The local entrepreneur who transformed his family-owned business to a regional business throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, was installed as UWI’s sixth chancellor at a gala ceremony held on Saturday night at the Daaga Auditorium, UWI St Augustine Campus. Bermudez said that UWI must see itself as an exporter of education and attracting international students will both improve finances and aid in diversity.

He also said that the university must continue to grow its commercial activities and partner with private sector and contributing territories in endeavours that require stepping out of their comfort zone. On students he said they cannot just produce certified people but energised youth and stressed social skills, empathy and concern for empathy were as important for success as technical skills.

He said UWI’s entrusting its leadership to someone outside of academia showed that in its 70th year it is “recalibrating itself to the demands of the future.” Bermudez thanked UWI for the “extraordinary honour” and praised his immediate predecessor Sir George Alleyne, who served from 2003-2017, as a “great West Indian” who had dedicated his life to the service of his country, his region and UWI.

He said that he started life as a baker and he still sees himself that way and him standing as UWI chancellor has made him aware of the “vagaries of life.” Bermudez said that as UWI turned 70 many Caribbean countries were approaching their 50th year of independence.

He said that while the region may not have the material wealth of other countries “we are not backward; we are rich in talent.” He said the world was changing at an astonishing pace and UWI must embrace change. He predicted that technology will displace many traditional jobs and UWI has a pivotal role to train young people for this changing world.

He said that the greatest challenge will be ourselves and encouraged UWI I to dream by, act big and never conceive of failure.

Among those in attendance at Bermudez’s installation were President Anthony Carmona, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Education Minister Anthony Garcia and other ministers, former UWI St Augustine principal Bhoe Tewarie, Caribbean Court of Justice President Sir Dennis Byron and regional ministers of education.

UWI Vice Chancellor Sir Hillary Beckles in his remarks said Bermudez’s installation was a special moment that cries out for change and transformation.

He said that it is a crossroads where UWI has “chosen a different path” and “a direction to radically transform the nature of our operations and the quality of service and our commitment.” He said 2017/2018 academic year is the 70th year of the university and it has been an outstanding period of service for which the university can be justly proud. Beckles said, however, that it cannot be business as usual and UWI must rapidly evolve or become obsolete.

He reported that a balance scorecard system was being developed which would hold everyone accountable from the Chancellor, the campus principals to the caterers.

He said that UWI must return to its activist roots on comment on issues such as economic development, control of crime, reparations and rebuilding of the West Indies cricket team.

He asked Bermudez to inspire, guide and empower them at UWI.

St Augustine Campus Principal Professor Brian Copeland said that the campus is totally committed to an agenda that inculcates a “culture of innovation.” He told Bermudez that given UWI’s task and Bermudez’s stellar and successful leadership in the Caribbean business realm UWI and the St Augustine campus in particular “sees great hope for success in future endeavours.

What is almost certain is that the country has to come to grips with the stark reality of dwindling revenues.

The economists and interest groups have been characteristically giving their advice to the Minister of Finance in the hope that their views would be incorporated into the much anticipated presentation on October 2.

Historically, we have been down similar roads and would have hopefully learnt some valuable lessons from past experiences. As individuals we know that when our income levels decline we have to make commensurate adjustments in our spending.

We also have to be more prudent with scarce financial resources and will demand greater value for money, eliminate or reduce wastage and insist that all family members share the burden of adjustment.

With this basic logic in mind we will expect the Minister of Finance to outline measures to ensure that wastage is eliminated, efficiency in governance is enhanced and the burden of economic adjustments is not carried by one sector of the society — the workers through wage cuts/freezes or retrenchment.

The corporate sector must be made to carry their commensurate share of economic adjustments, be it higher corporate taxation, reduced concessions for doing business, greater levels of risk-taking and reinvestment of profits into the local economy.

At the same time, workers and their families must adjust consumption patterns, and place greater emphasis on savings and investments. Prioritising of expenditure must become a norm in each household, with investments in education being given top billing.

Our insatiable appetite for foreign goods and services must be reviewed in the context of needs versus wants. Fiscal discipline must begin in our homes.

In the national context, education being a public good must maintain its priority investment status. However, there is need for efficiency and value for money.

