University of the West Indies economist Dr Vaalmikki Arjoon made this observation during his presentation at a pre-budget forum hosted by the Penal Debe Chamber of Commerce last week.

Arjoon said a key issue that affects many businesses is the inaccessibility to sufficient foreign exchange and many SMEs have had to downsize their operations because they cannot get foreign exchange in time to pay for essential raw materials, parts for machinery and technology and products for resale. He said this is more evident for businesses in the manufacturing, retail and the automobile sectors.

“At this time, SMEs are already overburdened with a high cost of doing business, because of higher taxes and levies, VAT, and higher cost of transportation.” Arjoon said many SMEs were now sourcing foreign exchange by “unsanctioned means” including the black market. “Several are now relying on unsanctioned means or the black market to attain forex, where they are paying between $7.50 to $9 for US$1,” he said.

“With these high and growing costs of doing business, many have had to downsize, lay-off workers and some have even had to close down altogether. They now have to exhaust their savings for re-investment into the business just to keep it afloat. Many are losing suppliers when they cannot get forex to pay them in time. Having to source other suppliers can be quite costly.

The SME sector is facing the worse brunt of this forex inaccessibility.” Arjoon said with more SMEs downsizing and going out of business, the market will become less competitive over time and dominated by the larger firms.

“As such, you could find that prices will increase further; there will be less scope for diversification and a larger disparity in the distribution of income and wealth. Naturally, this is detrimental for economic prosperity.” Arjoon in his budget recommendations suggested that to promote the activities of SMEs, the Ministry of Trade should set up an SME Infrastructure and Investment Bank.

He said the purpose of such an institution would be to assist SMEs in sourcing funding from local and foreign private investors and governments, to assist in setting up their business and expanding their operations.

His other recommendations included the diversification thrust, which was “necessary now more than ever.”

Dr Arjoon:I made no comment on VAT

Economist Dr Vaalmikki Arjoon never warned of a possible Value Added Tax (VAT) increase from 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent as government seeks to increase its revenue stream.
He was reported to have said this at the pre-budget forum in a Newsday article on September 14.

He said however, “at no point in time did I make this statement/claim or issue such a warning. At no point in time did I warn of any potential VAT increase.”

His presentation focused on these points: the allocation of energy revenues and financial-mismanagement over the past decade; the present state of the economy; our increasing debt burden and its future implications for the economy; the implications of the unavailability of foreign exchange; and recommendations for the upcoming budget and other strategies for economic prosperity.

This has been made possible through the TTSPCA’s new interactive area at the shelter’s compound on Mucurapo Road, St James, which was opened to the public at the beginning of July.

TTSPCA administrator, Annette Sirju, said, “We have lovely kennels that are spacious for the animals but they are behind gates and people would have made decisions just on seeing the dogs. I have found, when people had to chose, they did not get a good overall view of the animals.” Sirju said, previously, when people looking to adopt went into the shelter, they would chose a dog from the kennels to take home.

Now, she said, the chosen dog would be brought to the interactive area where the possible adopter could sit with, pet, play with and generally socialise with the dog to see if they formed a bond.

“When you chose an animal, they really have to chose you,” she said.

Cats, of which there were 34 up for adoption, are excluded because it is an open-air area and cats tend to slip away.

Sirju explained that dogs acted one way in their kennel – sometimes shy, sometimes friendly, sometimes curious about the newcomers – but when they were out, their attitudes sometimes changed. She said that allowing them to interact with people was a good way see if the dogs were interested in their potential owners.

“This makes the decision easier for those adopting, helps them to be even more sure,” Sirju said. “Even if they aren’t adopted right away, it better prepares the dogs for adoption.” She said even though there was an exercise area in which the dogs played together and with volunteers, the interactive area is a good way for them to socialise with humans they did not know. She added that it allowed dogs that were more shy to get accustomed to new people and scents.

Although the interactive area includes a bath area, visitors are not allowed to bathe the dogs. Sirju said volunteers and TTSPCA staff usually gave the animals baths before they went home with their new owners. The new bath area is more suitable as it was more spacious, comfortable, and better to dry off in the open air.

