The price was the same, the number of chicken pieces still three, but they were half the size.

The only response the poor cashier could provide was that it was a new supplier. I felt cheated.

Now, my normal reaction would be to return the items and demand my money, but my children were hungry and the movie about to start, so I allowed my eyes to be dug out while open wide. But never again I tell you.

In developed nations, competitiveness is defined as firms offering the same products/services as their competitors at cheaper prices or offering differentiated products/services for more money justified by the added value.

It is always based on a “more for less” concept as this alone represents the efficient allocation of resources. The consumer always reigns supreme.

But not so in sweet TT . Here, businesses adopt a “less for same” or “less for more” approach. Consumers get the short end of the stick.

I won’t even get into the overpriced imported avocados, spoiled even before ripe, eating up our scare foreign exchange.

We are a population held to ransom by an uncompetitive business landscape. Where monopolies/ oligopolies prosper, the consumer is always disadvantaged.

It is only by growing the business ecosystem through expanded investors towards open competition will there be sufficient incentives for businesses to move towards a “more for less” or “more for more” business model leading to greater efficiency and competitiveness.

This will not happen just so. It requires deliberate policies and strategies to get us there.

In the meanwhile, we the consuming public will continue to be at the mercy of unchecked greed in the guise of successful entrepreneurship.

This is one reason why competitiveness will continue to elude us.

INDERA SAGEWAN-ALLI sagewanalli@gmail.com

Most of us will still continue to take the ferries from Port of Spain to Tobago or fly on CAL from Piarco.

So why make this very expensive mistake? Bird watchers, environmentalists and tourism professionals have come out against destroying the habitat, beauty, and quaintness of Toco. Why not consider repairs and widening the Toco roads and bridges, then building wooden cabanas to encourage eco-tourism in Toco, advertising that area to would-be visitors.

Maybe the money could be spent instead in Chaguaramas.

The only road to that part of the island, which has existed since the 1930s, is the scene of daily roadblocks both ways. That is also where the Defence Force headquarters are located.

Lots of money have been spent developing Chaguaramas to encourage entertainment activities there. There are restaurants, hotels, a petting zoo, amusement park and boardwalk, a military museum, boat industries and water sports.

However, no thought has apparently been given to improving access to Chaguaramas.

Surely, the first priority should be building a tunnel through the mountain or a new road, which will encourage tourists and locals to visit the area.

PATRICIA BLADES via email

In a release, the MICIT said the Ministry of Education has engaged the institute to repair furniture from 25 secondary schools in a pilot school furniture repair programme which began in July. Some 3,143 pieces of furniture are to be repaired before school opens.

The release quoted manager of the construction and facilities maintenance department (CFMD), Safiya Alexander, as saying, “While we have conducted itemised repairs, we intend to have repairs executed as needed throughout the school term. This way we create a buffer stock of school furniture to ensure that when repairs are needed, classes will continue without any disruption.” The programme has created employment for a number of MIC-IT graduates in welding, carpentry and joinery.

On the programme, the MIC-IT will repair and refurbish nine different types of school furniture. They include metal, wooden and upholstered chairs, metal and wooden stools, metal and wooden desks.

All furniture are to be delivered before the opening of the new school term. A total of 450 single-seat metal chairs have already been delivered to the El Dorado East Secondary School.

MIC-IT’s chief executive officer Anil Ramnarine said the continuous furniture repair programme meant, “There will be a full complement of maintained furniture throughout the academic year and no child will be turned away due to unavailable accommodation.” School supervisor 1, Sarran Mungal said wastage would be reduced through the re-utilisation of damaged furniture. “When we reduce, reuse and recycle, we are helping the environment as well as reducing the eyesore of piled furniture, which has become breeding grounds for pests in the school compound.” The MIC-IT said routine maintenance and prevention remains a far more cost-effective solution than allowing furniture to reach a state of complete disrepair.

The release added that while MIC-IT was known for its training and industry services and even engineering components its recently formed CFMD now provided high-quality, low cost, building and maintenance solutions to the construction industry.

There is a lot more to be considered than just that.

Back in the days of TTT there were no other television stations, and no cable providers with a hundred-plus channels from which to choose. Two and thirteen — that was it.

TTT ’s broadcast output contained about 30 per cent local programming: Twelve and Under, Mainly for Women, Parade, Riki Tikki, Through the Eyes of Tomorrow, Panorama, Scouting for Talent, Community Dateline, The Game Show, Play of the Month, Teen Talent and Show Case, just to name a few; with most of these programmes being no longer than one hour’s duration.

