There is not likely to be much argument with the proposition that the population of this country owes its standard of living to the wealth generated at Point Lisas and in Point Fortin.

The decision taken in the 1970’s to stop flaring natural gas and use the commodity as a feedstock for the development of the petrochemical industries at Point Lisas Industrial Estate contributes the tax revenue that has allowed governments since then to increase the country’s quality of life.

An even greater contribution to the population’s standard of living resulted from the decision in the 1990’s to liquefy some of the country’s natural gas and export it to other countries.

Those decisions are responsible for the fact that, until very recently, a large percentage of the cost of living for the majority of households in this country has been borne by the State from the taxes paid by the mostly foreign firms that operate at Point Lisas and Point Fortin.

To be clear, there is a direct relationship between the taxes paid by the companies operating on those industrial estates and the massive subsidies that the State has been able to afford to provide for the subsidisation of healthcare, education, housing, some jobs as well as land, sea and inter-island transportation and much else.

In very stark terms, were it not for the taxes generated by the companies operating on the Point Lisas and Point Fortin industrial estates, citizens of this country would have to dedicate more of their disposable income to paying for electricity and water, gasoline and educating their children through primary, secondary and tertiary education levels.

Were it not for the Point Lisas and Point Fortin taxes, the average man or woman would have to pay much more to access healthcare and the provision of free pharmaceuticals through the CDAP programme would soon become a memory from an easier and happier time.

Without those taxes, disposable incomes in T&T would plummet as more of the income of an average household would have to be spent on things that are now subsidised.

While the non-energy sector has been called upon to bear a much heavier burden of the payment of taxes in the last two budgets, there is little doubt that the non-energy taxes are related to the energy taxes. In other words, if energy taxes fall, non-energy taxes are likely to decline as well over time.

Conclusion: Point

While there is a clear relationship between T&T’s standard of living and the wealth generated by the natural gas industries, it is much less clear how much taxes are generated by Point Lisas and by Atlantic LNG.

There is no line item in any Estimates of Revenue document outlining how much taxes are paid by the methanol (or the ammonia and LNG) companies operating in T&T.

No one—and I mean NO ONE—is in a position to say that the companies on the Point Lisas estate generated $7 billion in the 2016 fiscal year because T&T does not analyse its national accounts in a way that would facilitate that kind of information.

So, there is no accounting, on an annual basis, for the amount of taxes paid directly by the Point Lisas operators or by Atlantic LNG.

Is it not an unsatisfactory, if not acceptable, state of affairs that the two largest generators of taxes in this country remain a black hole?

To illustrate this point: In delivering the 2017 budget, Finance Minister Colm Imbert read out that he expected T&T’s total tax revenue during the current fiscal year to amount to $47.44 billion.

Of that amount, he estimated that, based on an oil price of between US$48 and US$50 a barrel and a natural gas of US$2.25 per mmbtu, T&T would generate $2.57 billion in “oil” taxes (presumably from oil AND gas) and $44.86 billion in “non-oil” taxes.

Of the $44.86 billion estimated to come from the non-oil sector, there is an assumption that a significant percentage of that would be derived from taxes on the sale of products from the Point Lisas companies such as methanol, ammonia, urea, melamine as well as from Phoenix Park Gas Processors—propane, butane and natural gasoline.

But there is no transparency in terms of how much revenue is generated by Point Lisas. None at all. Zilch. Zero.

Conclusion: It is very

It seems to me that the standard of living that an entire generation of people—and I am included in that cohort—have taken for granted is under threat from the structural changes that have taken place in the global energy industry.

The reference here is specifically to technological developments that have allowed the US to be transformed from a net importer of natural gas to a net exporter of the commodity, produced from shale.

That development has changed the market for natural gas and its derivatives forever (by which is meant for the next 20 years or so).

What that means is that T&T will very soon not have a price advantage in terms of natural gas available for sale. What this country has is companies that have built plants over the last 40 years that would be much more expensive to build in the US. That provides this country with a window during which the all-in cost of production of a tonne of methanol may continue to be less expensive here than in the US.

But that advantage disappears if the aggregator and distributor of natural gas to all of the companies on the Point Lisas estate, the National Gas Company (NGC), is unable to satisfy the contractual obligations of its client on the estate.

Which brings me to my final point: If T&T needs to find more natural gas to facilitate the continuation of Point Lisas and Point Fortin, then the companies that spend billions to find and bring the natural gas ashore are going to need to be more suitably incentivised for the cost and risks involved in finding more natural gas.

On the other hand, given the reality of shale gas in the US, the Point Lisas companies are not only going to want firmer guarantees about consistency of gas supply, they are probably also going to want more competitive gas prices to ensure that they stay here.

If the upstreamers want to be paid more and the downstreamers want to pay less, it seems obvious to me that the sacrifice is going to have to be made by the merchant in between the upstream and the downstream. That merchant, of course, is the NGC.

NGC has generated billions of dollars in revenue for T&T people. No time more so than between 2010 and 2015, when the previous administration called on NGC for larger and larger dividends every year...dividends that could have been reinvested in the company.

There is no doubt about NGC’s value. The question is: If the structure of the global natural gas industry has changed because of shale gas, can NGC remain the same.

In the last four months, Laventille-based Angostura—the producer of rums and world-famous bitters—has been wracked by the sending on administrative leave of its chief executive, Robert Wong, “pending an audit into matters touching and concerning his employment duties,” and an internal investigation of its chairman, Rolph Balgobin, over allegations made against him by a female executive.

As well, there have been reports that the publicly listed company’s former executive chairman, Lawrence Duprey, has made recovering control of Angostura the focus of his current ambitions.

Yet, faced with what many executives would perceive to be a poisoned chalice, the company’s new group CEO, Genevieve Jodhan, is undaunted and focused on delivering on the company’s December 2016 business plan.

That plan mandates that Angostura should increase its revenue from about $650 million in 2016 (its full-year results for the year have not been published as yet) to $1 billion in 2021.

To deliver on the mandate, Jodhan will be leading the company into a further diversification from its rum and bitters roots, with the addition of a second Solera alcohol retail shop in San Fernando in May.

The company is also working on a pilot basis on getting involved in the production of chocolate using T&T’s world-famous fine cocoa, paired with alcohol.

“We are working with a strategy consultant now in terms of what we want to be. We definitely want to be in the food and beverage sector,” says Jodhan.

Also driving sales would be the repackaging of the company’s LLB (Lemon, Lime and Bitters) beverage in April and the launch of a new flavour LLB, which will be lower caloried.

“In each product category—rum, bitters, distribution and LLB—we are looking to introduce innovations locally and globally, we are looking to push our premium rums with a little more investment in marketing,” the new CEO said.

As the first female CEO in the company’s 192-year history, Jodhan says she did not look at her appointment from a gender point of view. But, she admits, that for the “hard spirits industry globally, the appointment of a female CEO appears to be a big deal” as it has been dominated by male CEOs.

“I see it as just an opportunity that was presented to me and one that had to have been based on my track record in terms of supply-chain management, international marketing and export and business development,” Jodhan says, referring to roles that she has performed in her nine plus years at the company.

She was first hired by Angostura to streamline its supply chain in November 2007, which was then chaired by Lawrence Duprey, but had three executive directors, Patrick Patel, Gabriel Faria and Michael Carballo.

