Compare the mudslides in the Maracas Valley and other outlying areas to mudslides in other countries that swallow up entire towns.

Compare the flooding in my area of TT to the recent Hurricane Harvey disaster in Texas.

Consider the heartaches caused as a result of collapses like Clico and the Hindu Credit Union.

Compare that to the fortunes lost to the ponzi schemes perpetrated by the Bernie Madoffs of this world.

Let me assure you that TT can boast of having the most honest businessmen, and the most sincere politicians ever to assume office. And God is a Trini.

Our children can walk the streets safe in the knowledge that they won’t be harmed or kidnapped. Compare this to the hundreds of innocent young girls snatched by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Our mothers and wives can go to sleep at night without fear of having their throats slit or of being raped. God is a Trini.

Our criminals only shoot each other; they have a high regard for the welfare of innocent bystanders.

Murders may be up, but serious crimes are way down.

Scotland Yard and the FBI are envious of our law enforcement’s high detection and conviction rates.

Now don’t get me wrong, we may have a few problems but we are so blessed that for two days each year our women can dance naked in the streets without fear.

God is a Trini. To the bone. But I tell you this, if ever He decides to migrate I am leaving the very same day. I think I will go to Canada and sing calypso. Bless you all.

TYRONE EVANS Belmont

In response to a question at a news conference following a meeting of the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC), Keston Nancoo, chairman of the Employers’ Consultative Association (ECA), said the business sector will hold to the commitment. However, he added that he had not discussed it with anyone but he believed that good sense will prevail when it comes to layoffs in the current economic situation.

The other business representative, Gabriel Faria, Chief Executive Officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, said that without consultation he could not speak for the hundreds of businesses which are members of the chamber and the different business groups. “We represent a multitude of businesses and while I am sure that the desire and the goal of every business is to retain and grow, we know what’s happening in the economy so, unfortunately I cannot speak for every business in TT. I know today there are companies that are hiring and growing while I know that there are companies that have stark economic realities. So I think we have to be practical as to what we could assume.” Yesterday’s NTAC meeting was the first which included representatives of the labour movement since its withdrawal from the council in March.

It was reported at the time that labour walked off the council to protest Government’s decision to shut down the Tourism Development Corporation, but JTUM’s Vincent Cabrera said the real reason was the lack of consultation before the decision was taken and announced.

Joseph Remy, President of the Communication Workers’ Union, the majority union at the corporation, has said he was informed of the decision in a telephone call lasting just over a minute from Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, shortly before the decision was announced at a post-Cabinet news conference. The trade union movement saw that lack of consultation as an insult to all trade unions.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley attended the meeting and participated in the discussions.

Briefing journalists afterwards, NTAC chairman, Camille Robinson-Regis said it was a fruitful two-hour meeting and all sides agreed, “we were in this together and we would work together to foster an ethic that is in the best interest of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago.” She said the prime minister reminded the meeting of the country’s watchwords: “Together we aspire, together we achieve,” and said they were holding fast to those watchwords. Robinson-Regis said there was free and frank discussion and all sides agreed to work together, adding that “We feel quite certain that the three entities, labour, government and the private sector are essential to ensure that the challenges we find ourselves in at this time can be overcome and that it will be overcome if we work together.” In a statement on behalf of JTUM, Cabrera said the meeting represented a process of revitalisation and the return of the labour movement marked the revitalisation of NTAC. He said Rowley conveyed the government’s view that all parties should be forward looking.

However, he stressed that, “We have made our position quite clear as a labour movement, we would not be putting workers as sacrificial lambs but at the same time while we look at fiscal responsibility, we have to look at social responsibility.”

“It promises to be a spectacular event as the people of TT and the region will come together to raise funds to rebuild Barbuda,” Fabien said.

Over 170 artistes will be performing soca, calypso, chutney, tassa, dancehall, reggae, comedy, theatre and much more.

Assisting Fabien in the concert’s presentation is No Laughing Matter, a group of conscientious and professional individuals within the theatre, arts, media, cultural ambassadors, business, and people with a passion for TT and the Caribbean.

