Carmona, a former judge, may have been attempting to be flashy, saving the best for last. But the error was obvious to anyone with a rudimentary understanding of the law. If a Cabinet is to comprise, at the barest minimum, a prime minister and an attorney general, and if it is for the prime minister to appoint that attorney general, then a prime minister must be in office first before an attorney general can be appointed.

This blooper resulted in a spectre the likes of which this country had never seen. The swearing-in ceremony for the two ministers had to take place a second time, this time behind the closed doors of the Office of the President.

It turns out that event was not such a rarity after all.

The circumstances surrounding the botched appointment of Robert Le Hunte last Thursday as Minister of Public Utilities do not have to be fully explained for us to apportion blame.

That blame must fall squarely on the arms of the State that are involved in the vetting and appointment of ministers.

To varying degrees all of them must take some share of responsibility: President Carmona, Prime Minister Rowley, Attorney General Al-Rawi, the Office of the Solicitor General, and Le Hunte himself.

The President may have no choice but to act on the advice of the Prime Minister when it comes to Cabinet appointments, but surely no president can be forced to make an invalid move. Does the Office of the President not take legal advice on matters before it, particularly appointments? Was this not the very heart of the recent Privy Council ruling which found the President to be accountable when it comes to the exercise of his power to appoint to various boards? Does the Office of the President – which in theory has at its disposal all of the Silk in the land – have adequate and independent legal counsel? Was that office able to conduct checks in relation to this appointment, unfettered? And while Rowley has attributed the whole fiasco to a “communications glitch,” where did that glitch occur? Did the Office of the Prime Minister, as well, conduct checks? Did the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor? The biggest mystery here is how this could have happened in the wake of the Marlene Mc Donald affair. It was essential that this appointment not have any irregularities.

It is, however, to the credit of the Office of the Prime Minister that once the matter was discovered it was disclosed. For it seems there were no other institutions upon which the public could have counted on to pick up on the matter.

How could a corporate citizen like Le Hunte, who comes from a background where due diligence is par for the course, miss this matter? A communication glitch is one thing, but a failure to assess the situation on his own terms is another.

In both instances, the new appointee is placed in a terrible position.

Either he is a part of a system that cannot get the most basic tasks right, or he has not been thorough enough when it comes to the very first thing he had to do as a minister: raise his hand and take the oath.

We call for the State to implement a far more rigorous process of ministerial appointment, whether through formal means or protocols at the Office of the Prime Minister, to prevent a recurrence of this embarrassing episode for all concerned.

Talented, courageous and meritorious individuals who come forward to serve the public should not be embarrassed like this

Dear Concerned Mom,

It is important for your daughter to appreciate that the working world will present a number of challenges, inequities and injustices in various forms, and at different stages throughout her career.

For example, at more senior levels, she may be faced with the challenge of negotiating for equal pay or charting new paths and shattering glass ceilings.

As parents, our natural inclination is to protect and guide our offspring, and to do this we must equip our young women with the necessary tools to use throughout their lives. These include such things as respect for self and others, integrity, personal responsibility, work ethics, critical thinking and self awareness.

Children tend to mimic the adults in their lives, so it is imperative to set the right example from the start.

Groups tend to form based on like mindedness or shared commonalities, such as religion, gender, age, socioeconomic status, race, and other factors. These shared commonalities allow group members to readily acclimatise and become more accepted among “their own”. The male-dominated workplace is but one manifestation of this type of association. In such environments, women may (though not always) be subjected to some sort of segregation. In such instances, it would be beneficial for your daughter to focus on what she has control over, and to work on developing those life skills that are necessary for dealing with uncomfortable situations and people in general. “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie is a good read and provides insight into examining one’s individual behaviour and approach to personal and professional relationships.

A simple online search will also yield many resources that discuss how women can advance their careers in traditionally male-dominated industries.

They often include tips on leadership and confidence-building, among other topics. However, having worked within the traditional “boys’ club” for the last few years, I wish to share some personal insights and advice on areas that are not usually discussed.

When you do not possess a shared commonality or fit the status quo, you have to set the standard for how you wish to be treated. For example, if you arrive to work and a male co-worker makes an uncomfortable comment about the fit of your skirt or your physique, responding with stern glance as opposed to a giggle will send a clear message to your co-worker about where your boundaries lie. Oftentimes, such remarks are designed to test your boundaries and your reaction will set the tone for future interactions.

