Trinity Exploration & Production plc

(“Trinity” or “the Group” or “the Company”)

Q1 2022 Operational Update

Good production and operational cash flowMore targeted strategy for accelerated growth to be executed in H2

Trinity Exploration & Production plc (AIM: TRIN), the independent E&P company focused on Trinidad and Tobago, provides an update on operations for the three-month period ended 31 March 2022 (“Q1 2022” or “the Period”), which delivered good production and operational cash generation, and an update on the development of a more targeted strategy for accelerated growth, initially prioritising the resumption of onshore drilling in H2 which has the potential to significantly enhance production volumes.

Q1 2022 Operational Highlights

• • Refreshed growth strategy focused on prioritising deliverable opportunities with a mitigated risk profile, targeting a meaningful step-change in production volumes
    Stable underlying business:
    – Q1 2022 Production volumes averaged 3,013 bopd (Q4 2021: 3,103 bopd; Q1 2021: 3,107 bopd)

– Production sold averaged 2,929 bopd (Q4 2021: 3,039 bopd; Q1 2021: 3,051 bopd)

• Total of five recompletions (“RCPs”) (Q4 2021: 2) and 24 workovers (Q4 2021: 35) completed, with swabbing continuing across the Onshore and West Coast assets
• Recently acquired PS-4 asset smoothly transitioned into the Onshore portfolio, with RCPs to enhance production on the asset continuing into Q2, followed by two new wells in H2
• Installation of the 31 Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (“SCADA”) units on our Tier 1 wells in WD-5/6 now complete (covering 50% of land production), with initial indications of lower volatility from these wells through better performance optimisation and quicker response times to well issues
• Solid operational performance despite impact of COVID-19 on human resource capabilities and resultant equipment uptime

Q1 2022 Financial Highlights

Average realisation of US$83.1/bbl (Q1 2021: US$52.3/bbl)

• Gross quarterly revenues (unaudited) increased 52% year-on-year to US$21.9m (Q1 2021: US$14.4m)
• Owing to higher realised prices, Supplemental Petroleum Taxes (“SPT”) of US$2.0m (equivalent to 9% of gross revenues) will be payable in April 2022 with respect to onshore and offshore production during Q1 2022
• Cash balance of US$17.5m (unaudited) as at 31 March 2022, reflecting strong operating cash generated in Q1 2022 of US$5.5m(Q4 2021: US$3.9m, Q1 2021:US$2.7m) offset by the following material cash outflows:

– Hedge payments of US$1.8m, as a result of the unexpectedly higher oil price

– Capital expenditure of c.US$1.7m

– Tax payments of US$2.5m including Q4 2021 SPT, Q1 2022 Petroleum Profits Taxes and Unemployment Levy

– Annual prepayments of US$0.5m (such as insurance) which arise in Q1 of the financial year

• Average operating break-even for Q1 2022 was c. US$31.1/bbl (unaudited) compared to US$25.8/bbl for Q1 2021. While this was expected, lower sales volumes created upward pressure on the breakeven
• The Company forecasts an increase on the usual operating breakeven to c.US$31.5/bbl for FY 2022 – as planned, to support medium term growth through increased technical and intellectual capacity
• Base production for 2022 – before execution of the growth strategy – is expected to be 2,900-3,100 bopd (2021: 3,006 bopd). However, the Company believes that successful execution of the growth strategy via the planned drilling programme, acquisitions and other initiatives, are likely to significantly enhance production volumes and cash generation in the medium term.

Growth Strategy and Onshore Drilling Programme

• • Management is focused on refining its growth strategy, geared towards increasing scale and returns as it builds on its existing solid production and cashflow base. The recently established Technical Committee, comprising two board members and three high-quality independent experts, have helped management refine and prioritise its existing opportunity set to focus on risk-mitigated prospects capable of being delivered with the
  • Company’s existing financial and operational resources to increase scale and optimise returns. It has set ambitious but deliverable growth targets, and the resumption of onshore drilling is the first part of this scaling up process. The decision not to participate further in the NWD process (detailed further below) reflects management’s focus on profiling opportunities to determine whether they fit into this risk-mitigated framework.
  • The Galeota opportunity continues to provide the potential for a step change in scale, and to cornerstone long-term growth plans. Management will continue to look to enhance scale and returns through acquisitions, participating in new licencing rounds and further developing existing properties.

Additional details of the growth strategy will be provided in the full year results announcement (year ended 31 December 2021) which will be published in May 2022.

Resumption of Drilling

The Company has committed to resuming onshore drilling, which is expected to commence early in H2 2022, with the precise timing subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and long lead items for more complex wells. This drilling campaign will be carried out in the areas defined by Trinity’s Lease Operatorship Agreements and will initially comprise at least five wells, inclusive of low angle (traditional) wells, high angle to horizontal wells and testing of deeper structures with the aim of significantly increasing initial production rates and cash returns. The Company will provide further details regarding the resumption of drilling during May 2022.

Galeota Asset Farm Down Process

The farm down process for the offshore Galeota Asset continues, with the bid deadline in late Q2 2022. The marketing process is being conducted by Stellar Energy Advisors. The Company expects to provide a further update early in H2 2022.

North West District (“NWD”) Request For Proposals (“RFP”) Update

Following the purchase and subsequent ongoing interpretation of the 37km2 subset of the onshore 3D seismic data over Trinity’s Lease blocks, a Trinity and Capricorn Energy PLC consortium gained access to the entire 287km2 3D seismic data set through participation in the NWD RFP process operated by Heritage Petroleum Company Limited (“Heritage”), focusing particularly on the potential offered by the Cretaceous stratigraphy (which lies below the formations which have previously been targeted by the Company). Following full review of the data, the consortium decided not to participate further in the process due to the high technical and operational risks, which the consortium concluded significantly challenge the commercial attractiveness of the opportunity. This decision is aligned between the Board, as guided by the Technical Committee, and Management whose focus is on refining and prioritising deliverable and risk-mitigated options that best suit the Company’s growth strategy.

Technical evaluation by the consortium did however highlight multiple play-types and identified leads in the deeper underexplored stratigraphy of both the Middle-Lower Miocene and the Cretaceous – facilitating a better understanding of the Southern Basin geology and prospectivity. Furthermore, this process has enabled the Trinity team to develop basin-wide geological models and the multi-disciplined technical competency required for it to participate in the upcoming onshore bid rounds.

Trinity currently intends to drill at least one well which targets a deeper Miocene structure as part of its onshore drilling programme, believing that this could offer significantly enhanced IP rates and cash returns. This deeper well remains within the existing depth allowances for the respective sub licence area, and is subject to finalising the technical evaluation as well as agreeing the appropriate commercial terms from Heritage.

Notice of Results

The Company will announce full year results for the year ended 31 December 2021 in May 2022.

Jeremy Bridglalsingh, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Trinity’s core business remains robust – our reservoirs are performing in line with expectations, and once we are able to deploy human resource with less COVID-related restrictions we anticipate returning to usual production capacity.

“We look forward to the resumption of drilling which will include high angle, horizontal and deeper wells. While more complex, with higher risk, these wells will have the potential to increase the cumulative number of barrels recovered per dollar of capex invested, and could change the economic paradigm of onshore drilling very positively.

“Furthermore, we remain excited by the prospect of farming down Galeota, allowing this asset to become a more meaningful contributor to production and cash flow in the medium to long term.

“We remain confident that the Government understands the requirement for fiscal reform, despite the near-term outlook for crude oil prices, in order to accelerate the country-wide development of oil and gas resources and to stimulate development of a more robust independent sector in Trinidad. We understand that the Government’s deliberations over tax reform, specifically in relation to SPT, are ongoing, and we look forward to news on this matter in the near term with keen interest.

“We have a resilient, growing business, and are focused on optimising returns from our assets. We are determined to build on the strong foundations in place as we execute against our plans for the next stage of Trinity’s development, and we look forward to updating the market across all activities in due course.”

Tom Cooper
Director

D: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 | M: +44 (0)7971 221 972 |

75 King William St, London, EC4N 7BE | www.walbrookpr.com

 

Shell delivers first Colibri gas

4/1/2022

Shell Trinidad and Tobago (through BG International, a subsidiary of Shell plc) announced that production has started on Block 22 and NCMA-4 in the North Coast Marine Area (NCMA) in Trinidad and Tobago.

Shell made the Final Investment Decision for Project Colibri in March 2020. The gas pioneer continues to balance climate obligations with energy supply.
The start-up of Colibri follows the amendment to the Block 6 production sharing contract for the Manatee field, marking yet another significant milestone in Shell’s growth strategy in country. This will allow for the delivery of gas both domestically and internationally through Atlantic LNG.

“I am proud of the team in Trinidad and Tobago for their commitment to safely delivering this project on time,” said Wael Sawan, director of integrated gas, renewable and energy solutions. “This reinforces the delivery of Shell’s Powering Progress strategy in country, as we seek to provide more and cleaner energy solutions, globally. Colibri, along with other development projects, will see natural gas going into both the domestic petrochemical markets and into LNG exports, in line with the energy ambitions of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Project Colibri is a backfill project that is expected to add approximately 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) (174 MMscf/d) of sustained near-term gas production with peak production expected to be approximately 43,000 boe/d (250 MMscf/d) through a series of four subsea gas wells, tied back to the existing Poinsettia Platform located in the NCMA acreage.

The Shell-operated Colibri development is co-owned with the Trinidad and Tobago NOC Heritage Petroleum Company, which has a working interest of 10 per cent and 20 per cent respectively in Block 22 and NCMA-4 in the North Coast Marine Area (NCMA).

Shell also started production from Block 5C  in the East Coast Marine Area (ECMA),known as project Barracuda, in July 2021. Colibri, when combined with Barracuda and existing developments, will deliver more gas to the Trinidad and Tobago domestic market and the LNG export markets.

Shell is a major shareholder in Atlantic LNG with equity in the Point Fortin liquefaction facility ranging from 46 percent to 57.5 percent in each of the four trains at the facility. The Point Fortin plant has a total capacity of about 15 million tonnes per annum of LNG but the plant has been experiencing supply issues due to dwindling domestic gas reserves.   Shell and BP have the biggest stakes in Atlantic LNG trains, followed by NGC and PRC- owned Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC).

The Trinidad government and partners in the facility seek solutions to ensure the future supply to the facility, notably for the first train and to simplify the shareholding structure. The Trinidad energy ministry signed a deal in January with Shell, BP and NGC following months of discussions as the parties work towards restructuring of Atlantic LNG. The ministry said that the parties plan to sign the definitive restructuring deals by the end of June.

BPTT

Apr 15 2022

Another major obstacle slows natural gas output as Cassia C project will not come on stream until the end of the year. Cassia C is expected to deliver over a quarter billion standard cubic feet of low pressure natural gas and is now delayed by over a year. BPTT confirmed the further project delay, saying the pandemic was responsible for its inability to deliver the natural gas on time.

“The hook up and commissioning phase of the Cassia C project is continuing and first gas is expected in the second half of the year. The project was initially planned to come online in 2021 but delivery was pushed to 2022 due to the impact of COVID-19.”

The delay on its Cassia C project and the elusive success of infill drilling significantly impeded the natural gas production and government revenue and negatively impacted LNG output and the gas available to the petrochemical sector.

The lack of natural gas led to the decision to shut the Train 1 LNG plant as the National Gas Company Ltd (NGC) squandered over a quarter billion dollars to save Train 1, hoping for access to more gas that was not forthcoming. BPTT was unable to meet its contracted obligations and has been shorting Atlantic LNG and the NGC of natural gas.

Under its contracted agreement NGC has no recourse for BPTT’s failure to provide it with contracted quantities although the NGC was forced to pay compensation to downstream companies for its failure to deliver all contracted quantities of natural gas.

BPTT said, “Cassia C will deliver between 200-300 million standard cubic feet of gas a day (mmscf/d) and production will be put towards fulfilling our existing contractual obligations.”

Statistics from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries demonstrate the impact on the country’s gas supply from BPTT over the past twelve years.

• • In 2010 when all the companies were getting all the gas they needed, T&T’s average production was 4.33 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d), of which BPTT produced on average 2.565 bscf/d.
  • In 2018 when BPTT production fell to an average of 2.0 bscf/d, or by 500 million standard feet per day (mmscf/d), T&T’s total natural gas production fell by 700 mmscf/d.
  • In 2019 BPTT production dipped to 1.9 bscf/d, so the country’s output which fell to 3.588 bsc/d.
  • By 2021 BPTT production plummeted to 1.244 bscf/d and the country’s production sank to 2.579 bscf/d, a 1 bscf/d fall, of which BPTT was responsible for 70 percent.

Recently BPTT confirmed that this year it will produce a mere 1.25 bscf/d, 750 mmscf/d less than it had produced on average in 2018. The figure is also significantly less than what it advised the Ministry of Energy in July last year when it said that it would produce 17 per cent less than originally forecast in 2020 and even that was down by 15 per cent from its prediction in 2019.

BPTT told the government that it should expect much lower than forecast natural gas production, with the shortfall being 15 per cent in 2021 and over ten per cent until 2024.

Matapal and Cassia C are no longer expected to increase production by about 140 (mmscf/d). The news effectively ends hope that T&T could even average 3bscf/d in 2022, which it reached at the start of 2021, before the precipitous drop in BPTT’production.

The Finance Minister should be rejoicing over high commodity prices, but low production meant a major opportunity lost for additional revenue and earning of scarce foreign exchange.  BPTT said it ended 2021 averaging 1,250 mmscf/d.

“We expect production for 2022 to be within the same range.”