One Island will feature 12 hours of performances in aid of victims of Hurricane Irma which battered several Caribbean islands including Barbuda. The public is being asked to make a contribution of $50, together with three canned items (expiring not before 2018) or a case of water at the event. “We have a 40-foot container on site waiting, and it will be stuffed as items come in, and on Monday the container is going to leave the Oval and go to the port to go on its journey,” Fabien said.

He is hoping to raise $1 million to assist in the rebuilding of Barbuda.

“The impetus is for Barbuda because when we saw the other places that were affected by Hurricane Irma we knew they have help from some other countries because they are Dutch or French or English.

But Barbuda have the Caricom.

We are Barbuda’s big brother so we are seeing about them.

Therefore One Island the Concert is reserved for Barbuda.” With the residents having all been evacuated from the island since Irma, Fabien noted: “Barbudans are all living with families in Antigua.

So that is why we need the help of people on the ground to get items to these specific people, hence the reason we are working with the HALO Foundation, an Antigua-based NGO.

They have been doing work there for a long time just as Feel has been doing in TT .” He then stated that ambassador Gail Christian from Halo will be coming for the event while Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda has sent his appreciation and his love, and the people of Barbuda, their gratitude.

Among the artistes who have confirmed their attendance are Blaxx, Shurwayne Winchester, Teddyson John (St Lucia), 3canal, Vaughnette Bigford, Ziggy Rankin’, Ronnie McIntosh, Orlando Octave, Baron, Michelle Xavier, Isasha, Swappi (Grenada), Myron B, 5Star Akil, Kevon Carter, Johann Chuckaree, Dane Gulston, Denise Belfon, Pternsky, Jason Seecharan, Adesh Samaroo, Raymond Ramnarine, Neval Chatelal, Sharlene Flores, KV Charles, Oscar B, Christian Kalpee, Asten Isaac and Nadia La Fond.

Performances will also come from top dance, parang, spoken word artistes and popular DJs. Also listed are Imij & Co, Los Alumnos, Malick Folk Performers and Wasafoli, Shiv Shakti dancers, D C Shell Theatre — Bollywood Dance, Wendy Sheppard, Lujoe & Gifted, Freetown Collective, Militant, Rembunction, Chantwell, Prince of Theatre Darrion — spoken word, Ninja, Allan the Entertainer, Rodey, Hamidullah, Bon Bassa, Leandra and Tyler Head, Anuradha Hansraj and Nigel Rojas.

Fabien is also hoping that Alison Hinds and Rupee will be able to make it.

Many of us who sell services often think that we haven’t quite found our passion. We move from industry to industry, change jobs but still find that after the glow of the new job fades, we’re back to square one – feeling unfulfilled. Not that we can’t do the job. We are more than competent but there’s something missing, and we can’t quite put our finger on it.

Your success is based on the convergence on the following:

Clarity. Entrepreneur Peter Voogd says that in a world filled with so many options, mindless distractions and evolving technology and information overload, it has become extremely difficult to gain clarity. Most entrepreneurs haven’t come to grips with how important clarity is and how big a role it plays in their success. Clarity brings confidence and confidence raises standards.

Many times we’re advised to follow our dreams, identify our passions, do what we love. If you’re here, stop. I think it’s more important to figure out how you’re naturally wired to perform. What’s your behaviour pattern? Do you like to build on things, do you like to solve problems, do you work best under extreme pressure? Don’t for one second think it’s not important.

Dan Sullivan, founder and president of the Strategic Coach Inc explains it this way: “Has anyone ever encouraged you to improve in areas where you struggle? If you’re like most people, the answer is yes. This is how most of the world thinks and operates. But does it truly make your life better? Do you absolutely love doing it now that you’re better at it? Our guess is no it doesn’t, and no you don’t. Your unique ability is a completely different mindset that honors your natural strengths, what’s already within you and comes most naturally to you. It’s you at your very best —the way you create your best results and what people count on you for. Even if you do have a pretty good idea of what you do really well and are really passionate about doing, you might take it for granted. Most people downplay it, thinking anyone can do what they do, but that’s simply not true. You have a unique way of doing what you’re best at because of who you are as a person — your personality, your unique experiences in life, your natural hard-wired talents… no one is exactly like you.”

