Maharaj, 30, appeared before Magistrate Gloria Jasmath a day after she appeared before a Justice of the Peace who had affixed the $15,000 bail. Maharaj is charged with making a false report to police that she was kidnapped, taken to a house, drugged, bound and gagged and then locked in the trunk of a car .

She was ‘rescued’ by police on Monday who found her in a car at the M2 Ring Road near La Romaine .

As a result of the report made by 30-year-old Maharaj, detective Insp Don Gajadhar coordinated a team of CID officers to investigate. On Tuesday afternoon, Maharaj was arrested at her Julien Trace, Barrackpore home and later charged .

Attorney Shawn Teekasingh, who held for attorney Subhas Panday, asked the magistrate to reset bail to a reasonable sum. Court prosecutor Sgt Krishna Bidassie objected to Teekasingh’s request saying the charge is very serious owing to the fact that police spent two days investigating the matter .

Magistrate Jasmath agreed with the prosecutor and told Maharaj she would revisit the bail set by JP Sandra Soogrim Ramsaran and increased the bill by $5,000. She then placed Maharaj’s mother Chandra Ramsawack, as surety. Maharaj was ordered to return to court next Monday .

Newsday Editor-in-Chief, Jones P. Madeira, recalled that when Sabga bought the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, he “injected a lot of capital towards its development as a major force in the industry.” Madeira said Sabga was “a giant who took the chance at expanding from print into radio and television.

This not only worked for him, more than that, it has led to the development of quite a large body of talent in both print and broadcast media.” “He was not afraid to roll his sleeves up and to assist in the development of all of his companies, including what has grown to become Guardian Media Limited.”

PAULA REMEMBERS Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, said Sabga’s life was “one of sheer determination, integrity and humility.” “He was resolute in creating and shaping his own future, and in the process, shaped the economic landscape of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. His journey from humble beginnings to head the Caribbean’s largest business conglomerate is a testament to his strength of character, his sound business acumen, his steadfastness of faith, and his willingness to share his knowledge and experiences. Dr Sabga was committed to creating goods and services of value, and he was equally devoted to improving his country and his countrymen.” Gopee-Scoon noted that in addition to receiving the first Prime Minister’s Award for Export Performance in 1968 and being inducted into the Business Hall of Fame in 2008, Sabga founded the ANSA Caribbean Awards for Excellence which recognises achievement and innovation by Caribbean nationals.

Reflecting on his many achievements and his contributions to local and regional development, Gopee-Scoon described Sabga as “an outstanding human being and will continue to be an inspiration to those in business and those seeking to make a positive change in the world we live in.” Managing Director of ANSA Merchant Bank, Gregory N. Hill, told Newsday he not only lost his chairman, with whom he “worked very closely,” he lost a mentor and friend.

“We had a very good, very close relationship over the past ten years.

He was not only my chairman, he was a personal mentor to me and I think the country and the Caribbean will truly miss him. It’s a loss to everyone but Mr Sabga left a fantastic legacy and provided a lot for a lot of people. He did a lot for the country, for the region.”

PRAISE FOR ‘UNCLE TONY’ Former Arima Mayor Ghassan Youseph, said “Uncle Tony was a gentleman to be admired and I could identify with him because he came to this country as a young boy; I came at the age of 15, and started his own business. I too ended up starting my own business.” “His greatest example as a businessman was to work hard and work with principle. One of his talents was hiring the right people because he built the business on his own at first but his greatest asset was his management team and hiring the right people. He was a visionary. Being a successful businessman takes two things – bravery and a vision, and he was a visionary when it came to business,” Youseph recalled.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (TT Chamber) said Sabga was known for his sharp mind and business acumen, and played a pivotal role in several areas of national life.

“His entrepreneurial ventures encompassed manufacturing, retail, agro-processing and more. He founded ANSA Industries in the immediate post-Independence era, working at that time with licensing arrangements from large international corporations, to manufacture stoves, refrigerators and other electrical appliances. These were exported to other islands in the years before CARICOM was established.

He also founded Standard Distributors and Carib Brewery – household names today.”

BIG VOID LEFT The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) said the death of this “captain of industry, left a void in the business landscape of TT.