Sirju told Sunday Newsday the space had always been vacant and TTSPCA wanted to put it to good use. She said the workers had the idea for the interactive area for two to three years before they were able to get enough funds to it fix up.

Since the shelter costs about $1.3 million annually to run, she said most donations went toward food for the animals and administration, as well as the constant upkeep of the building, especially with the eroding of the kennels by water and urine.

The impetus to finally build up the interactive area came earlier this year because of a larger than usual donation from the Massy Foundation.

“This helped us to get going in a big way,” She said. “Then we were able to beautify the area with the help of a Latin dance group who held a fundraiser and gave us the proceeds for the benches, and we got a discount from Peaks.

“The plants were donated by Secret Garden Landscaping and others helped a lot.” She said they received positive feedback from visitors, who were happy to have a place where they could sit in a relaxed environment and take their time to get to know the dogs.

Sirju added that there were 69 adult dogs and 15 puppies available for adoption.

TTSPCA hopes to hold an adoption drive this year. Sirju explained that the adopter usually paid $400 to offset the cost for spaying and neutering, but with the adoption drive the cost would be lowered to $100.

“We have found that over the last few years the adoption drives have not been successful,” Sirju said. “I don’t know if it’s because of the recession or what, but we did not get as many people coming in.

So much so that we did not have one last year.”

Many were surprised by the recent, simultaneous appearance of three hurricanes along the North Atlantic Basin, especially so shortly after Hurricane Harvey.

Then there was the unexpected strength of Hurricane Irma which was among the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever observed.

Arlene Aaron-Morrison, climatologist with the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS), explained to Sunday Newsday that many different factors, including ocean warming and rising sea levels (symptoms of climate change), contribute to the increase in the strength of some of the storms the Atlantic had been experiencing.

“For years researchers have been speaking to changes such as extreme precipitation events over most of the mid-latitude land masses and over wet tropical regions will very likely become more intense and more frequent by the end of this century as global mean surface temperature increases.” She also noted that Irma, Jose and Katia were not the first hurricanes to appear simultaneously, but that in September 2010, Igor, Julia and Karl followed similar paths although they were not as strong as the recent three.

TTMS climatologist Kenneth Kerr also told Sunday Newsday that Irma, Jose and Katia were not in the Atlantic Ocean at the same time but in the North Atlantic Basin, the hurricane developing region.

He stressed that one could not say climate change was the cause of Irma’s strength as the evidence was not conclusive. “We can’t say for sure that Irma was a direct result of climate change because it was one event. But if we have this thing occurring for a number of years consecutively then we could argue it is climate change.” However he said, in general, climate change had contributed to stronger storms since there was a direct relation between sea surface temperatures and the intensity of tropical cyclones.

“When you look at other basins and the other side of the Caribbean Sea, then the argument holds because there is evidence that suggests that these intense systems have been more frequent in recent times.” “What the research and all the evidence is pointing to is that we expect the intense tropical cyclones to become more intense, and that there would be more frequent intense cyclones, not the general cyclones.” Kerr explained that there were two main reasons why TT was usually spared from tropical storms. The first was because storms did not usually form very close to the equator and TT was approximately ten degrees north of the equator. That meant storms usually formed north of the country. “For a storm to start you need some spin, and that increases the further away from the equator… It requires storms to form further south in order for us to be impacted.” The second reason TT was so rarely disturbed by tropical storms was because of the direction in which they usually travel.

The direction of travel was dictated by a few forces – the spin or Coriolis force, the subtropical high pressure system, and weaknesses around the subtropical high pressure system.

He said the Coriolis force allowed weather systems moving in the atmosphere to deviate to the right. Therefore, if the weather system was flowing from east to west, it would curve to the right and away from TT.