The foreign programming contained shows such as Young and Restless, which at the time was the most popular show on television, Charlie’s Angels, and the rest of the day’s transmission made up of other foreign content.

In TTT ’s heyday, Trinidad had a vibrant recording industry that was rolling out music weekly, some of which have become today’s classics, that helped a great deal in producing material for local programming. Trinidad even had its own record pressing plant (KH). The cultural field was alive and this fed and manifested itself in what viewers and listeners were exposed too.

One can say that foreign shows such as America’s Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars are 21st century versions of Teen Talent, Scouting for Talent and Ballroom Dancing etc.

How sad it is that with the expansion of the electronic media no one could have taken those ideas and concepts to advance standards that could have generated viewers and buy in from advertisers.

The staff at TTT , at the time, was very professional, and management ensured that programmes were of a certain standard before they went on the air.

Times have changed, and to bring back TTT with the legacy it left would entail much hard work with lots of dedication and totally professional personnel.

The now-for-now programming that we experience today did not exist at the time.

Programmes were well researched, edited, and presented — something sadly lacking in the current electronic media today.

So if the plan is merely to change the name from CNMG to TTT , rehire personnel, and go mainly local, we may well be looking at the birth of yet another failed venture.

GERALD AGOSTINI via email

“The Government must consider an economic recovery and reconstruction plan to be incorporated into the upcoming budget which will provide support for businesses threatened by the current recessionary conditions.” He said with businesses unable to meet their loan and mortgage payments, Government could not be a silent spectator to their plight.

“The Government must intervene with support mechanisms to save small to medium size businesses in particular, as the failure of businesses at this level and their closing down can have serious social impacts in this society.

“The loss of businesses built up over several years and which would have contributed to economic activity, employment, revenue through taxes etcetera, must be avoided as it can also seriously impact upon entrepreneurial activity.” Rambachan urged the Government to help stem any further dwindling of the middle class who were important for economic recovery and growth.

He said, “The situation is not irretrievable but requires firm and quick decision-making and a formula for recovery which includes wealth-sharing strategies through encouraging competitiveness and higher productivity.

“A real cultural revolution is required nationally.”

Chief Ricardo Hernandez said, “On the eve of the feast day, we have the lighting up of the park which has been part of the tradition for many years.” He stated that in previous years,the feast was well attended however, over the years there has been a decline for a number of reasons. “This year, we are making a special effort to enhance it so it will attract more persons to the space.” Immediately following the 6pm mass, the First People community presented a two and a half hour programme which included a dramatic production which was displayed by Iere Theatre Productions and The Santa Rosa First People Community. Hernandez said, “The play Hyarima and The Saints was written by former Arima mayor, the late F.E.M Hosein who was very concerned about the first people in his time.” He added, “Hosein was a champion of the community in many ways.” He further explained the significance of lighting up the park stating, it represented the wake which takes place before a funeral.

“We are celebrating the burial of Santa Rosa, the procession on Sunday morning reminds us of her funeral procession.” The procession yesterday saw the statue of St. Rose de Lima being carried around the streets of Arima, escorted by members of the Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force and members of the First People community who carried flowers.

Parishioners followed while reciting the rosary.

Hyarima and The Saints depicted the story of Hyarima, the great Nepuyo war chief who devoted his life to protecting his people.

The play showcased the resistance of the Amerindian people against Spanish colonisers, revolts which led to the death of most of the Amerindian people and how many of these people came to accept Christianity.

Hyarima is described as last great warrior chief who on October 14, 1637 attacked settlers in the town of St Joseph in resistance to Spanish rule over Trinidad.

Hernandez stated that the mission of Santa Rosa was established for the First People. “She is the patron for this area, therefore the indigenous people have developed a festival which lasts for the entire month of August, so it is not just an ordinary feast of the church but the early people has been able to add their culture to it,” Hernandez said.

It was always a great pleasure for me to appear before these two judges in my early days of practice. They wore lightly their cloak of judiciary, yet enjoyed the respect of all.

They both recognised that their entitlement to be addressed as “Milud” did not confer on them near divinity, as in their interactions with subordinates they acknowledged a shared humanity. Both loved to chat, and though this annoyed some practitioners, I thought it made bearable the rigours of practice.

Maharaj was as passionate about family law as I am. He often took the opportunity to ask my opinion on some family law point or refer me to some judgment in family law that I should review.