The company blamed technical issues for the rapid decline in production in 2021 and admitted that even the coming on stream of its Cassia C project will only hold production in place.

“During 2021 we experienced accelerated production decline due to technical issues, which was partially offset when we brought Matapal onto production in September. For 2022, production levels will be supported by gas from Matapal, and the Cassia C development which is planned to come online in 3Q 2022.”

Latest figures from the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries for the first 11 months of 2021 show natural gas production averaged 2.578 bscf/d with the production of 2.385 bscf/d in November compared to 3.001 bscf/d in January.

BPTT said it will continue to invest in efforts to grow production. Sanctioning of its joint project with EOG Resources and return to infill drilling are examples of efforts to boost output.

“As we continue to invest in production generating activities in Trinidad, we were pleased to sanction the EOG Operated Mento development at the end of last year, the BHP Operated Calypso development completed appraisal well and BPTT plans to restart our infill drilling programme later this year. We are also working on a number of future development options for BPTT, including our next major project the Cypre development which we are hoping to sanction this year.”

While prices are high and the returns best for Government, natural gas curtailment impedes the petrochemical industry. Ammonia production for the first 11 months of last year of 4,481,698, was below the 5.2 million metric tonnes capacity. Methanol productions was 5.035 million metric tonnes.

With Train 1 closed, installed LNG capacity is under 2 bscf/d, for the first 12 months the average production was a mere 1.256 bscf/d.

As gale force headwinds continue to challenge the government and the economy, one obvious solution is for Shell and BP to acquire Stabroek Block share from CNOOC to secure gas for Atlantic LNG which can be piped to Trinidad.

 

BPTT donates copier to Guayaguayare School

BPTT donated a photocopying machine to the Guayaguayare Secondary School, in line with its focus on education. The gift adds to a list of Mayaro-based projects, including the installation of SMART boards in all the local schools, the donation of hundreds of learning devices to pupils during pandemic restrictions and the ongoing Brighter Prospects tertiary scholarship programme.

At the delivery and installation of the unit on March 24, the principal expressed gratitude. “Our previous machine was inoperable, presenting a severe challenge for us and a disadvantage to the students. The machine donated by BPTT is state of the art and it’s a timely intervention as it will assist in the preparation of exam scripts, handouts and projects. We also want to incorporate the copier in the production of a school newsletter which will focus on highlighting the school while promoting literacy and self-expression. It may seem like a simple donation, but when used effectively, this copier will have an expansive impact on achieving our motto of empowerment through education.”

Technician David Partap demonstrated features of the copier to the principal Denzil Noel and ICT officer, Ryan Seepersad. –

BPTT community liaison co-ordinator said, “Investing in young people is an investment in the sustainability of our community and our nation’s future. From the pre-school to post-graduate level, we have supported expansive education initiatives and it is paying dividends. As a life-long resident of Mayaro, I feel great pride in supporting local businesses, going to health facilities, or visiting schools and seeing that they are being owned or staffed by students that we have supported over the years.”

Guayaguayare Secondary School has had a long history of collaboration with BPTT and includes the donation of 15 desktop units for its computer lab as well as support during the pandemic with temperature-testing devices.

In an International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration of the Mayaro/ Rio Claro Regional Corporation, Rural Women Producers TT and the Spotlight Initiative, Patricia Lezama was honoured on her birthday with a gift and certificate for contributions to the community.

She led the Mayaro Scouts Group since 1985 and is credited with training thousands in the community. The group has a marching band. Members are taught to play several instruments. She credited the former Amoco for giving the group its first instruments. She praised BPTT,  including the staff for offering a musical training programme.

 

BHP

Mar 29 2022

Trinidad and Tobago Country Manager, Michael Stone is leaving BHP for personal reasons.   Stone assumed the role in June 2021, following the retirement of Vincent Pereira. Stone, who had been with BHP for 19 years, had previously served as Operations Manager.

Juan Manuel Vasquez has been appointed as his replacement as Country Manager and will take over the role from May 1.  Stone and Vasquez, BHP said, would be working together until June 30 to ensure a seamless transition.

Vasquez has been with BHP for 14 years and had recently been held the position of Head of Operations for BHP’s Trion project in Mexico.

 

BHP Block 2C Licence extension to 2031

Apr 21 2022

 

BHP Billiton, operator of Block 2C, .won government approval for a five-year extension to 2031. BHP will now drill at least two prospects to .continue producing oil and gas from the Angostura field for the next nine years.

BHP has been awaiting approval of the extension, since its license ends in 2026, having been first extended in 2013.  The original license, expected to expire in 2021, was extended to 2026. The company continued to produce oil and gas from the field and can commercially extend the life of the block to 2031. BHP and the new owner of its upstream assets, Woodside, would not invest if it had to close its operations in four years time. The approval clears the way for further investment and production. The country can now rely on hundreds of millions of cubic feet of natural gas per day and 5,000 barrels of oil per day, boosting the government tax revenue from the company. NGC will also benefit from access to gas for the downstream petrochemical sector.

BHP Billiton began exploring in 1996, signing the first production sharing contract under a new fiscal regime. BHP is the only company to successfully pursue a new oil play offshore T&T.

In 1999, BHP Billiton made a natural gas discovery on Block 2(c) at the Angostura-1 well. In 2000, the Aripo-1 well also encountered a thick interval of gas pay and a thin oil reservoir.

In August 2001 the Kairi-1 well discovered oil and gas and flowed at rates up to 3,000 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d), indicating the commercial oil potential of the accumulation. An appraisal drilling program began assessing development options., following the oil discovery at Kairi.

Drilling of Canteen-1 began in October 2001 on a separate fault block approximately 1.6 km north of Kairi-1,. Canteen-1 demonstrated a lateral extension of the oil accumulation, encountering approximately 213 metres (700 feet) of gross hydrocarbon-bearing sands that included 61 metres (200 feet) of net oil pay and 54.5 metres (179 feet) of net gas pay. The well tested at a rate of approximately 3,700 barrels of oil per day through a 72/64-inch choke. The Kairi-2 (ST2) appraisal well drilled in early 2002 encountered a 98 metre (322 feet) gas column, and an oil column of 71.6 metres (235 feet).

Block 2(c) is located approximately 38.5 kilometres (24 miles) east of Trinidad. During the six year exploration phase of the PSC, four exploration and three appraisal wells were drilled, discovering significant oil and gas resources within the large faulted Greater Angostura Structure.    Angostura-1, drilled in 1999, was the discovery well for the field, intersecting some 950 feet (gross) of gas pay within Early Oligocene sands.

At the time of discovery it was thought that the gross recoverable oil reserves were between 90 and 300 million stock tank barrels (stb), with a mid case or P50 volumes of 160 million stb. The range of gross recoverable gas volumes was 1 to 2.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), with a mid-case volume of 1.75 Tcf.  Significant faulting prevented the company producing the volume of oil it was expected to recover nor at the rate it had hoped, but the natural gas discovery, closer to 3 tcf. exceeded predictions,

 

Heritage and Stabilisation fund plummets by TT $1.82 Bn

The annual report of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) show its value fell by almost US$268 million or TT $1.821 billion at the end of financial year 2021 from its value at the end of 2020.   Although it recorded its best performance in its history, massive drawdowns by the government caused a net fall in its overall value.

“As at the end of September 2021, the Fund’s Net Asset Value stood at US$5,463.9 million, down from US$5,731.8 million one year earlier. During the financial year, a total of US$892.7 million was withdrawn from the Fund. Of this amount, US$292.7 million was related to the petroleum revenue shortfall for the fiscal year ended September 2020 (Section 15 of the HSF Act), while the remaining US$600.0 million was withdrawn in accordance with Section 15A (1) (b) of the amended HSF Act, which allows for withdrawals from the fund for a declared dangerous infectious disease declared under the Public Health Ordinance.”

The HSF, returned 11.75 per cent for the financial year 2021, its strongest annual performance to date, up from 8.20 per cent in the previous financial year. Performance was driven by exposure to global equity markets. As a result , the Fund’s equity mandates contributed 11.46 per cent compared with 0.29 per cent for the fixed income mandates.

“The fund’s return of 11.75 per cent exceeded its strategic asset allocation (SAA) benchmark by 3.00 per cent (or 300 basis points), the largest excess return since inception. This out-performance was mainly due to the fund’s overweight allocation to global equities over the financial year, which arose in part from a tactical decision to defer rebalancing the Fund.
“The US Russell 3000 ex Energy index surged 30.78 per cent during the financial year while the MSCI EAFE ex Energy index gained 24.71 per cent. In comparison, the US fixed income market, proxied by the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate index, lost 0.90 per cent.”

The success of the fund was based on the excellent performance of its equities and it reported that the decision not to rebalance its portfolio and take increased risk paid off.  For most of the financial year 2021, the global growth outlook in the major developed economies improved as acute public health risks were mitigated by the swift rollout of vaccines and the spread of the virus was largely contained.  With some level of protection against the virus, countries gradually eased restrictions enabling the re-opening of most economic sectors. This positive development in addition to continued fiscal and monetary stimulus measures and soaring corporate earnings, increased investors’ appetite for risk assets, which drove global financial markets higher.

In the closing months of the financial year, volatility in global markets increased markedly as a sharp pickup in inflation and inflation expectations raised the prospect of an earlier than expected shift in monetary policy. This, together with the surge of variants of the COVID-19 virus, raised doubts about an early end to the pandemic and prompted a sudden cooling of market sentiment. Despite the late sell-off of market, global equity markets returned a solid performance, with the S&P 500 rissing by approximately 30 per cent and the indices in the major European and Japanese equity markets increasing by between 20 and 39 per cent.

In contrast, global fixed income markets barely managed to eke out a positive return for the financial year as the low yields and policy support measures increased investor demand for risk assets relative to safer, but low yielding, fixed income securities.

“During the financial year, management of the HSF faced several challenges arising from the exceptional buoyancy of the equity compared with the fixed income securities, the timing of government withdrawals and the fund’s operational and investment policy guidelines, which call for the quarterly rebalancing of the portfolio, whenever, in the fund’s actual holdings, the asset classes deviate from the approved policy weights by more than +/- 5 percentage points. In the second half of FY 2020 and into the first quarter of FY 2021, the contrasting performance between the Fund’s equity and fixed income mandates, combined with the sizeable government withdrawals under Section 15A, totalling US$900 million, raised the total weight of the equity mandates to roughly 40 per cent, compared with the policy weight of 35 per cent.”

At the end of December 2020, this figure rose to approximately 44 per cent.

“Using the authority provided in the operational and investment policy, the board took the tactical decision to temporarily postpone the quarterly rebalancing of the fund in December 2020, while maintaining a close monthly monitoring of market developments to see how the deviations evolve and to explore other policy options. The decision was influenced by the sharp increase in returns coming from the equity mandates and the transaction costs that could arise from the size of the needed rebalancing. The board also determined that while the tactical decision could have increased the risk of the Fund, the additional risk would have been adequately compensated.”

In terms of the macroeconomic environment it argued that for most of financial year 2021, market sentiment was bullish as the availability of multiple vaccines provided a clearer path out of the pandemic. The vaccine rollout facilitated the removal of lockdown measures in many countries, which boosted economic activity and freed pent-up demand.

Accommodative monetary policy and additional fiscal stimulus helped to sustain the economic resurgence from the pandemic. The favourable economic conditions helped many sectors to recover from losses sustained in the pandemic and pass on a sharp rise in prices as demand stayed ahead of supply.

In the last quarter of the financial year , vaccine hesitancy, emergence of highly-transmittable virus variants and persistent inflationary pressures threatened to stall the pace of growth as monetary authorities began to reassess the timing of the withdrawal of financial market support measures and rate increases. The prospect of an earlier than expected removal of policy support measures and monetary rate adjustments altered market sentiment and the pace of recovery towards the end of the financial year.

“Despite the mounting headwinds to growth, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) October 2021

World Economic Outlook forecasts that global output is projected to grow by 5.9 per cent in 2021 following a contraction of 3.1 per cent in 2020.”

Transfer pricing laws

Apr 20 2022

An Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) report, stated T&T could have capitalised on over US$7 billion tax revenues from multinational oil companies between 2010 and 2018, with transfer pricing legislation.

The issue of transfer pricing legislation was raised in the Senate by Independent Senator Charrise Seepersad.

“This study estimates that between 2010 and 2014 when natural gas prices were high, revenue collections in Trinidad and Tobago could have been five times higher. In 2018, when the prices were low, the government could have received revenue that was approximately six times higher than actual receipts. This quantified to US$6.26 billion in revenue loss from the natural gas sector alone. For the entire energy sector, the estimated loss is US$7.9 billion to $13.7 billion.”

Extra revenue could have had a positive impact on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

“Countries like Trinidad and Tobago depend on multinational energy companies to produce and monetize its natural gas resources. Doing business with sophisticated multinational, vertically integrated energy companies with fragmented but interconnected global value chains creates many opportunities for the manipulation of taxable income.“

Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Brian Manning advised consideration for this type of legislation is before the Cabinet and also quoted the report.

“According to an ECLAC report, in 2021 Trinidad and Tobago lost almost $18 billion in revenues from LNG due to transfer pricing between the years 2010 to 2018.”The matter of the introduction of transfer pricing legislation in Trinidad and Tobago is currently before the Cabinet.”

This was extremely significant and ECLAC had advised that any framework to address transfer pricing in T&T should require the conduct of transactions by multinationals at “arm’s length.”

Between 2017 to 2019, the Finance Ministry held multiple consultations with regional and international institutions, including , the Inter American Centre of Tax Administration and the World Bank.

