TTMA IN THE NEWS
T&T Manufacturers Association complains bitterly about CARICOM’s slothful removal of trade barriers
The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) on Tuesday assailed the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for failing to remove non-tariff barriers on goods, especially food being produced in the region. TTMA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Ramdeen vented his frustration at the trade bloc’s failure to create a truly single space for regional goods because of “the political will or whatever reason.” “We need the political directorate to get these things right for us and all the talking at that level to say whatever is happening to hamper trade; just get it right, Create the environment for us and Guyanese businessmen will prosper, Trinidad businessmen will prosper in the non-energy sector and once we are starting to talk about food, it wouldn’t start and end there,” he said. The TTMA boss said the spin-off would include printing and packaging for the food processing, agro-processing, cleaning products, and uniforms. Read more here
T&T manufacturers say they want to import produce from Guyana
Trinidadian manufacturers yesterday lamented that non-tariff barriers were hampering imports of agricultural produce from Guyana and called on the political directorate to clear the hurdles. “Our import is TT$6B and Guyana is professing it can feed the entire region. There is also Belize and Suriname they have the (land) mass to do it… Why can’t we source the tomatoes from [Guyana] to make the tomato paste? It is not that the private sector in Trinidad don’t want it to come to Trinidad. The political directorate needs to get these things right,” Chief Executive Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA), Dr Mahindra Ramdeen said yesterday during a ‘Welcome to Guyana’ session at the Ramada Princess Hotel. Read more here
NEWS
Mixed views from parents on full reopening of schools
The Ministry of Education’s announcement that there will be a full reopening of the education sector from April 19 has been met with mixed feelings from parents. Many say they are in support of the ministry’s decision, but others have expressed concern about how safety measures will be enforced. Some are saying the ministry could have waited until September. On Monday, Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said students at all levels will return to the physical classroom. Read more here
POLITICS
Kamla: Ignore attempts at division, hate
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is calling on the nation to ignore attempts at division, ignore hate and revitalise TT with love as the Spiritual Baptist community has done. In her message on Wednesday to mark Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day, Persad-Bissessar said many times focus is placed on how this day emerged, but the focus should really be placed on the enrichment the followers of the faith has brought to our nation. Read more here
Archbishop Burke staying true to UNC ‘If it burning down I will burn in the ashes’
Spiritual Shouter Baptist Archbishop Barbara Burke says she remains loyal to the United National Congress (UNC), despite attending a People’s National Movement (PNM) Spiritual Shouter Baptist Liberation Day celebration in La Horquetta on Monday and partaking in the customary rituals, including the ringing of the bell. After seeing Burke at the PNM function, persons in some quarters and on social media wondered whether she had changed her allegiance. Addressing attendees at annual celebrations at the Spiritual Shouter Baptist Empowerment Hall in Maloney yesterday, however, Burke said she remains grateful to the UNC government led by former prime minister Basdeo Panday, who introduced the public holiday in 1996. Read more here
BUSINESS
Ansa Bank leads the way in digital-first thinking
Last year in May, managing director of Ansa Commercial Bank Robert Le Hunte told Newsday that he had the formula for taking the bank to the next level. He said the formula was simple – have a proper proposition, have a good plan and invest in the right people. Some nine months later and people can see the formula in practice, despite the bank posting a $9 million loss in the last financial year. Read more here
Food prices increased 9.7% in two years
The price of a basket of 118 basic food items increased by 9.7 per cent between February 2020 and February 2022, according to a comprehensive assessment by the Consumer Affairs Division (CAD) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). Word of the assessment came in a news release from the MTI yesterday that was headlined ‘Government proactive in mitigating impact of rising global food prices.’ MTI noted a statement issued by the Caribbean Millers Association on March 25, 2022, which said that, due to global factors, the cost of producing flour in the region has significantly been impacted as the price of raw materials has increased by over 40 per cent. Read more here
REGIONAL
CGX looks to intensify offshore operations
Having submitted its revised project summary for review by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CGX Resources Inc. (CRI), a wholly owned subsidiary of CGX Energy Inc., plans to commence operations at the Wei-1 well- the company’s latest project in the Corentyne Block offshore Guyana- by May, this year. This project, which is expected to cost roughly US$93 million, targets large Campanian and Santonian prospects in structural stratigraphic traps. “Based on exploration and assessment activities in the Corentyne Block, including a 3D seismic survey, CRI believes the reservoirs potentially contain an economic accumulation of hydrocarbons,” the company said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine war: Ukraine sends buses to Mariupol for rescue effort
Fresh efforts are under way to evacuate civilians trapped by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said a convoy of 45 Ukrainian buses was on its way to the besieged southern city. She said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had confirmed that Russia had agreed to open a humanitarian corridor to Mariupol. Tens of thousands of civilians remain there after weeks of bombardment. Earlier, the Russian defence ministry said the United Nations refugee agency and the Red Cross would assist in the evacuation of civilians, which would begin at 10:00 local time (08:00 BST). It said a ceasefire would allow people to travel westwards to Zaporizhzhia via the Russian-controlled port of Berdyansk. Read more here
31st March 2022