KEANE: CPL EMERSON of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment, Cumuto died on 17/12/2014. Son of Virginia & Neville. Husband of Natasha. Father of Tyrell, Tyrone & Tyrese. Grandson of Marie. Step-son of Augustus. Brother of Nevon, Astra, Shannon, Landy & Keevan. Relative of many. Friend of many. Funeral Service at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday 23rd December 2014, from Seventh Day Adventist Church, Stanmore Avenue, P.O.S., thence to the Military Cemetery, Long Circular Road, St. James. No Flowers By Request. For enquiries, call C&B 625-1170.

BEARDEN: PHYLLIS MARY - Died peacefully aged 105 in MacKay, Australia on December 17, 2014. Mother of Vicki Rerrie and William Bearden.

ROACH: GLORIA passed away on 12th December, 2014. Wife of Noel Roach. Mother of Allan, Arden and Gaston Roach and Stacy Waldron. Mother-in-law of Lawrencia (deceased), Savitry and Lou-Anne Roach. Grandmother of Keilon Henry, Jenesia, Anna-Alesha, Jeremy and Naomi Roach. Sister of Esther Francois (deceased), Victor, George and Nigel Streete. Daughter-in-law of Knolly Andrew and Emelda Rosetta Roach. Sister-in-law of Annette Andrea Roach (deceased). Beloved Aunt and Friend of many. Niece of the Mitchells. Funeral at 10.00 a.m. on Monday 22nd December, 2014 at Deliverance Temple Int?l, Besson Street, Port of Spain thence to the Cameron Road Cemetery, Petit Valley. For enquiries, call C&B 625-1170

Nimblett: Nathaniel James, formerly of Pointe-a-Pierre Road, San Fernando, departed this life on Tuesday 16th December, 2014 at the magnificent age of 84. Not only will he be remembered for his exceptional nature, but lovingly as the: Husband of: Veronica Woodsley-Nimblett. Father of: Dr. Denise L. Nimblett- Peroune, Donna Nimblett- Caines and Dwight Nathaniel Nimblett. Father-inlaw of: Edwin Anthony Caines, Philip Peroune and Shelley Cole-Nimblett. Grandfather of: Stephan Caines, Rachael Caines, Coryn Nimblett, Leigh Nimblett, Justin Peroune and Janine Peroune. Brother of: Teddy and Selwyn Nimblett. Good Friend of: Ometta Mitchell. Relative of: Patsy Alexis, Olga Daniel and the Woodsley family. The funeral service for the late James Nathaniel Nimblett will be held at 10:00am on Saturday 20th December, 2014 at St. Paul?s Anglican Church, Harris Promenade, San Fernando followed by a 2:00pm cremation at Belgroves Crematorium, 107-109 Coffee Street, San Fernando.No flowers by request. Enquires can be made at Belgroves Funeral Home & Crematorium at 223-2178. To extend condolences to the family of James Nathaniel Nimblett, please logon to www.belgroves.com

Perhaps you have bought a bond, or have invested in a mutual fund that has bonds as a part of its portfolio. You are not alone. The Central Bank’s economic bulletin of September 2014 says that Trinbagonians have invested some $34,214.5 million in TT income funds.

Maybe you've been thinking about making an investment in bonds, especially since they have been in the news, with the Government's issue of a $2.5 billion, 12-year, fixed-rate bond at a coupon rate of 2.8 per cent only attracting $1.45 billion, meaning it was undersubscribed by just over $1 billion. 

That was the second bond in just over a year that failed to attract the amount of money that the Government had expected, which surprised some market watchers as Government of T&T bonds are almost always heavily oversubscribed. In August 2013, the Government floated a $1 billion, 10-year, fixed-rate bond at a coupon of 2.5 per cent that only attracted bids of $895 million. 

Explaining the failure of the bond to meet its subscription, the Central Bank said: “Institutional investors may have held back from a government bond paying 2.5 per cent in favour of shares owned by the government bank with an indicative dividend yield of 4.75 per cent.”

Even if this is one of many possible reasons why the bond was undersubscribed, the importance of the interest rate in the equation is hard to ignore. And bonds share an interesting relationship with interest rates as we will see later. But first, we should get into what are bonds themselves.

Bonds are a debt investment, where a government or corporation essentially borrows money from the public to raise money at a fixed or floating rate of interest. The Central Bank public education pamphlet, “The Government Securities Market in Trinidad and Tobago” says: “Budget financing is the traditional reason why governments issue securities...To meet a budget shortfall, governments usually raise the shortfall through the issue of medium or long-term securities.”

The bond is sold at a par or face value. This is the money that is repaid to investors once the bond matures or reaches the end of its life. There is an interest rate or coupon at which the bond is initially issued. The bond, however, is also subject to the market. Independent financial consultant, Ian Narine, explained further.

“Most investments have two elements of return. The first is the income that it can generate and the second is any price movement in the investment itself. A bond is no different. There is the income that comes from the interest rate paid and then there is the return that is based on the price movement.” The price movement is caused by prevailing interest rates in an economy as bonds are sensitive to them.

For example, when a bond is bought with a coupon rate of 3 per cent and prevailing interest rates increase by 1 per cent, anyone hoping to buy the bond would want to pay less for it, as they would have to forego the returns offered at 4 per cent. 

Conversely, if a bond is issued at 5 per cent interest and prevailing interest rates decrease to 3 per cent, purchasers would be willing to pay more for it as it offers a higher rate of return in a low-interest rate environment. Remember, the interest rate for bonds is fixed. Bonds, therefore, experience an inverse relationship with interest rates. When interest rates increase, the price of bonds decrease and when rates fall, the price of bonds increases.

So how does this affect you if you have invested in bonds, in a mutual fund that has bonds as part of its porfolio, or you have invested in a bond fund, which is an combination of different bonds in a fund ? Narine said in the case of a bond fund, investors could see themselves losing.