The workplace reality includes several stories of attempts to sully co-workers’ reputations by persons (both men and women) who may feel threatened by or who hold personal biases against the co-worker. This can happen in both female-dominated and male-dominated environments.

The grapevine is a powerful and at times, destructive tool in a disparaging and gossip-based culture. Should your daughter ever find herself in such a situation, the supportive and encouraging parental role will need you to say, “Chin up, reclaim your authority and do your job”. As difficult as it may be, she must always remain professional. A mentor can be beneficial in times like those when emotions can cloud judgement and assistance is needed to strategize the way forward.

At times, workplace antics can make even the most seasoned veteran cringe. Not taking things personally is a learnt skill that comes with experience.

Unconstructive criticism can also feel like a personal attack. Filtering is useful – sift out the unnecessary and use the substance for improvement.

Having said that, researching the potential employer and industry should be one of the first steps, and this can be conducted before, during and after the initial interview. Advise your daughter to speak to a few current employees to get a ‘feel’ for the underlying corporate culture. Solely considering the remuneration package is not enough to ensure peace of mind and a healthy work-life balance. She should ask questions to determine if the opportunity would fit her personality, ambitions and lifestyle. Some questions she may want answers for, include: 1. How are women really treated? How many female employees are there and what positions do they hold in the company? 2. How often are women promoted or given a voice? 3. Are there instances of reported sexual harassment or discrimination? What HR policies are in place minimize and deal with such issues? 4. Is it a multinational company? Are there any equal opportunity clauses? 5. What is the company’s position on flexi time, especially if familycare responsibilities fall heavily on her? Specific to the offshore industry, rigzone.com published an article “Pioneering Women: Oil & Gas Industry’s Frontline Females” which highlighted the changing composition of the workforce, as well as the individual experiences of women in the industry. This would be worthwhile to peruse.

Finally, mom, it is important to encourage our children to live their dreams and fulfil their potential.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a written manual to treat with every situation that may arise. Sound judgement is critical. If the situation ever becomes untenable, unsafe and left unaddressed by senior management, she can immediately explore her options out.

Good Luck, AFETT AFETT is a not-for-profit organization formed in 2002 with the goal of bringing together professional women and engaging in networking opportunities, professional training and business ideas.

ASK AFETT is a column meant to address issues and concerns of professionals seeking advice to assist in progressing in their careers. Today’s response was written by AFETT member, Ortinique Cumberbatch, Principal Consultant at OCMC Services. Learn more about AFETT at www.afett.com, search for AFETT Events on Facebook, follow us @ AFETTEXECS on Twitter or contact us at 354-7130. Email us your career-related questions at admin.afett@gmail.com.

SOURCES: http://www.rigzone.com/news/ oil_gas/a/112303/pioneering_women_ og_industrys_frontline_females

He said our attainment of Independence saw us adopt national symbols as physical reminders of our identity, culture and our collective consciousness, and these symbols must be keenly respected.

“In this regard, I make a clarion call to protect our national flora and fauna, especially our national birds. One such beautiful symbol is the Scarlet Ibis in flight or nesting on the mangrove trees of the Caroni Swamp. There must be no compromise in our fight to protect the Scarlet Ibis.” His words came after three men recently appeared before a Chaguanas magistrate charged with poaching the national bird.

His Excellency also paid tribute to athletes who represent the nation.

“It is with great pride that I salute the remarkable achievements of all our Paralympians and our athletes, especially gold medalist, Akeem Stewart and the ‘never say die’ quartet 4×400 metres gold medalists at the World Championships in London, together with the astounding victory of the West Indies cricket team against England a few days ago.

“These athletes have all become our lightning rods in our social and human darkness. This imposing display of youth success and prowess on the international stage is a timeless and timely gift to a nation celebrating Independence.

Our athletes deserve nothing less than the best in good times and in bad times and our patriotism demands that we must never be fair-weathered supporters.” Carmona made a plug for disabled citizens as he hailed the population’s diversity.

“Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we celebrate our differences and we rejoice in diversity, simply because we understand that it is our differences that make us ‘Trinbago’.” He said that if we are all the same then the same disappointments, the same challenges and the same obstacles could devour us whole.

“We must enable each other and make our diversity our forte on the world stage.” He said that in the quest for real, genuine inclusiveness, we must be informed about the needs and aspirations of people less fortunate, particularly persons with disabilities.

“Individually and collectively, we must continually ask ourselves, how as a Nation will we be judged? Will we be judged by how we treat the strong and the powerful among us? No, citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, we will be judged by how we treat and care for the weak, the disadvantaged, the marginalised and the voiceless.” Carmona said Independence is an apt time to renew the national watchwords, Discipline, Produc tion and Tolerance.