“The objective was to establish new policy and legal administrative frameworks to regulate transfer pricing and to strengthen the Inland Revenue division’s ability to monitor transfer pricing transactions.”

The Cabinet is considering introducing transfer pricing legislation similar to that implemented in Jamaica

Brighter future

Energy Minister Stuart Young believes Trinidad and Tobago has a key role in the world energy landscape, as he seeks foreign investment in local oil and gas sectors. After attending Latin American and Pan African energy forums in Washington, DC, he advised it was vital to keep that conversation going on.

“It was very important for us to be at that conference, because it introduced into the conversation that natural gas is here to stay, natural gas is going to be here for decades, it’s not going to be a flick of the switch to renewables. And to tell them we may be in a unique position with an oil-and-gas-based economy in our part of the region and how we can produce greener, cleaner energy and renewables at the same time, etc, so those conversations continue to take place.”

A recent meeting in TT with Barbara Feinstein, deputy assistant secretary for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti in the US State Department. confirmed the US is aware of TT’s place in the global energy industry. Cabinet said he could soon return for more energy talks with US officials. The trip will “explore how TT can contribute to what is going on in the global energy landscape, because we think we have a significant role to play.“

All trips are occasions to bring foreign direct investment into TT, for both the energy and non-energy sectors. Under his predecessor, the late Franklin Khan, TT and Guyana had signed a memorandum of agreement and conversations were ongoing. TT was available to help Guyana and Suriname and an NGC team recently met the Government of Guyana.

“.. at the World Petroleum Congress in Houston in December we had conversations with the minister from Guyana. We always hold out that we are available to assist in whatever way we can. We do have significant interest that is recognised around the world in oil and gas and the service industry, etc. When the Prime Minister and I were at the GECF (Gas Exporting Countries Forum) recently in Doha (Qatar), we had African countries coming to us and we had bilateral meetings with Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria asking for assistance with their growing gas industries, getting over the hurdles we experienced some time ago.”

 

 

Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd

Responding in Parliament to a question from the Opposition regarding the Petrotrin Employee Pension Plan (PEPP) on March 25, the Minister of Finance boasted “the aggregate value of assets in its most recent valuation, in September 2019, was $7.7859 billion.”

The findings of the actuary, Bacon Woodrow de Souza Ltd, state:

“(i) Number of pensioners = 7,194 with total annual pensions of $563.83 million.

“(ii) Number of deferred pensioners (those due to a pension in the future) = 2,130 with total annual deferred pensions of $140.761 million.”

“Arising out of the actuary report it recommended that Petrotrin should pay additional contributions over the ten-year period starting 2020 October 1 of either $250 million per annum if Petrotrin should move away from equity investment and into fixed interest, or $135 million per annum if Petrotrin continue to hold the existing equities until they have to be realised either to pay benefits or to comply with statutory limits on equity investment.”

 

Lake Asphalt Aftermath

Denying Opposition claims that the Government was spying on key people and institutions, including the judiciary and the media, the Prime Minister revealed that Government is revitalising Lake Asphalt of TT Ltd (LATT). The state-owned company, funded by the Ministry of Finance, declined after the collapse of SOC Petrotrin, the major consumer of LATT’s bitumen.

“Cabinet has put Lake Asphalt in the Ministry of Works and put a committee in place with NIDCO as the operating agency to create a new business model for Lake Asphalt.”

Lake Asphalt

The Government announced a switch regarding the fate of Lake Asphalt of TT (1978) Ltd.

After much uncertainty, the iconic company was shunted to a new line ministry, the Ministry of Works and Transport, with the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) designated as its “operating agency.” The implications are not clear for workers at the company who had to protest to be paid outstanding salaries.   When the Prime Minister announced the move on April 5, he was typically silent on the company’s industrial relations, the first problematic aspect of Government’s handling of an industry of great economic importance.

Trade unions were outraged by the announcement, which followed talks with Minister of Energy Stuart Young and even his intervention in the disbursal of a subvention to pay salaries.

The Joint Trade Union Movement complained, “Imagine workers and the union having to hear about the company being placed under another ministry at a PNM meeting whilst the company’s leadership, via the board of directors and the CEO, are unable to shed any light on these pronouncements.”

Tthe decision to place Lake Asphalt under Nidco suggests the Cabinet may have a vision for the ailing firm – which is charged with the commercial development of the Pitch Lake, the world’s largest deposit of natural asphalt – as it relates to local infrastructure needs only. About 90 per cent of Lake Asphalt’s revenue was in the past generated by exports.

There irony continues- the country has exported materials all over the world for road and surface paving, and yet, from capital city to remote regions , including even the road to the Pitch Lake, infrastructure is in need of paving materials.

• Placing Lake Asphalt under Nidco can be a good fit but
• what are the implications for the other aspects of the company’s operations, including cutting-edge asphalt research projects and its management of the Pitch Lake itself as a tourist attraction?
• Will there be scope for private investors, scientists, academia and other potential stakeholders to make proposals to get the most of this resource?
• The Pitch Lake is an important heritage site, integral to this country’s history. With worries about its liquidity, is there a role for the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund to play in this?
• What of the National Trust?

Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan has two-year projections of his ministry’s bitumen needs, which he hopes might be met by Lake Asphalt, even as he is unfamiliar with the company’s current operations. The Government must do better and should address the entirety of the company’s operations. Dicestment is the best option to end this nightmare.

CSO: economy grows by $5.5 billion

The economy grew by $5.5 billion between two successive quarters last year, from $38 billion to $44 billion. The Central Statistical Office (CSO reported growth in a rise in GDP, the value of all goods and services produced, from the second quarter, Q2, (January-March 2021) to the third quarter, Q3, (April-June 2021.)

 

“The quarterly constant (2012) price GDP increased by 8.9 per cent in 3rd quarter 2021 over the 2nd quarter 2021.” This “constant” figure calculates GDP with reference to a base year, 2012. The quarterly current price GDP increased significantly by $5,577 million or 14.3 per cent from $ 38,987 million in 2nd quarter 2021 to TT$ 44,565 million 3rd quarter 2021.”

The “current” figure states GDP using actual prices now seen in the economy, without making any adjustment for inflation. The constant price GDP in Q3 comprised the energy sector (29.9 per cent), manufacturing sector (18.2 per cent), construction sector (8.3 per cent) and trade and repairs sector (21.3 per cent.)

“The following industries in the energy sector contributed to the 1.1 per cent decrease in GDP between Q2 and Q3: Condensate extraction 26.9 per cent, refining, including LNG 11.8 per cent, natural gas exploration and extraction 5.7 per cent.”

Offsetting this decrease in the energy sector GDP were increases in:

1. petroleum support services (14.2 per cent), crude oil exploration and extraction (8.1 per cent),
2. petroleum and natural gas distribution (6.0 per cent) and
3. the manufacture of petrochemicals (0.9 per cent, compared with a 2.7 per cent increase in Q2.)

The manufacturing sector fell marginally by 0.1 per cent in Q3 from a 1.0 per cent rise in Q2.

“An analysis of the industries that comprise the manufacturing sector notes that in Q3, all industries recorded declines with the exception of food, drink and tobacco products which grew by 7.1 per cent over the previous quarter. This compares with a 13.1 per cent increase in Q2.”

The construction sector rose significantly by 89.8 per cent in Q3, compared with a 15.2 per cent drop in Q2.

“The 89.8 per cent increase recorded Q3 is attributable to the installation of the Cassia Platform (C) in July 2021.”

The trade and repairs sector increased by 24.9 per cent in Q3, compared with a 1.0 per cent fall in Q2. The Q3 rise included sub-industries – wholesale trade (42.6 per cent), retail trade 13.9 per cent, vehicle sales (38.1 per cent), petroleum distribution (11.4 per cent) and natural gas distribution (4.9 per cent.) Vehicle repairs fell marginally by 0.4 per cent in Q3.

 

GDP

The report by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) claimed $5.5 billion in GDP growth last year after a prolonged period of economic fallout from the pandemic.

From Q2 to Q3 the quarterly GDP rose 14 per cent (or 8.9 per cent adjusted for inflation) from $38.9 billion to $44.5 billion, The rise included a dip of 1 per cent in the energy sector, 0.1 per cent fall in manufacturing, 89 per cent rise in construction (due to installation of the Cassia oil/gas platform) and 24 per cent rise in trade (including 42 per cent rise in wholesale trade and 38 per cent rise in vehicle sales.)

Minister in the Ministry of Finance Brian Manning said, “The increase in GDP reflects an overall increase in economic activity. This came from the gradual removal of covid health restrictions and increased prices in the energy and petrochemical sectors.” Government had kept the economy on a stable footing during one of the sharpest economic downturns in world history such that TT was now poised for “significant economic growth. We are not completely out of turbulent waters yet, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Oropouche West MP Davendranath Tancoo disagreed, alleging a lack of any Government measures to boost the economy. Tancoo thought the report to be of limited value, now in Q3 of 2022.

“The information is dated. It is a partial snapshot of over one year ago and many things have happened since then. My concern remains that while certain sectors may finally be starting to reverse downward trends, this does not translate to real growth potential.”

If indicators pivot towards pre-covid levels, this was simply a response to the relaxing of Government restrictions. Businesses closed for months are now opening up so trade appears to be increasing.

“However, I see no renewed confidence in the economy manifested in investment in micro, small and medium sized businesses, or new business registration and opening up and these are the entities which push an economy more than simply the select few mega business magnates. So while figures may show economic growth, the more pressing issue – development – and the potential for new revenue streams, diversification, etcetera, remains lagging. Sadly too, there appears to be no Government policy designed to stimulate this substantial sub sector.”

Government’s admission of the failure of 2021 budget policies targeting SMEs and the year-long delay in this admission, had indicated its priority bias. More must be done for the productive sectors, especially given the new emergent challenges of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, to stimulate the domestic food production sector. The Minister of Finance sat on over $430 million, designated for an agricultural stimulus incentive for one year, while the agricultural sector floundered, and food wholesalers and retailers became increasingly dependent on imports.”

This also reveals “mismatched policy prescriptions vis-a-vis the needs of the population and the economy.”

 

 

Uneven economic growth

Responding to the Central Statistical Office (CSO) claim of $5.5 billion rise in gross domestic product from the second quarter (Q2) to third quarter (Q3) last year from $38billion to $44 billion, retired CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Gabriel Faria said the period was marked by “uneven growth” in sectors such as finance doing well but other critical sectors needing help to this day. GDP refers to the monetary or market value of all goods and services produced by a country within a specified time period and is an indicator of economic health. Faria, the CEO of Caribbean Advocacy – a regional advisory practice supporting the private sector – said any increases must be viewed against a backdrop of activity in the prior reporting period.

Sectors which performed very well include financial institutions, supermarkets, pharmacies etc. Manufacturing did fairly well last year, versus the prior year when they suffered from a reduced demand in the region due to low tourism.   It was a very uneven growth as many sectors suffered badly while some excelled.

Faria said that in 2020, gasoline sales were down by 20 per cent compared to the year before. “It grew in 2021 but was still down 15 per cent on 2019 levels. Shoes and clothing were very significantly down. Most people are not spending on that kind of discretionary spend.

“Yet you have sectors like the financial sector which was doing simply amazing. You’d have seen insurance and banks do very well. That was driven largely by investment income as many of those organisations invest in the US stock market which had an excellent 2021.” Even the TT stock market had an excellent year last year.

He lamented that consumer discretionary spending was lagging.

“Our overall economic growth does not really reflect the pain many of the smaller businesses are facing. The sectors which have been adversely impacted are in dire need of support. Caribbean Advocacy is hopeful the Government will look at mechanisms to provide support to these groups.”

Feedback from organisations like the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) is that TT will not get back up to 2019 levels, until 2024 for the earliest.

“We will get recovery, but ‘recovery’ is a relative term. Recovery of 2022 over 2021 is a no-brainer. Recovery of 2021 over 2020 is also a no-brainer. But are we going to go back to 2019 (levels of economic activity)?”

Regarding an 89 per cent growth in the construction sector due to the installation of the Cassia platform, he said 89 per cent of a small amount of activity in the period before, was unimpressive. He hoped for a boost to the light manufacturing sector.

85 per cent of TT-made goods were sold within Caricom and, except for Guyana, many of these economies did not do well in 2020 to the detriment of TT’s manufacturers. “Hopefully we’ll see a pick up.”

When those countries’ tourism sectors pick up, that will benefit TT’s exports of items such as sweet drinks which were sold to employees in that sector. The positive impact of rising oil and gas prices would likely be seen in TT by both the spend of those employed in the energy sector and by Government energy revenues being used to support subsidies such as the price at the pump of gasoline and the cost of fuel consumed by TTEC to generate electricity for the population. However he noted a low production of oil and gas.

“If they could export more natural gas or more ammonia or those type of products, it will be better for the economy. The impact will happen in certain sectors but the flow through to the rest of the economy may take several quarters before we start to see some benefit.”

After retirement as the chief executive officer of Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce last month, championing the causes of the voiceless within the business community is still at the forefront of Gabriel Faria’s thinking. That is why he has formed Caribbean Advocacy, to help navigate some of the issues experienced by small and medium size enterprises, across the region.

Faria’s last day as CEO of the Chamber, where he spent over five years, was January 31. He was replaced by Ian De Souza. The Chamber paid tribute to Faria, saying his conviction has always been that “a strong private sector is the foundation of a prosperous and equitable T&T.” Faria’s tenure witnessed intensified advocacy efforts with the Government, policymakers and legislators, to which he brought his own unique style to negotiating for changes in business facilitation and in the ease of doing business.