“The value of the portfolio is the sum of the price of all the bonds in the portfolio. If therefore interest rates are rising then, all other things being equal, the price of the bonds in the portfolio will fall. A falling price will mean a lower portfolio value.” He said the challenge here would be for the portfolio manager to manage the price movements so that “the value of portfolio is as stable as possible thus allowing the investor to benefit from the income generated by the fund.”

Interest rates, or more specifically, the repo rate has risen by 50 basis points over the past three months from 2.75 per cent to 3.25 per cent. In considering what this change in interest rate may mean for investors, Narine said one has to consider that there are different interest rates.

“When we speak about rising interest rates we have to appreciate that there are many different interest rates. There are borrowing rates, such as when you go for a loan and there are deposit rates which is the rate you get for a deposit.” The financial consultant also noted that interest rates were affected by time.

“You would expect to pay a higher interest rate if you borrow money for one year than if you were borrowing for ten. When we speak about rising interest rates we have to appreciate that lending rates will be impacted differently to deposit rates and shorter term interest rates will be impacted differently to longer term rates. The key is to understand that the same factor will have different influences and to different extents.”

Drawing reference to the repo rate, Narine said, so far, this has only affected the prime lending rate of banks. “It may serve as a reference point but it will not affect long-term interest rates to the same extent as it will affect short-term interest rates.” He said the US situation was more pronounced.

“As the expectation is that the US Federal Reserve will soon signal an increase in their short-term lending rate to banks the two-year interest rate in the US has moved up and recently went to 0.6 per cent. On the other hand, because of the turmoil in the oil market and other fears about the global economy investors are looking to place their funds in the 10-year US treasury bond.

The increased demand has resulted in the price to rise and rising price translates into a lower yield. The US 10-year is now yielding 2.09 per cent when the predictions by many at the start of the year was for this benchmark to be at around 3.5 to 3.75 per cent by this time.

“This means that long term interest rates in the US are in fact falling while short term rates are rising.” In contrast, Narine said, while T&T is experiencing a short-term rise in interest rates, the long-term outlook was as yet unclear.

“What may trigger a rise in longer term rates is the fact that oil prices have fallen and so with less revenues available there is greater risk in lending longer term in T&T. That may cause investors to demand a higher interest rate as compensation for the increased risk of lending in this environment.”

Narine also said government had to watch T&T interest rates versus those of the US considering the shortages of US currency that have struck the country, since there was the potential for the problem to become worse as interest rate differentials could cause investors to send foreign currency outside.

“Recently the Governor of the Central Bank suggested that there is hoarding of US dollars. One way to address this is to create an environment for higher TT dollar interest rates. Using the 10-year rate to illustrate, I can invest in the US 10-year at the current 2.10 per cent. Let's say the equivalent investment in TT$ generates a return of 2.6 per cent. That ½ per cent differential has to compensate me for taking T&T-dollar risk. If it is not sufficient compensation then one may prefer to hold an investment in US dollars.”

Narine said if prevailing interest rates went to 4 per cent, for example, it may provide an incentive for investors to hold an investment in TT dollars, increasing the demand for TT dollars compared to US.

“It is early days yet in terms of the upward movement in TT interest rates but these are the types of issues that are in play at present. How much and how quickly interest rates rise will be determined by a number of different factors some of which may originate locally but others will be thrust upon us by events outside of T&T. As you can see there are many different issues to consider.” said Narine.

Kurt Valley, General Manager, First Citizens Asset Management Limited said:

When interest rates rise bond prices always fall. In Trinidad we have many fixed NAV (Net Asset Value) funds where the price of the units is set at a fixed level. For instance, the unit value of the First Citizens Abercrombie fund is set at $20.  When interest rates rise, the bonds in this fund will be valued lower but to the customer nothing will change in the short run. Over time, rising interest rates will necessitate the payout rate on these fixed NAV funds to increase.

We also have floating NAV funds such as the El Tucuche fund. This fund’s value is very responsive to interest rate changes and would rise when interest rates are falling and fall when the general level of interest rates is rising. Investors would need to understand which type ofbond fund they have and their investment objectives to determine which type of fund would work best for them in a rising interest rate environment. 

Natalie Mansoor, Head Asset Management, RBC Investment Management (Caribbean) Limited had this to say on the issue:

The interest rate that is applied to any bond is really comprised of two separate rates: 1) the applicable risk-free rate and 2) the spread applied for the specific credit risk of the specific bond. 

Generally, when a reference is made to "rising rates" it is usually the risk-free rate that is being discussed. The risk-free rate is usually the government bond rate associated with the currency of the bond issue: so for example for TTD denominated bonds the risk-free rate is a GORTT bond, for USD bonds the risk-free rate is the US Treasury bond rate and for EUR denominated bonds the risk-free rate is the German Bund rate.

Interest rate increases will be seen first in the risk-free bond and because there is no credit spread applied to the risk-free rate, a rise in these rates will result in a decline in bond value. 

For risk assets - i.e. bonds that are not the risk-free bond - there is a spread that is applied to the risk-free rate. Therefore, to determine how these prices will move will not only be a function of the movement of the risk-free rate but we also have to look at the potential movement in the credit spread.

Credit spreads are generally a reflection of the level of confidence (or lack thereof) that investors have in the credit as well as the overall economy: so when confidence is high, spreads tend to narrow and conversely when there is fear or uncertainty, spreads will widen.

Therefore when we discuss rising rates, to determine how spreads will react, we have to look at the overall economy into which these rising rates will be applied - if it is a weak, slow-growing economy where confidence is already low, then you will find that investors will react negatively to rising rates by widening credit spreads resulting in sharp declines in bond prices. 

If the economy is a strong economy, particularly with strong confidence reflected in strong lending/low liquidity, then you may see spreads narrow - possibly enough to offset the increase in the risk-free rate. In this situation you will see little movement in bond prices or you can actually see an increase in bond prices if the spread narrows sufficiently (i.e. the decline in spread is more than the increase in the risk-free rate).