Kerr said the subtropical high pressure system in the Atlantic, which generally steers the direction of tropical cyclones, also had a major part to play. One website explained these “subtropical highs” stating: As the air aloft moves poleward, it cools and bunches up. The bunching up, or convergence, is because the circumference of the Earth gets smaller at higher latitudes. Eventually, around 30 degrees latitude, the air sinks. The sinking air is dry and warm and results in a band of high surface pressure, called the subtropical highs.

“If the system is particularly strong and located further south than usual during the wet season, and the winds in that system might just cause the storm to travel strictly on an east to west path. If the systems is further north then there is usually a turning just east of us. Depending on where the turning takes place, TT may get away from it,” Kerr said. A weakness (a low pressure system) in or close to the edge of the subtropical highs could also weaken the cell of the subtropical highs and cause the system to turn earlier than usual.

However, that did not mean that the people of TT should be lax in their preparation for storms in terms of emergency plans, supplies, and even building codes. As the experts observes, tropical cyclones can be unpredictable.

However, businessman Christian Mouttet’s presentation of his report to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley must not be the end of the matter.

Earlier this year, when asked whether Mouttet’s report would be released to the public, Rowley said he had no doubt that it would be. But in Parliament on Friday, Rowley said he would, “make it available to the committee that is taking a specific view on this matter.” The national community deserves to know what happened in relation to this fiasco and so this report should be made available to the members of the public who – in both Trinidad and Tobago – have had to contend with the malaise surrounding the seabridge day in and day out.

Transparency will allow persons against whom adverse findings may have been made to respond.

Given that the Prime Minister has already concurred that there may be something “crooked,” it will be for the Parliament’s committee and several State agencies to determine what lessons can be gleaned in the long-run from any specific findings.

One thing is clear, however. The report serves as only one part of the overall deliberations by MPs –and possibly other institutions.

The Parliament committee system must be allowed to continue its deliberations thoroughly and in a manner commensurate with the principles of fairness.

Already, the proceedings before the Parliament’s Joint Select Committee which is examining this issue have been revelatory.

While those proceedings remain ongoing and while it is for the committee to make findings and come to its own determinations, the evidence heard thus far has painted a picture that leaves a lot to be desired. We have been left with the impression of constant tension and in-fighting at the Port Authority, a key State body which has oversight for a range of crucial matters that affect commerce, security and infrastructure.

This is an authority that affects the lives of thousands daily.

Within any organisation, there is expected to be a certain degree of politics; of tension; of disagreement.

If such were absent, then serious questions would have to be asked as to whether the organisation is healthy.

However, things take on a different tenor when the normal hustle and bustle of an organisation becomes tumultuous. Such a breakdown is rarely the action of one individual but rather a sign of deeper dynamics.

Whatever the source, internal problems should not be allowed to undermine the ability of state enterprises to function efficiently and above board.

And furthermore, the precincts of Parliament should not be used simply as a sounding-board for a continuation of boardroom banter and disagreement. A Parliament committee is a place regulated by the rules of fairness in which persons are made to comply with orders but are also allowed to reply to adverse matters raised.

This has long been our Parliament’s tradition.

In this regard, we look forward to continued hearings of this Parliament committee which is due to have further witnesses this week. One scheduled to appear is Dr Rowley himself.

But other probes into this matter persist and whatever Parliament concludes, it will be for the Port Authority, investigating agencies, the Public Service and the Cabinet to act.

One report has been submitted, yes. But let us continue to get the facts.

She said there is also a significant issue with informal settlements or squatters who “build whatever they can, wherever they can.” Additionally, she said, there is a tremendous amount of unauthorized and unregulated development and without regards to things like water courses and drainage.

“We see it every time it rains. Walls get eroded, there is damage to property.” She said within squatter communities some people would improve their homes over time by reinforcing them and building with concrete.

“But for a lot of them the quality are very substandard. Plywood walls, galvanise roofing.

Very unstable structures.” She said there is also the wider global situation of climactic change and sea level rise, and spoke of local coastal erosion in the south west peninsula and pictures in Icacos of coconut trees falling into sea in areas that was once beach.

