TTMA IN THE NEWS
Retailers getting ‘inordinate supply’ of forex
President of the T&T Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) Roger Roach believes business people face a “critical” situation in attempting to obtain foreign exchange (forex) for international business. “I don’t think that there is a crisis, but I think that it is critical. I think it is critical for the mere sense that if this forex window were to be taken away, would we be as successful as we are today? For example, Government programmes are not guaranteed. It is not like we see the forex window at the ExIm Bank of T&T and we say it is going to be here for the next ten years and will keep recapitalising it. What we are hoping to do is that within the period that it is available, is to maximize it and to build our own foreign exchange earnings. So that is basically the programme that we are on. So, we are focusing on trade missions and exporting and building capacity,” he said. Roach spoke last week at a forum on generating foreign exchange for T&T hosted by the Trade and Economics department of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine. He lamented that the system of allocation of foreign exchange to different segments of the business community is not fair and said that individuals making purchases online alone consumes billions of dollars. Read more here
NEWS
Cops probe Princes Town nurse’s murder
Police are probing the possible link of leaked videos to the murder of beauty contestant and nurse Sadna Gangoo outside her workplace in Princes Town. The videos have been circulating on social media for the past two weeks, but became viral after Gangoo’s shooting death at Circular Road, next to the Princes Town District Health Facility, on June 26. Investigators were tight-lipped but said they must verify the videos’ authenticity and gather more evidence before confirming the “possible link.” Read more here
Pole for peace erected in Diego Martin
In a show of hope for a better T&T, burgesses of Diego Martin came together yesterday to erect a peace pole in the new borough. A peace pole is an internationally-recognised symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. To manager of the project, Wayne Fullerton, of the Diego Martin Rotary Club, the pole is not just an object that was erected and will be forgotten but stands as a reminder of the peace the borough deserves. In his speech at the unveiling, Fullerton called for a moment of silence for the violence and conflict seen daily in this country. Read more here
POLITICS
PSA, Imbert clash as TTRA ‘transfer’ letters sent to BIR, Customs workers
The Court of Appeal has been asked to clarify whether it agreed to stay the controversial operationalisation of the long-touted T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA), after the Ministry of Finance issued letters to Inland Revenue Division (IRD) and the Customs and Excise Division (CED) staff, giving them until July 31 to decide whether they were willing to join the new body. The move to seek clarity on the precise terms of the stay, purportedly detailed by Appellate Judges Mark Mohammed, Charmaine Pemberton and Mira Dean-Armorer when they granted the Public Services Association (PSA) leave to pursue a final appeal over the dismissal of a lawsuit over the proposed implementation on June 4, arose after the Appeal Court Registrar subsequently issued a written order reflecting the oral decision. Read more here
Gopee-Scoon: Jindal may bring foreign investment to Trinidad and Tobago
Minister of Trade Paula Gopee-Scoon has defended the Prime Minister and well-known Indian businessman and political figure, Naveen Jindal, describing the controversy surrounding his visit to the Prime Minister as “hullabaloo.” Speaking during a media conference introducing several delegates from the Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation (Hafed), Gopee-Scoon said the Opposition was seeking to make mayhem over Jindal’s visit, when he could be pivotal in bringing foreign direct investment to Trinidad and Tobago. “It tells you that instead of welcoming people into our country, the Opposition is seeking to destroy,” she said. Read more here
BUSINESS
Angostura executive resigns
Publicly listed Angostura Holdings Ltd yesterday announced that its executive manager, local sales, Curtis Durity resigned from the position with effect from June 24, 2024. The announcement was posted on the T&T Stock Exchange yesterday. No reason was provided by the rum and bitters producer for the departure of the executive. Durity was appointed to the position with effect from March 4, 2024. By letter dated February 26, 2024, Melissa Charles-Barber advised of her resignation from the position of executive manager, marketing of Angostura Holdings Ltd and its subsidiaries with effect from February 26, 2024. Charles-Barber's appointment to the position took effect from March 1, 2023. Read more here
REGIONAL
Conducive environment, solid policies foster creation of thousands of start-ups
OWING to critical investments made by the government, Guyana has seen thousands of new start-ups and small businesses being established, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said. Dr. Jagdeo pointed to this at a press conference at his party’s Georgetown Headquarters on Thursday, when he also disclosed that some 2,000 new small contractors have also entered the country’s buzzing construction arena. “Thousands of new start-ups, small businesses, even contractors; we have had about 2,000 new contractors who have been bidding below $15 million for small works. Almost all those concrete roads in the villages, around the country, around the region are done by small contractors,” Dr. Jagdeo told reporters. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Analysis: Biden's incoherent debate performance heightens fears over his age
Before Thursday evening, many Americans had expressed concerns about Joe Biden’s age and fitness for office. To say that this debate did not put those concerns to rest may be one of the greatest understatements of the year. The president came into the debate with a low bar to clear, and he stumbled. He was flat. He was rambling. He was unclear. About midway through the debate, the Biden campaign said that the president was battling a cold - an attempt to explain his raspy voice. That may be so, but it also sounded like an excuse. Read more here
28th June 2024