T&T Guardian sports journalist VINODE MAMCHAN is in Sri Lanka covering the West Indies Test series. He wrote this piece describing the sights and sounds of a country that remind him very much of T&T. 

Are you from India? This was the first question I got as I walked out of the Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka. I was taken aback because the guy who asked the question looked similar to me.

According to my bearded friend, I apparently look like an “Indian.”

That question signalled that this was going to be an interesting journey on the other side of the world. 

As we drove off to Colombo, I asked the driver about his country and the first thing he said was: “It is cleaner than India.” Further along, he told me there were some important things I needed to know while in the country. He proceeded to give me a crash course in Sinhali—the official language of Sri Lanka. All I took away from his class was “isthuti,” which means thank you, and “aubowan,” which means welcome. 

He said the national dish was rice and curry but I should be careful with the spices. As we drove into Colombo One, he said, “you will pass this rough area before you enter where you are going.” The area resembled Beetham Gardens in Trinidad. He said Colombo One was the area where all the deals for metal and car parts take place. The guys in the area were rough, he said, and I must not come this way, all the while still asking whether I was from south India.

He gave an example of the kind of thing that happens there. If a driver lost a hubcap he would drive into the area to buy one and guys will rush to try and sell to him. Once they realise what he is looking for, they will tell him sit in the car and don’t worry to come out in the heat. While one guy engages him in conversation, another one will go to his back wheel, take out the hubcap and sell it back to him. Of course, the driver thinks he’s got a deal when he has actually bought his own hubcap.

As we reached Colombo Three, I saw high-rise buildings and two like the Twin Towers in Port-of-Spain though much higher. It is called the World Trade Centre and much of the country’s trade takes place here. 

I spent one night in Colombo and then it was down to Galle for the first Test. A tuk-tuk ride took me to the nearby train station which was south along the coast. This ride was reminiscent of of the drive along Manzanilla Road. It was breathtaking to see the sights of waves crashing in on the shore and small houses built alongside. There was also brisk trade in the small towns we passed through. I arrived in Galle around lunchtime and a tuk-tuk driver took me to my hotel. The hotel was about five minutes from the train station but this driver—playing smart—charged me 450 Sri Lankan rupees (TT$22). He drove through a village and brought me back out onto the main road and to the hotel.

Every day I walked to the cricket ground which was opposite the train station and it took me around ten minutes. He pulled a fast one on me, it’s a good thing I did not take his advice and book into a “wonderful” hotel in the Fort. After he realised I was a journalist covering the Test series, he said he had a nice place to show me because I needed peace and quiet to focus. Little did he know that I worked at the T&T Guardian with loquacious assistant sports editor Keith Clement making noise all day. 

As I stepped out to get to the hotel he recommended, I had to jump over water on the premises and when I went to the room it was old, dingy and there was a mosquito net over the bed. I would have rather slept at the train station than stayed there. 

Galle was very hot but the people were so warm and friendly, they reminded me a lot of the people at home. There were shops along the main road and people selling on the pavements, all the while keeping an eye out for the law—reminds you of somewhere?

In Galle, I had an opportunity to speak to people who had survived the dreadful tsunami which struck in 2004. Some said the wave came in at around 20 feet, some said as high as some very tall coconut trees. One thing about the people here, they seem to be extremely resilient. They built up their city and were going about their business like it never happened. 

The cricket was depressing, so during the lunch break I went into the Fort to look for the Villa owned by the cricket icon Mahela Jayawardene. It was a lovely place that was on the market for rent. Further down the road, the authorities have converted the old Dutch Hospital into a business centre and the other cricketing legend, Kumar Sangakkara, had a restaurant called The Crab and Tuna. He and Jayawardene also own another restaurant in Colombo called the Ministry of Crab. It’s a trendy place that attracted a lot of people because of the star’s pulling power. 

After the match, it was back up to Colombo and a three-hour ride in an air-conditioned bus that cost 270 Sri Lankan Rupees (TT$13). 

When I paid the fare I shook my head in disbelief as I remembered how I was overcharged by the tuk-tuk driver.      

In Colombo, the sites and sounds were similar to Port-of-Spain. Going to Galle was like taking a drive to Toco but now I was back in the capital and getting a chance to have a good look at the city that was voted the fasting growing in the world.

Colombo has been placed on top of the list of fastest growing cities in the world by an annual travel study by the MasterCard. Of the ten fastest growing cities in the world—based on data gathered over the last six years—seven are in Asia. Colombo is first in growth with a staggering 21 per cent surge, with Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province, following in second.

As I moved around the city I had to agree with MasterCard, because there is massive development taking place. The people seem very educated and the environment for business seems very inviting. I believe that one of the things that makes this city stand out in Asia is the fact that it is very clean, almost spotless.

I have travelled all over the world to cover cricket but Sri Lanka is the place that comes the closest to home.

• Read Vinode’s coverage of the West Indies test series in Sri Lanka everyday in the Sports section of the T&T Guardian. 

There’s a Facebook post that’s been around for a while that speaks of a number of mental health/illness issues in a few lines. It does not carry authorship, but every posting requests that the reader copy and paste in solidarity with whomever among their friends may be having one or more of the experiences mentioned.

In one fleeting paragraph, the author attempts to treat with thoughts of suicide, mental illness, depression, family problems, and death by suicide, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind, and the fact that no one is immune from these issues.

I’ve read it a few times but never reposted. And it’s not that I do not care. I do. I support every effort to raise awareness of mental health/illness issues, thinking always that we are so far behind the zero that every intervention is necessary. What I look to see though are the comments from others and, as expected, they are few, very obscure and tenuous.

I have speculated that because stigma and discrimination are so deeply entrenched in our society there are many people who would think twice to “like” a post such as the one in view. I have had a community page for a number of years and thankfully it has been able to attract a little over 500 likes. But as a frequent Facebook user, I look on with envy as some issues burst the 5,000 likes mark in a week.

Of course, fetes, mas bands and politics are out front in mass appeal, but the pages on wellbeing, mental health or illness, rejecting stigma and discrimination, neuro or psychosocial disabilities do not have like traction even with the accepted statistic that a quarter of T&T’s population live with or are experiencing mental illness right now as I write.

