In the statement, the ministry said this represents a landmark commitment on Government’s part, by reaffirming TT’s commitment to the protection of the ozone layer as well as taking into consideration the effects of ozone depleting substances on the earth’s climate. The ministry said ratification of Kigali Amendment further strengthens efforts to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in TT, which are climate warming pollutants.

The ministry said its National Ozone Unit has begun this process with the adaptation of climate and ozone friendly technology in the air conditioning and refrigeration sector. The ministry said the aim of this objective is to have consumers adopt more environmentally friendly technology, as well as have a well-trained cadre of technicians to service and repair equipment and appliances.

The ministry highlighted a ten percent reduction of the HFC baseline in 2015 and assistance provided to local manufacturing facilities to transform their production methods to more climate friendly chemicals in the aerosol, foam manufacturing and agricultural sectors. The ministry also said national compulsory labelling standards for refrigerant cylinders have also been implemented.

According to a statement issued by the Housing Ministry, Housing and Urban Settlements Minister Randall Mitchell presented the instruments of appointments to members of the new board on August 28. Attorney Dane L. Halls has been appointed chairman. Other members of the board are John Jaglal, Vinda Maharaj, Fedel Sherwin Adonis and Hinni Maraj.

The SILWC was formally established by Act No 64:05 of 1951 to control and administer the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund to Caroni workers and to provide proper housing solutions for sugar workers and cane farmers. Over time, its focus has shifted to include the improvement of housing for persons who were involved in the sugar industry. Mitchell thanked the members for offering themselves for public service.

He reminded them that their remit is aligned to the overall policy direction of the Ministry which seeks to “improve the living conditions of citizens.” In underscoring the considerable delay in finalising the new Board, Mitchell urged the members to always remember that their mandate affects people’s livelihoods and well-being, therefore they should not delay in addressing all matters.

The ministry said in the absence of a board, many residents in SILWC communities were unable to apply for and access loans. The ministry also said many communities were left in severe need of infrastructural upgrades and it is hoped this situation will soon be rectified. SILWC is considered one of the largest land owners in the country. The SILWC is estimated to have 24 housing developments stretching from Macoya in the East to La Gloria in South.

Since its inception, SILWC has assisted in the construction of approximately 14,000 homes.

On Saturday, 275 men and boys over the age of 13 took one step closer to equipping themselves to deal with these changes as they graduated from the Defining Masculine Excellence, and the Food Preparation and Home Management for Men and Boys programmes.

The joint ceremony took place at the Trinity College Auditorium, Trincity where Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Gender and Child Affairs Division, Ayanna Webster-Roy, addressed them. “These shifting gender roles affect the social situation for men and boys, challenging their ideology of manhood,” she said. “The Government recognises the need for policies to address issues affecting both men and women at different levels, particularly if we are to fulfill our commitment to gender equality and equity.” She told the audience the Defining Masculine Excellence programme assisted in the reduction in domestic violence, depression and other issues. She described it as a space where men could share their feelings openly and without reproach, that it could help men overcome negative stereotypes, and understand their importance within the family and community.

She said one of the three cycles of the programme targeted men in the protective service. She said Government recognised they carried additional burdens and stress and hoped the programme would provide them with extra coping skills, and help them assist men and boys they encounter in their line of work.

To the 80 graduates of the Defining Masculine Excellence programme she said, “Women are able to achieve and do more but we can’t do it without the supporting shoulders and push of the men in our lives. So regardless of what we may say to you, know that you are still valued for your leadership roles, know that you are still valued for your companionship, and know that you are still valued for the role you play in shaping and defining our beautiful nation.” Webster-Roy explained the 195 Food Preparation graduates learned basic cooking skills and the art of fine dining in the hopes of encouraging males to participate in more non-traditional activities at home. She said some men were willing to share in these roles but lack the knowledge to do it and used her family as an example.

She said when she entered public life, her husband became the primary caregiver for their children.

At first he could not cook well but he learned and is now “exceptional.” She said she came home from a hectic day at the office and he had made bake. “Well he was quite rewarded for his bake.” She told the graduates women appreciated and found it attractive when they did “other things” and encouraged them all to pursue more knowledge and enlightenment, not only for their benefit as women find that attractive as well.

Speaking at a news conference at the MSJ’s headquarters, St Joseph Village, San Fernando yesterday, Abdulah said the challenges facing Petrotrin stemmed from the company having to abide by government policies implemented by the board.

He said Petrotrin’s oil production has been falling considerably and its ageing infrastructure carries the risk of safety and the possibility of leaks polluting the Gulf of Paria and the Venezuelan coastline which, he said, would have huge consequences.