Hobday said while TT has been quite fortunate, given that it generally too far south to be affected by hurricanes, the threat and scare of Tropical Storm Bret was “quite possibly a shade of things to come.” She said the country could be increasingly vulnerable to the global climactic system which was “all over the place” and Hurricane Irma, for example, was “massive compared to what seen before.” “Given these elements, if something big did happen we’re in for some trouble.” She said with hurricanes, tropical storms or cyclones there are fast and devastating winds and given the quality of most structures citizens would be extremely vulnerable, especially those with the least economic power.

Hobday said hurricanes also bring storm surges and rough seas and would affect people in coastal areas from a wide range of economic groups including those living in Sea Lots or Westmoorings.

She said there is a substantial amount of development that proceeds without any approvals and there is “no kind of oversight whatsoever other than integrity and competence of whoever doing the design.” The NPDP of 1984 is “quite old” and is the only statutory plan there is, she noted, though there have been various attempts to update the plan in full and in part over the years.

“To begin with we need up to date comprehensive policy for country which looks at (basically) what needs to go where. We needed it 20 years ago if not longer.” She said once this is in place then the Town and Country Planning Division, in theory, would be in a better position to make decisions that are “rational, coherent and backed by policy” and also prevent unauthorised development in inappropriate locations.

Hobday also said proper enforcement is needed, adding there are many laws and regulations that are either not implemented or enforced.

“We need a substantial culture change in Trindad to really prepare us for something like Hurricane Irma.” Land surveyor Ivan Laughlin said there are a range of land use issues that need to be looked at carefully and called for a series of national discussions about these matters.

He pointed out it is only September and the hurricane season ends in November.

“We still have a couple months to go.”

That’s why it was such a pleasure recently to see some live Facebook broadcasts by a journalist friend of mine in Tobago that featured a political voice from the past, former Chief Secretary and staunch Tobago autonomist Hochoy Charles.

In case you’re wondering, a “live Facebook broadcast” involves turning the camera phone on yourself and transmitting a video selfie that anyone can watch. It is announced to your friends and followers on the site: “Chris Morvan is live on Facebook.” I doubt if you will ever see that particular name attached to it, because it’s a bit too new-age for this print-loving technophobe, but Mr Charles was beamed to an unsuspecting world by a young Tobagonian woman.

Interesting character though he is, it was not so much Mr Charles’s identity or achievements that struck me, but the sheer fact that he is a figure of yesteryear. With few exceptions, the public figures of one era soon become forgotten as a new generation of observers takes the reins of the media, with their own idea of what and who is and isn’t relevant.

Thus you will find a modern reference to “Mohammed” Ali, probably the greatest boxer of all time and certainly one of the most influential figures in black history, misspelled because the young person given the task of mentioning him may have vaguely heard of the former Cassius Clay but doesn’t consider him important enough to notice that he spelled his name Muhammad.

That is just lazy, of course; with the internet at our disposal it is ludicrously easy to look things up, even if it is advisable to check two or three references to make sure they’re all spelling it the same way.

Age brings with it a certain respect for our predecessors, because we know how hard it is getting things done if we want to do them properly. But there will be people who started reading this and have already abandoned it because it refers to two people they are expected to have heard of, but they didn’t know either of them.

It is easy to feel alienated by a simple reference to someone whose day was before our time, and equally by someone who is currently a fashionable name, when we are not interested in that particular sphere of human activity.

My backup email account, for instance, is with a little-known company whose home page contains news of people I have never come across and don’t wish to know about. It is quite irritating to be informed that some character who is completely new to me is “the new face” of a “brand of eyewear” (that’s glasses to you and me) of whose name I have also never heard. The fact that the past becomes irrelevant is not, in fact, a fact at all. We can – and must – learn from history, the wise and the historians tell us, because then we can avoid repeating the mistakes of previous generations.

I have to admit that at school, in my youthful ignorance and frivolousness, history seemed a complete waste of my time. Take English monarchs: Henry I and Henry II might as well have been the same bloke for all the effect they had on me. Christopher Columbus discovered all these lovely hot places? Well somebody had to, I thought, and you can’t give too much credit to a sea captain who didn’t really know where he was for stumbling across Trinidad and giving it a Spanish name.

