NEWS
Shotgun In Pig Pen
Ten persons between the ages of 22 and 36 were detained by police on Monday afternoon while they were liming near a pig pen at Warren Road in Cunupia. A shotgun and quantity of marijuana were later found inside the pig pen, while nearby, a pistol and 67 rounds of ammunition were also found and seized. According to reports at about 2 pm officers under the supervision of Snr Superintendent Radcliff Boxhill, led by ASP Ajith Persad including Ag Sgt Anthony Williams and PCs Taylor, Perkins and Persad along with other officers went to Warren Road, Cunupia and saw ten persons liming in the vicinity of the pig pen. Officers began searching the suspects and allegedly found a 9 mm pistol with a quantity of ammunition. A further check inside the pig pen resulted in the seizure of one kilo of marijuana and a shotgun along with a quantity of assorted ammunition. Read more here
PTSC wants fare hike
The Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) is currently preparing a draft note to take before Cabinet for an increase in the current bus fares, which have not been increased since 1990. The move is part of the PTSC’s strategic plan to make itself less dependent on the Treasury, general manager Ronald Forde told a Joint Select Committee yesterday. He said while maxi-taxis and private taxis have increased their fares numerous times over the past 26 years, the PTSC has not. He stressed the measure was not intended to place a financial burden on the public accessing the bus service, but was rather “to make the ticket more reasonable to realise some sort of revenue to offset the subsidies coming to the PTSC.” He admitted they had not conducted any consultation to measure public reaction. But in giving a comparison, he said the taxi fare from San Fernando was now $19 while the bus fare for the same route was $6 and the deluxe coach service was $10. Read more here
Petrotrin Loses $1.9B
State company Petrotrin—the country's third highest taxpayer—has posted a fourth consecutive net loss before tax, this time of $1.95 billion. It has also recorded after-tax losses of $533 million, according to unaudited financial statements for the company's 12 month-period ended September 30. Read more here
POLITICS
Tim: No fruit nor drinks for pupils
The nation’s schoolchildren are no longer receiving a fruit nor a drink as part of their daily breakfast and lunch meals under the National School Feeding Programme, hit Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh. Speaking at the UNC’s Monday Night Forum at the El Dorado North Hindu Primary School, he lamented that the Government has cut the meals programme by $83 million . Gopeesingh, a former minister of education, also accused the Government of failing to provide textbooks to school pupils this year, in contrast to some three million supplied under the former People’s Partnership (PP) government. He accused the Government of firing many staff from the Ministry of Education, including facilitators and monitors. Read more here
Ramdeen accuses HDC official of bid rigging
United National Congress Senator Gerald Ramdeen has accused a top Housing Development Corporation (HDC) official of bid rigging. He made the accusation during a press conference at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, as he also urged the Government to fire the entire HDC board for facilitating the process. Ramdeen alleged that the official manipulated the process because they wanted to ensure a certain media firm earned the highest evaluation for the construction of houses under the newly-proposed private/public partnership contract with the HDC, which was announced recently by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. Read more here
UNC candidate drops out
At least one electoral district has already been claimed by the People’s National Movement (PNM) in the upcoming Local Government elections, as Patricia Victor-Wilson has become the lone candidate for the district of Mon Repos/Navet. United National Congress (UNC) chairman David Lee confirmed yesterday that the party’s pick for Mon Repos/Navet had withdrawn from the election. Daryl Kishan Soodeen, an assistant electrician, submitted a medical document to the UNC claiming he was not well and was restricted to bed rest. Soodeen said he was unable to continue with the Local Government election campaign. The Election and Boundaries Commission’s (EBC) deadline for candidates to withdraw from the November 28 election was Monday. Read more here
BUSINESS
Chaguanas Chamber calls on banks to be more sensitive
The Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) has called on the local banking sector to exercise sensitivity in their dealings with the national community given the “deepening and intensifying” economic recession. In a media statement yesterday, the Chamber expressed concern with the “current state of the economy of Trinidad and Tobago and the ongoing demise of a number of business organisations over the past year.” “As the national economy has continued to contract, businesses have been forced to adopt various strategies in order to cut costs, manage cash flow, and realign their operations in order to stay afloat. Under these present economic conditions revenue streams have become thinner and profits are declining,” the Chamber stated, though pointing out that the banking sector seemed to “continue to grow large profits.” “The Chaguanas Chamber is concerned that the existing gap between the deposit rate and lending rate is far too wide. Read more here
Caricom legislators focus on WTO rules
Legislators from around the region are meeting in Port of Spain to discuss their experiences in economic and trade policies in relation to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is partnering with the WTO and the T&T branch of the CPA for three three-day workshop currently taking place at the Hyatt Regency. In her welcome remarks. House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George said this was the second occasion that the Parliament of T&T had the opportunity to host such a workshop. The first occasion was in 2003. Annisette-George praised the WTO’s current drive which emphasized a wider role which parliamentarians play in bringing international organisations and people closer together, especially as it pertains to the trading system. Read more here
Airbridge headache
There should be a separate management system for the domestic airbridge from Trinidad to Tobago, says Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Secretary of Tourism and Transportation Tracy Davidson-Celestine. She said it was critical to have such a system. Speaking at a media briefing last week, Davidson-Celestine said the domestic airbridge was an essential service and wanted more focus to be placed on it. The briefing was held at the Administrative Complex, Calder Hall in Tobago. Read more here
REGIONAL
OAS highlights improvements; CARICOM observers satisfied with Haiti's elections
The electoral observation mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM) to Sunday's elections in Haiti highlighted improvements over recent elections in the process on Election Day, as part of the preliminary report presented by the mission on Monday. Meanwhile, after observing over 300 polling stations during Haiti’s presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) election observer mission (CEOM) has declared general satisfaction with the conduct of the poll in the French-speaking CARICOM member state. Despite the difficulties posed by the damage from Hurricane Matthew, the OAS mission, headed by former Uruguayan senator Juan Raúl Ferreira, commended the efforts of all national stakeholders that led to an improved electoral process, noting greater national involvement and ownership of the process. Read more here
Give Jamaica An 'EPOC' For Health
The health of a population has a key role to play in the mission to generate economic growth and create jobs. It is against this background that Fourth Floor participants stressed that it is time that this be taken seriously. "We have not recognised the role that health plays as a pillar of development ... . I have never seen a health target in any IMF (International Monetary Fund) programme, and I think it is a huge mistake by both the policymakers and the international partners," said Christopher Zacca, chairman of the National Health Fund (NHF). Zacca joined a panel to discuss ways of funding health, and one by one they expressed strong feelings about how health care should be funded and managed, and shared strategies for reducing the burden of illness on the public sector. Citing the measly spend on health, Zacca said: "Between Government and the private sector, only about 5.8 per cent of GDP is spent on health, compared to our neighbours in the Caribbean - Barbados and the Bahamas at 7.5 per cent each and Cuba at 11 per cent." Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Colombian government and Farc to sign new peace deal
6 takeaways from Donald Trump's New York Times meeting
President-elect Donald Trump brushed aside his campaign promises to jail Hillary Clinton, batted away questions about conflicts of interest over his business empire and denounced the neo-Nazi movement that is celebrating his victory. Answering questions for just the second time since his election, Trump met for 75 minutes on Tuesday with reporters, editors and columnists from The New York Times. It wasn't broadcast live, but some Times reporters tweeted Trump's remarks in real time. And, since Trump has not held a news conference since his upset win two weeks ago, the entire political world was glued to Twitter through it all. Read more here
23rd November 2016