This is your zone of genius. You must get clear on what this is for you.

Next you need to do something that creates value and can be sold. We often love to draft strategic plans but to have a REAL strategy, it must really matter to your existing and potential customers and it must differentiate you from others in the same field. You get clarity around this by asking your present AND potential customers. Let them know what you’re designing and find out if it is of value to them.

You must figure out a way to get their attention. Michael Zipursky found of Consulting Success shares this: “The fact is, every [service professional] is different and requires an approach that is a fit for their goals and circumstances. More Facebook advertising or social media posts won’t necessarily help you. Learning how to do cold sales phone calls won’t change things much. While the people pitching you those tactics may be qualified in teaching them, they are far from qualified in teaching you the timeless and powerful fundamentals essential to building a successful practice.”

And finally you need to have a sales conversation. Without it, you won’t get paid for your solutions.

What you need is a clear mind and deep focus on each one of these four steps to execute them properly. Take Michael’s advice: If you’re spending all your time dabbling in different marketing tactics without giving these four steps the attention and care they deserve you’re leaving money on the table.

The remaining 2018 World Cup qualifiers are of academic importance, possibly a good lime, because the Road to Russia has been bombed.

Already the argument of local coach versus foreign coach has reared its ugly head and the long knives have been drawn.

My view is that we need to stay local with coach Dennis “Tallest” Lawrence. He could at least tweak his coaching staff.

Frankly, the fluctuating quality of play, the individual defensive errors, the gun-shy approach outside the box and lack of fitness by some players were key factors in derailing our campaign.

We also did not make use of our opportunities.

I hold the view that every player must bring his A-game and agonise over poor performances. The team lacked the killer instinct moving as a force to demolish opponents.

At the end of the campaign moving forward, I would like to see football jefe David John Williams put on an “ideas shop” where all stakeholders and fans can have an input in the way forward. After sifting through the noise, he and the Football Association will have a clear idea on the pathway to Qatar.

KEITH ANDERSON via email

Struck several times with a Taser, you become comatose. No need for a gun. With our history of rampant domestic violence, Tasers could provide another form of giving “loving chastisement.” They do not want you dead, just in a lot of pain.

Do I need to walk down the road of naughty teenagers running about with cans of pepper spray? Bullying in school will reach a new dimension.

Who is going to provide legislation to prevent misuse of these deterrents? Who would sell them? A doomsday scenario shows more women injured and beaten with their own Tasers. There might well be an increase in blind young people in all communities because bullies do not know when to stop.

Shops selling Tasers and pepper spray could outdo the Chinese restaurants that are often raided.

LYNETTE JOSEPH Diego Martin

Approximately 80 people comprising of staff members, family and friends from these organisations, alongside hundreds of other local enthusiasts (at different locations) and millions throughout the globe, helped promote ocean conservation on this day.

Vice president of marketing at TSTT , Camille Campbell, commended those who came out in their numbers to assist in the ICC activity.

Brand ambassador, Dwayne Bravo, was on hand to support the beach clean-up following his hectic but victorious Trinbago Knight Riders Caribbean Premier League T20 campaign.

“Both locals and tourists come to this beach and it’s good to see that bmobile has taken the lead when it comes to the upliftment of the country. For me personally, I saw it fit to come and support these volunteers, who took time out to help make this country a cleaner place, for all of us to enjoy. I’m also happy to see many kids out here today assisting in this effort to preserve our environment,” he stated.

