Sinanan, a senior member of the faculty of the Academy of Caribbean Fashion and Design at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, joined forces with two business partners who have worked in the area and seen it grow. She joked that it wasn’t so much a passion for cooking but rather, her friends’ desire for something more interesting and appetising to eat near to their offices.

“There are a lot of companies now — big companies — and there’s a gap in the market because people want somewhere good to go to eat,” Sinanan, told Business Day at Banana Joes launch party last Saturday.

Banana Joes has a prime spot in the middle of the burgeoning industrial estate sprouting along El Socorro south, where huge warehouses — including Newsday’s production offices — are located, but where options for a quick lunch or after work lime are limited.

Sinanan and her partners saw the opportunity and capitalised, purchasing a brand new trailer outfitted with restaurant standard equipment, a 50-gallon water tank and a generator. They hired three chefs who whipped up a classic American-style menu, featuring sliders, popcorn chicken and wings slathered in three signature sauces. There’s also dessert — a signature brownie topped with caramelised bananas.

So far they only cater for lunchtime orders, but soon they hope to expand their menu items to include breakfast prepared by Sous Chef Krystal George from August 4, and of course, after work limes.

On July 1, they made their debut at the 2nd Annual Trinidad and Tobago Food Truck Festival, Hasley Crawford Stadium, and then a second appearance a week later at Bessfest: Taste of Trinidad and Tobago Food Festival at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

Sinanan says the reception so far has been good, especially because food trucks, a growing trend in TT, provide affordable and varied options to good quality meals on par with even fancy restaurants.

Now that they’ve established themselves as a contender in the market, she added that Banana Joes is looking to get the required permits from the various Regional Corporations to set up its mobile shop in designated vending zones around the country.

Sinanan — and Banana Joes — is also ready to be an advocate for the industry.

“The food truck industry is a growing industry and I think it needs some recognition. In fact, there are a number of them now and we are trying to form ourselves into a movement. We definitely have to become more organised and meet with the authorities and get them to understand that it’s an industry that’s growing,” she said.

The industry is also a premium employer for graduates of the various hospitality institution graduates in Trinidad and Tobago, she pointed out.

“It can’t be just fast food and there’s not enough high-end restaurants they can all go to, so this is a good in between industry they can enter,” Sinanan said.

In fact, Banana Joes’ chefs are recent graduates of the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI) in Chaguaramas.

Chef Stefan Taylor has an Associate’s degree in Culinary Management, from the TTHTI, and says he enjoys seeing customers’ faces light up when they taste his food.

“We use the freshest ingredients. We create our own stuff. We don’t follow the trends, we try to set them,” he said.

His Sous Chef, Keon Cooper also has an Associate’s degree in Culinary Management from the TTHTI and has interned for the Hotel Imperator in Nimes, France.

“It’s the whole idea of making our food from scratch and cooking it perfectly. We’re also a family. That’s how we operate,” he said.

And just where did the name Banana Joes come from?

“When we were younger, there was a show on TV with a man who used to relax on a beach all day. That was the inspiration for our mascot — a banana lounging in a beach chair with a cocktail,” Sinanan said with a laugh.

The quarterly survey of finance professionals including CFOs, conducted by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA (the Institute of Management Accountants), found that despite uncovering a slight drop in confidence, the future is still bright especially when compared to the global outlook of the last couple of years. The number of respondents expecting conditions to worsen exceeds those expecting conditions to improve by 10 percentage points – yielding the second-highest confidence index in two years and better than the average since the survey began.

So the outlook for the global economy is promising, with all of the main economies set for decent growth over the next few years. Although a large-scale fiscal stimulus (in the form of tax cuts and increased spending on infrastructure) in the US is looking less likely, the US economy should continue to perform well, helped in large part by a strong employment market.

Consumption growth is the most important component of demand, and that should continue to drive the recovery in the US and elsewhere. Another reason for optimism is the overall health of the banking sector. Credit growth from banks has picked up which is a sign that investment is going to pick up too.

