NEWS
Two Maracas men killed in shootout with police
Two men were shot and killed during a major police operation in El Luengo Village, Maracas, on Monday morning. They have been identified as Junior Pereira and Mudada Cyrus, alias "Fire." At approximately 5 am, police said, Cyrus and Pereira shot at officers during a police raid on a home in El Luengo. The police fired back and both Cyrus and Pereira died at the scene. The team of officers, led by Snr Supt Richard Smith, said they recovered two pistols. Read more here
Budget protesters use props to highlight ‘hardships’ outside Red House
A noisy protest, complete with props and theatrics, occurred outside the Parliament yesterday, just moments before Finance Minister Colm Imbert presented the 2024 Budget. The protest was organised by Opposition supporters, who stood just opposite the Red House, outside Woodford Square, demanding the resignation of the Government and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. The protest began shortly after midday and saw the active participation of MPs, mayors, chairmen and councillors from various regional corporations. Protesters ensured their feelings about Government MPs and ministers were heard, as they directed strong statements towards them as they entered the Parliament. Some including MP for La Horquetta/Talparo Foster Cummings were jeered, with loud boos being heard. Read more here
POLITICS
Minister, TTUTA pleased with budget
Education Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the 2024 budget showed government’s clear focus on educating young citizens. The Education Ministry received an allocation of $8.022 billion, an increase of $569,000 over the 2023 allocation of $7.453 billion. Among the measures listed by the Finance Minister were a $1,000 school supply grant for needy children, standardisation of textbooks, the distribution of 2,400 laptops across 94 secondary schools, remedial education, teacher training, and adult and financial literacy. Read more here
THA Chief Sec: I’m frustrated over lackluster $64M allocation
Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Farley Augustine has condemned the Government’s allocation to the assembly, as despite a $64 million increase, he predicts funding woes will continue to plague Tobago for yet another year. The total allocation for Tobago in 2024 amounts to $2.585 billion, with $2.298 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure, $260 million for development programme expenditure and $18 million for the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP). This allocation represents a significant boost of $64.2 million compared to the previous fiscal year’s allocation of $2.521 billion. Read more here
BUSINESS
Increased incentive for mature, small oil fields
Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday proposed that the sustainability incentive for the Supplemental Petroleum Tax be increased from a discount of 20 per cent to a discount of 25 per cent for any mature marine or small marine oil fields. This, he said, will encourage smaller oil producers and lease operators in small and mature marine oil fields to incentivise their production further. “In the Finance Act 2023, I also propose to introduce adjustments to the SPT regime for the shallow water areas, similar to what we have implemented for small onshore producers, introducing a new threshold of $75 per barrel for SPT for small shallow water producers,” Imbert said. Read more here
REGIONAL
Teachers to get special loans, other support to become homeowners
Special housing loans and other support will be available to teachers across the country, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced on Monday. During a consultation with headteachers and their deputies from the country’s 11 school districts at State House, the President outlined the government’s plans to assist those teachers who would have already acquired land, but cannot build due to limited funds. “I can ask the CEO (Chief Education Officer) to check for all the teachers who would have had allocations made to them, but they do not have the bank loan, or the bank is giving them a hard time, and we will deal with that as a category,” the President said. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
NewsClick: Delhi police raid homes of prominent journalists
Police in the Indian capital, Delhi, have raided the homes of several prominent journalists and authors in connection with an investigation into the funding of news website NewsClick. Police have seized mobile phones and laptops of those they raided on Tuesday morning. Officials are reportedly investigating allegations that NewsClick got illegal funds from China - a charge it denies. Critics say the move is an intentional attack on press freedom. Started in 2009, NewsClick is an independent news and current affairs website which is known to be critical of the government. In 2021, it was raided by tax authorities on allegations of breaking India's foreign direct investment rules. Among those who have been reportedly raided on Tuesday are the website's editor Prabir Purkayastha, journalists Abhisar Sharma, Aunindyo Chakravarty and Bhasha Singh, popular satirist Sanjay Rajoura and historian Sohail Hashmi. Some of them have been taken to police stations for questioning. Read more here
3rd October 2023