From the time the FATCA legislation reared its head in this session of Parliament there has been a concerted effort to delay its passage.

From the outset the Opposition UNC has put forward all manner of excuse for its non-cooperation, ranging from its desire to have a debate on the rising crime, ignoring the fact that the impunity with which our governments and politicians have committed all manner of white-collar crimes is in part responsible for the breakdown of law and order generally, because if they could get way with it who is we.

This Opposition assumes that crime is only committed by murderers and thieves.

The UNC then decided that it must consult widely with the population on the FATCA Bill, ignoring the fact that we the people elected its MPs to serve in the Parliament to protect and serve our interest to combat the scourge of corruption and the hiding of ill-gotten gains.

The latest tactic is Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar writing to US President Donald Trump asking him if he is going to repeal the FATCA order in the US.

Whether Trump repeals the order or not does not remove the moral and ethical imperative for international compliance.

By its obstructionist manoeuvres the UNC is ignoring the fact that the movement of money from illicit activities is and should be a global concern of grave proportions, for it involves the interdiction of all manner of illegal drug cartels and corrupt government officials all across the globe.

It is clear that the UNC has declared war on transparency, a wholly unacceptable situation.

Compliance with FATCA is part and parcel of a wider issue.

Not only must FATCA serve the interest of the US but it must be made to serve the interest of TT and we must demand a FATCA reciprocity.

This is a disgraceful situation which must not go unnoticed and unchallenged by all right thinking citizens who must demand of their MPs that they comply and do it now.

Until such time that the UNC seeks to do the right thing and asserts the principles of accountability and transparency we must never consider it for government again.

Satu-Ann Ramcharan Maraval

The USPST F recommends that all adults ages 40 to 75 should get screened for high cholesterol and consider taking statins to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease which often leads to strokes and heart attacks.

The drug is also now being recommended by other scientists for healthy people.

However, in the same report, Dr Roger Chou from the Oregon Health & Science University in the US, while himself promoting statins, drew attention to some serious side-effects of the drug including muscle pain, liver problems, memory issues and diabetes. These are only some of the many adverse side-effects.

It is well known that a major part of the biochemical process that produces cholesterol in the body is also required in the production of an important enzyme called coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10. CoQ10 is essential for the production of energy needed by all the cells of the body and without it there will be serious deterioration of important body functions.

Thus as the statins reduce the cholesterol levels by inhibiting its production, they also reduce the production of CoQ10 and this results in serious side-effects.

In fact in organs such as the heart, kidney and liver where CoQ10 is required at higher concentrations, the risk of organ damage is significantly increased as noted by Dr Chou. It follows therefore that any recommendation to take statins should be accompanied by a requirement to also take CoQ10 supplements in order to address the unavoidable CoQ10 reduction.

Rather than the use of statins, I wish to suggest what I believe is a decidedly better solution to the cholesterol problem. It has been confirmed in published clinical studies that adequate amounts of the nutrient vitamin B3 (niacin) reduces cholesterol in the body safely and effectively while leaving the CoQ10 levels unaffected.

This nutrient, unlike statins, is of relatively low toxicity and has few side-effects when not taken in excessive amounts. It is actually necessary for preventing the debilitating disease pellagra.

It is also inexpensive and widely available as an over-thecounter supplement and therefore will not be promoted by the pharmaceutical industry.

Its effectiveness for cholesterol control was first demonstrated by Dr William Parsons at the Mayo Clinic in the US in 1955, who later published his findings in a book, Cholesterol Control Without Diet! The Niacin Solution, Lilac Press, 1998.

In view of these facts, I challenge the advice that healthy people should also be given potentially harmful statins. Moreover I encourage statin users to investigate niacin on the Internet and raise the issue with their doctors since their health may be at risk.

Prof Stephan Gift Dean, Faculty of Engineering, UWI

The ink was hardly dry after he was sworn in as minority leader of the Tobago House of Assembly when he started doing what the people of Tobago put him there to do — point out the errors of the PNM.

Sadly, the official UNC Opposition has done nothing since the party’s demotion from power. It is instead more concerned on holding on to its regional base.

The country continues on a downward spiral with what some claim to be the worse Government and Opposition in this nation’s history.

Fortunately, Duke looks like the real deal, the type of opposition that the PNM needs to keep it on its toes.

