The protestors have promised that the protest action would continue for as long as it takes until they get the attention of the relevant authorities, and construction begins on a school which was promised three years ago.

Newsday was told by Kevin Quintaro, whose daughter attends Blanchisseusse Primary School, which is located on the Blanchisseusse Main Road, that the building the students use is a dilapidated church which has not seen any repairs in years.

“The toilets leak,” Quintaro said.

“When rain falls, the classes get flooded out.

There are abandoned tanks all over the compound, and the building is infested with mosquitoes.

I heard the minister of education go on the news and say that the school is currently under construction, but that is not true.” Quintaro said that his child, along with the 120 other students who attend the school, are now sharing decrepit rooms at the church which was constructed over 50 years ago. Newsday understands that the church building was extended to accommodate the students, but it is still not enough since some classes have to share a room on a daily basis.

“My daughter has complained to me several times about not even being able to use the toilet or drink water during the break because there are so many children and not enough facilities,” complained Quintaro

Addressing the opening of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association – World Trade Organisation Parliamentary Workshop on Tuesday at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, Gopee-Scoon said the other priority issues which TT supports as part of the African Caribbean Pacific grouping include a development-oriented outcome consistent with various recent global commitments and goals, and a permanent solution on public stock holding for food security purposes that satisfactorily addresses the food security concerns of all developing countries.

TT also supports an outcome on a Special Safeguard Mechanism for developing countries that would limit the negative impact of import surges or sharp drops in the prices, and the submissions of proposals that seek to keep special and differential treatment at the core of the negotiations including services negotiations, she said.

With regards to trade facilitation, Gopee- Scoon said she was pleased to indicate that TT was the ninth member state of the WTO to accept the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the first country in the Caribbean.

The National Trade Facilitation Committee, she said, was fully established and has been operational since March.

TT was also in collaboration with its Caricom colleagues on a coordinated approach to implement the TFA, with assistance from the World Bank.

In terms of the CPAWTO workshop, she said, “One’s responsibility to the environment must not, however, be ignored. This has impacted on how, what and where we trade and necessitated the creation of new rules to treat with the resultant challenges brought about by the new digital economy.” Recognising the digital economy, she said, it was important to address outstanding issues from the “analogue economy,” such as non-tariff barriers, vulnerability to natural disasters, and the characteristic mono- crop and capacity constrained economies, which continue to pose considerable challenges to the Caribbean.

“We cannot wish these issues away and neither should our negotiating partners seek to move on to other areas,” she said.

Noting with concern that in recent times a number of agreements like the trade in services, information technology, and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement, have emerged, she said, “whether or not it is proven to be true that these agreements are a direct response to the failure of multilateralism to deliver, it remains of concern to us because of the potential they have to suppress interest in and progress at the WTO.”

The annual event was hosted by the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC), in collaboration with the San Fernando Arts Council.

Delivering a performance in the calypso category, Cindy- Ann Bigford, of St Gabriel’s Girls RC, gave a lesson in song in her rendition titled ‘Child Abuse’. Accompanied by a skit, Bigford warned adults not to have children if they are not ready. The schoolgirl reminded the audience that parenting is a sacred duty.

She called on parents to “make time for your children. Respect them, do not neglect them. Mould them to be good men and women.” Belmont Boys and Girls RC Schools showed off their heel and toe steps in the local folk traditional category to the rhythm of popular song ‘Oil and Music (In De Coil Remix)’ by Machel Montano featuring David Rudder.

When Jaylon Newallo, of the San Fernando Boys RC, took to the stage to perform his monologue ‘Rani the tied tongue boy’, audience members (students) began giggling as he mimicked ‘Rani’.

Likewise his schoolmate, Olotu Stephen, had a similar effect on the young audience during his storytelling performance titled ‘Trouble make the moneky eat pepper’. St Finbar Girls RC performed a local folk interpretation to the music of the classic hit ‘Slave’ by calypsonian Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco).

Ishana Edgar and Shania Khan represented the Harmony Hall Presbyterian with the dance ‘Togetherness’ while Isabel Lee-Sing represented Cedar Grove Private with an East Indian dance. The festival began on September 26 and comes to an end yesterday with the Command performance (Secondary 2016).

Among those being honoured was President’s Medal winner, Raquel Le Blanc.

