This brought an immediate response, condemnation, from the big guns of the current Opposition who claim that indeed there is this loss as the minister claims. However, according to accepted accounting practice, if the company is in a position to make a profit in the future, this loss can then be used to offset its future tax burden.

Hence, by the stroke of the accountant’s pen, this accrued loss disappears from or is not recorded on the profit-and-loss statement and appears on the balance sheet as an “asset”; as a deferred tax asset.

The accounting literature indeed talks about such a deferred asset, eg a capital allowance, which appears on the balance sheet to offset future taxes. This being so, the defenders of Petrotrin’s accounts see the minister’s accusation as challenging the integrity of the accounting firm and possibly an ulterior move meant to result in the privatisation of Petrotrin.

Let us ignore for a moment the conventions of the accounting profession and look at the reality. If a company loses money in a particular year then it had to fund this loss by something; debt, overdraft or even its own resources or whatever.

Hence the company would have incurred a capital liability because of the loss.

The tax laws of this land allow a company to relate its poor performance in one year to its tax requirement in future years if it has made a loss. In other words, the tax burden on a company can span its aggregate performance over one or more years if losses have been incurred.

What the accountants attempt to do is to record on the balance sheet the losses accrued that can be used in future years to offset taxes if and when profits are made. This record they call a deferred tax asset (may as well have called it accrued losses or an elephant. What is in a name?).

Still, these deferred tax assets cannot be seen in the same light as plant and equipment (tangible assets) or intellectual property assets. The Dodd Frank Regulations in the US after 2009 frowned on practices such as these.

In this way the balance sheets of consecutive years are linked via the deferred tax asset as to the accrued losses or capital allowances that can be carried across the years for tax purposes.

But what is real is that the company lost money in a particular year or years and this cannot be transformed into a traditional asset by the stroke of an accountant’s pen.

According to accounting practices, the loss for a particular year appears on that year’s profit-and-loss statement.

However, the accrued losses over the years, which allow future tax relief, are indicated in the deferred asset and also as capital liabilities in the balance sheet. The minister may not have been concerned with these accounting subtleties and was focusing on the capital implications of the accrued debt/losses of the company, which are of acute importance to the shareholder, the Corporation Sole.

MARY KING St Augustine

That person is Leon “Smooth” Edwards.

I recall some years ago there was a big debate between a staunch All Stars supporter and myself on Frederick Street, Portof- Spain. The person said, “In my book Smooth is among the first two great arrangers in the pan world and do not let his cool and shy personality fool you.” I can honestly say today, Smooth does not have the flare and the “media appeal” of a Clive Bradley, Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, Ken “Professor” Philmore, Jit Samaroo or Pelham Goddard.

The records show Smooth’s ability with ten Panorama championships, producing sweet music year after year. This year was a classic. He beat my Despers, which was great also. He is not a flag waver but a member of the engine room. He is an asset to the pan fraternity. Congrats.

Athelston Clinton Arima

Some things are dependent on another or they just cannot happen. For example, unless a car engine is cranked by some force it will not start.

That is the way it is with fixing TT . The problems we face socially, economically or physically cannot be solved by a group of people elected every five years who meet periodically.

There is a successful formula that is common in almost every developed country in the world and that is a strong management model at the community level. It is impossible to develop outside of that model.

WASA in St Joseph should not have to authorise and initiate action to connect a water supply in Diego Martin.

The Ministry of Works should not have to organise and execute contracts to repair a landslide in Moruga or Rio Claro.

The Commissioner of Police in Port-of- Spain should not be the one to approve a firearm’s licence for the farmer in Cedros or Toco. The Tourism Ministry or the Tourism Development Company should not be the one to determine the financial viability of constructing launching facilities in Chaguaramas or upgrading a hiking path to El Tucuche with an appropriate viewing tower at the summit.

These should be planned and executed by the communities in a managed structure similar to what obtains in the developed world.

Communities should be able to raise funds for their development, sustainability and security.

