TTMA IN THE NEWS
50 chosen for new apprenticeship
Fifty apprentices will be enrolled in the National Apprenticeship Programme for the Wood and Wood Products Manufacturing Sub-sector, which was recently approved by Cabinet. Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon at the launch yesterday at her office at Nicholas Towers, Port of Spain, said some may question why start a programme in the Wood and Wood Products Manufacturing Sub-sector, but she stated that the resilience of the non-energy manufacturing sector during the last two years of the pandemic must be commended. Read more here
NEWS
Acting CoP vows to peg back violent criminals
Brace for more roadblocks, stop and search and other inconveniences as the police unroll a series of measures to peg back criminals who have unleashed a torrent of violent crime targeting people in public areas. Acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob said on Tuesday a surge in violent crime, including murders, shootings and woundings, is as a result of gang rivalry. He said the police intend to flood the hotspots with more patrols to restore order. At a news conference at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, Jacob said an additional 60 police officers have been called out to duty and all leave had been cancelled to get "more boots on the ground." Read more here
T&TEC blackout leaves 30% of Trinidad without power
Several parts of Trinidad were left without electricity for several hours last night, after the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) was hit by another blackout. Speaking with Guardian Media soon after customers began complaining about power outages across the island around 7.35 pm, T&TEC general manager Kelvin Ramsook confirmed that 30 per cent the island had no electricity. Ramsook explained that was an issue with one of the towers that supplies the Union-Ghandi line in south Trinidad but assured they were investigating the matter. At that time, there were reports of outages in Curepe, Diego Martin, Penal, Macoya, Malabar, Chin Chin and Piparo. Ramsook said power should have been restored within a few minutes in most places but as late as 10 pm in others. Read more here
POLITICS
Gopee-Scoon: Clear need to improve scrap-iron law
Given the high levels of criminal activity in the scrap-iron industry, Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon said there was a clear indication of a need for improvement in legislation dealing with scrap iron. She made the statement while responding to questions on Tuesday, after a six-month ban on exporting scrap iron was implemented last week and announced on Monday. “Clearly the situation was out of hand with the looming, worsening levels of criminal activity and therefore it has to be kept in check,” Gopee-Scoon said. Read more here
Education Ministry close to paying COSTAATT nursing stipends
The College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T&T (COSTAATT) has provided the Education Ministry with all the information on payment of stipends to student nurses and the ministry's Director of Finance has indicated they are fully engaged in doing the necessary to pay the stipends soon. This was confirmed yesterday by COSTAATT president Dr Gillian Paul. Paul responded to T&T Guardian queries yesterday after word was received that student nurses intend to demonstrate outside the Education Ministry in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday in an appeal for payment of the outstanding stipends. Read more here
BUSINESS
TTNGL enjoys improved profits amid lower production
Trinidad and Tobago NGL Limited has recorded an after-tax profit of TT$117.5 million for the six months of the year. In the company’s unaudited financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2022, the company revealed this after tax profit was a TT$33.9 million or 40.6 per cent improvement over the comparable period in 2021, when a profit after tax of TT$83.6 million was recorded. The company said this improved performance for the period was derived from its share of higher profit from its investment in Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited. The company added this enhanced performance at PPGPL, was driven by higher recognised Mont Belvieu natural gas liquids (‘NGLs’) prices, which were 66.7 per cent above those of the corresponding period of 2021 and continued the trend of increasing energy commodity prices which commenced in 2021. Read more here
Is CAL a strategic asset of T&T?
That process of questioning led to a search for the airline’s published audited financials, which revealed the following in CAL’s 2007 annual administrative report: “On October 1, 2007, CAL acquired all of the issued share capital of Tobago Express Ltd and assumed all responsibilities for the operation of the domestic route, previously undertaken by Tobago Express Ltd.” That sentence reminded me that the national airline—now CAL, but before it BWIA—was not always entirely responsible for the domestic airbridge. Tobago Express was established in 2001 and was 55 per cent owned by private, mainly Tobago, investors and 45 per cent by BWIA. Tobago Express was preceded by Trinidad and Tobago Air Services (TTAS)—which operated from 1974 to 1980, until it was acquired by BWIA—and by Arawak Airlines, which operated from 1970 to 1973. Read more here
REGIONAL
LGE likely before year end
As the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) concludes its continuous registration process and moves on to the claims and objections exercise in the coming week, it is highly likely that Local Government Elections (LGE) will be held by the end of 2022. This was disclosed by Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) Chairman, Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh, who was interviewed in a media scrum following the swearing-in of the newly-appointed GECOM Commissioner, Clement Rohee. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
China: Millions hit by power cuts amid heatwave
Millions of residents in China's south-western Sichuan province have been hit with rolling power cuts amid a severe heatwave and drought. In the city of Dazhou, home to some 5.4 million people, blackouts are lasting up to three hours, local media report. They say factories in the province have been forced to cut production or halt work as part of emergency measures to redirect power supplies to households. Hydropower reservoirs are currently down by as much as half, officials say. Temperatures across Sichuan and neighbouring provinces have exceeded 40C (104 F) in recent days. As a result, electricity demand for air conditioning in offices and households surged, putting power companies under extreme pressure. Read more here
17th August 2022