The chief executive officer of Caribbean Advocacy saw great need to still represent businesses, especially for the hundreds of legitimate small firms. The membership and directors of the group will be kept privately due to fear they can be victimized, when they speak out on issues affecting the community.

“I have decided I cannot be an unresponsible leader and therefore will keep these matters active until they are resolved and my other regional retired counterparts agreed to form this advocacy group. I’m doing this strictly on a voluntary basis, not doing it for profit. This is my way of being a responsible citizen and there are many other heads who would like to contribute within the region to help the various sectors become successful.”

Faria, former CEO at Angostura and Guardian Media, noted that Caribbean Advocacy has not yet been registered as the mechanics are still being worked out.

“It’s multi-country so we are working out the best solutions for it. It’s going to be a network and not a formal business entity. One prerequisite for companies to join is that they must be registered for tax and employees must be registered for NIS. We want to encourage people to comply.”

They are hoping to get advocacy group sponsors to fund the new entity because the work that it would do is voluntary and is designed to give back to society.

“We will not be competing with any chambers or other Caribbean groups as they represent larger businesses. We do not want people to become a member of this group because they are a part of another association. The reason this was formed is because many businesses do not have representation and we need to give a voice to the people who do not have the financial resources to do so,” he remarked.

Faria highlighted a need for robust ongoing advocacy on transparency in Government.

“Campaign finance and procurement regulation are just two areas which the government has been avoiding dealing with and so much more. This does not hold the persons we elect to the highest standards.”

VAT refunds for business owners has not yet been settled.

“When I raised this in 2017, more than one minister said it was not true, but in 2019 they admitted that over $6.2 billion was owed in overdue refunds. The last we heard was that $3.7 billion was paid in 2020, but we were promised that overdue VAT refunds will be paid and that the regime would be made current going forward. Then there are tax refunds and amounts owed to suppliers. There is also the matter of interest owed on the VAT refunds, which by my calculation is $744 million annually (12 per cent) and if the average of the overdue refunds is three years that means by law the government owes roughly an additional $2.1 billion in interest. When will that be paid?”

He indicated that the government is living beyond its means by not paying monies legally owed to businesses and citizens for years while some businesses are grinding to a halt because they lack the cash to fund their operations.

“The final option may be for the businesses owed to take “a representative action” to collect the funds owed to them. In fact, I was told by a leader in Government in front of another person ‘Sue me.’.”

Another area having a debilitating impact on businesses is the significant delay in the clearance of shipments via air or sea freight. This is adding to the cost of imports and reducing the competitiveness of all businesses in the country. This must be addressed as these types of actions slow down the economy.

“We speak about the ease of doing business, but we must get it right. At the end of the day we want to attract investors, not scare them away. To this day foreign exchange continues to be a problem and many businesses have complained that they are not even receiving half of what is needed to clear their goods.”

There are too many unsettled wage negotiations or payments due for negotiations that have been agreed but not paid.

“In some instances, this goes back as much as nine years. How many billions of dollars is this liability that is not being accounted for?”

Government has an obligation to provide clear metrics to evaluate the promises they have made and the obligations they have through a performance report which should be published quarterly. Some of the areas in the performance report are:

• -The aged balances broken down by month showing the amounts paid towards for each area: Vat refunds, Tax refunds, amounts owed to suppliers.
• -The mean, median and longest time taken to clear shipments in each area.
• -A listing of all outstanding labour agreements, the potential financial cost and the quarterly settlements and payments.

Born in Scarborough Tobago where his family owned a guest house, Gabriel Faria moved to Trinidad where his parents had a café/grocery. Faria attended Queen’s Royal College then worked for seven years before completing his Masters in Business Administration at University. “We kept the property in Tobago and up to now I have maintained a home.”

 

 

Boundless Buffoonery

Apr 13 2022

Minister of Finance Colm Imbert maintained that gross domestic product (GDP) grew by $5 billion in a three-month period.

“The quarterly GDP for that particular period was $44.5 billion. And if I go back to 2020, between July 2020 and September 2020, in the middle of COVID, economic production was $34.6 billion. One year later it is $44.6 billion. It grew by $10 billion. So, the know-it-all experts, the naysayers are going to be a little confused. Because according to them, T&T is falling apart,”

If the CSO data shows GDP of $170 billion rather than $150 billion for 2021, then it is likely correct to claim that the country is not falling apart economically. and that the debt-to-GDP ratio in 2021 was lower than the 85 per cent identified in the budget statement, based on the estimate of $150 billion.

However, recovery in most sectors from a large, negative shock in 2020 does not mean that the economy is well-managed. While Government can claim credit for recovery from a random crash on its watch, economists doubt the regime is advancing policies to deliver the fundamental economic and political restructuring sought, even before independence 6 decades ago.
To achieve fundamental restructuring and grow the GDP per capita by means other than oil and gas, new policies can increase the share of exportable capital produced by the economy, where capital means final output used as investment assets to produce other output. The minister would be the first to report progress on this front, , even if he was unaware of its scientific importance, He has little to report on education and training reform, evidence of inadequate progress on this front. A second raft of policies can grow the national capacity to innovate technologically, especially in the sense of capacity of workers and managers to produce knowledge and technology outputs and inputs and their capacity to produce creative outputs reflecting enhancements of popular culture. More progress is vital on institution reforms covering the rule of law (inclusive and participatory democracy), the effectiveness or efficiency of Government, and the relevance and fairness of regulations, the ease of starting and doing business or resolving bankruptcy, and the fairness of approaches to labour relations.

The Minister had said that fiscal measures to curb the impact of the pandemic had led to “tremendous growth and ” the construction sector grew by almost 100 per cent between July and September 2021. While all sectors are growing, key sectors can grow faster to restructure the economy towards more viable intra-industry trade and genuine fiscal sustainability. Few signs appear of faster growth of the output and exports of critical capital-producing sectors- education, healthcare, creative industries and the associated infrastructure, including the tourism housing stock. These are more important than all others, according to the empirical evidence.

On the path of the debt-to-GDP ratio, government and analysts have an “arbitrary approach” to its sustainability. Growth of GDP tends to cause the debt-to-GDP ratio to fall. However, notwithstanding what might happen in the next unforeseen negative shock, key facts about a sustainable fall are that GDP must grow at a rate that is higher than the average rate of interest on the debt involved and growth must be underpinned by economic transformation and productivity growth that would simultaneously enhance the price-making capacity of local exporters and their capacity to participate successfully in intra-industry exporting to make the balance of trade increasingly favourable over time.

Such transformation and productivity growth would have two additional positive effects on debt sustainability  – boost revenue flows to Government and bring the budget increasingly into surplus in due course and grow Government access to seigniorage as it grows the money supply to facilitate a sufficient flow of valuable credit to entrepreneurs involved in capital production for domestic use and export.

Significant gains in sustainability could be derived from strengthening linkages between capital production and modern digital and data science (and ICT generally), especially in exportable education and the creative industries.

Questions include how can the capital outputs be exported digitally, since virtual and real markets are expected to evolve side by side in the future;

How will digital access be broadened for capital producers who are also growing capacity to innovate through the development of knowledge, skills, and self-confidence; how can the barriers to innovative capital production with emerging digital technology be removed and what enablers should be introduced for small capital producers, especially the creative enterprises that typify the national space and how should the forms of capital produced be most rapidly distributed to domestic and international users who need them most?

Answers to these would motivate and guide an optimal push to research-driven expansion of capital production for economic restructuring. Then, as output and productivity grow along with capacity to participate in intra-industry trade, to upgrade institutions, and to undertake technological innovation, the rate of inflation would fall, albeit with lags, causing exports to grow relative to imports on a long-term trend. One effect would be sustainable reduction of the debt-to-GDP ratio, even if it was initially well above the arbitrary figure of 60 per cent set by the E U and the IMF.

The Minister’s superficial analysis had not shared the component elements of the factors contributing to the alleged increase in GDP. It would be interesting to know the components of growth regarding the contribution from higher international prices for gas, oil and r petrochemicals’ contribution from increased national production in all the sectors and the base year used to determine the growth. Imbert did not mention rising unemployment and underemployment trends or justify his analysis by addressing these observations

 

 

Divestment of non-performing state assets

In addition to controlling shares in Republic Bank, over 50 State Enterprises can be privatised, including:

Government must also divest unethical tobacco , a health risk, fire risk and pollution risk which consumes natural gas in its manufacture. Divestment of alcohol will reduce VAW, domestic abuse, accidents and disease.

 

TTEC power cut

The Prime Minister received the report of the investigation of the islandwide power cut on February 16 from the committee of experts. During the blackout Trinidad lost electrical power for over ten hours.

The Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission’s (T&TEC’s) general manager Kelvin Ramsook initially said a fault in one of the major circuits triggered independent stations to shut down, causing the blackout and promised there would be no repeat.

On February 18, then acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert told Parliament an independent expert committee would investigate the cause and the response. The three committee members are Professor Chandrabhan Sharma, Keith Sirju and Allister Guevarro.

Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales suggested consumers would not be compensated for loss of electricity.

“I need to make it abundantly clear that this standard is subject to two exceptions – force majeure events and other events that are outside of T&TEC’s control.”

A force majeure (superior force) event is extraordinary and beyond reasonable control, such as a war, riot, crime, an epidemic or sudden legal change.

“There was a huge issue emanating from the independent producers which impacted upon T&TEC’s ability to provide a supply of electricity to the country.”

“A short-circuit fault occurred on a 12,000-volt overhead line. The line crosses under the two 220,000-volt transmission overhead lines which connect the T&TEC system to the Trinidad Generation Unlimited (TGU) power station in La Brea.”

Protective systems took the circuits out of service as designed, disconnecting the TGU station from the TTEC system. The short circuit caused three other independent power producers to trip, which resulted in the islandwide power cut.

On April 1, president of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget said the cause was a fallen tree.

“A tree fell on the T&TEC lines and those lines would have wobbled in the electrical fields of one another and just tripped the entire system off.”

He blamed corruption and mismanagement in T&TEC for the fallen tree, as contractors are responsible for clearing the lines. The commission is understaffed by 300 linesmen, leaving the work to contracted workers, at an additional cost to the commission.

 

 

Power report

Apr 04 2022

On April 4, Member of Parliament for Princes Town, Barry Padarath, urged the government to indicate the status of the report into the nationwide blackout on February 16th, 2022. Seven weeks since the committee was established, the government is yet to advise the public on the status of the report.

In an official statement on February 18th the Minister of Finance told Parliament that an independent expert committee to investigate the cause of, and national response to, the nationwide power outage will be established,and report within one month.

The Princes Town MP stated that over seven weeks has elapsed since the Sharma committee was established and the government is yet to advise the public on the status of the report.

The Opposition Shadow Minister for Public Utilities urged the government to indicate whether the report was finalized, if the findings were submitted to the government, when will the report be made public and when can the nation expect the report to be laid in the parliament.

Padarath questioned why this entire issue has been shrouded in secrecy and why is there a lack of transparency with the public.  It was now evident for all to see that the government is engaged in a cover up with respect to the real reasons for the blackout. He further questioned what were they hiding on this issue?

The move to abort the inquiry into the blackout by the Government members in the Public Administration and Appropriation Committee in March undermines the public interest in this matter and was a clear indication that the government did not have the political will or intention to share with the population the real reasons for the twelve-hour blackout. Several weeks had passed since the deadline of one month was announced by Minister Imbert on February 18th; however the government has gone deaf and mute on this matter.

The MP urged the government to end continued secrecy on this matter, to inform the public on the status of the investigation by the committee and immediately make the report public.

 

Shortage of staff triggered power cut

Apr 01 2022

Oilfield Workers Trade Union president-general Ancel Roget claims failure to fill vacancies for 300 linesmen contributed to the T&TEC incident, as lines are now being cleared by unqualified contractors. From the union’s perspective, that blackout was not caused by T&TEC workers.

It was caused by the inefficiency of management of T&TEC and the governance arrangement. A tree fell on T&TEC lines and those lines wobbled into the electrical field and tripped the entire system. The union would have advised them to make alterations to prevent such an occurrence.

It happened because that responsibility was placed with contractors to do line clearing. Many technical aspects of operations have been contracted out, jeopardising the safety of workers.

OWTU efforts to meet Public Utilities Minister Marvin Gonzales to discuss these issues have been unsuccessful to date. OWTU had filed an appeal against an Industrial Court judgement that gave T&TEC workers a zero-per cent increase for the period 2015 to 2017. If workers accepted this unfair ruling, there would be no more increases for the period 2018 to 2022.

If there is one group of workers who deserve a proper adjustment in their wages, it is the T&TEC workers. “Those workers were dealt an unfair blow and we are not going to accept zero-zero-zero!”

The matter was filed in the Court of Appeal to overrule the Industrial Court ruling which was made on February 18 for the period January 2015 to December 2017. The judgement was delivered by a three-member team comprising Lawrence Achong, chairman of the essential services division, and members Vincent Cabrera and Michelle Austin.

Claiming the ruling was unfair to 2,800 employees who provide a reliable supply of electricity, Roget said T&TEC risked the same political interference from the Government that led to closure of Petrotrin. Profits at ANSAMcAL  and Angostura would not be possible if these companies did not have electricity.

Over one-third of the T&TEC workforce is now contract staff who were unskilled and incompetent to execute projects in hazardous environments. T&TEC did not present a manpower audit to the OWTU, which is the recognised majority union.

T&TEC general manager Kelvin Ramsook denied there was a shortage of 300 linesmen at the commission. He refused to comment on the power cut until the investigation was complete. T&TEC had succession planning and continuous training of staff and the zero per cent ruling was upheld by the court.