In addressing the audience, comprised of parents, past pupils, and current students, Garcia said during this year’s national consultation on education one of the areas focused upon was the relationship between church and school.

He added that there were many in society who felt that that system should no longer be, but that it had the Government’s support and that Cabinet decided the church would continue to play its role in education.

He said, “In February, the Ministry of Education commissioned a National Consultation on Education.

This consultation gave a number of stakeholders the opportunity of voicing their views on how the education system should be shaped or re-shaped.

“Our Cabinet, last week Thursday, examined the results of this consultation and cabinet was very happy to note some of the encouraging recommendations made.

“One of the areas that was focused on was the area of the Concordat.

“As the denominational schools continue to press forward, there are many in the society who feel that the time has come when that system of education should be disbanded. Cabinet and the Government of this country is pleased to state that the church will continue to play its role in education and the church will continue to be supported by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.” In 2012 it was reported that former Minister of Education, Dr Tim Gopeesingh hinted at changes to the 1960 agreement between denominational boards and the Government.

It was reported that former Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teacher’s Association (TTUTA) president Devanand Sinanan said it was time for the Concordat to be revisited.

Garcia also congratulated the schools on its 180 years of academic excellence saying it was, “truly something to admire.” He noted that academics was not the only feature of the school but that it continued to excel in most areas of endeavor, athletics, culture etc. he said the school continued to move forward it, “carved a beautiful tradition.” The school honoured its students from forms one to upper six. A tribute was paid to the sisters of the St Joseph of Cluny by former headgirl and Humming- Bird Medal (Gold) recipient 1980 for Sport, Maria Nunes.

The respected photographer and history teacher showed, mainly through photos, the history of the school.

Noting that the school started with the seed of Saint Ann Marie Javouhey, founder of the Sisters of the St Joseph Cluny, Nunes called upon the students to, “Pay attention to the root, so that the fruit would be really something special.”

But this has not been seized, and those opposed to the tax feel that their raised voices have been met with what they feel to be typical arrogance on the part of those holding the power.

Certainly, none of us could argue that this move by the government serves as a new source of revenue.

Set against the backdrop of a large fiscal deficit, it is expected that a responsible government engaged in fiscal consolidation would try to judiciously reduce expenditure while at the same time raise revenues from existing as well as new sources.

It should be clear to the government that there is widespread disagreement with the decision to introduce a tax on internet shopping. Leadership requires some dialogue to justify why we must give up choice and possibly a cheaper source of products. Not only is the tax a source of revenue, some have argued that it can deter purchase abroad and thus save foreign exchange.

This assumes that we produce the sought-after items here. But this can hardly be the case given the limited products that are produced in this country. It means the items will either be bought from abroad by consumers or retailers. If the latter does not hold then we are left with the first argument.

Government decisions do have consequences and can affect investment decisions.

One unforeseen effect of the government’s action to introduce a tax is it can distort investment decisions because it sends the wrong message of support for ‘brick and mortar’ stores rather than innovative distribution systems.

At a time when Warren Buffet has sold 27.2 million Wal-Mart shares last quarter and could sell the remainder of shares he holds in the company this quarter and in so doing get out of the brick and mortar chain of stores suggests that we should take a look at whether we should inadvertently be encouraging brick and mortar investment for retail activity.

The government needs to note that over the past 15 years, Amazon has had a 34%-per-year average return which is way above the 12.9% return for the specialty retail industry. In the US alone adjusted e-commerce sales grew 15.7% last quarter, while total retail sales only grew 2.2%. A similar pattern could be noted elsewhere. This rapid growth in online purchases has led to commerce sales now accounting for 8.4% of total sales, up from 7.4% of sales a year ago. There is all indication that investors such as Warren Buffet have taken note.

We do have a very large retail sector. Charting the direction for the future has to be the responsibility of both the retail sector as well as the government. Introducing distortions in the market can affect investor decisions; this would place retailers at a disadvantage and mean that as consumers we will be forced to pay more with limited variety to choose from.

The government must rethink this decision as it seeks to re-engineer the economy on a sustainable growth path.

