In a response to the article, the ministry said the paddy that is in the shed would not be lost but would be dried and stored in silos for further processing during the next two weeks.

The ministry said the drying process and de-hulling of the paddy removes the moisture and the hull which is the part of the paddy that is currently exposed.

It said that the hull is allowed to decompose and is collected by the Ministry of Agriculture to be used as manure.

According to the statement, a laboratory on the Carlsen Field site tests materials at the various stages of processing to make sure that there is no contamination.

The newspaper article said that about 200 tonnes of rice valued at $400,000 is being left to rot at the complex because the NFM rice mill has been non-functional since last November.

However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said that there are approximately 190 metric tonnes of paddy in the shed, which is expected to be processed over the next five to 10 business days.

It said that during the current paddy season an average of 120 metric tonnes of paddy is brought in each week by farmers and if the plant had been down since November as reported then there would be over 1,200 metric tonnes of paddy on the ground.

However, the ministry did concede that the plant has suffered some breakdowns in the drying process in the last few months.

It said the plant is 25 years old, spares are sometimes difficult to find and this causes delays in making repairs.

It said the market in Trinidad and the region is mainly for parboiled rice, which the Carlsen Field plant does not have the capability to produce.

The facility is being divested and the accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers is assisting the NFM in the divestment process and is seeking an investor who will be able to take over, upgrade and expand the operations of the rice mill, a process which is expected to be completed by June 2017, according to the ministry.

The release says the divestment process allows for local or regional investors to purchase the assets and lease the facilities and land to continue the development of the local rice industry.

“Potential investors, who may be short-listed as a result of this very transparent process, will be required to engage the local farmers as part of the finalisation of their investment proposals,” according to the statement.

In a statement, he said, “Our sustained top and bottom line growth positions us to continue strengthening our legacy across the Americas in 2017 and beyond.”

Suquet said PALIG announced revenues of more than US$1 billion for the first time in its history as revenue and total premium exceeded US$1 billion for the year ending December 31, 2016. “This reflects a 25.7 percent increase in revenue and a 17 percent increase in total premium. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) pre-tax operating earnings increased by 32.9 percent compared with 2015 to total US$72.1 million. Net income for 2016 increased 38 percent to US$48.9 million, as compared to US$35.3 million the year before,” the company said in the statement, adding that, “Total assets for the Group grew to US$5.6 billion, a 3.28 percent increase, while its total equity increased ten percent to US$933 million.”

The statement added that each of its four key business segments made significant contributions to the company’s overall revenue growth: International Life, which includes the company’s Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago results, produced: US$265 million; U.S. Life: US$237 million; International Group, which also reflects the company’s Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago business: US$326 million; U.S.
Group: US$237 million. It said that this distribution of contribution reflected a healthy balance in the company’s portfolio by line of business as well as by geographic footprint – the Life business represents 47 percent of premium with Group business representing 53 percent; and the United States represents 45 percent of premium while international business accounts for 55 percent.

This film by Trinidadian Frances- Anne Solomon is one of the most evocative to emerge from the Anglophone Caribbean and as a documentary uses many of the elements of the other arts to speak to the continuing problems that women face in both Caribbean and diasporic societies. It is based on a collection of poems by Grace Nichols from the book entitled I Is a Long Memoried Woman.

The idea behind this work is not victimage, but strength and a collective will to triumph over adversity.

The film suggests that this will is carried in the memory and in the body over generations.

Listening and looking at these performances which speak of the strategies of survival women have used over hundreds of years, it seemed to me that the resilience that women have needed to survive in the Caribbean and in diasporic communities has really not abated.

We create communities to support each other. But sometimes as women we also perpetuate stereotypes that go a long way in continuing the discrimination that women still endure.

Women in this collection are seen as the transmitters of culture and of its stories. However, as Horace Ov?’s film Pressure also notes, sometimes women can transmit false values.