Meanwhile, over the coming year growth in the Caribbean region may benefit from strong tourism revenues, supported by the recovery in the global economy, most notably in the US and Latin America. Many parts of the Caribbean, most notably Trinidad and Tobago, suffered when commodity prices fell. For our commodity producing nation, rich in petroleum, cocoa and citrus fruits to name a few, falling prices meant a loss of export earnings, jobs under threat and a currency crisis because it led to depreciation of the currency value, which is inherently underpinned by the worth of our commodity exports.

Caribbean economies – such as Barbados, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands can be helped with the pick-up in tourism numbers and demand for financial services from the US. Tourism is a major contributor to the region’s economic growth. The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) reported that Caribbean islands welcomed an estimated 28.7 million people in 2015, an increase of 7% on visitors in the year before. North America was the most confident region followed closely by South Asia.

Elsewhere, emerging economies have reported greater improvements to economic confidence. The economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China are all now growing simultaneously for the first time in over two years.

Meanwhile, the Eurozone may benefit from easing austerity, and investor confidence after parties opposing the European Union failed to deliver in recent elections. Through a combination of a gentler than expected slowdown in China and consumption growth driving recovery in the US and elsewhere, this has led to a fairly positive global outlook for this quarter.

The IMF recently upgraded its forecasts for global growth to 3.5% in 2017 and 3.6% in 2018, up from just 3.1% last year. Given the improving outlook, this is looking more than achievable.

Getting the economic confidence back up in any country can be very difficult. But it is vital for an economy and it is up to policymakers to demonstrate clear ideas to boost business confidence and avoid further downward drift. Accountants are crucial to steering businesses through these difficulties; after all accounting is the backbone of the business financial world. Through contributing to discussions about economic growth, managing finances and promoting good financial management, they enable CFOs to successfully navigate businesses as they face tough times ahead and take advantage of challenging circumstances.

What we have repeatedly expressed as unease is now unfortunately becoming alarm as a collapse of law and order looms ever closer over our heads. Not a day goes by without news of heinous crimes being committed against others who live and work here. Needless to say, violent crime – unprecedented in our country – has become a norm.

It is particularly disturbing when, increasingly, we learn of attacks upon our children and youth.

Over the past five years or so, we at the TT Chamber can recall several high-profile crimes that remain unresolved. But make no mistake, every day the average citizen of Trinidad and Tobago is exposed to some form of violence and injustice that threaten either their own life or that of a loved one, friend, co-worker or just someone in their network with whom they are acquainted. We are all grappling with this scourge.

The increasingly brazen attitude of criminal elements has been a disturbing trend. Today, there are communities being held to ransom by groups who have established themselves as community leaders. These “leaders” operate within areas as if it were their personal fiefdoms, dispensing jobs, justice and even charity as they appear to provide a parallel order to the legitimate institutions within the community.

As a business representative organisation, the TT Chamber cannot turn a blind eye to the devastating impact of white collar crime on our country – economically, socially and reputation-wise. White collar crime is both insidious and pervasive, and accounts for a multi-million-dollar industry. Parliament’s Joint Select Committee into the National Security Ministry certainly disclosed numerous bits of eye-opening information – not in the least the worrying trend of only 40 per cent of containers being checked upon entry into this country. Because owners are deemed compliant in the main, they are given free clearance. This is indeed cause for concern.

Within recent times, the police service has demonstrated how swift action can lead to the apprehension of suspects and foil intended criminal activity. And while such proactive strategies need to be commended in the discharge of duty, being one step ahead of the criminal element seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

Enough is enough. Urgent action by those charged with the responsibility is an imperative. There must be no compromise – particularly during a period of economic uncertainty. Crime must be brought within manageable levels and detection rates must increase. Only then will we be on the path to restoring some sense of safety and security among all citizens, and legitimate businesses will be able to reap their just rewards. Following the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition the TT Chamber remains hopeful that despite the rhetoric, it is the beginning of a genuine quest to find some common ground to address the critical issue of crime, with a view to developing concrete solutions to this pervasive challenge.

Paul, who competes in the super heavyweight division, will leave this week for England.