Noel Sampson Tobago

Clutching her Victoires de la Musique award, Rose declared at Piarco International Airport, “Calypso is alive and will never die!” She revealed that copies of her album have been distributed on all Air France flights and songs contained in the album are receiving heavy rotation in France.

Rose, who will give her only full concert in Trinidad for Carnival 2017 on February 24, said young calypso artistes, “need to keep their audience awake at all times.” And she would know, since she had her audience at the Victoires de la Musique show in Paris last week jumping, dancing and wining when she performed her hit song “Leave me Alone”.

She is the first and so far only artiste to ever receive an encore at the Victoires de la Musique awards ceremony which is broadcast ‘live’.

Rose said that her victory in France was one that was not only for her and Trinidad and Tobago but all of the Caribbean as it opened a door for Caribbean artistes to market themselves in Europe. “In life you must work hard for your success.

Do not let the naysayers get to you,” Rose advised.

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, who was on hand to greet Rose, conveyed government’s heartfelt thanks to her for flying TT’s flag far from home. “You are a true role model and have touched the hearts of many especially women across the globe, Gadsby- Dolly said.

Rose’s manager Jean Michel Gibert told Newsday that Far From Home has sold over 85,000 copies so far and 150,000 copies sold is a realistic target. He added that Rose has received invitations to perform in concerts in Tahiti and Japan but her management team will work out schedules and logistics taking into consideration the fact that she will turn 77 in April.

In a statement last Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley hailed Rose’s achievement.

Rowley said Calypso Rose’s winning album Far From Home was released last year and continues to enjoy phenomenal success both in Trinidad and Tobago and abroad. The Prime Minister acknowledged Calypso Rose’s remarkable achievement of being the first soca artiste to attain the prestigious award. “Calypso Rose has consistently delivered high quality music and entertaining performances to a wide variety of audiences during her long career,” Rowley said.

Indicating that TT is justifiably proud of her latest accomplishment, Rowley said Rose’s single, Leave Me Alone, from the winning album is one of the most popular songs circulating on the airwaves and played at Carnival fetes this year.

The b-Mobile’s Brimblers steelband entertained what started off as a small crowd for about an hour until 12 noon when Port-of- Spain mayor Joel Martinez declared the entertainment open. Ancil “Blaze” Isaac, Jr, who acted as the master of ceremony, kept the artistes coming, often acting as a back up singer for them.

Soca artistes Eddie Charles and relative newcomer, Trini, were the first to get the crowd moving, but it was Marvin Lewis, son of the late Austin “King Austin” Lewis, who brought in the vintage as he sang one of his father’s calypsoes from yesteryear.

Winston “Explainer” Henry sent the crowd into nostalgia with one of his classics, “Lorraine”.

He was followed by Devon Matthews and female icon Ella Andall, but it was the winer boy himself, Robert “Lord Nelson” who had the crowd waving and wining to several of his hits including “La La”, “Wine and Chook It” and his all time classic “Meh Lover”. Famous for his jumpsuits, Nelson said he opted not to wear a jumpsuit yesterday, but chose green jersey, jacket and pants, the signal colour for bMobile.

There were concerns about Thomas’s decision to stay away from any competition this year, what with his song as an informal anthem in Trinidad and Tobago.

With the refrain “we jammin’ still’ on almost everyone’s lips, the song is considered as a top contender for the road march competition.

Thomas’s manager, Marlon Benacia, said the song was registered on Tuesday night. “This is no longer Ultimate Rejects’ song, but the people’s song. We are bound by duty to give the people what they require, so it is dutiful for us to enter the song for the road march. He has registered the the song and we made an official announcement on our Instagram page today.

“This whole thing is not really about competition.

He (Thomas) thinks that competition does not do great justice for the artform and it does not allow the younger, up and coming artistes to prevail, or be showcased as they should. We, Ultimate Rejects, opted as a group not to enter the competition, especially the Soca Monarch which everybody is talking about,” Benacia said.

However, he said as the song continued to get airplay and become popular, Thomas said it’s no longer their song, no longer their choice.

He said the only reason they took so long was because they were trying to see what was the right decision. “We are not doing it for the competition, we are doing it because most of the people…we have thousands and thousands of messages from the man on the street to prominent people in society reaching out to us and saying at least do the road march, the people want to hear the song on the road.

