NEWS
‘Bring the money’
Trinidad and Tobago’s private sector has been invited by Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Dr Ralph E. Gonsalves to take up investment opportunities in that country’s fish markets. The PM however made it clear to any Trini investor: “You have to come with some money.” “I will encourage the private sector to get involved in helping to run these (fisheries) centres... In Kingstown (St Vincent’s capital), I had asked the Chamber of Industry and Commerce let business people come...Nothing has happened there, so we have decided, in accordance with a proposal put to us by the State-owned Inputs Warehouse Company (IWC), as from January (2017), to transfer the management of the Kingstown Fish Market to the IWC...Trinidadian personalities and firms , if you come in, you have to come with some money. “You can’t just come and want to run it because I remember an old Calypso between the Bajan and the Trini, ‘If you eat out my rice, then I want to see you bring something to the table’, if you want to still have any sensible conversation,” Gonsalves stated. Read more here
Teen suicides worry minister
Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Ayanna Webster-Roy is calling on parents and teachers to create safe spaces for children to speak about their feelings. Webster-Roy made the call in a press release yesterday in response to two recent reports of teenagers committing suicide. Last Friday, a 14-year-old boy was found hanging at his Arima home. He was said to be suffering from depression. On Sunday, a 13-year-old girl was found hanging at her Princes Town home. Yesterday, Webster-Roy urged parents not to allow children to suffer in silence, saying childhood should not be a burden to them. Read more here
Bid by homeless to live in Tamarind Square dismissed
An application for judicial review which was filed by a homeless man challenging the decision taken by the Port of Spain City Corporation to place locks on the gates of Tamarind Square in Port of Spain has been dismissed by a High Court judge. Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell, presiding at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain, dismissed the leave application last month which was filed by Hugh Bernard, saying the substantive matter had no realistic prospect of success. Bernard, who had been residing in the square for the past two years, filed the application earlier this year seeking to have the court declare that the decision of the City Corporation was in violation of his constitutional rights and was also in breach of legitimate expectation. Read more here
POLITICS
New ministers take office
Energy Minister Franklin Khan was yesterday present to hand over his former portfolio to new Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Kazim Hosein. Likewise, new Minister of Public Utilities Fitzgerald Hinds also visited his former ministry to welcome new Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan. Sinanan told Newsday how he hit the ground running yesterday on his first day on the job at his office at Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain. He said: “I came in this morning. We had a nice handover with former Minister of Works Fitzgerald Hinds. We met with the heads of all the sections and the chairmen of all the State boards under the ministry. We had a brief hello and met everybody, and I think we understand exactly what is required, and now it’s just to press on. “My intention is to go to each State enterprise and to meet the entire board, but we want to try to clear up the desk here today and press on with the work (pointing to a row of several piles of documents laid out on his desk). “So today was just more of a briefing and an understanding as to where we are, and things like that. Read more here
Rohan wants public opinion
Newly sworn in Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, who officially took up duty yesterday, says he has no intention of taking over the jobs of the technocrats. Instead, he will be ensuring that there is accountability, transparency and no wastage of taxpayers’ money. “I am guided by the technocrats. The Government has its policy in place with regards to infrastructure and new developments and new projects and completing the existing projects,” Sinanan said yesterday. Sinanan, who met with several officials at the ministry’s head office at Richmond Street, Port-of Spain, said he was looking forward to his new portfolio, but added that former minister Fitzgerald Hinds, now the new Public Utilities Minister, had paved the way for him, making his job “much easier.” Read more here
BUSINESS
Talks on managing TT’s water
An Integrated Water Resource Management policy the government is planning to implement proposes creation of a financially independent Water Resources Management Authority which will be responsible for allocating water. Speaking at a public consultation on the draft revised policy, held Monday at the Water and Sewerage Authority’s Sports Club at WASA headquarters, Farm Road, St Joseph, Nazir Nabbie, a consultant with Trinsult Associates Limited - which drafted the policy under the guidance of a Cabinet- appointed steering committee - said the proposed authority should not have to depend on the government to subsidise its operations. In outlining highlights of the plan, Nabbie said WASA produced 382 million cubic metres of water last year but 148 million cubic metres of that was lost in transmission. He added that if the authority could manage to reduce those losses it could delay the need for new water treatment plants. According to Nabbie, the losses can be reduced through a rigorous programme of detection and control and by universal metering. Read more here
Unions for RBC workers join forces
A federation of trade unions representing RBC Royal Bank employees across the region has been formed in an effort to better meet the needs of workers in the financial group, David Massiah, a spokesman for the new group said yesterday. “We have listened to the concerns raised by the workers of RBC Bank and we feel this is important for us as a trade union alliance throughout the entire region. Also, it is important where the bank operates to recognise us as unions and to respect the rights of workers,” he said. Massiah and officials of other regional trade unions spoke at a press conference at the offices of the Banking, Insurance and General Workers’ Union (BIGWU) in Barataria held to announce the formation of the RBC Trade Union Alliance. Read more here
Making life harder for motorists
The decision by some fuel stations owners to impose the retrograde measure of not accepting payments by credit and debit cards from customers has brought to the fore issues that have been simmering for some time between petroleum dealers and Government. In the instant case, the dealers’ decision to accept cash only has more to do with charges imposed on them for usage of the cards by banks, which is another contentious issue that Finance Minister Colm Imbert vowed to address shortly after he took office. There is an argument that the fees local banks charge customers are outrageous. Read more here
REGIONAL
Big Growth For Jamaica - Economy Sees Strongest Performance Over Single Quarter In 14 Years
Jamaica's economic growth projections for the fiscal year stand to be revised upwards over the strongest growth in a single quarter in 14 years. Stakeholders, including the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), say they are not surprised and forecast that the growth rate should continue. Finance Minister Audley Shaw, to the delight of government members, yesterday told the House of Representatives that the economy over the July to September quarter grew by 2.3 per cent, the highest single quarter growth since 2002. "We are well on our way to five in four," he said, referencing the Government's aim to get five per cent gross domestic growth by the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Read more here
Bahamas government eyes $2 billion agri-fishery deal with China
The government of The Bahamas has given the green light to its embassy in Beijing, China, to further pursue a possible agriculture and fisheries partnership with the Chinese that promises to pump $2.1 billion into the Bahamian economy over ten years, The Nassau Guardian can confirm. This would be an equal partnership between Bahamians and China or its substantial representatives. According to the proposal, the initiative will entail the incorporation of 100 Bahamian companies under the Companies Act of 1992 and each of the 100 companies will be owned 50-50 by both China and by Bahamians or Bahamian entities. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
The FBI keeps showing up in this election
The FBI is in a political hole -- and can't seem to stop digging. Hillary Clinton's supporters were already fuming after FBI Director James Comey revived the specter of her email scandal in the tense final days of the presidential election, a move that played right into Donald Trump's hands. But their frustrations -- and suspicions -- intensified Tuesday when the FBI suddenly released redacted files about its 2001 probe into President Bill Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. In an election hinging on voter perceptions of character and trustworthiness, the move revived memories of yet another political fracas surrounding the Clinton family. That leaves the FBI in an unprecedented position: very publicly at the center of a presidential race one week out from the election. The apolitical agency's actions over the past four days are leaving the FBI exposed to arguments from Democrats -- and some Republicans -- that it is improperly intervening in the fight between Clinton and Trump. Read more here
Flight MH370 'made rapid descent’
2nd November 2016