NEWS
Maritime, Central Bank in talks over CLICO, BAT portfolio-sale lawsuit
Attorneys for Maritime Life (Caribbean) Ltd and the Central Bank are expected to hold discussions on the lifting of an injunction which prevented the sale of the traditional insurance portfolios (TIPS) of Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO) and British-American Insurance Company (Trinidad) Ltd (BAT). The parties are also expected to hold talks on the future of a lawsuit filed by Maritime challenging the Central Bank’s decision to award the sale of CLICO and BAT’s TIPs to Sagicor Life Inc, given that the bank relinquished its emergency control over CLICO in December 2022. Read more here
Muslim community begins fast for Ramadan: Hosein calls for more empathy in T&T
As Muslims began the annual fast for Ramadan, Agriculture Minister Haji Kazim Hosein is calling on citizens to be patient with one another, show compassion and be more generous. These, he said, are some of the lessons that Muslims learn during the fast of Ramadan. In his Ramadan message, Hosein said: “Ramadan is a time for Muslims to fast, perform self-reflection, charity and spend quality time with family and friends.” He extended Ramadan greetings to his Muslim brothers and sisters in Islam both at home and across the world. “Through the act of fasting from dawn to dusk, Muslims are taught to improve their discipline.... and to empathise more with the misfortunes of others,” Hosein said. Read more here
POLITICS
PM blasts UNC, media over Gaspard controversy - NO BEEF WITH DPP
There is no rift between the Prime Minister and by extension his Government, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC. At a media conference on Thursday, Dr Rowley sought to put to bed all the national murmurings that there was some sort of animosity between him and his government and the DPP, over the perceived belief that the rift stemmed because the DPP discontinued criminal proceedings against his political enemies. Contrary to what he repeatedly regarded as “nonsense” the suggestion of a supposed war between the government and the DPP, Rowley said prior to March 8 when the DPP spoke of staff shortage, there was talk of fixing the problem. Read more here
PM laments T&T’s system encouraging white-collar crime 'Criminals seen as heroes'
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is lamenting that this country’s “system” is encouraging white-collar crime. And he says the criminals are very much aware of this and in some cases are even celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago. “There are people in our system, in our country, who run interference for criminals. In fact, right now, some criminals are heroes, I don’t want to call any names,” Dr Rowley said during a media conference at the Diplomatic Centre in Port-of-Spain. He was responding to questions from Guardian Media’s Consultant Business Editor Anthony Wilson, who reminded the Prime Minister that the country is still waiting for justice to be served to the so-called “big fish” criminals in society. “Do you agree that in the almost 61 years of this country’s independence, no ‘big fish’ with regard to white-collar crime has been taken down and would you not agree that fact has consequences for the prevalence for white-collar crimes in this country?” Wilson asked. Read more here
BUSINESS
Caricom ministers warn: States at risk of more drought spells, land degradation
Stakeholders – government and non-government alike – across the region say the Caribbean must tackle issues of land management as the effects of climate change, especially drought conditions, continue to intensify. They said the region has been plagued by soil mismanagement for over 60 years. Minister of Planning and Development Pennelope Beckles said climate-change trends indicate that spells of drought will become more frequent, extended and severe. "This jeopardises regional food security and potable water supplies, not to mention the stability of the terrains." Read more here
Caracas corruption crackdown could delay Dragon discussions
A week after T&T and Venezuela signed a non-disclosure agreement related to the exploration of the Dragon gas field, Venezuela’s Oil Minister Tarek El Aissami resigned amid allegations of corruption and arrests of other senior Venezuelan officials. On Monday night on Venezuelan television, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro promised to root out corruption and restructure Venezuela’s oil and gas sector. Director, Latin American Energy Program, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, Dr Francisco Monaldi, in an interview with the Business Guardian on Monday, said this may impact the negotiations that both countries are currently undertaking. Read more here
REGIONAL
Barbados experts see ‘passion for growth’ in local tourism industry
THE Tourism and Hospitality Association Guyana (THAG), on Thursday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI), which will see the organisation benefitting from capacity building and collaborations to improve the country’s tourism sector. The MoU was signed in the boardroom of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) by THAG’s President, Harrinand Persaud and BCSI Executive Director, Michelle Smith-Mayers. In brief remarks, Smith-Mayers said that the BCSI is an organisation that works to build capacity in the services sector of which tourism constitutes a large part. She said that while the organisation is charged with building capacity in associations in Barbados, they are cognisant of the trajectory of growth in Guyana’s tourism sector. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Rahul Gandhi disqualified as MP after conviction in defamation case
India's parliament has disqualified senior opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, a day after he was sentenced to two years in prison in a defamation case. A parliament notice said that Mr Gandhi "stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha", alluding to the lower house of parliament. He was convicted by the court for 2019 comments about PM Narendra Modi's surname at a election rally. Mr Gandhi was a Congress party MP from Wayanad in the state of Kerala. He remains on bail for 30 days and has said he will appeal the verdict given by a court in Gujarat state. Mr Gandhi's party had termed the verdict "erroneous and unsustainable" and pledged to fight the disqualification "both legally and politically". Read more here
24th March 2023