“I reported to the three of them for my first six months. It was interesting,” she says, with a chuckle.

Jodhan’s move from supply chain to business development came under the stewardship of manufacturing executive Wayne Yip Choy, who ran the company between November 2009 and September 2011.

Yip Choy was fired by former Angostura chairman Gerry Yetming in a dispute over bonus payment. Yip Choy sued for wrongful dismissal, winning his case last July in a judgment by Justice James Aboud, who awarded the litigant $28 million award, which weighed down Angostura’s 2016 financial performance.

Asked how she viewed the prospect of Angostura coming back under the control of the CL Financial empire, Jodhan said: “My view is simply this: I am a steward of a company that has international brands and has been around for 192 years and we want to set the groundwork for us to be around for another 200 years.

“Whoever our shareholder is does not matter because we, as an executive team, are not giving too much thought to that issue. We are working right now to grow the business.

“I do not have any views on who the main shareholder should or should not be.”

She says this focus on growing the business is something that she is pushing in the company’s strategy meetings.

“We know our investors, whoever they might be, would look to the management of the company for a return on their investment and we are trying to deliver that.”

On the issue of CL Financial’s $984 million debt to Angostura, which has been raised by shareholders at the last four annual meetings, Jodhan said: “We, Angostura, met with CL Financial. I gave a presentation at that meeting at which we gave a proposal as to how the debt can be settled. The proposal is being considered but it has to be secondary as CL Financial needs to agree a resolution of the larger issues with the government and then the issue of the $984 million debt to Angostura will be considered.”

She said Angostura’s proposal for the resolution of the CL Financial debt was “favourably received,” and “palatable to them” adding that if the debt is settled, the rum and bitters company will be in a different game in terms of acquisitions.

Another issue raised by shareholders at the annual meeting is whether the company can increase its dividends, by paying out more of its earnings back to the shareholders.

“That would be a question for the directors of the company, but I know from the executive’s point of view, we have factored in the funding of our growth over the next five years.”

The strategic plan calls for growth by retained earnings, with little recourse to debt-financed growth.

Throughout the interview, Jodhan refers to Angostura as a small, independent fish fighting against the much larger players in the spirits world.

She says the industry has gone through a great deal of consolidation.

Asked whether the company she leads will be acquired or if it will be acquiring, Jodhan says it can go either way, depending on the directors and the owners of the company.

She agrees the balance sheet of the company has been transformed in the eight years since the government took control of CL Financial and that what used to be a company that was highly leveraged is now almost debt free with a strong balance sheet.

“We are in a good position,” Jodhan says, “We think we can set the groundwork in the next five years for some really strong growth.”

Whoever our shareholder is does not matter because we, as an executive team,

are not giving too much thought to that issue.

We are working right now to grow the business.

While the term “globalisation” may have been conjuring up negative images in some quarters recently—considering the UK’s Brexit vote and a slew of unsettling events in the US—it is, in fact, quite a natural phenomenon. Globalisation occurs over time and in different forms and history is replete with examples of how trade among nations has shaped societal changes and built economies.

Similarly, one can be expect that economic downturns will occur cyclically, very often resulting in the reshaping the business landscape in the process. From all indications, this is the point at which T&T now stands today, that is, in a period of adjustment. With a weakened global market for our petrochemical products that has driven both our energy and non-energy sectors for more than half a decade, this country is faced with two options: diversify or be damned.

The current economic circumstances have invariably caused many business operators to seriously ponder upon their future survival. As a leading business services organisation, the T&T Chamber recognises the critical role it must play in equipping members with the tools, information and tangible support to make it in the “new normal”. Naturally, that support extends far beyond our membership, into the wider national community, through the very essence of the work we do.

While it might not be possible to completely avoid the effects of an economic downturn, it is possible to buffer the effects upon your business. Of course, this will call for proper planning, risk-taking, creativity and a willingness to shift gears and change course. With the right mix of these ingredients, we believe it will be possible for businesses to not only survive, but thrive.

But how can this be effected?

Many of us are familiar with fact that the Chinese word for “crisis” also has a nuanced reference to “opportunity”, thereby giving rise to the idea that there is opportunity in crisis. One strategy that has worked for several companies is to continue investing, even during a period of economic decline.

Willingness to take risks is often cited as a strategy for success. However, in many instances, this risk is not just a “gut feeling” but one founded upon thorough and extensive research and development (R&D). Investing in R&D is, therefore, a very useful strategy in an economic downturn, and partnerships between established companies and start-ups can be a rewarding experience. And, for individuals with a start-up product or service, as well as established operations looking to expand their reach, networking events are valuable for connecting with potential business partners and complementary alliances.

Financial institutions that support and encourage innovative activities stand to benefit tremendously.

While not all risk-takers will succeed, a percentage will hit their targets spectacularly enough to make it worth the while. True and intrepid entrepreneurs rarely ever give up.

Investment can also take the form of exploration of new markets. Global trade is a matrix with large trading blocs, bi-lateral agreements negotiated on occasion.

Trade missions—similar to what the T&T Chamber will be mounting in June to Guyana—present remarkable opportunities, even for SMEs to begin this exploration. This mission follows on the heels of two similar undertakings to Cuba and Panama in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

With the pending exit of Britain from the EU and rumblings from some of its other constituent members, the world is watching with interest to see how trade relations will be affected and what new opportunities for trade might emerge.

T&T has been a partner to the Cariforum-European Union’s European Partnership Agreement (EPA) since 2008, allowing for reciprocal trade with the EU in various categories of goods and services. Through the Trade.com facility in Brussels, the T&T Chamber led the way in 2012 with a 13-member delegation to three countries of the European Union. The EPA remains in place and the time is right for our local companies to explore how to leverage the opportunities.

Companies must also be ready to innovate their current operations. This might, ultimately, mean shaking up the status quo, but once it achieves the objective of exceptional customer service and satisfaction, then it’s all good.

With less available disposable income, customers and clients will be seeking out the best return on their dollars. If it means engaging in promotional activities where none was required before, lowering prices or adding a new feature to make customers more comfortable, then so be it. In times like these, repeat business bears real value while customer loyalty is paramount.

Today’s marketplace is global, thanks to technological advances and more specifically, the Internet. Several companies have made their fortunes solely through online-based sales, while others utilise a combination of brick-and-mortar versus virtual sales. While this has been slow to take off in T&T—in part due to the legal framework—it is slowly but surely increasing. It means you can peddle your wares at any time of the day or night to a virtually unlimited market. It seems that service providers who peddle their expertise globally have been more embracing of the platform thus far.

The above considerations played a major role in our decision to invite chairman and CEO of the Unicomer Group, Mario Simán, to address the business community at the T&T Chamber’s annual networking luncheon scheduled for Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre.

Mario Simán, a native of El Salvador, has successfully turned around several companies, starting as early as 1982 with a troubled Honda motorcycle dealership in Miami. As he shares his experiences in his keynote address, we are certain that members of the business community will not want to miss the opportunity to share in his knowledge, the discussions about the highs and lows of business and how to win.

The T&T Chamber event is open to public. Interested parties can contact the T&T Chamber on 637 6966 extension 1252 or e-mail sboodoo@chamber.org.tt to register and secure your attendance.