These will undoubtedly be guiding principles in the Finance Minister’s presentation.

For too long we have seen money thrown down the drain, either for political patronage and nepotism or due to ill-conceived educational reforms. Has the country been getting value for the money it invests in education? Are the graduates of the education system making the contributions to the economic, social and cultural well-being of the country they ought to? We continue to see large numbers of students graduate from our tertiary institutions to realise there are no jobs aligned to their qualifications.

It is no secret that the tertiary education sector swallows a large chunk of the allocation to education. We have seen a proliferation of private tertiary education institutions blossom overnight throughout the country thanks to the generosity of the State. At the same time our primary education sector — the very foundation of our education system, continue to languish in dilapidated infrastructure.

So while the Finance Minister is pondering on priority spending and fiscal discipline, this is an opportune time for him to reflect on how and where scarce resources should be focused in the education sector while maintaining its high agenda status.

It might also be wise for the Government to reflect upon the education model that in currently in use against its development priorities since our model essentially produces “workers” and consumers, rather that people who create employment through innovation.

We produce school graduates who consume technology rather than create it. The minister must ask if such an education arrangement is capable of taking our economy away from fossil fuel dependence and along a path of sustainable development.

We await his p ronounc e – ments.

“Any further delay in submitting and dealing with the contents of the report may result in evidence tampering and give time for implicated persons to cover their tracks,” she said.

In a release, she said, the internal audit report which establishes that there are two major players, one pretending to supply and one pretending to receive giving rise to fraud, should already have been shared with these authorities.

“It is clear that criminal conduct occurred,” she said, adding, “The bigger issue is the number of players involved.” The issue of fraud, she said, should not be confused with poor management and lack of due care and diligence, which provided the opportunity to commit this crime.

Given its current financial crisis, she said, Petrotrin cannot continue to court these types of disasters.

Poor management practices allegedly allowed an employee to capitalise on procedural deficiencies and weak controls to perpetrate this crime.

In this regard, the board of Petrotrin should already have taken appropriate action against those who facilitated the offence, she said

However, he added, “There is clearly room for a lot of correction but I don’t think we should pull the entire administration of justice down to correct those systemic errors.” Armour made these comments to reporters following a service at the Trinity Cathedral in Portof- Spain,which formed part of the ceremonial opening of the 2017-2018 law term.

Asked to comment on the issue of accountability in the Judiciary in response to the topic being raised during the service by former Canadian High Commissioner to TT, Gerard Latulippe, Armour replied, “We all have to put shoulder to the wheel. All of us have a role to play and we would play that role better by participating rather than by declining to participate.” While the interior of the cathedral was not filled during the service, Armour said, “I thought it was a decent turnout.” Armour could not tell whether or not the number of lawyers in the cathedral for the service meant there was any kind of boycott of the law term opening by lawyers. “ I can’t judge quite frankly because I don’t normally come to the church. I usually go to the Convocation Hall in the Hall of Justice,” he said. Armour added this was the first time in five years he had attended the service.

On Latulippe’s remarks that in Canada, a chief justice can file a complaint against a judge, Armour said, “Canada has its own constitutional framework as does TT.” He explained that in TT, “ there is quite an evolved, elaborate process for disciplining judges under Section 137 of our Constitution.” Armour reminded reporters,”The Chief Justice is not the person to discipline judges.” He said Section 137 of the Constitution states, this role is performed by a tribunal which subsequently makes recommendations to the President. While admitting there will always be room for improvement, Armour said, “That will have to be done by constitutional amendment.

While he was uncertain that such a question arose on that issue at this time, Armour said the legal profession, “ would be prepared to contribute to a full lively discussion on what ultimately will be constitutional amendments.” President Anthony Carmona, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and his wife Sharon, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, Speaker of the House of Representatives Bridgid Annisette-George, Senate President Christine Kangaloo and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Fitzgerald Hinds attended the service. Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar was absent.

In his address, Latulippe noted TT’s high crime rates and said it was time to reset this country’s criminal justice system. He praised Chief Justice Ivor Archie, Al-Rawi and Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard for taking meaningful steps in this direction.