“The most innovative venture undertaken by Dr. Sabga was possibly the marriage of three of the most successful businesses in the Caribbean – ANSA, McEnearney and Co. and Alston’s Ltd., – to form ANSA McAL a regional leader in manufacturing, distribution, services, packaging, automotives, media, shipping, travel, banking, insurance, real estate and most recently, energy.” “The TTMA mourns the loss of this great individual and is proud of his immense contribution to the local manufacturing sector of Trinidad and Tobago. Not only was he a great leader, but an icon in the eyes of many. He will be truly missed.

Gone but never forgotten.” Minister of Rural Development and Local Government, Kazim Hosein, said Sabga would be remembered for his “immense contributions to our country, his vision, humility and his strong spirit of volunteerism.” “We are truly grateful for his work with the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, especially during the (2017) National Clean-Up Campaign, in which his company donated glass recycling bins to each municipality.

In this time of loss, may the light of Almighty God shine down on his family and loved ones and provide them comfort. He will be sadly missed by all. May his soul be at peace.”

With an eye on brevity, this is the brief listing of the grounds: * Both Acts are dated for implementation beginning January 1, 2010, have lapsed and consequently lost their internal coherence, chronology and sequence of events by 2017, militating against legal and proper enforcement and in need of urgent judicial review.

* Previous property tax legislation has been prematurely repealed, establishing a legal vacuum or lacuna without any assessment rolls being compiled by the Commissioner of Valuation that is conditional for effective start-up.

* The May 22 deadline for owners of land to submit returns proclaimed by the Minister of Finance is a figment and fig leaf of his imagination without legal basis.

* Act No 18 is a violation of Sections 5 and 6 of the Constitution without being passed with the requisite constitutional majority.

* It is also an infringement of the constitutional rights to property ownership/possession and not to be deprived thereof, except by due process, as well as the right to privacy.

* Even if it complied with Sections 5 and 6 above, the Property Tax Act No 18 of December 31, 2009, is so draconian, oppressive, disruptive, unilateral and an unprecedented quantum and astronomical percentage deviation from the prevailing tax norm, and a denial of legitimate expectations, that it fails and would fail the test of proportionality in a democratic TT .

* The prevailing, adverse, regressive and plummeting socio-economic ecology will reinforce the applicability of the above-mentioned proportionality factor that can be upheld in and by a court of competent jurisdiction.

STEPHEN KANGAL Caroni

Cuffie, in a release on Tuesday, commemorating World Press Freedom Day which was observed yesterday reported that the most recent installment of the World Press Freedom Index has seen Trinidad and Tobago jumping ten places from our 2016 position to be 34th out of 180 countries in 2017, “a far cry from 2012 when we occupied position 50.”

He said that this day, like every other celebration, it affords an opportunity for introspection and this year’s theme, “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s Role in Advancing Peaceful and Inclusive Societies”, “is especially apropos, given the current state of affairs, locally, regionally and internationally.”

“The phenomenal rise in the use of social media has certainly contributed to a more knowledgeable citizenry.Perhaps unwittingly though, it has given free rein to those with less than noble intent to spread a level of misinformation or ‘alternative facts’, hate-inspired rhetoric and xenophobic hysteria that is unprecedented.”

Cuffie said that wholeheartedly concurs with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who, in his message to mark the occasion, said that “a free press advances peace and justice for all” which can be achieved by the media “giving voice to a diversity of experiences, by conflict- sensitive professional reporting, by promoting mutual understanding in particular in societies that have become polarized by hate speech or antagonistic political discourse; by dispelling prejudice and by countering the spread of misinformation.”

Cuffie said that as a former journalist entrusted with the management of a news team, he is aware that there are occasions when the media could be found “guilty of not taking cognizance of the enormity of the challenges and responsibilities that we carry on our shoulders.”

“And so I encourage our news room heads, our editors, our reporters and talk show hosts, and our media house owners to accept in its totality, the sacred responsibility upon which they embark every day – to inform, inspire, educate and entertain. I am confident that the more we encourage critical minds to flourish unimpeded in these critical times, the more valuable would be our contribution to the growth and development of both the profession of journalism, and our beloved country.”

However, I have fond memories of this gentle cricket giant.

The man I am referring to is Prince Bartholomew. Prince gave yeoman service to TT cricket during the Shell Shield era. Those were the days when regional cricket was like Test cricket, and competition between teams was fierce, like lions fighting.

Together with pacer Pascall Roberts, these men rocked opposing batsmen on their heels.

They were no pushovers, but relished going after the greats of the game and giving fans value for money.