We have seen enough examples both locally and internationally of persons holding high office, not being certain of the role and placement of their significant others, which, if not managed effectively has the potential to cause major embarrassment and some measure of harm to both the office holder, as well as the family member. One of the more recent International examples is the meeting between United States President Elect, Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, at the New York based Trump towers. Whilst the meeting was characterized as ‘informal’, many questions were raised as to the presence of President Elect Trump’s daughter at the meeting between both leaders. Many have questioned whether the lines of protocol were crossed, whilst others have spoken in defense of the meeting attendee, citing that it was an informal event.

The local political front provides us with many examples of the blurred lines as to the levels of inclusion of family members in the management of official functions, and other daily activities of persons in public office. In the corporate world, many times similar uncertainty exists with the spouses and significant others of the high office holders and the level of interaction expected and provided, particularly related to the management of the special events.

Essentially, these form part of the ethical dilemmas that may face public officials both in the political realm as well as the corporate world. We must understand and appreciate both sides of this dilemma. From the perspective of the office holder, it should be noted that we all emanate from the nucleus of a familial structure, regardless of the type of structure.

That being noted, the familial structure provides a specific role in the socialization, development, and support provided to the office holder.

As a direct result, the family structure would have been the primary focus for the development of the individual’s locus of control.

This means, that when the office holder comes into office, he or she comes with the family’s norms, mores, values, beliefs and socialization. As a result, it is to be expected that the office holder will place heavy emphasis on the opinions of his or her significant other, siblings and other relatives.

This being understood, it is also the responsibility of the office holder to quickly reconfigure his or her thinking to appreciate that their role is now expanded, and, as such, their area of responsibility includes a much wider periphery than their immediate and expanded family structure. They are to be guided now by the principles and protocols of the office to which he or she has ascended. This requires a clear sense of separation of roles and responsibilities relative to such office, not only for the office holder, but so too for the significant other, as well as family members.

It is not ok for family members of office holders to assume authority over the staff and resources that may belong to the state, or to the corporate office unless, of course, if the corporate office resources are family-owned.

And even in this scenario, there are protocols to be adhered to.

Such behaviour, if condoned and supported by the high office holder, essentially borders on ethical derision.

Pertaining to the appearance of significant others and family members at events in support of the high office holder, this practice requires the element of protocol finesse, which can easily be provided by a protocol or PR officer. In most cases, the appearance of the significant other is required and expected, and in some cases, members of the extended family may be welcome, however, as mentioned, such activity requires tact and diplomacy

Youthful enthusiasts hailing from ASJA Girls’ and Boys’, Holy Faith Convent (Penal) and Naparima College were specially provided with an in-depth business-oriented seminar which entailed some of the latest technological strategies used by today’s successful entrepreneurs, all geared at guiding the students in becoming young entrepreneurs.

Topping the list of these innovative marketing strategies was none other than social media – the newest and easiest gateway to the business world. As a preview, featured speaker Richards used his personal experience to emphasise that young people can start demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit at an early age. He related the story of a doll making business’ he started when he was just seven years old that was very popular and successful.

“You have to understand your market and your audience,” he said. “There wasn’t money to buy toys back then. Girls wanted dolls, I wanted money and so, I sold dolls. I could not make enough of them. I sold to the entire community.

This was my beginning as a young entrepreneur.

It begins with an idea. There is no one right answer to be an entrepreneur. It’s what drives you. If you do something you really like, you’ll never work a day in your life. Find your passion.” Richards used the largest local communications brand, TSTT who was also a gold sponsor as a prime example.

“Ask yourself what technologies are available to your business. Internet, websites and computers in this age are crucial. Applications and quality software are now pivotal. Social media provides a platform that was never available to businesses many years ago. I urge you to capitalise on these opportunities and master them. They will carry your business to where you want it to go. TSTT is a perfect example and the leading provider of these enabling capabilities,” he added.

Also sharing similar sentiments were Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago (YBTT) Project Co-ordinator, Sandrine Rattan, and former ‘Naps’ man Christian Benjamin, Information Technology Support at BESTin Technologies. Together, the pair, alongside YBTT graduates and businessmen Gerard Thomas (RockIt) and YBTT general manager Shedron Collins delved deeper into their journeys as blooming businessmen to the attentive audience. Students were also privy to technological assistance in business via YBTT success stories Keagan Lewis, Zarah Gibbons and Deidre Lee Kim.