 

 

UNDP promotes blue economy

United Nations Assistant General Secretary and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regional director, Dr. Luis Felipe López-Calva, told a webinar hosted by the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the UNDP that the blue economy offers opportunities for growth in the region.

 

The World Bank defined the blue economy as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem. TheEuropean Commission defines the blue economy as “All economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts.”

Components of the blue economy include established traditional ocean industries such as fisheries, tourism, and maritime transport. New and emerging blue economy activities include offshore renewable energy, aquaculture and and marine biotechnology.

Lopez-Calva said small island developing states (SIDS) are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Caribbean SIDS are unique as they often share fragile natural ecosystems. The pandemic underscored these and other vulnerabilities in the region.

This is why the UNDP has been collaborating with the countries and regional institutions on initiatives such as the blue economy, to protect the region against these challenges while promoting sustainable development.

“We have to work. We have to rethink the future of development.”

UWI Pro-Vice Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles agreed with Lopez-Calva. . “For us, this is a matter of the survival of our economy, the survival of our society”  He hoped that through fora such as these, there could be conversations about the reallocation of resources in the region to promote sustainable development.

Antigua and Barbuda Social Transformation Minister Dean Jonas said his country is committed to a transition towards a blue economy. He cited the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Beckles and Association of Commonweakth Universities chairman Sir Ed Byrne for the establishment of a centre of excellence for oceanography and the blue economy at UWI’s Five Islands Campus in Antigua and Barbuda.

Jonas estimated that through this centre, Antigua and Barbuda and the wider Caribbean region, could tap into the blue economy which may be worth US$2.5 trillion worldwide. This could happen through the sustainable diversification of the economy into areas such as aquaculture, marine renewable energy, biotechnology and sea vegetable farming.

In Trinidad The Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) is a multi-disciplinary marine and environmental research organisation established by Act of Parliament of the Revised Laws of Trinidad and Tobago., following negotiations for an agreement signed between the Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Institute was mandated to collect, analyse and disseminate information relating to the economic, technological, environmental, social and legal developments in marine affairs and to formulate and implement specific programmes/projects.

Website: www.ima.gov.tt

UTT offers a Master of Science in Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management based in Caguaramas and supports research in Tobago.   ECO donated a microscope to the Advanced Centre for Coastal and Ocean Research and Development (ACCORD), the premier Caribbean centre for applied research and development, education, training and outreach in coastal and oceanic sciences. UTT can be included in this project.

Website:   www.utt.edu.tt

UNESCO-CICAR conducted by University College London in 1970 was a pioneer project which surveyed the seabed in collaboration with the UK Royal Navy HMS Hecla, HMS Fox and HMS Fawn. Around Barbuda, Prof.Martin Brasier investigated seagrass meadows and foraminifera while Dr Peter Wigley studied the marine sediments. Dr Peter Dolan analysed sediments of Pedro Bank Jamaica. Dr Sally Radford, assisted by WHOI, recorded foraminifera in Tobago bays, reefs, lagoons and swamps and donated a copy of her thesis to UWI library.

 

UWI Trinidad researchers in top 2% of authors in their disciplines

Apr 22 2022

In the centenary year for Science, launched at ICTA, founding college of UWI in 1922, 7 UWI St. Augustine researchers are among the top 2% of the authors in their respective research disciplines globally in a database published in PLOS Biology journal authored by academics from Stanford University.

This list represents the names of the scientists within the top 2% of their main sub-field discipline across those who have published at least five papers. The selection is based on the top 100,000 by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above. The scientists are Professor Terence Seemungal, Professor Hazi Azamathulla, Dr Sephra Rampersad, Professor Christopher Oura, Dr Mandreker Bahall, Dr Rajiv Dahiya and the late Professor Dave Chadee.

These database rankings are globally recognized and are based on an analysis of data available in the Scopus database which is itself the standard for extracting bibliometric data for researchers worldwide. The list ranks over 180,000 researchers within 22 scientific disciplines and 176 subfields, in an objective and transparent process.

The process takes into account various measures of citations that a researcher receives as a single, first, or last author, including total citations and the Hirsch h-index metrics. The database is updated every year and hence there are additions and subtractions every year.

UWI St. Augustine Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Brian Copeland, in congratulating his colleagues, whose personal achievements are synonymous with The UWI’s wider impact. “Considered in conjunction with the 2021 Times Higher Education institutional ranking of The UWI in the top 2.5% of the best universities globally, they further confirm the strategic leadership and stewardship of The UWI, its scholastic research output, and advocacy.”

 

 

UTT Technology don emigrates

In this science centenary year, another vital professional scientist lost his job at state-owned UTT and is forced to evacuate his homeland where his skills can solve technical woes.
Rabindranath Ramsaroop, a physicist with a PhD in engineering, whose three-year contract was renewed in September 2016, sued the university for $327,676.75 after he was fired as senior instructor, design and manufacturing systems, in May 2018. He was told his fixed-term contract was being terminated by reason of redundancy.

Ramsaroop received $152,771.16 in severance on retrenchment based on his number of years’ service, and his full salary for May-July 2018, as opposed to the one-month salary provided for in the contract. He argued his contract was terminated some 14 months prematurely.

UTT said it was forced to reduced expenditure and restructure its organisation because of reduced budgetary allowance for the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 academic years. Reduced allocation led to the retrenchment of 58 members of academic staff in 2018 and they were told of the challenges faced and of the need to restructure/reallocate resources.

Reduction in the budgetary allocation due to economic factors beyond its control resulted in the termination of Ramsaroop’s contract, which provided that the university could terminate if there were “unforeseen changes in operational requirements.” UTT maintained Ramsaroop’s contract was properly terminated.

In an oral decision delivered at the Hall of Justice, Port of Spain, Justice Frank Seepersad held there was no dispute that the contract provided for termination at any time due to “unforeseen changes.”

He said while budgetary allocations were never an issue when Ramsaroop was hired in 2006, the first time the university encountered problems was in 2016/2017 and it did not have control over the sums approved by Parliament.

“The public would have been aware of the state of the economy and the general decline in oil and gas. It cannot be said the UTT could have predicted the quantum of funding it would receive and when faced with the reality of a reduced budgetary allocation, its survival depended on making necessary adjustments.

He said this could fall within the rubric of “unforeseen changes.”

The termination was necessary for the operational requirements of the university, given its funding issues. It was “unfortunate but necessary. It cannot be said it was unjustified to terminate.

“The court is of the view that the university handled the situation with empathy and compassion,”

It did not have to invoke provisions of the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act, since it did not apply to fixed-term contracts, but did so, enabling Ramsaroop to receive a severance payment.

“It was a gratuitous position adopted by UTT, which was under no legal obligation to pay,” he said, adding that Ramsaroop benefitted from this gratuitous application of the act, based on the number of his years of service.

After dismissing Ramsaroop’s claim as “completely devoid of merit,” he ordered him to pay reduced costs because of the lack of clarity of what “unforeseen changes” meant in the contract.

Ramsaroop, now an assistant professor at the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean in Jamaica, was represented by attorney Glen Bhagwansingh. Stephen Singh represented UTT

 

 

NESC

Website: http://www.nesc.edu.tt

The National Energy Skills Center (NESC) is a non-profit institution incorporated on July 15, 1997 with the primary purpose of building the human capital in Trinidad and Tobago. It has its genesis in a Trust Deed between the Government and the Atlantic LNG Company Limited, to address the demand for skilled welders to work on the Train 1 project. It was envisaged then, as the solution to the need for a premier training provider to lead national training initiatives.

From its first Campus at Point Fortin, the NESC now operates 11 NESC Campuses across Trinidad and Tobago. Launched in December 2013, the Company also operates the NESC Drilling Academy, a fully integrated, open-access technical training institute. It is designed to deliver robust curricula focused on training for the energy sector and is the first of its kind in the Caribbean, Central and South America. The NESC offers 3-year Journeyman Diploma programmes in:

1. 1. 1. Automotive and Heavy Equipment;
      2. Building Construction and Maintenance;
      3. Plant Operations and Maintenance; Welding;
      4. Information and Music Technology and
      5. Drilling Rig Programmes. Over 20 part–time and full-time courses are offered at all Campuses.

The NESC is ISO Certified and ACTT registered and its procedures and methods of training delivery are designed to produce highly-skilled persons who can quickly assimilate into the work environment. Thousands of graduates locally, regionally and internationally continue to contribute to the economic development of their communities and nations.

The NESC provides customized technical training solutions to companies across all sectors of the local economy through its Business Development Department. Its highly cross-functional team, works with industry clients to develop and market courses and programmes to fill their employees’ skill gaps. The training delivered contributes toward the building of the client’s internal competency pool and is reflected in higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness.

NESC is a premier technical training institution in the region. Programmes prepare students for entry-level or advanced careers in the energy and industrial sectors.
The flagship 2-Year Diploma programme is a Level III Technician Programme available in ten (10) areas of specialisation.

The Craftsman Certificate Programme is a Level II technician programme available in eight (8) skill areas.

The School of Continuing Education (SOCE) provides technical, vocational, and professional education developed for learners who are seeking to enhance their knowledge, skills, and expertise. Online, onsite, or blended.Courses are designed for:

▪ Businesses and organisations seeking to improve their workforce productivity and efficiency through targeted training and development courses.

▪ Learners of all ages who are seeking to promote their careers, gain professional qualifications in their field, and enrich their lives through education.

The Point Lisas Industrial Apprenticeship Programme (PLIAP) is a 2- year Apprenticeship Programme in which an Apprentice is exposed to four 6- month rotations in Contractors and Producer Companies on the Point Lisas Estate and beyond.

Over 20 local and international companies including PCS Nitrogen, Methanex, Weldfab & Damus have signed on to the programme and are committed to mentoring the Apprentices- transforming them into skilled, competent, and responsible journeymen.
The PLIAP is, at this time, open to the engagement of more companies in the areas of Welding, Pipe Fitting & Fabrication, Instrumentation, and Millwrights (IMM) for our upcoming rotations.

NESC hosted its inaugural mental health and wellness week themed, My Mind Matters. Kern Dass, NESC president was a champion of the mental health and wellness initiative. “Mental health is a pivotal discussion of the day. The world is feeling the impact of economic shocks and personal losses due to covid19, and the toll can be heavy.”

Staff participated in webinars facilitated by mental health experts and practitioners from PAHO/WHO, the UWI and the Ministry of Health They received donations of seedling kits and wellness packages .

Sponsors include City & Guilds, IADC, Energy Institute, Perenco.

 

 

$32 million to train 300 youth

Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon confirmed that Government committed $32 million of public funds to train 300 students in tech/vocational skills to boost the non-energy sector. Trainees aged 17-25, will receive $3,000 monthly stipend. Government will pay the full grant in the first year, 75 per cent in the second year with 25 per cent paid by industry and 50 percent in the third year with 50 percent paid by industry. Course prerequisites were a national craftsman certificate or three CXC (CSEC) or GCE passes.

A 2020 report by the Joint Select Committee on State Enterprises linked a 50 per cent drop in state funding of the MIC to a drop in enrolment from 5,705 to 1,875 trainees. The journeyman programme had a high attrition rate and a stipend was needed for the full time course. This will compensate individuals leaving existing paid employment to train.

Expected to launch within two months, the initiative will advance the fourth industrial revolution, post-pandemic. Increased production was the cure to global inflation. Based on the Roadmap, in 2020 the National Training Agency (NTA) had set up a Manufacturing Sector Advisory Committee (SAC) which in 2021 created a Working Sub-committee.

The MIC-IT was required to develop a hybrid National Skills Development Programme (NSDP) for the manufacturing sector, based on the MIC-IT’s existing NSDP-Journeyman Programme.

The NDSP programme is a Level III Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) programme, accredited by the Accreditation Council of TT and by the German Chamber of Crafts and Trades. The programme was informed by two surveys – Labour Market Demands Survey (2019) and Labour Market Skills Gap (2021).

 

 

Education Facilities Company Ltd

wind-up petition tells of poor accounting, deleted records at state firm

The EFCL cannot pay its debts, is insolvent and “its continued operation should not be permitted to continue.” With only $4,508 in its Bank account and $46,000 worth of assets – office furniture and fixtures – it is saddled with a $2,278,576.78 wage bill for its 41 employees and investigations by the new management revealed poor accounting practices over the years. These were some of the reasons advanced by acting chief executive officer Gayatri Badri Maharaj in the winding up petition filed in the High Court in February.

The acting CEO said the 41 employees – whose contracts were terminated when the decision was taken to wind up the company – had not been paid since September 2021, and outstanding salaries from October 2021 to January 2022, totalled $2,278,576.78. Some employees filed trade disputes against the company for their salaries.

The petitioner told the court up-to-date audited financial statements were not available. The most recent statements are for 2014/2015,  prepared in December 2017.

Efforts were also made to have audited financials for 2015/2016 but that exercise stalled because of concerns raised about the absence of documentation from the company.

The EFCL again tried to commission the preparation of updated management accounts up to January 2022, but said this, too, was unsuccessful because of a number of reasons including being unable to verify certain balances because of no documentation.

“The absence of documentation is significant.” The petition said files were kept in a random haphazard manner and there appeared to be the deletion of electronic records, including employee e-mails, so it has been unable to retrieve or locate supporting records of transactions, including contracts. This was what the acting CEO encountered upon assuming office, the petition said.

As it went into some accounting details, the petition said balances brought forward, as at October 1, 2020, were not audited and accounts receivables did not balance to the general ledger with a significant difference of about $500 million.

