Praimchan Gual- .bance, 80, started teaching people to drive since 1971 and established the school starting off with one car at his home in Libertville. The driving school fraternity mourns his passing, Gualbance having built his driving school business into a fleet of over 15 vehicles which taught many prominent politicians, medical doctors and attorneys to learn the art of driving on our nation’s roads.

He passed on the driving school business to his children.

Gualbance leaves to mourn his wife Teresa and children Frankie, Carlo, Kenny, Buma, Dilip, Tara and Angela.

A driving school instructor in San Fernando, Edward Rattan, in expressing sadness over his passing, said that Gualbance taught former minister and Central Bank Governor Winston Dookeran and former FIFA vice-president and minister Jack Warner who are originally from Rio Claro, how to drive.

Gualbance’s brother, Sam Sieunarine Lal Gualbance who left the driving school business and migrated to Canada, is a well known philanthropist who for the past several years, have donated thousands of dollars worth in items to primary school children in Rio Claro and Biche. Lal Gualbance is president of one of Canada’s thriving sea food distribution companies.

Referencing the theme of the Symposium ‘Research and Development Initiatives in support of economic diversification’ in his Feature Address, the Agriculture Minister, Senator the Honourable Clarence Rambharat said there is a need to ‘craft an implementation plan; we have already established the credibility of the cocoa product internationally; we have already established ourselves as a good producer of high quality value added products.

The question is how can we work all that backwards so that we can fix all elements of the value chain so that we can do it consistently? With this Strategic Plan we are trying to .fix the model that does not work all the time [for] we need to be able to match production to markets’.

The Minister further stated that ‘cocoa can help us to define, create and sustain a model that can be applicable across all the other elements of agriculture’. He referenced the well-established poultry sub-sector as an example on how this can be done when an industry is led or driven by the private sector.

“I value the discussion. Make all this great work and rich material available to our farming and national community” were the Minister’s closing words to the Symposium participants.

The purpose of the Symposium was to ‘showcase research and technology development’ said Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan, Professor of Genetics and Director, Cocoa Research Centre. ‘This is a time for us to think innovatively and to work collectively and collaboratively with limited resources – the farmers, the processors, the product developers, the innovators – to do what you do more effectively and efficiently’ he said.

Other speakers included Mr. Winston Rudder, Chairman, Cocoa Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Agricultural Development Bank; Professor Path Umaharan, and Professor Rhoda Reddock, Deputy Principal.

Thematic areas covered during the one-day event included Conservation and Exploitation of Genetic Resources; Mitigation of Risk – Frosty Pod, Cadmium Bioaccumulation; Branding, Start-up Support and Market Development; Food Technology and Product Development; Innovations in Agronomy to Improve Productivity; Reducing the Cost of Production through Mechanisation – Small Holder Innovations to Support Farmer Profitability; and Investment Support through Development of an Information System.

Included among the audience were representatives of Angostura; Mars; World Cocoa Foundation; Cocoa Research Association of the United Kingdom; and Cambridge University, among others

Firstly, they must cease using the stadiums for matches. The simple reason is they feel like cold iron-and-steel structures and the spectators are too far from the action sitting high up in those steep stands.

We need to look at the English second-tier stadiums where the crowds are right next to the touchlines, resulting in a closer connection between players and spectators. Also, the seating capacity averages around 5,000-12,000, which I think is a reasonable target for the Pro League to achieve.

The idea of using local community grounds is an excellent one, but those grounds must be substantially improved with user- friendly stands, and not the concrete monstrosities at those stadiums.

The media must also be used to profile key players, in addition to televising ads showcasing the highlights on the field.

In essence, use the media to create star players.

By and large the players are generally unknown, for all we see is a brief mention on the sports news, with some badly positioned cameraman capturing the “highlights.” The league must get a private video production company to showcase the games and players.

Another idea is to have the teams go into schools and conduct training programmes in order for the youths to identify with the Pro League clubs. This will lead to an improvement in the communication skills of the players.

These are my humble views which I think could lead to improved spectatorship at matches.

I am fully aware that these ideas would need a substantial injection of money but there is no doubt that the money is there. But to get the relevant bodies to buy in is another challenge, daunting but achievable.