While I applaud all efforts by the State and others, I still maintain that these are of negligible magnitude and remain insufficient as a country approach to mental health/illness. Until the State provides citizens with a blanket of security with respect to their dignity and discrimination, we are spinning top in mud. We will not make the progress necessary for our country and our economy.

The government of Dr Keith Rowley must do better than the ones before to ensure advancement in mental health. At the end of Dr Fuad Khan’s tenure as Minister of Health, a wind, just higher than a breeze, started lifting these issues—too little too late I said then.

But what would be a travesty is if Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh does not place an even higher emphasis on, first, accepting these statistics, and second, acting in the leadership role he is expected to take if we are to see the revolution in mental health awareness, care for the mentally ill, and the stymieing of stigma and discrimination.

I keep saying, mental health matters are not as small as we are making it out to be and there’ll be a price to pay if we continue to “sweep the issues under the rug.”

Regarding the Facebook post, a few friends have messaged me about others who have responded by private messages, telling of their individual despair and trepidation to seek help. That I know to be a prevalent situation here. People are so afraid of the backlash if their mental health status were to be known by spouses, friends, employers, et al.

I fully appreciate that. It’s for that reason I insist that until there is a proper state-led intervention in mental illness, and a national campaign to increase awareness, encourage tolerance and acceptance, the burden of stigma and fear of discrimination will continue to trump the battle for openness, or even that of seeking care. Such interventions can alleviate the desperation felt here:

Facebook post: Many people think that a suicide attempt is a selfish move because the person just does not care about the people left behind. I can tell you that when a person gets to that point, they truly believe that their loved ones will be much better off with them gone. This is mental illness not selfishness. 

TRUTH: Depression is a terrible disease and seems relentless. A lot of us have been close to that edge, or dealt with family members in a crisis, and some have lost friends and loved ones. Let’s look out for each other and stop sweeping mental illness under the rug. If I don’t see your name, I’ll understand. May I ask my family and friends wherever you might be, to kindly copy and paste this status for one hour to give a moment of support to all those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just need to know that someone cares. Do it for all of us, for nobody is immune. Hope to see this on the walls of all my family and friends just for moral support. I know some will! I did it for a friend and you can too.

n Caroline C Ravello is a strategic communications and media practitioner with over 30 years of proficiency. She holds an MA in Mass Communications and is pursuing the MSc in Public Health from the UWI. She has been living/thriving with mental health issues for over 35 years. Write to: mindful.tt@gmail.com

A man who was describes as mentally challenged has become the nation’s latest murder victim.

Around 9 am 23-year-old Mosi Porter of Pleasant Terrace, John John, Laventille, was waiting with his mother near his home for transportation. 

Reports stated that two armed men who masked their faces with red bandanas approached the mother and son and shot Porter. He died on the spot. 

The scene was visited by Superintendent Shakib Mohammed from the Port-of-Spain Division.

T&T Guardian was informed that Porter was not known to be involved in any gang or criminal activity.

Mohammed said there was a shooting in the area yesterday which caused an increase in patrol for a short period of time. He believes that the gunman waited until “the coast was clear” to pounce on Porter. 

Porter’s relatives believe that he was targeted by the gunmen because he was mentally challenged. However, the police are yet to ascertain a motive for the shooting. 

This shooting brings the murder toll to 351.

Investigations continue. 

Ten RBC Young Leaders from T&T experienced the trip of a lifetime when they participated in the We Day celebrations in Toronto, Canada. 

The excited and enthusiastic students were in Canada from September 28 to October 1, and during their visit met representatives of RBC and the Free The Children organisation, participated in media interviews, visited RBC offices and did some sightseeing.

The distinguished group of young people created history as the first RBC Young Leaders to represent T&T at the We Day event, a release said. We Day is a celebration of youth making a difference in their local and global communities. The event combines the energy of a live concert with the inspiration of extraordinary stories of leadership and change. 

It brings together world-renowned speakers and award-winning A-list performers, and this year the Young Leaders would have seen performances by singers Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas and heard presentations from basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

“We Day has been mind-blowing for me. The testimonials and the stories of people’s hard work have really motivated me to understand how I can make a greater impact on the world. I was so glad to be there,” said Darion Phillips, Young Leader from Scarborough Secondary School, Tobago.

Before they left T&T, the students were encouraged by RBC Royal Bank managing director, Darryl White, to fully embrace the experiences of the visit. 

“You are now youth ambassadors as you have been charged with the responsibility of representing not only yourselves but also your country. Welcome those into your company with the warmth that carries the stamp of T&T, your schools, your parents, teachers and fellow leaders,” White said. 

T&T’s Central Bank is at the centre of the foreign exchange market, as it receives the Government’s energy taxes and other payments, sets the price at which foreign exchange is sold to the authorized dealers and steps in to supply the dealers  to make up the difference between what those dealers buy from the public and what they sell to the public. 

The authorized dealers buy US dollars from the energy sector—which convert their US dollars to pay their T&T costs, such as employee compensation, utility bills, lease payments etc—and from domestic exporters and credit card companies. The dealers then sell foreign exchange to the public, which includes the entire non-energy sector, which uses the money to pay for a wide range of imported goods and services.

But, as noted above, the amount of foreign exchange that the authorized dealers sell to the public exceeds their purchases from the public.

For example, in the calendar year 2014, authorised dealers bought US$5.52 billion from the public and sold US$6.95 billion to the public, leaving a gap of US$1.43 billion, which the Central Bank satisfied by selling US$1.72 billion to the authorised dealers. That gap, filled by the Central Bank, between what the dealers bought from the public and what they sold to the public in 2014 was 26 per cent. This was an increase from the 22 per cent gap in 2013.

Between October 2014 and June 2015—the first nine months of the 2015 fiscal year—the authorized dealers bought US$3.85 billion from the public and sold US$5.43 to the public. The gap for the period was US$1.58 billion which the Central Bank filled by selling  US$1.64  billion to the authorized dealers. The gap in this latest period was 41 per cent, sharply higher than the 21 per cent in the comparable period of the 2014 fiscal year.

These 2015 figures, which come from the latest Review of the Economy, indicate that the amount of foreign exchange the authorized dealers bought from the public between October 2014 and June 2015 declined by 14.6 per cent, while the amount of foreign exchange that the Central Bank sold to the dealers increased by 52.3 per cent.