He told the congregation, which included President Anthony Carmona and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, “We have used God’s gift for selfish means and it has destroyed us.” Observing there continues to be a perception of rampant corruption and an inability to regulate many functions of governance, Berkley lamented that people in TT are constantly creating “conundrum after conundrum.” In passing reference to troubles with the domestic seabridge, Berkley remarked, “We can hardly buy a boat.” Rowley was scheduled later in the day to appear before the Land and Physical Infrastructure Joint Select Committee at Tower D of the Port International Waterfront Centre, as part of its enquiry into the seabridge. Berkely said he hoped that in the new law term, the Judiciary will be able to help the country to restrain this trend of envy and self-ambition.

Earlier in the service, Justice Andre des Vignes prayed that, “attorneys who practice in our courts will be honest and trustworthy.” He hoped the population would once again experience “integrity, fairness and humble service” from all members of the judicial system. Des Vignes prayed for Chief Justice Ivor Archie, “as he continues to discharge his responsibilities as the leader of the Judiciary.” Attorney Iyawo Ogunsola Tempu Nefertari-Moheni lamented, “We are still failing to adequately protect our children.” She prayed that members of the judicial system and the society as a whole, would open their eyes and their intellect, “to culturally relevant solutions to the social issues that feed criminal activity in this nation.”

Given the further shortfall of $8 billion it would appear that the 2017 revenue would indeed be some $40 billion. What this tells us in that our onshore economic sector, which depends on Government’s expenditure to do business, has been forced to contract due to the reduction in the Government capacity to spend, ie, the Government has inadvertently done what is necessary in an economy that has lost billions of US dollars in yearly foreign exchange earnings including some $20 billion in US dollars from government energy sector taxes etc; it has reduced aggregate demand.

This has resulted in, for example, reduction in subsidies, increased unemployment, nonstart of infrastructural projects, all of which have caused a backlash on the Government’s popularity by a population that appears to expect its standard of living to be maintained in this recession.

However, the focus has been on the Government’s spending, its ability to raise revenue, even to impose new taxes on, say, property or land or income, to which the Government’s income from the energy sector is a contributor.

Instead, the main culprit is the reduction in foreign exchange earnings by the country, via exports, and the crucial role such earnings play in our economic well-being — well beyond simply increasing Government’s income.

At the risk of being repetitive, let us quickly review the characteristics of our economy. TT is a small open economy with the fundamental characteristic that it is impossible to manufacture/ produce all that is necessary to support the population locally.

Hence most of what is consumed locally is imported. This demands that the exports from the energy sector earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase the imports. The onshore economy is predominantly about importing- markup-sell to the population together with non-tradable activities, eg construction, that require imports also.

Therefore in economies like ours, the positive difference between the supply of and demand for foreign exchange (the FE constraint) drives economic growth, since this surplus allows the import of more consumables, materials, technology, services, so increasing economic activity onshore.

Hence the FE constraint is the single most important factor in the economic development of this country.

If, as now, this FE constraint is negative, ie, the demand for foreign exchange to maintain the current lifestyle of the onshore is greater than the supply (the supply in the short term can include savings, reserves, borrowings), the immediate response of the onshore economy has to be a reduction in economic activity, a reduction in aggregate demand, to which the Government’s enforced reduction in spending has contributed.

Some are also calling for a further devaluation of the TT dollar and/or increases in taxes of onshore business products and income to reduce demand for imports. But none of these addresses the underlying problem facing the country, ie, the need to increase the supply of foreign exchange so maintaining or even increasing onshore economic activity. But increasing exports in economies like ours is a longterm affair and it is even more difficult to substantially reduce imports by local production.

If this recession is long-term as it appears to be, the trajectory of the economy will be a period of decay to the state where demand equals the reduced supply of foreign exchange, then, hopefully, in the medium to long term the economy grows via its improved capability and capacity to export.

The solution then is the diversification of the economy.

The diversification will require the importation of technology, equipment, materials, knowledge, the development of trade networks, marketing and market development, all of which requires foreign exchange. Hence, in the economic trajectory as given in the above, the limited supply of foreign exchange will also have to support the initial funding of the diversification effort. Hence the stabilisation of the economy — the onshore contraction — has to take place simultaneously with the start of the longer-term diversification process. Hence the 2017-2018 Budget presentation should also address the diversification of the economy and its initial funding.