You walk into a financial institution and sit in front of an investment adviser or client service representative. You have some money to invest and, with some apprehension, indicate this to the person sitting across the table. As the conversation evolves you are asked whether you want to take on low-, medium- or high-risk investments. Confusion begins to take over and the way out is often when your adviser asks you a series of questions in order to assess your tolerance to risk.

At the end of that process a recommendation will be made as to the types of investments that are suitable for you and an investment portfolio developed. Your risk tolerance, as assessed by your financial adviser, attempts to ascertain your comfort level with changes in market prices and volatility. If you are comfortable in this environment then stocks will likely form part of your portfolio mix. If you are deemed to be uncomfortable with volatility then the portfolio will be skewed towards fixed income products.

This approach is fairly widespread even to the point where it is considered to be standard practice.

Many will be familiar with this process when seeking investment advice. Even the regulators encourage this practice as it seems to be able to determine whether an investment is suited to your needs or not.

The problem with this approach is that it is all backward looking. Your ability to accept volatility in the price of your investments is a function of your prior experience first and foremost. If you are experienced with market volatility then you will be less concerned.

In addition, your current financial status (which is built up over time) would also impact your ability to handle volatility.

Someone in their twenties with no prior investment experience is likely to come out as very intolerant of risk and so would be placed into a fixed income portfolio. This is because they have no financial buffers and have little experience with market price fluctuations.

Yet they have an investment horizon that spans over 20-30 years and beyond and there is no stock market in the world that has not shown a positive return over such a long-time horizon.

Very often the suitability tests that you encounter position you in a way that may not best suit your investment needs and this is something to consider as you participate in the process with an investment professional.

For many other investors you may not even get to the point of determining your suitability for a particular investment as the investment professional focused on meeting a sales target or quota jumps right into the mix of making recommendations based on the cadre of products that they have to sell.

In this scenario it is often a situation of luck and chance to arrive at a successful investment outcome as you may inadvertently be placed into a product that performs well over time or the opposite may happen. When that is the case, the easiest option is to blame the market for the lack of performance.

Made to spend

To find a way out of these all-too-common scenarios the key principle I want you to grasp is that money is there to be spent. A significant portion of your life is taken up trying to earn money and another significant portion goes toward spending it. The question, therefore, is not if but rather when you choose to spend your money.

You can either choose to spend it now in the form of consumption. Spend what you don’t yet have, in which case, you incur a debt. Or you can spend in the future in which case you may want to save or invest the sum relating to the spending that is being deferred. If you don’t spend it then it goes to your successors and they will spend it. Whichever way it goes, the money will be spent.

If you are going to spend your money in the future then what you do with it today is to either save or invest it in the hope the funds will be available for you in the future to spend as you so choose. If you appreciate this point, then you should be able to take the next logical step and recognise that before you walk into the meeting with the investment professional you should give some thought to what the money you are seeking to either save or invest is going to be use for.

There is a difference between saving and investing.

Saving involves the accumulation of funds while investing involves trying to seek a return on those funds. You need to learn to save before you decide to try your hand at investing. In fact, you need to learn to save before engaging in just about any other financial activity.

This is where parenting comes in and those that have been blessed with an understanding of how to treat with money as taught by their parents have a distinct advantage in life. The one thing we are sure to witness as children is how to spend.

Our parents will take us to the grocery, they will take us shopping, they will buy stuff for us. We observe how they spend. It may, however, be a bit more difficult for a child to observe how parents save. Yet, this is a fundamental skill in dealing with money.

Most people upon finding a job are wont to take out a loan. This may be for the purpose of buying a car or it may simply be the case of getting a credit card to make spending easier. What most people don’t appreciate is that the discipline of saving is exactly the same as paying back a loan. Despite this I have heard it many times from people who are in debt that they find it difficult to save.

Repaying a debt involves making periodic payments, called installments, to the bank or other lender, usually each month. Saving—which I have already defined as the accumulation of money—is the reverse but it involves the same steps and actions.

If you are taught how to save then you are simultaneously taught how to borrow and repay a debt. If you have difficulty in setting aside a sum of money on a periodic basis as savings then you should not go anywhere near borrowing money because then you can find yourself with an obligation that you cannot fulfill.

Teach our children to save

I urge parents to teach your children how to save. It is more than just setting up an account and letting money go into that account every month, not to be seen or known about by the child. Without savings you have no surplus money to invest and you will be challenged to adopt the behaviours that are required to pay back a loan.

Saving is a fundamental and necessary skill that you should nurture your children towards so they become proficient at it.

Having grasped the concept of saving and investing and being taught how to save, applying that understanding to what your money is to be spent on becomes relevant. If money has a purpose then it is likely to be used wisely. If it is not given a purpose then it is likely to be frittered away on whatever temptation comes before you at a point in time.

When you want to determine which investments are appropriate for you the purpose that you are going to use the money in the future is more important in determining where to invest than your risk tolerance. The tolerance for risk is exactly that, a tolerance, and this is something that can be learned and understood over time with the appropriate coaching from your financial adviser.

If you intend to spend money accumulated now in 30 years’ time then your current tolerance for changes to the prices of the investment instruments is of little consequence. If you intend to spend money accumulated now in a couple years time then changes to prices can have a significant impact on whether you would be able to use the money you have set aside in the way that you want to in two years’ time.

Always ensure you have established a purpose for your money and, as far as possible, stick to the intended purpose.

To do this properly you need to have a clearer idea of what you want out of life and how money can enable those aspirations. That’s where the conversations should start, but in order to have such a conversation you need to have some idea of what you want beforehand.

Ian Narine can be contacted via email at ian.narine@gmail.com

DOODNATH: DICKY Nehruformally of Ramjohn's Trace, Penal died on Tuesday 7th March, 2017. He was the sonof Samuel and Esther Doodnath (dec). Husband of Ruby. Father of Nicole. Brother ofEdison (Hazroon), Winston,Shelly (dec), Jasmine, Sita (Bhim), Kamla, Indira and Patricia (dec).

Funeral of the late Dicky Nehru Doodnathtakes place on Saturday 11th March, 2017 from the House of Mourning, Montoute Trace,San Francique to the San Francique Presbyterian Church at 10:00am andthence to the Belgrove's Cre-matorium at 2:00pm.

The Tourism Development Authority is being dissolved and will be replaced by two separate agencies one with oversight for Tobago and the other for Trinidad and for the first time there are plans to create a Regulatory Authority to manage and monitor standards for the tourism industry in this country.

The announcement was made by Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe following the Cabinet meeting at the Magdalena Grand Resort in Tobago yesterday.

She recalled that the Prime Minister had announced in March last year that the TDC was being reviewed and it is in that light that the decision was made after reviewing the structure and management.

The dissolution will not be immediate, however, as the minister said the process will have to be done in accordance with law.

Cudjoe told the media that the Regulatory Authority is a new item in the Public Sector Investment Programme, “it is the first time,” she said, that the country was trying to set “mandatory standards” for the tourism industry.

“We are at the state where we are engaging countries that have functioning Regulatory Authorities, such as the Bahamas and Barbados, to assist us as we establish the new structure,” she said.

The minister said T&T “is the only destination that does not have a Regulatory Authority or basic standards that are mandatory.

“Right now the standards programme in Trinidad and Tobago is voluntary and if we ought to compete with the rest of the region we have to ensure that we meet the necessary standards and we could compete neck to neck and become more attractive like the rest of our competitors in the region. So I think the regulatory authority would go a long way.”