Exactly why the public is selling less to the authorized dealers is a probably a question for another time, but the Central Bank’s July 2015 Economic Bulletin makes this point: “The energy sector continued to be the main source of foreign exchange...In the first half of 2015, the energy sector accounted for around 74.3 per cent of total purchases, with credit card centres (6.8 per cent), manufacturing (4.8 per cent) transportation and storage (3.7 per cent).”

One assumes that the reduced amount of foreign exchange sold to the authorized dealers sum would not have included monies that the energy companies want to repatriate to their parents as dividends or profits.

 That is because what is referred to as the net factor payments abroad can vary substantially from year to year and even from quarter to quarter. The Central Bank estimates that in January to March 2015 net factor payments amounted to US$95.1 million, but in the same period in 2014, those payments of dividends and profits amounted to  US$744.4  million. 

What is the country’s position if the 2016 or 2017 fiscal years  coincide with heavy repatriation of dividends and profits by the foreign multinationals?

The other point that needs to be made is that while the Central Bank sold US$1.64 billion to the authorized dealers over the October 2014 to June 2015 period, that period overlapped with the period December 2014 to August 2015 period, during which T&T’s foreign reserves declined by US$925 million to US$10.39 billion from US$11.31 billion. Foreign reserves declined even though the estimate of gross energy sector revenue for the 2015 fiscal year was US$1.9 billion. 

In other words, T&T foreign reserves declined because the Central Bank was required to provide an increased amount of foreign exchange to the authorized dealers.

On Sunday, in this space, it was revealed that the amount of energy revenue that the Government expects to collect in 2016 will decline to US$763 million from US$1.9 billion, which is the revised estimate of energy revenue for 2015. 

Given the fact that foreign debt payments take first call on the country’s foreign reserves, the amount of US dollars that the Central Bank is expected to have available to sell to the authorised forex dealers in 2016 could be as low as US$549 million.

If the Central Bank is required to provide the residual funds to the authorized dealers (fill the gap between what they buy and what they sell), but the institution experiences a significant shortfall in the amount of foreign exchange it receives from the Government, representing the payment of energy  revenues, how will the foreign exchange market manage during the 2016 fiscal year?

The fact that the Central Bank will only have about US$549 million in net 2016 energy revenues to sell to authorised dealers must be understood in the context of the fact that the Central Bank sold US$1.6 billion to authorised dealers between October 2014 and June 2015, according to the 2015 Review of the Economy.

In other words, if the Central Bank has less foreign exchange coming in, the only way it can satisfy the unrestrained demand for foreign goods and services is by dipping deeply into the country’s foreign reserves.

In order to sustain the demand for foreign exchange by the authorised dealers the Central Bank has four options: reintroduce an official system of foreign exchange rationing; attempt to use monetary policy to reduce demand for foreign exchange; attempt to deal with demand by allowing the currency to float or by allowing the country's foreign reserves to take the hit.

The statement by the Minister of Finance that he will request the Central Bank to ensure exchange rate stability is a clear indication that T&T foreign reserves are likely to be decimated in 2016.

On a related note, the sustainability of the TT dollar must also be seen in the context of the statement in the July Economic bulletin that T&T’s “international  price competitiveness as measured by the trade weighted real effective exchange rate (TWREER) weakened by 10.7 per cent in the first six months of 2015.

The fall in competitiveness was a reflection of higher domestic prices when compared with the country’s major trading partners coupled with an appreciation   in the exchange rate.” 

It is useful to note that on a TWREER basis, T&T’s productive sector is 80 per cent less competitive in 2015 than it was in 2000.

Even as Finance Minister Colm Imbert signalled in his October budget presentation a return to the 2014 model for distributing foreign exchange, members of the business community continue to speak out about the “challenges,” the “crisis” and the “frustration” concerning the supply of US currency.

President of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA), Gregory Aboud, in a telephone interview with the Business Guardian on Tuesday, said the persistent shortage of US currency is the number one challenge facing the business community and that this shortage can result in the erosion of confidence in T&T’s economy.

But during the presentation of the budget, Minister Imbert had said: “The Central Bank, in the discharge of its mandate for the management of the foreign exchange market, will be requested to re-establish the foreign exchange distribution system which existed prior to 2014.

“The Central Bank will also be requested to clear the backlog of arrears of foreign exchange demand and ensure that legitimate demands for foreign exchange are met, as well as ensure the stability of the exchange rate. As a government, we are committed to ensuring an adequate and efficient supply of foreign exchange to our manufacturers and importers,” Imbert said.

Aboud said there continued to be a lack of information regarding T&T’s true foreign exchange status and this is resulting in “a substantial erosion of confidence.” He added that the erosion of confidence doesn’t only affect foreign direct investment, but it makes any local investment become questionable.

“Foreign exchange can be likened to one of the key components of any economy even in cases where other components are available. The absence of this key component (foreign exchange) can cause the economic engine of any country to splutter. If the cause of our difficulty is the Central Bank’s regime change in distribution that occurred 18 months ago, then we shouldn’t see any difficulty in correcting the situation.”

During its October 13, post-budget forum—held at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business in Mt Hope—Rolph Balgobin, Manufacturers’ Association president, had estimated that the “over hang” in demand for US currency at the local banks stood at between $200 million and $400 million. Aboud said if the root of the foreign exchange supply problem is not the Central Bank’s system, there is need to begin the dialogue about the exchange rate.

“There is no reason for us not to have a frank and open discusson about our economic realities and the options available to resolve the current predicament. A continuation of the present scarcity is hurting the economic outlook of our country at a time when the global economy is in transition and we should move quickly to bring stability and certainty back to our economy.”

Economist Roger Hosein predicted that the State may need to turn to the international lending agencies if energy prices remain low and earnings from the energy sector remain low.

“If energy prices remain low and foreign exchange earnings from the energy sector remains depressed amidst buoyant import demand, the state may need to turn to the multilateral funding agencies in the future. All attempts should be made to avoid such an occurrence, and in this regard we need to put diversification and extra-regional foreign exchange earnings in particular, on the “frontest of our burners”. In this new normal, it is not, and surely cannot be, business as usual.”

A return to the former system for allocating foreign exchange may not entirely solve the problem especially when it comes to small exporters, Hosein said.

“Indeed, it is possible that a repeated failure to meet payments to foreign suppliers over time may have eroded part of the goodwill-base local entrepreneurs may have garnered, and may also have seen their per unit costs increase in some cases, as discounts for payments on time or upfront may have been eroded. This will take time to repair, and so we have to observe if a return to the previous allocation formula by the Central Bank is sufficient to restore the desired improvement in the foreign exchange allocation system.”