Still, it is interesting to get a feel for what kind of diversification spending, investment, would be required to provide, say, the Government with its current rents of, say, $20 billion, in the absence of the energy sector.

If one were to assume a tax rate of 25 per cent and a return on investment of 30 per cent, then the net present value of the diversification investment is some $260 billion or US$40 billion. Consider this in the context of our cur rent reserves of US$9 bi l l ion and HSF of US$5 billion.

Chatoor of Marlins won the overall title, and men’s open title, in one hour, 10 minutes and 10 seconds, finishing ahead of Malik Nelson of Atlantis Aquatics (1:10:28) and Gabriel Bynoe of Tidal Wave Aquatics (1:12:28).

Santana led a clean sweep for Tidal Wave Aquatics in the 5,000m women’s open winning in 1:15:52. Shania David clocked the same time as Santana, but the latter got the nod. Shania’s younger sister Sabrina copped third spot in 1:20:05.

Chatoor was elated with his victory. “It feels really great. I won last year so it is great to come back and win again,” Chatoor said.

The 17-year-old said the tough conditions and new course resulted in him completing the race in a slower time. “The course was a lot different so I had to get use to it while I was swimming.

There were a lot more currents than last time so the time might have been a bit slower, but overall it was good.” Chatoor, who won last year in 1:05:57, said all the training paid off. “I had a lot of really tedious, long distance training so that definitely helped.” Santana was thrilled with the victory as her preparations could have been better. Santana said, “It is really good, I feel amazing. I was not really training well over the past two months so I was kind of unsure about it, but I had self confidence and I put in all that I had (yesterday) and I got good results and I am really grateful.” The 16-year-old, who said part of the course was rough, tried to stick to her strategy. “My strategy was for the first, fourth and fifth lap I would sprint. But for the first lap I went a little off course so I had to get back…up to speed.” In the 3,000m men’s open event, which replaced the 2,650m event, Josiah Parag of Blue Dolphins won in 40:54. Defending champion Kael Yorke of Tidal Wave Aquatics could not complete a hat-trick of titles, finishing second in 41:00, while Nikoli Blackman of Marlins was third in 41:02.

Courtney Lawrence of Marlins won the 3,000m women’s open in 46:07, followed by Jada Chai of Atlantis Aquatics in 48:00 and Gabriella Acosta of Tsunami Swim Club in 48:20.

President of the Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad and Tobago (ASATT ) Wendell Lai Hing thanked the sponsors for the support. “Subway has once again come forward and helped us a lot. They are our title sponsors and they have pumped a lot of money into this together with Dasani and Powerade,” Lai Hing said.

RESULTS (clubs in brackets)
5,000m Men’s Open –
1.Graham Chatoor (Marlins) 1:10:10
2.Malik Nelson (Atlantis Aquatics) 1:10:28
3.Gabriel Bynoe (Tidal Wave Aquatics) 1:12:28 5,000m

Women’s Open –
1.Chisara Santana (Tidal Wave Aquatics) 1:15:52
2.Shania David (Tidal Wave Aquatics) 1:15:52
3.Sabrina David (Tidal Wave Aquatics) 1:20:05

3,000m Men’s Open –
1.Josiah Parag (Blue Dolphins) 40:54
2.Kael Yorke (Tidal Wave Aquatics) 41:00
3.Nikoli Blackman (Marlins) 41:02 3,000m

Women’s Open –
1.Courtney Lawrence (Marlins) 46:07
2.Jada Chai (Atlantis Aquatics) 48:00
3.Gabriella Acosta (Tsunami Swim Club) 48:20

1,000m 12 and Under Girls –
1.Zoe Anthony (Marlins) 14:43
2.Savannah Chee-Wah (Marlins) 15:16
3.Neishelah Caseman (Tidal Wave Aquatics) 15:27

1,000m 12 and Under Boys –
1.Zachary Anthony (Marlins) 16:03
2.Liam Carrington (Atlantis Aquatics) 16:21
3.Giovanni Rivas (Team Rivas) 16:27 1,000m