The ICC initiative, held annually on the third Saturday in September, was coordinated on a worldwide scale by Ocean Conservancy Office of Pollution Prevention and Monitoring, and presented—in its 13th year locally— through the Caribbean Network for Integrated Rural Development (CNIRD)

Development of the field was expected to dramatically improve the supply picture for both countries. However, several earlier agreements have failed to see the project progress, and there is continued uncertainty about how the gas will be monetised. In July 2017, both countries assured that their bilateral gas sales agreement was still on track for completion by the end of the month. However, that did not materialise and the deal is still pending.

Ultimately, new investment is critical to helping offset high rates of decline at the country’s oil fields. To boost investment and offset the impact of lower global oil prices, State-owned Petrotrin confirmed it had reduced royalty rates levied against oil companies involved in farm-out and work-over exploration programmes.

The start of a long delayed 40,000b/d Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD) unit in 2015 allowed the country to produce cleaner diesel with lower sulphur content. This US$503 million project, two years behind schedule, enabled the country to meet more stringent fuel standards in the US and Europe. This formed part of the country’s Clean Fuels Upgrade programme, which, though long delayed, also saw the implementation of the Gasoline Optimisation Programme (GOP) which aims to replace aged equipment, improve plant reliability, produce more value-added products and meet stringent gasoline specifications.

The country’s desire to move into high-value-added refining was likely prompted by the expansion of the Caracas-backed PetroCaribe oil trading scheme. PetroCaribe provides crude and oil products to participating Central American and Caribbean countries on barter and low credit terms. This scheme has had a negative impact on Trinidad and Tobago, which saw our oil product market share in the Caribbean market drop under a deluge of heavily-subsidised Venezuelan oil as late as 2015.

Trinidad and Tobago sells gas on contracts indexed to the price of oil, which has declined since late 2014; and the government has signaled that it has concerns over the structure of existing exports contracts, which were arranged under the assumption that LNG would be sold to the US market. The latter once purchased around four-fifths of our total gas output. Now the US is becoming a major LNG exporter. Trinidad and Tobago will not only lose that market, but may also come into direct competition with the US for Caribbean and Latin American markets. US LNG, linked to the weakened Henry Hub index, can be expected to be competitively priced which can be expected to challenge this country’s dominant position in the Latin American market, where it accounted for 40 per cent of all seaborne imports in 2014.

As a response, the government should consider building on its relationships with other CARICOM countries and expand aggressively into new markets to capture market share. With the reopening of the expanded Panama Canal, which will be able to accommodate 90 per cent of the worlds’ LNG carriers compared to four per cent currently, transport constraints to Pacific markets will be virtually eliminated, and Trinidad and Tobago can focus on expanding exports to higher-priced Asian markets where global demand growth will be concentrated over the coming decade. Cargo from this country will be able to reach East Asia more economically with a 30 per cent reduction in sailing times to Japan. Exports to regional customers such as Chile will also be facilitated by the expansion.

We face increased competition and the challenges attracting foreign investment in the energy sector, we need to determine what our competitive advantage is and create profitable opportunities for ourselves. Where is our economic plan?

Opening a Pre-Budget Forum titled Budget for Gender Justice: Make Households Matter to the House, last week at The UWI’s Learning Research Centre, head of the institute, economist Dr Gabrielle Hosein, said the institute had begun developing a Gender Justice Scorecard. A handout circulated at the forum said the goal of the scorecard will be to provide “a gendered analysis of national fiscal policy and its implications for peace, security and empowerment within households, highlighting how the national budget process and budgetary allocations have differential and inequitable impact on women, men, girls and boys in a time of economic crisis.”

It added that by stimulating wider engagement with “gender-sensitive budgeting, the scorecard will also support Central Statistical Office (CSO) capacity building for better governance, and will provide an example of action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 4 – Health; Goal 5 – Gender Equality; Goal 8 – Reduced Inequalities and Goal 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.”

However, Attzs said such an objective might risk being impeded by a lack of relevant data or gender analysis of economic developments in the country, observing that it was important for policymakers and researchers to have the kind of data to help them make informed decisions and recommendations. “The issue of data paucity cannot be ignored. We are essentially feeling our way in the dark, trying to make decisions, trying to mainstream gender, trying to develop things like

the gender scorecard, trying to achieve gender justice, but we don’t have the data to support the path that we want to take.”