Overall, he said: “The foreign exchange problem will not affect foreign direct investment flows into the T&T economy as much as the natural gas shortages in this economy or perhaps the surge in the domestic murder rate.  The inflow of foreign direct investment is usually from very large foreign firms with deep pockets earning their revenues outside of T&T.  

“However, a shortage of foreign exchange may, to some degree, affect investments abroad by T&T companies. This is a significant blow as T&T companies investing abroad especially in other Caribbean countries can be an important avenue through which some of the economic rents made in T&T can be sowed into these economies, the profits from which represent direct investment income inflows for the T&T economy.”

The services sector needs to be looked at to determine whether there was an expansion of it. If there is an expansion of that sector then, Hosein said, that expansion is, “associated with an increase in the net demand for foreign exchange.”

Another business group, the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TTCIC), said its members are frustrated with the problems associated with accessing foreign exchange to meet their needs. The chamber, in a statement said relationships that have taken more than four decades to build have become strained.

“International suppliers remain confused when they hear from their local business partners that they cannot pay their bills on time. T&T continues to have a strong international rating, strong import cover, and yet businesses cannot get access to the necessary currency to meet their commitments.” 

What is clear, is that members of the TTCIC have “lost confidence” in the ability to gain access to the required currency on a timely basis. 

“The allocation/distribution of US dollar among the banking sector has largely reverted to what existed prior to April 2014. You would recall that the system was adjusted in April 2014, and this change can be considered a material change which would have “shocked” the system and caused a significant strain on the traditional banks in meeting their customer requirements.

“As a result of the impact of these changes, the system was adjusted again in July 2014, which as we understand, continues to remain in place today. The current distribution has the traditional banks receiving approximately 95 per cent of the US dollars (distributed to the system).”    

If measures are taken to improve the supply of US currency then foreign direct investment would not be interferred with, the chamber said. The business group admitted that the “challenge” remained being able to convert $TT to $US on a timely and predictable basis.

Prices in the Business Guardian’s Food Basket increased by 34 per cent between October 2010 and this month, October 2015. Examining the basket of items measured during the period September 2004, August 2010, October 2010 as well as October 2015 overall, food prices have increased. Business Guardian’s total food basket—which was done at Massy Stores (then HiLo) in October 2010 was $228.44 compared to 2015 where it moved to $306.62; a climb of 34 per cent.  

According to the Index of Retail Prices in the Central Bank’s data centre, food prices increased by 61.6 per cent between October 2010 and August 2015, the most up-to-date entry on the institution’s Web site. Looking at the Business Guardian’s list, basic bread and cheese, bread increased by 21.4 per cent and cheese by 19 per cent compared with October 2010. The price of lentils has remained the same though. 

Now that the national budget has been presented, many consumers would be looking for ways in which they can make adjustments to their personal budgets. Measuring the affordability of food would be a priority for consumers, especially as Minister of Finance Colm Imbert said VAT would be decreased to 12.5 per cent from 15 per cent, but with indications that the Government intends to reverse VAT exemptions and zero-rated goods. 

Addressing the issue of food, Imbert said: “I propose to improve efficiency in collection to broaden the base by reviewing and adjusting exemptions and zero-rated items which are associated with non-essential or luxury items, and which are not critically important to the livelihoods and basic cost of living of our citizens.....I propose to reduce the value added tax rate from 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent.”

In 2012, the People’s Partnership government had removed VAT from 7,000 items in order to ease consumers from food inflation. A statement from the Ministry of Trade, at that time, had indicated: “Determination of the final list of items was a very complex process which involved careful, detailed and collaborative review of the food items in common use by the majority of our local households, utilising a comprehensive list provided to the ministry by industry stakeholders.”

On July 25, former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar as an Eid-ul-Fitr/Emancipation gift had announced a 20 per cent discount on selected brands of flour, rice and oil in time for those holiday that year. The gift applied for the period July 26 and August 1.

She said: “This initiative forms part of the temporary stop gap measure to allow for ease of living while the Government actively pursue measures to ensure our food security.”

Over several years, two administrations have put measures in place to deal with the rising food prices but nothing can stop the dynamics in the global environment impacting on the final price of food. 

Price versus preference

Would shopping for fresh produce in a market versus shopping in a supermarket make much of a difference when it comes to prices? 

Not many professionals have the time to go from place to place to shop for produce so they bite the bullet and pay the supermarket price. With extra packaging around the fresh produce and the convenience of a supermarket, the consumer would more than likely have to pay more for their product. 

The taste patterns of consumers for imported produce versus local produce would be another factor which would increase any consumer’s grocery bill. The greater the demand for imported produce the higher T&T’s overall food import bill would be. This, in turn, would impact on other aspects of T&T’s economy. One area specifically is foreign exchange. 

During its post-budget seminar, the T&T Manufacturers’ Association addressed the issue of foreign exchange. Economist Dr Ronald Ramkissoon indicated that the taste patterns of consumers was contributing to the gobbling up of foreign exchange in T&T, as he had urged consumers to buy local.

Competition is expected to increase in the local food manufacturing sector as consumers look for substitutes and try to walk away from luxury goods, all for a good price.

It’s clear that in order to cope with food inflation, consumers may demand substitute products. Luxury goods would have to be omitted from the grocery list.

Another aspect of food is take-away or fast food such as doubles where some vendors have increased to $5.00 saying that they were justified in the increase because they would have to pay increased costs for gas.

In the case of the Sunday morning diet of doubles and pie, would that routine continue or would consumers see this as a luxury delicacy? 

Would doubles become a single given the price increase meted out by some vendors? 

Only time will tell. 

Imbert is scheduled to have a mid-term budget and perhaps a re-think of spending on a national level might provoke a re-think of spending by consumers.

Then there are the other aspects for consumers, especially consumers who use public transport. The maxi-taxi fares for the Arima to Port-of-Spain route remained at $7 but the Chaguanas to Curepe has increased to $8. How much the consumer is willing to bear is likely to impact how much they are willing to boycott certain brands and discard certain traits in their taste patterns.

