CEO of the Port Authority of T&T, Satnarine Bachew, wants the Port of Port-of-Spain (PPOS) to become financially independent by 2017 without having to depend on the State for assistance.

“It is no secret what is happening in the global economy with the price of oil and gas. There is a lot of nervousness with what is happening in China. T&T, being an oil and gas-dependent economy, needs to face the challenges. In the past, we have had a history of running to the Ministry of Finance every Monday morning with our cap in our hands. The time for that is over and we really need to put the port on a path where we become financially independent by December 2017,” he said.

The 19th report of the Joint Select Committee on Ministries 2014/2015, for Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises states that for the period 2004 to 2013, the Port Authority of T&T received subventions or subsidies amounting to $1.2 billion, while the Port Authority and the T&T Inter Island Service received subventions or subsidies amounting to $2.23 billion for the ten-year period.

The report indicates that for the most recent year for which data is available, the Port Authority received a subsidy or subvention of $150 million, while the allocation for the Inter-Island Ferry Service totaled $152 million.

In keeping with the Port Authority Act Chapter 51:01, the accounts of the PATT are required to kept separately from that of the Inter-Island Ferry Service.

The report also stated that the Port Authority suffers a loss of over $200 million annually.

Bachew, the former general manager of the Claxton Bay plant of TCL, said he wants to leave behind the days when people cynically referred to the port as the “port of pain” because of gross inefficiencies and mismanagement.

“We have been charting a new direction and we have many plans. In the past, people have used the term ‘port of pain’ and I am always hurt when I hear those comments being made. That is just one step. It is what you do about it and your response,” he said.

He gave information on the business units that fall under the port which include the PPOS, which is responsible for cargo handling, the Port-of-Spain Infrastructure Company which handles real estate, cruise shipping and harbour management and the T&T Inter Island Transport (TTIT) which handles ship transportation between Tobago and Trinidad.

Bachew, who has been CEO of PATT for the past three months, spoke two Fridays ago at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at a signing agreement between the Port Authority and the Seamen and Waterfront Workers’ Trade Union (SWWTU).

Transformation

Bachew said the company has identified four pillars upon which to base the transformation of the Port of Port-of-Spain.

These are customer service, equipment and infrastructure, processes and employees.

In the area of customer service, he said port has set up targets for their marketing employees in terms of how many customers they will target weekly.

He admitted that over the last year, the port has lost 30 per cent of its customer market and said they must become more aggressive and focussed to recapture that market.

“We intend to rebrand so the port will be the first choice among competitors. That will not happen by waving a wand but will come from clear strategic initiatives. We have been accused of not doing enough interfacing with customers in the past. When the chairman and I visited Miami a few weeks ago, the first question they asked us is where have we been for so long. Marketing cannot be done by sitting behind a desk, we have to be out there in the field, interfacing with people and listening to what their concerns are. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of our customers.”

In the area of equipment, he said it is no secret that the port has equipment that is 20 to 30 years old.

“Some of this equipment is obsolete and the maintenance is very challenging. We have to design programmes of how we are going to manage that old equipment and then acquire new equipment. We are looking at ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, then our tractor trucks which are key elements of our operations. We have ordered 25 new tractor trucks so our cycle time can be better. Those trucks are due by December 2015.”

The Port Authority has already ordered a new STS crane which should arrive in the first quarter of 2017.

“We recognise that if we are going to play in the global arena we must we must be on par with what our global competitors are doing. We are also seeking outside help to supplement what we are doing,” he said.

In terms of the port’s processes, he said that there are bottlenecks.

“We have now broken up the processes into segments so that we can see where the bottlenecks are. There are some hiccups with our NAVIS IT platform but we are working with it. We want to optimise efficiency and benefits of NAVIS. Up to this time we are not getting the full use of NAVIS,” he said.

He said an error the port made in the past was not sending their management team to other ports internationally to see how they plan and manage their systems but this has to change. In a competitive market they need to learn international best practice.

New work practices

Bachew said employees are an important part of the port’s transformation and a new relationship between the port and the SWWTU is a part of their plan to bring greater efficiency to the port.

He called the labour relationship a “game changer.”

“We agreed that our work practices many years ago have served the port in a certain stead but we have reached that point where we need to revisit and we need to enter into the global arena where the real action is and we have to get with the programme. The world is moving ahead of us. If we stand still we are going to be left behind,” he said.

He referred to the famous British biologist Charles Darwin, who said: it is not the strongest or the most intelligent species that survive, but it is the one most responsive to change.

“At the port we recognise the need to change and we are at that point where we are ready,” he said.

He said that the signing of the most recent collective agreement with the SWWTU in early September was a milestone.

“We have drilled into our hardcore work practices for the last 40 years and the time has come for a new dispensation. It was the first time that the collective agreement was signed so early. We have also agreed to modernise our work practices and that will result in increased efficiency.”

Bachew said sometimes people compare the Port of Port-of-Spain to other first world ports but this is not fair.

“Sometimes we believe we are third world and not as good as the Port of Singapore or the Port of Dubai because we have been conditioned like that. But we are not third world, we are first world. Whatever is done outside of T&T, we can do it. We must start believing in ourselves because we are just as competent and just as capable. We probably do not have all the technology or equipment but that we can get it.” 

Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre is yet to officially communicate to the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) on whether she will take her December 13, 2012 racial discrimination complaint against state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) for hearing at the Equal Opportunity tribunal. This was confirmed to Business Guardian on Tuesday morning by the commission. 

The EOC official, who did not want to be identified, said before the September 7 general election, Olivierre had verbally indicated to the EOC that she wanted the matter to be taken to the tribunal. Now that the general election has been completed—and Olivierre is the new Energy Minister—there has been no communication with the EOC about whether or not she intends to take the matter to a tribunal. 

Asked what was the possible reason for her non-communication, the EOC official said it was probably that the due to her role in the election but said they would continue to wait.

In her new role as Energy Minister, state-owned enterprises in the energy—including NGC—would be under her watch. 

Olivierre alleged in her complaint that she was denied opportunities for training and promotion while holding the position of assistant manager, enterprise risk management at NGC. 

The company, in its response to questions posed by Business Guardian in June, denied that it never practised or will ever practise any form of discrimination.

But Olivierre told the EOC that NGC unlawfully discriminated against her “in a manner that it refused her access to opportunities for promotion, transfer or training or any other benefit, facility or service associated with her employment contrary to the act due to her status of race.”

According to the complaint, Olivierre was one of four managers in the office of strategy management; the department which maintains NGC’s balance score cards (BSC). And, in accordance with OSM’s training, policy and risk mitigation plan, it was determined that all four managers be certified in Kaplan/Norton Balanced Score Cards. The Palladium BSC boot camp, based in the United States, was the most suited to the company. 

In note 9 of the complaint, Olivierre told the EOC that she had submitted the required documents for approval to attend the training but was soon informed that NGC’s president, Indar Maharaj, denied her request for approval on the grounds that NGC was well-versed in the area of BSC and, therefore, did not need further training in that area.

In Note 10: Olivierre claimed that the senior manager of OSM then recommended that she attend the Palladium summit on leading strategy execution as his replacement. The senior manager was due to attend but Maharaj said the senior manager was expected to retire in 2015 and for succession planning to occur an officer who reported to the senior manager ought to attend. Olivierre was then recommended but then denied on the basis that she was not originally scheduled to attend.

Dr Haydn Furlonge, manager, LNG and investment analysis, was granted approval to attend the programme. In her complaint, she stated that she and her supervisor were both of African descent while Furlonge was East Indian.

The gas company responded in Note 13, saying that no employee has the right to training, that training specifically in BSC is not exclusive to a particular department, the complainant was not deficient in training and there is existing protocol with regard to approving training.

In Note 14: NGC stated that training is based on budgetary approval as well. 