By way of illustration, she showed a slide of a table on this country from the World Development Indicators which she said she had downloaded “in the last 24 hours” so that it was as current as possible. The table showed that information broken down by gender in a number of key areas was either missing or incomplete. She said the table was informative “in a perverse way” because “if we don’t have data then we can’t make policy decisions that help us achieve the desired outcomes”. She said “essentially, we treat Ministries and budgetary allocations as if they are operating in silos and not really understanding and recognising that if we are to achieve the empowerment, or that greater gender balance in terms of how our men and our women develop and how they access services and how they ultimately become empowered.”

She said the society was talking about improved access for women to various programmes so that they could improve their lives and become more empowered and more active participants in the economic space, “but we don’t have the dis-agregated sets of data to allow us to see what touch points of intervention are required to help us to achieve that particular outcome.”

Hosein referred to a number of calypso classics such as Singing Sandra’s Crying, Shadow’s Poverty is Hell, Sparrow’s Capitalism Gone Mad, and Brother Resistance’s Ah Cyar Take That, which all chronicled the hardships of poverty, saying these songs “all spoke to everyday life and the stresses of providing care for children and the elderly as well as the effects of violence on families, the pressures of unemployment, under-employment and informal work and an inability to make ends meet.”

Hosein said the project being undertaken by the institute was to provide data to respond to the cries of the calypsonians and to empower civil society advocacy for State accountability to these realities. She said the global political economy must be held accountable at a time of economic and ecological crisis, adding that “the current global and national economic models cannot solve this crisis because neither oil nor gas will get the country out of the economic and ecological crises it faces.” She said, “its permanence makes focusing on the insecurity it causes a matter of urgency. At the very least national fiscal policy and planning must be held accountable for how it addresses the causes and effects of this crisis on everyday life. “

She said that the country’s “big dreams” for development, peace and sustainability also require gender justice and where gender justice exists, ideas about womanhood and manhood do not reproduce discrimination, denial of rights and vulnerability to harm and inequitable access to power and resources. “States, communities and individuals all actively committed to transforming these into just opportunities, outcomes, norms and relations from women, men, girls, and boys.

She said that according to UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women which became operational in 2011, gender budgeting is not about creating separate budgets for women or solely increasing spending on women’s programmes, rather it looks beyond the balance sheets to investigate whether women and men fare differently under existing expenditure patterns. She said it calls for adjusting budget policies to advance gender equality and more equitable distribution of the gains of economic development, adding that it is a step toward greater public transparency.

The idea is not a new one. Hosein said that as far back as the 1970s, “Caribbean feminists showed how structural adjustment policies impoverished families and communities. Two decades later, they began to push for gender responsive budgeting with organisations like the Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women, and the Women’s Institute for Alternative Development, taking the lead. Two decades later, we continue to build on that legacy. Our goal is to press forward national conversations about the everyday life of this current crisis and its different impact on women, men, boys and girls. It’s the differential impact that makes commitment to and advocacy for gender justice so key. Our goal is therefore to begin to provide gendered analyses of the national budget process and budgetary allocations and their implications for peace, security, empowerment and gender equality as experienced in everyday life and in our households.

Hosein said that over the next three years, the institute will be working to produce a gender justice scorecard which will aim to access five sectors in terms of gender responsive budgeting: labour; social services; health; education and agriculture. “And we have a special focus on cross-sectoral concerns related to gender-based violence and the care of the economy. We hope that this will help to empower citizens to advocate for greater fiscal accountability to people’s lived realities, to influence the budget process and to press governments to meet international commitments, among them the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, the Inter- American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of violence against women and the Sustainable Development Goals 2016 – 2030.”