This was announced on Tuesday by the Central Bank’s Manager of Banking Operations, Sharon Villafana, during the first instalment of the 2017 edition of the bank’s “Know Your Money” seminars.

The seminar was held in the Main Conference Room, Level 16 of the Central Bank, Eric Williams Financial Complex, Independence Square, Port-of-Spain.

“When we eventually remove the cent, in order to facilitate your cash payments in a smooth transition, so that it would not disrupt the entire cash system, we will be introducing rounding rules…Rounding is the lesser or greater adjustments of a financial cash payment to the nearest five or ten cents.”This would apply to the total bill of cash payments only; not to the price of individual items, so merchants do not have to adjust the prices of their goods. All “non-cash forms of payment; credit and debit cards, will still require the full value of the payment to be made.” Financial institutions may also stop “giving a one cent again, in terms of actual withdrawals over the counter,” Villafana said.

“They will be implementing rounding as well. So as the one cent becomes less and less available, we hope that more and more persons will be able to adopt these guidelines.”

She assured, “the Park which spans 1,100 acres is guaranteed to increase Trinidad and Tobago’s visibility on the global map as a commercial centre primarily for technology and innovation.

It is a great step in TT becoming an innovation- driven economy.” The Minister said it is envisaged the TIP will be home to major technology players and a place where ground breaking innovative ideas can perhaps emerge. Very importantly and in line with the top Science and Technology Parks in the world, Tamana will have a unique blend of environmental appeal along with industrialization.

One of its largest tenants, The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), will offer research and development facilities, as well as a pool of industry specialists who can be harnessed to attain the highest standards of performance required to be globally competitive.

Furthermore, the presence of UTT at Tamana will create the necessary synergies between industry and academia required for cutting-edge research and managing innovation and intellectual property’.

In addition to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Tamana will offer unique investment opportunities in other ICT areas such as Software Development and Animation, as well as High-value Manufacturing.

The Trade and Industry Minister stated, “the main goal for the TIP at this time is to ensure its full operationalization through tenanting. In this regard, as part of the thrust to diversify the economy towards industries outside of the energy sector, the core activities of TIP will be focused around the following sectors: ICT – 4 lots have been provisionally allocated; Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) – 2 lots have been provisionally allocated; data processing / centres – 4 lots have been provisionally allocated; animation and software development – 3 lots have been provisionally allocated; High value manufacturing/ assembly – 3 lots have been provisionally allocated; and Financial Services – 5 lots have been provisionally allocated.” Gopee- Scoon expressed confidence that the Tamana Intech Park will aid in the ultimate goal of diversification, while placing Trinidad and Tobago as the premier investment destination of the region

This newspaper has carried many a piece on the impact of crime, both on the society as well as the economy.

Recently, there was an article that reported on the ranking of countries based on the crime rate as carried by the Gazette Review (GR). In that article the GR ranked countries based on United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime statistical reports, National Crime Index Reports, Reports on National Corruption and Reports of non-government paramilitary actions.

This was to ensure a wide-ranging understanding of crime, not just at the individual, but also at the societal level.

Of the high crime rate countries ranked 1 to 10, Trinidad and Tobago was ranked number 7. Certainly, contributing to this ranking was the murder rate of 30 per 100,000 inhabitants. In addition, there were the high incidents of thefts which occur within the country. There is also the narcotics trade, with drug distribution and kidnappings certainly having an upward spiral over the past decade or two.

Certainly, the repeated headlines of horrendous murders and high criminal activity can be expected to deter tourists, foreign direct investment (FDI) and night life in the country.

Only on Sunday we had news of the horrific death of a female footballer in Tobago. It is certainly interesting to see in the daily newspaper, reports that suggest the tourist arrivals in Tobago have fallen from a high of 80,000 per year to just around 19,000 last year. While admittedly crime is just one factor that has been suggested to account for the fall off tourists, it is a factor that requires different types of attention.

The government needs to investigate this. Certainly, verifying the magnitude of the fall-off in tourist arrivals is critical. The consequence of such a fall-off includes loss of foreign exchange earnings, loss of income to hoteliers and guesthouse owners, loss of jobs and worst bankruptcy and liquidation of failed establishments.

