NEWS
Cops raid businessmen’s home
An undisclosed sum of US currency and documents have been seized from a San Fernando businessman who is being questioned by police in connection with the discovery last Friday of close to US$2 million in crocus bags inside a container at the Port of Point Lisas. Officers of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service along with their colleagues from the Customs and Excise Bureau raided the San Fernando home of the businessman, and the homes of two other businessmen in Malabar and D’Abadie overnight Sunday. The searches took place between 10 pm on Sunday and 10 am on Monday. A quantity of cash and documents were seized from the home of the San Fernando businessman which police believe may lead to a breakthrough in the investigation. Nothing was found at the houses in Malabar and D’Abadie. Read more here
T&T hoped for ‘Hillary’ headlines
Locally, there had been certain high hopes for “Hillary” headlines today. That’s what some T&T politicians—from both the People’s National Movement Government and Opposition United National Congress - had been wishing for in yesterday’s US presidential election. That is, along with millions of other supporters of Democrats candidate Hillary Clinton as opposed to fans of the Republican’s Donald Trump. US media reported a record high voter turnout in yesterday’s election to elect the 45th President of the United States. Read more here
Probe continues into US$2m found in cargo
Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation (Plipdeco) chairman Ian Atherly has confirmed that an intensive investigation is underway to find the source of the shipment of US$2 million found in a container at the Port of Point Lisas last Friday. Atherly said the Customs and Excise Division and Couva police were conducting independent investigations. “Customs and the police were conducting investigations. Our part at the port was to trace the container. It must have come from somewhere,” he said. Read more here
POLITICS
Kamla: More than $7M paid to Mrs Imbert
Despite claims by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, that a company owned by the wife of the Finance Minister was paid much more than the $7.5M claimed in a Sunday Express story, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is standing by its statement, published in the form of advertisements in the daily newspapers, in response to the Sunday Express story. Persad-Bissessar, during the UNC’s Monday Night Forum in Chaguanas claimed that Bolt (Trinidad Ltd), owned by Susan Williams-Imbert was paid more than the $7.5M as reported in the media. Persad-Bissessar also alleged cost overruns at the HDC. The Corporation has since described the Sunday Express article as, “reckless, irresponsible and defamatory.” “I have the records and the cheques,” Persad-Bissessar told cheering supporters while displaying copies of documents which she said, could corroborate her findings. When contacted yesterday, HDC was firm in its response. Read more here
Corporations on PM’s talk of garbage bobol: Bring the evidence
Calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to bring evidence, the heads of several PNM and UNC-led regional corporations have denied facilitating corruption through illicit garbage collection processes. Rowley, who made the statement at a public meeting in Arima last week Friday, called for Local Government reform, saying garbage collection was one of the most corrupt expenditures by the State. However, chairman of the Princes Town Regional Corporation, Aiknath Singh, said Rowley should bring evidence of wrongdoing before making generalised statements. “These politicians will make any kind of uncouth statements around elections. You cannot make a blanket statement and deem all corporations as having misappropriation of public funds. Bring concrete evidence,” Singh demanded. Read more here
BUSINESS
UTC digital media workshop
Local newspapers and television stations are being advised to “experiment with revenue streams” as a way to address the decline in advertising income that’s been linked to the rise of digital media. The advice comes from Vivian Schiller, Editor-in-Chief and (at left) Maria Cooper Newsday Ag CEO, chats with Vivian Schiller Editor in Chief & Head of Mediaco, alongside Ian Chinapoo UTC Executive Director, during the Business Media Luncheon — The rise of Digital Media and its Impact on Mainstream Journalism, which was hosted by Unit Trust Corporation, UTC Head Office, PoS. Tuesday, November 11, 2016. PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB head of North America for Weber Shandwick’s Mediaco practice; Weber Shandwick is a global reputation management firm. “People are going to be reluctant to pay for digitial subscriptions, mobile ads are going to be the victim of ad-blocking. So how do you pay for your journalism? Good journalism costs money. Certainly, there is no one singular answer. Read more here
New minister on state of industry: T&T’s energy hit by perfect storm
In his first major speech as Energy Minister, Franklin Khan identified the curtailment of gas to large energy companies and a most urgent matter that must be dealt with. “There is a major deficit between supply and demand and it cannot be solved on the demand side as you cannot reduce demand because the plants are already constructed. So we have to deal with it on the supply side and we are dealing with a negotiation including bpTT, Shell and BHP in terms of supplying more gas and looking at bringing gas across the border from Venezuela,” Khan said in an address at the opening ceremony of the American Chamber of Commerce T&T’s (AmchamTT) 20th Annual Health Safety Security and Environment (HSSE) Conference and Exhibition at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain. Read more here
Who to put?
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has two separate issues to deal with coming out of the outrage Finance Minister Colm Imbert provoked by his remarks at a high-level forum at which officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were participants. The first is Mr Imbert’s personality, his propensity to make provocative statements, something that he has always done, even in previous Cabinet incarnations. In this instance, he arbitrarily announced that as Finance Minister, he had informed trade unions that represent public sector workers that Government will offer zero per cent increase in wages and salaries over the period 2017-2020. It turned out that the first the unions were hearing of what much of the country interpreted to be a wage freeze was when Mr Imbert all but proclaimed it, although he immediately sought to re-define it as an “opening gambit”- by which time the damage had been done. Read more here
REGIONAL
Government of Haiti helps 1.4 million persons with hurricane payouts
On Monday the CEO of CCRIF SPC, Isaac Anthony, met with Haiti’s minister of finance, Yves Bastien, and his advisors to discuss the recent payouts of US$23.4 million to Haiti made under the country’s tropical cyclone and excess rainfall policies, as a result of Hurricane Matthew’s passage through that country last month. This is the largest payment ever made by CCRIF for a single event – with total payouts to Haiti representing approximately 46% of all payments made by CCRIF since its inception in 2007. Haiti has received three payouts to date – one in 2010 following the devastating earthquake in January that year and these two for Hurricane Matthew. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Shock as India scraps 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes
The ultimate triumph: President Trump
Donald Trump will become the 45th president of the United States, CNN projects, a historic victory for outsiders that represents a stunning repudiation of Washington's political establishment. The billionaire real estate magnate and former reality star needed an almost perfect run through the swing states -- and he got it, winning Ohio, North Carolina and Florida. The Republican swept to victory over Hillary Clinton in the ultimate triumph for a campaign that repeatedly shattered the conventions of politics to pull off a remarkable upset. Clinton conceded to Trump in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Read more here
9th November 2016