She added: “We have been in consultation and conversation with members from Caribbean destinations the Bahamas, Barbados and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation for assistance in doing the consultations to establish this new Regulatory Authority, so we look forward to these new structures and these new arrangements as we advance the development of tourism and focus more on Tobago tourism Development.”

She said the decision will not affect brand Trinidad and Tobago “that is what makes us stand out we have two for one,” but she said “there are specific markets that are interested in Tobago,” such as Europe and Scandanavia, and the Tobago market will focus more on those.

Once the TDC is dissolved she said the Tobago House of Assembly will have the “authority and autonomy” to treat with matters of tourism.

The announcement came at a time when hoteliers in Tobago have been expressing concern about the lack of marketing and declines in tourist arrivals on the island.

President of the Tobago Chamber, DemiJohn Cruickshank, told the T&T Guardian that they welcomed the minister’s announcement and are hoping that it will not “take too long to get everything up and running.”

He said Tobago had long “been clamouring for a tourism authority because we felt everything relating to tourism takes too long including approvals for projects and marketing of the island as a tourism destination.”

Cruickshank noted that while Caribbean tourism had been growing “we declined from ninety thousand visitors in 2008 to 18 thousand visitors last year that is unacceptable.

“If we have an authority to deal with proper marketing and getting the tourism product up and running that will be good.”

Meanwhile, discussions continue today on the Sandals Resort.

Chief Secretary of the THA Kelvin Charles who sat in on yesterday’s Cabinet meeting said the meeting involves key local players “to further discuss and move the process forward.”

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Stuart Young, said a negotiation team had been appointed and “we intend to begin the negotiation process with Sandal very shortly, it is moving along.”

He said “we will engage in the necessary applications for the relevant statutory approvals and consultations at the appropriate time.”

That he said will come when we have signed off on something but we have not reached that far.

Cudjoe also said there was a ten per cent increase in visitor arrivals for Carnival—46,663 people came to the country. Fifty per cent more people came from the United States and 31 per cent more came from Canada.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh believes the time has come to “start a conversation to a new paradigm to have a voluntary blood donation system,” in this country, which will put an end to the trauma which families undergo when they have to find persons to give blood required for surgical procedures.

The minister raised the issue as he spoke at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Magdalena Grand Resort in Tobago, where he announced that Cabinet had taken what he described as the “brave and bold decision to operationalise the United Nations Report of 2013,” which he said “recommended the establishment of a National Public Health Laboratory system for Trinidad and Tobago.”

Deyalsingh said the facility would be “state-of-the art,” and would incorporate all the current regulatory agencies including CARPHA, the Chemistry and Food and Drugs Division and the National Blood Transfusion system.

It will be constructed on nine acres of land in Valsayn near the UTT training facility, but he could give no cost or timeframe for the facility saying they will now go out for tender for “consultancy services for design and so on.”

Deyalsingh said the new facility will “enhance the country’s response to public health issues,” and will significantly enhance the regulatory capabilities which the Chemistry and Food and Drug Division have to manage.

Operations at the Food and Drugs Division have been hampered in the past several months because of problems at the facility.

But the minister was “particularly happy that the National Blood Transfusion Service will finally get a proper home,” saying “the current facilities are outdated.”

Responding to reporters’ questions about the priority being given to the facility when there are public concerns about a shortage of beds at the nations’ hospitals, Deyalsingh spoke of a medium- to long-term plan to address concerned about bed shortages at Hospitals.

He said the Point Fortin hospital will add an additional one hundred beds and the Arima Hospital will add one hundred and fifty beds to the existing complement.

In addition he said: “we have just finished the user brief for a Hospital in Sangre Grande.”

Health he said “ is not just physical structures, you also need the underlying support agencies to do diagnostic and public health work.

“It is not a sexy thing but I cannot emphasise how important it is to mount a public health response especially when it comes to the National Blood Transfusion Service.”

He said as it stands now if citizens have to undergo surgery, the health officials “tell you go and find blood donors.”

That system he said is unfair to already “traumatised patients and their families,” who must now go out and find donors and sometimes “having to pay persons to give blood, we need a system so that citizens are not traumatised to find blood.”

 Two men, a Chinese and a Guyanese, were each fined $5,000 yesterday after appearing on separate charges of illegal entry into the country and possession of a tampered passport.

Decao Yang, 22, who has been in the country illegally for more than two years, pleaded guilty when he appeared  before San Fernando magistrate Gloria Jasmath.

Yang was arrested on January 24, 2007 at Cipero Road, San Fernando.

Court prosecutor Sgt Harold Ishmael said Yang was walking along the road when he was stopped and interviewed by officers of the Immigration Division Enforcement Unit who were patrolling the area. 

After discovering that Yang was here illegally, the officers took him to the San Fernando Immigration Office.

Yang was kept in custody while Cpl Curtis Howard conducted inquires. 

The prosecutor said on March 9 Howard showed him a boarder management system report which showed he entered and left T&T in September 2014. There was no record of him returning to T&T.  

In answer to the magistrate, Yang, through the assistance of Chinese interpreter Aaron Leung, said  he had been staying with friends here. He offered no other information and was not asked any other questions.  He was given a month to pay the money or serve six months in jail. 

In the other matter, Guyanese national Travis Sampson, 22, also pleaded guilty to having a tampered passport. He was detained on February 2 at Chin Chin Road, Cunupia by officers of the Las Lomas Police Station after they discovered he too was in the country illegally.

 Sampson was subsequently handed over to an immigration officer and Cpl Howard conducted inquires which revealed the stamp on his passport was no longer authorised to be used by the Immigration.

When confronted with this, Sampson said, “My mother got that stamp for me.”

Sampson told the magistrate that they did not know the procedure to get an extension to stay, but his mother met a woman who took $1,800 to get his passport stamped.

She told them she knew an immigration officer and in three days they could collect the passport.

He said on the third day his mother collected the passport with the stamp, but did not meet the immigration officer.

Sampson was also given a month to pay the fine or serve six months in jail.

The public health system failed Spiritual Baptist Archbishop Monica Randoo, who died after there was no one to do a scan at a medical institution she visited, says Sterling Belgrave, a leader in the Baptist community.

Addressing a large crowd at her funeral service in the Judah Spiritual Baptist Church at Waterhole, Cocorite, yesterday, Belgrave said if there was someone at the institution to do the scan, Randoo may have been alive today.

He said because she did not get the scan, the right medication could not have been administered to her.

Randoo, 80, who reportedly suffered from a stomach ailment, died last Sunday. She was a mother of nine children.

Belgrave told the crowd, which spilled outside the church and onto the roadway, it was time for Baptists to get their own doctors and nurses.

There was no open mourning for Randoo and the service, which included intermittent singing and drumming, was celebratory.

“I must walk this lonesome valley alone,” they sang.

A long wooden staff with a glass of water under it blocked the entrance to the church where Randoo’s casket lay. In attendance were former Culture minister, Joan Yuille-Williams, PNM Senator, Foster Commings, former UNC minister, Archbishop Barbara Burke and Brother Resistance (Lutalo Masimba), president of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Association.

Delivering the eulogy, Randoo’s son Barry said from the age of eight, his mother developed a strong love for the Lord and by 16, she was baptised into the Spiritual Baptist faith.

