TTMA IN THE NEWS
TTMA wants Imbert to address VAT refunds in budget
Value-added tax (VAT) refunds amounting to almost $144 million continue to be the biggest problem for manufacturers, particularly affecting the liquidity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and the T&T Manufacturers Association (TTMA) is hoping that Finance Minister Colm Imbert will present some good news during his mid-year budget review to be delivered in Parliament tomorrow. In an emailed response, TTMA’s President Tricia Coosal told the Sunday Business Guardian that to date approximately 65 of its members are owed refunds. However, she noted, “This number only reflects the feedback we have gotten from our members thus far. Read more here
NEWS
Caiso creates programme to address LGBTQI-rights violations
Over 65 members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex (LGBTQI+) community were assisted by Caiso: Sex and Gender Justice’s Wholeness and Justice programme in the first seven months of its operation. The initiative was started owing to the lack of protections for LGBTQI+ people in Trinidad and Tobago. In a release on Sunday, Caiso said there were few avenues for accessible and meaningful redress for the community and called on the government to meet its human-rights obligations to be as inclusive as possible and protect all people from harm and discrimination. Read more here
4 missing people found by Hunters' Search and Rescue
Four people reported missing over the weekend were rescued with assistance from the Hunters Search and Rescue Team, led by Captain Vallence Rambharat. Speaking to Guardian Media, Rambharat said two more people are still missing but his team is working closely with the T&T Police Service in those cases. Read more here
POLITICS
UNC: Youth agriculture programme is government land-grabbing
The United National Congress (UNC) is accusing the government of using the Youth Agriculture Homestead Programme (YAHP) for land grabbing, voter padding and house padding. At the party’s weekly media conference on Sunday, Opposition Senator Wade Mark said the programme, where 200 graduates will be given leases for two acre-parcels of state lands after two years of training, was “an underhanded tactic to distribute the people’s lands without proper accountability, transparency, accountability, and equity. Read more here
Imbert unveils Mid-year Budget Review today
Finance Minister Colm Imbert will deliver the Government’s Mid-year Budget Review in Parliament today. It is expected that approximately $3.08 billion in supplementary funding will be allocated for fiscal 2022. Two well-known economists and a former trade minister believe Imbert needs to stimulate economic growth to inspire confidence in the economy. “I think the imperative has to be how to revitalise growth in the economy and the budget is a financial tool that is available to the Government and it is an imperative that must be addressed, and when you put that in the context of the rising price of gas and petrochemicals—which are to the benefit of the treasury—I feel it is certainly a good time for the mid-year review to be able to point us in that direction,” economist Dr Indera Sagewan said yesterday. Read more here
BUSINESS
Agostini’s profit jumps 49.5%
Agostini’s Ltd yesterday reported profit attributable to its shareholders of $105.55 million for the six months ended March 31, 2022, which was 49.5 per cent higher than for the comparable period in 2021. The company, which is listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, recorded revenue of $2.1 billion, which was 19.73 per cent more than for the six-month period ended March 31, 2021. Read more here
REGIONAL
Gas-to-shore project could save Guyana $653B
When factors such as savings on fuel import, reduction in energy cost, and savings for the manufacturing sector are considered, Guyana could save as much as US$3 billion (GUY$653 billion) through the gas-to-shore energy project within the first five years of it coming on stream. This is according to well-known finance professional and business analyst, Joel Bhagwandin of JB Associates, who did a presentation on a cost benefit analysis of the project during a social media podcast last Tuesday on the JB & Salim Page. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine: The children's camp that became an execution ground
Since Russian forces were pushed back from Kyiv at the end of March, the bodies of more than 1,000 civilians have been discovered in the Bucha region - many hastily buried in shallow graves. The BBC has learned that around 650 people were shot in what a senior police official has described as executions. Sarah Rainsford has been investigating what happened at a children's summer camp - now being treated as a crime scene. *This report contains material some readers will find disturbing* Read more here
16th May 2022