So it cuts both ways. Ov?’s powerful work of racism in Britain concerns the generation who were born in Britain and who see themselves as British. Yet they still carry the memories of the Caribbean and also the value systems of these islands.

Part of this is a belief that the culture of Europe and the UK is somehow superior. So the film demands that we recognise that we are not in any way inferior, and also that we now have a very complex set of memories.

There are the histories that came from Africa and from the First Peoples, but these are now overlain by memories of sights, tastes and smells that come from the Caribbean and mix with new experiences in the metropolis.

If we refuse to attribute value to our Caribbean memories, then we are breeding self-contempt and giving permission to others to adopt superior and often abusive attitudes.

Of course, the generation who went to Britain in the fifties and sixties were also facing discrimination in their own islands. In that day, colour and gender determined the kind of job available to people of African and Asian origin, and the pay.

The fact is that as Caribbean peoples we were trapped in our ideologies and we carried our narratives across the Atlantic.

Those who went with hope and optimism after World War II to work in Britain experienced intense racism. Many travelled from the Caribbean because they were indoctrinated into the belief that the British way of life and British culture were superior to the Caribbean. Grace Nichols also speaks of Britain in her film and shows how ideas are carried across continents.

I Is a Long Memoried woman gives the lie to the idea that women simply tolerate such discrimination.

It shows through several vehicles, including movement and camera angle, that women have found extraordinary ways to counteract physical and psychological trauma and abuse.

She records through dance and archival footage, the idea that there is a line of continuity between women who were Amerindian, African, and warriors as, for example, Nanny the Maroon. Their combined memories speak to layers of experience carried in traditions and stories.

Many of these can be found in traditions of what Nichols calls sorcery in one of the interviews in this documentary.

But acts of sorcery were only some of the ways that women traditionally counteracted abuse and exploitation over time. They also used stories and even dance to show that despite their suffering they simply did not succumb to power structures.

The woman in this film and book acted as nurse and mother; as such she had the resources to transfer attitudes and ideas.

Women as figures who have had to bear rape and sexual abuse have found ways to survive and to resist.

This film shows that historically the plantation system, colonialism, exile and enslavement have marked the bodies of the Caribbean in quite indelible ways. Both women and men bear these marks.

In the poem Cane, Nichols creates images of young Caribbean men from both here and elsewhere.

She suggests that their attitudes and behaviour may be the result of ingrained feelings of self-hate. History and its residue are seen to be both cyclical and evident in the interactions between men and women.

Nonetheless, for both Nichols and Solomon, the Caribbean woman has found enduring, sometimes near invisible, methods to keep the memory of her strength and her resourcefulness alive. These are to be seen even in how women use words, and how we communicate and the stories we tell.

The very simple truth of this film and this book is that hundreds of years of inbuilt attitudes to human relationships have actually left their mark in our daily encounters.

History has left an indelible trace on our v e r y way of b e i n g a n d this is visible in what we do, how we act and how we move.

The record, which featured the quirky Banana Boat, topped the Billboard charts in March, September and November that year, outshining Elvis Presley, then at his peak, Doris Day and others.

Calypso, we all know, wasn’t quintessential calypso, although Belafonte’s commercial success has never been matched, not even by the internationally acclaimed genius Sparrow.

Belafonte fed richly off the creativity of Melody, who died a pauper in 1988, and Sparrow, in a tribute song to his fallen pal, asked the New York crooner to say “what happen to Melo’s millions.” The year 1956 was a watershed one in Trinidad and Tobago, with the birth of its most successful and enduring political party and launch of organised self-government.

In the succeeding 61 years, no TT calypso artiste has matched Belafonte’s historic business success and international branding, even with larger, more inter-connected and diverse communities to entertain.

And, from the evidence of 2017 and recent years, there is little chance of the world craving TT ’s current calypso fare.

Many diehard calypso aficionados are shying from acknowledging that the treasured native art form is on life support, having fallen on its own sharp sword.