In Note 19: the commission in its supplemental notice to the respondent, asked NGC to explain why Furlonge who was not from OSM was granted approval to attend BSC training.

NGC on March 24, 2014, said it anticipated that BSC would be transferred from OSM to the commercial unit. 

NGC stated in its response to the EOC: “The respondent (NGC) has been engaged in the restructuring of its organisation since 2012. Despite this, not all of these policies have been formally implemented, the respondent has already put into practice some initiatives which reflects its new organisational structure. In particular, the monitoring of the BSC is to be fully transferred from its OSM to the commercial unit. In anticipation of this initiative, Hayden Furlonge from the commercial unit was selected to attend the BSC training in 2012.”

According to the EOC’s report, the list of names of employees which was submitted to the EOC who attended training “revealed that some persons went abroad more than once.”

NGC, according to Note 28, outlined to the EOC the circumstances which led to Olivierre’s non-attendance saying: 

• The manager of OSM recommended that the complainant attend the summit based on the instructions regarding succession planning. This recommendation came subsequent to the complainant being denied approval to attend the boot camp;

• The instructions regarding succession planning emanated from the president;

• The human performance enhancement nomination form for the complainant which includes the summit was included. 

It is in Note 29, however, that NGC stated that even though Olivierre acted as senior manager in OSM, there was no executive decision which identified her as a successor for the said position from among the four assistant managers reporting to the senior manager, OSM.

President Maharaj took up his appointment as president in April 2012, and identified a number of “shortcomings” with respect to certain arbitrary practices dealing with training and foreign travel.

There was need to spread the training across the management spectrum, NGC stated: “The president considered the necessity to adopt greater equity by the application of strategic training for management personnel across the organisation hence, Furlonge and a member of the board of directors attended the summit.”

NGC maintained that the president had, at no time, “refused or denied” Olivierre’s attendance to the summit. 

“It was stated that recommendation of any training or conferences overseas would usually come from the HR manager which would require the approval of the president. But, in the complainant’s case, no such recommendation was made as it was not part of her individual training programme,” the report stated.

In Note 32: the commission requested “information regarding the complainant’s prior request for training, specifically the boot camp. The respondent in its March 24, 2014 response indicated that requests by employees to attend foreign training are required to be submitted to the human resource department six to eight weeks before the training. 

“This stipulated timeframe allows for preliminary enquiries to be conducted (whether training is part of the training plan), determine whether the training is still within the budgetary constraints and to complete arrangements for travel and lodging. However, in this case, the complainant submitted her request approximately two weeks before the training was to commence. 

“The respondent indicated that despite the late submission, the human resource department drafted a memorandum for approval dated October 3, 2012 on the complainant’s behalf pending review of her application by the said department. It was stated that the memorandum was neither endorsed nor approved as the Kaplan Scorecards Boot Camp was not part of the complainant’s training plan and, as such, the application was not forwarded to the president for his approval.”

According to the commission: “An analysis of this information led the commission to find that the subject matter of the dispute may be resolved by conciliation and, further to this, the parties were invited to a session that was held on March 27, 2015. 

“When a matter is referred to conciliation, the commission’s staff prepares a Note for Conciliation which is a report that briefly summarises the complainant’s allegations and the respondent’s response. 

“This note is sent to the conciliator and to the parties and is intended to guide on the matters in dispute. It is not intended to be an exhaustive replication of the complaint form and the responses, but is intended to summarise the commission’s investigation and provide a framework for dialogue and discussion.” 

In Note 34: the commission said: “Subsequent to conciliation coming to an end with the dispute remaining unresolved, the respondent wrote to the commission by letter of April 21, 2015 and requested that the note be amended and reissued as it contained inaccuracies and “it is a source of great concern to us (the respondent) that these inaccuracies found their way in the note”. 

They identified four areas of concern specifically with respect to paras 13 of 17 of the Note. 

The paragraphs are reproduced hereunder:

13. The areas of inconsistency regarding this complaint include the fact that based on the listing of all persons who ever attended BSC training no other department besides the OSM has ever been sent on BSC training. Furlonge is thus the first person not from the OSM department to be sent on training of this nature. 

In their response, NGC stated they are currently in a restructuring phase and that it was the intention that the monitoring of the balance scorecard to be fully transferred from the OSM to the commercial unit. 

They further stated that in order to attend the training, Furlonge was required to give up another training which was part of his training programme. NGC did not, however, provide any documentation showing that BSC was transferred to the commercial unit.

14. In relation to Olivierre’s training, NGC stated that Olivierre attended BSC training during the period May 24-26, 2010.

Additionally, they confirmed that the OSM department already had the benefit of four persons who underwent training in balance scorecard. 

However, Olivierre alleges that the training she attended was not BSC training but was an in-house training targeted to all staff and was of a general nature and not as advanced as training received by the other members of her department. 

She further alleges that it was the assistant manager corporate performance management who conducted the workshops, who was the first member of OSM to do the Kaplan Bootcamp Training. 

NGC could provide no documentation in relation to this training, nor could they provide any information in relation to who attended the training, who facilitated the training and the nature of the training.

15. Another area of inconsistency relates to Olivierre’s training plan. NGC, in their response, stated that there is no right to training at NGC. They further stated that Olivierre’s application to attend the Kaplan Scorecards Bootcamp was refused by the human resource department since it was not included in her personal development plan for 2012.

However, in their second response NGC provided a copy of Olivierre’s training and development plan and budget for the year 2012. This training plan lists “Knowledge of Balanced scorecard tools” as a training need and then identifies “Kaplan Norton Balanced Scorecard Certification Boot Camp” as HPE Intervention to address the identified needs.

16. Furthermore, NGC stated that Olivierre’s application to attend the bootcamp was denied by the human resource department and also stated that the application was not forwarded to the president. They denied that the president refused her application. 

However, NGC provided, in their response, a copy of Olivierre’s application to attend the bootcamp which bears what appears to be the handwriting of the president with the statement “We are already well versed in Bal Scorecard. I see no need for this.”

17. In relation to Palladium Summit training, NGC stated there was no executive decision which identified Olivierre as a successor to the said position and so she could not have expected to attend the training in lieu of McGuire. 

However, McGuire nominated Olivierre to attend after the president indicated that he wanted someone who reported to McGuire to attend the training.

Q: What’s your personal point of view on  adversity? How would your life be different if you had not been faced with obstacles in your business ventures?

Learning to overcome obstacles is an important part of life and entrepreneurship. Such experiences teach us how to rise above adversity and even benefit from it. As the saying goes, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

My approach has always been to treat obstacles as opportunities, then strive to meet the challenges ahead. Even failure itself presents an opportunity: It’s not a dead end; it’s just a hurdle to overcome.

Nearly every entrepreneur endures a business failure somewhere along the line. I have failed so many times that I couldn’t list them all! But it’s because of those failures that I have enjoyed success. Everybody, and especially every entrepreneur, should embrace failure with open arms. It is only through failure that we learn.

Your email mentioned that you are a photographer. I’m sure you have developed a keen eye, maybe you are skilled at spotting opportunities and focusing on what’s most important in any situation. This is one of the most useful skills you can have when trouble comes your way.

When confronted with an obstacle, I find that it’s best to deal with it by breaking it down into its smallest components. Ask yourself: What can I do to positively affect each one? There will be some things that you can’t change, of course. 

You have to accept that nobody can always win every battle, and you have to learn from your mistakes and move on.

I was confronted with perhaps the biggest obstacle of my life when I was very young: I simply couldn’t follow lessons in school. My teachers thought I was lazy, and it wasn’t until many years later that I was diagnosed with the learning disability dyslexia. But rather than just give up, I stopped wasting time and energy trying to fit in and do things the “right” way (as dictated by my teachers) and began to try to solve my problems however I could.