Paul was this country’s lone boxer at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. In other boxing news, The Arena organised by ACT TV continues with the elite boxing showcase at the Cosmic Boxing Gym in Marabella on Saturday, from 7 pm.

These bouts are televised and its popularity is encouraging more fans to support boxing, while giving the TT boxers the necessary exposure and preparation they need for regional and international tournaments.

Although TT did not win a medal at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in Bahamas from July 18 to 23, the Trinidad and Tobago Boxing Association congratulated the young national boxers for their effort.

SATURDAY’S CARD Tyrell Cadette (YTC Conquerors) vs Isaac Herbert (Golden Fist) – 81kg light heavyweight
Romel Lezama (YTC Conquerors) vs Akiel Outram (Biomel Boxing Gym) – 69kg welterweight
Shakir Garcia (Magic Community Boxing) vs Anthony Joseph (World Class Boxing Gym) – 56kg bantamweight
Blessing Waldropt (Biomel Boxing Gym) vs Sherkeem Hernandez (YTC Conquerors) – 60kg lightweight
Jeremiah Thomas (TB) vs Keon Harry (East POS) – 91kg heavyweight
Joshua Sylvester (Biomel Boxing Gym) vs Nickell Joseph (Siparia Boxing Gym) – 75kg middleweight
Kyleron Ruiz (Potential Boxing Gym) vs Akiel Thomas (South East POS) – 69kg welterweight

This is considered the start of Port of Spain since up to that time there were only 12 settlers in Puerto Grande operating the port. Under the Spanish, the port town was named Puerto España and consisted of seven streets.

These were renamed with the arrival of the French and again under the English: Calle Infante became Rue Trois Chandelles, then Duncan St.

Calle Príncipe became Rue l’Eglise, then Nelson St. Calle San José became Rue La Place then George St.

Calle Santa Ana became Rue Ste Anne then Charlotte St. Calle Herrera became Rue Neuve then Henry St.

Calle San Carlos became Rue des Anglais then Frederick St. Calle Chacón became Rue Chacon then Chacon St.

Those streets not renamed by the French did not survive Anglicisation: Plaza La Marina was changed to King St, Calle San Luis to Queen St, Calle Santa Rosa to Prince St, and Calle Princesa de Asturias to Duke St.

By1803, the little town of Port of Spain with its 11 streets was considered one of the finest in the Antilles.

The main square, Plaza Marina, was rechristened Marine Square and the street running along its northern boundary, formerly known as Calle Marina, was renamed King Street.

The three cross streets to the north were named Queen, Prince and Duke, in descending order of royalty, while George and Charlotte Streets, formerly known as Calle San José and Calle Santa Ana, were rechristened in honour of their Majesties King George III and the Afro-European Queen Charlotte, and the town itself became known as Port of Spain.

Old Port of Spain was ravaged by two great fires in 1808 and 1895.

Following both incidents, it was rebuilt in the elegant French Colonial style. Most of these elegant buildings have been lost due to neglect, impoverished ownership and aggressive commercialisation.

It appears that there is no one at the Port of Spain Corporation who is even remotely aware of the city’s history. In fact, the goal of Anglicisation under the British was the eradication of Trinidad’s Spanish and French heritage which was actively opposed by the longstanding Creole population. Naming Wrightson Road after the expatriate director of public works would reflect this goal.

In my view, renaming and restoring Wrightson Road for our first Miss Universe would approach a more fitting tribute and do no further offence to our Creole heritage.

STEVE ESCALIER via email

After waiting for almost four hours, my number was finally called. The attending clerk perused my application and duly informed me that I needed to get further documentation to support my claim. I pointed our that I had all the required documents but I was told to get the documents as directed.

I returned the following morning to wait another two hours but this time I was pleasantly surprised to have a very pleasant and helpful young woman attend to me.

I was there long enough the previous day to observe the different clerks perform their duties and this young woman stood out even then.

Amidst all the horror stories we hear about the NIB, I acknowledge the person who made my second visit a worthwhile one. I observed two others who went out of their way to help visitors.