Even in sporting circles, where current performers are constantly judged against the record books, it is hard to give sufficient credit to people who don’t have a video devoted to them and who are only ever seen in black and white. Thus it would be too easy for a young sport-lover to dismiss the great Trinidadian cricketing all-rounder, lawyer, politician and writer, Learie Constantine (1901-1971)–Lord Constantine of Maraval and Nelson–as less interesting than Shai Hope, who this summer has given the West Indies back a bit of self-respect through his batting performances in England.

Sure, it did the heart good to see Hope and one or two others giving the hosts a run for their money in the end, and he deserves all the accolades that have come his way, but let’s see if he sustains it, scores a mountain of international runs and contributes something to the world off the pitch. And ends up as Trinidad and Tobago’s High Commissioner in London.

But even if he does, 50 years after his heyday there will be people who refer to him as Kyle, because that’s his brother’s name and he’s a cricketer too.

“What makes the incident even more disgusting is that a senior police officer is alleged to have been a part of this assault. MATT takes this opportunity to remind citizens that freedom of the press is a right guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,” the release stated.

MATT added it was unacceptable for any member of the media to be attacked while doing his or her job.

MATT hopes that police thoroughly investigate the matter as well as the allegations that a senior police officer may have been involved.

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal yesterday “roundly” condemned the “vicious attack” on De Silva and called on the acting Commissioner of Police to launch an investigation. He said the incident was a “frontal attack on freedom of the press”.

He noted that the attack on reveals the dark side of the alleged use of the State police to oppress citizens and the free press.

“The attack on the media practitioner likens Trinidad and Tobago to rogue dictatorial countries under authoritarian rule, in which journalists are routinely assaulted, and even murdered, while at work,” Moonilal stated.

He also called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to denounce the attack on the free press.

The opposition MP urged journalists as well as MATT to stand in defence of a colleague who has been physically assaulted while pursuing a news story.

“Media practitioners must assert that they will not be intimidated in the course of their professional duties, no matter how politically connected their assailants may be,” Moonilal noted.

It must start at the top, that is, the Government.

The word “national” has a very significant, deep and emotional meaning to most citizens. For example, there are national songs, the national anthem, national flag, national bird, national pledge etc.

Then there are national buildings like the library. Further, there is the national instrument. And there is the requirement that many positions require nationals to fill, like Members of Parliament.

TT is blessed with a national university, the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT ), that is filling the gap in tertiary education that UWI cannot deal with.

Can the Minister of Education or the Board of Governors at UTT or the Cabinet explain to the population how on earth we could not have found a national of this country who lives here or is abroad and willing to return to serve as the president of its national university? There must be qualified and experienced nationals who could have filled this position. I have nothing against the foreigner. He seems quite qualified in his field.

But to have a non-national leading and representing our national university is certainly a slap on all of our faces by those who made this appointment.

I am not referring to a lecturer from another country who has expertise in a subject matter and was hired. This is the head of a national institution.

I note with deep appreciation that the current drive to recruit a Commissioner of Police specifies that applicants must be nationals.

Certain things must remain in our own hands, like the head of our national university, the head of our Police Service etc. We congratulate the Government on this.

Can you imagine the new non-national head of our national UTT having to deal with local officials on agriculture, fashion, environment, crime, education etc? What local standing does he have? Are we back to the colonial days? Is it that in 2017, we still think foreign is always better? TT , it is time that we put our foot down and demand better treatment for our local experts otherwise we will lose them. Is this how we reward locals who have worked hard?

CAROL SEENATH-JOHN via email

I couldn’t help but replay those words “We will make America great again,” words that now reek of chronic racism. As Stephens casually made her way over to Keys’ side to sit and chat while waiting for the official trophy ceremony to begin, the innocence of the gesture was difficult to overlook.