Since I couldn’t learn much by reading, for example, I would talk over the lesson with my classmates instead. This constant need to adapt to my situation taught me to approach problems creatively in all areas of life.

After my friends and I launched Virgin, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, especially when we entered new industries. Learning on the job has been a defining characteristic of our team’s experience. From Virgin Records to Virgin Hotels, every day has brought a different challenge, which, once overcome, teaches us another useful lesson.

The airline industry was particularly tough to take on. When we started up Virgin Atlantic, we had only one plane. 

We were clearly the underdog, and met with obstacles at every turn as we tried to get our business up and running. There were issues with the banks, logistical problems and big competitors who had a lot more money, and were trying to run us into the ground. We were challenged beyond our limits, and it seemed like the business was doomed.

But we persisted. We learned to combat our competitors’ big budgets with smart and memorable marketing. 

We learned that rather than keeping silent, we needed to stay in the public eye and answer our critics when the company faced hardships. And we learned that if we stayed true to ourselves, our brand and our ideals, we would win our customers’ trust and their business. It would have been easier for us to quit than it was to persevere and, in fact, since then, 16 of our 17 original competitors have gone out of business.

Had we not faced these obstacles at Virgin Atlantic and learned great lessons from them, then we wouldn’t have gone on to launch Virgin Australia and Virgin America, along with hundreds of other businesses in a number of different industries around the world.

There are few certainties in business, except that you will be faced with adversity and fail from time to time. Every entrepreneur’s success story is a tale of constant adaptation, revision and change.

Henry, just as in photography, this is all about perspective. When you come across a situation that’s unpleasant, difficult or challenging, you can decide to give up, readjust, or turn it to your advantage. 

Obstacles and challenges are integral to an entrepreneur’s work. Don’t let them dissuade you from getting the job done or prevent you from realising your dreams.

(Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group and companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Active. He maintains a blog at www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/richardbranson. To learn more about the Virgin Group: www.virgin.com.)

(Questions from readers will be answered in future columns. Please send them to RichardBranson@nytimes.com. Please include your name, country, email address and the name of the website or publication where you read the column.)

The Bloomberg website published a story on Wednesday headlined “Inside South America’s oil-fueled currency battle,” in which the business news organisation looked at the exchange rate regimes of three South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.

Venezuela has a pegged currency that is overvalued at official rates and price controls, Colombia has a freely floating currency, while Ecuador uses the US dollar, which means that that country’s onshore productive sector would have become less competitive with the strengthening of the US dollar in the last year at least.

All three countries produce oil and have economies that have been affected, in one way or another, by the sharp decline in the global prices of the commodity in the last year.

As everyone knows, basic goods are in short supply in Venezuela, but the story outlined a thriving trade along the Venezuela/Colombia border in which price-fixed goods like milk, shampoo or toothpaste from T&T’s closest neighbour are sold in Colombia “for several times the purchase price—even 1,000 times, in the case of gasoline.”

On the border between Colombia and Ecuador, a different dynamic is at work: Ecuadoreans with US dollars are flocking across the border to buy made-in-Colombia goods, which have become cheaper because of the 35 per cent depreciation of Colombian peso against the US dollar in the last year.

According to the Bloomberg article: “Whatever the pitfalls of changing currency regimes, the 52 per cent oil slump in the past year has hit some exporting nations hard enough to make them at least weigh the option. Kazakhstan has actually done it: Central Asia’s biggest energy producer cut the tenge loose last month.”

The business news organisation concluded that in the Andean currency experiment, Colombia’s flexible regime is “emerging as the winner as economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the Colombian economy to grow 3 per cent this year, almost twice as fast as Ecuador,” and far outpacing the Venezuelan economy, which is expected to decline by more than 5 per cent in 2015. 

It seems to me that your suggestion that the Central Bank and the Government should use monetary and fiscal policies (higher interest rates and higher taxes) instead of correcting a grossly overvalued currency is incorrect.

As T&T looks at its current forex system, there are clearly some options on the table:

• Maintain the current Central Bank thinking of an inflexibly “floating” exchange rate with intermittent interventions by the Bank when the crescendo of criticism from businessmen who cannot pay their bills gets too loud;

• Go back to the system of the 1970’s and 80s of foreign currency controls along with the bureacratic impediment of the need to apply to the Central Bank for foreign exchange (the much-maligned EC-O system); or

• Allow greater flexibility in the pricing mechanism for foreign exchange, which was advocated by the IMF a year ago as one of two options that “would likely restore confidence in the foreign exchange market, eliminate shortages and hoarding and provide authorities with a rapidly responding barometer of foreign exchange supply and demand conditions, thus providing useful signals about macro-economic policy.

There is a fourth option, put forward by a regular commentator in this newspaper, which suggests that the foreign exchange problem can be addressed by monetary and fiscal policies—in other words, higher interest rates and higher taxes.

In my view, this ignores the fact that monetary and fiscal policies take time to work their way through the system. Any economics textbook would tell you that higher interest rates take up to 18 months to have an impact. Also in T&T there is normally a three month lag between the announcement of new taxes and their implementation.

Also, using interest rates and taxes to dampen demand for foreign exchange ignores the fact that, as the IMF said more than a year ago, there is need to restore confidence in the foreign exchange market. For example, using interest rates and taxes to dampen demand for foreign exchange does nothing for the businessman who has an immediate need for US$2 million to pay a bill, but is being offered US$50,000 by his bank.

Here are seven reasons why I believe a correction in the grossly overvalued TT dollar is likely to benefit the T&T economy as it: 

1) Turns a fiscal deficit for the 2016 financial year into a fiscal surplus because a depreciation will lead to more TT dollars for the US-dollar taxes that this country receives. 

For example, if T&T expects to collect US$5 billion in taxes from energy companies in 2016, at an exchange rate of TT$6.37 to US$1, that would result in revenue of TT$31.85 billion.

However, at an exchange rate of TT$10 to US$1, the energy tax collection of US$5 billion results in TT-dollar revenues of $50 billion, which is 57 per cent more revenue than at the lower exchange rate.

2) Lessens the need by the Government to call on the population to make immediate adjustments by cutbacks in the transfers and subsidies subvention or increases in taxes on the population. If the Government collects more TT dollars from converting the US dollars it receives in energy taxes, there would be less immediate need to rush to tamper with transfers and subsidies.

3) Turns the capital flight of US dollars into a massive repatriation of US dollars. People who have sold the grossly overvalued TT dollar to buy US dollars in order to hedge against a possible depreciation will be encouraged by the increased value of the US dollar to repatriate and convert their US-dollar holdings. To be very blunt, they would be able to   profit from the fact that the Central Bank failed to address the confidence issue in the foreign exchange market.

For example, if you have a US-dollar Income Fund investment of US$10,000, you know that the money in that account would buy local goods worth TT$63,700 (at an exchange rate of TT$6.37 to US$1).

But, if the exchange rate goes to TT$10 to US$1, you would have TT$100,000, which can buy 57 per cent more local goods and services.

4) Transforms moribund real estate and capital markets into bouyant real estate, stock and bond markets. As a result of point 2, investors who bet on a depreciation of the TT dollar, will now have excess liquidity in the local currency, some of which will go into purchasing long-term TT-dollar assets, such as local real estate, local stocks and bonds.

(Both points 2 and 3 assume that the depreciation of the TT dollar is large enough to be credible)

5) Transforms depleting foreign reserves into increasing foreign reserves. T&T’s net official foreign reserves declined by US$724 million between December 2014 and June 2015, moving from US$11.316 billion to US$10.592 billion. That’s a decline of 7 per cent in six months. At that rate, the foreign reserves will be well under US$10 billion by year end.