The just-ended Carnival season saw more artistes than patrons at some calypso tents, while there are few recordings, little material deserving of encore airplay and virtually no international gigs.

Fans would be hard-pressed to sing a verse of any renditions over the past, say, five years.

Trinidad and Tobago’s indigenous cultural expression has been in hasty retreat since its prior salad days, then indicated by imaginative subjects, original music and lyrics of subtlety, bravado and artistry.

Today, hackneyed themes, barren melodies, timeworn lyrics and poor artistic stagecraft — on lavish display at the Dimanche Gras final — define calypso.

In a lacklustre event, Chalkdust was the obvious 2017 winner, but he opted for calypso’s softest target — the conflict-ridden Sat Maharaj — instead of a hot-button social issue, such as the crime plague, national unease or the Prime Minister’s loose lips.

Chalkie has long gotten the memo: That calypso dramatically changed course two decades ago, after Basdeo Panday assumed national leadership.

The evidence is crystal clear, to the point that Alvin Daniel, a calypso stakeholder, said during the television Dimanche Gras commentary that Lady Gypsy was “brave” to challenge the political status quo.

There now appears no place for critical thinking and balanced political commentaries, which were essential and enduring hallmarks of the discipline.

One exponent won the crown some years ago after he brought the party’s leader on stage and brandished the organisation’s symbol.

Chalkie’s reversal is particularly unfortunate.

He is not only a student of the art’s long and historic struggle, but he overcame strident efforts by then-maximum leader Dr Eric Williams to have him silenced.

For his courageous and withering calypso offerings, Chalkdust was targeted, on the spurious grounds that he was a public servant, a teacher.

He held strong against the all-powerful Williams, intoning at one time: “If dey want to keep me down/Tell dem to cut out mih tongue.” Frustrated, Williams famously uttered, “Let the jackass bray!” For years, Chalkdust held true to calypso’s fierce autonomy, challenging draconian Attorney General Karl Hudson-Phillips (Ah ’Fraid Karl), ANR Robinson (Driver Can’t Drive) and Patrick Manning (Selwyn in the Garden Hiding).

To be sure, Chalkie is a significant long-serving calypso raconteur, but now a mere shadow of his take-no-prisoners persona.

It’s almost lamentable that he has overtaken Sparrow as the most decorated monarch, the latter acknowledged for the courage of his convictions as much as his unparalleled artistry.

Birdie supported Williams’ tax plan and other early measures, but turned sharply over the Patrick Solomon affair and documented his anti- PNM angst with the seminal 1982 We Like It So.

Intellectual honesty is a vital aspect of his legacy.

“By calypsoes our stories are told,” Sniper observed, and David Rudder heralded its tradition of “lyrics to make a politician cringe.” But today’s version generally lacks the creative honesty, flair, ingenuity and poetic mastery which had pitchforked calypso as an outstanding creative expression.

There surely must be a national clamour for a calypso renaissance, and the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO ) must assure there is a place for practitioners who call a political spade a spade.

Also, Sparrow, Stalin, Shadow and other accomplished bards must be recruited — by the Ministry of Culture, the university, TUCO or any other authority — to lecture on the fine art of lyrical composition, musical originality and stagecraft.

We cannot afford another year of calypso decay.

While calypso’s prognosis remains guarded, its offspring, soca, basked in MX Prime’s memorable Road March for the ages and Voice’s abiding faith in himself and his country.

Prime’s number escapes the formulaic Road Marches at frenetic pace, and tells a well-crafted and layered story of Trini abandon; the song would entertain revellers for decades to come.

Voice’s spirit of optimism and self-belief is refreshing, especially from a youth in a troubled society.

As for calypso’s future, it would be great to hear Chalkdust’s thoughts — in song.

The article stated, “In response the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Institute of Marine Affairs indicated that the fish were dumped by fishermen… However, the group FFOS voiced their concerns that exposure to toxic chemicals, namely Corexit… Eventually the Government made an attempt to intervene by sending samples of fish caught in different areas in Trinidad to the US Food and Drug Administration for testing.