He said soon after baptism she wanted to “mourn” and, although her father wanted her to become a lawyer, her life’s mission from then was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“For her, the Bible held every answer. She lived to sing the praises of God and that is what gave her strength.”

Barry said Randoo founded the Judah Spiritual Baptist Church in the hills of Cocorite overlooking the Gulf of Paria opposite her own house.

He said she was employed at the St Ann’s Mental Hospital and ministered to struggling souls there. She also had a burden for the poor and oppressed and worked to help them in whatever way she could.

Randoo also served as one-time advisor in a former culture ministry and was instrumental in starting the school feeding programme and was part of the group who lobbied for a holiday for Spiritual Baptists.

Shouter Baptist Day will be celebrated on March 30.

Barry said his mother who had to fight many battles from childhood and faced them all head on.

“Whenever she met difficulties, she would say, ‘I am a lion from the tribe of Judah’.”

At this, the musicians burst into drumming and the crowd began to chant, “I never get weary yet.”

Randoo was laid to rest at Western Cemetery, St James, after the service.

On March 11, 2016 ArcelorMittal shut the doors on its steel operations in T&T throwing 644 workers on the breadline.

Workers who lost their jobs say its been a struggle to survive.

Some workers have had to accept jobs as security officers earning the minimum wage per hour or sometimes less.

One of the former workers, Baliram Thaklal told the T&T Guardian “for me, huh, what can I tell you it has been terrible.”

Thaklal, 52, has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Supervisory Management Diploma, and was a senior employee of ArcelorMittal who dedicated more than two decades of his life to working at the company.

Like many others his world fell apart when “out of the blue it seemed the company announced it was closing down.”

The closure came on the heels of a judgment by the Industrial Court forcing the steel company to pay $24,000 for laying off the workers in December 2015 without proper consultation with the Steel Workers Union.

In the ruling, Industrial Court President Deborah Thomas-Felix criticised the multinational company for failing to discuss the layoffs with the Steel Workers’ Union before it was implemented.

Thomas-Felix said there was “not a scintilla of evidence to justify layoffs without proper consultation other than disdain for orderly negotiations and good industrial relations practices. Having the right to lay off does not mean it can be applied arbitrarily or unfairly,” she said.

Shortly after the court ruled in favour of the workers, ArcelorMittal announced it was closing up shop and told the union it had begun liquidation proceedings.

Thaklal told the T&T Guardian that since then “I got my pension money, but because I was owing the bank the money went to the bank.”

Thaklal said he has “two sons who just finished NESC, and a daughter at university, my wife is a teacher, we have loans and a mortgage to pay.” He has a piece of land which he said he intends to sell so that “I can pay off my mortgage.”

Like many others, he said, he sought help from the Ministry of Labour but tired going to the Ministry up to today, he said, there is nothing to show that they doing anything.

Another worker Kirk Sooknanan said “life has not been the same since.”

Sooknanan said it has “been very hard. I thought this government could have cushioned the effect, but they unable.” He said the Ministry of Labour organised a job fair for the workers who had been terminated “but in a recession who hiring people.”

Sooknanan is of the view that instead of organising job fairs, “the Ministry of Labour should consider some kind of training to make us entrepreneurs, help us to become more self-sufficient.”

He accused the Ministry of “just wanting to give the public the image that they have concern for the people who lost their jobs but you not getting any help.”

He lamented the kind of treatment meted out to the former workers, “many times they just hear ArcelorMittal and they want nothing to do with you.”

He gave 26 years of his life to the steel company and “after that length of time your body is not in a position where you can start over at an entry level.”

The company declared insolvency and so workers were not paid severance and because Sooknanan is not yet 50 he was not paid his pension. He feels that is unfair “right now the bank on my back, my house and land for sale because I owing the bank. We will have to downgrade,” he said.

He is also selling the two vehicles which he owns.

His concern is not just for himself but his young children.

His 18-year-old daughter is in Upper Six and he has a five-year-old child in school.

“My daughter wants to go to university and I have to ensure that I can send her. It does not make sense that I leave house and land and she cannot get an education,” he said.

As he pondered his future, he said, he would like to get into “business, something like hydroponics, but the finance is not there to support that. That is the kind of support government should provide opportunities for people to get into business. But they short-sighted,” he said.

Sooknanan said he does not keep in touch with his former colleagues at work “because it is depressing all of us in the same boat, people don’t understand, but it takes a mental toll and it is disturbing.”

He is a self-taught mechanic and gets by on the jobs he gets fixing vehicles, “but 95% of my customers were ArcelorMittal workers and that clientele has fallen off. Now I have to depend on friends and family.”

Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus told the T&T Guardian the Ministry has organised training programmes along with NESC and the National Training Agency. The Employers’ Consultative Association also confirmed that it has been conducting training sessions on retrenchment and how to treat with retrenchment in these global economic times.

Mr Garcia has considerable experience as an educator at the primary and secondary levels, so he should share his knowledge of these matters to dispel growing concerns about safety in the nation’s schools.

The incident on Tuesday at a school in central Trinidad comes just over a month after the one on February 1 in which a nine-year-old Mayaro boy was beaten on the playground of his school in an attack so serious that he suffered a broken arm and had to undergo surgery. There was also another worrying incident at a San Fernando secondary school in which a student was knocked unconscious and suffered memory loss.

It is not just that these three incidents occurred within a short space of time but that in every instance ministry and school officials have been very economical with the facts. Also, there is no evidence of action being taken to improve safety at schools since then.

In the latest incident, the father of the injured pupil is claiming his eight-year-old son was attacked by an alleged bully and it was not an isolated incident. He claims the alleged bully often goes after his son’s snacks and the school principal’s response would be to talk to the aggressor, offering him snacks in an apparent attempt to calm him down.

Further, an official of the school claims the alleged bully was referred to the ministry’s behavioural psychologist since 2015 and was, at the time of the latest attack, under supervisional watch when he slipped away and managed to inflict severe damage on a fellow pupil. However the school official—adopting the same position as the minister—insists the injury was sustained during a game of police and thief.

Hopefully the further investigation promised by Mr Garcia will bring more clarity to the situation, although that will not be sufficient to ease the anxieties of parents across the country.

Details of this latest incident meet some of the criteria of bullying—hostile intent, repetition and distress but even if, as is being claimed by Mr Garcia and school officials, the boy was injured as a result of rough play gone wrong, that is also cause for concern and should have prompted swift intervention.

All children in T&T’s school system are entitled to a safe learning environment, so the onus is on Mr Garcia and the technocrats in his ministry to ensure that measures are introduced to ensure just that. Whether the problem is bullies or children with a propensity for rough play, there should be immediate action by the Student Support Services (SSS) Division, not just at the schools where the incidents took place, but across the board.

Bullying can have long lasting psychological and emotional consequences for victims and perpetrators, so even the hint of it taking place in a public school should trigger a firm response,

A clear message needs to be sent of zero tolerance for bullying and other violent behaviour in T&T’s schools. In addition, more teachers, students and parents should be involved in anti-bullying efforts, starting at the level of pre-schoolers at ECCE centres across the country.

Mr Garcia, who just a few months ago was claiming success in reducing violence in schools, must be seen to be dealing firmly and decisively with these recent incidents before something even worse happens.