Prime Minister Dr.

Keith Rowley had previously said Petrotrin had run up huge debts, the first of which becomes due in 2019 to the tune of US $850 million in one payment – and another smaller payment due shortly afterwards.

On Friday at a news conference at the Piarco International Airport shortly before leaving for the US for a medical check-up, Rowley announced the names of the new directors. He said he hoped the new board would be able to restructure and turn around the company within the next two to three years. But what many did not know, according to Abdulah, was that he was also asked by the prime minister to consider being appointed as a member of the board. Abdulah said that he was asked to consider the position via a telephone call from on August 29.

“He thought I could bring the necessary competence, skills and knowledge that would assist Petrotrin,” Abdulah said.

He told reporters the request came as a surprise to him and while he thanked Rowley for the offer, he requested time to consider. The MSJ leader was among a team appointed to be part of a Petrotrin review committee that would meet with the standing committee on energy to discuss and analyse recommendations that would assist with the challenges at Petrotrin. On June 21, Abdulah said at meeting between both committees, which was hosted at the Prime Minister’s St Clair office, he and members of his team were not given a fair chance to present their recommendations and they were only allowed into the meeting for a ten to 15 minute period before the meeting ended. He said while considering the offer from the prime minister before making his final decision, he needed the responses to two crucial questions from Rowley.

“I asked the prime minister ‘who is chairman?’ Also if Cabinet considered and agreed to the recommendations of the review committee with respect to the governance arrangements we had proposed.” Abdulah said he was told by Rowley that Cabinet would decide who the chairman was and the board would have a certain autonomy with respect to decision making but would have to function within the ambit of government policy. Abdulah said given Petrotrin’s financial position, there would also have to be a clear input from the Ministry of Finance. He said he politely turned down the offer as it was clear to him the recommendations of the review committee were not considered. The recommendations, he said, entailed “governance arrangements” to enable the company to have consistent, focused mandate, facilitate long term planning and avoid the frequent changes in board and management. “The members of the board of directors are selected through a process which provides for comprehensive and transparent input and feedback from key stakeholders.

The second recommendation listed included organisational structures.

Sinanan made the disclosure 24 hours before the Land and Physical Infrastructure Joint Select Committee (JSC) of the Parliament begins the first of three hearings it will hold regarding the seabridge today. The Authority was due to submit its report over the weekend. However Sinanan told Newsday the Authority has been given “more time” to complete its report. He said he expects the report would be provided to him, “by the end of the week.” The minister said some of the issues the Authority is looking at could feature in the JSC’s deliberations.

Sinanan also said he has not aware of the status of Cabinet appointed investigator Christian Mouttet’s enquiry into the procurement of the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2 vessels for the seabridge. “He (Sinanan) reports to the Prime Minister,” Sinanan said. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced Mouttet’s appointment on August 15. Mouttet has been given a 30 day deadline in which to submit a report to Rowley. Sinanan, who will appear before the JSC tomorrow, reiterated that he welcomes any investigation into the procurement of the two vessels.

Efforts to contact Mouttet where unsuccessful but senior government officials indicated that he remains on target to submit his report on time. Last month, Port Authority chairman Alison Lewis confirmed that Mouttet met with the Authority’s board of directors and was being provided with documents.

Bridgemans Services Group vice-president Andrew Purdey also said he met with Mouttet last month over the course of two days. Purdey said all the information Bridgemans has on the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2 were provided to Mouttet. He described Mouttet as “a professional” and said Bridgemans would supply any further information if Mouttet requires them to do so.

A total of 47 people will appear before the JSC between today and Wednesday. Today’s hearing and tomorrow’s hearing take place from 1 pm at Tower D of the Port-of-Spain International Waterfront Centre.

Lewis and members of the Authority’s board of directors; former chairman Christine Sahadeo and former board members; Works and Transport Ministry Permanent Secretary Sonia Francis- Yearwood and other ministry officials and TV6 reporter Mark Bassant, are scheduled to appear before the committee today.

In addition to Sinanan, Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Fitzgerald Hinds; Cadiz; Purdey; Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union president Michael Annisette; Intercontinental Shipping Limited managing director John Powell; representatives of the TT Inter-Island Transport Company; Ken Shipping and Marine Services Limited managing director Lester Kenny; marine consultant Alfred McMillan and attorney Nyree Alfonso, are due to appear before the JSC tomorrow On Wednesday, the JSC will continue its enquiry on the seabridge at the Victor E Bruce Financial Complex in Scarborough from 1 pm. Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles; THA Minority Leader Watson Duke; former Tobago Chamber of Commerce president Dianne Hadad and representatives from the Inter-Isle Truckers and Traders Association are among the 11 people who will appear before the JSC on Wednesday. Prior to this on Wednesday, the committee will hold an enquiry on the state of agriculture and fisheries in Tobago at the complex at 9 am.