By making the US dollar more expensive, the Central Bank will be required to intervene in the foreign exchange market on fewer occasions to defend the grossly overvalued TT dollar. It will also be able to sell less US dollars to the commercial banking system as the higher price of the US dollar will staunch demand for foreign goods and services, which is now being driven by cable television, broadband Internet, credit cards and access to US e-commerce websites.

That will result in an accretion of net official foreign reserves. 

6) Transforms a current account deficit into a current account surplus. The current account deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade in which the value of goods and services it imports is greater than the value of goods and services it exports. 

 Between October 2014 and May 2015, T&T ran a current account deficit of TT$1.245 billion. In the same period in the 2014 financial year, the country reported a current account surplus of TT$926 million and in the same period in the 2013 financial year, the current account surplus was $3.758 billion.

Making the US dollar more expensive results in a reduction in imports and an increase in exports, all things being equal, thereby giving the country a chance to reverse its current account position.

7) Could lead to an upgrade from the credit rating agencies. In downgrading T&T’s credit rating in April this year, the credit rating agency Moody’s cited three drivers for its decision. The first driver was the existence of persistent fiscal deficits and challenging prospects for fiscal reforms. In its analysis, Moody’s said: “Trinidad and Tobago’s fiscal accounts have been reporting recurring deficits on the order of 2-3% of GDP since 2009 after consecutive surpluses were observed over the previous eight years.

“Going forward, implementing fiscal reforms to put the government accounts on a more sound footing will likely be challenging in a context of low oil prices and potential spillover of low gas prices in the US to other markets.”

In other words, what Moody’s is saying is that if T&T were to move from persistent fiscal deficits to persistent fiscal surpluses, its credit rating would be upgraded.

In fact, the rating agency outlines the three factors that could cause T&T to be upgraded and these include “improved fiscal policy framework by adopting a medium-term strategy and return to fiscal surpluses.”

Within the next two months, over 1,000 individuals will be appointed to the governing boards of more than 200 public bodies in T&T following the election and change in government last week. 

These newly appointed directors will influence a significant part of the economy, affecting the daily lives of us all. Water, electricity, rice, flour, cooking oil, telecommunications, garbage, gasoline, buses, ferries, airlines, banking, television, postal-mail, mortgages, university, crude oil, natural gas, grass-cutting, road-cleaning are all managed by state boards and the total equity of these enterprises was valued at approximately $8.5billion in 2013.

Duties of directors:

Duty of care

The duty of care is an obligation imposed on the board that the directors act on and take decisions on a fully informed basis and with due diligence. The duty of care is embodied in law (section 99 (1) (b) of the Companies Act Chapter 81:01) and frequently also in the company’s articles, bye-laws and board charter. 

Duty of loyalty

The duty of loyalty means that directors act exclusively in the interest of the company. In deciding what is in the best interest of the company, the law specifies that they are to consider the interests of the company’s employees and its shareholders (Companies Act, Section 99(2)). However, directors shall not allow their personal, or any other singular interest to prevail. Sometimes referred to as a director’s “fiduciary duty” this responsibility assumes the director takes the role of

i) an agent acting on the company’s behalf and 

ii) a steward who controls the company assets 

In the case of directors on public bodies, more specifically—all persons in public life—are required to comply with the conflict of interest provisions at Section 29 of the Integrity in Public Life Act (IPLA) Chapter 22:01 and the Code of Conduct as articulated in Sections 23-31. The IPLA states that a conflict of interest is deemed to arise if a person in public life or any person exercising a public function were to make or participate in the making of a decision in the execution of his office and at the same time knows or ought reasonably to have known, that in the making of the decision, there is an opportunity either directly or indirectly to further his private interests or that of a member of his family or of any other person.

A breach by any director or the board of their fiduciary duties exposes the individual director as well as the board to liability.

Responsibilities

State owned enterprises and government mechanisms must create an appropriate process for selecting and constituting a board that is professional and transparent, while ensuring that boards have the competencies and objectivity needed to carry out their duties. Public sector board members should carry out their duties in a professional way and so they are entitled to receive adequate training and other support. 

When appointing directors to a state board, nine questions must be answered (See box).

There must be a rigorous and formal process for selecting and appointing board members. These nine questions raise a number of important issues that the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute (CCGI) will comment upon and offer best practice considerations over the coming weeks and months in this column. 

The code

In 2013, the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute (CCGI), the T&T Stock Exchange and the T&T Chamber of Industry of Commerce worked in partnership to publish the T&T Corporate Governance Code. This important code applies to all organisations within T&T “with a public accountability”. Readers may be surprised to learn that the provisions in the code apply to all of the 59 organisations in T&T in which the government currently holds shares. 

The recommendations in the code concerning the selection and appointment of board members are listed in the box. 

New government ministers, permanent secretaries, CEOs, corporate secretaries, directors and other officers of public bodies all have a role to play in applying the code.

The CCGI works as a regional, non-profit, independent, professional membership organisation, whose mandate is to create effective organisations and efficient markets through board directors that can be trusted (based on their training, continuous development, and professional values that they formally commit to as professional members), and the research, publication, and monitoring of corporate governance best practice standards appropriate for the Caribbean that are consistent with international good corporate governance principles and standards. 

As part of its programme aimed at public directorships, the institute aims to support government ministers, permanent secretaries, CEOs, corporate secretaries, directors and other officers of Public Bodies in improving governance in the public sector within T&T.

The CCGI is a regional, independent, non-profit, professional membership organisation registered with the Accreditation Council of T&T. CCGI is the award body that provides the certificate and diploma in corporate governance and the chartered director qualification throughout the Caribbean. CCGI welcomes membership applications and participation in its courses and events throughout the region. +1 (868) 221-8707 www.caribbeangovernance.org

A couple was shot dead around 9 pm last night in Tacarigua, on the Eastern Main Road near Dinsley Junction. 

According to relatives, Jewel George, 20, from Tunapuna, was by her boyfriend, Akeem Bascillo, 21, in Tacarigua. The couple left Bascillo’s father’s home to purchase Chinese food. 

A relative told T&T Guardian that they saw a strange car following the couple. The couple attempted to evade the car, but were eventually caught.  The gunman got out of the car first shooting Bascillo once in the head, and then turned the gun on George who was shot multiple times. Both died at the scene. 

The two have been together for two years. Bascillo was a disc jockey who won a DJ competition hosted by a popular radio show. The police are looking into a number of possible motives with one being that the shooter was a jilted lover. 

Investigations are continuing. 

Grief overcame a Penal community today as eight-year-old Breanna Jessica Jaglal was electrocuted as she tried to charge her electronic tablet today.

The wails of Breanna’s father, Brendon Jaglal, could be heard houses away after he got the news that his second of two children died at the San Fernando General Hospital. 

Reports indicate that Breanna was using her tablet downstairs of her home at Batchiya Branch Trace around 8.30 am. Relatives said she went into the washroom and tried to plug the charger into an extension cord which hung on the wall over a washer. As she made contact with the socket, she began fidgeting and fell to the ground. 

Her parents, Brendon and Ann Maureen Jaglal contacted the emergency health services who took her to the hospital. However, the standard two pupil of Dayanand Memorial Vedic School, Penal, succumbed as doctors attended to her.

By mid-morning, T&TEC workers had already disconnected power to the house which relatives believe may have faulty wiring as the electrical system was old.

Group chairman and chief executive, ANSA McAL Group of Companies Norman Sabga yesterday called for T&T’s building code to be implemented so that the country can have stronger buildings.

He said: “Hopefully the new government, when it settles in, would enact the new governance code. I think it is important that we do have buildings at certain standards because when we do have a disaster, if we do not have the standards in place, as has happened in Haiti, they would be a huge magnitude.”

Sabga was speaking at the awards and appreciation luncheon to announce the winners of the “Strongest of them all” promotion hosted by ABEL Building Solutions Ltd at the Jaffa Restaurant, Queens Park Oval, Port-of-Spain. ABEL is also the recipient of the large manufacturer of the year award 2014, which it received from the T&T Manufacturers Association at its President and Awards Dinner in March.