The petition also said the accounting software indicated a sum of $44,821,269, representing project management fees, were not paid by the State and $889,561,246 due to contractors were also unpaid.

‘Systemic mismanagement’  However, the petition said because of the lack of documentation, it was likely that those sums were inaccurate/materially misstated and/or the company could not verify its accuracy.

“Over the years, the company has been plagued with systemic mismanagement, high turnover of staff, employees lacking qualifications for the positions held, poor supervision and management of contracts.

“The company has also been plagued with persistent allegations of fake invoices, corruption, bid rigging, manipulation of procurement procedures to favour specific contractors, nepotism and favouritism.

“EFCL has consistently failed to adhere to reporting timelines including to the Ministry of Finance and its supervising Parliamentary committee,” the petition said, as it referred to a joint select committee report on the effectiveness of the EFCL, dated March 2018.

Hearing of the petition has been set for April 25 before Justice Carol Gobin at a virtual hearing at 11.30 am. In a recent advertisement, creditors, in support of or opposed to, the making of an order to have the company wound up, were advised to attend the hearing.

In its petition, Badri Maharaj said the company had no income, ceased to carry on business and there is no reasonable prospect its business can be carried on.

It also said the board of directors, appointed on November 1, 2021, examined the state of the company and recommended to the shareholder it should be wound up. The company’s ten shares of $1 each are held by the Finance Minister as Corporation Sole.

The petition outlined the EFCL’s debt woes. It said between February 21, 2019, and October 22, 2021, EFCL received 33 demands for payment from contractors. These totaled $46,737,205.09 and EFCL has neglected to pay the sums. The company also owes some $800 million to contractors.

The company also has 79 unsatisfied judgments/awards, some of which date back to December 2016. The total amount owed on these judgments/awards, up to February 25, was $321,376,009.75.

It also said some $112 million of the sums ordered to be paid to contractors are not reflected in invoices in EFCL’s possession.

It is also currently defending 30 claims in the High Court and Industrial court in which $119 million is being claimed.

“All of the company’s bank accounts are the subject of garnishee orders in the sum of $149 million, with the consequence that the company cannot fund its daily operations or carry out all or any of its main objects. Some of these garnishee orders are in respect of matters where default judgments were entered against EFCL.”

The EFCL ws established as a special-purpose state enterprise on March 11, 2005 under the Patrick Manning administration. Its functions involved repairing and maintaining early childhood education centres and primary and secondary schools. It was also responsible for the Education Ministry’s textbook rental programme.

The EFCL was moved under the “direct management” of the Finance Ministry. In 2018, the National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd (MTS) took over school repair projects for the Education Ministry.

Government funding ‘dried up’ in 2020

The petition said EFCL’s income was derived solely from project management fees paid by the Education Ministry and sums payable to contractors for work done were also provided by that ministry once verified.

In 2017, EFCL entered a loan agreement with RBC Trust and others for $286,565,896.00 (secured by a Government guarantee) to refinance a facility granted to EFCL in 2014 to finance its obligations in relation to the construction of early childhood care and education centres, primary and secondary schools and payments to contractors, consultants and vendors.

The sum owing on that loan remains at $156,308,670.55. The petition said there was a reduction in EFCL’s active projects in the financial year 2016/2017 – from 118 to 20 schools.

In June 2020, EFCL was directed by the Education Ministry “not to engage or re-engage contractors or consultants without explicit written instructions from the permanent secretary.”

Since October 2020, its “source of income has dried up.” The petition also said for some time now, the EFCL has been unable to cover operational expenses. In February 2021, one judgment creditor levied on the company and seized the majority of its furniture, with very little remaining, the petition said.

“As a consequence, EFCL is unable to carry on business.”

In support of the winding up petition, the petitioner said this course of action was being sought because the EFCL was unable to pay its debts; cannot meet current debts from cash or assets; was insolvent; can no longer carry out any of the main objectives for which it was established and “it is in the public interest.”

“On a winding up, its assets will be available to satisfy its legitimate creditors pari passu in lieu of being expended in continued operations.

“EFCL should be wound up so that all its assets remain available to satisfy its legitimate creditors, pari passu, to the extent possible, and not expended, whilst in a state of insolvency, for continued operations.”

(In law, the pari passu principle means that all unsecured creditors in insolvency processes, such as liquidation and bankruptcy, must share equally any available assets of the company, or any proceeds from the sale of any of those assets, in proportion to the debts due to each creditor.)

“EFCL is plainly insolvent and is unable to pay its debts… The present state of affairs is inimical to the interests of EFCL’s creditors,” the petition said, adding that the winding up of the company will provide for “equitable and fair distribution” amongst creditors.

“It ensures that some creditors do not profit at the expense of others and halts an unchecked scramble by individual creditors to achieve advantage in favour of a collective, co-operative approach,” the petition said.

Already, some contractors have already signalled their intention to oppose the winding-up action. Additionally, in April, a group of contractors and consultants formed an alliance to recover money they are owed.

In March, the Joint Consultative Council on the Construction Industry (JCC) expressed alarm at the way the Government had chosen to deal with the debt-ridden EFCL. In a statement, it said it appeared the Government intended to wind up the company instead of dealing with its debts to legitimate creditors.

The JCC said the EFCL owed its creditors “well over $600 million,” most of which represents money owed to contractors and consultants going as far back as 2015.

Newsday was told the EFCL had admitted and acknowledged the debts to some contractors, however, some contractors are questioning this, alleging those debts were paid to a select group of contractors.

 

 

TSTT

The Court of Appeal is expected to soon rule on whether the Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) is a public authority. The expected ruling is part of an appeal by TSTT of a judge’s decision in which he declared the company a public authority within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act. Justices of Appeal Alice Yorke-Soo Hon, Gregory Smith and Malcolm Holdip reserved their decision after asking the parties to send further submissions on issues raised during the virtual hearing, including on a recent gazetted announcement of the Cabinet’s appointment of the new chairman of the board and Government’s representatives.

In December 2018, Justice David Harris also declared that TSTT, as a “public authority” under the act, was subject to its provisions. His declarations were made as he ruled in favour of a claim filed by social activist Ravi Balgobin-Maharaj who, two years earlier, unsuccessfully filed a freedom of information request to get information on TSTT’s executive management and their salaries; the stipend paid to directors; an unedited copy of the original shareholders’ agreement between Cable and Wireless and TSTT and an unedited copy of the deed of adherence signed by the National Enterprises Ltd (NEL).

The judge had been asked to determine if TSTT was owned by or controlled by the State. It was TSTT’s contention that the company was neither “owned” nor “controlled” by the State; was not supported by government funds and was not a public authority. Because of this, it argued it could not provide Balgobin-Maharaj with access to the information he requested. It also contended that TSTT was owned by NEL, a private limited company whose shares were substantially held by the Government.

In his order, Harris quashed TSTT’s decision to deny access to the documents requested by Balgobin-Maharaj and granted an order to compel the company to reconsider the request. In his decision, the judge said he accepted the importance of the telecoms industry to the national good and the importance of a well-run and even regulated industry.

He also said the commercially competitive nature of the telecoms industry was not a relevant or weighty consideration for determining whether or not TSTT was a public authority nor was the potential for the erosion of its competitiveness by revealing commercially “industry-sensitive” information.

Harris said issues that “tread upon the sensitive commercial and competitive considerations” may be canvassed under the comprehensive exemption sections of the Act.

“Given the definition of a public authority in the Act and having regard to the object of the Act, the law, the symbiotic relationship between the TSTT, NEL and the Government of TT …and in the end the reality of GOTT’s de facto control of the affairs of TSTT, it would render TSTT a public authority under the FOI Act and subject it to the provisions therein,” he ruled.

TSTT’s appeal was argued by Senior Counsel Claude Denbow, Donna Denbow and Jerome Rajcoomar. Balgobin-Maharaj was represented by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, Jayanti Lutchmedial, Dr Che Dindial and Alana Rambarran.

 

 

 

TSTT Future

A new Cabinet sub-committee appointed to evaluate the viability of the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago is expected to meet to discuss the company’s future.
Chair of the committee, Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said she would provide information on the committee’s findings after that meeting. Energy Minister Stuart Young said it was too early to say whether the Government was going to divest its 51 per cent stake in TSTT.

The mandate of the committee is to determine whether the company was fit for purpose. However, there are reports that the committee has been asked to determine whether it serves the public interest for Government to continue being a majority shareholder in the company.

The partially state-owned company has fallen far from grace. Once the benchmark for high-paying jobs, TSTT has been forced to cut hundreds of jobs over the years. Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh recently asked the Prime Minister whether the company had secured a $476 million loan to facilitate its retrenchment exercise.

At the time the Prime Minister said TSTT required funding for its restructuring. The company had refused to confirm the number of employees set to be retrenched.  The Communications Workers Union (CWU) said some 573 workers were earmarked for dismissal but TSTT refuted that figure and said it had not made any determination as to the number of workers that would lose jobs.

TSTT will continue to implement the following projects for 2022:

1. ° Wireless Line of Business: This division comprises all wireless services and includes broadband, mobile, fixed wireless access (WTTx) and broadcast TV.
2. • Mobile—responsible for a full range of mobile services including mobile voice (prepaid, postpaid, roaming, SMS) and all mobile data;
3. • Fixed Wireless Service—responsible for broadband, entertainment, and voice services over WTTx; and
4. • DVBT Service—responsible for broadcast TV services.

Broadband: TSTT’s broadband strategy continues to be a two-prong approach, using a combination of wired fibre to the home (FTTH) and Fixed Wireless Services (WTTx). According to the SEIP, TSTT is expected to continue to make “significant capital investment in fibre and its wireless broadband infrastructure, expanding both the number of sites and network capacities throughout Trinidad and Tobago.”

“Through these investments, TSTT has migrated 100K residential customers from its aged legacy copper plant of which 59,000 were to its wireless fixed access network and 41,000 customers to its FTTH network,” the SEIP said.

Under the mobile banner, the TSTT also continued investment in both the expansion in the number of cell sites and capacity improvements to existing sites leading to an overall improvement in the quality of service with improved coverage and data rates throughout Trinidad and Tobago.

“The estimated cost for the Wireless Line of Business has been revised from $2,365.7 million to $1,753.3 million. The estimated expenditure for the period April to September 2021 is $50.2 million and $58.8 million for fiscal 2022,” the SEIP said.

In 2016, the company borrowed $1.9 billion for its expansion. In 2017, the company purchased Massy Communication, now renamed Amplia, for $255 million. At the time of purchase, TSTT said there was a five-year plan which was supposed to culminate this year. According to the 2022 SEIP, Amplia Communications continues to invest in the deployment of fibre infrastructure and , Amplia passed 148,463 homes and connected 41,004 customers with fibre services. The estimated cost of the project was revised from $378.8 million to $291.1 million. The estimated expenditure for the period April to September 2021 is $25.5 million and $18.3 million for fiscal 2022.

 

 

WASA

Responding to the Deoroop Temal, chair of Parliament’s Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Land and Physical Infrastructure, Chairman of the Water and Sewerage Authority Ravindra Nanga says road repairs by contractors must be of satisfactory quality before invoices for payment can be processed. Efforts were continuing to improve the quality of WASA’s road restoration programme.

One of the measures to be introduced was a new standard operating procedure to hold external contractors and the WASA work crews to a higher standard of work. The WASA board would have officials inspect road repairs before payment is processed and other measures would be introduced to hold contractors to their word.

“There will be a quality-control component that will be introduced in contracts that are now being provided for road restoration. Further, internally we will have supervisors on the field to ensure that the repairs are carried out effectively.

“Internally, if that is not done, we will embark on a training programme, if we think there is need for such, and even after that, if people are still not performing, corrective action will be taken, and if they are still not performing to the level that we require, disciplinary action will be pursued.”

WASA was carefully scrutinising contractors it would engage to ensure they had the expertise to do a good job and the board decided to include a quality-control element in contracts.

“We must be 100 per cent satisfied of the job that was done before the invoices could be processed for payment. If we find that it is lacking in any way, the contractor will be asked to take remedial action so that we can ensure the repairs are done at a satisfactory level.”

Nanga understood the frustration and scepticism over WASA’s efforts to improve road repairs. He promised better management of repairs , as the current board visits worksites to ensure projects are done to the required specifications. Members of the board would be assigned to oversee certain projects where they have experience or skill.

 

Land Farce

Having debased the OPM with distortions, the Prime Minister explained that the Single Point Land Management Authority will address problems of state land management and eliminate corruption. A Cabinet note ensured government continued to have the ex-minister’s services.

A determined Kamla Persad-Bissessar queried the real reason behind the rapid return of Clarence Rambharat for an “imaginary job” weeks after he resigned as Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries. The Opposition UNC leader declared her curiosity was piqued.

“He said that he was going to Canada to take care of his family, and now we are being told he is coming back to head something, yet to be formed, called the Single Point Land Management Authority. You just fired the man, he cried and said he has to look after his wife and children, and you are bringing him back? All of a sudden Mr Rambharat no longer misses his family in Canada. Did he ever leave Trinidad?”

She wondered if he was being brought back to be silenced as placing all authority over state land issues into the hands of one person under the Office of the Prime Minister was a recipe for abuse.

“Where is the transparency? Where would be the checks and balances? Are you just going to share out land to friends, family and financiers as you try to shore up your failing competency and integrity in governance?”

Persad-Bissessar doubted Rambharat missed his family, saying he had been fired. Referring to information on corruption which he had passed to the police, she charged,

“Seven years you sitting down there (in that ministry) and nothing came of it. Now you want to play whistleblower?”