Moruga and Toco, for example, can upgrade their beach facilities and charge appropriate fees for accessing these facilities.

St Joseph and Maracas can hire appropriate personnel to ensure that a journey to the top of El Tucuche is safe and enjoyable for a fee. Camping grounds with proper sanitary facilities can be constructed and maintained at our rivers, mountains, caves and beaches, all managed by local communities.

There is already over 80 defined communities in Trinidad with a police station in every community. There is an urgent need to restructure policing to allow for community electronic surveillance, community police patrols and a management of policing under the authority of the community management and not central police management.

There is an immediate need to separate community police from national state police.

No People’s National Movement, United National Congress, Democratic Party of Trinidad and Tobago or other political party can solve the problems confronting TT unless there is radical reform in the management structure.

That reform must start with empowering our communities to manage their lands, infrastructure, fire services, security services, courts, health services, educational facilities, sports facilities, cultural affairs and tourism.

Local government reform is urgent and must start now.

Steve Alvarez via email

People with high-powered cars race through this road without any care for pedestrians or other drivers.

Even during the night, screeching tyres and revved up engine noise can be heard for miles.

No amount of reasoning or pleading can convince these drivers to stop their reckless behaviour.

If they are not speeding then extremely loud music can be heard emanating from these vehicles all hours of the day and night.

That is why I am calling on the Princes Town authorities to install traffic lights at the junction of Main Road and Branch Road. It has become impossible to cross the road day or night.

I am also asking that sidewalks, starting from the Main Road junction throughout Branch Road, be built.

Speed bumps need to be installed to slow speeding vehicles. I am willing to donate $200 to start an immediate project.

We did our civic duty and voted in the general and local government elections. Now the people we voted for must do something for this area.

Give us traffic lights, sidewalks and speed bumps so that we can say the Government cares for the people of Iere Village.

Mohammed Hosein Princes Town

Speaking at the launch of Vision on Mission’s 2017 Preparation for Release Programme at the Youth Training Centre, Arouca, Stewart said the programmes within the prison were meant to renew and change the mind.

“Without programmes, there is no change in behaviour, there is no transformation.

“Our purpose here is to prepare you for reintegration into society as productive law abiding citizens, valuing not only yourself but other citizens,” he said.

Stewart said correctional programmes are about the inmates and their development.

“Programmes help you to think before you act, it helps you to understand your responsibility as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said. Speaking about Vision on Mission’s pre-release programme, Stewart said the programme was meant to inspire those inmates who were about to be released into society. “These programmes are supposed to inspire you, motivate you to deviate from the ways that would have caused you to be here in the first place, and to make our neighbourhoods and society safer because the seed would have been sown. If you believe in that seed and you put it into action then surely you can put a full stop on prison life because you have the ability. Perseverance never failed.” He said he has served in the prison for 39 years and seven months and he has seen miracles worked within the prison environment.

“That is why the work that Wayne Chance and the Vision on Mission are doing is so important,” he said.

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon yesterday urged the inmates to soak in everything that they learn while in the programme so they can live a productive life after leaving the prison.

He said every one has the power of choice and for those who made the choice to be incarcerated, they should put that behind them.

“Let’s focus on the future, the fact that you have entered into the programme is a positive choice.

The fact that you are here today is a positive choice, but choices by themselves wouldn’t make it happen.

After you make the choice, you must be able to continue the journey. To do so you must begin with the end in mind. What do you want to be, what do you want to achieve. After you have left the prison walls, set your goals from now, make the choices that allow you to make those goals. One of those goals is ‘I will not return to these walls whatsoever’ and therefore that will condition your behaviour,” he said.

To this end, a firm has been hired by Government to do an assessment of employees so a decision can be made on exactly how much staff is needed.

Sinanan, a Government Senator, said when he was appointed Works and Transport Minister, he was told staff at NIDCO amounted to almost 200. Rental of office space amounted to $600,000 a month, he revealed. Staff occupies six floors in a building and after reviewing its operations, a decision was made to source another building in San Juan at a rental cost of $200,000 per month.