It is not just that these three incidents occurred within a short space of time but that in every instance ministry and school officials have been very economical with the facts. Also, there is no evidence of action being taken to improve safety at schools since then.

Organised by Christina Lewis, the first International Women’s Day (IWD) march in Trinidad was held in 1958. This years’ IWD march, which will be held tomorrow, almost 60 years later, speaks to continued work over these decades to make gender equality and equity and women’s rights, a reality.

Come to the Savannah, opposite Whitehall, from 3 pm tomorrow, and see a new generation of young women and men, from organisations as diverse as Womantra and the National Council of Indian Culture Youth Arm, taking their turn in this long history.

The years between 1958 and now were not perfect for the women’s movement, and the women who continued the struggle were their own fallible and imperfect beings, but their commitment to a vision for the world, that was larger than the ups and downs of both patriarchy and collective efforts to resist it, was real.

Roberta Clarke, a feminist foremother to this younger generation, like so many other women, observed: “I remember when IWD was a handful of women marching (single file) in Woodford Square in Trinidad. We felt compelled to be visibly commemorating the day though we perhaps internally and silently wondered at its impact. Praises to CAFRA (the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action), Working Women, WINAD, DAWN (Development Alternatives for a New Era), the National Union of Domestic Employees and so many others.”

Many won’t know of or remember these organisations, but without them we wouldn’t be marching tomorrow, because, for a baton to be passed on, it has to be carried. We are supported by the Office of the Prime Minister (Gender and Child Affairs), which is the legacy of a global women’s movement pressing states to create a bureau that would advance gender justice, with the first being established in Jamaica in 1975. And, help co-ordinating simultaneous marches on Saturday across five Caribbean countries was provided by the Caribbean office of UN Women, itself a creation of a visionary women’s movement. Even the IGDS, which could bring the kind of support that universities should provide to social movements, is a result of 24 years of feminist women and men labouring so we could have the resources, experience and fearlessness we do today.

My first IWD March was in the mid-1990s, just when the world and its governments were being galvanised by the Beijing World Conference on Women. There were hundreds in the marches in those years, with state branches such as the police and defence force represented, Muslim women’s associations and women leaders in their communities; men against violence against women (MAVAW), and towering figures such as Joan Yuille-Williams marching right next to Hazel Brown and the women of the “Network.”

I was younger and more fiery then, always bouffing the gender bureau for doing too little. Time has taught me greater appreciation for those years, and the challenges which ministries of gender across the region face in being a feminist voice within the state, actively pressing against the status quo to end gender-based violence, transform our notions of manhood and womanhood, and insist there cannot be development for all, while sexism, homophobia and their dehumanising effects on women and men persist.

This year’s march is in solidarity with the Life in Leggings movement, started by two young Barbadian women, to break silences around sexual violence. It is in solidarity with the goal of equal pay for work of equal value, equity in terms of women and men’s participation and leadership in business and politics, and women’s economic empowerment. It is also in solidarity with the issues each of us sees as a denial of women’s rights and the solutions we want to see implemented.

We are inviting the nation’s religious, sports, youth, school, cultural and other groups; families and communities traumatised by the murder of girls and women in their midst; and individuals, who want to add to the people power we need, to “bring your message and come!” Women’s rights is everyone’s responsibility and this march is to gather our strength to boldly pursue changes we need.

Over years, I’ve learned that every effort does count, and you will be surprised who notices and feels less alone. I’ve learned to work across our differences, including with the state, for we need every ally we can get.

Tomorrow, a coalition of almost 20 organisations is giving momentum to another generation. Join us from across the nation. Together, we can make the future better for girls and women.

What’s quite troublesome in T&T is the detection rate for this crime, that is, the proportion of person(s) found and charged for these crimes. It’s pretty low. In 2013, the detection rate was 4.5 per cent. However, it almost doubled to 8.8 per cent in 2014 and was 8.2 per cent for both 2015 and 2016. All in all, it was under 10 per cent. This can’t be pleasing at all.

We need to tackle this on two fronts—one, law enforcement needs to do more and two, individuals need to take a greater responsibility in the protection of their vehicles. In this article, we will focus on the latter.

There are many ways in which individuals can prevent their vehicles from being stolen. Some are simple and free while others carry a cost that may be worth it.

One way is to always secure your vehicle and keep all doors and windows locked at all times. This includes even while the vehicle is in your garage, driveway, car park etc. Also, keep all doors locked while you are driving too!

Second, as far as possible, see if your car can be garaged rather than be left in an open street. More car thieves look for such open areas.

Third, don’t leave valuables in your vehicle or, if you have to do so, leave it out of sight. These are definite attractions to thieves who will go after both the vehicle and valuables. You should make it seem that there’s nothing worth stealing in this vehicle. In T&T, there’s a tendency for people to have loud music systems installed in their vehicles which attract car thieves. Here, sight is not the issue; it’s the sound of music.

Fourth, you may not even recognise this but where you place your car keys when you are at home is a contributing factor if your car is stolen if someone breaks in. If car keys are placed in easily identifiable places like next to a door or open window, on a table, etc, you are facilitating this crime. Secure your keys better at home.

Fifth, make smart decisions where parking. For example, where possible, look for places that are well lit. Also, you should park close to the entrances of buildings as well as close to security cameras in parking lots. For those who use parking garages, see if you can park close to security cameras as well as the attendant.

Sixth, don’t leave your engine running as it’s an open invitation to thieves. In the USA for example, almost half of motor vehicle thefts are done when the engine in left running.

Seventh, if you have to park your vehicle on an incline, you can leave it in a gear or parked and turn your wheel towards the curb or use some other kind of obstruction to make it more difficult for thieves to tow your vehicle.

Eight, make use of anti-theft devices. You may know that insurance companies offer discounts if your vehicle has these. It’s a double win for you—cheaper insurance premium as well as less likelihood that your car will be stolen! Car thieves are looking for a car that is easy to steal, so make it hard for them. The club (a metal bar) is a good visual deterrent that can be considered.

Ninth, hidden kill switches can be used as theft prevention. As thieves need to get the vehicle started, without the keys and knowledge of the kill switch, they can be stopped in their tracks.

Tenth, there are several technology-based auto recovery tools that are available for you to access. Some of these include GPS technology whereby the location of your vehicle is identified. This should be used for the safe recovery of the vehicle by experts. Other technologies provide the ability to block your car’s ignition as well as sending a signal to your vehicle to make it slow down safely.

Eleventh, keep your car in good shape. Why? A well-maintained car will deter potential carjackers. The theory is that if the carjackers see that you care about your car, more than likely it will have alarms and other anti-theft features.

Twelfth, have an alarm sticker or LED on your vehicle. Having these visual signs make it a tougher job for thieves in that they will think twice before stealing a vehicle with these on it and look for another vehicle without such in a car park for example.

Thirteenth, by having a home CCTV system in place, larceny of motor vehicles can be prevented as it can be a visual deterrent for potential thieves. They may then look elsewhere.

The CISPS is a registered institution with the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT). Tel: 223-6999, 299-8635, info@caribbeansecurityinstitute.com or www.caribbeansecurityinstitute.com

“Make use of anti-theft devices. You may know that insurance companies offer discounts if your vehicle has these. It’s a double win for you—cheaper insurance premium as well as less likelihood that your car will be stolen! Car thieves are looking for a car that is easy to steal, so make it hard for them. The club (a metal bar) is a good visual deterrent that can be considered."