“While the results of these tests have not be made available, the FFOS indicated that they commissioned their own test carried out by the University of Trinidad and Tobago which showed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in several species of fish in La Brea, at up to 26,000 ppm (parts per million), with the safe exposure being 0 ppm.

To date the issue has not been satisfactorily resolved.” The IMA wishes to clarify the following statements: (1) The Ministry of Planning and Development published in the Newsday and on the ministry’s website a synthesis of the results received for the fish samples which were sent to the US for testing on January 26.

These results can also be acquired under the Freedom of Information Act.

(2) The IMA previously clarified its position in relation to elevated concentrations of PAHs (level of 26,000 ppm) to the FFOS. A discussion on this matter was held between the IMA, EMA and FFOS at the EMA’s office in St Clair in September 2016, and follow-up correspondence was sent to the FFOS on the interpretation of the test results.

The FFOS unfortunately made a fundamental error by misinterpreting the test results to be PAHs when it was in fact a non-specific test for total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH).

Therefore, a wrong comparison was made regarding the type of test result and standard for safe levels in fish.

This gave an erroneous “perception” that the fish was contaminated.

(3) The IMA is aware that the test results quoted by the FFOS in the article were not provided by the UTT .

A check should be made to confirm the laboratory that performed the tests, the type of tests conducted and the interpretation of the results.

The IMA wishes to strongly recommend that matters involving public health should always be scrutinised for “scientific correctness” since it could only lead to wrong perceptions and cause unnecessary public misgiving and distrust, which have a negative impact on livelihoods.

Lorraine Barrow Institute of Marine Affairs

This band’s leaders were proud to promote the fact that all the chocolate used in its costumery was imported. In fact, it appeared to be a major selling point to its prospective clientele.

It appears to me that Trinidad has a vibrant cocoa industry and a budding chocolate industry.

The sense that one has is that the chocolate industry is trying very hard to find a market in Trinidad.

Its efforts are meeting resistance of the very kind exemplified by the Carnival band referred to, where locals go abroad to find the very product that is so readily available locally while local producers struggle to find foreign markets.

The State owes an obligation to local producers, agriculturists and manufacturers to assist in bringing products and markets together, thus ensuring the viability of local enterprise, and encouraging small business owners to develop their products to world standards.

The benefits that would be derived from such support would contribute immensely to the country’s balance of payments problems.

Karan Ma-habirsingh Carapichaima

The Academy will host boys and girls of all ages who are interested in cricket. Iconic former West Indies batsman Brian Lara along with other past and present international players are expected to visit and address attendees to share their wealth of knowledge during the course of this year’s programme.

Speaking at the launch, founder and chairman of the Academy, Daren Ganga, stated, “It is exciting to launch the second year of the Daren Ganga Cricket Academy after a successful first edition and this stems as a continuation of the Daren Ganga’s Foundation (DGF) which was founded back in 2007.” He continued, “Since then we’ve been able to pioneer the prestigious scholarship programme in 2010 and continue building a proper foundation for our cricket.” Stressing on the opportunities the game of cricket created for him as an individual, Ganga said it was his responsibility to create even more options for the younger generation and to continuously open doors for the upcoming cricketers. West Indies cricketers Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine were also present at the launch as they inspired the students to believe in themselves and always follow their dreams.

The Academy’s 2017 programme is sponsored by Optometrist Today along with Flow Sports and will continue to focus primarily on cricket development, nutrition and strength and conditioning, while utilising a variety of teaching methodologies and capitalising on cutting edge technology.

Last year June, students of the Academy were fortunate to meet and spend the afternoon with some of the top players of the Trinbago Knight Riders during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Three months ago, the young enthusiastic cricketers were taken to Tobago where they competed with other aspiring players from the sister isle during a series of matches. Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies leg-spinner, Samuel Badree, was present last year at a training session where he left an enduring impression on the young cricketers.