The president concluded by urging TT nationals to be ambassadors to the world of Trinbago values.

“We must continue to play a meaningful role in regional, hemispheric and world affairs so that our celebrated values of hospitality, tolerance and life-affirmation, forged in the march to Independence and beyond, are recognised, preserved and celebrated.”

By opening access to finance, Barbados will be able to enhance its competitiveness on the global stage.

Competitiveness can be defined as the “ability and performance of a firm, sub-sector or country to sell and supply goods and services in a given market, in relation to the ability and performance of other firms, sub-sectors or countries in the same market.” Access to credit is an important link to productivity in Barbados. To continue to improve their performance, firms in Barbados can use the finance to preserve or increase their competitiveness, particularly in key economic sectors such as tourism. The guarantee mechanism of the Enhanced Access to Credit for Productivity program itself supports firms that are credit constrained as they do not meet conventional credit guarantees.

But finance alone doesn’t determine the success of business. Becoming an entrepreneur does have some obstacles.

Research has already revealed that more than 50% of start-ups fail within the first five years. Financial literacy is a major skill most entrepreneurs fail to master, which contributes to these disappointments. And it’s not something they can afford to ignore either as research has shown that up to 36% of business failures are caused by inadequate financial management.

Financial skills are at the heart of running a successful business but sadly many budding entrepreneurs are lacking the vital knowledge to make informed and effective financial decisions.

Financial expertise helps to uncover a company’s financial strength, financing cost, financial flexibility, business control, financial risk, personal finances and business strategy. These areas are essential for highlighting business performance and the areas and capabilities to be able to innovate.

After all, financial management is at its most powerful when used to drive improvements.

Crucially, financial knowledge is not an onus to be solely carried by entrepreneurs. There are plenty of good accountants that can give good financial advice, especially in the planning stages. They are indeed experts in areas such as raising business finance, tax planning, business planning, and setting up financial management systems.

People across the Caribbean who are on the journey to a professional qualification with ACCA are learning a variety of technical and business-related components in their training. These bright and motivated individuals achieving the qualification will go on to provide finance and accounting services throughout the island. Through their commitment to this, and the rigorous grounding they have received in governance, good practice, ethics and transparency, the next generation of professional accountants will ensure that businesses in the Caribbean always strive to be better.

Having the right financial management is vital throughout the life of a business.

Whether you are just starting out, have an established business or are looking towards a final exit from a firm, you need to have the right financial capabilities to ensure your organisation achieves its full potential.

Today’s businesses are changing and innovating more rapidly than ever before and their financial management needs must continue to evolve alongside their developments. Recognising the right financial management capabilities is therefore imperative to their success.

Entrepreneurs are creative and capable people and the Caribbean has a particular talent for churning ones in the tech industry.

They are the brains behind a growing number of programs across the sectors of Internet of Things, eLearning, Online Media, Mobile Gaming, Mobile Surveys, eAgriculture, eHealth, Social Shopping and more. Barbados is amongst the top three performing Caribbean countries in this space alongside Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. With the expert support, guidance and financial investment available, entrepreneurs will continue to flourish across the islands

During my brief tenure within the halls of Government, I understood the importance of being present at said National events. However, what I did not understand was that the majority of office holders clearly did not recognise being present at these events to be of equal importance.

During my stint, I attended at least two Independence Day parades. At each of these, less than 25 percent of the Government ministers were present, with an even less showing from those who sat in the Senate, without portfolios.

The Heads of Government and State are both mandated to be present as they both accept salutations from the presenting troops on parade. This alone should be impetus to ensure a full gathering of officials, if not in support of your country’s milestone, surely in support of your Government or Head of State.

Whilst this may seem a small item in the larger scheme of things, it is a vital part of the maintenance and respect of our National traditions.

Even as I attended whilst outside the corridors of government, the representation of office holders has always been less than adequate or acceptable.

This occasion is one of those where we are brought together by the summoning of a greater good, where we set politics and all other separatist agendas to the side for the celebration of country. As such, a few other areas to be noted in keeping with the tone of the event include the recognition and respect of military precision and timelines.

If you are an invited guest to this event, it is imperative to ensure you arrive on time as the military does not recognise ‘Trini time’.

The parade and marching orders will not wait on anyone, and those whom the salutes are afforded, are provided with enough support to ensure they are in position. It is rather irritating and quite rude, to be seen arriving after the primary salute receivers have arrived.