While the industry is complaining about a fall-off in tourists, a review of some of the databases containing tourist arrivals does show a fall off since 2012 but not as dramatic as newspaper reports suggest. Admittedly the data from the World Bank and World Tourism Organization does not disaggregate the data by region within the country which makes verifying that there is a problem and the size of the problem vital to tourism in Tobago, one of national concern. Data is only available up to 2008 on the Ministry of Tourism’s website, but this, whilst important, must not detract from the challenge faced by Tobago tourism.

After all, unfortunately it is the perception that can inform the reality about this country for many a tourist.

What is the perception? In addition, identifying the transmission channels that affect the economy of Tobago, and Trinidad, from a fall in tourist arrivals, estimating the multiplier effects, as well as the total economic impact are research areas that should be given some prominence. Certainly, we need to examine those countries from which tourists come, which are showing a massive reduction and investigate why this is happening.

This is critical to our economic planning and diversification thrust.

Indeed, not only are our hoteliers affected but so too it appears are our restaurant owners. Night life and just a simple night out to purchase a meal is being affected. It must be noted that some establishments have taken to hiring extra security, but this is a cost that will ultimately affect the bottom line.

We must address crime comprehensively. It is affecting businesses, economic life, people’s livelihood and life in general. We would encourage the Prime Minister to nuance his message on crime in his national conversations. Strong leadership, a clear plan, enlisting citizens’ assistance and providing comforting words: that’s leadership.

There is no place for arrogant display.

What we need is compassion and action.

Business Day spoke with BA’s Commercial Manager for the Caribbean, Diane Corrie, about how the current economic climate may have impacted ticket sales locally.

While Corrie declined to speak about this specifically, she did highlight the airline’s instalment payment option; Holidays by BA, applicable to customers who are booking flight and hotel, or flight and car hire, for their entire stay via ba.com.

“While in this market, some customers stay with friends and family when they go to London, this (instalments) is a great option for those wishing to visit as tourists or for small businesses.” Corrie explained that the instalment option was established several years ago, “to assist BA customers in planning and paying for their future travel. Passengers may secure their trip to London with a low deposit, pay the balance in as many instalments as they want and pay the full balance five weeks before their travel date.” Originally, customers had to pay their final balance within ten weeks of departure but, as reported in July 2016 by the website “Head for Points”, BA “made a very quiet change to their terms and conditions”, giving customers until five weeks prior to departure to pay off their balance.

“You need to add some accommodation or car hire to your stay but this can be as litt le as two nights. The added benefit of doing this is that it can save you money. You will oft en pay less for a ‘flight and hotel’ or ‘flight and car’ booking than just for the flight. This is because BA sells you a different – cheaper – sort of flight ticket (don’t worry, you sti ll get Avios and ti er points) which is made exclusively available to travel agents. Even if the price is the same or is marginally more expensive, you may feel that it is a price worth paying to give yourself what could be a substantial period of interest-free credit,” Head for Points noted.

Business Day asked Corrie if BA has seen a dip in ticket sales out of TT since energy prices began declining about 18 months ago, and if there was a ‘bump’ during particular periods, such as Christmas.

“We continue to be pleased with how the route is performing. Throughout the year and across the Caribbean, we have our peak and off -peak season travellers with different

motivations, whether it’s a trip for business, leisure, or a family reunion. The summer period is a good example of when we would get a full range of customers across all cabins.” Regarding ticket sales into and out of other Caribbean islands, Corrie said BA “has provided flights to some Caribbean islands for over 70 years (since 1946).

Today, the airline continues to show its commitment to the region providing service to 12 islands from London Gatwick or London Heathrow Airports.” In the January 24 statement, “London Beckons for 2017”, Corrie highlighted a range of activities which she said were sure to appeal to TT customers.

They included the Chelsea Flower Show May 23-27, the “Taste of London” from June 14-18, the IAAF World Championships in August, the West Indies Cricket team playing England in late August to September and NottingHill Carnival in late August.

BA “makes it easy to get to London from Trinidad or Tobago, with five flights a week; daily except Wednesday and Saturday, from Port-of-Spain and twice weekly; Monday and Friday, from Tobago. These flights off er a mix of four and three classes of service to choose from, all with attractive fares,” Corrie stated.