Prince bowled a lively medium pace which was tight like an old rusty pliers, and Pascall a deceptive pace with the “bow tie bouncer.” Unlike cricketers of today, bot men were not afraid of hot sun.

Thanks Prince. Like Ranjie Nanan, you were great.

KEITH ANDERSON via email

I’ve decided to break with tradition on this one.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve seen common sense get into some serious bust-ups with special interest agendas, with common sense being soundly trounced each time. I suppose this is alright when the ladies of the Mothers’ Union are trying to decide which colour tablecloths are best for Sunday afternoon tea. Not so much for matters such as property tax and how to treat with successive downgrades from two credit rating agencies.

The Opposition powered its way into government partially on an axe property tax ticket. This is the same Opposition that decided in its last year of government the tax was necessary and announced plans to resume said tax. The same Opposition, which has now revved its machinery to fight the tax again. The same Opposition that has all the while demanded that government find ways to raise revenues. The same Opposition, whose several members own property abroad, for which they are happy to pay taxes. It is enough to leave your head spinning.

Meanwhile, the Opposition’s response to the Standard and Poor (S&P) and then the Moody’s downgrades has appeared almost gleeful. From the social media commentary, I fully expect one day, some day in Parliament, somebody is going to yell across to the government side, ‘Neh neh ni boo boo!” Such is the level of discourse.

Journalists are tripping over the pile of Opposition members and aligned interests that have suddenly become “available” to comment on the economy. Very many of these same people used to avoid us as though we had red eye. The economy is a disaster of epic, biblical proportions even, if the Opposition is to be believed.

This, I suppose, is all in the name of political expediency. After all, it was former prime minister Basdeo Panday himself who said politics had a morality of its own. Political parties have their mandate. And that is to survive, hopefully long enough to get their swing at the bat of governance again.

But does this “morality” justify what we’ve been seeing and hearing lately? The emotive words and gestures designed to do one thing, to grab common sense by the throat and choke it to death? It makes it hard to tell what’s real anymore. I seem to remember, though, that this Opposition, was a government of record budgets, each one larger than the last, despite the advice of experts. I also remember this Opposition as a government that experienced oil prices peaking between US$90-$114 a barrel. This same Opposition as government was euphemistically upbraided by the IMF for “underinvesting” in the economy. This is the Opposition that as government settled massive back payments to the public service, which the current government now has to borrow to honour. Talk about kicking the can down the road.

In this light, it is more than a little disingenuous to pose as though the economic problems joyfully being dished up on every morning talk show with a side order of schadenfreude are solely the result of the current government’s inability to manage.

The facts are, and yes, I am getting to the facts, that a credit rating is not an ultimate indication of the growth path the economy will take. It is a measurement of the government’s willingness and ability to repay its debt.

The expert I initially consulted with for what was supposed to be the original piece, Marla Dukharan, RBC Caribbean’s Group Economist, explained more fully that the rating matters to investors who buy bonds or treasury bills because it tells them what level of risk is involved.

She said the rating was also useful to those who had exposure to the government or who wanted an independent assessment of the fiscal or other developments in the country.

Some of the fiscal developments that both S&P and Moody’s have noted are the country’s increased debt burden to GDP. Both also say that the measures taken by the government to reduce this debt have, so far, proven inadequate.

However, both ratings agencies indicate that their outlook for the country is stable.

Moody’s said: “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Trinidad and Tobago’s economy will modestly recover in 2017- 2020 on higher natural gas prices and production, supporting deficit reduction and the stabilisation of the debt burden.” So, is the matter serious? Yes.

Does the economy need work? Of course. Are things going to get better by the Opposition panicking the populace? Not so much.

I asked Dukharan to give the public as accurate a picture as possible of the implications of the downgrades. She said firstly, it made it more costly for government to borrow money, particularly in US dollars. This, at a time when “we are faced with weaker fiscal revenues and the need to borrow is greater, it increases the pressure on the Government’s finances”, said the economist.

Government’s response is critical.

Dukharan said it can choose to reduce expenditure and/or raise revenue. Both will have impacts on the public according to the level and the severity of the measures instituted. For his part though, the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has signalled that government is taking the “soft landing” approach to the economy.

In a Tuesday night speech in Diego Martin, Dr Rowley lambasted unnamed critics at the University of the West Indies and elsewhere for advising the government to devalue the dollar, “cut the public service by ten thousand”, to slash subsidies and transfers and to reduce overall expenditure in the economy.