The National Anthem of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most significant compositions to be played on this day. I have seen persons choose to continue walking or speaking or doing whatever they may have been doing whilst the National Anthem is being played.

The excuse sometime given is that they are not in the immediate proximity of the actual event.

Nevertheless, I urge, if not on any other day, do show respect for the National Anthem of the country of your birth. Even if you were with the many hundreds of citizens gathered on the periphery to catch a glimpse of the proceedings, set the example, and sing to the top of your voices, whilst observing the protocol attached to the Anthem.

This day brings families to the capital and many other major areas to participate in the ceremony.

Whilst it is understood that a high level of protocol and diplomacy is required in the undertakings of these parades, a certain measure of flexibility can be introduced, particularly when the parades enter the streets, and display their spectacle for the people.

All too often, I have seen unwarranted and poorly managed clashes between spectators and parade officials. Both parties must remember the reason for the occasion, to honour our Nationhood.

While the focus of the business is on car and home audio systems, they also specialize in camera systems installations as well as enclosure designs (DJ specific).

The siblings, who graduated from The University of the West Indies last October, both with a BSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Hons), have established themselves in the audio business hub, completing jobs both locally and regionally.

How did they do it? Passion and time management. “That is probably the two most important things that if anybody has they’ll be able to achieve anything. You need the passion and the drive… to achieve something. This is something we struggled with in running our business, trying to balance being a student, running the business, and being a young adult,” said Kavan.

He shared a big part of being able to continuously balance everything is the taste of success. Once you start to feel and understand what you can achieve, that taste of success can drive you so hard because it feels good that as you get that consistently, you realize that nothing can get in the way of your dreams.

“What we offer is unlike what other companies provide in the audio industry,” said Kavan. “We ensure that if a banjo is playing at the left and a guitar is playing at the right, the client can hear both instruments clearly.” Ravan, the more technical of the two, shared the factors considered to achieve a comprehensive quality sound system. “Driver positioning, digital/ analog processing, vehicle dynamics, resonance as well as speakers positioning in the vehicle which can lead to the delaying of sounds.” Aside from these factors the brothers’ main concerns are safety and environmental disturbance, “We also deal with the vibrations of the systems to keep the environment quiet,” said Ravan. “For security reasons, we ensure that everything is properly fused, connected and bolted.” With years of experience in audio, the brothers use a standardized disk to listen to the sounds to ensure the best quality is provided to their clients.

This is known as the signal processing phase. This phase deals with time alignment, “to align all the speakers to get the sound to your ear at the same time,” said Kavan. that this process aims to create a ‘phantom image’.

Ravan explained the interior of a car or house presents some serious issues for sound quality. Glass and plastic surfaces reflect sound poorly, while carpet, seat covers, and other absorbent materials soak it up. With poorly-placed speakers, he said, there would be significant frequency response peaks in most car interiors or households. These peaks make the music sound “boomy” in the bass or shrill in the upper frequencies, causing ‘ear fatigue’. “To prevent this, we use an equalizer to iron out the peaks for a smooth flow,” Ravan said.

“We try to capture every aspect of how the music is recorded in the studio or in a concert. If you don’t feel like you are sitting in front of stage with people performing, you have the wrong sound system.” Ravan was adamant, however, that they are responsible businessmen.

“We had to turn down clients because what they wanted wasn’t part of our moral system,” he said. “We create safe but quality systems, and if a customer wants a system that can be of danger to the environment or unsafe, we decline the job.”

And, on Saturday, the Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago will be staging a tournament at the St Paul Street Sports Complex, East Dry River, Port of Spain.

This contest will run from 1-4 pm and will include the Open and Women’s categories, while there will be awards for Kantosho and the Best Ippon, as well as the Japanese Embassy Cup for the overall winner. The Embassy Cup will be presented by a member of the Japanese Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago which has endorsed Saturday’s tournament.

Eddy Devisse, president of the Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago, said, “We are really excited about this year’s championship and are expecting some great matches. Kendo is starting to grow in popularity here in Trinidad and Tobago and the National Championships and the awarding of the Japanese Embassy Cup is the highlight of our calendar.

“We hope that people will take the opportunity to come and see this dynamic and unique Japanese martial art and will be tempted to try it out for themselves.” The Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago is the governing body for the sport locally and is recognised by both the International Kendo Federation and the Confederation of Latin American Kendo.

The sport of kendo began formally in the twin-island republic in 2004 and members practise on a weekly basis in Port of Spain.