She urged Government to answer questions about the brother of a former minister who collected money to sort out documents regarding state lands. If there is no answer, she promised to call names. She claimed large amounts of timber on state lands were given away.

“What about the lands in the Nariva Wind Belt Forest Reserve and Glod Road, Tableland Forest Reserve, that have been cleared? What about the Beausejour Estate timber theft…all hours of the weekend and in the night in Cedros? Are these the issues he is coming back to investigate?”

 

Cocoa

Acting permanent secretary of the Agriculture Ministry, Susan Shurland told a virtual meeting with Parliament’s State Enterprises Committee and the Cocoa Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd (CDC), that growth and sustainability of the local cocoa industry is high on the list of priorities for new Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein who replaced Clarence Rambharat in March. Hosein is seeking to meet with agriculture stakeholders soon and CDC is at the top of the list of priority meetings.

CDC chairman Jacqueline Rawlins said CDC is in severe financial difficulties and understaffed. This present level of operation is untenable and unsustainable and it cannot continue beyond this financial year.

A Cabinet note on these issues is being prepared which included approval of a strategic plan for CDC and filling vacant posts in the company. CDC receives monthly subventions from the ministry of $2 million a year to meet expenses such as payment of salaries. Consideration is being given to at least $1 million in development funding for CDC and funding from the Agriculture Stimulus Package in the 2021/2022 budget presentation on October 4, 2021

The future looks brighter for CDC.    Committee chairman Independent Senator Anthony Vieira shared the respective concerns and optimism for the future of cocoa. Most people do not know the real history with cocoa in this country and its unbeatable competitive edge of having the right cocoa strains, soil type and climate for a thriving industry.

Drawing on his experience in intellectual property law, Vieira said the certification mark which identifies cocoa from TT as fine or flavoured cooca is nothing is a big deal in intellectual property law.

Despite financial and staff challenges and external factors such as witches broom disease affecting cocoa trees, Vieira said, “We need to go beyond the low-hanging fruit of just exporting beans to develop the whole cocoa value chain.”

To support his argument, Vieira displayed a bottle of cocoa liqueur from Italy and said TT should be looking at making products such as these. Through eco-tourism, cocoa estates in Central Trinidad and the North Coast could be resurrected. At Belmont Estate in Grenada, tourists see a live cocoa-bean dance. CDC has examined initiatives along this line.

Referring to comments about a strategic plan not being approved, Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh claimed this reflected a “lack of direction from a government for the last seven years.”

Government Senator Laurel Lezama Lee Sing cautioned Indarsingh, for putting policy questions to the CDC which its members could not answer.

( Powdered Cocoa and drinking chocolate can be produced in a cottage industry for local use and export. With more nutritional value than coffee, cocoa is a popular hot drink in cold climates and can be served cold as dessert, milk drinks and sweets in local restaurants, hotels, hospitals and airlines. UWI inherited world-class research from ICTA and can expand this.)

 

 

Food bites the dust

Mar 24 2022

In the ICTA centenary year, Roadmap Roadblock halts Agriculture recovery. Almost two years since the Roadmap to Recovery Committee was formed to discuss plans to exit the pandemic.

Among the areas targeted was Agriculture with an Agriculture Stimulus Package geared towards the expansion in production and marketing of high-demand commodities “with short production cycles such as, vegetables, legumes (e.g. pigeon peas), roots and tubers, grains (rice and corn), fruits (papaya, pineapple, melons,), fish, and small livestock apart from poultry (sheep, goats, pigs, bees).”

Calls were made to increase the participation of youth and women through incentives targeted at strategic farm and food sector innovation and technology, increased private sector commitment to agriculture development and efficient food marketing and distribution.

Plans included improved stock creation by securing adequate quality seeds, planting and animal breeding material and farm inputs and invest in the development of local alternatives.

For the committee it suggested that the energy sector could invest in agriculture and share experiences from fertilizer companies and explore the possible use of wells previously drilled and not producing oil to produce water to be brought into WASA to boost agriculture and domestic supply.

The committee also called for guarantees that state agricultural purchasing and distribution would supplement state-funded initiatives such as the school feeding programme, public hospitals and the protective services with increased local content and suggested an increase in the use of digital technology to augment the agriculture marketing and distribution chains between producers and consumers (social media, mobile applications, websites) and increased public education campaigns (Buy Local and Eat Local Campaign) and food nutritional content information on local meals and produce to address the high incidence of non-communicable diseases.

Despite publication of the ideas of the committee for over 18 months, that target has not been met and not enough has been done to address Food Security concerns identified. On feedback from industry stakeholders concerning the measures announced.

Former Agriculture Minister Vasant Bharath lamented, “The general impression I’ve gotten, I’ve met with farmers .. over the last three months or so .. across the country, is that very little has been done in sector to assist them. And so .., they feel that a lot of the work that was done by the roadmap committee and a lot .. said by the government, really has been of no value.. The government or the Minister of Agriculture would be in a better place to tell you what they’ve implemented. I can only give you the information that has come into the public domain that I’m aware of, or what farmers have told me,”

Bharath was added to the committee in May 2020, after it was launched by Prime Minister in April 2020..

Despite numerous tax breaks on the importation of equipment for agricultural projects and a $500 million stimulus package announced in the 2020 budget, food security alarms had not been addressed.

“Food security is one of the three pillars that the whole roadmap committee was founded on. ..we realised that, clearly, we are importing about 85 per cent of what we consume… we had to try and find a way to change that mix for two reasons. One, obviously to preserve foreign exchange, and secondly, to become food secure.”

Very little had been done to reduce the country’s food import bill which hovered around $6-7 billion annually, even after the pandemic highlighted the danger of high reliance on imported food.

“Because what actually happened during COVID. .. a number of countries actually banned exports of vital food supplies from leaving their countries. In other words, they were preserving food stocks for themselves. So it created a kind of a scare .., because we are essentially 85 per cent importers of the foodt we consume.”

Despite much of the world relaxing restrictions and reopening, including Trinidad and Tobago, the supply chain continued to be affected, firstly from the initial fallout of the pandemic and secondly the ongoing RF invasion .

“Of course with the ongoing impasse.. there is going to be significant inflation on imported food because of the restrictions on the supply of produce that would normally come out of Russia, not to Trinidad, but to other parts of the world. So wheat for example, sunflower and other items that are grown in those parts of the world, where they would normally supply to Europe, those markets are no longer available and so therefore there will be supply constraints in the world market, of course, Trinidad will feel the squeeze a bit because prices will go up.”

While there had been allocation of $500 million dollars to increase farming production, the long-running issue of land tenure may have undermined the intent of the grant.

“One of the biggest bugbears of course has been the farmers still have not had security of tenure and without security of tenure, unfortunately they are unable to access any incentives from the government,” said Bharath.

He was unsure what progress had been made with regard to creating a fixed market price to encourage production by farmers. Not enough technological advancement had been made within the farming sector, despite it being an integral part of boosting production.

“One of them was to actually accelerate the use of technology to grow more food and growing more quickly and growing more efficiently, more effectively. And the foundation of that was that many years ago, I visited Costa Rica and what we grew on one acre of land here in Trinidad and Tobago, the Costa Ricans were multiplying that by 10 in the same piece of land simply because of the use of technology, and understanding the physiology of the plant. So they would actually administer the correct fertiliser at the correct time, correct amount of water at the correct time.”

Increased efficiency would have made farming more appealing to the younger generation.

“As you appreciate the current state of agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago is a back-breaking one. Seven days a week. Whether it’s sun, rain, whatever it is they’re having to either plant or prepare the soil or to reap. So the use of technology would encourage young people to get involved in a sector where they didn’t have that kind of back-breaking work .”

“The second aspect that was recommended was some form of guaranteed pricing for the farmers so that their job would just be to produce as much as they possibly could, without fear that there will be gluts in the market.”

This would require a proper revamp of NAMDEVCO to ensure farmers get guaranteed returns for their crops.

Former Minister of Agriculture Clarence Rambharat embarkied on a series of land parcel distribution ceremonies in the past months, with 20 parcels given to farmers in January in Petit Morne, Ste Madeleine and 22 farmers and agro-processors received lease letters at the Rio Claro Hindu School.

 

$8 billion Green Fund can support food production

Non-governmental Civil Society Organisations (NGO) and community groups with a well-equipped proposal, projects geared to protecting the environment, conservation, public awareness, or any field within the realm, can receive considerable financing through the Green Fund. Known as the National Environmental Fund, it was established under the Finance Act of 2000, introducing a levy on for-profit of 0.1 per cent, later increased to 0.3 per cent.

Proceeds of the fund are made available to local registered organisations and community groups, whose activities are related to one or more of four focal areas, including remediation, reforestation, environmental education of environmental issues; and conservation of the environment.

The Green Fund accumulated a balance nearing $8 billion, which reflects under-utilisation of the resources. However, organisations and groups report that it takes effort, time and a significant degree of accountability to access funding and execute the respective project.

Leslie-Ann Dillon, community liaison officer at the Green Fund Executing Unit, responded, “We receive applications from varying organisations… However, many have not fulfilled all the necessary criteria. Those that have…have made quite an impact on the environment at the community and national level, as well as contributing to the achievement of the objectives of our National Environmental Policy, our various local policies, such as our Climate Change Policy and our Waste Recycling Policy, as well as numerous regional and international multilateral environmental agreements.”

NGOs and groups are always expected to achieve the goals outlined in their proposals given the tedious nature of the process and almost exhausting criteria required to be satisfied before funds are released. Even when funds are released, they are expected to hold on to any and all receipts associated with expenditure from those funds.

The actual balance of the Green Fund, reported in the Auditor General’s report at September 30, 2020, stood at approximately $7.6 billion, up from $6.946 at the same point in 2019.

The executing unit claim that 29 projects have been certified by the minister responsible for the environment, at an approximate value of $408 million.

Recently, the unit has faced challenges relating to the covid19 pandemic. However, in light of the removal of restrictions, she said the unit intends to pursue outreach initiatives to reach potential applicants and increase the Green Fund’s portfolio.

“In the future, we are certain that more organisations will be forthcoming in their application to the fund in an effort to achieve environmental sustainability.”

Organisations eligible for financing must be a body incorporated by statute other than the Companies Act; a non-profit registered under the Companies Act, a non-profit, unincorporated body, which is registered as an NGO with the Ministry of Planning and Development, or the Tobago House of Assembly.

The NGO or community group must submit an application to the executing unit, which will then be reviewed and a site visit conducted. The application will then go to the Green Fund Advisory Committee, which advises the line minister.

Once certified, a memorandum of agreement is signed between the organisation and the ministry of Finance for the release of the first tranche of funding, which is disbursed to the orgnisation for the commencement and implementation of proposed activities.

Challenges being faced by the unit, include the alignment of environmental policies to the proposed initiative, the lack of stakeholder engagement, poor or sub-standard management structure within the organisation, a lack of experience of the orgnisation in executing and implementing initiatives, a lack of community involvement or impact on the community, a lack of comprehensive methodology of the stated activities, a duplication of efforts across organisations and an actual lack of commitment to the process.

“However, once approved, provision is made in the Green Fund Regulations which is used as a guide for successful applicants in executing initiatives. In addition the project team of the Green Fund Executing Unit, inclusive of the project support officers, as well as the accounting unit, monitor the certified activities in order to achieve compliance and ensure that the said activities are being executed as agreed under the memorandum of agreement.”

Applications submitted by groups and NGOs tend to have interests in the main focal areas concerning the environment.

“Applicants generally seek funding to address particular persistent concerns which may be affecting their local communities or those at the national level. While we have had projects spanning all of the four focal areas, we found that the majority of the applications received and approved have fallen under the focal area of conservation.”

These projects primarily include: solar panel installation, eco-tourism, pollution impacts, green expos, turtle conservation, biological data collection, management of invasive species, waste oil management systems, water quality initiatives, recycling initiatives and energy audits. The focal area which is most under-utilised is of reforestation.

Deryck Dhanie, director of The Ambiance Project (TAP), a conservation group that has done many clean-up activities nationwide on a volunteer basis, applied for funding and said he is now “seeing some light” after a couple of years of back-and-forth with the Executing Unit, “They are very specific in the way they want the information and what you have to do.”

TAP’s proposal was accepted for consideration. He said, “The Green Fund Executing Unit is very specific about what the funds are to be used for. There is a line item in the budget which is to be catered for and you cannot go outside those bounds. We still have a long ways to go.”

While TAP’s activities have centred largely on clean-up activities, Dhanie is set on plastic recycling and mangrove reforestation as the organisation’s next major areas of focus.

Perhaps better known than TAP, the Fondes Amandes Reforestation Project and Nature Seekers, have both obtained financing for specific projects under the Green Fund.

The Green Fund is committed to sustainability. It will not fund annual or repetitive projects but rather work with the organisation or group to ensure it can sustain future similar projects by means of a strong foundation and without the need for funding.

In this Centenary Year of Science and Agriculture at ICTA, founding college of UWI, the Green Fund can expand into food crops and collaborate with the Faculty of Food and Agriculture which holds a treasure trove of research in most focus areas of the Green Fund. Groups familiar with the challenges associated with attracting and achieving corporate sponsorship. can focus on food producion, planting tree fruits to sequester carbon and curb food imports. With project financing they can execute successfully and contribute to vital food output which will save foreign exchange, boost health and create employment for UWI graduates to drive the non-energy economy.

 

Suspicious land transactions

Mar 26 2022

Prior to his resignation, former agriculture minister Clarence Rambharat raised an alarm over fraud and corruption matters involving land.

