TTMA IN THE NEWS
Business groups optimistic SoE can bring meaningful change
TT Manufacturer's Association CEO Dr Mahindra Ramesh Ramdeen said, "The state of emergency has had limited impact on the manufacturing capabilities of our members. The sector continues to operate efficiently, ensuring the uninterrupted supply of goods and services both locally and internationally. "We remain committed to supporting the national economy and will continue to work closely with stakeholders to maintain productivity while adhering to all applicable legislation during this period." Read more here
NEWS
CoP defends officers’ commitment, says their doors are always open to public
Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher is strongly defending her officers’ commitment and readiness to serve the public following claims by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that cops are hiding in stations from criminals. In a media release issued yesterday, Harewood-Christopher reassured citizens that the doors of the police stations are “always open.” Dr Rowley made the remarks during his opening address on a motion to extend the State of Emergency (SoE) for an additional three months in the Lower House on Monday. He lamented that crime had become so rampant in some areas that officers were overwhelmed by the danger posed by criminals. “Police officers whose job it is to protect us and to secure us, in some districts at night are so afraid of criminals that they close the police station door, turn off the lights, and be inside there, hoping the criminals don’t come,” he said. Read more here
POLITICS
Al-Rawi: $20m to fix landslip near Shore of Peace
Rural Development and Local Government Minister Faris Al-Rawi and Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan spent time responding to questions from opposition MPs about infrastructure projects during a sitting of the House of Representatives on January 13. In response to a question from Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe, Al-Rawi said the Siparia Borough Corporation (SBC) failed to do the work required to address a landslip near the Shore of Peace at Mosquito Creek. Read more here
Hinds urges citizens to report ‘strangers’ in their area
Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds is calling on citizens to report any strangers they observe in their neighbourhoods. He said intelligence suggests that criminals are looking for new places where they can lie low. “Now that the police is (sic) on the move, the criminals are also on the move, and they are looking for places around Trinidad and Tobago where they can hide out to escape the gaze of law enforcement,” Hinds said. He revealed this during his contribution to the debate on a government motion for a three-month extension to the State of Emergency (SoE), which was passed in the House of Representatives on Monday night. Read more here
BUSINESS
Furness Chemicals reports 400% increase in exports
Furness Chemicals Ltd, a member of the Furness Trinidad Group of Companies, has reported a 400 per cent increase in exports to the Caribbean and South American region. In a release on January 14, Furness Chemicals said among its household and industrial cleaning chemicals products, its chlorine-free bleaching solution, Oxi Wash, accounts for about 50 per cent of its export output. The company’s export markets include Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent, Guyana and Suriname. Read more here
T&T set to lead in Fintech and digital payments
THE growth of financial sovereignty through the move towards Instant Payments, as seen in nations like India’s UPI system and Brazil’s PIX platform, sets the stage for similar advancements in the Caribbean region, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago, according to John Outridge, chief executive officer of the T&T International Financial Centre. “At the TTIFC, we are actively working to develop the concept for a Caribbean potential that will have a lasting impact not only for T&T but for the entire region. Read more here
REGIONAL
Transformation of communities to continue with injection of more resources –President Ali says
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali has pledged to continue making more resources available at the community level, in order to foster further transformation.
The President reaffirmed the government’s position during a community engagement with residents of Friendship on the East Bank of Demerara. The government’s aim is to advance growth and development at the community level. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
S Korea impeached president arrested after investigators scale walls
Yoon Suk Yeol has become South Korea's first sitting president to be arrested after investigators scaled barricades and cut through barbed wire to take him into custody. Yoon, 64, is being investigated on charges of insurrection for a failed martial law order on 3 December that plunged the country into turmoil. He has also been impeached by parliament and suspended - but will only be removed from office if the Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment. However, Yoon's dramatic arrest on Wednesday brings to an end a weeks-long standoff between investigators and his presidential security team. Read more here
15th January 2025