Speaking on behalf of YBTT and on the importance of the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Week, Rattan was pleased to be a part of this celebration.

“We want to change the mindsets of these students,” she explained. “Young people were wired to go to school and just get a job. Particularly with the unemployment statistics that are rising, we need more entrepreneurs. They must think entrepreneurial. YBTT is reaching out to all youths to turn away from becoming robots of a system. Becoming your own boss is what we inspire to do. Become your own success story. We commend TSTT for understanding this vision and for their commitment to helping us share the knowledge with these impressionable minds.” The attentive audience also benefitted from an interactive workshop segment hosted by Thomas, who wowed the youthful bunch with some of the globe’s coming technological advancements in business. From phones that scan fruit to test its freshness to artificial self-healing skin, the students were captivated by these developments although still in their primary stages.

According to Benjamin, “There is no better time to become an entrepreneur.

Start now. Don’t wait on the world. This time is your time. Become an entrepreneur and be who you want to be.”

The decision to start offering 3PL was made jointly by CCA’s Managing Director, Sean Patience, and his cousin, CCA’s Director of Business Development, Peter Patience.

Speaking with Business Day, Sean said there’s not yet a “strong market for 3PL in Trinidad because a lot of companies still want to have their own logistics departments.

However, in the US and Europe, “bigger companies focus on their key job/role, let’s say manufacturing boxes, and they outsource their logistics to a third-party. We wanted to get into that, allowing our customers to focus on their main role while we handle all of their logistics; planning, coordinating, everything.

We started with one company and the service is in its infancy but it’s going well so far. It’s a lot of risk; we had to invest some money into the equipment and so on, but it seems to be working so far.” Peter also spoke about 3PL, telling Business Day that “a lot of people in Trinidad would import a container of goods but have nowhere to store it or warehousing is too expensive for them.” “So we store their cargo until their customer is ready, then we deliver it to their customer for them. We tripled our warehousing space within the last two years in order to provide this service.

In the future, we plan to expand this service even more. Our warehouses are strategically located in Port-of-Spain, Point Lisas and Piarco.” CCA marked its 40th anniversary with a celebration “in honour of our founder, Ronald Patience” at the House of Angostura, Eastern Main Road, Port-of-Spain last Saturday (November 19), where Sean and Peter spoke about Patience’s contribution to the development of the local logistics sector, as well as his reputation for throwing great parties.

Reflecting on the company’s growth since its beginnings as an air freight company in 1976, Peter said “the only things we don’t move are live animals and cold storage.” “Everything else, from personal effects to cargo for small businesses and drill rigs; we are the biggest player in the local oil and gas industry in terms of logistics, CCA can export/import for you.” He added that CCA’s strength lies partly in its “tremendous” global network.

“Anybody could move cargo from Miami to Trinidad but when you come to CCA, we’ll give you that same service from anywhere in the world to Trinidad or from Trinidad to anywhere in the world.” While its head office is located at 43 New Street, PoS, CCA also has warehouses in Point Lisas and offices at the south and north cargo terminals of Piarco International Airport, Piarco.

Asked what he sees as a challenge to be addressed in 2017, Sean said having expanded their staff by more than 50 percent since 2008, CCA has to implement a performance appraisal system.

“Our management style has changed from a one-man show to where we have to promote people into supervisory and management positions.

We went from from 35 employees eight years ago to 80 people in 2016, so we have to delegate more responsibility. You have to reward your employees based on their performance. So as the company grows, as the company does well, so will the employees do well. We want to implement a system to measure that,” Sean explained.

CCA’s growth has been attributed in part, by Peter, to its extensive knowledge of the industry, its reputation for integrity in all that it does and its wide range of services, some of which are not offered by local competitors.

“Our main markets are oil and gas, and petrochemicals but we also service the retail sector, the manufacturing sector. To our knowledge, CCA is the largest freight forwarder in terms of LCL ocean exports from Trinidad – everybody knows you can ship a pallet (of goods) from Miami to Trinidad, that’s easy, but can you do that to Guyana, Suriname, Barbados, St Lucia, Jamaica, Europe, US? That’s what we do on the export side.” CCA is certified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to accept dangerous goods for air freight and by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for ocean freight.