Such a massive decrease in government involvement could lead to the economy’s collapse and a severe reduction in the living standards of the country, he concluded.

He is not wrong. The dislocation involved in simultaneously cutting jobs from the country’s largest employer, reducing or doing away with all of this country’s government subsidised services and devaluing the TT dollar will be traumatic to a population that has become accustomed to easy living.

Dr Rowley said it is concern for the population that has his government easing it into the changes that need to be made.

It is good that the government cares about the country. But will care be the thing that kills it? I have worked in media since 2002 and every year since, I have heard experts telling governments that they needed to cut spending on transfers and subsidies and diversify the economy. It was a tune being sung long before that.

But just as the job of a political party in Opposition is to return to government, the job of the political party in government, is to stay there.

Which political organism in its right mind would deliberately bring hardship to a voting population, even if it was for the long term good of the country? They all remember the National Alliance for Reconstruction.

For the 40 and under crowd, this is the government that tried to enforce IMF conditionalities on a TT public during its term in office from 1986 to 1990. It cut public sector wages, jobs, Cost of Living Allowance and several social sector programmes touching off some of the largest labour protests this country had since the 1930s. This was also the government in charge during the 1990 coup attempt.

Imam Yasin Abu Bakr has always maintained that beyond the Jamaat land issue, hardship brought to the people was one of his reason for staging the insurrection. For its trouble, the NAR received a sound drubbing at the 1991 polls. It was decimated in Trinidad, holding on only to its Tobago seats. As one of my former editors has remarked, “Trinidadians do not do austerity well.” Just as panicking the population is not going to help, coddling it is not going to prevent it from having to face difficult realities sooner or later.

The realities are this: the country’s proven reserves are depleted, diversification is still in its incipient stages, according to several international agencies, the country’s dollar is overvalued. Meanwhile, this country’s National Insurance system may not be able to support another generation of pensioners and if several reporting agencies are to be believed, all of this (and more) is likely to come to ahead around 2030, less than 15 years away.

The Prime Minister himself remarked that whatever we earn, the priority dollars are dedicated to repaying debt. That means less money to invest in improvements in healthcare, education, social programmes and the like. With the debt to GDP ratio climbing, that’s serious.However, everybody just keeps kicking that can down the road. We are going to run out of road.

And while the Government and Opposition engage in public tit for tat, the public remains uninformed as to the gravity of the situation we are facing.

As a journalist, it is my job to provide the information for them to make proper judgements. In as straight and unbiased a fashion as possible. I’ve been listening to my radio, my TV and watching my social media over the last few weeks though, and this time at least, it was hard to remain a disinterested observer. Not with what is at stake.

Jude Neil Ready and his son, Julio Armando Ready, who was the subject of the news items, took legal action seeking close to $2 million for libel and slander against CCNTV6, and its news presenters, the Trinidad Express and its reporter and photographer, the Trinidad Guardian and its reporter and photographer as well as the Newsday and its reporter and photographer.

In all, there were 11 defendants in Ready’s lawsuit – the first being PC Herbert Gabriel.

In a 111 page ruling on Tuesday, Justice Margaret Mohammed found that the articles and television broadcasts of the police’s discovery of Ready’s practice of putting his son in an enclosed, homemade, wooden playpen with a cover in the bar he owned in Siparia in November 2000, was not defamatory.

As it related to Newsday, Mohammed said the words complained of were not defamatory of Ready’s son.

She said he would have elicited sympathy from a reasonable reader and would not have been discredited, shunned or ridiculed, but rather would have been viewed as a victim of neglect by his caretaker.

The caretaker, in the lawsuit, said the child would be left in his care and was kept in the cage which he described as a playpen, for an hour at a time, since he would run into the restaurant area.

He also said there was a padlock on the playpen.

Mohammed said based on the Readys evidence in support of their case, the facts in Newsday’s article were true.

She said the treatment of children was a matter of public interest and concern and, having regard to this, the Newsday article was reasonable.

Mohammed also held that the Newsday article also gave Ready’s side of the story.

“In my opinion, the Newsday article was moderate in its tone and phrasing,” she said.

Mohammed also found that having established its defence of qualified privilege, the issue of malice did not arise, nor was there a conspiracy between the media houses and police to re-create the rescue of the boy.