The event will be staged under the auspices of the World Wide All Fours Ultimate Cup.

The runners-up will be entitled to a sum of $40,000 while the thirdplaced team will get $20,000 and the fourth-placed team $10,000.

In the Best of the Rest category, the winners will pocket $6,000 while the second-placed team will receive $4,000.

The registration fee for teams (of 12 players) is $5,000, while the event will benefit from the sponsorship of TG (Trinidad) Enterprises Limited, Multiserv Communications Limited and Princess Distributors.

For more information, call 302- 2708, 391-6023 or 774-6879.

A pool of close to 20 players, excluding the overseas-based players, trains up to five days per week as Morace seeks to develop a team that is capable of qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. And the focus is not only on the women’s team but programmes are also outlined for the Under-20 and Under-17 women’s teams and sessions are ongoing under the respective head coaches Nicola Williams and Manuela Tesse, both past international players and coaches in Australia and Italy.

Prolific TT forward Kennya Cordner has lauded the work being done by Morace and her staff.

“The preparations have been really good. We are focusing more on fitness at this time to get ourselves ready for the international matches.

She (Morace) is also focusing on defensive stuff as you know for years that has been an issue for us,” Cordner told TT FA Media.

“The sessions are enjoyable.

She brings a different vibes to practice, making players want to work and push themselves more.

As for me, I have been pushing myself all these years, and coaches go and coaches come, it will be the same for me. But generally it’s a great atmosphere in the training and we are gelling together,” Cordner said.

The Tobago-born former USbased player also commended the TT FA for investing tremendously in the women’s programme.

“For years, we know that the TT FA wasn’t too strongly behind the women’s programme, but now to see they are riding for us and putting a lot of support more than they have done for years is good. We have seen things happen because we have new coaches and I’ll ride for them as long as they ride for us. I am excited to play under the new coaches and for the country once more,” Cordner added.

National Under 20 goalkeeper Rebecca Almondoz, who has been drafted into the senior team pool, said there has already been signs of improvements.

“It’s been really intense but really interesting because she is bringing a new dynamic and a new look on how to do things and you can see the improvement almost immediately from all the players,” Almondoz said.

She noted that knowing that they are being guided by coaches such as Morace and her assistants, drives the players to give it their all every time they step onto the field.

“It’s been really good because we know she has had the experience and she has the mindset to carry out the training sessions and we just listen to everything she says and do what she says,” Almondoz said.

The 28-year-old Cummings featured as a second-half substitute on Friday as Trinidad and Tobago whipped Barbados 2-0 at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva in a friendly football international.

This game was Cummings’ first at the international level since sustaining a gunshot wound to his right leg on December 2015.

According to Cummings, “The first game coming back out, the confidence started to come back. I feel good to know that I could come on and still get (to perform).

“The body feels good as I start back to get fit,” added Cummings.

“And we still come out and gave a good performance.

So everything is falling back into place.” Concerning his overall performance on Friday, Cummings said, “In your first game you always try to catch back your rhythm and we were (already) on top two-nil so I was just pacing myself and getting back to the normal me and getting all the players involved in the attack.” The Central FC midfielder admitted that he has been doing extra work to regain full fitness, even though it is the off-season (the 2017 TT Pro League season is set to start in late April).

“Personally, I have no off-season,” said Cummings.

“Every day I’m doing my training because I have to get back to exactly (how I was before) and more – better, fitter and stronger. So it don’t really have any off-season for me at this point in time.” The 2016- 2017 season was his first at Central FC, having previously starred at North East Stars (now Ma Pau Stars).

“It’s the first time I ever had to go into a team that was winning,” he acknowledged. “I wasn’t getting as much playing time as I (was) accustomed but it’s a winning team.

“I just had to keep pushing myself, knowing that I had an injury to recover (from). It was a little task but it was for the good,” he ended.