In T&T where there is significant excess liquidity, it will be difficult to maintain a sustained rate increase until this liquidity is removed. As such, if the liquidity remains and rates are pushed up, the most likely consequence will be volatility as rates get pushed up but then fall again as liquidity builds up.

Ultimately whether interest rates go up or down investing in bonds is about earning income over a medium to long time horizon, not capital appreciation. Once you match the investment with the right objective then you will be fine.

JOHNSON: ARTHUR "CANZIE" passed away peacefully on Tuesday 16th December, 2014. Devoted husband of Sheila(nee Ghent) of 66 years. Loving father of Andrew( Maura), Arlette Jutla (Desmond)/ Hayden Paul and Anton( Jody). Grandfather of Adrian Johnson, Asia Jutle and Anya and Aiden Johnson. Great grandfather of Jayda and Julian. Funeral service for the late Arthur Johnson takes place at 9:00am on Wednesday 24th December, 2014 at R.M. de Souza Memorial Chapel, Diego Martin thence to St. James Crematorium. For enquiries, please contact R.M. de Souza Memorial Chapel, 223-2007/637-2009.

WILLIAMS: HELEN, formerly of Five Rivers, Arouca, passed away on December 18, 2014. Daughter of the late Monica and Thomas Williams. Sister of Grace Anne Bradshaw, Lucille Williams, Allister Williams and Phillipa Joan Watkins (United Kingdom). Aunt of Camille, Sharon, Nigel, Rachael, Dwight, Dustin, Darlette, Ayola, Anthony, Alisia, Anika, Alexis, Terence and Amiee-Louise. Cousin of Anita George, Cynthia Baptiste and others. Great-aunt of seven. Her funeral will take place on Monday, December 22 at 10 a.m. at the Holy Trinity R.C. Church, Arouca followed by interment at the churchyard cemetery.

On Thursday evening, the new executive chairman of First Citizens Bank, Anthony Smart, delivered remarks at a Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute (CCGI) event. Smart's speech came just hours following the publication of the last Business Guardian, which contained a stinging letter from shareholder activist Peter Permell, which gave reasons why the bank should not have an executive chairman, including the fact the CCGI frowns on it.  In what the bank dubbed as "somewhat of a response to Peter Permell's letter”, Smart explained how the same corporate governance code referred to by Permell allows for his new position.
      
It gives me great pleasure to be here with you this evening at this Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute networking Event.  First Citizens continues to be as closely associated with the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute as we were when the Bank took on the responsibility of being a founding sponsor of the Institute.

We at First Citizens retain our close links because we are convinced that T&T and indeed the entire Caribbean need to build on the foundation that has been laid for the continued emergence of strong and successful corporations. Shareholders, corporate and individual, are no longer passive, if indeed they were so in previous decades. Along with actual investors in corporations, even the general public is conscious of the need for effectively and efficiently governed business entities. 

They, the public, realise that quality governance converts into jobs, revenues and a higher standard of living for all.  Similarly, the public and direct investors know that weak structures and opaque governance systems must result inevitably in corruption of one form or the other and the inevitable weakening of the business.

Especially for small economies and regions competing in a world of giant corporations, many of them with budgets and structures larger than our entire economies and region, high-quality and productive governance systems are a necessity for growth.   
It is because we at First Citizens have taken time over the last 20 plus years of the Bank’s establishment to build sound governance structures, that the Bank has been able to prevail over the challenges of 2014.

It is this pillar of corporate governance consisting of management structures, transparency, accountability and having experienced and high calibre senior management, which has brought First Citizens through the challenges associated with the Bank’s highly successful Initial Public Offering. 

  As you would be aware, our corporate governance structure was expanded by the IPO to now include 12,000 plus shareholders.  We feel sure that they will monitor and have their say at our annual general meetings will thereby add another dimension to corporate governance.  

Today, after a short 21 years, First Citizens has moved from being a weak financial institution that came into existence from three banks in severe financial difficulties to becoming one of the largest and most secure indigenous financial services group within Caricom.

In no small measure the achievement of such success has been due to the sound corporate governance structure instituted.  It is a structure which is being continuously built upon by the board and management of First Citizens.

During its existence, First Citizens has been given the highest rating among local and regional banks by international rating bodies.  Admittedly those high ratings have been marginally adjusted downwards by one rating agency because of the challenges experienced with the IPO.  But we fully expect that the bank’s ratings will once again climb upwards as the international rating agencies see continued profitability and growth flow from our strong corporate governance system.   

As an executive chairman, put in the job for a temporary period, it may seem contradictory that we are talking about pursuing  quality corporate governance while you have heard that no one individual should hold the positions of CEO and chairman.

And yes it is a fact that there should be a separation of powers between the CEO and Chairman in order to achieve transparent and effective corporate governance.  However, the Code itself provides that such a structure may be permitted in exceptional circumstances once the majority shareholder is consulted and approval is given. 

In our situation, once the former CEO  tendered his resignation without notice, the board therefore sought the approval of the majority shareholder to my appointment as executive chairman while a permanent CEO is recruited. The Board considered that this was the best option in the circumstances.  This appointment is a short term measure and the board fully expects that a new CEO will be in place before the end of June 2015.  

In the interim, as executive chairman I have the assistance of an experienced banker as a consultant and indeed the assistance of the executive management of First Citizens as I continue the journey of ensuring that First Citizens is properly directed and controlled. On behalf of all of us at First Citizens, I wish you and your family God’s greatest blessings at this year’s celebration of the birth of Jesus. 

Client Situation
It is the week before Christmas and Simone a 33-year-old single engineer is recounting last year’s shopping adventure that came to a stressful end at 10:00pm Christmas Eve night. She was happy but drained physically, emotionally and most of all financially.  It took her four months to recover from her spending episode and to begin rebuilding her savings.  She now has $25,000 in her salary account and $15,000 available on a $35,000 credit card.  