13 and Over Boys – 1.Sheni St Hillaire (Point Aquatic Darts) 12:03
2.Derell Augustine (Point Aquatic Darts) 15:17
3.Jonathan Constantine (Silver Sharks) 15:18

1,000m 13 and Over Girls –
1.Ileana Bocage (Flying Fish) 17:38
2.Kirsten St Omer (SJC Triathlon Club) 17:38 3.Aliyah

One report of acts of intimidation and assault is bad enough, but three such reports in the space of one week demand action. The law enforcement authorities, the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago and the Police Complaints Authority must conduct expeditious probes into the reports of three media workers from various media houses, including Newsday, being subject to assault, having damage done to their property, and, in one case, being threatened with death.

That these incidents appear to have taken place in broad daylight and with some degree of involvement by persons said to be tied to law enforcement is troubling. They threaten to undermine Trinidad and Tobago’s standing in the world when it comes to press freedom.

Our global ranking in the World Press Freedom Index rose to 34 in 2017, but this masked an actual drop in our global score. Should authorities be unable to come to grips with the disturbing rash of incidents this week, we could well be in store for a severe loss of confidence.

The Government, Opposition and Independent parliamentarians must all roundly condemn any act of violence or intimidation directed at the media.

Our leaders have a responsibility to set the example for all others to follow.

The facts in relation to these incidents remain nebulous.

We accuse no particular company or entity of wrong-doing until the facts are properly established.

But assault, threat of death and destruction of property are in no way justifiable.

Worse, are the reports suggesting abuse of police power in the hours after the incidents. It is essential that the Police Service, in particular, address this matter given the damage to its reputation which it has sustained due to two recent matters: the day of “Total Policing” and high-profile political claims of prosecutorial victimisation.

This issue is, however, not only one involving the media – which enjoys the Constitutional right to freedom of the press.

The reports also raise the prospect of an affront to the freedoms all citizens enjoy, including the right of the individual to life, liberty and security of the person and the enjoyment of property, as well as freedom of movement.

In a modern democracy, if questions involving the public interest are raised, all have a right to engage in a discourse on these matters and to get the facts.

The principle of fairness dictates that all sides have a chance to tell their story. While the source of the attacks will be a matter for the agencies to establish we warn that no individual should be driven to respond to legitimate inquiry by the use of violence and intimidation. It is no good shooting the messenger and leaving the real issues unresolved. The truth will out.

None of this is to say the media is not itself accountable and does not have to abide by rules as well. But attacks on the media are separate and apart from the standard of journalism.

In fact, these attacks heighten the need for the media to have the freedom it has in the first place.

Let all be warned that the media will not be cowed from pursuing matters that are in the public interest. In fact, actions of intimidation only serve to increase attention on the issues which were being examined in the first place.

Sources told Newsday, “The purpose of a liquidation is to recover as much as possible from an insolvent (bankrupt company.” The sources added that, “Only time will tell how much taxpayers money injected into bailing out CLF can be recovered.” On Friday, Justice Kevin Ramcharan okayed the liquidation of CLF by granting the order sought by the Government to recover the debt owed to taxpayers as part of the 2009 bailout of several of CLF’s subsidaries.

In a statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister, Rowley declared, “The reported physical and abusive attack on media personnel is wholly unacceptable and should not be initiated or encouraged by any person, under any circumstances.” Rowley said where any laws have been broken, “it is unreservedly expected that adequate law enforcement is available so that the law will take its course.” He said that in so far as these reports relate to problems and allegations at State-owned Petrotrin operations, “it would be in the interest of all parties and the nation as a whole if necessary investigations of all aspects of these operations, are permitted to be conducted and concluded in such a manner as to facilitate clear and definitive conclusions which would allow the necessary accountability that the circumstances demand.” Media workers were threatened and physically attacked in three separate incidents last week but as they sought to cover the same story. According to a couple of the workers, among their attackers was a police officer.

The incidents occurred in the same location as the journalists sought to take pictures of the Penal premises of a lease operator who has been named in a major audit report that pointed to fraud in the delivery of oil to stateowned Petrotrin. The company, according to the report was billed some $100 million for oil it never received.