DAILY BRIEF
THURSDAY 11TH JUNE, 2015
NEWS
Dye helps ID murder victim 6 months later
Six months after her decomposing body was found miles away from her Lopinot home, the family of Shenese Samuel finally got some closure. Samuel, whose body was found off a track along Maqueripe Road, Chaguaramas, having gone missing days before, was identified yesterday. Speaking with the T&T Guardian at their home at Mc David Trace, Lopinot, yesterday, Samuel’s mother, Paula, said she felt relieved she could now get closure. The 42-year-old mother of four said since her daughter went searching for a job on January 24 she has been lighting a candle near a picture of her. Some 40-plus candles later, she said: “Shenese was my favourite daughter. She never used to give trouble or anything. She wanted to be a police officer because when I was younger I wanted to be a police officer.” Read more...
Raziah knocked over gambling bill
Senate President Senator Raziah Ahmed has come under fire from the Muslim community for presiding over the bill to regulate the gambling and betting industry in the Senate on Tuesday. Chairman of the Muslim Social and Cultural Foundation, Inshan Ishmael, started an avalanche of Facebook comments when he condemned her decision to preside over this matter. “To my dear Muslim sister Raziah, you should not have found yourself anywhere near that Gambling bill...With all due respect, please, please have some decency when it comes to your beliefs,” Ishmael wrote, His post generated over 40 comments, the majority expressing solidarity with his position. One user under the name Asad AbdulMalick wrote, “She is setting a bad precedence and a bad example." Read more...
Squatters’ hopes dashed
The hopes of some 60,000 squatters whose occupancy would have been regularised through amended legislation have been dashed, as the “Squatting Bill” had to be shelved in the Senate yesterday at the International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain. Leader of Government Business in the Senate and Minister of the Environment Ganga Singh told the Express yesterday the bill was now out due to the lack of time, but vowed that when the People’s Partnership returned to office it would continue to be a priority. The Government also ran out of time to deal with three other bills—the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Bill, 2014; The Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Bill, 2015; and the Waste Management Recycling Bill—which were all shelved. Read more...
POLITICS
Senator on Clico dismissals: Howai’s data wishy, washy
Opposition PNM Senator Lester Henry has called on Finance Minister Larry Howai to say if he approved or was aware of the dismissal of former Clico chairman Gerry Yetming. Henry did so in the Senate yesterday during debate on legislation to vary the 2014-2015 Appropriation by funding some agencies and payment matters with extra funds from several ministries. No increases or supplementation of the 2014-215 Appropriation (Budget) were involved, Finance Minister Howai stressed. However, PNM’s Henry, bringing up the Yetming dismissal, called for explanations. He said some persons had been “giving credit for everything positive in Clico” and stating it had now been “made whole” and they had stood with the company, yet, now had been embarrassed, thrown out and “treated like a common criminal... and government says nothing.” Read more...
AG Nicholas: Govt feared ex-FIFA VP Warner a flight risk
Attorney General Garvin Nicholas said yesterday officials feared former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner would flee the island after facing US federal corruption charges, but they’re now confident he’ll stay in the country. Warner is scheduled to appear in court on July 9 for an extradition hearing on US charges including racketeering, wire fraud and money-laundering. “Any person with the level of resources that Mr Warner has would be considered a flight risk,” Nicholas told The Associated Press. “We certainly made it a lot more difficult for him to escape or leave the country.” Warner was ordered to surrender his passport and report to police twice a week. He is one of several international football officials facing charges as part of the US investigation. Read more...
BUSINESS
Business executive: Dishonesty taking hold in T&T
A local business executive has spoken out against corruption and nepotism, expressing concern that a culture of dishonesty and trickery is taking hold in the country. “Corruption and nepotism can be lucrative but it is so risky,” said Kristine Thompson, director of Chuck E Cheese’s, when he took part in a panel discussion on ethical leadership, the latest in the Leadership Series hosted by the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business (ALJGSB), Mt Hope. The session on Tuesday evening also featured contributions by Ronald Harford, chairman of Republic Bank Ltd and Miguel Carillo, executive director at ALJGSB. Thompson appealed to the business community and citizens in general to continue to work hard and be honest, since that approach will bring success. Read more...
