DAILY BRIEF
WEDNESDAY 22, 2015
NEWS
Carolyn wants more efficient public servants
Public servants must become more business-like and efficient if the public service is to effectively deal with the changes of the modern world, said Minister of Public Administration Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan. “The new public officer should be e-savvy. You are business savvy and most important is that you must understand value for money. You are receptive to change and you will continue learning. You are innovative. You are the 21st century public officer ready to carry on the public service. The general public wants a public officer who is honest with them, who is fair, who is transparent,” she said. Seepersad-Bachan spoke at the launch of a four-day Community of Practice forum for Ministries and Agencies participating in the T&T Diamond Standard branded Interact at the Yara Auditorium, Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope. Read more…
Dana suspects quizzed
Insurrectionist Yasin Abu Bakr and eight other members of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen spent a second night under police guard at various police stations throughout the country last night as investigators continue their enquiries into the murder of senior counsel Dana Seetahal. However, a key suspect in the murder and his male relative were officially cautioned by police yesterday afternoon on their alleged involvement in Seetahal's murder. The Express was reliably informed the key suspect and his relative, who are both incarcerated pending an ongoing trial, were removed from their cells at the Remand Yard in Arouca yesterday morning and taken to the Arouca Police Station where they were cautioned by police in relation to Seetahal's murder. Both relatives were informed they were being treated as suspects in Seetahal's murder and were asked if they wished to make any official statements on the allegation, sources said. They were also informed of their legal rights and privileges. Read more…
Grandpa wants protection
Almost one week after four members of his family were murdered at their Chatham home, pensioner Patrick Juba says he feels unsafe and wants protection. “What I need is protection and I am not getting that from the police, from nobody and I am pretty sad,” Juba, 79, said in a brief telephone interview yesterday. The elderly man who found the bodies of his daughter Grace Toussaint, 55, her husband Peter Baptiste, 59, grandson Jeremy Toussaint, 24, and Grace’s mother Leena Peters, 75, at their Chatham home last week Thursday, said he was afraid for his life. Outgoing MP for Point Fortin Paula Gopee-Scoon confirmed that the entire community was now living in fear and all they wanted was closure. Gopee-Scoon said she had spoken to Minister of National Security Carl Alphonso “to put some pressure for the police to show some interest and attempt to solve these murders. Read more…
POLITICS
Khan: She must debate in August
People’s National Movement (PNM) chairman Franklin Khan yesterday said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar must face PNM political leader Dr Keith Rowley in the August 20 and 27 debates arranged by the Trinidad and Tobago Debates Commission, in order to justify to the population why she should be re-elected in the September 7 general elections. Khan made this comment in response to Persad-Bissessar’s insistence at a UNC meeting in Sangre Grande on Monday, that she will participate in a debate organised by State-owned Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG), and not the debates arranged by the Commission. Describing Persad-Bissessar’s latest utterances as “foolishness and smoke screen,” Khan said the Commission “while not established in law,” has always been the body over the years to arrange these debates. He added the Commission is an arm of the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce “which is a bonafide institution in business, and it is run by very credible people.” Read more…
C’wealth observer team for T&T
A three-member observer team from the Commonwealth Secretariat has been deployed to T&T this week for a pre-electoral assessment mission, following a request by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. A release yesterday from the Office of the Prime Minister confirmed that the Commonwealth Secretariat had agreed to deploy a pre-electoral assessment mission to T&T. The release said this decision was in response to Persad-Bissessar’s request for regional and international observers at the September 7 parliamentary elections. The Prime Minister had indicated her desire for the presence of a technical team from the Commonwealth Observer Group when she met with Commonwealth Secretary-General HE Kamalesh Sharma during the 36th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in Bridgetown earlier this month. Read more…
BUSINESS
Transport and competitiveness in the Caribbean
Regional trade policy, whether internally or externally guided, has traditionally focussed on removing tariff and non-tariff barriers. This has long been espoused as the catalyst that would enhance regional trade and its effect on the economy. Trade facilitation however and in particular that which is related to transport costs has largely been ignored in the regional trade agenda. The last few years have seen significant and dynamic development in international trade, and with the opening up of economies to the expansion of supply chains, the thrust towards globalisation has shown itself to be transport-intensive. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the development and changes in global freight movement systems. Internationally, this change drives modifications to and changes in public policies; however, the policymaking frameworks in the region are typically lethargic, moving at a glacial pace and sometimes countercyclical to international actions. Read more…
THA’s Venture Capital invests $2 million
The Division of Finance and Enterprise Development’s Venture Capital Equity Fund Limited (VCEFL) gave a major boost to the island’s economy by injecting $ 2 million into two local enterprises. The funding which was announced earlier this year by the Secretary of Finance and Enterprise Development was formally agreed to at a meeting at Victor E Bruce Financial Complex last week, where both parties signed shareholder agreements. The two beneficiaries were Andy’s Company Limited and Quiet Rivers Corporation. Delivering remarks on behalf of the Secretary of Finance and Enterprise Development Joel Jack, Claire Davidson Williams, the Division’s Administrator, indicated that apart from increasing production and employment, the funding created an opportunity for Tobago’s own, to return home.