Referring to the ABEL plant, Sabga said the plant, which is located in Longdenville, is capable of producing 60 million clay blocks a year.

Managing director of ABEL Craig La Croix said in 2012, the company sold 25 million blocks, but is projected to sell more than twice that figure in 2015 with a workforce of 105 employees.

La Croix underlined the importance of the company’s carbon footprint.

“Our natural gas consumption for producing 100 per cent more clay blocks has been reduced by 31 per cent, which makes us competitive in the international market.”

La Croix, who sits on the Bureau of Standards committee for clay, said the last time the standards were reviewed was in 1986.

“Over the last three years we have worked with stakeholders, engineers, architects that form part of the committee and we had a structure for the new code that we expect to come out this year,” he said.

The company also presented $250,000 to first-place winner Krishna Ramlagan of Ramlagan’s hardware for meeting the target by selling 93,600 blocks. 

Second-place winner was Premraj Rambally of Bhagwansingh’s hardware, which sold 37,400 blocks with $175,000 while in third place was Randy Akin of CJ Lumber Hardware for selling 31,200 blocks.

Newly elected MP for Oropouche West, Vidya Gayadeen-Gopeesingh says T&T is facing tough economic times and the only way to overcome challenges is to find creative ways to do business.

Speaking at the Penal Rotary Club’s induction ceremony held at the Tulsa Trace Activity Centre on Wednesday night, Gayadeen-Gopeesingh said business development was one of the ways by which T&T could escape the negative impacts of an impending recession.

“We are in a time of crisis and we must confront challenges and overcome them. We have to guide the youths into business affairs. Help them to get involved in business careers. Youths are our future,” Gayadeen-Gopeesingh  said.

She added that it was important for young people to experience delayed gratification.

“You must defer consumption of products until you can afford it. This is important if you are to spend and invest wisely,” Gayadeen-Gopeesingh noted.

Saying business people are the foundation of T&T’s prosperity, Gayadeen-Gopeesingh said: “Wealth creation must be respected and we must create wealth to protect our family. To do this we have to promote self employment as a way of achieving success.”

She explained that falling oil prices was creating a global pandemic where burgeoning economies like Russia, India, China and South Africa were in decline. “Whatever happens globally will have a ripple effect on T&T’s economy,’ Gayadeen-Gopeesingh said.

To combat this, she called on businesspeople to collaborate to overcome economic challenges. She pointed out that diversification was the key to solving the problems.

“We must develop the economy by investing in the agricultural sector. We must begin to feed our nation,” Gayadeen-Gopeesingh said. Saying that T&T’s import bill was almost $5 billion, Gayadeen-Gopeesingh said it was important for T&T to feed itself.

“We have to develop the manufacturing sector and create room for innovation when there is a recession,” Gayadeen-Gopeesingh added.

She said as the new MP, she was committed to meeting with the business sector to discuss wealth creation. “In whatever way I could, I hope we can come together as one family to create a better future for our country,” Gayadeen-Gopeesingh said.

During the ceremony five new Rotarians-Seema Persaud, Narda Ramkissoon, Shawn Mohammed, Vijay Boochoon and Shastri Roop Persad were inducted. Attending the ceremony was chairman of the National Self Help Commission, Surujdeo Mangaroo and director of health, Dr Shevanand Gopeesingh.

But, if officials are allowed to be so ineffectual in respect to citizens’ main concern for the past 20 years, it is partly because citizens themselves want quick fixes, even when such measures fix nothing. 

In his usual inimitable style, Chief Justice Ivor Archie raised some serious and pertinent issues in his speech at last Wednesday’s opening of the 2015-2016 law term.

 “What we need is a little common sense here,” he repeated in different ways throughout his address—the clear implication being that both high officials and ordinary citizens were not using this criterion, particularly in respect to fighting crime.

On that basis alone, the arguments made by the CJ are hardly likely to win him friends and influence people, precisely because he highlighted those key defects in both our legal system and socio-political beliefs which allow crime to flourish. 

Noting that people should stop blaming the judiciary for those aspects of the legal system not under their purview, Mr Archie listed low detection rates, inadequate evidence-gathering, slow forensic analysis, a shortage of criminal attorneys and even late arrivals of prisoners as some of the factors which made justice slow in T&T.

Blame for these particular shortcomings falls in the unfenced gardens of the Cabinet and the Police Service. In the first instance, it is policy decisions—or the lack thereof—which have led to inadequate forensic capacity and even, indirectly, the shortage of attorneys. After all, if such a lacuna exists, then the government should consider offering incentives so more lawyers train in criminal practice. 

The other matters raised by the CJ—low detection rates and inadequate evidence gathering—exist within that nexus of poor policy from politicians and bad management from senior police officers.

But, if officials are allowed to be so ineffectual in respect to citizens’ main concern for the past 20 years, it is partly because citizens themselves want quick fixes, even when such measures fix nothing. The Chief Justice alluded to the two most popular measures when he spoke about incarceration rates and the death penalty.

“Common sense tells us that we cannot incarcerate our way out of our social problems and crime in general,” he asserted, “because many studies internationally show a positive correlation between longer sentences and higher rates of recidivism as well as between higher overall rates of incarceration per capita and higher rates of recidivism.”

Nonetheless, a significant number of citizens continually proffer versions of “Lock them up and throw away the key” as a solution to crime. And even more people regularly call for the resumption of hangings, on which issue the CJ argued: “Apart from the dubiousness of its value as a deterrent, do we really believe...that we will be able to hang several hundred people or that, if we tried, we could stomach it?”

Given that some people have called for public hangings in Woodford Square, Chief Justice Archie may be too sanguine about the civilised traits of the man in the T&T street. Be that as it may, he emphasised that the issue of the death penalty was a matter for the legislature and citizens. Yet even people who support capital punishment would agree that the mandatory penalty which now exists is, at the very least, counter-productive. 

When in Opposition, however, the PNM blocked an attempt to change the law to have degrees of murder charges. Yet the now-ruling party must re-visit this issue, as well as all the others raised by the CJ, now that they are in office.

Mr Archie’s speech has provided much food for thought. Unfortunately, ours is not a society where most people consider themselves mentally hungry, especially those people who are starving for intellectual nourishment. Or to summarise in popular idiom the CJ’s core message: common sense is not common.

The bulk of Thank God It’s Friday today and next week will comprise something I wrote in 2009 for what I assumed was an obscure German magazine, since it chose to call itself “Kulturaustausch—Journal for International Perspectives;” clearly they didn’t intend the title to trip off everyone’s tongue. 

I just can’t imagine your average Josef Blogschmidt strolling into the newsagent’s and calling for, “A pack of Marlboros, two Kit Kats  and this month’s Kulturaustausch.” If you want your magazine to be remembered, call it, “Time” or “People” or even “Weekly World News”—just don’t call it, “Kulturaustausch—Journal for International Perspectives.”

Before explaining how I came to be explaining “liming” to German intellectuals (with a penchant for kulturaustausch, which might be German pepper sauce), I’d like to publicly heap praise on a private company, bpTT, and not just because we share initials. This is the first weekend of the tenth T&T Film Festival and, since yesterday, and until tomorrow, all the primetime screenings at MovieTowne have been sold out, and all because of the lavish generosity of bpTT.

Weeks ago, bpTT bought all the tickets for the 9 pm MovieTowne screenings from Thursday-Saturday and has given them away, first come, first served, to anyone who applied. Not just that, bpTT bought everyone firetrucking popcorn! On top of the free tickets, bpTT paid for a $30 voucher redeemable at the concessions counter.

