NEWS
Man shot dead in Port of Spain
A 27-year-old man was shot dead in Port of Spain on Thursday. Jeffrey Joseph was sitting at the entrance of Building C, Charford Court around 2.40 pm when a gunman walked up to him and shot him dead. When Newsday visited the scene, Joseph's mother, who did not give her name, said he had been in trouble with the law before. “Look what happened to my son. God have mercy on these people.” As she stood in blood-soaked clothing on Charlotte Street, the woman said, “After they shot him, I hugged up my child. He's gone now.” Read more here
POLITICS
Public healthcare system slammed at JSC town hall meeting
Long wait times, bad attitudes from staff, and disappearing patient files were some of the complaints from the public about the local healthcare system at a joint select committee town hall meeting on social services. The meeting was chaired by Independent Senator Dr Paul Richards on Wednesday afternoon at the Cabildo Building, Port of Spain. Audience member Gillian Trumpet said she recently went to the Port of Spain General Hospital at 4.45 am, and there were several elderly people ahead of her. She only got to see a doctor at 11.15 am and after waiting for medication, left the hospital at 3.30 pm. Read more here
Ramadhar wants Kangaloo to ensure CoE report made public
Attorney for the families of Fyzal Kurban and Yusuf Henry, Prakash Ramadhar, has called on President Christine Kangaloo to act speedily in providing Government with the final report of the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) on the LMCS/ Paria diving tragedy. At a media conference in San Fernando yesterday, Ramdahar also called on Kangaloo to use her office to seek an expedited dispensation of the report into the public domain. He said it troubled him that the law mandated that the Commission could only present the report to Kangaloo, and she could only pass it to the Government. “I would shudder to imagine that any responsible government would not make the report public. I expect that they will, but my expectations are bound based on what is common decency and what is proper. But there is also another factor: timeliness, the presentation of this report to the public,” Ramadhar said. Read more here
BUSINESS
PESH Money: Facilitating digital currency solutions
Simon Fortune, founder and CEO of Pesh Money Ltd, went to Central Bank one day in 2019 hoping to discuss his “new” idea with Central Bank officials and have a conversation on the possibilities and what would be needed to make his idea a reality. To his surprise, he realised that his idea was not so new. “I was told that it was the fourth meeting concerning fintech they had that week,” he said. “This was before the E-Money policy, before 2020, before covid19. I was surprised. I thought I was breaking ground, but the ground was already starting to be paved.” He said this was an indicator that there was a growing interest in adopting fintech solutions for finances. Read more here
Without change, NIS faces depletion
How can the shortfall in the T&T National Insurance Scheme (NIS) be addressed? The Caribbean Actuarial Association (CAA) is set to discuss T&T’s NIS situation at the Hyatt Regency during its annual conference today. However, Caribbean Actuaries have noted that the warning signs that the scheme’s income has been falling short of its payout have been around for some time. “It’s a five-year cycle for actuarial reviews. The last one was done for 2016 to 2021. The latest one has not been published yet. But we can tell from the National Insurance Board’s annual report that expenditure is now greater than contributions. Read more here
REGIONAL
Temporary platform being built to support new Demerara River crossing
A temporary platform is being built to facilitate the construction of the new Demerara River Bridge, senior government officials disclosed via social media on Wednesday. In 2022, a US$260 million contract was signed for the construction of the new Demerara River Bridge. The new bridge is expected to be some 2.65 kilometres long with two carriageways and four lanes. It is a hybrid design with a high span having a cable-stay design. The vertical height of the bridge is to be constructed at 50 metres from the mean highest watermark. This new bridge is said to have a design lifespan of 100 years, and will take the place of the existing bridge, which has been in operation for more than 40 years, surpassing its projected lifespan. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Premier League teams are playing footballers facing abuse claims
Premier League clubs have continued to play two footballers, and kept a boss in post, while knowing they are under police investigation for sexual or domestic violence. Alleged victims told the BBC that the Football Association (FA) and Premier League prioritise commercial interests over the safety of women. They describe a culture of fear associated with speaking out. The football bodies say they take sexual misconduct very seriously. Seven out of 20 Premier League clubs have had players or bosses investigated by the police for sexual offences since 2020, the BBC investigation found. Read more here
30th November 2023