TTMA IN THE NEWS
Gopee-Scoon visits Ghanaian king on trade mission
Minister of Trade Paula Gopee-Scoon met with Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, king of the Ashanti Kingdom of Ghana, during a seven-day trade mission to Ghana from March 11-17. The meeting was held at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, Ghana. Gopee-Scoon, in an address to the Asantehene, expressed her interest in further collaboration between Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago, quoting the Asantehene himself, who called for the two countries to think together and pool resources for the benefit of both. “We have acted on his words and it is the reason we have 50 members of the business community and government agencies participating in this trade mission, which follows up on His Majesty’s wishes,” she said. Read more here
NEWS
124 murders, detection rate at 9%, CoP says police in control
On the heels of last weekend’s murder spree, which saw ten homicides recorded between Friday and Monday, Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher says the TT Police Service (TTPS) is in control. She made the assertion while speaking at the police media briefing on Thursday. Harewood-Christopher made the comment in light of what she described as a “surge in murders” throughout Trinidad and Tobago which she said has “fuelled a widespread fear and anxiety in our community.” “We want to assure the public that the police, we are in control, and we are able to control the increase in the violent crime.” Read more here
Political scientist laments gang culture, Gen Z behaviour in T&T
With escalating gang violence and a Gen Z population seeking quick and easy cash, political scientist Dr Indira Rampersad says there is a critical need for criminal justice reform in T&T. Addressing the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Crime Symposium, titled Simulating Solutions: Combating Crime and Criminality in Trinidad and Tobago, Rampersad yesterday said Government must bring robust legislation. She also said while there is legislation to help fight crime, there is inadequate enforcement. With joblessness and job satisfaction concerns, Rampersad revealed issues in the tertiary education system which lead to some of the issues. Rampersad said the Gen Z culture produces entitled, uncaring and selfish behaviours. She said even at UWI, some students are not reading or watching television and are unaware of current affairs or what to do for exams. Instead, she claimed they spent most of their time on their phones, some even engaging in pornography. Read more here
POLITICS
Paray urges UNC colleagues to support call for party polls
UNC member and Mayaro, MP Rushton Paray will today make a strong call for his colleagues at Parliamentary, Local Government and all party levels to join him in a call for the party to hold National Executive elections in June. Already, at least one Opposition MP—Rodney Charles—supports Paray’s call. Paray will speak on the issue at a media briefing at the Couva Chamber of Commerce Hall. It’s Paray’s latest salvo on the matter since issuing calls earlier this month for the Natex election to be held. At that time, he also signalled his interest in the UNC leadership post, saying, “I don’t think there’s a police constable who joins the TTPS who doesn’t want to be Police Commissioner.” Read more here
BUSINESS
TTMB hailed as key to affordable housing
Many years after it was proposed, and over $3 billion worth of collaborative housing loans later, the merger of T&T Mortgage Finance (TTMF) and Home Mortgage Bank (HMB) to create the T&T Mortgage Bank (TTMB) has officially been finalised. At the official launch which took place at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain on Wednesday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the merger represented a significant milestone for those seeking home ownership, particularly those from low to middle-income backgrounds as it would “propel them from being renters at the mercy of landlords to proud owners of their own castles”. Read more here
Long-awaited T&T Mortgage Bank formed
Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Ltd (TTMF) officially changed its name yesterday to the Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Bank Ltd (TTMB), marking the culmination of the long-awaited multi-billion-dollar merger between TTMF and the Home Mortgage Bank (HMB). As part of the merger, HMB is set to be dissolved, with its assets and liabilities being transferred to TTMB. Read more here
REGIONAL
PNC propaganda ‘worms’ its way to UN
THE attempts to embroil Guyana in allegations of corruption was, on Thursday, stomped out by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), General Secretary, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who highlighted that these allegations are nothing new and have already been dismantled. While addressing questions pitched to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, particularly by United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee Member, Laurence Helfer, Dr Jagdeo said that his utterances mirror the Opposition’s “propaganda.” During a press conference at Freedom House, Dr Jagdeo said: “This is all APNU propaganda. Every bit of it is APNU propaganda. We’ve dispelled all of these issues a million times before, but it’s consistent with what I said just last week. Last week, I pointed out that they cannot get any traction here, they’re trying to recreate the atmosphere of 2015 and the atmosphere was through the lies…” Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Israel-Gaza war: Gazan girl begs rescuers to save brother first as entire family killed
In video recorded by a Palestinian rescuer, a shout comes from under mounds of smashed concrete. "I'm Alma." "Don't help me first. Help my mum and dad. And please help my brother Tarazan. He's a baby, 18 months old." It's morning on 2 December 2023, and 12-year old Alma Jaroor has been buried under the rubble of a five-storey building in downtown Gaza City for over three hours. Read more here
22nd March 2024