Here’s to the new Pro League.

Wayne Charles via email

After pushing him to the ground, the bully “jumped on his arm.” Does anyone wonder where little boys learn the techniques of “drop-kicking” and “stomping on arms?” Ah, yes, good old TV.

And what better show than WWE SmackDown, that epitome of glorified violence? While I have no problem with what TV stations choose to show or what people choose to watch, I often wonder what it is about SmackDown that some find so captivating. As is well known, most of WWE is a well-scripted drama, not a sport. Like most TV shows, it is designed for entertainment purposes. According to reference.

com, “WWE wrestling is a combination of real wrestling moves and choreographed stunts performed by professionally trained athletes…

The stunts and choreography moves are practised repeatedly in order to increase safety and minimise injury.” They understand that while the wrestling is fake, it is quite possible to get injured. The inter-play between wrestlers is also well planned, like any good soap opera.

Adults may be able to appreciate all of this and yet be entertained.

(But you do wonder when you see grown men and women baying for blood.) Children, on the other hand, are more impressionable.

They believe what they see is real, and when they see their parents shouting their support/approval (“hit him,” “break his arm,” even “kill him”) some may think that’s a good thing to do.

And while I do not condone violence of any kind, by anyone, it might be helpful to consider why these boys felt it was okay to stomp on another’s arm and break it.

We’ve heard it all before but parents, be careful what your children watch.

Noel Kalicharan via email

There must be a movement of solidarity with all segments of society to unite, before this scourge of violence and bloodletting becomes a beast, a terrifying aberration.

Even the police can’t protect or find one of their own.

When we look at lawlessness we tend to notice the impact and effect, but all behaviour has its origins.

There are several documented reasons. However it must not go unnoticed the manner in which the modern egotistical, aggressive politicians have acquitted themselves.

Symbols, whether in yellow, red or green, do not represent legal gangs, but they should be that of ideologies, views and perspective that are not blinded by or rooted in political expediency.

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness” (Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu).

Colin Fortune Arima

“And to besides,” said the driver, “all yuh have too many special days already. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, and every single day all yuh want something.

What about some days for we men? Is time we get something.” He was speaking loudly so that all passengers could hear his words of wisdom. The more the woman tried to get a word in edgeways the louder he spoke, “Without a man, what all yuh could do?” The sad story is that in TT many women also can see a certain inevitability about his words. The may believe that, apart from cooking, cleaning and having children, they are totally useless.

It is important to note that our Trini culture embraces the belief that both Afro and Indo mothers prefer to have sons rather than daughters.

The man in the house is “the man” even if he is two years old.

Same thing for the Syrians, the old colonials and, let’s face it, the rest of the world, which is why International Women’s Day had to be created.

So, between our pernicious “must have a boyfriend syndrome” and having a child, for whoever, just to be seen as somebody’s mother, with a smile on our faces, we take our licks and all forms of domestic violence. Pushing a pram is like having a Master’s degree in education.

But I am also just as bad as the maxi driver.

I came back to a TT where women find very useful and fulfilling work as security guards. The first thing I thought was that no woman can save me if a man is attacking me. It is only the police.

Then of late I am hearing that the police expect to be treated as if they are hot-house orchid flowers which sell at $175 for one in our leading supermarket chain. Allegedly, 600 officers found the time not to go out to work over the Carnival.

For International Women’s Day, I have to applaud the women police officers who had to work with the added hindrance of the public allegedly thinking they cannot be better than the policemen. The way things are going with the police we need a female Police Commissioner next time around.

Lynette Joseph Diego Martin

May I respectfully ask what is the specifically identified issue with tourism in TT that needs to be addressed and enquire how does dissolution of the TDC and reconstitution of not one but two new entities resolve that specific issue? Since the announcement, the popularly expressed position is that because there are two products to be marketed, one associated with Tobago and the other with Trinidad, there is a definite need for two distinct entities. Now evidently this notion cannot be supported; such a principle would have resulted in an infinite number of marketing entities globally.

Even if we were to concede the product differentiation issue, there must be a national vision for the industry and this begs the question: Would two separate entities provide for more efficient coherence in the long term? At this point the decision appears to be counterproductive.