Beyond Energy The Diversification Imperative
The need for economic diversification has been a standard policy prescription since the mid-1970s when the second international oil shock sent the T&T economy into a major tailspin. Led by the International Monetary Fund and supported by local stake-holders, the call has become more strident in recent years because of structural changes taking place in global energy markets and new uncertainties about remaining oil and gas reserves. Last month, in explaining its downgrade of Government bond rating, Moody’s, the global rating agency, cited among other factors the country’s “limited economic diversification, which weighs heavily on economic growth prospects”. In a series of four articles, two retired bankers, examine the urgent need for meaningful economic diversification and make a case for an intensified exploitation of our comparative advantage in financial services and tourism. Read more...
Ten securities traded, no declines
Overall market activity resulted from trading in ten securities of which two advanced, none declined and eight traded firm. Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 62,312 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $914,176.53. Guardian Holdings Ltd was the volume leader with 30,000 shares changing hands for a value of $421,500, followed by Trinidad Cement Ltd with a volume of 12,600 shares being traded for $36,540. Sagicor Financial Corporation contributed 6,842 shares with a value of $41,462.52, while First Citizens Bank Ltd added 5,422 shares valued at $194,161.82. Read more...
FirstCaribbean earns US$52m net income
FirstCaribbean International Ltd recorded net income of US$25.6 million for the second quarter of the year, up by US$9.2 million or 56 per cent over the adjusted net income for the first quarter. In its latest consolidated financial statements posted on the T&T Stock Exchange, the bank also released results for the six month ended April 30 which show net income of US$52.2 million. This was an increase of 62 per cent or US$20.4 million from the corresponding period last year when the adjusted net income was US$31.8 million. In his review of FirstCaribbean’s financial performance, CEO Rik Parkhill said there was a decrease in total revenue, which was down US$7.7 million year over year primarily due to lower loan and security earnings as several countries had experienced low credit demand. Read more...
REGIONAL
Antigua and Barbuda tourism partners call tradeshow a huge success
Antigua and Barbuda’s tourism industry partners are expressing enthusiasm about the new business prospects for tourism in Antigua and Barbuda following a well-executed ‘Showcase Antigua Barbuda’ that promoted the destination to travel partners from the United Kingdom, Europe and North America, over the weekend. Thirty-seven visiting tour operator delegates as well as close to fifty exhibitors consisting of hotels, villas, tour companies, airlines, and destination management companies attended the trade show organised by the Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association in partnership with the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, and held in The Hangar at the Executive Business Centre at the V.C. Bird International Airport on Saturday. Read more...
EU commits $133 million in support for Latin America and Caribbean
The European Union (EU) has agreed to commit 118 million euros ($133 million) in investment support for Latin America and Caribbean nations at the start of the second EU-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in Brussels. The European Commission said on Wednesday that the combination of loans, grants and other financial operations would seek to enhance trans-Atlantic cooperation. The executive of the 28-nation EU said the support will centre on the transport, energy and environmental sectors. Several CARICOM heads of government are in Brussels for the summit, which opened on Wednesday and concludes on Thursday. The summit, under the theme “Shaping our common futures: Working for prosperous, cohesive and sustainable societies for our citizens” brings together 61 heads of state and government from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Read more...
INTERNATIONAL
FIFA: No grounds to strip Russia or Qatar of World Cup
There are no legal grounds for FIFA to take the 2018 World Cup from Russian or the 2022 event from Qatar, soccer's world governing body said Monday. FIFA's statement followed comments made to a Swiss newspaper by Domenico Scala, chief of its Compliance Committee. Scala had said that Russia and Qatar could lose the right to host the World Cup events if evidence is presented showing that bribes bought the votes that won them the competition to host the world's biggest single-sport event. "Should evidence be present that the awarding to Qatar and Russia only came about with bought votes, then the awarding could be void," Scala told the newspaper. But on Monday, FIFA issued a statement calling that claim into question. Read more...
U.N. chief: We can end poverty, hunger
This year offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put our world on more peaceful, sustainable and equitable footing. When they meet at the Schloss Elmau Summit in Germany on June 7-8, G7 leaders can show they are serious about seizing the moment and protecting people and the planet. As the international community prepares to adopt a new sustainable development agenda at a Summit in September in New York, and a new climate change agreement in December in Paris, the G7 countries have a special responsibility to lead. As the heads of state and government of the largest economies, G7 leaders can make a decisive difference in taking the difficult yet sensible steps that will achieve our goal of prosperity and dignity for all. Read more...
11th June 2015