Ready and his son, who is now 21 years-old, were ordered to pay almost $300,000 in legal costs to each of the media houses they sued.

Newsday was represented by attorneys Ian Benjamin and Jewel Ann Troja while Michael Persadsingh and Chanka Persadsingh represented Ready and his son.

The suspects from Carapichaima, Freeport and Waterloo, ages 27, 19 and 25 respectively, are expected to be placed on identification parades today.

Police said at about 11.45 am, Devika Sonny was at her Lotto booth near the Endeavour gas station when the men arrived in a van.

One of the men had a knife and another a gun. They told Sonny to hand over cash. She gave them $3,000.

As the men were leaving, Sonny called out to people and told them what happened.

A call was made to the Chaguanas Police Station and officers led by Cpl Rajpath responded. The van with the suspects was seen heading towards Chase Village and was intercepted.

The men were arrested and the money was recovered. Police also seized a knife.

The men were taken to the Chaguanas Police Station where they were being questioned up until late yesterday.

Sonny praised the police and members of the public who shared information resulting in the arrest of the suspects.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Surujdeen Persad commended the police and citizens.

At 8 am, fire was seen coming from one of the company’s flare stacks.

Residents living along the Guaracara River some 100 yards away from the refinery’s border said they experienced intense levels of heat and felt the earth vibrate which left cracks on the walls of some of the houses.

Residents, unaware of the cause of the heat and shaking, feared the worst. Allister Cephus, a Battoo Avenue resident and representative of the Marabella NGO, criticised Petrotrin’s Health and Safety protocols, saying there was no alarm to warn residents of the flare and Petrotrin took too long to send officials to quell their fears.

“HSE needs to do something. It is 2017. We looking to go into first world status but watch the dilapidated state of the refinery,” Cephus said as he pointed to rusted tanks and pipes in the distance which he said only heightens the fears of the nearby residents.

“If that is the way they keeping the refinery, what about our lives? We need this present government to attend to the people. Dr Keith Rowley, we want you to come and attend to the people please because this thing is getting out of hand.” In a release, Petrotrin described the incident as an “upset condition at the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery accompanied by higher than normal flaring.” Flare stacks are used to burn off unusable gases released by during unplanned over-pressuring of plant equipment.

Petrotrin’s communications department explained to Newsday that th term “upset condition” meant there was an unusually high amount of excess gas to be burned off, thus resulting in the fear-inducing flaring yesterday morning.

Petrotrin said the situation was normalised and company officials were dispatched to the Marabella community in its wake. Asked whether there was the possibility of the flare occurring again and if there was the possibility of any adverse effects for nearby communities, Petrotrin said there were inherent risks associated due to the nature of its business.

But Cephus said the flare was just the latest in a series of woes residents are growing tired of enduring, including oil spills and gas emissions which make some of them sick. He called on the relevant authorities to assist residents in being relocated.

This year, she also took part and placed third in the Scotiabank Vision Achiever Programme, one of the initiatives of the bank to facilitate and develop the growth of small and micro enterprises (SMEs) in TT. The programme, designed to build business capacity, imparts knowledge and business acumen to participating SME owners on the keys to running a successful and profitable business.

T’Shura placed third out of 14 specially selected participants, for one of the top three Vision Achiever Awards. She says the award is an indication of the “much needed intervention of training and development” she was unable to acquire in her earliest entrepreneurial years.

She shares the process for applying included submission of a short video, outlining her entrepreneurial journey as well as touching on her passions, goals, and professional challenges.

“I connected these areas with viable reasons as to why the Vision Achiever Programme would be a great compliment to my future ambitions,” Maraj elaborates on her video submission.

She says the biggest gain for her was making it to the final 14 contestants. “My main objective was to experience the training provided by the programme through Indira Couch from ActionCoach TT,” T’Shura says of the exposure and opportunity for business training the final 14 were privy to. Her thirdplace winnings, as well as her title of Social Media Champion include a cash prize but she says the relationships built over the course of the training and the experience of the programme are her best takeaways. “I am looking forward to building future business with a more focused, organised approach By James Dupraj to growth and development.” Her entrepreneurial journey began in 2008 after she lost employment. It was then that she became aware of a calling inside her: a deep-seated passion to create something greater than herself, something with generational impact of which she could take ownership. “With very limited resources and a big vision, in 2008 I opened my first company, Chemical Buddies. In 2012, that little firm grew to the place of attracting a major Dutchbased multinational in the chemical supply industry, called Chemelco International,” she says of the venture that would eventually gain her entry into Scotiabank’s Vision Achiever Programme. After many entry barrier challenges, as she puts it, in 2013 a joint venture was opened allowing the Dutch-based Chemelco to establish its third global office, Chemelco East Caribbean Limited, with Maraj acting as the company’s director. The Chemelco Group, in operation since 1965, provides “innovative, healthy, and environmentally sustainable raw ingredients to the food and animal nutrition, home and personal care, as well as cosmetics, industries” with offices in China, South Africa, the Netherlands, and here, in Trinidad.

