TTMA IN THE NEWS
T&T’s business hailed as resilient
Constant internal challenges have made the local manufacturing sector extremely innovative and resilient. This was the shared view of several panellists on Tuesday at the leadership discussion and networking event hosted by the T&T Manufacturers’ Association. Group chief performance officer of ANSA McAL Ltd Adam Sabga, in his contribution, hailed the sector’s recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Emerging out of COVID, now into the new norm and the level of diverse portfolios, products and even services of individuals within our support teams. How quickly we’ve been able as a nation to get back on our feet is something that needs to be applauded,” Sabga said. He noted this recovery had simply proved that T&T’s businesses continued to show resilience in the face of mounting challenges. Read more here
NEWS
Ansa doubles profits for 2023
In keeping with Ansa McAl Group’s 2X initiative, where it plans to double its size, scale, returns and impact by 2027, the company almost doubled its profits before tax for the year ending December 31, 2023. The group’s audited consolidated financial statements reported a profit before tax of $842 million, as compared to $448 million the year before. The group’s profit after tax was $594.4 million, as compared to $265 million for the same period the year before. It also reported its highest-ever revenue of $7 billion for the year, up from $6.39 billion the year before, and its total assets grew to $18.8 billion, as compared to $17.5 billion the year before. Read more here
Sombre Easter for Penal family of 7 as fire guts house
While several families are planning activities for the long Easter weekend, it will be a sombre one for the Mohammed family from Penal. Last Saturday a fire gutted the family’s home at Julien Branch Trace, Rochard Road, leaving four adults, and three children homeless. The fire also damaged another house nearby belonging to a relative and destroyed his $75,000 Sportero L200 van. Zaiyda Mohammed, 22, said she was alone at home with her two children, ages eight months and three years old. Her husband, parents and 16-year-old sister had gone out. Read more here
POLITICS
Moonilal: UNC MPs meeting with PNM operatives
United National Congress (UNC) deputy political leader Dr Roodal Moonilal said MPs are meeting with People’s National Movement (PNM) operatives to destabilise the opposition party. Dedicating significant time to the matter at a mid-week press conference on Wednesday at the party’s Mulchan Seuchan Road, Chaguanas head office, Moonilal accused the Mayaro MP of being one such infiltrator. “We have information that the member for Mayaro has been in touch with operatives from the PNM in the recent past and there (is) a history of the PNM doing such things.” Read more here
PM reveals SSA agents armed before Cabinet approval given
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has made the startling admission that Strategic Services Agency (SSA) agents were already heavily armed even before they were given official permission to carry weapons by Cabinet. The new revelation comes amid an ongoing probe into the operations of the SSA. Speaking at a post-Cabinet media conference at Whitehall, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Rowley revealed that the SSA did not have the authority to have armed officers until November last year, when the Cabinet approved it after several requests. Read more here
BUSINESS
Transforming C’bean boards with sustainability tools
The transition towards global sustainability is reshaping the corporate world, challenging traditional paradigms and urging a re-evaluation of business impacts on society and the environment. Businesses in the Caribbean are facing a pivotal moment. What is the best approach and how can they practically adapt to these changes, embracing integrated decision-making that aligns with the new wave of global sustainability expectations? The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published its first two standards in June 2023. IFRS S1 is titled General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, and IFRS S2 is titled Climate-related Disclosures. Read more here
Amendment to Beekeeping Act sours local honey industry
The news of potential legislation that will amend the law restricting the importation of honey into T&T has stung local beekeepers. It first broke when T&T’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Conrad Enill, revealed last November that the legislation would be tabled in Trinidad’s Parliament. The bill was tabled in Parliament last Friday and will come up for debate soon. The importation issue has troubled governments of the past and has come knocking at the door of the Rowley administration.
Speaking to the Business Guardian from Guyana, Enill explained that T&T and Guyana developed a memorandum of understanding between both countries as a result of Guyana’s leadership in agriculture for Caricom. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana, China aligned in their pursuit of progress
With a shared commitment to mutual prosperity and progress, China and Guyana are forging deeper co-operation, laying the foundation for a brighter future for both nations and the wider Caribbean region. Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, Guo Haiyan, during an engagement at the Chinese Embassy on Wednesday, reiterated the importance of the bond between China and Guyana, labelling Guyana as China’s “good friend and important partner.”
She highlighted the shared aspiration for modernisation, pointing out that both countries, as the world’s largest and fastest-growing developing nations respectively, are aligned in their pursuit of progress. “China and Guyana share a common goal to realise modernisation and share common stances in many international affairs,” she said while reflecting on the shared vision between the two nations. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Gaza starvation could amount to war crime, UN human rights chief tells BBC
After months of warnings, a recent UN-backed report offered hard statistical evidence that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is turning into a man-made famine. It has increased the pressure on Israel to fulfil its legal responsibilities to protect Palestinian civilians, and to allow adequate supplies of humanitarian aid to reach the people who need it. The UN's most senior human rights official, Volker Türk, said in a BBC interview that Israel bore significant blame, and that there was a "plausible" case that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. Read more here
28th March 2024