Members have competed in a number of tournaments worldwide, including events in Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, Aruba, Cuba, Ecuador and Colombia.

In addition to local Kendo members, the National Championship will be attended by foreign guests from the United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan. Photo and video coverage of the event will be found on the KFTT’s Facebook page: www.fb.com/kendo4tt.

In a release, Annisette said Duke sought to bring to the attention of the nation, the plight of the travelling public who use the seabridge between Trinidad and Tobago.

“While some may argue that his approach to bring attention to this contemptible situation was unorthodox, we in NATUC are of the view that when traditional methods are not working, it is time to resort to new and innovative solutions to deal with problems.” He continued, “NATUC shares the pain and distress of the people of Tobago who have been suffering immensely over the colossal failure of the government to address the seabridge issue in a meaningful way. NATUC therefore welcomes Mr Duke’s symbolic and courageous attempts to bring this despicable issue into the living room of every Trinbagonian.” He said NATUC will continue to raise issues that are affecting the well-being of citizens and in this particular case, the failure of the Government to sign the charter party agreement which has allowed citizens the services of the super-fast Galicia for a further period of two months.

“We trust that the people of Trinidad and Tobago would put aside party politics and deal with the real issues that are affecting the citizenry. Historically, party politics has caused a polarisation and a divide in our society and this has resulted in a poor state of affairs for Trinidad and Tobago.

We cannot continue to behave like the proverbial ostrich and pretend that these are only minor hiccups and that all is well.” Annisette further added, “All of us are painfully aware that Trinidad and Tobago is in a state of dysfunction and our institutions are failing to deliver the services that are required of them to ensure smooth governance for the citizens. The general public is fast losing faith in the government and these institutions to the county.” He said Watson Duke has demonstrated he has the testicular fortitude to commit to a cause, and to go the full distance to seek relief for the people of Tobago and by extension, all citizens of TT.

As part of this policy, telecommunications service providers implement thresholds to prevent any customer from consuming excessive amounts of bandwidth to the detriment of other users. This ensures that all customers enjoy the benefits of the services they have subscribed to and that no subscriber is put at a disadvantage or suffers diminished network performance due to the unfair usage or conduct of others that can lead to network congestion.

Although the average customer’s data usage per month is currently 1.5GB to 2GB, telecommunications service providers worldwide set data thresholds that are much higher than this average monthly use.

For instance, telecommunications service providers in the USA and United Kingdom have data thresholds between 20GB and 32GB for their unlimited data services, with only 2 USA providers above 32GB.

This provides the customer with the freedom to use the additional data if the need arises without reaching the threshold. Only a very small number of customers may use data services inappropriately, so the large buffer between the average customer’s data use and the network’s per customer limit means that most customers will not be affected and the customer enjoys a service that would not put limits on his usage or an unlimited usage experience.

What can you do with 20 GB per month without reaching the threshold?
• 500 emails sent/received (with attachments) per week
• 300 web pages viewed per week
• 500 minutes of video streamed per week
• 21 hours of music streamed per week
• 3 games downloaded per week
• 3 apps downloaded per week
• 300 social media posts (with images) per week
Only a very small number of customers may use data services inappropriately such as using a mobile device as a hot spot or for tethering any other device (such as a computer, smartphone, other phones, eBook or eReader, media player, laptop, notebook, tablet, mobile hotspots, gaming consoles, or other devices with similar functions) which consume excessive amounts of data and will put these users at risk of reaching or surpassing a network threshold.

If a customer does not use a mobile device in this way, it is unlikely that the threshold will be reached.

In the event that a customer uses data that comes close to the threshold, telecommunications service providers worldwide reserve the right to take appropriate steps to ensure other customers are not affected by a diminished service. These include alerting the user by text when the threshold is almost reached, throttling back the service and/or charging the user for any excessive data use that is above the threshold.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday, Yisrael, while describing the swim protest as a success, said the mission was twofold.

“One was to bring the issue of inter island transportation, particularly the seabridge on the national agenda and I think that we succeeded at that,” Yisrael said. “The second mission is to ensure that Tobago particularly the Tobago House of Assembly has the deciding voice on whatever vessel or vessels have been identified for the inter island ferry route.” Going forward will be the continuation of the second mission, according Yisrael.

“We sent three letters; one to the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, one to the chairman of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and also to Caribbean Airlines requesting a meeting to sit with each of them individually to discuss how we in the Tobago House of Assembly can be part of the decision making process.”