Setting standards in the way business is conducted and the way goods are produced is now more urgent than ever in a world where energy prices are low and T&T needs to restructure its economy in the long run, says Theodore Reddock, executive director of the T&T Bureau of Standards (TTBS).

“Things are always changing and standards can be written to suit changing circumstances. So the TTBS will have to re-write the script in line with the new realities we are facing in T&T. Maybe a world that will always in the future have low oil and gas prices, depleting oil and gas supplies from the resources that we have always enjoyed. A limited non-petroleum economy which have not yet developed to a point of being able to replace our traditional economy,” he said. 

Reddock was speaking last week on World Standards Day at the T&T Bureau of Standards at Century Drive on the Trincity Industrial Estate.

He said better industrial standards in the economy would lead to less wastage.

“All of these points must tell us that we need to look at the applications of standards to a much greater degree to reduce industrial and construction waste. There should be no construction waste so a building is built once and not two or three times because we did not get it right the first time. This is to ensure export-ready industries. If what you make cannot satisfy any standards, who is going to use it? That is also to produce market penetration of T&T’s goods abroad and also to improve competition against imported goods locally. Nowadays you do not have to leave your country for competition from abroad,” he said.

He said over the years, people have learnt that hard times are good times for implementing standards. 

“When the money is rolling in, people do not hear very much. The TTBS will be involved in the promotion of standards and standardisation, improved relationships with the stakeholders who can apply standards to national processes and we would want to spend time improving the quality of our processes to ensure that our product can also serve the national community,” he said.

Industrial sectors

Errol Rampaul, head of standardisation division at the TTBS, who gave a presentation on different sectors of the national economy at the event, said in the oil and gas sector the TTBS needs to do “more work.”

He gave examples from different sectors of the country that the TTBS is working with to ensure that proper standards give them a competitive edge.

“In the area of oil and gas, our major stakeholders would be the Ministry of Energy, Petrotrin, National Gas Company (NGC) and the Energy Chamber. The Government has been on a thrust to promote CNG as the alternate fuel of choice and we are engaged right now in finalising the standard for the systems that would go into the vehicles. That is nearing completion and should be out in the next calendar year.”

He spoke about the explosion in Maraval on February where 11 people were injured and one manager subsequently died.

The explosion was blamed on a gas leak while an LPG truck was supplying gas to a restaurant. Hurry Kurry, Burger King and El Pecos were damaged in the incident.

“There was the explosion at El Pecos and it came to our attention that there was a need there. We spoke to the Ministry of Energy and they are doing a regulation. We will do a standard that can be used as a reference in the regulation to put structure in terms of regulating that industry,” he said.

He said dimethyl ether (DME) and DME/liquid petroleum gas (LPG) are new products on the market worldwide.

“DME is a new fuel coming into the market basically to be utilised from natural gas. So there is a plant in La Brea with Mitsubishi, and other local investors that are committed to this. We have been asked to do a standard for DME and Japan is the only country that we are aware of that has that standard and they have put it to ISO to be used as an international standard. About two to three months ago, that standard was published so we may have the opportunity to adopt it. We have been asked to do a standard for DME and LPG as a mixture and it can be used as a vehicular fuel. There are a couple vehicles on trial right now in the country using this particular fuel blend,” he said.

He also said DME is supposed to replace cooking gas and there are some advantages to that and the bureau has been asked to look at a standard for this particular blend.

“There is no existing standard worldwide and we will look at those who are doing research and development phase,” he said.

He said they have established a number of standards in the health, safety and security sectors.

“We have done some standards in contractor safety and risk assessment standards. We need to engage some more with the OSH agency as there are some changes happening there ever so often and we need to strengthen that relationship,” he said.

He also referred to commercial diving which is important in the oil and gas industry as it deals with people doing underwater welding.

“We are hoping to showcase these standards at the January conference that the Energy Chamber holds every year,” he said.

In the electric industry he spoke about standards for electrical wiring codes.

“It exists as a three-part code, the low voltage is part one which has been revised and is waiting on the Board for approval. Part two which is high voltage comes right after that,” he said.

He also spoke about standards in construction which include Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and blended cement, pre-painted roofing sheets, hollow clay blocks, concrete blocks and reinforced steel bars.

In the areas of renewable energy, the Bureau of Standards is looking at developing standards in the area of photovoltaic modules, compact fluorescent lights (CFL), light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs and solar water heaters.

In the area of tourism, the institution intends to work with stakeholders to develop standards in sites and attractions, tour guides, hotels, diving and steelpan.

In my last article published in the Business Guardian of October 15th, 2015, entitled “Major fallacies driving economic decisions,” I suggested that a comparison with the 1980s may be an interesting exercise in order  to better  understand the current economic situation in Trinidad and Tobago.

Summary findings from the 1980s:

The decade of the 1980s began with oil production of 211,000 bbls (barrels) per day increasing to 240,000 bbls per day in 1981 and declining thereafter to 160,000 bbls per day in 1983. Oil prices were US$37.00 per barrel in 1980 declining thereafter to US$29.00 in 1983 reaching a low of US$14.00 in 1986. With the commencement of the recession in 1984 the economy declined by over 20 per cent spanning the decade.

A major implication of the events was a drastic reduction in the country’s foreign currency reserves which declined from a high of US$3.3 billion in 1982 to a low of US$213 million by 1987, a precipitous decline of 94 per cent. Another implication was the rapid rise in unemployment to over 22 per cent by 1987.

Data adjusted for inflation:

For comparison purposes current data adjusted for US inflation at the rate of 4 per cent for 30 years reduces current oil price to US$13.87per barrel and reduces current reserves to US$3.3 billion. Based on this comparison it appears that we are in a  more precarious position than we were in 1985.

In an advanced analysis the impact of the gas industry would have to be factored into the comparison and which positive impact may very well be cancelled by the decline in the volume of oil production which  declined from 175,000 bbls per day in 1985 to 75,000 bbls per day in 2015.

Other factors to consider:

To further develop and appreciate  the period comparison several other factors must be considered, and a few are noted below:

• The economy has become more dependent on foreign exchange.

• Our propensity to import has increased making our reliance on foreign exchange more acute. Keep in mind that because of the high propensity to import payments to employees in TT$ is in fact an increase in demand on foreign currency and should not be treated as local expenditures. 

•  The wide spread use of credit cards makes it more difficult for the Central Bank to control the use of foreign exchange.

