NEWS
EBC to hold field verification exercise
For the first time in 22 years, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) will do a national field verification exercise of the electorate. In a release yesterday, the EBC said its chairman Mark Ramkerrysingh and CEO Fern Narcis-Scope had met with representatives of the country's major political parties to inform them of the exercise. "This exercise will be conducted on both islands in the upcoming months and will allow the EBC to fulfil its legal mandate of providing a comprehensive update to the country’s List of Electors. This List forms the foundation of election administration and is crucial to protecting the integrity of all elections. Importantly, it will ensure, as far as practicable, that each person whose name appears on the Electoral List is listed at his/her correct address within the respective polling divisions," the EBC said. Read more here
Munroe Road Hindu parents want more security
Parents of pupils attending the Munroe Road Hindu School are urging Government to ensure more security is provided for the school and that laws are enforced so that criminals are kept at bay. They made the call as school resumed on Tuesday, following the murder of former Ronnie Pierre outside the school's fence on Monday. Classes were dismissed early following the incident. A 35-year-old male parent who wished not to be identified said, “On Friday, classes were dismissed because of a bomb scare and on Monday to hear that classes were dismissed because a man was killed outside the school fence, this is intolerable. We have reached the point where criminals just don’t care about anyone, far less children. The Government must ensure that the police do their work. When people complain about crime, the police run and have a roadblock in the middle of the day and torment people going to work. They don’t go outside bars on a Friday night and arrest drunk people who are driving. When people call for community policing, they round up some children from the community and residents and have a march against crime with placards. Be serious, criminals are not taking on any march against crime and crying boo hoo. They (the police) want to have interfaith service, public relations, to me, I feel police want to do everything besides lock up criminals. Go out there and do your jobs.” Read more here
POLITICS
Manning responds to NIF, UTC questions in Senate
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Brian Manning has said a National Investment Fund (NIF) One $1.2 billion bond is due to mature on August 9,2023. He made this comment in response to a matter on the adjournment of the Senate on Tuesday, by Opposition Senator Wade Mark. "The Ministry of Finance is currently focused on ensuring that sufficient funds are available to pay this tranche of the first set of NIF bonds." Manning said, "After this, NIF will launch a series D bond, using appropriate state assets, which can be considered to be a NIF Two issue. Read more here
PM wants answers from CoP in Brent Thomas case fiasco
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley wants answers from the T&T Police Service on the Brent Thomas affair. In fact, Rowley says he has had grave concern about all aspects of the Thomas matter and he has requested National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to get a full explanation from Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher on how Thomas came to be removed from Barbados and brought back to Trinidad for a case. That’s expected shortly. Rowley confirmed this in a statement to Guardian Media yesterday, following queries to him on the recent judgment in the Thomas issue and subsequent developments. The Prime Minister has also made it clear the Government was not involved in the matter. Read more here
BUSINESS
Hadco makes US$ from 6,000 tonnes of waste
John Hadad, co-CEO of Hadco Group, said his company managed to prevent 6,000 tonnes of garbage from going into the dump and converted it to US dollars last year. Speaking on a panel at the American Chamber of Commerce’s (Amcham) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) conference, he said while the venture isn’t quite profitable now, it soon will be. He said when management took a deeper look into the company, they realised that if their business model didn’t change, it would not go beyond five years. Hadad said, “When we started looking at things back then, there was no ESG, we just asked what is sustainable? What are the ills in our society? We’re a TT-based company, we are locals, we have one passport and all of us are at the ownership level.” Read more here
Richards: Highway almost ready
Point Fortin Member of Parliament (MP) Kennedy Richards says the Point Fortin-to-San Fernando segment of the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension is nearing completion. Richards yesterday toured the highway project, noting on his social media that he would provide an update on the project which was previously expected to be completed in January 2021. Read more here
REGIONAL
Guyana becomes China’s largest trading partner in the Caribbean
Bilateral trade between Guyana and China has increased from US$265 million in 2018 to US$1.88 billion in 2022, a strong indication of how the two nations’ historic relationship has grown tremendously over the past years. This was according to China’s Ambassador to Guyana, Guo Haiyan, during her remarks at the sod-turning ceremony for the $6.6 billion regional hospital at Plantation Bath, West Coast Berbice, on Wednesday. “In recent years, China-Guyana trade and economic co-operation has been steadily advancing…” she said, adding, that the impact will enhance the well-being of both Guyanese and Chinese. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Turkey election: Erdogan rival Kilicdaroglu promises peace and democracy
Danger comes in many forms. For Turkey's long-time leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it comes in the shape of a former civil servant, given to making heart emojis with his hands. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, backed by a six-party opposition alliance, says if he wins he will bring freedom and democracy to Turkey, whatever it takes. "The youth want democracy," he told the BBC. "They don't want the police to come to their doors early in the morning just because they tweeted." He is the Islamist leader's main rival in elections on 14 May and has a narrow lead in opinion polls. This tight race is expected to go to a second round two weeks later. Currently Turks can go to jail for "insulting the president". Many have. "I am telling young people they can criticise me freely. I will make sure they have this right," says the 74-year-old, who leads the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Read more here
4th May 2023