A month ago her bank offered a pre-approved credit card with a $10,000 limit - she is tempted to take it, as it is just the right amount for the season but her best friend Megan suggests that she doesn’t.  In fact Megan recommends that Simone withdraw funds from her savings account to pay off the existing debt, return the card and control her spending habits.  

Simone is afraid to repeat the mistakes of Christmas past but knows that she does not have a lot of time to get it right. She wants to know if she should take Megan’s advice but this would mean showing up at mother’s house almost empty handed on December 25th.
 
Nick’s Assessment
What Simone is faced with is very common at this time of year.  With just a few days to spare before Christmas and the desire to make loved ones happy, it is very easy to go overboard with one’s spending. Add to this a generous serving of available credit card funds and what you have is an opportunity for more debt.

 Why was Simone offered a new credit card facility, even though she has a debt on her existing card?  First of all Simone has a stable, well-paid job, which is often the main criterion to qualify for such a facility.  Secondly, she has a proven track record of payments and this enhances her credit rating. 

Ideally Simone should be able to clear off what she used during the course of the month but what probably occurred was over time the limit was increased to the point at which it exceeded her monthly disposable income.  

Once she was unable to settle the full statement balance at the end of each month she had no choice but to only make the minimum payments and service the monthly interest.  What eventually developed was a “hard core” debt that will never go away - unless she heeds Megan’s counsel to clear off the balance with her savings.
 
Megan’s Advice
Taking money from her savings to repay the $20,000 debt (limit of $35,000 less available $15,000) and cancel the card will guarantee that she avoid thousands of dollars in interest in the months and years to come. Giving back the card will also reduce the risk of getting further into debt and force her to live within her means.

 The challenge with this advice is after using her savings Simone will only have $5,000 in her account and should she encounter an emergency she will not be able to deal with it.  

The other thing to consider is the emotional and psychological impact that this drastic move might have.  The feeling of deprivation and shrinking financial resources could trigger “binge spending” in the not too distant future and she may very well find herself right back to where she started and possibly even worse off.  There is also the issue of pride and guilt as she expressed a concern that she will be “showing up at mother’s house almost empty handed on December 25th”  
 
So how can Simone get a grip of her finances and still enjoy the Christmas season without the feeling of restriction?
 
Nick’s Advice
For the most part Megan was correct in her suggestion however it maybe a bit too soon for Simone to give up her credit card altogether. “Cold Turkey” approaches seldom work well and often have destructive repercussions.  As counterintuitive as it might seem, it may actually be a good idea to clear off the existing debt with her savings but hold on to the card in case of emergencies. When she rebuilds her savings to a comfortable level she can then give up the card.
 
So what about Christmas shopping?  Keeping that card out of sight sounds great but with the pressures of the season Simone more likely than not - will sneak it back in her wallet and start swiping again.
 
Two credit cards could spell double trouble for Simone’s finances. However, having a lower limit card that she can clear off using January’s salary might not be such a bad idea.  We are almost certain that Simone will max out this new facility in short order, but we are also certain she will contain her spending within the $10,000 limit. Compare this to what could happen if she has a card with a $35,000 limit in hand.
 
A Christmas Budget
Now that Simone knows how much she plans to spend for the holidays, the next step would be to determine what to spend on. The fable of making the list and checking it twice is not restricted to Santa Claus - it really is a good idea!  Once the wish list drafted, she then needs to figure out how much money to allocate to each item.  If the total price tag of the wish list is greater than the budget or card limit, Simone needs to decide who to drop (naughty) and who to keep (nice).
 .
PERSONAL GREETING!
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you my dear reader for following our column these past months and wish you and your loved ones God’s richest blessings for the Season. Merry Christmas to all! – Yours truly, Nick
 
(Details were modified to protect client’s identity)
nickadvice@gmail.com www.FinancialCoachingCentre.com

The recounting of the history of an event or issue usually gives perspective and informs, particularly in relation to contentious matters, on motives and intentions. The present contention over the process adopted or ignored to select and have appointed a commissioner of police is a case in point. Here is the short history of how we have got to where we are.

The Police Service Commission, under the chairmanship of Christopher Thomas, recommended Stephen Williams for the job of commissioner; the People’s National Movement (PNM) government led by Patrick Manning vetoed the recommendation; Manning and his government argued that the process of selection was deficient as it was not designed to attract the best candidates possible. The government changed the process for recruitment to find someone with Metropolitan experience. That done, it became obvious that a foreigner was wanted for the position.

The process outlined by the PNM government was supported by the then opposition United National Congress. Eventually Canadians Dwayne Gibbs and Jack Ewatski topped the list. In the interim, Manning’s PNM was voted out of power. New Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressed misgivings about the process, but said the government had no choice but to make the appointments to avoid another lengthy delay in having a commissioner in office.

Persad-Bissessar, however, promised to re-order the complicated and foreign-looking process. In the lead up to the Canadians taking up their appointments, then acting CoP Philbert James was literally chased out of office by the crude remarks of Attorney General Anand Ramlogan; the remarks were so uncivilised that PM Persad-Bissessar was moved to say she would have addressed the issue differently.

Approximately two years into the contract of the Canadians, the Prime Minister placed her then right-hand man, Jack Warner, in the job of Minister of National Security. Warner was direct, he wanted the Canadians out of office. He discredited the anti-crime plan of Gibbs and was harshly critical of the commissioner’s handling of matters. Before long the Canadians were on their way back home, having been fired and paid off for the remaining portion of their contracts.

Stephen Williams was moved into the position of acting CoP until a permanent replacement was to be found; Williams has had five renewals of the acting appointments and is due for another one. During this period, new chairman of the Police Service Commission, Prof Ramesh Deosaran, and his team proposed measures for the simplification of the selection process of a CoP.

Two years after the PSC made the proposals and no movement to change the system for recruitment had been undertaken by the Government, chairman Deosaran resigned in frustration As concerns mounted about the continued acting of a CoP, AG Ramlogan defended the acting position and suggested that it is one means of keeping the acting CoP on his toes.