Interestingly, on a TV programme last week, it was suggested that an overarching agency may be required to have coherence and coordination with national interests.

It is within this context that I ask that a second look be taken with respect to our national tourism policy.

Perhaps a review of the current decision in our national interest may be appropriate. We may well discover that the two products are not mutually exclusive but may indeed be mutually complementary.

Samuel B Howard Maracas-St Joseph

Dr Terrence Farrell, chairman of the Economic Development Advisory Board, and former Deputy Governor of Central Bank, was the feature speaker at the conference, providing advice, figures and valuable information on the role sport can play in helping diversify the stuttering TT economy.

Speaking on the issue of diversification, Dr Farrell said: “The generation of foreign exchange earnings is the right focus in the circumstances of excessive dependence on exports of oil, gas and petrochemicals and the presumption that global demand for all of these products will be declining in the long term and that the competitive advantage of the firms producing these products from Trinidad and Tobago will erode over time.”

On seeking diversification, he indicated that one must be innovative and not limit one’s self to one’s resources.

“One very big question we have to address is ‘diversify into what?’ This reduces to asking: ‘How is global demand evolving and in what areas can we meet that demand?’ You might note that I am not asking: ‘What do we have that we can sell to the rest of the world?’ I am asserting that our diversification strategy must be demand-driven rather than supply-driven.”

On the role of Government in the diversification thrust, Dr Farrell believes, “Government has to get the macroeconomic balance right; it has to promote the right incentives and apply the right disincentives to shape private sector behaviour; it has to regulate markets efficiently and fairly and, in limited areas of strategic significance, it should be investor or co-investor in certain business opportunities. Its role is active and dynamic, but in respect of developing and serving market demand, supportive and not leading.”

And the local private sector? “It has better management capability, stronger marketing skills, superior discernment of business opportunities than does Government, and it has access to some amount of capital. The private sector

understands the global marketplace, albeit mostly as importers, distributors and franchisees. Its weaknesses are that, with few exceptions, it has not taken the risks of selling into or investing overseas, and it is largely oblivious to the need for R&D and technological innovation, because its businesses have never required them to be innovative. Far too many are completely reliant on government spending for their business success. But I think it is better for us to work with the private sector to overcome its weaknesses and enhance their strengths than to condemn them as merely parasitic and exploitative. ”

Also present to share their input and knowledge of succeeding in the business world was a wide cross-section of local entrepreneurs.

Candace Guppy, director of Candy Coated Events and Candy Coated Travels, who is known for hosting several popular Carnival events, said the hardest part of her journey was starting.

“Find ways to be new and innovative. Bring fresh ideas and concepts,” she said, noting that the entertainment and party industry is quite saturated, which encouraged the birth of Candy Coated Travels.

Sajjad Hamid, a senior lecturer at COSTAAT with over a decade of experience teaching and consulting to the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) sector, said eliminating fear of failing is essential in taking the first step to creating a business model. He argued that being an entrepreneur is not risky business.

“High risks are gamblers. Start small in taking risks. Try an experiment and see how the world reacts to your product or service,” he said.

Operating at a loss initially is also not a major deterrent, he noted, adding: “When you come up with an idea you are ahead of the market so the first year may be a struggle.”

Another key element he said in deciding which market to get into is asking yourself two questions.

“Where is the money? How do I get to it?” he said.

Discussing the topic of “Protecting the Idea and Other Legal Issues for the Entrepreneur” was a panel consisting of entertainment and sports lawyer Carla Parris, Barbadian international trade and development consultant Alicia Nicholls and Shymal Chandradathsingh, vice president of Investor Sourcing at invesTT.

Nicholls lamented that in the Caribbean, the issue of Intellectual Property (IP) is grossly overlooked by entrepreneurs.

“You don’t want to put in all that investment for someone to come and steal your idea or trade on your name,” she pointed out.

The panel discussed options for persons seeking funding from large corporations for projects but who are wary of companies rejecting their proposal but taking their business plan.

Parris said non-disclosure agreements can be used in such instances but warned against just copying examples from the internet as each would be unique depending on the industry. She added that trust is important among all parties and revealing just enough details on the project to attract the investor is crucial.