That’s just the kind of no-strings, hands-on support of a worthy cause that film festivals—and governments—dream of—and governments never get! But the Film Festival has got it, in spades, popcorn and Diet Coke, from bpTT—who are also sponsoring the Youth Jury prize this year, as they did last year. Take a bow, bpTT. 

Give Jack his jacket, Jim his gym boots and bpTT their BC Pires big-up; they firetrucking well deserve it (as does the National Gas Company and Flow, but today is bpTT day at TGIF).

And Germany day, too. This is the first part of what appeared, in German, in 2009, under the headline, “We call it Liming.”

The email came from Karola Klatt from the magazine KULTURAUSTAUSCH: “Could I please explain “liming” to the Germans?” And I thought, “Hmmm. Perhaps I should try to explain “comedy” to them first, as a warm-up for the task of conveying to the hardest-working people this side of Japan the concept of liming—the art of doing nothing whatever as though it were something of the greatest importance.”

It’s not just the concept of liming that might be alien to Germans and Europeans generally, except possibly the Spanish and Portuguese. The language and idioms of the explanation itself would be hard to interpret—and God and Karola alone know how, with all the Sprachgefühl in the world, what I write here might be translated into German. The unavoidable reality is that liming is one of those activities, like cunnilingus, the Moonwalk or yodelling, that is both best explained and understood by demonstration and participation. And the gap between those who lime and those who seek a definition of it may be impossible to close. You might as well seek to translate the shrug of a New York pawnbroker into Swahili.

It seems to me that what has to be first understood is the approach to liming which is itself a reflection to the Trinidadian approach to anything. And the Trinidadian approach to anything is likely to be the polar opposite of that of the Western Europeans. Though, if my reading of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s books and my watching of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s films are reliable indicators, it is not necessarily so far removed from the approaches of Eastern Europeans behind the Iron Curtain.

If I were describing this article to a Trinidadian journalist, I would say, “I have to explain liming to white people;” and any Trini who wasn’t being deliberately obtuse would recognise there was no racism whatever involved in my terminology. Indeed, that fearful, troublesome and persistent Aryan that might spring to mind at once in Berlin would be the farthest thing from Trinidadian contemplation on Maracas Beach. 

“White people,” used this way, does not apply to physical characteristics at all, unless you mean physical geography. Indeed, white Trinidadians use the term in this context without intending themselves to be included in it.

The Trinidadian “white people” are “cultural foreigners,” the historical occupants of the Great House on the plantation. People who would be intimately comfortable with foie gras but who would not understand what “a doubles with slight pepper” was. (It’s a deep-fried mini-burrito filled with curried chick peas and a dash of hot sauce).

The character “Fives” from the novel The Lonely Londoners, by Samuel Selvon, the Trinidadian writer who died in 1994, got his name whilst liming. Someone told Fives he was “as black as midnight;” another limer at once piped up, “Nah, he blacker than midnight; he black like five past twelve.” Thus he became “Fives.” 

I have met “white people” who are physically as black as Fives. Members of Parliament in T&T, who wear insufferably hot jackets and ties every day, are “white people” in this sense: they are completely removed from what is customary and sensible in their own country.

This is the gap between the Trini and the German, the nonchalant limer and the diligent researcher, the speaker who builds words logically by adding to them syllable by syllable to amplify meaning and the one who casually and regularly uses terms that anywhere else in the world would be racist or hostile but in Trinidad are neutral or even benevolent.

BC Pires bin ein Berliner, even if most Trinis will take that to mean BC

Pires is a German bin liner

“Boy, 4, injures eye after falling into box drain” was the headline of an article published by the T&T Guardian newspaper in August 2015. In this article, it was stated that the boy may not be able to attend school this September after falling into an incomplete box drain. He suffered injuries to the right eye from protruding steel rods in the incomplete structure. His father lamented, “This is a hazard and I feel uneasy not knowing what the future holds for my son.”

This unfortunate scenario highlights that hazards are part of everyday life; same as walking across a busy street, playing sports or even driving. Generally, one does not worry about these situations. Why? As we grow older, complacency and short cuts become the norm.

What is a hazard? By its nature, a hazard involves something that could potentially be harmful to a person’s life, health, property or the environment. 

The first step to protecting oneself is being able to recognise hazards in the existing environment. Generally, hazards can be classified as one of five types:

Physical hazards: These are the most common and will be present in most environments at one time or another. They include unsafe conditions or situations that can cause injury, illness and death. Some common examples include constant loud noise or spills on the floor. Physical hazards can be either natural or human made elements.

Chemical hazards: These are chemical substances that are likely to cause harm or damage to the body, property or the environment. Chemicals hazards can either be natural or manmade in origin. This may include liquids like cleaning agents or solvents. Some people who are more sensitive to the use of chemicals are likely to experience illness, skin irritations or respiratory problems.

Biological hazards: These are biological agents that can cause harm to the human body. These may include agents such as viruses, parasites, bacteria, food, fungi and foreign toxins. Biological agents can come from working with animals, people or infectious plant materials. Workers in hospitals, nursing homes, hotel laundry and housekeeping and agriculture, just to name a few, may be exposed to such biological hazards.

Psychological hazards: These are created during work-related stress or a stressful environment. A person can be a hazard when he/she is affected by psychological disturbances such as stress and shift patterns. One can also be a hazard if under the influence of alcohol, illness or through lack of training.

Ergonomic hazards: These occur when the type of work, body positioning and working conditions place strain on the body. These are the most difficult to identify since the effects are not immediately noticeable on the body. Short-term exposure may result in sore muscles the next day or in days subsequent to exposure. However, long term exposure can result in serious injuries such as musculoskeletal disorders. Such examples of ergonomic hazards can include poor lighting as well as improperly adjusted workstations and chairs.

The effects from the different types of hazards as described above can be acute or chronic. Acute effects are where the injury or harm is felt immediately by the person in contact with the hazardous agent. Chronic on the other hand, are where the effects are delayed. One such example is mesothelioma, a type of cancer in the lining of the lung cavity which can develop over 20 years or more after exposure to asbestos.

In order to reduce the potential consequences of hazards, control measures of the following nature may be established:

Elimination: Eliminating the hazard by physically removing it is the most effective method of controlling the hazard. One such example is moving a noisy machine from a quiet area.

Substitution: This is the second most effective method of controlling the hazard and involves replacing that which produces a hazard with an alternative which does not produce a hazard. However, to be effective, the replacement should not produce another hazard. An example of substitution is the replacement of a telephone handset by a headset where there is constant use of the telephone.

Engineering controls: This type of control involves the isolation of the hazard from people, but does not eliminate the hazard. Using trolleys or mechanical lifting aids instead of manual handling is one such example of an engineering control.

Administrative controls: This involves changes to the way people work. The hazards are not removed, but the level of exposure to the hazard is limited. Examples of administrative controls include procedure changes, employee training, installation of signs and warning labels.

Personal protective equipment: The use of Personal Protective Equipment involves covering and protecting one’s body from hazardous exposure, but it is the least effective means of controlling hazards. Referred to as the last line of defence, it is a short-term control measure until a “higher order” control has been provided or supplemented.

Hazards are a part of everyday existence and the effects can sometimes be fatal. Therefore, it is a necessity in being able to identify and assess hazards such that effective control measures can be implemented in an effort to create safer environments at work, home and even on the streets.

Richard Smith, B.Sc., 

Lecturer, CISPS

Whilst Prof Max Richards was allowed to deliver his political speech at the commencement of the new law term on Wednesday he demonstrated how clearly out of touch he has become with our society when he refers to Debe as Penal. And he did so while also pleading the case for the academic staff, which may very well be the smallest stakeholder in the campus population. 

Prior to the opening of the UWI Debe Campus, all students who enrol at the UWI, St Augustine to read for their degree in law would have to attend their first year classes at that campus but would then have to travel to the Cave Hill Campus in Barbados to complete their remaining courses. 

