NEWS
Education Facilities Company Ltd ‘goes out of business’
It appears Government has made a final decision on the future of the debt-ridden Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL). In a purported notice of termination to staff, which has been circulating widely on social media on Monday, acting chairman of the EFCL Savitree Seepersad said the company was “unable to carry on the business for which it was established and has decided to close down its undertaking and go out of business.” Seepersad is listed as being a deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Read more here
Families heartbroken as bodies of three divers recovered
The bodies of three of the four divers who were stuck in a Paria Fuel Trading Company pipe have been recovered. Paria made the announcement yesterday afternoon after informing family members. “It is with deep sadness that we announce the recovery of the bodies of three of the four divers who went missing on February 25, 2022. The bodies of these three missing divers were recovered today (February 28, 2022) around 5.55 pm,” the company said. It added that attempts to retrieve the fourth body were still ongoing. Read more here
POLITICS
PM skips Caricom Inter-Sessional meeting starting today
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will not be attending the 33rd Caricom Inter-Sessional meeting which starts in Belize this morning - and which will be the first Inter-Sessional where regional leaders meet face to face since 2020. Rowley’s non-attendance was confirmed by Government yesterday. The Foreign Affairs Ministry subsequently confirmed that Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary and an officer from the Ministry’s Caricom division are representing T&T. Read more here
BUSINESS
NGC confirms Alum and Balkissoon removed from Board
The National Gas Company Limited has quietly confirmed that there has been a shake-up of its board of directors following the Cabinet decision not to renew the contracts of Sean Balkissoon, one of only two directors who voted against the ill-fated NGC attempt to save Atlantic LNG Train 1, and Kenneth Allum who raised issue with it but eventually voted for the deal. The shake-up was first reported by the Business Guardian of February 10th. The NGC updated its website with its list of Directors and Alum and Balkissoon names were removed and replaced by Dr Joseph Ismael Khan and Dr Donnie Boodlal. Read more here
‘Don’t cash social security cheques at supermarkets’
The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services is reminding that all cheques for senior citizens’ pension, public assistance grant, and disability assistance grant must be cashed at commercial banks and any of the district revenue offices up to March 31. The ministry, in a news release yesterday, said this measure has been implemented temporarily, following the incident of stolen cheques at the Sangre Grande TTPost Office on January 31. Read more here
REGIONAL
Regional food security, removing trade barriers
President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has highlighted several key areas for discussion at the 33rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which is billed for today and tomorrow in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize. The Head of State arrived in the Central American nation Monday afternoon and highlighted several pressing areas of concern, including regional food security and production systems, which he hopes to address. He will present a paper on these areas and is expected to provide an outline of the objectives by both Guyana and the Region as a whole, along with comprehensive strategies in achieving the target of reducing the Region’s food-import bill by 25 per cent by 2025. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine conflict: Russia bombs Kharkiv's Freedom Square and opera house
Russian missiles and rockets have hit the cultural heart of Ukraine's second largest city in what officials said was a deadly and "cruel" attack. An opera house, concert hall and government offices were hit in Freedom Square, in the centre of the north-eastern city Kharkiv. At least 20 people including a child were injured, but authorities are still trying to clarify the death toll. The attack came as Ukraine's president said Russia was committing war crimes. "This is the price of freedom," President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "This is terror against Ukraine. There were no military targets in the square - nor are they in those residential districts of Kharkiv which come under rocket artillery fire," he added. Read more here
1st March 2022