There is no shortage of news in T&T that is either completely disheartening or exasperating. Abandoning the newspapers isn’t a solution because, as you know, news is merely a reflection of what’s happening in society.

Living in a nation of crushing disappointment and a seemingly unalterable trajectory of failure is enough to make you consider renouncing your citizenship.

Ingesting this steady diet of negativity can have toxic effects on the mind. It’s important every now and then to celebrate the more redeeming, endearing qualities of life in Trinidad and Tobago. After all, we wouldn’t be so passionate about our disappointments or regrets if, in our hearts, we didn’t appreciate the true potential trapped beneath this smouldering landfill of squandered ambition.

There are many reasons to chide Trinis. We can be loud, obnoxious, rude and inconsiderate. There is, though, an unrefined charm found in most of us. This charm is often expressed in a simple word: “Mornin’!” At the parlour, in the bill-pay line, the licensing department or in any public place, this humble show of civility is still part of who we are.

I was in a line at TSTT recently when a stringy young man joined the queue and said loudly, “mornin’ everybody!” In response, most people in the line muttered “mornin.” It was like being in church. The priest says “Lord hear us” and the congregation return a muted “Lord graciously hear us.”

For new initiates to the phenomenon of the Trini morning greeting, it’s best when repeated for maximum effect. “Mornin’ mornin.” That is the preferred technique for entering a small shop or calling out to a residence if you are there to read the meter or deliver the word of Jehovah.

Such salutations might seem incongruous with today’s individualistic attitudes. I believe, though, these humble greetings are gentle reminders that we are all part of one human community. What we accept as a basic good manners is sometimes absent in other countries. I can’t tell you how many times I have got into an elevator in New York City and said good morning, only to be confronted with a silence so profound, it seemed as though the volume on the elevator music was suddenly turned up.

On my trips to New York, I discovered that a good morning greeting could be interpreted as an invasion of personal space. But then this is in a city where space is at a premium and visitors are advised not to look anyone in the eye when travelling on the subway. Still, I say good morning even if it fails to find firm purchase in hardened hearts. That’s just the Trini in me.

I am a true Trini in some ways, but not so much in many others. One area I fall short meeting the burden of full citizenship is this: I don’t walk around with a bird in a small cage. These caged songbirds are often entered in competitions and are prized for the remarkably complex musical arrangements they produce. We don’t see walking a bird as strange because it’s an entrenched part of our culture. Men take their birds to the parlour or even the doubles box. Come to think of it, it’s a little cruel to hang a bird cage in a tree or on a fence so its portable inmate can hear all other birds singing songs of freedom. But in this country, a bird in the hand is literally worth two in the bush. The most favoured species, the bullfinch, is increasingly difficult to find in the wild locally.

Another must-have accessory for the bird enthusiast is the multi-coloured netted vest. If the holes are large enough for your nipples to poke through, you are doing it right. It is the easy manner of a man and his bird on a sidewalk with a Styrofoam cup of coffee and newspaper underarm, that very much says home to me.

Just as fascinating, is the ability of Trinis to cobble together a lime anywhere. Of late I’ve seen small groups of men in my community, happily chatting with each other...in a drain. There is usually a small bottle of puncheon and chaser nearby; no ice, just vice. Perhaps it has something to do with our enduring love for a lime that’s anywhere near water. That would explain a curry duck river lime near to a water course that’s barely a trickle. A pot is stirred vigorously on the riverbank while “swimmers” lie prostrate in half an inch of water.

There are some things about the essence of what it means to be a citizen of T&T that bring a smile to even the most distressed countenance. Our stumbles sometimes make us forget that we are a people of diverse passions and hearts of infinite capacities. For all our propensity towards theft, deception and slackness, we have, in equal measure, an infectious joie de vivre, fathomless kindness and a granite grace in the face of adversity.

Just how relieved Government was regarding Tuesday’s success of the FATCA legislation in the Senate could have been measured by a single standout action which occurred that night.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert thanking the Opposition effusively. An otherwise (very) infrequent gesture.

There was Imbert, beaming with such delight that he overflowed with praise for at least one political opponent:

“Despite all the harsh words (Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen) routinely throws at the Attorney General, Senator Ramdeen did yeoman service, in the committee stage of (proceedings).”

“....Ye-o-man service!”, Imbert enunciated as the first of several sets of Opposition laughter began.

“It hurting you to say it, eh...” interjected Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge.

Continuing, without any apparent pain, Imbert responded: “I don’t know what so funny... Senator Ramdeen was the only one on the Opposition side who took the work seriously. I must say that about him—it’s a fact!”

“Because when we met with the others, they only talked. The first person who put something in writing... the only person was Senator Ramdeen... once we got something in writing we were able to reach closure.”

But Imbert wasn’t “giving” without doing some “taking” also:

“However Senator Ramdeen, if he’s politically honest, would admit that sometimes he’d give us memorandum at 4 pm—but by 9 am the next day, the Attorney General would have an answer to every single point!” Imbert boasted, adding the AG and staff to his thanks.

“The only reason you thanking the AG is if you ent do that, he would fire you...” Sturge quipped.

After FATCA endings, now comes FATCA operationalisation and whether any costs could arise for the public as financial institutions implement the framework and US citizens, green card holders and local US owned interests—restaurants, businesses etc—pay up. RBC on Thursday assured its recent fee hikes weren’t due to FATCA implementation.

Having bested the FATCA round with the US, next focus will be on how T&T’s interests in energy, security, financial and foreign affairs are promoted in the US by Arthur Collins’ lobbyist, the GROUP.

According to the October 2016 agreement signed by the Finance Ministry’s acting Permanent Secretary and Collins, the company was to have met the Ministries of National Security, Energy, Foreign Affairs and Finance by last December at least to formulate implementation strategies and “plan with time tables for deliverables” for submission to the Prime Minister’s office.

Questions may arise as to how much headway Collins’ group—so heavily identified with the past Obama administration as it’s been described—may be able to achieve for T&T with the current Republican Trump administration to “further promote investments and improve legislative and other relations, as Government wants.

Government signed the $14.7 contract a month before the November, 2016 US Presidential election, clearly expecting US Democrats would have won.

UNC MP Bhoe Tewarie had asked Prime Minister Keith Rowley on Monday if the GROUP’s Democratic alignment now presents a problem regarding lobbying access for T&T, given the US’ Republican administration. (Particularly Trump’s fierce stance on Obama.)

Rowley didn’t think it would, though admitting the US election had “surprisingly” (sic) produced a Republican President. Rowley felt with the nature of lobbying and structure of the US government, “the President is only one part of the system apart from the Senate, Congress,” and he was satisfied the lobbyists could “prosecute our interests.”

Tewarie said Thursday Rowley didn’t really answer how the Democratically aligned lobbyists would access the Republican party, “also, judiciousness should have caused the PNM not to cement arrangements on a lobbyist until US elections were over, but they signed the agreement just weeks before.”

UNC officials say Collins isn’t unknown to them. How well the UNC may be acquainted with Collins and his expertise prior to 2015 general elections remains to unfold. As will, how much Collins’ decades of work in USpolitical trenches may serve T&T.

Wikipedia stated, “Though he flies very much under the radar, Collins uses his access and expertise to aid his clients ... as they navigate Washington’s complex administrative, legislative and regulatory environments.”