He made over 50 reports to the police. Subsequent police investigations led to the arrest of an employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, charged with alleged forgery of letters and another employee was detained by the police and fake documents seized.

Fraud Squad and Anti-Corruption Bureau of Investigations (ACIB) officers seized a seal used to authenticate documents.

This is the latest development as investigations continue into allegations of land fraud, a major issue TTPS will seek assistance from the National Security Minister for additional resources to strngthen white-collar investigations. Since December 8, 2020, the Land Management Division (LMD) had reported eight forged documents to the TTPS.

Fraud Squad officers took the reports but very little was done. LMD employees discovered fake documents during investigations of land encroachments and disputes over Caroni lands. The letters bore forged and “cut and paste” signatures granting the occupiers permission to reside on the land.

When this was unearthed, letters were sent to the occupiers informing them that they were trespassing as the Caroni Lands Unit had no such records on the LMD’s database. The occupiers were also told to desist from trespassing.

There are approximately 20,000 parcels of agricultural state lands in addition to 14,000 which belonged to the former Caroni 1975 Limited under the purview of the COSL.

One case dates back to last September when a woman submitted a written complaint that she had been swindled of $50,000 by an employee of the LMD. She was told by the employee that her client’s parcel of land in Arima was available following a status search. She sent a letter requesting tenancy and was later told by the employee that a down payment of $150,000 was necessary for the relevant searches and surveys to be made. The woman made a downpayment of $50,000 to the employee and was given a reference number. When she did not recieve tenancy the land she lodged a complaint with LMD. The employee reportedly went into hiding and still works with LMD. Nothing came out of that.

Since March 10, requests have been made to transfer suspicious workers out of LMD but no action has been taken and recommendations to discipline them have fallen on deaf ears. This is creating tension within the department. This matter is deep and warrants some attention.

Due to the ministry’s inaction, some employees had to be blocked from accessing private and confidential records.  These employees have friends and family working in LMD so they can easily access files with the help of others.

One worker advertised a land consultancy service on social media with the picture of the LMD building attached, while another is offering real estate, land surveying and title search services.

On the side they are promoting a business. This is a conflict of interest, hence the reason why they should have been shifted to another department.

LMD employsover 150 daily and monthly paid workers. Some joined the department as field officers but due to staff shortages they were given desk jobs to deal with the public.

The police visited LMD daily to question staff and inspect documents.

 

 

Farmers given raw deal

Mar 27 2022

Leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) Phillip Alexander said.farmers are given a raw deal in T&T and treated with contempt.

Food prices are skyrocketing because of corruption and the failure to deal with issues surrounding the farming community. A high level of importation  includes food that can be produced locally such as avocado and mango, imported from neighbouring islands.

“Bharrat Jagdeo did not lie, he couched his words. I want to tell Bharrat Jagdeo that what you don’t know is corruption that caused Trinidad and Tobago to fail.”

Importers are bribing officials to pressure farmers so they can cash in.

“Talk to Dhano Sookoo and she will tell you that the farmers in this country are treated like enemies of the state. Farmers are not given support.”

There should be legislation requiring retailers to produce receipts to protect farmers from theft.

“If I find you on the side of the road selling a pick-up of orange you should be able to tell me if you are a farmer or (b) this is the receipt .”

He said once farmers are treated with respect T&T can become self-sufficient in five years.
Diplomatic appointments are another way the state coffers are drained and are nothing more than jobs for politically aligned people. Five diplomatic missions can serve the major continents. The internet and related communications technology made some of these posts redundant.

Young men have a higher level of mental illness and suicide especially when frustration creeps in.

“Young men when they slam into the reality of what Trinidad really is and how hard life is, don’t make it worse they want a job to pay the bills, why are our people so badly paid, why is our dollar so weak?”

Employees are the worst paid when compared to workers outside T&T.

“T&T’s money is toilet paper and nobody can tell you why. a Bajan dollar, who have no oil, no gas, they have tourism, their dollar is two to one, our dollar is 13 to one, Six to one is the exchange, the value what you get for that money is 13 to 1.”

The PEP announced that they would be going to all electoral constituencies and called on persons to offer rent-free spaces to the party

 

 

 

TT$ 64M innovation programme

Mar 27 2022

Minister of Planning and Development, Pennelope Beckles announced an overwhelming response to the first ‘Call for Proposals’ for the Innovation Challenge Facility, the main component of the US$10M (TT$64M) ‘Shaping the Future of Innovation’ programme for Trinidad and Tobago.

The Innovation Challenge Facility, provides up to US$500,000 (TT$3,000,000) in grants to companies with innovative ideas and targets small organizations, innovators, entrepreneurs, medium-sized organizations with an established commercial track record, and other organizations innovating the delivery of goods and services.

Over 150 proposals were submitted, well beyond the target set of 50. The majority of applications were in the area of ICT, followed by agro-processing and manufacturing.

Shaping the Future of Innovation, is funded by the European Union (EU) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI). The programme is intended to contribute to the development of the country’s innovative capacity via three components: the Innovation Challenge Facility (ICF); Building Industry and Academic Linkages; and Building an Innovation Network.

These components are designed to address the challenges to fostering a greater level of innovation, which include, funding, industry-academia collaboration, and stakeholder networking. It can also facilitate innovation reporting and benchmarking for international indices such as the Global Innovation Index.

Commenting on the response to the first Call, Peter Cavendish, European Union Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago said: “We are very pleased with the response. It shows a not only a need but a true ambition on the part of the participants to elevate their businesses, and also to contribute to the development of Trinidad and Tobago. We believe that innovation is just the vehicle to accomplish that.

“For countries like Trinidad and Tobago seeking to recover from the pandemic, it cannot be business as usual. A diversified and innovation driven economy is critical to drive growth. The EU is therefore very happy that we can work along with our partners – the TT Government, the IDB and CARIRI to help this country to build back better.”

Minister Beckles stated, “This Innovation Programme is a key element in the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which form the building blocks of the National Development Strategy, Vision 2030 and the Roadmap to Recovery.”

She also emphasized that, “innovation forms one of eight medium-term priorities of the Government for the period 2021 to 2025 in order to stimulate the economy and secure the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.”

A two-stage evaluation process is.

1. Applicants who have advanced past the first stage are currently being assisted in the preparation of their proposals by technical specialists.
2. Submissions will then be evaluated based on the quality and presentation of the proposal, with the finalists to be announced in May 2022.

This first ‘Call for Proposals’ is expected to be followed by other Calls in the coming months. Due to the high quality of applications received, those who applied for the first Call, but did not make it to Stage Two of the process, are being encouraged to reapply when the next Call for SMEs is launched.

 

 

Chamber of Commerce welcomes end of restrictions

The Prime Minister announced that on April 4 all restrictions on rivers and beaches will be removed, and there will be no capacity limit to public gatherings.

The Chamber of Industry and Commerce supports the further removal of covid19 restrictions on various sectors and activities.

The changes would enhance economic activity and provide increased business and employment opportunities. There would be no limits on numbers of people in religious spaces, funerals, restaurants, gyms and cinemas; nightclubs, parties and boat rides would be allowed.

The government would accept the results of antigen tests as PCR tests would no longer be a requirement for the TT Travel Pass. However, unvaccinated non-nationals were still denied entry.

“The move towards accepting an antigen test and the signal to eventually normalise border entry requirements, similar to other major jurisdictions, is also welcomed. It has been difficult to quantify the true total economic and non-economic cost of the restrictions and there will be a long road to recovery ahead.”

The chamber consistently supported the vaccination programme and directly organised and funded vaccination drives for its employees, members and the public.

“We take this opportunity to encourage individuals to seek medical advice, get vaccinated, continue practising responsible behaviours and to adhere to the health protocols as highly contagious variants still exist among us.”

 

 

World Meteorological Day

Early warnings mitigate effects of climate change

A boy joyrides through floodwaters in Kelly Village, Caroni in August 2021. – Angelo Marcelle Caroni, 2021.

Acting director of the Met Office Shakeer Baig has advised the region must continue to build hydrological data to help inform its climate-change response and build resilience.

“Knowledge of the region’s hydrometeorological and climate information assist managing with challenges that many other tropical regions are facing. Climate-change projections for the Caribbean are quite dire, as we suggest, amongst other effects, increased annual rainfall (measurements) combined with an increase in the frequency and magnitude of the most intense tropical cycles, an increase in the propensity of heatwaves, droughts, flooding, landslides and associated impacts of these events on lives and livelihoods.”

Baig spoke at a webinar held by the TT Meteorological Office to highlight some of its core functions as it joined worldwide celebrations of World Meteorological Day 2022.

This year’s celebrations themed – Early Warning and Early Action ­– recognised the important role of hydrometeorological and climate information in disaster-risk reduction.

Hydrology is the study of water distribution and movement both on and below the earth’s surface. Hydrometeorology gives a closer look at hydrological (precipitation) cycles especially as they relate to the transfer of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere.

By continued development of the country’s early warning systems, the fallout of the effects of natural disasters can be mitigated. But this is just one puzzle piece and the public must also get involved to complete the picture.

“Early warning systems need to actively involve the people, and communities, at risk from a range of hazards. It needs to facilitate public education on awareness of risks, effectively disseminate messages and warnings and ensure there’s a constant stage of preparedness and readiness.”

The Met Office’s early warning systems include an agriculture forecast, a dryness and drought monitor and outlook, an El Niño and La Niña (climate patterns in the Pacific influencing weather) outlook, a health outlook, rainfall and temperature outlook and seasonal/sub seasonal forecasts.

Its adverse weather alert system was developed in accordance with the World Meteorological Organisation’s globally standardised multi-hazard alert system. the Common Alerting Protocol.

“The TT Meteorological Service has embraced this initiative and has been utilising this system to issue colour-coded alerts and other warnings since 2018.

“We are also actively working with partners in the climate risk and early warning systems like the Global Framework for Climate Services to develop products and services towards enabling early warning and early action.”

As early warning systems facilitate “ongoing communication between the public, disaster managers, government authorities and relief service providers beyond the onset of a disaster.” They can also assist in speedy disaster recovery.

 

 

 

US naval vessel Burlington visit

During a tour of US naval vessel Burlington when it docked in Port of Spain, Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne hailed diplomatic ties between TT and the US which remain strong.

Browne toured the Burlington in the company of acting Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy Megan Kelly, Burlington’s Ship Master Captain Tyler Driscoll, Lt Cmdr James Brown of the the US Embassy’s Military Liaison Office and Lieutenant Julian Turner, mission commander of the military detachment assigned to the Burlington.

The ministry said the Burlington arrived to conduct military exercises with the Defence Force and is a “further example of the commitment of both countries to enhance cooperation.”

The Burlington is a Spearhead class fast transport vessel that is currently operating under the authority of Commander of Fourth Fleet, the Naval Commander of US Southern Command’s (Southcom) naval forces.

The Burlington “can be configured to carry out a variety of missions to include counter illicit trafficking, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, act as an afloat staging bases for equipment and helicopters and conduct rapid transit to move equipment and forces.”

 

 

US State Department’s 2021 Human Rights Report

Responding to the scathing report on April 12 , Foreign Minister Dr Amery Browne said government will take action to address areas of concern highlighted by the United States.
“We welcome and stand to benefit from this type of collaborative approach.”

The report was finalised after the US government engaged in significant collaboration with stakeholders including the Government. The report identified areas with a strong human rights framework and those that require attention and action.

“The areas of identified strength include, but are not limited to, the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, a functioning democratic political system, freedom of religion and association and the co-operation and responsiveness of the government to local and external human rights groups.”

Of particular concern were specific references to “multiple alleged incidents of extra-judicial police actions under the named former leadership of SORT (Special Operations Response Team), and specific references to allegations of bribery and other forms of corruption in the issuance of firearm licences under the tenure of the former leadership of the TTPS (TT Police Service). Government is fully committed to continuing its work with national stakeholders and key external agencies, including the United States government. We will take effective action on the areas that call for further attention.”

He thanked the National Security Ministry and the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs for working with his ministry to provide timely responses to the relevant queries posed by the US government.

Opposition Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial said the contents of the report support the views expressed by the UNC on human rights matters .

“The UNC has raised many of the issues raised in this report and we will continue to do so. The reputation of our country will continue to suffer under the leadership of Rowley and the PNM. This is their legacy.”

The State Department reported, “The government took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses or corruption but impunity persisted because of open-ended investigations and the generally slow pace of criminal judicial proceedings.”

“There were credible reports that police committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.” The report referred to the deaths of two suspects in the Andrea Bharatt murder, while they were in SORT’s custody last year. A report from the Police Complaints Authority on the actions of officers assigned to that unit is before the Director of Public Prosecutions. SORT, the brainchild of former CoP Gary Griffith, was disbanded earlier this year.

The report said Government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content. There were no credible reports that the government monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority.   The Prime Minister has dismissed claims by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar who accused Government of spying

The report said Government generally respected the right to freedom of expression but sometimes used “the antiquated Sedition Act to limit freedom of expression, according to some non-governmental organisations (NGOs).”

While the High Court struck down sections of the Sedition Act in 2020, the attorney general appealed and the act was reinstated last March. The report said the act was used against PDP leader Watson Duke and the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha.

Government has generally respected peaceful assembly and association. There are no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Elections are free and fair, as in the August 10, 2020, general election in which the PNM defeated the UNC 22-19.

No laws limit participation of women or members of minority groups in the political process and they did participate. The primary political parties tended to break along racial lines between the Afro–dominated PNM and the Indian-dominated UNC.

“Both dominant political parties used and defended racially charged language in recent elections.”