Suddenly, out of the blue, the Government seems interested, not in an overall revue of the complicated system, but desirous of changing the regulations to make it possible for superintendents to vie for the job of commissioner.  

However, the only rationale for the change is to the effect that “given the history of the police service” there is the need for widening of the pool, said Ramlogan. He does not say what he means by “given the history of the police service.” What is the lesson in that history that so warrants going to the level of the superintendent? There may be good reasons for extending the possible contenders base but the AG needs to say why.

Next, an amusing episode takes place. After it becomes clear that the Government would not be given the support required to make the adjustments to allow superintendents to qualify to apply for the job, the PM announces that she supports Williams and claims that he is doing a fine job; she even likens Williams and his job to the one she is doing; but alas, she exclaims, Williams, like herself may get kicked around and out.

In the meantime, the Government makes no effort to bring the changes to the regulations to simplify the process of appointing a CoP; indeed even with this talk of expanding the group from which the commissioner can emerge there is no effort at the fundamental change that most say is required.

The question for the reader is: What in this historical account of the actions of this Government that suggests that there is a serious intention to reform the system with the objective of having a CoP in a permanent position outside the reach of a government bent on manipulating an acting CoP?  

One conclusion made in public and media comment is to the effect that having to face the electorate on the issue of crime, the Government is desperately casting around hoping to find the solution in a new CoP and someone of its choice. But when government policy with reference to the permanent selection and appointment of a CoP is so distorted and so obviously directed at achieving political ambitions in preference to tackling the problem of crime, citizens’ security is compromised. 

The Digicel Preysal Cricket School held its graduation ceremony on Sunday December 14 at the Preysal Community Centre. The ceremony, attended by both students and parents, highlighted the outstanding work displayed throughout the cricket programme which ran from Saturday, September 27 to Saturday, December 13.

Entering its sixth year of sponsorship, Digicel was pleased to witness the school see one of their best years, having a full complement of coaches coupled with an impressive group of 85 kids between the ages of 7-15. The success of the programme was attributed especially to the hard-working and committed coaches led by Coach Prakash Sookhai along with former West Indies “A” team cricketer Eugene Antoine.

All participants received certificates of participation endorsed by the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board. Preysal’s CEO, Camal Basdeo, expressed his thanks to Digicel for the support in 2014 which included funds to manage the school and offset equipment costs as well as an end of season treat at the Digicel Imax. 

Former West Indies manager Omar Khan thinks that the West Indies selectors have made a senseless decision to appoint Barbadian Jason Holder as captain of the West Indies team for the ODIs in South Africa. Khan who managed Holder when he took part in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in 2010 said: “At this point in time, it makes no sense in changing the captain of the team.”
T&T’s Bravo who has been captain of the ODI team for the last year, was removed from the position and has even been excluded outright from the team.

Khan added: “We have the World Cup coming up after this tour of South Africa. You don’t go to a World Cup to build a team, you either build a team before the World Cup or after. Removing Bravo at this time makes no sense to me.” Khan believes that Holder could be a good leader but it is too soon. “I think that Holder is being rushed at this point in time. They needed to give him time before taking him to this position. “Holder is a good leader but I say leader very carefully. While working with him during his days as an Under-19 player I found him to be a very good student of the game and one who always took part in team building discussions. He would always come out and speak about team togetherness and responsibility which is good but at the under-19 level, it is a totally different kettle of fish. “As a leader of the senior team he would have tremendous burden to deal with and I am not sure that this is the right time to burden him. Jason has very good potential and while he is looking to make a way for himself on the team, he gets the captaincy which is no easy task. “Having said that he has already been installed as captain and one can only wish him all the best and hope that the senior guys on the team come through and support him as he goes about his job.”

Meanwhile, West Indies Cricket Board president Dave Cameron says that the decision by the board to approve a recommendation for Holder to be appointed captain was unanimous. WICB selectors, chaired by Clive Lloyd, recommended the 23-year-old Barbados pacer as captain of the ODI squad ahead of the five-match series against South Africa and just two months before the ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Holder takes over the reins of team from seasoned allrounder Dwayne Bravo who has been sacked after just 19 months in charge and also dropped from the 15-man squad named to face the South Africans. “I don’t have anything to say. I think you should speak to the selectors,” said Cameron. “I don’t pick the team...You will have talk to the selectors and they will give you their philosophy on why they picked the team. It is not for the president to talk about”.

Holder has played one Test and 21 One-Day Internationals since making his international debut in February last year. He has been widely viewed as having leadership qualities, having already served as vice-captain of the West Indies A team as well as of the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League. “The captain of the team has to be approved by the Board,” declared Cameron. “The recommendation came (from the selectors) and the Board were unanimous in their approval”.

Meantime the Trinidad and Tobago director on the WICB Baldath Mahabir has weighed in on the debate saying that it is very rare the board would dispute the recommendations from the selectors. “What we were asked to do was to approve the change in captaincy. The Board does not get involved in team selection at all...You would have seen Mr Lloyd’s justification and the Board approved it. It did not come with a removal,” Mahabir explained. “It came with a recommendation for Jason Holder to captain the team and it is very rare that the Board will turn down a recommendation from the selectors”.

San Fernando-based Rigtech Sonics Cycle Club is not developing fine athletes only. The outfit is nurturing a parallel community of supporters, too. 

This was reflected at the club’s appreciation ceremony held at Petrotrin Sports Club in Point-a-Pierre on December 14, where some of the quirkiest awards were presented.

From “Come Back Cyclist of The Year”, “The Laugh Out Loud Award”, “Breath of Fresh Air”, “In Recognition of Your Efforts”, “We Truly Appreciate You” and “Your Effort Inspired Us All” were the titles given to tokens presented at the event.