It appeared as though this was just another day on the courts rather than the movement of an athlete–an African-American woman and an unseeded player– who had just won her first major Grand Slam. Even the interviewer was compelled to comment by saying that it was the first time he had ever seen someone leave their side of the court to go over to the opponent’s side.

Maybe there was a bit of Americanism in her gesture. Both players have been hailed as the future of American tennis after all. But for me, the irony that African-American players would represent the future of American tennis was humorous (Keys is actually bi-racial but prefers to be identified by her tennis rather than her race). It’s difficult to sidestep the race issue in the world context where race is often conflated with sexism when it comes to women’s tennis in this instance.

Very little was said about race in the commentaries but the battle has been a challenging one. I remember when Venus and Serena burst onto the courts as teenagers in the 1990s. From the start of their careers, the sisters were faced with derogatory comments about their bodies and race. Remarks about their “muscular, man-shaped” bodies have continued over the last two decades, in addition to references to them as “gorillas” and other racist remarks. Ironically, the Williams’ sisters came onto the scene at a time when the debate was about whether tennis had lost its skill and was simply now based on power. Steffi Graf and Pete Sampras were known for it. There seemed to be a loss of skill that the John McEnroe, Jimmy Conners’, Pam Shriver, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King era had shown. The rackets too evolved along with the players’ bodies. Yet the sisters were not spared the disparaging remarks about their bodies.

If the information is right as the Huffington Post and Daily Dot record, Serena Williams, despite beating Maria Sharapova 17 consecutive times still earns at least US$5 million less than Sharapova while, in 2015, The Atlantic reported Sharapova’s earnings via endorsement deals for the year to be US$10 million more than Williams’. This is merely because sponsors are more interested in looks than athleticism, which of course raises an issue that all women should be rallying against.

(See The Atlantic August 31, 2015: “Why Doesn’t Serena Williams Have More Sponsorship Deals” for more analysis.) As if to reiterate the point, the New York Times ran a piece on the top ten female tennis players’ view of their body images in comparison to Serena’s. The comments of Radwanska’s coach are disparaging in themselves and are a further indication of the sexism that runs women’s tennis that also conditions the way that female athletes see themselves: “It’s our decision to keep her as the smallest player in the top 10,” said Tomasz Wiktorowski, the coach of Agnieszka Radwanska, who is listed at 5 feet 8 and 123 pounds. “Because, first of all she’s a woman, and she wants to be a woman.” (New York Times, July 10, 2015) As if Venus and Serena don’t want to be women? It is indeed an irony that women’s sports should be burdened with something as abstract as beauty rather than athleticism. And furthermore, that the female athlete’s race should become conflated with her “looks.” The fact that nothing was said about Sloane Stephens’s body and race is not, in my opinion, based on the growing maturity of the audience as a few journalists have pointed out, but the fact that she fits the stereotype of the feminine.

However today we focus on the fact that Serena and Venus Williams will forever stand out as two of the greatest athletes of the game.

Their triumphs against all odds have made them icons for younger players like Sloane Stephens who herself has shown, that she is someone with the potential to be an exemplary athlete. She shines as a symbol of great sportsmanship, pride and hope for a future generation of African-American women and all women who feel the impossibility of success for she has proven that rankings mean nothing in the face of determination, self-confidence and a sheer love for her game.

On Friday, the prime minister told the Parliament he had received the report and said he review its contents over the weekend.

But yesterday, Rowley said: “I have read it and I am very disturbed by what I have read and I would make it available to the investigation in the Parliament and the AG’s office.” He further said the report contained “some matters of concern.” “So, I am going to the JSC (Joint Select Committee) on Monday and I will make my comments there.” One month ago, the Government appointed a sole investigator, businessman Christian Mouttet, to conduct an independent investigation into the contracts for the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2, both of which were procured by the Canadian- based Bridgeman’s Services Group.

Mouttet was given a time frame of 30 days to produce a report.

Investigations into the procurement of the vessels also are being carried out by the Port Authority of Trinidad & Tobago, Integrity Commission and Parliament’s JSC.