NEWS
Rat Chase Workers
Fearing the spread of diseases including the potentially deadly leptospirosis, daily-paid maintenance workers of state utility the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) have abandoned a water purification/treatment plant at Syne Village in Penal which they say is overrun with large rats who seem to be thriving despite the placing of poisoned pellet bait in the plant. The workers said they are not willing to place their health and lives at risk by working among the rodents. The treatment plant purifies water that goes out on a daily basis to thousands of consumers in Penal and environs. Because of the increasing rat population and the presence of other vermin, the seven- man crew told Newsday all they do is report for duty on mornings and leave. Since August 14, they have stopped working and contractors have been brought in to oversee the day to day operations of the plant. The workers occupy a 20-foot container on the plant that treat gallons of water on a daily basis. They have been occupying the container for the last five years after their building they were in was demolished. Read more here
T&T poet wins 2016 Forward prize for poetry
Trinidadian poet Vahni Capildeo has won the 2016 Forward prize for best poetry collection, making it three years in a row that a Caribbean poet has won one of the most prestigious poetry awards in the UK and Ireland, says the Guardian UK. A prize for first collection was also awarded to a Caribbean writer, Tiphanie Yanique, who was born in the Virgin Islands. Capildeo’s collection, Measures of Expatriation, explores ideas of belonging and home. Her award follows two Jamaican-born poets, Kei Miller and Claudia Rankine, who took the main prize respectively in 2014 and 2015. Read more here
What is This?
The company which brought in the wine for President's House on which the presidential seal was placed is owned by the former stylist of Reema Carmona, wife of President Anthony Carmona. Pramati Noe Piccolo, who was on the President's office payroll in 2014, and her husband, Antonio Piccolo, are listed as directors of Italian Import/Export Ltd, which imported the wine on behalf of President's House in 2014. Pramati, incidentally, is also the sister of Independent Senator and Co-ordinator of the Independent bench, Dhanayshar Mahabir. Read more here
POLITICS
PM Rowley invited to Chile President Bachelet
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has been invited by Chilean President Michele Bachelet to visit Chile next year. This was disclosed by Acting Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Edmund Dillon when he addressed a function hosted by the Chilean Embassy at the Living Waters Community Centre in Port-of-Spain on Tuesday night to celebrate the 206th anniversary of Chile’s independence. In revealing that Bachelet recent invited Rowley to visit Chile, Dillon said, “We look forward to this visit very much... bearing fruits for TT and Chile.” He recalled that in July, Rowley and Bachelet held discussions on the margins of the Caricom Heads of Government Meeting in Guyana. Dillon also said Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dennis Moses and his Chilean counterpart are expected to hold discussions on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly which is currently taking place in New York. Read more here
Tobagonians want THA, Sandals to ‘come clean’
Stakeholders who attended a presentation/discussion by Sandals International Resorts on a concept for the development of a hotel in Tobago are calling on the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and the Government to come clean on the billion-dollar project. Yesterday, the stakeholders queried if Sandals Resorts were now interested in constructing a 1,000-room hotel at the Buccoo/Golden Grove Estate when it was previously announced as 750 rooms, following a presentation on Monday at the Coco Reef Resort by Sandals deputy chairman and CEO Adam Stewart. Clico owns Golden Grove Estate which partially surrounds the Bon Accord Lagoon and includes a strip of pristine white-sand beach called No Man’s Land. The presentation was attended by THA officials, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young and stakeholders. Read more here
Rowley forwards legal advice stating improper behaviour
The Prime Minister has responded to President Anthony Carmona on the issue of his meeting with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, sources confirmed yesterday. It is understood that the Prime Minister conveyed the legal advice of Senior Counsel Martin Daly, which stated that the President had undertook a constitutionally improper and inappropriate intervention which he met with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon. Sources said the Prime Minister appeared to be seeking to avoid a constitutional confrontation and, from the response, will resist any future attempts by the President to meet with his minister as this would constitute an “unlawful interference” by the President. The President had asked Dillon to attend the meeting with his advisor and Dillon opted to take Acting Commissioner of Police Harold Phillip and Chief of Defence Staff Rodney Smart. Read more here