Territories impacted most by these storms include Dominica, Anguilla, Barbuda, Saint Martin, Turks & Caicos and the Virgin Islands, Antigua, the southern Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico and St Kitts & Nevis. Barbuda was said by its Prime Minister to be “uninhabitable”, as was the case with several areas in southern Florida, especially the Keys.

BMI Research has announced that they expect substantial negative impacts on real GDP growth across the region, as much of the local infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed and the tourism industry is unlikely to rebound in the near future. In some smaller economies, most notably those of the ECCU and the US Virgin Is lands, there is increased risk of a credit event.

While accurate data on the extent of damage will likely not be available for some time, media reports indicate that the destruction is likely to be severe on islands directly hit by the storm. As a result, in the days ahead, forecasts regarding economic growth will need to be revisited for impacted countries and territory, for both 2017 and the years thereafter.

There are several precedents in the Caribbean for the damage done by Hurricane Irma. Most notable is the case of Grenada after Hurricane Ivan in 2004, which damaged or destroyed more than 90 per cent of structures on the island. Real GDP growth fell from 8.6 per cent in 2003 to 0.1 per cent in 2004, due to collapses in the agricultural, manufacturing and tourism sectors. Grenada defaulted on its debt as the storm hollowed out the country’s revenue base and forced the government to ramp up spending on recovery efforts, undermining its ability to service its obligations. Similarly, Montserrat’s real GDP growth slowed from 8.6 percent in 1988 to 3.0 per cent in 1989 following Hurricane Hugo, and Dominica saw its real GDP contract 3.7 per cent in 2015 after being hit by Tropical Storm Erika, following a 4.0 per cent expansion in 2014.

It is expected that reconstruction efforts, possibly fuelled by foreign grants, would see economic growth rebound at a rapid pace after major storms. In the case of Grenada, real GDP accelerated from 0.1 per cent in 2004, when the storm hit, to 12.5 per cent in 2005, in large part due to 90.8 per cent year-on-year growth in the construction sector. This suggests that some of the islands impacted by Irma could see a “V-shaped recovery”, marked by a rapid re-acceleration of real GDP growth. However, the capacity of each economy to recover will depend on the availability of external financing, as most are unable to fund this process themselves. In addition, depending on the extent of damage, a return of the non-construction sectors to pre-storm activity levels may take several years given the extent of damage reported, as well as shallow domestic capital and labor pools.

The extremely limited fiscal capacity of domestic governments in several cases will make the Caribbean heavily dependent on outside grants to finance rebuilding efforts. It is possible that those islands which are overseas territories of larger, more developed nations are likely to rebuild at a faster pace in the years ahead, as they will have greater access to substantial relief funds. Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, St Martin and Turks & Caicos are overseas territories. Antigua & Barbuda as well as St Kitts & Nevis are not, suggesting they may face a more challenging rebuilding process. The most vulnerable economies are Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda and the US Virgin Islands as these have high debt loads, wide current account deficits and fixed exchange rate regimes. The likelihood of a credit event in each of the affected economies will be significantly impacted by the degree of international support each island receives.

Last week in an article entitled Coping with the Cost of Natural Disasters, this newspaper identified three solutions to address the impact of natural disasters in the region: the establishment of a regional stabilisation and liquidity fund, as well as a catastrophe fund and the adoption of stricter building codes. However, these are medium to long term solutions. We return to the issue of disasters because these affected countries need help now and the response must be quick and sustained to get the countries back to a position that will allow them to function and begin to take care of themselves. While individual countries will offer assistance, as the CARICOM region, we must provide coordinated assistance. This is where the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) which is a regional inter-governmental agency for disaster management in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Included among its many functions are mobilising and coordinating disaster relief, mitigating or eliminating, as far as practicable, the immediate consequences of disasters in participating states and providing immediate and coordinated response by means of emergency disaster relief to any affected participating state. As a region, these member institutions of CARICOM have a critical role to play in assisting the member countries to address the effects of natural disasters. As citizens of this region we must demand that our governments fulfil their obligations both bilaterally and through institutions such as CARICOM to fulfil the expectations we had in these regional institutions.