Those employees are truly assets to the NIB and I hope others will use them as examples to improve their customer service, especially to the elderly who make up the majority of clients.

KARMINI PARSAN Barataria

This means that we can look forward to the future portfolio drill-out. The new offshore gas discoveries, as well as plans to increase upstream investment, should be taken as a boost of confidence in Trinidad and Tobago’s aging energy sector. This is even more significant as the energy sector has been impacted in recent years by falling prices and concerns over dwindling reserves.

While all this represents positive developments, we must understand that the Macadamia field should at least have an operational platform around 2020, while the Savannah field will be linked into the nearby Juniper platform when it comes on-line later this year. We must also note bpTT’s announcement of the construction and subsequent deployment of a 15th platform, to bring on-line its Angelin offshore gas project, which is located 60 km off Trinidad’s south-east.

There is the anticipation that production in the Angelin field will begin in the first quarter of 2019. When in production there will be four wells forecasted to produce up to 600 million standard cubic feet per day.

In recent years, we have suffered a decline in energy earnings due to lower prices and falling output. This has had the knock-on effect of being responsible for lower government revenues. The Minister of Finance has reported that government income fell by 35% to TT$37bn between 2014 and 2016. We have also seen our net international reserves drop from $10.4bn as of May 2014 to $8.95bn at the end of May 2017, resulting in export coverage moving from 12 months to 10.

We have also seen reduced spending by oil and gas companies to a fall in first-half projections of value-added tax (VAT) revenue. It is estimated that income from VAT fell short of forecast by as much as TT$669m; the projected full-year figure for FY 2016/17 was estimated at TT$7.8bn.

New offshore gas discoveries and plans to increase upstream investment should boost confidence in Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector, which has been impacted in recent years by falling prices and concerns over dwindling reserves. These new deposits are expected to take time to begin operations. However, they signify a degree of security for the energy sector and the government, giving us a sizable amount of reserves for exploitation and extended long-term revenue flow.

These new projects in the pipeline mean that there could be a reversal of lower spending and its negative impact on VAT in the energy sector. Henry Hub Natural Gas Spot Price has increased from more than a 10- year low of $1.75 per million British thermal units in March last year to $2.98 last month. If gas prices continue to rise, this could assist in a turnaround. The advent of higher gas prices and increased production could serve as growth drivers this year. We can surely hope that these factors could assist in getting the economy out of the recession it entered into since 2015.

Parents are relieved, some excited as they congratulate each other; children gear down on the stress; schools celebrate and the Ministry of Education analyses how to reduce the percentage of low achievers.

If education is indoctrination then the SE A is way off the target.

At this level our primary school students should be taught the primary things in life. Reading, writing and counting are secondary skills.

Indoctrination prepares children to inherit and preserve the planet. All should be taught to relate to their bodies, ensuring that they know how to treat it, to keep it healthy, to help it recover from diseases and illnesses, to preserve it and use it for the purpose it was intended.

The second aim of the process is to train children how to deal with their fellow man. The teaching must cover how to live in harmony, to handle disagreements and to resolve conflicts peacefully. Self-worth, the dignity of human beings and confidence are tools we need to use and share to keep the Earth at paradise status.

Indoctrination is incomplete without learning to relate to the animals and plants, land, air and water and the landforms. How we use these things is equally important as replenishing them so that we do not abuse the planet out of existence.

These are the things to emphasise and if we need to read and write about and count what we do to these then so be it. When we evaluate and monitor it should be to determine how well our children are coping with life and not whether they are passing or failing man-made inventions, subjects. Rest assured that once you are alive you are coping and being successful because you are sitting the exam of life.

To teach anything that is distantly related to existence one will have to employ “forced learning” and if there is little or no interest in what is being taught the test will necessarily produce failures or low achievers.

Primary education is akin to indoctrination and should not be traded for preparing people for the workplace.

The function of secondary and tertiary education is to make the individual employable.

Even at this level indoctrination continues unabated so that the employee arrives at the place of work with industry and good work ethic.