This put a large financial and emotional toll on the students, who may have been separated from their families for the first time, in a foreign country, while still burdened with the stress of their studies. 

As a result of this, at the beginning of each academic year, both the Department of Law and the Office of the Campus Principal would be inundated with requests from students and parents alike who would beg and plead for any alternative that would allow them to continue their degree at the St Augustine Campus. 

It was therefore a welcomed and well-received initiative of the UWI, in collaboration with the PP government to construct a campus within our shores that would accommodate our law students throughout the entirety of their degree programme. 

I am also aware of many UWI staff members who have been eagerly awaiting the opening of this campus to provide them the opportunity to work in a destination closer to their homes. While I am sure that there are members of the academic staff who may reside close to the St Augustine campus, these people are far outnumbered by administrative and support staff who, similar to the student populace, reside throughout the island, and have long complained about their own travel woes. And many of these people who live in south Trinidad embrace the new campus for the relief it now brings to them. 

Further to this, it is surprising to hear Prof Richards speak on how the UWI can unite and meld the cultures and customs of the Caribbean, but refuses to think that a campus constructed in a semi-rural part of our island cannot do the same. While in the past many students who resided in rural villages would commute to St Augustine and get acclimatised to our urban culture, in the process sharing their own experiences with their new colleagues, the Debe campus now presents an opportunity for people who were born and raised in the city and urban areas to now travel to the rural district and have first-hand involvement and understanding of the country life. 

Not only would this benefit our society by blending and fusing our urban and rural ethnology, but it also provides a better perspective and appreciation of the challenges and conventions of people who live in our rural districts to persons who may not have discovered it otherwise. 

Development, whether it be urban or rural, should not be limited to infrastructure, but should incorporate all sectors of advancement and improvement, including education. 

As such, the decision to construct a UWI campus in Debe was as progressive as it was necessary. And while it may inconvenience a few at its commencement, that should neither outweigh the benefits that it will provide to the majority of stakeholders, nor should it prevent future projects of its nature. 

Ravi Maharaj

“Common sense is not so common,” wrote Voltaire, the French writer and philosopher in the 18th century. Chief Justice Ivor Archie’s words “What Trinidad and Tobago needs is a good dose of common sense,” though sounding simple is really a centuries-old problem that has not yet found resolution. This does not mean that attempts cannot be made to resolve it.

Interestingly, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” is one of the sayings in the New Testament in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Leadership is all about accepting responsibility and not passing the buck.

New court buildings may be necessary but let us first examine the existing court system. Judges and magistrates begin hearing matters at 9 am, if luck prevail, and end, in almost all cases that I have seen, at 1 pm. This represents just four hours of work. This alone implies two days to do one day’s work. 

We blame Cepep and URP for doing just a few hours of work per day, how different are judges and magistrates? The excuse of writing up their notes is very weak in this age of technology where every single sound can be captured by appropriate equipment. And then, there is the stenographer.

How many times, spanning years, has a case been postponed? At what cost to the litigants? I know of people who have died waiting for the courts to deal with their matters. I fully agree with the Chief Justice regarding some attorneys who abuse the process, although I believe that “some” may represent the majority rather than be in the minority. 

What measures are in place to prevent this practice? What is being done to address such abuse?

“Holding court” does not require any special building or place. What is required is the ability to hold court. 

I also agree with the Chief Justice regarding “…incarcerating people for two marijuana cigarette.” But what has been done? What has happened to the idea of night courts? 

Using technology to videoconference court proceedings from the prisons so as to prevent the unavoidable lateness, absence or even transportation costs and its ancillary services?

These do not require special or new buildings, just proper leadership. Good chief executive officers will put the necessary systems and processes in place to achieve their objectives. Not all may be agreed to by their bosses, be they Board or minister, but this does not negate the fact that the objectives must still be championed.

The Chief Justice is the chief executive officer of the judiciary and whilst I laud his speech and empathise with his frustrations, he needs to reassess the judicial systems and processes that currently frustrate the judicial system, including the litigants. 

I am not sure that new or additional buildings will solve the current ills of the judicial system but more aggressive leadership will certainly put resolution on the right road. 

Let me state the main reason why the PP lost the elections.

They (UNC) have always looked at the COP as a necessary evil and a nuisance and not as a partner, and went about stifling and squeezing the COP out of existence, thinking they will be the beneficiary of such action, as indeed they did to the NAR 1995/2000. 

On many occasions I heard UNC ministers from top to bottom in this  2010/2015 term refer to that administration as UNC administration. They forgot that the results of 1995 elections were 17-17-2 and it was the NAR, of which I was a part of on the executive, and the late Mr ANR Robinson that gave them the government with the two Tobago seats.

They went about killing the NAR and that they did. They went and fought the THA elections in Tobago and delivered it to the PNM. Even during this election campaign, I observed government minsters calling this previous administration a UNC/PP Government.

Imagine the COP leadership announced a well known UNC man to fight the Tunapuna seat on a COP ticket and then all of a sudden the UNC announced an unknown to fight the very seat on a UNC ticket. I was left with my mouth wide open. How many insults the COP can take? I, for one, am not taking anymore.

What is amazing is that on both occasions, 1995-2000 and 2010-2015, the UNC lost power in the process.

The UNC never appreciated the COP and for the COP to come out from the position it finds itself in, it has to operate independently, inside and outside of Parliament, and partner and co-operate with any and everybody including the UNC for the betterment of T&T and concentrate 24/7 on building back our party.

Other than that we might as well fold up and go home.

Ghassan Youseph 

Pt Fortin East Secondary, Fyzabad Secondary and St Francois Girls College made it two straight wins from as many matches when the BGTT/First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League Championship Division continued in all four zones on Thursday.

In the South Zone, Pt Fortin East clobbered San Fernando East 11-0 at Pleasantville to push its points tally to six from two matches, the same as Fyzabad Secondary which trounced St Joseph Convent (San Fernando) 5-0 ahead of their top-of-the-table clash at Techier Ground, Pt Fortin tomorrow from 3 pm.

In the North, St Francois whipped bitter rivals Providence 4-1 in their “Belmont Derby” on St Francois Ground, Queen’s Park Savannah also moving to six points, two ahead of Diego Martin Central, which mauled St Joseph Convent (Port-of-Spain) 8-0. 

Up in the East Zone, San Juan North edged St George’s College 1-0 to go top of the table while St Augustine and Bishop’s Anstey East drew 2-2.

And over in Tobago, Scarborough Secondary trounced Mason Hall 3-0 led by a double from Aaliyah Charles and one  from Jeanelle Lawrence, and Speyside and Bishop’s High ended goalless.

Matches continue tomorrow (Sunday) from 3pm in all four zones.

Thursday’s results:

North:

Bishop’s Anstey 4 vs Success Laventille 3

Diego Martin Central 8 vs St Joseph Convent 0

St Francois 4 vs Providence 1

South:

Fyzabad 5 vs St Joseph Convent 0

Pt Fortin East 11 vs San Fernando East 0

East:

San Juan North 1 vs St George’s 0

St Augustine 2 vs Bishop’s Anstey East 2

Tobago:

Scarborough 3 (Aaliyah Charles 2, Jeanelle Lawrence) vs Mason Hall 0

Speyside High 0 vs Bishop’s High 0

Tomorrow matches:

East:

Five Rivers vs St Augustine @ Five Rivers, 3pm

Bishop’s Anstey East vs St George’s @ Trincity, 3pm

South:

San Fernando East vs St Joseph Convent @ Pleasantville

Pt Fortin East vs Fyzabad @ Techier Ground, Pt Fortin

North:

Bishop’s Anstey vs Providence @ Bishop’s

D/Martin Central vs St Francois @ D/Martin Central

Tobago:

Signal Hill vs Mason Hall @ Signal Hill

Scarborough vs Speyside @ Scarborough

The Indian tour of the Caribbean scheduled for next year must go on if the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is to get our cricket out of the doldrums.