•  With higher education and exposure through the media, life styles and ambition the citizens have  distanced themselves from the land and from agriculture.

• Government capital projects have  increased recurrent expenditures without a concurrent increase in revenues. Most government projects are not revenue generating and in fact adds a considerable running costs. 

•  Make-work programmes by the government is difficult to reverse.

•  The economy is not diversified and perhaps less so that three decades ago. 

• Government’s debt has increased beyond its capacity to repay from recurrent revenues and asset sales and additional borrowings are now being undertaken to fill deficits in excess of $20B per annum.

•  With relaxed lending criteria by the commercial banks and shadow banks, the quality of their loan portfolios could deteriorate significantly in times of increasing  unemployment.

•  The private sector is highly dependent on the availability of foreign exchange and a curtailment of supply would have a leveraged negative effect on business, employment and standard of living.

•  Our foreign currency reserves and small social programmes  would not be adequate to protect the vulnerable.

Major impact of the 1980s recession:

1 Collapse and down-sizing of many companies, particularly in the auto industry, equipment sales, construction, soft drink manufacturer, trading and banking. These included McEnerny  Alstons which was bought out by the ANSA group, Trinity Motors, Polymer, Neal and Massy, auto division and Tracmac among others. The list also included the three local banks NCB, Co-op Bank and Workers Bank which were finally resolved in the 1990s.

2 Significant layoffs spiking the unemployment rate to over 22 per cent.

3 Introduction of vat.

4 Removal of Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

5 High loan and mortgage delinquency.

6 Notable migration from the country.

7 IMF involvement.

8 Devaluation

Relevance for 2015:

The decline in oil prices in the early 1980s was significantly less precipitous than the fall experienced in 2015. Yet still the recession began in 1984 causing considerable damage to the economy and the citizens at large. The major problem was the declining reserves which was quickly used up due to a lack of control and planning by the then Government on the stock of foreign exchange. Once it had dwindled to precarious levels, the country panicked and in came the IMF and its programmes long after adjustments ought to have commenced.

The situation in 2015 is dire and requires quick action by the Government. Listening to the parliamentary Standing Finance Committee it appears that they are oblivious to the current situation and leaves many citizens very worried. We have little time to make fundamental changes. 

Recommendations:

Strong leadership is required. While the 2016 budget has been presented and debated, there is urgent need for the government to present to the Country a formal and detailed statement of affairs on the economy and outline some alternative for us to deal with the economic difficulties.

A detailed plan to manage our foreign exchange must be at  the core of their overall plan for the country.

The importance of the foreign exchange plan cannot be overemphasized. Such a plan would ultimately include a strategy for all other aspects of the economy.

Time is against us. We are over forty years late in truly diversifying the economy.

In my next article I would suggest ways to manage our scarce foreign exchange reserves.

Ved Seereeram– Financial consultant

E mail –vedseereeram@gmail.com

There will be no witch-hunting by the Cabinet of T&T but Government will not be turning a blind eye and allowing wrongdoing to become fashionable in the country.

That was the promise of Prime Minister Dr Keith rowley as he addressed the post-Cabinet press conference yesterday.

Rowley said that while speaking about reports of wrongdoing, which ministers discussed during the budget debate.

“During the debate many ministers reported on what they had encountered in their ministries. 

“Some of what they have reported have been quite shocking and scandalous with respect to the discharge of responsibilities, both from the end of the public service and from ministerial control. 

“In some instances there might even be criminal conduct involved,” Rowley said.

He said based on these revelations, there was a general sentiment that these developments should not to go unattended and that people are to be held accountable for their actions.”

Rowley said the Government’s position was that if situations where serious wrongdoings were involved, the information would be forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General for action.

“To do otherwise will be a dereliction of duty on the part of any minister who would have found serious misconduct and loss of public assets in any ministry,” he added. 

Refusing to comment on specifics, Rowley cautioned the public to behave in a civil way toward these matters.

“We are a society governed by the rule of law and the rule of law is guided by process. 

“Do not assume we will be turning a blind eye and allowing wrongdoing to become fashionable in T&T but we are not about bussing mark and scoring political points,” he added.

He said the Cabinet had no authority to prosecute anybody and certainly no intention to persecute anybody.

Political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath is calling on Government to reform the Representation of the People’s Act (RPA), using proposals drafted by the Elections and Boundaries Commission.

His comments came as the deadline for the submission of election expenses ended on Wednesday. 

Under existing laws, the candidate has a $50,000 limit on their personal expenditure for campaign expenses. However, most times, candidates spend way in excess of this figure but the EBC has no way of verifying whether expenses were incurred by the candidate or the party.

In an interview, Ragoonath revealed that tabulations were being done to determine how much each party spent on media advertisements. That, however, was just a fragment of the overall cost incurred by the party, he said. 

Ragoonath also hoped the new Government would put campaign finance reform on the legislative agenda before the 2017 Tobago House of Assembly elections were held.

“The EBC has drafted proposals for reform of the RPA, those proposals need to be seriously considered by the Government. They can do it in a piecemeal manner so at least we have the proper legislation in place before 2017,” Ragoonath said.

He said that political parties have always been reluctant to divulge party financing because it allows them flexibility.

“Political parties don’t want to be constrained by rules and regulations which limit how things happen. Some financiers may not want to have their names associated with a political party,” he said. He noted that even if figures were provided, there was little or no way to validate their accuracy.

Ragoonath said based on the Code of Ethical Conduct and the Council of Responsible Political Behaviour, leaders of all the political parties have pledged to have their accounts audited and presented to the council within three months of the general election. Ragoonath said it is left to be seen whether the parties would comply.

EBC’s chief elections officer Ramesh Nanan admitted that the EBC had no way of determining whether candidates spent more than the required limit for their campaign. 

 A total of 79 out of 132 electoral candidates were supposed to file their personal expenditure report with the EBC on Wednesday.

Nanan said the EBC would assess the reports by perusing receipts.

Saying there is a difference between candidate’s expenditure and political party financing, Nanan said: “When candidates submit their receipts and bills, the EBC has no way of verifying whether the cost of the campaign was footed by the party or by the electoral candidate.”

Since campaign finance reform had not yet been realised, there was no legislation to limit how much political parties spent on election campaigns, Nanan said. 

As such, the EBC has no choice but to deal only with candidate’s expenditure and not political party financing, he added. 