Through her work with Chemical Buddies and Chemelco International, T’Shura has supplied some of our country’s leading manufacturers with quality chemical manufacturing ingredients, including SM Jaleel, Blue Waters, Bermudez, and PCS Nitrogen.

“To me, it was rewarding that Scotia recognised the value of this business model, since any local businessperson can testify about the challenges and constraints involved with trade and commerce involving locals partnering with global multinational firms,” she explains. “It doesn’t happen every day.” And while it is her directorship and partnership with the multinational that gained her entry into the Vision Achiever Programme, as Maraj highlights, the life of an entrepreneur is dynamic, sometimes haphazard, and filled with innovation daily.

“The rigours of establishing a successful business cost me the delayed gratification of pursuing some of the other desires of my heart,” she says of the sacrifices she made regarding her own personal interests and career goals. She discloses last year she turned 40 and celebrated 15 years in the chemical supply industry. “It was the opportune time for me to make a decision to pursue some other areas of my dreams and goals,” she explains, adding that she felt confident in her decision to take a new career path given the fact that Chemelco East Caribbean had blossomed into a successfully functioning entity, which no longer needed her creative energies. Instead, it had become a comfort zone – a rut of sorts – in which the business flourished but her true desires were stifled.

“I realised it was time for me to give back and invest in the lives of young, aspiring entrepreneurs like myself when I was younger,” says T’Shura of the change her career was about to take.

Now, she has established a new firm, focusing on consultative business development, entrepreneurial coaching, lecturing, and multinational partnerships all designed to serve our citizenry and economy in mutually beneficial ways.

While still in its early stages, T’Shura hopes that her upcoming ventures will further expand her experiences and impact as an entrepreneur.

With an academic background that includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and a Master’s in Entrepreneurship, she advises others to educate themselves in their field of business as best they can. However, she notes that she does not believe formal academic training is the only factor in birthing a successful entrepreneur – but she does think it helps. “Acquiring the knowledge and skills that accompany academic training in your field will make certain aspects of the journey easier, while adding to your own sense of personal achievement,” she expresses. She hopes to pursue her doctorate in Entrepreneurship for even greater effectiveness in the near future and build on her already hefty academic credentials.

As for the learning curve of being an entrepreneur, hers has been a steep one but the rewards run much deeper.

“My learning started with me building from rock bottom; I learned how to handle importation, taxation, customer management, packing my warehouse, driving my own forklift, negotiating with investors and financing,” she gives examples of the tasks she had to take on. “To this day, if need be, I can still jump on my forklift and load a truck at midnight just to ensure a manufacturer’s production line stays up and running,” she shares proudly. Her advice to other entrepreneurs is in business, the race is not focused on swiftness but endurance: “Endurance and commitment will tell a story, long after you’re gone.” She also advises would-be entrepreneurs to seek help and guidance from experienced business owners or advisors they trust. In retrospect, she wishes she had a business mentor in her early entrepreneurial days, or had invested in entrepreneurial coaching for a much more organised start.

“Coming from limited resources and assets, the startup’s growth and expansion phases always led me into the most creative recesses of my mind because, come what may, I had to solve it,” she says of the ways her challenges motivated her to be proactive. Another recent challenge for her is the cultural differences of international trade. She says, “This is where the need to understand people should be greater than your need to be understood. I have practiced this principle and found it quite a big help.” In her professional future, T’Shura sees herself as an entrepreneurial coach, impacting the lives of young business people throughout the Caribbean, imparting the knowledge she has accrued over her years of experience.

“A successful entrepreneur should be observant, diligent, and focused on completion,” she says of the qualities she has learned lead to success. “For me, honesty, humility, and respect have contributed almost always to my greatest success stories in business.”