Over this column I will attempt to explain what I meant by that first statement. Currently the Indians have no interest in any bi-lateral relations with the WICB and this is because of the ill-advised aborted tour of India last October. The West Indies team led by Dwayne Bravo boycotted the tour after a payment structure dispute with the WICB.

It has left the regional cricket body with a bill in the region of US$41.97M and also no bi-lateral relations with the financial powerhouse of cricket. The Indians are carded to play four Test matches in the Caribbean next year. This, if it comes off, is expected to net the WICB a very sizable profit. 

The Indians want their money and they are sticking to the fact that they don’t want any bi-lateral relations. Here comes a situation where the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) can be caught in a very dicey situation. If they fail to tour the West Indies, then the WICB may not be able to pay back that money for many, many years to come. If they do tour, then the WICB will be in a position to repay the funds and keep afloat.

Speaking about staying afloat, the WICB has implemented a number of measures to improve our cricket and these measures of course needs proper funding to get the desired results. Let’s take a look at the franchise system. While a number of people have shared negative views about it, I think it is one of the best things that has happen to West Indies cricket in a while. Here is a situation where players outside the Test players are given some kind of financial stability and now they can focus on cricket, rather than having to look for a job and then apply and hope to get time off for cricket. 

In addition to this, the players are now around a professional set up for the entire year and this is bound to have a positive impact on not only their cricket but their lives as a whole.

The WICB has promised to foot the bill for the six franchises for the first four years of its life. Given current situation with the global economy and sponsorship hard to come by, the entire system could collapse if the franchises can’t get bought. If the WICB is able to stay afloat financially they can prop up this very vital league until such time that the franchises can go it alone.  

If India fails to tour, it would push West Indies cricket further back and the region cannot afford that right now. Currently the Indians are embroiled in bacchanal as far as their elections are concerned and they will not sit and talk to the WICB until they have elections and a leader in place. 

What is even more worrying is the fact that the longer it takes for the WICB and the BCCI to sit down and work out a plan, it gives the former less time in order to get a replacement team to come to the Caribbean if the Indians refuse.

This could lead to further losses and even more debts being incurred by the WICB. The WICB marketing committee needs a shot in the arm in my opinion and they have to find ways to bring in investors despite the fact that the world is in recession and also the team is not that attractive anymore. It is a tough job for the best of people but as Theodore Roosevelt said: “It is hard to fail but it is worst to have never tried to succeed.”

West Indies cricket is at its lowest ebb at the moment but there is a silver lining and I am seeing the WICB putting measures in place that can pay off handsomely for our cricket. They are of course making mistakes as they go along but I think in time to come we will see that most of the measures will become fruitful. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) can’t sit by and allow this West Indies/India situation to remain hanging. The ICC has to protect the game and if it means getting involved in matters between two big members then so be it. 

The BCCI in my opinion is a runaway train and they need to be roped in. Whether the ICC has the courage to do that, it’s another matter but they need to get involved now. I am also looking at the future of India and Pakistan and the BCCI seems to have severed ties with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as well. One is left to ask the question. “Who’s next?”    

A windy Sunday afternoon brought many sports fans to the Washington Park in Chicago and what was amazing was the fact that five different battles were taking place on the lush real estate and four involved cricket with one being baseball.

Cricket in Chicago has taken off with the advent of Cricket Council USA and the involvement of Mohammed Ahmed Qureshi, the Pakistani born businessman who is from Boca Raton in Broward County.

What has also helped boost the cricket is the large Asian diaspora in Chicago. They have remained connected to the game and is now getting an avenue to play which has been welcomed with both arms.

With the International Cricket Council (ICC) putting a partial ban on the cricket authorities in America, urgent action is necessary to save the game and also to grow it in one of the world’s biggest economies.

Last week ICC CEO David Richardson and head of global development Tim Anderson flew into Chicago to meet with the American stakeholders and coming out of that meeting there was optimism for growing the sport in the US.

At the heart of the US problem is the fact that bitter disputes from various cricketing associations have taken the game down the slope and the ICC wants to arrest that decline.

Sharaz Najam who is president of the Midwest region one of eight regions under CCUSA said he was anxiously looking to have the sport back on track in terms of administration. “We had a very good meeting with the ICC and we are looking to move the sport forward. We know of the problems in US cricket and we are looking to get it resolved. The ICC guys that came over had no idea of how big CCUSA is, as a matter of fact they did not know of us but now they are very keen in having us as part of the set up moving forward. In Chicago we have worked hard in keeping cricket well organised and we have received major assistance from Maq and his group in developing the game.

“Cricket is very popular in Chicago and we are hoping that we can make it even more popular because we need more and more people playing in order to find better talent for the national team.”

Maq speaking to Guardian Media said he was convinced that cricket can get back on track and develop quickly if the right people are involved. “There is great interest in the sport in this country. I am glad that the ICC came to Chicago to find ways of putting it right and we are looking forward to be part of that movement that would take cricket back up in the not too distant future.”

“In order to move to where we want to, we have to understand that professionalism is the key. You can’t have infighting and you need all to support in the one effort. We have shown the way in terms of professionalism at the CCUSA and we think that being part of the American administration for cricket will boost its chances of making a successful return. We have the T20 game which is great for American public and using this format we can interest business partners and sponsors to make investment which once taken off can give the sport s major push.”

CAPTION: Mohammed Ahmed Quereshi (left) and Sharaz Najam who is president of the Midwest region of Cricket Council USA has been working hard to get cricket back on track in the US.

Maestro Mac should be worth waiting for at Wolverhampton tonight when Hughie Morrison’s charge attempts to make it third time lucky in the 2-y-o Maiden Stakes over an extended mile of the much-acclaimed Tapeta surface.

We’re extremely lucky to have such variance at racetracks throughout the United Kingdom; apart from turf there are polytrack and fibresand surfaces which give trainers and owners options and, given their consistency and excellent management, it’s one good reason why we tend to specialise with all-weather racing to a great extent.

This is especially so in the firm knowledge that far too any clerks of course water indiscriminately which that causes inconsistency and makes punting a guessing game!

Earlier this week (it’s now well into September, Autumn to all intents and purposes, Carlisle clerk Kirkland Tellwright, revealed he’d instructed watering because the weather forecast suggested dry conditions,it rained heavily and it was a right mess with mass withdrawals.

Tellwright has a reputation with his record at Haydock and so one wasn’t surprised but imagine you’d spent hours analysing the Carlisle form.

Patience is the supreme  virtue when it comes serious punting on thoroughbreds and Morrison exploits it often because he’s rich and able to wait for the right opportunity; poorer trainers are constantly under pressure to deliver the goods and the dynamics therefore are totally contrasting. It’s all about psychology.

Following a pleasing debut on Lingfield polytrack last month Maestro Mac was given a month recovery time and improved considerably when raced over seven furlongs of the stiff Ascot course; a placing of seventh (of ten!) doesn’t even begin to tell the story, this Roderic O’Connor colt was beaten only three lengths in a fast-run race and was hampered!

T here are five newcomers, some from fashionable yards but they’ll need to be above average to cope with an in-form, much-improved ‘Maestro!

Our other two selections this afternoon, on a day when the impossible-looking  Ayr Gold Cup Handicap, dominates centre stage, are trained by the indefatigable Richard winning machine Fahey, useful, lightly-raced juveniles, Nimr and Ribchester.

Both are clear best-in and massively-fancied; more importantly they should trade at half-decent odds because ‘super-Saturday’ seems to work that way. 

There are so many two-year-olds in action, it’s like manna from heaven for yours truly, and so if you click on to www.dailyearner.co.uk at noon we’ll give you more with realistic opportunities.