NEWS
Venezuelan work permit exemption extended to Dec 31
The Ministry of National Security, in a notice published on June 12, said the duration of the work permit exemption granted to Venezuelans in TT – registered under the Migrant Registration Framework – has been extended to December 31. Registered Venezuelans issued minister’s permits and migrant registration cardsmust visit the Immigration Division Enforcement Unit office up to the extended deadline date of August 11,to process their extended permits and update their registration cards. Read more here
Distressed South residents cry out for help after Saturday’s flooding
After five hours of nonstop rainfall on Saturday, several communities around San Fernando were severely hit by floodwaters that left distressed families counting their losses yesterday. Apart from street flooding, water entered the homes of many, overturning household furniture and appliances. Residents of Richard Street, Dasent Street, Scott Street, and Donaldson Street in San Fernando, said it was the first time they were affected by flooding of this magnitude after the Cipero River broke its banks. Residents said they suffered losses between $100,000 to $70,000. They said the major cause of the flood was a result of a nearby business that covered a portion of land reserves with concrete, making it difficult for employees of the San Fernando City Corporation to clean drains and rivers. They said they lodged several complaints with the corporation but the matter was not dealt with. Read more here
POLITICS
UNC: Energy sector employment down under PNM
The energy sector’s workforce has been cut in half under PNM rule, Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee claimed on Sunday. Speaking at the weekly UNC virtual report, he cited data from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) and the Central Bank to push his claim. “In 2015, under the Honourable Kamla Persad Bissessar, over 20,500 people were employed in the energy sector. In 2022, 9,800 people are employed – a decline of over 52 per cent. And it is dropping. It paints a picture of what this government is doing to that sector. It is decimating the energy sector,” Lee said. He also knocked NiQuan – to which the government holds preferential shares – saying the gas company owes the nation an explanation for its billion-dollar debt. Read more here
New management team at WASA in September—Gonzales
There has been a three-month delay in appointing a new management team at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA). But, come September, there will be new managers in place as it pushes forward with its transformation plan. In an interview with the Sunday Guardian, Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales said the company was willing to pay for talent–the authority’s new chief executive will be paid a monthly salary of $100,000 along with an attractive bonus based on his/her performance. Last December, WASA advertised for a new chief executive and eight managers to bolster the authority’s transformation process, promising by April 30 the positions would have been filled. However, three months after this deadline, WASA is still hunting for three managers. “I recognised the delay. It was unavoidable because of the due diligence that had to be taken by WASA,” Gonzales said. Read more here
BUSINESS
Ramnarine: Venezuelan President needs money to run country
After the Prime Minister said work continues on the Dragon gas deal with Venezuela, former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine blamed it on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licence – granted by the US government. He said this during a television interview on Thursday. This US$1 billion licence stipulates that Venezuela would receive non-cash payment and was signed in August 2018. But Rowley said this was not a major problem in January – when the ten-year-license was granted. During the interview, Rowley said, "We are talking on both sides. We are still negotiating." Read more here
‘EMA ordered to do over piece of consultation’
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says the Government is currently engaged in US$300 million arbitration talks with a Chinese contractor for work done on the aluminium smelter plant, scrapped by the United National Congress (UNC). And that, he said, was the reason for the delay in the La Brea Dry Docks project. Speaking at “Conversations with the Prime Minister” at the Palo Seco Government Primary School on Friday night, Rowley said the Government was going through the environmental assessments required to ensure that a similar incident did not occur. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine war: 'People call us the Ghosts of Bakhmut'
Ukrainian forces are trying to retake the city of Bakhmut in the country's east. The BBC was given exclusive access to a team of elite snipers, referred to as "the Ghosts of Bakhmut", who are conducting night raids nearby. Ghost, the sniping team's commander, takes us to the place he calls the "edge of existence" - their base on the outskirts of the city. "Ghost is my call sign," he tells me. "When we started bringing terror to Bakhmut, we got the name 'the Ghosts of Bakhmut'." Their base is already well within the range of Russian artillery. Ghost doesn't flinch at the crump of a shell landing nearby. "The artillery always makes people worry," he says. "You can hide from artillery, but not from a sniper". Read more here
31st July 2023