BUSINESS
RBL wants FATCA passed
Managing Director of Republic Bank Limited, Nigel Baptiste, thinks Government and Opposition are making a “mountain out of a molehill” with the constant hand-wringing over the passing of the Foreign Account and Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Baptiste shared his thoughts with Newsday after the inauguration of the bank’s new SouthPark Shopping Centre branch on Saturday last. The branch is a replacement for the company’s Pointa- Pierre unit which they closed earlier this year due to health concerns arising out of its proximity to Petrotrin’s Point-a-Pierre refinery. Baptiste does not understand what the keep back is in passing the legislation. “The Bankers Association gave this government and the previous government copies of the legislation that was done throughout other Caribbean countries,” said Baptiste, who is also the Vice President of the Bankers Association of Trinidad and Tobago. Read more here
TSTT launches prepaid card
Chairman of Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT) Emile Elias is optimistic that the company can regain lost market share in less than five years. He said with the introduction of the bmobile Prepaid Visa Card, the company continues to sharpen its competitive edge. Speaking at Monday’s launch of the prepaid card by bmobile and Republic Bank, at TSTT House, Port-of-Spain, Elias said TSTT’s new vision is to return to profitability and scupper gains made by other operators in the sector. He said the introduction of mobile money is the first in a series of exciting customer centred initiatives products being rolled out. Read more here
Trinidad-based airline could become St. Lucia's national carrier
St. Lucia is moving to have the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines (CAL) as its national carrier, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has said. Speaking at a news conference on the state-owned National Television Network (NTN) on Monday night, Chastanet said that having CAL serve as the national carrier may be the best option for the island given the many issues facing air transport in the region. “This means that Caribbean Airlines would now be able to fly between St. Lucia and Barbados and Trinidad and even go to Puerto Rico and other places,” he told reporters. Read more here
REGIONAL
Murder Madness - Jamaica Averaging 100 Homicides Monthly
Jamaica is on the verge of recording 900 murders since the start of the year, with just over three months still remaining. Police data obtained by The Gleaner show that up to yesterday, 893 persons were reported murdered across the 19 police divisions islandwide since January 1. This is just over one per cent more than the 882 killings recorded for the correspondent period last year. According to the data, Jamaica is averaging almost 100 murders each month, or just over three per day. Statistics also show that 184 of the 893 murders this year were recorded in St James, putting the parish on the brink of recording more than 200 murders in a calendar year for a second straight year. Last year, the St James police recorded just over 205 murders. Read more here
Court orders St Kitts-Nevis tourism minister to pay election debts
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has ordered St Kitts and Nevis tourism minister, Lindsay Grant, to pay election consulting fees owed to BuzzMaker, an international political consulting firm that has worked on hundreds of high profile political campaigns across the Caribbean and the world. In 2009, as political leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), an unregistered political party in St Kitts and Nevis, Grant entered into an agreement with BuzzMaker to provide political consulting services in the run-up to the 2010 general elections but failed to pay for the services rendered. Buzzmaker invoiced Grant for services rendered during the period July 2009 through December 2009 for a total of US$28,841.20. Grant paid a total of US$18,235, the last payment being on November 14, 2011. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Charlotte police shooting: Protests erupt after officer kills man
Violent protests erupted overnight in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a police officer fatally shot one man while serving a warrant for a different person at an apartment complex. Police say the man they shot had a gun; his family members say he was carrying a book. Several hundred people gathered outside the complex Tuesday night, chanting "no justice, no peace!" and carrying signs reading "Black Lives Matter." The Charlotte case is the latest shooting involving an officer, and racial tensions are high nationwide following a spate of others. Last week's fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, sparked protests after video of the killing appeared Monday. Protesters have been demanding justice and an end to police brutality for months. In Charlotte, police went to serve a warrant Tuesday and shot and killed a man in the parking lot of The Village at College Downs apartment complex in the University City neighborhood. Read more here
Syria conflict: Air strike kills four medical workers
21st September 2016