Sinanan said rental of vehicles cost such an exorbitant amount that he immediately put a stop to this and most of the rental vehicles under NIDCO’s use were sent back to the leasing company while seven drivers were sent home late last year. According to Minister Sinanan, monies being brought in by NIDCO cannot cover the cost of keeping this entity afloat to pay staff and run internal affairs.

He said there are some “very well paid employees” and a manpower audit needs to be done so that, “the fat can be cut” as part of an urgently needed restructuring drive. He noted that due to the state of the economy, NIDCO does not need a staff complement of almost 200 and accordingly, jobs will be cut starting with contract workers.

The Minister said that when he assumed office, he discovered that persons were hired in NIDCO by their family and friends and there was no proper hiring practice in place. Some persons who were not even qualified for jobs in NIDCO, are on the payroll. “This will now cease under my watch and those persons who are qualified and are needed will be retained,” he vowed.

Sinanan said there are other entities within his Ministry where there is over and under staffing which will be dealt with in the coming months.

Several NIDCO contract workers described moves by the Minister to send them home as cruel adding that Sinanan ought to be more sympathetic as jobs are difficult to find at this time.

According to them, the possibility of unemployment is causing many sleepless nights and recalled Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, early in his government’s tenure, assuring that despite the recession there would be no job losses in the Public Service.

The setting of the hearing date on May 12 did not come easy as attorneys representing the AG, led by Douglas Mendes SC, called on the judge to fix the earliest possible date for the matter as the case has been going on for more than a year. This came after Warner’s junior counsel Anil Maraj indicated that lead counsel Fyard Hosein SC, will not be available in May because of other commitments, and suggested a date in June.

Mendes said this was unacceptable and after several minutes of backand- forth on Monday, Justice Aboud set the May 12 date. Warner’s attorneys have been advised to file an application to have that date vacated or appeal the judge’s decision to set the date. The matter before Justice Aboud veered off course when the United States sought to be heard in the lawsuit.

They were refused by Justice Aboud and appealed. In December, the Court of Appeal ruled that the US Government will not be allowed to make an appearance or enter submissions in Warner’s judicial review claim.

The judges said that the US did not show that its interests and that of the AG were different, and questioned why the need for separate representation.

Warner’s lawyers argued that the issue up for determination was strictly domestic and, as such, did not warrant the participation of the US. His lawsuit challenges the process by which the extradition proceedings against him are being carried out and seeks to quash the Authority to Proceed (ATP) which was signed last September by Attorney General Faris Al Rawi.

The ATP gave Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar the green light to begin committal proceedings. Warner is also challenging the legality of the Extradition (Commonwealth and Foreign Territories) Act, and the Treaty signed between this country and the United States.

Warner is wanted in the United States for a series of fraud-related offences allegedly committed during his tenure as vice-president of world football’s governing body.

Johnathon Edwards, president of the organisation explained the motive behind the project saying, “It has something called the Bedtime Stories Initiative where we come on the ward every Thursday, and we interact with the children on the ward. We bring toys, entertainment, just stuff to make the children smile, just to make the experience on the ward not as traumatic as it usually is.

From there, what we thought of, was an idea of how to make the environment a bit more cohesive to healing, a more comfortable place for the children.” Notably, the playroom has an intergalactic theme. Edwards explained, “…We started with the corridors, painted it so it would be more coherent with Out of Space…We then proceeded with the intergalactic planets, solar system, milky way…

From there, we also acquired tables to match the themes. And then, with the tables, we actually dipped the varnish in glitter to give it a more intergalactic appearance.

We got curtains from the ward itself so the colour theme would match.” The room also contains a mural of the universe designed by the students.

Initially, said Edwards, the Mount Hope Art Society set out to foster creativity among all the students enrolled in the University.

