TTMA IN THE NEWS
US$296m sold to manufacturers in four years
A total of US$296 million (TT$2 billion) has been sold to 123 manufacturing companies from 2018 to Monday May 9 by the Export and Import Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (EXIMBank) foreign exchange facility, designed specifically for manufacturers. Availability of foreign exchange has been a problem plaguing the country for at least eight years, which was in turn hindering manufacturers from exporting. In 2018, the Ministry of Finance launched the EXIMBank’s Forex Facility, to ease the burden by funding critical imports needed by manufacturers to export. Read more here
NEWS
Sadness, anger as Kimani’s body found in river
Hope turned to sadness and anger in Techier Village, Point Fortin on Tuesday when two-year-old Kimani "Mani" Francis was found dead in a tributary of the Guapo River almost a mile away from his home. These feelings were reflected in the wider population as people reacted to news of the tragedy after praying that Kimani would be found alive and returned to his family. The child walked out of his family's home at Tenth Street Extension, Techier Village around 10 am on Monday. He was barefoot, wearing a diaper and seen heading towards a forested area nearby. Read more here
Mother, son, 12, chopped to death in Penal
Bleeding from a gaping wound on his neck following a brutal chopping attack against him and his mother, Abeo Cudjoe, yesterday morning, a 12-year-old boy ran to his grandfather’s house for help. Unfortunately, Levi Lewis died at the Siparia Health Centre while his mother’s bloody body was discovered on the floor of their Lachoos Road, Penal home. A 35-year-old soldier, who police described as ‘a person of interest’, was being sought by police last evening. Cudjoe, 30, a pig farmer, was at home with Levi and her other child, a three-year-old boy, when they were attacked. Fortunately, the three-year-old was not injured and was found asleep in a room. The front door was broken, police said. Read more here
POLITICS
BYisrael: THA wants all community residences 'top of the line'
THA Secretary of Health, Wellness and Social Protection Dr Faith BYisrael said her division is working to ensure all children's homes on the island are "top of the line." Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ayanna Webster-Roy recently laid a report in Parliament which highlighted allegations of physical and sexual abuse at children's homes in TT. It also addressed the inability of the Children’s Authority to protect children from abuse. Read more here
OWTU demonstrates to blame T&TEC for February blackout
President General of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget is blaming the Trinidad and Tobago Electrical Commission (T&TEC) for the nationwide blackout in February. Speaking during a protest action outside the Public Utilities Ministry, Roget said that contractors were to blame for this incident. The union said this was one of the grievances raised with the Commission and the Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales. Read more here
BUSINESS
Young: Energy surge will pay bills
The vast majority of profits seen as a result of surging energy prices will be decimated by Trinidad and Tobago’s outstanding bills. Energy Minister Stuart Young, while a guest on CNN’s Quest on Business on Tuesday, confirmed the Government did not expect huge windfalls despite high energy prices. “I wouldn’t put it as tremendous amounts of revenue. You know, as a government, what you’re doing is you’re really making those revenue increases off of taxation. So you wait for it to come in. But as a government, just coming out of a very difficult time with the pandemic, you have bills, so we will be paying our bills. We survived the early stages of the pandemic,” said Young in response to a question from CNN’s Richard Quest concerning potential windfall from these products. Read more here
Caroni land-distribution nearly finished
Nearly 20 years after Caroni (1975) was closed, leases to former Caroni workers, which were part of their Voluntary Separation Package (VSEP), are yet to be completed. However, the Estate Management Business Development Company (EMBD), a special purpose State entity which was vested with Caroni Lands, said that it is 95 per cent complete with 130 more to go. In a statement on the matter to the Express Business, the EMBD noted that as part of the Caroni VSEP each former Caroni worker was to be granted one agricultural sublease from the Government through the Commissioner of State Lands (COSL) for a two-acre parcel of land for a 30 year lease. Read more here
REGIONAL
Government Technical Institute to get $140M boost
Students of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) are set to benefit from a $140 million state-of-the-art building, which will be constructed within the school’s compound. The project is part of a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Ken Subraj Foundation, headed by a former student of the GTI. Once completed, the building will boast an oil-and-gas laboratory, lecture theatres, smart classrooms, a welfare unit, and an administrative block among many other amenities. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Ukraine war: Russia pushed back in north-east - report from front line
Ukraine says its forces have recaptured villages from Russian troops north and north-east of Kharkiv pushing them back towards the border. The ongoing offensive could signal a shift in the war's momentum and jeopardise Russia's main advance further south. BBC correspondent Quentin Sommerville, and cameraman Darren Conway, have been with Ukrainian forces as they advance. Read more here
11th May 2022