For more information on the company, you can visit its website (www.cargotrinidad.com), its Facebook page (www.facebook.

com/cargoconsolidators/) or send an email to customer service@ cargotrinidad.com

The company celebrated its 40th anniversary this past Saturday (November 19) at the House of Angostura, Eastern Main Road, Port-of-Spain. While Patience died in 2015 due to complications related to leukaemia, the beloved man, and his business achievements, were very much in focus during the event.

Addressing scores of family, staff, customers and business associates, CCA’s Managing Director, Sean Patience, credited four “key lessons” for his father’s success in growing the business from a freight forwarder into an internationally-recognised, full service company that provides freight forwarding, logistics and consolidation to and from TT for customers large and small.

“How did Ronald do it? How did he manage to win business and grow CCA? I watched him for many years before joining the business myself and I learned some key lessons: 1) Always have integrity in business; 2) Have a passion for what you do; 3) Create a clean, comfortable, work environment and supply the necessary tools to get the job done; and 4) If you have a good idea, visualise it and do it!” Sean noted that if his father wanted to do something, if he had a vision of how to expand CCA’s services, Patience found a way to do it.

“Take for example, our LCL (Less than Container Load) service, which we run from our Point Lisas office.

Ronald wanted to do LCL exports because he recognised a need in the market. So, what did he do? Without any contract or promise of business, he leased a warehouse and a forklift, bought a truck and hired a manager and said, Go! That was back in 1992.

Today, CCA exports between 20 to 40 LCL containers per month. That’s the kind of guy he was.” CCA’s mission statement, “To provide customers with the highest quality service, at the most competitive pricing, whilst at the same time ensuring a win-win situation for both our customers and ourselves”, sums up how Patience did business.

Sean and his cousin, Peter Patience; Director of Business Development at CCA, both credited this with the company’s ability to survive and thrive over the past four decades in an ever-changing business landscape.

Speaking with Business Day on the sidelines of the festivities, Peter said, “Ronald was a visionary. He saw that there was a need for this type of service and as he grew the business, as customers asked for additional services, Ronald would develop them.

We have continued in that and over the last few years, we’ve added new services, including Third-party Logistics (3PL).” “In the last 10 years CCA has been handling major projects for our Petrochemical customers including Full Charters of planes to move cargo, Vessel/ Ship Charters, and a host of other Critical Shipment services. We even have teams who are on-call 24 hours a day when our customers have a Rig-Down or Plant-Down situation.” Patience was diagnosed with leukaemia about three years prior to his death and being a man known for having things in order, around the same time, succession planning saw Sean and Peter formally taking over the day-to-day operations of CCA.

Peter recalled having “three years of running the business ourselves but still having Ronald to bank on. He went too soon but we learned a hell of a lot from him.” “The one thing that I tell my staff, that I learned from my uncle as well as from my own experiences is, ‘Always try to understand what the customer wants.’ Ask yourself, ‘What is the customer looking for? What are they expecting?’ If you can understand that well enough, then you know what to give to them and if you know what you need to give to them, then everybody’s going to be happy.” Sean meanwhile described his late father as, “A thoughtful guy who would always think things through.” “Sometimes we didn’t see all of his background work, so we thought, ‘Wow. He knew what to do all the time.’ It was very hard to follow in my dad’s footsteps; he had a lot of experience in the freight industry but he would pass on the knowledge.” “His biggest lesson, for me,” Sean added, “was to always strive for integrity in business and to always have an open-door policy. In as much as we are trying to emulate him, you have to do it your own way, blaze your own trail and make it work in your unique way while still holding true to the values that he established the company with.” In 2013, CCA fully computerised all of its operations so that it could better meet customer demand for timely updates on their freight movement. Keeping with the need to be easily accessible, CCA has a Facebook page; www.facebook.com/ cargoconsolidators/, in addition to its website; www.cargotrinidad.com.

All of this takes time and dedication to excellence but Sean told Business Day Patience was never an absentee father to his three children; Sean, Kristian and Maresa.

“He was very, very family-oriented.

In the beginning, I don’t think I knew how much work he did but he was always home on an afternoon, always playing with us kids, and he’d always take vacation. Even though he had a lot of responsibility, our dad would always make time for his family, to spend time with us.” Sean recalled that as they grew up and began thinking about career paths, Patience both encouraged his sons and daughter to join CCA and to pursue their dreams.