First to appear before Magistrate Margaret Alert was Xavier Lewis, 20, of La Romaine, who pleaded guilty to having a gun and three rounds of ammunition.

The magistrate heard that Lewis and another man were at Chapman Recreation ground along Dumfries Road, La Romaine, at about 9.30 pm on Thursday last, when he was arrested.

Attorney Chantal Paul mitigated on Lewis’ behalf and told the magistrate that his mother died when he was ten.

Recently, Lewis was shot at, so he secured a firearm to protect himself.

Magistrate Alert opined that perhaps it was fortunate Lewis was arrested before he had a chance to commit a more serious offence.

She fined Lewis $10,000 for possession of the gun and $5,000 for the ammunition. He must pay both fines within 90 days or serve 18 months in jail. Praveen Ramroop of Avocat Village, Fyzabad was next to appear before Magistrate Alert for having a Beretta pistol and 11 rounds of ammunition while in a car at South Park, Tarouba at about 3 am on Sunday. Attorney Subhas Panday who represented Ramroop, said his client is a bar owner who was robbed on two occasions.

lert fined Ramroop $10,000 for the gun and $10,000 for the ammunition, which he must pay within 90 days or serve 18 months in jail. “Apply for a firearm,” the magistrate told Ramroop, “lest we degenerate deeper than the wild wild west.”

Speaking on the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) which is being observed today, the Minister said the WCRD is an opportunity to reinforce the rights and responsibilities of consumers; highlighting market injustices which may seek to undermine these rights.

This year, Gopee- Scoon said in a press release, Consumers International’s (CI) theme for World Consumer Rights Day is “Building a Digital World Consumers Can Trust”.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), through the Consumer Affairs Division (CAD), incorporates the topic “Protecting Consumer Rights in the Digital World” into its ongoing consumer outreach and education initiative.

This arm of the CAD’s education campaign focusses specifically on safeguarding consumer rights and interests in three (3) major areas relating to digital commerce while empowering the consumer to navigate the online arena carefully and responsibly.

“Protecting Consumer Rights in the Digital World” is a tripartite approach that seeks to educate on three key issues potentially faced by consumers who engage in online commerce and offers guidelines on mitigating risks related to these identified issues.

These three focus areas include: Access and Choice; Online Security, and Redress Access and Choice Purchasing goods from the comfort of one’s home is certainly more convenient than driving to a store, while offering a virtually unlimited array of choices and the opportunity to compare prices. Such is the allure of online commerce.

However, there are various issues relating to this seemingly boundless plethora of goods. To address this focal area, the importance of making clear and informed purchasing choices, based on research and proper investigation, must be underscored. This includes the importance of checking online reviews and background information regarding merchants prior to purchase and thoroughly inspecting goods upon receipt; the need to examine and inquire about website purchasing, return and shipping policies, warranties, additional taxes and the use of this information in guiding consumer behaviour.

Online Security In respect of e-commerce and online use as a whole, security and privacy are paramount concerns. Measures to protect against identity theft, fraud and software corruption cannot be ignored.

The MTI’s focus for WCRD seeks to address this issue through the reinforcement of safe internet practices and vigilance such as: Updating security software on all devices – particularly devices on which digital purchases are made; Avoiding the use of generic, singular passwords for all online accounts and profiles; Ensuring use of secure websites; and being proactive and consistently reviewing credit card statements and issuing queries, in a timely manner, if discrepancies are observed.

Redress The final focal area is that of redress. Often, consumers are faced with the anxiety of purchasing from foreign companies or the disappointment of not receiving the item as anticipated or in the desired condition. An informed, responsible and empowered consumer is a strong force with which to reckon. Knowledge of return and refund policies, prior to purchase, is important in order to refer to such policies when dialoguing with merchants.

In this very critical area, the Consumer Affairs Division (CAD) is seeking to improve on the available mechanisms for redress for consumers, including the digital consumer, through enhanced policy and legislation. A revised National Consumer Policy will address consumer well-being through enhanced consumer empowerment and protection.