels facing online competition
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has told its 32 member associations of a new challenge for the sector from the rapid rise of the online vacation home rental industry and other sharing economy businesses in the region. Fueled by hosting platform companies like Airbnb and Uber, there has been explosive growth in short-term vacation home rentals across the region. Airbnb recorded more than 25,000 listings in the Caribbean as of February and is projecting significant growth this year. Destinations such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Cancún, Martinique and Barbados feature the most listings on Airbnb with continued growth projected throughout the entire region. Read more…
Global markets oscillate
This week, we at Bourse provide an update on the performance of international markets in 2016 thus far. The simultaneous occurrence of wild swings in commodity prices, geo-political challenges and waning global growth, together with the looming prospect of Fed tightening, have put markets in uncharted territory. Read more…
REGIONAL
Electoral reform proposals to be brought to St Kitts-Nevis parliament
According to Attorney General Vincent Byron Jr, who is the minister responsible for electoral matters in St Kitts and Nevis, “there will be coming into Parliament within a short time proposals for there to be a reform process” with respect to elections. While updating the country with the latest information with regard to the electoral office at the prime minister’s press conference last week, the attorney general said that the question of electoral reform involves a number of factors including if the current voters’ list is properly constituted, the need for a proper enumeration process to register people where they live, whether citizens living overseas would have to be resident to be able to be active participants in the voting process, and the issue of the realignment of the constituency boundaries, which is presently before the court after a challenge to the boundaries report that “was part of a very traumatic period in our history” that reached all the way to the London-based Privy Council. Read more…
Too Much Fear! Pastor Bolt Says The Church Miss Out On Ministering To People Because Members Are Afraid
The reverend Errol Bolt, pastor of the Kencot Christian Fellowship Church in St Andrew, has said that the widespread fear in the Church is the biggest challenge to Christendom. Bolt, who was speaking last Thursday during the first in The Gleaner's series of Family and Religion Editor's Forum, said there is no lack of power in the Church. According to him, unlike other social institutions that are failing although they have the tools and props, these institutions lack the power. "The Church has the power in the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, but there is a fear in the Church. There is a fear in the Church to get out in the community, and I have seen it," he said. The pastor stressed that based on appearance and fear, Christians can miss opportunities to minister to people who need it the most. "People come off the street and they look a little bit shabby. They don't look like Church people, dressed like me and you, and you can see the pull-away from them," said Bolt. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
US election 2016: Cruz and Kasich team up to slow Trump
Nigeria's missing girls: Infiltrating the forest Boko Haram calls home
As night falls, the curfew comes into effect. Nobody is allowed on the streets. Anxiety hangs in the air. Those unable to make it home before sunset are shepherded to roundabouts to wait until day breaks. This is Maiduguri -- a city on the edge. The capital of Borno state, it is at the heart of the Nigerian Army's battle to retake Boko Haram territory. A place where no one is above suspicion. Where young girls, packaged as suicide bombers, are sent by militantsto realize the group's brutal jihad. Read more…
25th April 2016