Other websites note his company has lobbied largely in the US Senate and Congress. One academic school of thought is, it’s better for T&T to have someone “try” on its behalf than not at all.

There’s also hope the tests for Trump’s administration would include how relationships—within and without the US—are handled (and that his administration realises that soon.)

Given T&T’s economic constraints—where every $14.7 million may be viewed as necessary for local input over uncertain foreign assistance—Government must be prepared for scrutiny and to be accountable on its lobbyists’ performance, particularly since it pertains to four key areas. And hope it yields tangible benefits. Or risk taking fire on another issue

I was lying on the bed reading with my son Kyle, who will be two years old in May, next to me, when he put his face close to mine and said: “Kyle Kijani Baldeosingh loves his Daddy.”

And yes, that’s very nice, but I’m still in second spot: his mother gets spontaneous hugs (I have to request mine) and a “Mommy, I love you sooo much!”

But it’s only over the past few weeks that I have started to feel like I’m getting a handle on being a father to my son. I didn’t have this challenge with my daughter Jinaki, who is two years older than Kyle. Somehow, I had a template in my head for relating to her. But, when I found out that we were expecting a boy, I posed a simple question to my social media network: What’s a good pet name for a boy?

The responses were pathetic. The best I got was the Americanism “champ”, and I was actually aghast when two women suggested that I call my son by the same pet names I use for my daughter–ie sweetie, honey, sugarplum. This only revealed that these women had no clue about the male mind–and one of them had a son!

Only after Kyle was born did I come up with a pet name for him–“sweetboy.” Not only is this equivalent to what I usually call his sister, but he really is a sweet boy: almost always cheerful, rarely fussy, and very affectionate. But, more importantly, I discovered that I could without any sense of dissonance express my own affection for my son in the same way that I express it for my daughter–with hugs and kisses. And I do a lot of the latter because, being male myself, I know for sure he will soon object to Daddy nuzzling him all over.

The core fact remains, however, that I figured out all this with no help from either other people or my parenting books, and it took me nearly two years to do so. This is mainly because the traditional father template is almost completely inapplicable for how I want to interact with my son. And this, I suspect, is true of most men with small children nowadays. I have been surprised, since Kyle was born, how many men, including those who aren’t fathers, want to hold him and play with him. But my surprise comes from the stereotype that men aren’t as loving towards children as women.

But I now know that my own attitude, far from being unusual, is typical. For example, a few weeks ago I bounced up a former colleague from journalism who I haven’t seen for many years and who now has a daughter the same age as Kyle. We spoke a little about work, and then our children, and at one point he smiled and said, “It really changes...” He didn’t have to complete the sentence–I nodded and said, “Yeah, boy.” And that fatherly fellowship is something that I have never read about anywhere, although there are tons of books and websites about women sharing their motherhood experiences.

My son loves me, and that’s a male love different from all other kinds of love. How our father-son relationship will work as he gets older is something I will have to figure out as it happens.

Much of the news on Monday, March 6 focussed on groups of people praying about the upsurge of crime including but not isolated to crime/violence against women. In situations where violence is perpetuated, it is expected that the weakest will suffer most–women and children, but also the elderly and young men/boys who continue to stand out as the ones whose pain has been ignored for many decades.

The Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar gave it the focus that I thought was so necessary and not as often identified. The reality of this has been with us for some time and it is tragic that we continue to need reminders that it is not going away just because we wish it to be so.

Our boys have been in trouble for a long time and I know that large pockets of the population especially in non-governmental organisations have recognised and even now are making their own contributions to address this problem. I am also one who has worked in the field and been pained by this awareness for many years.

What we require is not a short-term measure (though some can be saved even so), not a quick fix that we seem to like so much, to our own detriment. Everyone must be involved in the re-education of our people, in the education of our children that recognises their humanity, their vulnerability and not just for those with ability to learn subjects for a highly sought after profession.

Parents are invaluable in the education of our children. Communities are paramount in the fight against crime. Our religious bodies have an important role in supporting our desire to live a good life. However, we cannot ignore the fact that our schools can be pivotal in bringing together these agencies in the development of citizens and in perpetuating the positive values and attitude that are the cornerstone of our society.

Otherwise, why should it be necessary to spend billions of dollars taking our children year after year within its doors? The school is the environment in which we bring all that we believe about people and all that we aspire to achieve.

The spate of crime is what we reap from years of neglecting the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of so many. Maybe we can now give it the focus it deserves and work together on getting it right this time.

Dr Maraika Gooding

Educational and Child Psychologist

Playing at the National Cricket Stadium on Friday, Red Force were flirting with total collapse at 57 for five after being sent in, before Cariah stroked 92 and Katwaroo, 59, to steer the visitors to 250 for seven at the close.

Together, they added 114 for the sixth wicket – a partnership that saw Red Force to lunch on 63 for five and then helped them dominate the second session to be 163 for five at tea.

The left-handed Cariah was eyeing his maiden first class century when he was forced to retire hurt late in the final session. He has so far faced 197 deliveries in just over 4-1/2 hours and counted eight fours and a six.

Katwaroo, meanwhile, struck seven fours in an innings lasting 101 balls and 126 minutes.

When the partnership was broken, Khary Pierre stepped up to lend support to Cariah, hitting an unbeaten 39 off 110 balls in already over two hours at the crease. He has struck four boundaries.

Barbadian seamer Kyle Mayers was the best bowler with three for 24 while pacer Sherman Lewis weighed in with two for 48. (CMC)

T&T’s Kwesi Browne will head a field of Elite One category cyclists for the T&T Cycling Federation Track series which pedals off at the Arima Municipal Stadium Velodrome, from 3 pm this afternoon.

Browne is fresh off of securing a spot at the Union Cycling International (UCI) World Cycling Championship following impressive back-to-back performances at the Cycling World Cups in Colombia and Los Angeles in USA, recently.

Two weeks ago, he finished a distant 11th in the Keirin event in Los Angeles after he was involved in a crash nearing the end of the race.

However, his combined performances, in which he was among the finalists in the event in Colombia two weeks ago and his finish in Los Angeles placed him in the tenth position in the world, according to the UCI, and due to his ranking at the end of World Cups for 2016, he has earned the right to compete at World Championship in Hong Kong, next month.

Browne is the only T&T rider to have taken part at the World Cups to date but Olympic cyclist Njisane Phillips is expected to spring into action at the next World Cup which will take place after the World Championships.

In addition to Browne, Sheldon Ramjit, Thireef Smart Jovian Gomez and Jamol Eastmond are among the Elite One entrants while Teniel Campbell leads the Elite Women field.

Today’s events will mark a resumption of competitive racing following a break for the Carnival celebrations and some other unforeseen circumstances, and an exciting afternoon of racing is expected at Arima.

According to a release from Public Relations Officer, Roxanne Ramnath there will also be some criterium racing in between leading up to the Grand Prix.

Tomorrow, cycling will return to the Diego Martin Highway from 8 am, with the T&TCF Criterium Keep Fit.

This year’s Easter Prix will take place in two separate categories, according to events and venue.

Class One will be held at the National Cycling Centre, Balmain, Couva on April 17, due largely to the state-of-the-art facility and the events which will be similar to the types of events staged internationally, while Class Two will be at the Velodrome on April 14 and 15.