The People’s National Movement, United National Congress and Independent Liberal Party have been tight-lipped on their actual expenditure in the last election. 

Massy Realty copped the Agency of the Year (Large) award on Tuesday evening at the inaugural Real Estate Awards held by TrinidadRealtor.com at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s. 

A division of Massy Holdings, the firm was also recognised and honoured for recording the Most Residential Sale Properties and won the award for the Most Likes on Facebook.

Agency of the Year (medium) went to Guillen Realty and Alcazar Realtor was Agency of the Year (small).

In all 29 awards were handed out during the gala event.

Cindy Rackal from the JMMB Group beat out the competition  to take home the Mortgage Agent of the Year, while seasoned realtor Stuart Spiers (of Stuart Spiers Real Estate Services) was voted Agent of the Year (Male).  Steve Plimmer of Plimmer Real Estate (medium) and Sajeev Maharaj from Green Acres Estates Ltd (small) completed the Agent of the Year honour roll for the men.

In the Agent of the Year (Female) category, Jeanine Tucker–Miller of Tucker Real Estate won in the large category, with Saran Joseph of Sunrise Properties (medium) and Jennifer Alcazar-Dolsingh of Alcazar Realtors (small).

Veteran realtor and co-founder of Music Radio 97 Jean de Meillac was given the Lifetime Achievement Award, an honour which he accepted with grace and humility. The moment was given a special touch as his son Jean-Paul de Meillac made the presentation.

The Real Estate Awards, brainchild of Shane Correia of Trinidad Realtors, was organised not only to honour the men and women who have developed the industry, but also to bring stakeholders together. The ceremony was hosted by Guardian Media Ltd personality Jason Williams.

Correia said: “Many of our country’s most accomplished and well respected real estate agents and companies have become members of TrinidadRealtor.com.  We have seen their hard work, commitment to success and diligence in their contribution to the development of the real estate industry in Trinidad and Tobago”.

Real estate honour roll

Most Viewed Property - Golden Key Real Estate
Most Videos on TrinidadRealtor.com - Tucker Real Estate
Best Quality Property Photos - Alcazar Realtors
Most Properties on MapIT - Terra Caribbean
Most Commercial Rental Properties - Terra Caribbean
Most Residential Rental Properties - Ornella Nahous Properties
Most Commercial Sale Properties - Terra Caribbean
Most Residential Sale Properties - Massy Realty
Most Land for Sale Properties - Golden Key Real Estate
Most Likes on Facebook - Massy Realty
Most Professionally Attired - Male - Wayne Fox - A1 Realty Professionals
Most Professionally Attired - Female - Jasmine George - Earth Real Estate
Most Punctual Agent - Debbie Nicol - Dynamic Real Estate Consultancy Ltd
Best Showing Agent - Tracy Sheppard - Stuart Spiers Real Estate Services
Personality of the Year - Adrian De Souza - Golden Key Real Estate
Agent of the Year - Male - Large - Stuart Spiers - Stuart Spiers Real Estate Services
Agent of the Year - Male - Medium - Steve Plimmer - Plimmer Real Estate
Agent of the Year - Male - Small - Sajeev Maharaj - Green Acres Estates Ltd
Agent of the Year - Female - Large - Jeanine Tucker-Miller - Tucker Real Estate
Agent of the Year - Female - Medium - Saran Joseph - Sunrise Properties
Agent of the Year - Female - Small - Jennifer Alcazar-Dolsingh - Alcazar Realtors
Overall Agent of the Year - Jeanine Tucker-Miller - Tucker Real Estate
Agency of the Year - Large - Massy Realty
Agency of the Year - Medium - Guillen Realty
Agency of the Year - Small - Alcazar Realtors
Mortgage Agent of the Year - Cindy Rackal - The JMMB Group
Best Print Media - Trinidad Express Newspapers
Interior Designer of the Year - Dayna Collier-Wynard
Lifetime Achievement Award - Terra Caribbean

Ian K Ramdhanie, MSc, Principal, CISPS

Many Trinbagonians often say that if someone comes to attack or rob them, “they will go down fighting.” Well, professional self-defence training may put a stop to “going down” and actually save one’s life.

There have been too many instances of people being attacked, raped, assaulted and even killed in our beloved Republic. Such victims come from all races, ages, sexes, socioeconomic background, geographical location and even, nationalities. None have been spared. 

A person can be a victim of attack at home, work, school, while travelling, in a car park, while walking along the street, at beaches, rivers and other outings, in fetes—literally when undertaking any of their normal daily activities. 

What can a person do when in such situations? Many times, the situation involves a firearm, other times, other weapons. Self-defence training involves a person defending his/her well-being and may include the defence of another person. Some of these are highlighted below.

Many people do not know that there are several simple techniques that one can learn from professionals to protect themselves. For example, there are certain parts of the human body that can be target areas. Would-be victims can target these of the attackers. This is other than trying to hit a male in his private parts. 

Further, other self-defence techniques involve placing oneself in the “right” position when being attacked. It can just be matter of turning yourself in a particular direction that can save you. Then, there are blocking techniques that can be employed. For example, if you have an item with you or close to you, such can be used strategically. Further, striking techniques can be quite effective if you get an opportunity to strike; you can know how best to do so in various situations.

Other self-defence techniques like takedowns, weapon disarming, as well as control and restraint holds can be quite effective. They can save your life. For example, depending on how the attacker holds and points a weapon at you, you can know how to respond accordingly. 

Usually, there are two main categories of self-defence techniques: physical and mental. Physical, being the most common, involves the use of physical force to counter threats of violence. Mental self-defence techniques deal with getting the proper mindset for executing the physical self-defence techniques. Mental self-defence techniques are of extreme importance because it makes no sense knowing what to do physically when you are in a particular situation but your mental state of mind does not allow you to effectively implement it. 

Knowing self-defence techniques will not make you a super hero. It is to be used only as a method of self-defence when in certain situations. Therefore, such professional training will also empower you in determining which situations you can use what techniques, how, etc. 

Some other useful self-defence techniques include the common sense “avoidance” technique. This is where you avoid being in particular places and situations where you can be attacked as far as possible. This is simply because potential attackers stalk these places looking for victims. 

Then there are the de-escalation techniques where verbal strategies are used as self-defence measures. Words are used as weapons. More precisely, elements of voice, tone and body language come into play in a kind a conflict management/dispute resolution approach. And, there is a range of ways to use such verbal techniques for different situations.