The proceedings were witnessed by officials of the San Fernando City Corporation and Robert Faria, president of the T&T Cycling Federation, as the Rigtech Sonics toasted the yuletide season and with the promise of ushering in a New Year with the aim of being of greater service to its community.

Sometimes we make mistakes! That is human. Other times our decisions are based upon moments of anger, jealousy, and even vindictiveness, especially in sport. Since the announcement of Jason Holder’s choice as captain of the West Indies ODI squad, it seems as though there have been many more reasons for the selectors to include or omit players, many of which may not have logical explanations.

It is clear to see that the selected team does not reflect what could appear to be sensible analyses of the players who are eligible contenders. Just a few months ago, these same selectors had chosen Dwayne Bravo to lead the ODI squad against Ireland, New zealand, Bangladesh and India, a clear and fair decision, if there was ever one. Who would have challenged the athletic all-rounder’s extraordinary ability to bat, bowl, and field as good as anyone with similar capabilities?

This was no accident, just look at the records at his entire career, regardless of where he played, and we can see that this type of cricketer will always have a place in today’s ODI setting especially.
These same selectors were the ones who chose Bravo for India, which brings my next question to the three-man panel. Clearly you appear to admit that your first decision was faulty. OK, if so, how on earth could your choice for captain be justified at this time?

And while I recognise the potential of Holder as a promising fast bowler, the role of captaincy could not be justified. The job of captaincy cannot be learnt from a book, neither can anyone search a crystal ball and come up with the name of a young man whose reputation lies between one test match and 21 ODIs, some with occasional success, but nothing to highlight his prowess as a captain for the future.

As a bowler among the others that are available, exactly where do the selectors place Holder among Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Krishmar Santokie, Shannon Gabriel, and Sheldon Cottrell? This panel has chosen all these players within the past year. The blind will chose Taylor, Roach, Rampaul, Russell, and Santokie ahead of the young fast bowler. I admit that the three selectors are former test players, hence the reason we all believed that they should have done a better job of selection.

Let’s look at the psychological aspect of this green horn leading a bunch of more experienced (proven mind you), contributors to the international game, many of them accredited with excellent marks in their unfinished careers. Having said my piece, if the selection of this team was genuinely chosen by the panel, then it would appear that they are poor assessors of players. I suppose that we can go on to speak about the omission of Kieron Pollard, Rampaul and Darren Sammy, all of whom were chosen by this same trio recently.

The panel has lost their way, or they do not know as much of the great game as they were  given credit for. Unless they were given instructions by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that these players must not be considered for selection because of activity that is unrelated to the game itself. That provides a different picture and one which has far reaching proportions, especially if there happens to be some sort of vindictive behaviour by the Board or the Disciplinary Committee.

If the WICB gave that decision and the selection panel followed the instruction, then we must assume that neither took blame in the manner that the task force was identified. Their report said that all parties were wrong. That included, WICB, West Indies Players Association (Wipa) and the players. The only full time employees in that trio, are the players, and unless the Board can indicate the reasons for penalising the players, it must be brought to the public.

These players may have erred by not taking the field against India, but they were literally pushed into this situation by a bunch of amateurs on the WICB and Wipa, both of which could not provide an official contract for the players to accept, before the start of the India tour. From its present position, I believe that the time has come for everyone of the national cricket boards to accept that enough is enough. There is an absence of professionalism, competence, and business acumen, all of which are needed to conduct the game of cricket, which is now big business.

Right now, they have the players making statements which have a flavour of accepting decisions because they want to continue so long as their salaries are paid. The picture is abysmal, the mindset of the players are not compatible with their responsibilities as West Indies cricketers. The result in the first Test against South Africa is an obvious sign, and who knows what is brewing down the road

T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) president Brian Lewis will put his fitness to the test when he walks the 2015 Trinidad International Marathon carded for January 25 to raise awareness for the Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund. Lewis is hoping to earn $500,000 initially to help the athletes. The main aim of the Fund is to assist athletes with their preparations for the 2024 Olympics. 

At the TTOC head office on Monday, Lewis, who wants T&T to win at least 10 gold medals by the 2024 Olympics spoke about the initiative. Lewis said: “The path to Olympic success requires full time commitment and unstinting dedication. To be competitive, our elite and high performance athletes, both in individual and team sports need to be able to dedicate much more time and energy to their endeavors. For this to happen they need money.” 

The TTOC president added: “Winning a medal at the Olympics demands years of sacrifice and single minded focus. Many of our top athletes are not financially equipped to afford the time required to realize  their full potential. Simply put, without our financial support, they can’t be the best that they can be.” Lewis said that athletes need assistance before they compete. “As a nation, we have a history of providing financial rewards for our athletes after they have succeeded. 

There are far too many untold stories of talented young men and women who, not for want of effort, have had to give up their Olympic dream because they did not have the financial support to dedicate themselves fully.” National athletes will also be given assistance for the Paralympic and Commonwealth Games to enable them to train, recover and compete.

DETAILS OF FUND
*Direct support (stipend) to cover day-to-day living expenses
*Medal bonus to reward success
*Health and Accident Insurance: Providing world class medical support for our top athletes is of paramount importance. Injury and illness can threaten an athlete’s career if not identified and dealt with quickly.
*Internships with Corporate T&T to prepare for life after sport
*Lifeskills training

To paraphrase Bubba from the Forrest Gump movie who knows all about shrimp: “Anyway, like I was saying, duck is the fruit of the land. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s duck-kabobs, duck creole and duck gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There’s pineapple duck, lemon duck, coconut duck, curry duck, duck soup, duck stew, duck salad, duck and potatoes, duck burger, duck sandwich.” That’s not all, duck is much more versatile.

According to the CEO of Central Farms, Stephen Dasent, duck is a really tasty and healthy alternative if your palate is jaded from eating ham, beef ham, turkey, chicken or soya ham for Christmas. 
Speaking to the T&T Guardian at his farm at Milton Road, Couva, Dasent said, “What we’re promoting...is a Christmas duck. Presently the trend is ham and turkey for Christmas, and it’s a known fact that we in T&T are not growing turkeys locally. “The majority of the turkeys and ham such as the spiral hams are imported. “Our ducks aren’t pumped up full of hormones like some other poultry; we strive very much to raise them as close to natural as possible.”