Parris, who operates out of Marie de Vere Chambers in Port-of-Spain and has a Master’s Degree in Entertainment Law, has been employed as a consultant for the United National World Intellectual Property Organisation and has worked with a number of local athletes in TT. She said expanding one’s earning potential by building a brand off the field is something all athletes should seek to do. She cited former England footballer David Beckham, who has earned more from selling cologne, underwear and other merchandise than from football.

She also touched on the issue of “brain drain” in this country, which she said needs to be addressed. She said qualified local personnel are often treated and paid less than foreigners even though they have the same experience in the industry. She added that for local industries to grow, this must stop.

Caption

A cross section of participants of one of the many panel discussions at the

Future of Sport Conference, hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) at the Normandie Hotel, St Ann’s. Photo by Roger Jacob.

TT Olympic Committee president Brian Lewis, left, poses with Dr Terrence Farrell, centre, Chairman, Economic Development Advisory Board, and Michael Phillips, Chairman of the Sport Company of TT.

Speaking during the tea break of the sitting of the Lower House at Tower D, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, Dillon said he feels personally pained whenever he hears of another murder. Dillon confirmed his working day starts at 6 am when he gets a brief on any crime – including murders – to have taken place overnight.

“Whenever someone is murdered, there is always pain as that person would have been someone’s son, daughter, nephew, niece, sister, brother, sister, husband, wife and what have you. As a person who has a family, I too feel pain and I offer my condolences to the family of Miss Joseph. I’m deeply concerned whenever any citizen is murdered,” Dillon said.

Dillon could give no details on any suspect in this case.

Asked if Joseph’s murder could further deepen the public’s fear of crime since it means even officers of the law are not immune to being murdered, Minister Dillon said, “I don’t think we should feel a sense of hopelessness.

The police should not put their hands up in the air and give up the fight against crime and criminality.

I as Minister of National Security would not give up and neither would the Government. I don’t feel citizens would or should give up.” He said no one must give up or give in to the criminal element because criminals are in the minority, while god-fearing citizens are in the majority. “The majority will always overcome the minority, so we cannot give up. I don’t intend to give up as Minister of National Security. Definitely don’t. The majority of the Police Service don’t intend to (give up), neither do the law enforcement agencies and the Defence Force. We’ll always be there to continue the fight.” Asked about Joseph’s job-performance, Dillon replied, “From what her colleagues have said, she was a very dedicated officer. A young officer, just passed out of the parade square, now about to start her career as a police. All that hope and aspiration she had, has been killed.”

Speaking through an interpreter in Port-of- Spain on Tuesday, he said one of the main reasons for his visit was to finalise arrangements for Dr Rowley’s visit.

The Prime Minister’s visit will be aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries which Vice Minister Riveros said were already very good. Vice Minister Riveros said trading relationships between Trinidad and Tobago and Chile were very important as 92 percent of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) which Chile imports comes from this country.

He said Chile imports more than US$550 million worth of LNG from Trinidad and Tobago, contributing to total trade of US$573 million between the two countries.

He said there is a favourable trade balance largely because of the LNG imports, adding that Chile exports a few products to Trinidad and Tobago, in particular cellulose and has the capacity to export agricultural products as well.

During a hectic day in Port of Spain, Vice Minister Riveros met Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee- Scoon; Foreign Minister Dennis Moses and the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States.

During the talks with Gopee-Scoon the two officials discussed the possibility of establishing a Partial Scope Trade Agreement between Trinidad and Tobago and Chile and Gopee-Scoon expressed strong value in having Chile as a trading partner and the desire to increase exports to that country.

Vice Minister Riveros outlined a number of areas for bilateral trade, namely, energy, agriculture, tourism and fisheries. Speaking to connectivity between both countries, he suggested the improvement of travel between Trinidad and Tobago and Chile. Gopee-Scoon supported the idea and indicated that Trinidad and Tobago can serve as a central port in the region for such travel arrangements.

They both expressed confidence that the bilateral Partial Scope Trade Agreement will benefit both countries.

In early May, Trinidad and Tobago and Chile are expected to hold the first meeting of the Working Group on Economic and Commercial Relations.

The working group will comprise technical officials from both countries and is expected to develop the framework for advancing bilateral trade relations.