A very interesting self-defence technique involves “alarming” oneself. This is where a person assesses the threat levels in his/her environment and responds accordingly. There are several approaches to this. One technique uses a colour scheme approach where various colours indicate different threat or risk levels and thus requires different self-defence responses. 

Self-defence techniques deal with real-world situations as opposed to the various forms of pure martial arts training. Further, just as how first aid and CPR training are critical and can save lives at the workplace and at homes, so too, self-defence training is a fundamental life-saving skills set that everyone should possess. It is a skill that you can always tap into in time of need. 

All responsible businesses and organisations as well as people and community groups should seek professional training in self-defence. A few hours spent on such training can save lives and prevent lifetime scars. Many persons think that self-defence training is not for them as they are too old, too young, too macho, ‘I can’t do it’ thinking, or it wouldn’t happen to me. 

Self-defence training will not eliminate victimisation but it can go a long way in dealing with many such instances. Other measures should be instituted as well such as those dealing personal and home/business security.

n Contact the Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety for professional self-defence training for corporations, organisations and individuals as well as certified First Aid and CPR training and other programmes in security, law enforcement, supervision, management and OSH/HSE-related areas. Tel: 223-6999, 222-8347, info@caribbeansecurityinstitute.com, www.caribbeansecurityinstitute.com.

Economist Indera Sagewan-Alli, head of the Caribbean Centre for Competitiveness, has expressed concern about the absence of serious debate since presentation of the 2015/2015 budget statement by Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

“There is the absence of any talk of where we possibly can go. All we have done for the last week and a half is really fight among each other,” she said.

“People meet me and tell me they don’t know when to spend or when to save. They do not know what to do and there are implications for the credit union movement,” she in her contribuition to a panel discussion hosted by Rhand Credit Union at the Radisson Hotel, Port-of-Spain.

Sagewan- Alli said T&T has squandered opportunitiesin the past and added: “T&T has been very lucky but in the same way we have been lucky we have failed to use our luck in the best way we possibly could. 

“All we are concerned about during budget time is what happens to the price of oil. What does that mean in terms of Government’s expenditure? Over the last five years we saw that expenditure move from $46 billion to over $60 billion. Although the current Government said things will be really hard, what we saw again was the maintenance of that spend.”

Sagewan-Alli added that successive T&T governments have failed to promote a coherent industrial policy: “The model of development that has been implemented since Independence has been state-driven. I do not know if this or the previous government really has an understanding of how to do things differently. The budget really speaks to that, it is business as usual and does not address that things have changed so much.”

She also made reference to the recently released competitiveness index where T&T failed to improve.

“Is it that we really cannot do things differently?” she asked. “Can we not at least minimise corruption? What does that say about us as a people? The time has come where we as a people need to determine what our governments do.”

Sagewan-Alli further said of current foreign exchange problems in T&T: “Both our manufacturing sector and our distribution sector, they have high use of foreign exchange but they do not generate foreign exchange. This is one of the main problems we have in the economy.”

There is no time to waste. The situation has been allowed to get too much out of control and the THA, business interests and tourism stakeholders must join forces to formulate effective public policies to reverse the current trend.

The brutal murders of British national Richard Wheeler, 73, an attorney, and his 67-year-old wife, Grace, at their home in Carnbee, Tobago, have further blackened the image of that island, inflicting a blow to its tourism industry at the worst possible time, just weeks ahead of the usually busy winter travel season.

For an island so heavily dependent on tourism—it represents approximately 46 per cent of GDP and some 57 per cent of employment—negative repercussions are inevitable. These latest killings add to a disturbing trend in Tobago over the past seven years, with murders, vicious assaults, robberies and rapes targeting European tourists who make up the bulk of foreign visitors to the island.

The murders of the Wheelers were committed less than a year after the murders of an elderly German couple, Hubertus Keil, 74, and his wife Birgid, 71, who were found hacked to death on a beach near their home last November. In 2008, there was the double slaying of 73-year-old Ake Olsson and his 62-year-old companion Anna Sundsval. The mutilated bodies of the elderly Swedish couple were found in a villa which they owned.

Then there was the case which generated extensive media coverage when it occurred in August 2009 and for several months after, when British couple Peter  and Murium Green were chopped and left for dead at their Bacolet home. Although the Greens survived that brutal attack, they were left with permanent injuries.

For a tourism industry that has hardly recovered from the precipitous losses caused by the 2008/2009 global economic meltdown, the damage is much more extensive because these cases, like so many of the violent crimes that occur with frightening regularity on these islands, remain largely unsolved.

Short-term efforts at damage control and anything less than a sustained, multi-pronged intervention will be a waste of time. The hotel and hospitality sector in Tobago may already be experiencing significant fall out, particularly with the latest travel advisory from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Even before the latest murders, the gravity of the situation facing the industry was well known to stakeholders on the island. Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Finance Secretary Joel Jack and his colleague, Tourism Secretary Tracy Davidson-Celestine, have both acknowledged the great extent to which crime has taken a big toll.

There is no time to waste. The situation has been allowed to get too much out of control and the THA, business interests and tourism stakeholders must join forces to formulate effective public policies to reverse the current trend.

It must be noted, however, that to some extent Tobago is falling victim to a trend that has been deeply rooted in most of Latin America and the Caribbean for several years. Numerous studies have categorised this part of the world as being extremely violent compared to other regions, accounting for one-third of all homicides in the world. 

A recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) states that even after adjusting for income, inequality and poverty levels, the region has exceptionally high levels of violence, especially homicides and robberies.

However, as grim as the situation looks, it is not completely beyond repair. What is needed is commitment to act, to make tough decisions and act now to weed out corruption and criminality.

Richard Hercules, 19, of Quarry Street, Diego Martin died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) early this morning after he and friends were attacked by gunmen.

Police reports stated that around midnight Hercules was outside his home when neighbours heard loud explosions. Upon checking they found him lying on the road.

Hercules’ neighbours rushed him to the St James Medical Centre where he was treated and sent to the PoSGH. He succumbed to his injuries around 4 am.

The police said Hercules was known to them, but declined to elaborate further. A motive for the shooting is yet to be ascertained. 

Sargent Brown, Constable Gordon and Corporals Reyes and Jupiter were on the scene investigating.