He said his farm took pride in rearing ducks on an open range where they’re exposed to grazing naturally and it also put in the extra effort to produce a “green” feed or forage material for them. Dasent said this gave the duck a much leaner carcass, which meant less fat, making it much healthier and better tasting. He said a lot of people were afraid to buy duck because they believed that it was a hard meat but, Dasent said, on the contrary, duck was a very easy meat to prepare and cook and for convenience he sold his duck cleaned, cut up, singed and ready for cooking. 

He said his ducks were selling at a very competitive price of around $99.99 for a four-pound bag and were comparable to several hams in weight and price. Dasent said Central Farms supplies PriceSmart, their major client, did promotions and taste sampling at their branches, as well as at Massy Stores and Tru Valu Supermarkets. They also distribute to the local curry duck cooks, Chinese market, poultry outlets, pluck shops and groceries. 

‘Curry duck should be promoted internationally’
Dasent’s son, Jacob, the director of Central Farms, said curry duck was a “Trini thing,” almost like a national dish, but it wasn’t well known outside of T&T.  Jacob said that curry duck as well as the local duck should be promoted internationally for people to discover the delicious meat. He said that there were other challenges to producing ducks such as cost of labour, adequate land as they expanded their operations, and the cost of feed. Jacob said he was baffled how the cost of grain to make feed on the international market had been decreasing while the local feed companies had been increasing their costs and not passing on the savings to farmers who would then be able to pass it on to consumers. 

No wild meat...
Dasent said with the ban on hunting and wild meat, duck was a great alternative and would make a very nice change or option from what was traditionally served at the Christmas table. So there are many ways to have your duck, including curry or succulent Peking duck, and give your taste buds a treat for Christmas.

So you want to roast the perfect duck?
Follow this recipe from T&T Guardian food columnist Wendy Rahamut for a fantastic Christmas duck. 

Orange 
Ginger-Roasted Duck

1 5 lb duck
2 small oranges
1/2 cup orange marmalade
3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp chopped chadon beni

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large roasting pan with foil.
Remove both wingtips at the top joint with kitchen scissors or a heavy knife; reserve wing tips. Reserve neck (discard the rest of the giblets). Trim the excess skin and fat around the neck and cavity opening.
Wash well with lime juice and water, drain and pat dry with paper towels.
Grate 1/4 teaspoon orange zest and set aside. Cut oranges into quarters. Set aside three sections and place the remaining orange sections inside the duck; fold the wings under and tie the legs together with kitchen string. With a skewer or fork, prick holes in the skin without piercing the flesh. (This allows fat to drain during roasting.)
Whisk marmalade, ginger, coriander and two tablespoons soy sauce in a small bowl. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat and rub about three tablespoons of the marmalade mixture under the skin. Place breast-side down on a rack in the prepared roasting pan.
Roast the duck for one hour. Remove the duck from the pan and carefully pour off the fat. Return the duck to the rack, breast-side up. Continue roasting, basting every 15 minutes with another two tablespoons of the marmalade mixture, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh without touching bone registers 165°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours more.
Meanwhile, place the reserved wing tips and neck in a medium saucepan, add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broth is reduced by half, five to seven minutes. Strain and discard solids; return the broth to the pan. 
Squeeze the juice from the reserved orange sections into a small bowl; add cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Stir the juice mixture, reserved zest and brown sugar into the broth; cook over medium heat, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining one tablespoon soy sauce. And chadon beni.
Transfer the duck to a cutting board; let rest for 15 minutes before removing the string and carving. Serve with the sauce on the side.
Serves 4 to 6

Central Farms is a family-owned business that has been producing premium quality ducks for more than 25 years. From start to finish, a natural product is their main focus. Many of the farm workers are from the surrounding area and are long-serving employees—some for as many as 20 years—and are treated like family.

The farm has been successfully growing ducks by recreating their natural environment. These ducks are fed with naturally grown forage and are raised in an open range environment without the use of hormones. These health conscious practices that the farm implements result in a healthier and tastier duck. 

Domestically raised ducks can be integrated easily into a diet as a healthier alternative to chicken, turkey, lamb and beef. Full of flavour, duck meat is extremely nutritious with high levels of protein, B vitamins, magnesium, potassium and iron. It also contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which help prevent cardiovascular disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as reduce bad cholesterol (LDL). 

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) handbook #8 states that duck has fewer calories and fat than chicken, turkey, lamb and beef but packs more protein.
 

We’re just one day away from Christmas Day celebrations and for many unfortunately and unsuspectingly, tomorrow actually marks the end of all the season’s excitement. Tomorrow much of the world retires from trying to go into one store all at the same time to find the perfect Christmas presents for their loved ones. “Strength of arm, acuity of gaze, immediacy of decision, raw speed in the snatch, broken field running to the cashier, deftness with the wallet, a full years training” all have been employed to get to this day.

That line expresses my slight of the Christmas crush concisely (and how I wish I’d written it myself). There are people who must have the lights, tree, curtains, food and the rush, and I understand and respect those who find their excitement in the paintbrush. It’s the brushing aside of responsible spending, brushing away thoughts of reaching out to people because we have to clean the house, and so on that robs me of the joy I feel this season should provide.

It’s moments like last Saturday evening when I drove 30 minutes to my favourite bar in Barrackpore with the salivary glands hanging low for some “curry creole fowl” and walked away hungry because as the man said, “Bad timing. De wife busy cleaning de house girl. We eh cooking dese days.” Huh? The menu up but the pot turn down? Now, even customer expectations of a decent meal are subsumed by Christmas cleaning?