The goal of educating for the workplace is too finite and unstable.

The very society that is training the young for employment is the same society that practises down-sizing, redundancy and job cuts.

In SEA-type education the high achievers are given all the praises while we conjure up schemes to bring the so-called low-achievers up to par. The latter group might be sending a serious message to our educators about the teaching methodology and the examination process.

These underachievers are the same children that can hear a song on the radio once and repeat verbatim without missing a line. If we are going to make primary school a happy place then we must indoctrinate so that children will learn to deal with issues in their lives.

If we insist on exam-oriented education then we will continue to inflict cruel and unjust punishment on the innocent, making the level of trauma tantamount to child abuse.

LENNOX FRANCIS retired teacher

This happened after yesterday’s statutory meeting of Portof- Spain City Council at City Hall, during which time the residents’ plight was raised by councillor June Durham.

Resident Kingsley Hinkson said for all his 70-plus years he lived at his Woodbrook house in which his parents had also previously lived. On Tuesday he was fined by three litter wardens for the manner in which he put his garbage out for collection.

Saying his family has put out their garbage the same way for the past 100 years they have lived there, he vowed not to pay the fine.

“I put it out at 8.30 am on the pavement in front of my property,” Hinkson said.

“All residents have it on the pavement at a specified time.

We have a regular collection of garbage so if you put it out by 10 am it is gone.” Hinkson said the wardens said it should have been in a bin or on a wall to be away from disruption by vagrants.

Martinez said he could not advise residents whether or not to pay the fines which are due by Monday, and if unpaid or contested could attract a further fine of thousands of dollars. He promised to look into the fines issued but offered no promises.

Health Inspector Mitra Sooklal said he could not rescind the penalties.

He said from now on he would allow a grace period for residents to put out their garbage for collection without penalty.

Sooklal said he will look at the tickets issued but said the litter wardens may have a different version of events to justify the tickets. Meanwhile he suggested residents place their garbage bags on their wall to await collection.

One resident related garbage trucks were refusing to collect her bush cuttings. Sooklal said she must contact the Transport and Collection Unit to arrange to collect these. “There’s no specific day for collection of tree cuttings.” Another said the litter wardens should instead patrol the club-lined Ariapita Avenue as she picks up 25 empty bottles every Saturday. Lamenting loud noise from bars (all night through to 6.30 am), from limers, slamming car doors and pounding music from passing cars, another woman asked, “How much more can we take?”.

Ramona Guichard complained of the hours she spent after Carnival trying to clean the stench of alcohol and urine from her yard Deputy Mayor Hillan Morean urged the purchase of decibel meters and for the EMA to train the City Police in noise control.

Martinez told Newsday that unlike magistrates at a liquor licensing session being able to refuse a licence if enough neighbours object, the corporation does not likewise register bars, but only gives approval for construction activity or change of use of premises.

In his brief address to the contingent, at the VIP Lounge, Piarco International Airport, Ronson Hackshaw, Assistant Director, Physical Education and Sport in the Ministry, congratulated the team on an outstanding performance.

He also noted that this was a historic moment as they were able to capture two gold medals, one bronze medal, and achieve two new world records. He thanked the coaches, supporters and the management team of the Trinidad and Tobago Paralympic Committee for their dedicated time and service in helping the Trinidad and Tobago athletes achieve success. He urged them to continue to make the nation’s country and citizens proud, and aim for the highest level of success in their respective disciplines. Sudhir Ramessar, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Paralympic Committee thanked the country for the continued support to their athletes, referring to them as “world class athletes who continue to excel against the odds.” Akeem Stewart, world record holder expressed his gratitude to God, his sponsors and his team members for their support and the ability to make it all happen.

He reiterated that it was a dream come through although he went to the games with high expectations, he didn’t expect to surpass his expectations in the disciplines in which he participated.

Overall, the team returned with three medals.

Akeem Stewart won gold in the Men’s F44 Javelin Throw and Men’s Shot Put F44 Final breaking both world records and Nyoshia Cain got bronze in the Women’s 100m T44 Final.