The JSC is chaired by Independent Senator Stephen Creese.

Other members include Energy Minister Franklin Khan, Sports Minister Daryl Smith and Opposition Senator Wade Mark.

After these hearings, the JSC will compile a report which will be sent to the House for debate.

Sinanan will have a certain time period within which to accept or reject the recommendations of the committee.

Dance to this news. Affordable housing is possible. It’s happening in Kenya.

“With a deficit of 250,000 housing units per annum, a new building technology in Kenya, known as expanded polystyrene (EPS) panel technology, is expected to turn around the construction industry.

The technology uses cheaper materials compared to conventional stones and yet strong enough to withstand…” strong forces.

I contend that the Government and monopoly businesses in the real estate industry are standing in the way of affordable housing. Polystyrene housing could break up TT ’s aggregate cartel and create a new downstream use for its oil reserves.

A polystyrene sheet, 5.5 x 3 metres, costs $328, factory price. It’s cheaper to import a housing kit from Kenya than build a house of similar size with traditional materials bought in TT .

Squatters cooperate with each other and build more houses than government and the private sector. If squatters had alternative materials like industrial polystyrene foam sheets they would also build stronger homes than government and private contractors.

B JOSEPH via email

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young expressed this view ahead of the two year anniversary on Thursday of the PNM’s general elections victory of 2015. Young recalled when the PNM assumed office, “the treasury was given a parting gift by the UNC (United National Congress) of backpay to the tune of approximately $5 billion when revenue had crashed.” He continued, “These and other inherited matters meant that the new PNM administration had to deal with serious economic crisis immediately upon assuming office.” While noting the many criticisms levelled against the PNM, Young said, “The Government has managed to stabilise the economy despite these many challenges and this is often overlooked.” He added energy revenue was down by approximately 92 per cent when the PNM assumed office in 2015.

Young said Government continues to deal with unsustainable expenditure while working, “on improving revenue and cutting waste.” He said the PNM has been successful in addressing gas curtailment issues, expired upstream and downstream gas supply contracts and billion dollar claims against the National Gas Company (NGC), which it inherited from the UNC.

The minister said contracts for future upstream gas supply, stabilisation efforts with the downstream industry and the possibility of cross border gas from Venezuela’s Dragon Field are some of the PNM’s successful energy initiatives to date.

Young also hoped an announcement will be made soon on a proposed Sandals resort in Tobago which will provide a significant boost to the country’s tourism sector. “These are a few of the achievements in the first two years of this administration.” However UNC MP Dr Roodal Moonilal countered, “The PNM government has collapsed.” He claimed there have been a total of 24 scandals over the last 24 months. Moonilal said the recent swearing in of Robert Le Hunte as Public Utilities Minister and the procurement of vessels for the seabridge are two examples of this.

He said the UNC over the past two years has proven itself to be “a genuine alternative” to the PNM. Moonilal said the country knows “the capacity and care” that Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has for it.

He said the UNC continues to work, “in mobilisation and policy formulation.” However former minister Mariano Browne and Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah do not believe either the PNM or the UNC have demonstrated the ability to solve burning national issues.

According to Browne, neither party has been able to inspire public confidence in the areas of confidence, leadership and management.

Browne said the UNC is not providing the country, “with the type of opposition required at this time.” Given the current economic circumstances, Browne said the country has to transition itself towards smaller budgets. He said were it not for the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund and the country’s foreign exchange reserves, TT would find itself in “a 1986 moment.” Browne said the UNC does not understand the country’s economic challenges while the PNM is not communicating effectively to the population about how to address these challenges.

Abdulah said the UNC had no moral authority to criticise the PNM, given its abysmal track record in office over the last five years.

He said the population has not forgotten the huge deficits ran up during this period or the plethora of unresolved corruption allegations which faced the last government.

Abdulah said the PNM has disappointed many citizens because it has not done what it promised to do two years ago.

He said management of the economy, tackling corruption and local government reform are but some of the areas in which the PNM has either done nothing or is not working fast enough to give the public any kind of confidence that things will improve.

Rowley is in California for a brief vacation and to undergo a medical checkup.

On Saturday, Moonilal threatened to take legal action against Rowley for statements that he made at a press conference at Piarco International Airport last Friday before leaving for the United States.

Efforts to contact Rowley were unsuccessful.