His judgments were thorough.

His fatherly pride in his three sons in law was no secret.

He was always very polite, pleasant and exceedingly patient.

He truly made the practice of law a joy.

Who can forget Narine’s sense of humour? One day I walked into the Appeal Chamber Court and he informed me that he was not pleased with me. I was genuinely puzzled, as I knew all my documents were in order. As he saw my confusion he proceeded to ask me how I could get married and not invite him.

On another occasion, I was vigorously arguing a point when he said to me that he thought I would have cooled down after my marriage. I remember once when I was awaiting a judgment from him and we met socially.

As I approached him, anticipating I might ask him about it, he immediately placed an index finger on his lips. He certainly knew how to take the wind out of my sails.

I recall when applying for leave for a writ of habeas corpus involving a child. He engaged our client, a Nicaraguan of Chinese descent, resident in San Francisco, about her lineage.

I did not see any point in his questions, but in retrospect realised that it served to calm our client, who had been extremely anxious about her matter.

His interests were wide -ranging, making him an excellent conversationalist. He could see humour in any situation, and fielded expertly, comments on his physical resemblance to a younger judge, which was compounded by their common passion for cricket.

I pray the ultimate judge would judge these good men gently and welcome them into His hallowed hall of justice.

HAZEL THOMPSON-AHYE attorney

In a statement, Cuffie said contrary to Sagewan Alli’s claims, “TTT as envisioned by the Government is not simply a cosmetic name change.” Reiterating the position he made at a news conference last Friday, Cuffie said, “For branding purposes, there will be a reversion to the name TTT but that is where the similarities end. “ He said CNMG is wound up, a new board will be appointed and its mandate will be to, “create a company with a bias towards the production and procurement of local content.” Cuffie said CNMG was created to be “a new broadcasting company on a commercially viable basis.” He explained that similar to the old TTT, CNMG was supposed to, “operate like and compete against, private media houses with profit as the bottom line.” Cuffie said the new TTT will, “not be solely profit driven and will be established as a public service broadcaster.” While this will incur a cost to the Government, Cuffie said, “However, it is a public good for which people expect to pay a price, as borne out during the 2015 consultations on GISL and CNMG.” He said as a public service broadcaster, TTT would be mandated to have universal appeal, portray the country’s cultural diversity, promote national identity, provide a platform for local content and provide studio and editing services.

He reiterated that the new TTT, “will also be required to provide public and government information and news.” Cuffie said to ensure this plan is not a drain on the Treasury, the subvention for the new company will not be increased. He said the new TTT, “would be funded by Government, donors and commercial revenues.”

This was yesterday announced by San Fernando Mayor Junior Regrello who said that such a decision to move the TGR Engine No 11 of 1894 also known as “The Last Train to San Fernando would not be solely up to him but instead be left in the hands of stakeholders in the near future.

Some of the suggestions made for the new relocation he said included an area near to the San Fernando Waterfront or the grounds at Irving Park, San Fernando. At the time the mayor was speaking at a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the train engine which was handed over some 50 years ago. The ceremony was hosted on the promenade near to the newly refurbished train. In 2016, the train was refurbished under instructions by the then mayor Kasim Hosein.

Regrello said San Fernando has since expanded as evident of different activities occurring throughout the city on a daily basis. “We are over saturated with vehicles and we have more people and more activities now, so we have to revisit how we do things in San Fernando,” the mayor said.

He continued that with such there may be a possible relocation of the train. He said that because of the train’s location, its beauty is hidden behind barriers which should not be. “With the Waterfront development coming which was the main hub for the train, we may actually have to look at the possibility of putting the engine down at the King’s Wharf because it is appropriate as it relates to the area,” he said. But the mayor stressed that no decision would be finalised without the consultation from different stakeholders.

The Prime Minister must explain what has happened to our tourism and agricultural sectors.

He must tell us his real plans to maximise revenue streams outside of the energy sector. Finally, if the country’s revenue streams are going to be down for the medium term, why doesn’t he have the courage to institute the necessary cuts to expenditure that will bring some sense of stability to our macroeconomic fundamentals? Four years ago, the President of Suriname, after facing similarly declining revenues, had the intestinal fortitude to cut his annual budget in half, in one year.

It inflicted a lot of harsh economic pain on his citizens but at least it stopped them from living in Alice in financial Wonderland, where the citizens of TT are firmly entrenched under the PM’s delusional leadership.

GREGORY WIGHT Maraval