“He encouraged us to come into the business but at the same time, he told us to do what our hearts desired. I did that for a few years before I rejoined the business; I flew helicopters offshore for nine years.

It was very good, I was a captain but I was drawn back into the company and I thought, ‘I could make it work, I could do this’ and here I am. It’s a little more stressful at times but I like it, I really do enjoy what I do,” Sean said.

His siblings are not directly involved with the company but the Executive Management team includes two of his mother’s (Vivienne Patience) brothers; Jude Xavier – Operations Manager and Phillip Xavier – Manager of HR, Finance and Insurance.

Speaking about the family-run CCA, Peter told Business Day that, “In line with our wealth of experience, Jude and Phillip are key to our success as they provide a deep understanding of CCA’s business and its background. They’ve both been with the company for decades and spent many years helping Ronald get the business to where it is.” Phillip Xavier was among the five CCA employees who were honoured last Saturday for long service contributions to the company.

The full list is as follows:
Anne Rahim – 25 years
Phillip Xavier – 20 years
Nalini Mohansingh – 15 years
Shellyann Paul – 10 years
Hidaasha Maharaj – 10 years

This country’s main strength is its developed energy sector, with large reserves of natural gas, as well as infrastructure to extract its hydrocarbon resources. The country supplies refined products to the Caribbean region.

Other strengths must also take into consideration the substantial buffers which Trinidad and Tobago possesses.

Although falling, the country still boasts of reserves as reported by the Central Bank at end of October 2016 of $9,756.6 million, which is over ten months of import cover. There is also the added buffer of the existence of a Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) which is over US$5 billion. In addition, there is also a good stock of highly skilled workers and a well trained work force. The country boasts a number of training and development programs for the existing talent pool. Furthermore, the country has developed physical infrastructure in different locations to facilitate investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) such as the Tamana In-Tech Park.

Among other areas the country has also focused on Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS); this will certainly provide the skills that new industries will require in the future. Although in a recession, the official unemployment figure is still low and there has been no capital flight reported nor exodus of persons from the country.

Admittedly there are a number of weaknesses. The economy continues to be dependent on the energy sector which accounts for more than 80% of exports, and a few years ago more than 40% of government revenues.

This makes the economy vulnerable to exogenous shocks such as global oil prices and it is anticipated that growth may deteriorate if prices remain structurally lower in the coming years.

Other weaknesses include the high salary costs when compared to countries such as India, Philippines, Columbia and Argentina.

This can discourage IT investors who may be put-off by the high labour costs. The country has a high incidence of crime, which forms part of the risk consideration of investors. In addition, the existence of Government bureaucracy may slow the completion of various infrastructure projects as well as the entry of IT service providers to the country. The limited scalability of the workforce and graduates may hinder the activities of service providers.

There are a number of threats to the Trinidad and Tobago economy that include further decrease in oil prices and debt levels crossing 56% of GDP. Any further decreases in oil prices will further reduce government revenues. If there is no success at fiscal consolidation then to finance the deficit the government will have to borrow, which will increase the debt and stifle growth.

As a small, open economy Trinidad and Tobago risks capital flight in response to its deteriorating growth outlook and the possibility of more substantial currency depreciation. The latter will impact inflation and ultimately the standard of living experienced by us all.

Despite the weaknesses and real threats facing the economy there are a number of opportunities that are available to the country. As an example, there has been progress on structural efforts to support the growth of the private sector – among these, labour reform, renewed privatization efforts thus providing opportunities for investment by the citizens and private sector, improved service provision, a strengthening of the non-banking financial sector and additional support for small and medium-sized enterprises in the non-energy sector – this can improve long-term growth prospects.

Other avenues can arise from the output of the local universities that added to the available talent pool. The existence of CARICOM as an enhanced market for ensuring economies of scale as well as acting as a coordinating center for providing outsourcing services is a resource to be exploited by our private sector.

While we must be pragmatic and although being apprehensive is normal when dealing with what appears to be a very dismal economic environment, we also have to look at the evidence of our economic environment.

The economy is facing major challenges that require strong leadership, an engaged population and sacrifices all round. In these circumstances, we must make use of the ability available and willingness work for country to utilize the strengths and opportunities that present themselves to rebuild our economy.