The investment will result in Andy’s Cherry Nectar, a Tobagonian product, being produced at the Cove Eco Industrial and Business Park (ECIBP) while Quiet Rivers will utilise funding to optimise its operations at Cove. Read more…
Manufacturers welcome MIC mechatronics programme
Now that the first group of trainees have graduated from the MIC Institute of Technology’s Mechatronics Scholarship Programme, which was designed to address the labour shortage, two manufacturers yesterday said that even though the training would not entirely fulfil the labour needs, they welcomed the initiative. Mechatronics is a multi-disciplinary field of engineering that includes training in a mixture of mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, control and computer engineering. Since earlier this year, members of the business community, including manufacturers, have been complaining about a shortage of labour. Since then a number of initiatives have been put in place including training by the MIC Institute of Technology. Prem Nandlal, chairman of Advance Foam Ltd and founding board member at MIC, said manufacturing is a highly competitive field and having highly trained workers would be an asset. Read more…
REGIONAL
St Vincent geothermal project on track to start-up in 2018
The geothermal energy project in St Vincent is on track to start-up in 2018, according to Peter Williams, a representative of Emera Caribbean Limited, one of the companies that is partnering with the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines to execute the project. Williams told a group of stakeholders at a luncheon on Friday that his company is on track to move to the drilling phase of the project. He says they should get to this stage by the second quarter of 2016. Williams said that, after the drilling is done, wells will be set up and the environmental analysis completed, following which they will begin work on the geothermal energy plant at the end of 2016. Williams said the aim of the project is to bring stable pricing and a lower cost to energy consumers. He said although the upfront cost is high, it will be cost-effective in the long run. Read more…
Barbados finance minister denies government defaulting on loans
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler has assured existing and potential investors that there is no truth to Opposition claims that government has defaulted on a major international loan. He said yesterday that Barbados’ $41.23 million payment on its $225 million loan from financier Credit Suisse had been made on schedule, on June 18, contrary to what had been claimed by Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley last month. Mottley, speaking at a Barbados Labour Party public meeting on the night of June 28, alleged that the payment date had passed without government fulfilling its obligations to Credit Suisse. But Sinckler went to Parliament yesterday, armed with a letter signed by the principals of Credit Suisse LLC, confirming that Barbados had met all its obligations to date and was current on all payments. Read more…
INTERNATIONAL
Apple posts record third-quarter as iPhone sales surge
Apple has reported another jump in profits as demand for iPhones soared, but its shares fell in after-hours trading after revenue forecasts disappointed analysts. The technology giant sold 47.5 million iPhones in the quarter to 27 June, up 35% on a year ago, with Mac computer sales up 9% to 4.8 million. Chief executive Tim Cook called it "an amazing quarter". Profits rose 38% to $10.7bn (£6.87bn), while revenue was up 33% to $49.6bn. The third quarter is typically the slowest for iPhone sales because many customers put off buying new phones, on the expectation of a new model. Despite the strong results, shares fell 6.7%, or $8.85, to $121.89 in after-market trading in New York. Analysts blamed the fall on disappointment about the company's revenue forecasts for the fourth quarter, which were slightly lower than expected, as well as the firm's profits being too heavily dependent on the iPhone. Apple is forecasting revenue to be between $49bn and $51bn in the fourth quarter. Read more…
22nd July 2015