However, senior government officials said, “While Dr Moonilal is free to approach any court, he will be met with all the necessary responses when required.” The officials also said Moonilal “will have to surpass insurmountable hurdles of fact, many of which pre-date the prime minister’s statements.” They added it was curious that Moonilal, “is only now responding to material already in the public domain.” Moonilal said he asked his attorney Israel Khan SC to write Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to find out whether or not he is the subject of any police investigation.

At the press conference held at the airport on Friday prior to his departure, Rowley said Moonilal was under investigation by the police in connection with the alleged mishandling of more than $400 million at the Estate Management and Business Development Company Limited in August 2015, just before the last general election.

Media reports in June claimed Moonilal’s name was on a police search warrant in connection with this matter.

The prime minister condemned Moonilal for alleging there was collusion between certain elements in the Police Service and the political directorate regarding last week’s arrest of former attorney general Anand Ramlogan.

Rowley said the course of events which led to Ramlogan’s arrest had its genesis in under the former Kamla Persad- Bissessar administration.

Ramlogan has been charged with obstructing justice by using threats and bribery in October 2014 to persuade incoming Police Complaints Authority director David West to not give evidence in Ramlogan’s defamation case against then Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.

He is also accused of misbehaving in public office by improperly endeavouring for West not to testify on Rowley’s behalf.

The matter has been adjourned to January.

Hurricane watches were posted for Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Martin, Guadeloupe and the British Virgin Islands.

The US National Hurricane Centre said the centre of the storm could near that region late tomorrow.

It said islands farther north, including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, should monitor the progress of the storm.

Antigua’s prime minister, Gaston Browne, urged people to take preventative measures in case the storm should hit, including cleaning drains and removing objects that could be sent airborne by high winds.

“The passage of a hurricane is not a matter to be taken lightly, but we must not panic,” Browne said in a statement.

The Antigua and Barbuda weather service said Irma was expected to bring heavy rains, rough surf and high winds to islands along the northern edge of the Antilles.

The US hurricane centre said Irma had maximum sustained winds of 185 kph yesterday. It was centred about 1,275 kilometres east of the Leeward Islands and moving westward at 22 kph.

The Weight of Ink is a multi-layered novel that shows how non-fiction writers conduct research and how historians piece together information from rare documents. These are the types of experiences that are packaged in books such as Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly; Isabella, the Warrior Queen by Kirstin Downey or The Colour of Shadows by Judy Raymond.

Kadish’s novel slips back and forth in time from London in the 1660s to the London in the early 21st century as it tells the tale of two women: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who, through a personal tragedy, finds herself accidentally serving as the scribe for an important blind rabbi, and Helen Watt, an historian and expert in Jewish history. Just before Watt is about to retire, she is called to examine a treasure trove of 17th century documents hidden in a house.

Racing against time – both her own personal time restraints due to her impending retirement and those cast upon her from the university that is considering the possibility of purchasing the documents – Helen works with the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student to uncover the secrets hidden in piles of rare manuscripts.

The Weight of Ink might not seem like a tension-filled novel, but it is. On the verge of great discoveries, Watt and Levy must contain their excitement and hide their knowledge before someone “steals” their secrets. It is an agonising fear that non-fiction writers constantly face as they spend years of painstaking research while wondering if someone else will discover and expose the truths they are now uncovering.

Minute details becoming overwhelmingly important: a note in the margins, a revealing slip of the tongue centuries before in a letter reveal unexpected information that impacts on the plot.

The Weight of Ink crosses the borders of many genres: historical fiction, mystery and literary thriller to reach the essence of what it is to write non-fiction – especially that which relies on painstaking research.

It is both profound and entertaining; a rare combination of intellectual stimulation and meaningful entertainment. The Weight of Ink offers a rare glimpse – a literary portal into the silent, lonely and rewarding world of research that so many non-fiction writers experience in an unappreciated world that readers take for granted.

To know that experience of discovering hidden information and then setting off on a quest to discover more information to prove a point is a common quest shared by non-fiction writers.

It makes non-fiction writing rewarding and fun, but it separates the writer from the reader in unimaginable and almost unexplainable ways.

Readers don’t generally care about the process of discovery that leads to a literary work.

Generally, they only want the end product: the book. Non-fiction writers find their greatest joy in the discovery process. This might not seem important to those who read history, biography or any other non-fiction for that matter, but it is satisfying to know that someone like Kadish can cross those boundaries that separate reader and writer and offer a brilliant multi-tiered novel that recreates non-fiction writers’ experiences to readers.

The Weight of Ink is a beautifully written novel that offers a rare literary experience that no serious reader should miss.