These are among my plaguing humbugs of the season, and so with every sport needing a spectator, a long time ago I became a career onlooker at Christmas shopping, cleaning, decorating, rearranging, et al. I’m a long way from my early hate for the season’s flurry—though I still abhor hearing Gee Whiz It’s Christmas—and have found that if I stay really still no one would notice I’m not doing extra cleaning, not changing curtains (I usually do that in February and September).

Often this past week I kept publicly refuting the idea that there is a “mood” called Christmas. I guess because I spend so many hours thinking of people whose life and living circumstances preclude them from such enjoyment, the impulsive Christmas merry-making thing looks like folly. Still, while musing about people’s impulsive behaviour, a UK report tells me differently about the amount of time people spend contemplating their Christmas spend even though they’re always in a Christmas race-against-time rush.

While many people are thinking about final back-to-school preparations in August, the research by Nathan Cunningham reveals that it’s also the month people start thinking about Christmas (www.theblaze.com). That study is among the YouGov’s Christmas spending intentions survey suggesting the UK’s total intended festive spend “will be around £22.5 billion, a slight increase on the £22.3 billion in 2013” and more than the GDP of many countries we know. 

Still more confusing than all other Christmas contemplation is the Airlines for America—A4A—Web site statistic which expects “45 million people will fly on US airlines over the holiday period—from December 17 through January 4—and says airlines are adding seats to the market to meet demand by using larger aircraft.” The A4A Web site says 2.5 million people, or almost double the population of T&T, took flight last Friday alone across the US (the busiest traveling day of this season) because for those with vacation time over Christmas week, it will be the first opportunity to get away to see their families (http://tcbmag.com/).

Though I’m still bemused about the ones who travel on Christmas Day, the story was a bright spot in my review of holiday travel statistics as it reminded me of how fond I remain about Sparrow’s cover of Perry Como’s hit (There’s No Place Like) Home For The Holidays. Whatever you do tomorrow and the days following, and whatever it took to get you to today, I wish you a Merry Mindful Christmas and pray that all that is Holy in the universe will rest and abide with you for a peaceful and joyous season. Nuff love.

According to Professor Selwyn Ryan’s article in this Sunday’s Express, Hindus, Muslims and Catholics are predisposed to corruption because of the belief that sins can be atoned for. The little that I know about Islam and Hinduism reinforces that we all share that common belief that it is first and foremost our duty to God to pursue the highest ideals. 

We Catholics have the ten commandments as an easy point of reference and “Thou shalt not steal” comes to mind in the present context. If however we fail in our genuine efforts to serve the will of God, we are given the opportunity to redeem ourselves and try again.  There must however be genuine remorse and a desire to do better in order for forgiveness to follow.

It could of course simply mean that I, as a Catholic, my Muslim grandmother and Hindu grandfather were all equally wrong about what it means to be righteous. Together these three faiths account for fewer than 45 per cent of the population so perhaps Ryan does not thread too dangerously by insulting less than half of Trinbagonians. 

I’m not certain if in singling out Catholics amongst Christians, Professor Ryan means to say that Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists and other Christian faiths are not as forgiving of human weakness. Having visited many Protestant churches in my short lifetime, I get the sense that we are in agreement that God is all about second chances. 

For Professor Ryan’s sake let’s hope that I’m wrong again, as that would take us to around 78 per cent of the population (80 per cent if we add the Jehovah’s Witnesses) that he would have painted as inherently corrupt.

We might turn to the Jewish and Buddhist communities in T&T which, if my math is correct, totals a surprising 12 per cent, collectively outnumbering some of the better known Protestant faiths. Then again, the Jews had the ten Commandments before us Christians, so they are out of the running as well. 

That leaves us with 5.7 per cent Spiritual Baptists and 0.1 per cent Orisha. I do not know enough about either of these two religions to speak to their beliefs, nor would I hazard a guess as to the moral compass of the remaining 2.2 per cent who are unaffiliated with any religion.

If however I read Selwyn Ryan’s article correctly, we Trinbagonians do have the option to abandon our religious beliefs (or lack thereof) and begin praying to the Norse gods, Odin and Thor. We might have a hard time finding a church or temple to pray in though, as Christianity has been the most popular form of religion in the Scandinavian countries for a few hundred years.

R Singh
Via e-mail

What I have to say will certainly be considered bizarre, maybe wicked and certainly unpatriotic by most, however, I tender no apologies. Indeed I hold an opposite view! There is a saying, even a truism that “out of evil comes good.” Another is: “Those who don’t hear will feel.” The evil I have in mind is the dramatic fall in oil prices—a phenomenon which has caused the Minister of Finance and the Economy to redo the national budget. 

A dichotomy has been that while the Minister has been grappling with the problem of cutting government expenditure to meet the new imperatives, the population, in general, seems “not to care a damn and let the jackass take the hindmost.” Have we not noticed the crowds who have been flocking to buy at this Christmastime as though it’s business as usual?  

The average citizen will postulate that we have been here several times before and, no doubt, we shall overcome as experience has shown that oil prices will eventually rebound shortly, after all in the finality, God is a Trini. Therefore, there is no need to tighten our belts and to set aside anything for the proverbial rainy day as the good God will provide. 

While accepting that T&T has been exceptionally lucky in having overcome past financial crises, let us ask ourselves: have we made optimum use of our God-given resources? The answer is clearly no, as may be gleaned from a review of budget speeches and development plans since this country’s independence.  

Had a fair proportion of these been implemented, I am in no doubt that T&T would have escaped the uncertainty which we, a small producer, (but unfortunately co-incidentally also like our large-scale producing neighbour, Venezuela), face occasionally on our “one crop” dependency on oil and natural gas. Has the time not arrived to take stock? My New Year wish is that the price of oil remains at about $60 for a period long enough to teach us a lesson.   

Will it be only by thus that genuine attempts will be made to diversify the economy and lurch this  country towards developed country status?

Errol O C Cupid, 
Trincity, Tacarigua