​Monday 7 September, 2015 will be the date of the next general elections in T&T.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the announcement today, during the last session of Parliament.

Her United National Congress announced today that the deadline for the submission of nominations for general elections candidates will be June 26. 

The opposition Peoples National Movement has already chosen its candidates for the 41 seats to be contested.

Following is an extract of the PM's statement in Parliament today. 

"Mr. Speaker the people's Partnership Government is ready to return to the voters of Trinidad and Tobago.

We are ready because we are proud of our phenomenal record of achievement. We are ready because the vast majority of our promises to the voters of this country has been kept. We are ready today because T&T is today a more just and safer community as it was five years ago. 

We are ready to return to the voters, because every social and economic sector of this country is today performing better than it was five years ago.

We are ready to return to the people, because the young people in the country are once again confident and optimistic about their future. We are ready to return to the people because our social partners and civil society report that the govt is today working and functioning far more effectively and efficiently than was the case five years ago.

We are ready to appeal to seniors in the country for support because they are the ones who say loudly that they have never had a more caring and responsive government than they did during the last five years when the fortunes in this country were enhanced considerably. Accordingly, the PP government is ready to return to the people.

Mr. Speaker, general elections in Trinidad and Tobago will held on Monday, the 7th September, 2015.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you."

Embattled Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner and former Fifa vice president Jack Warner has accused Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of playing the race card following her walkout during his contribution on the debate of the Variation of Appropriation Bill in Parliament last week.

 “I refuse to listen to the offensive of a person like this. I find this very offensive,” Persad-Bissessar had said, before walking out of the chamber.

But during a political meeting at the Surrey Village Community Centre, Lopinot on Thursday night Warner demanded an explanation from the PM, urging that she clarify her meaning of a “person like this.”

“Does she mean that someone who looks like me she will not listen to? I don’t want to believe that Kamla has degenerated in race within the hallowed halls of Parliament.

“I hate to believe that this Prime Minister pulled the race card on me. But I never thought that my PM would have gone to the gutter and sunken so low. What does she mean by a person like this? A person she hug up and who she squeeze and so on...well...well...well,” Warner said, prompting laughter from the crowd.

On the statements made by the PM and leader of the Congress of the People Prakash Ramadhar to hand himself over to the US authorities to face extradition proceedings, Warner maintained he would not relinquish his fundamental rights.

“Why should he (Ramadhar) call upon me to give up my rights as a citizen? That has to be madness. I am not the first financier of the PP Government for which an application was made for extradition.

“I am not the first financier to contest the application of extradition before our courts. But I am the first financier that they are asking to go willingly. 

“While I was in the Cabinet I never heard one single comment from my Cabinet colleagues about the two other financiers who had been asked to go the US court,” Warner said, making veiled reference to the cases of Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson, who are wanted by the US on fraud charges relating to the Piarco Airport project.

He said he provided funding for the PP Government because he had an obsession in wanting to rid the country of the then “most arrogant and vile government.”

“I saw no wrong when I took every almost single cent I had to free this country from the shackles of a demonic regime and help put in place the coalition which I felt understood the needs of the people,” Warner said.

The ILP also announced its first candidate for the general election. He is Nigel Reyes, who will represent Bon Air/Lopinot.

Dwayne Smith will play for the Barbados Tridents in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2015. In a chat with Nishad Pai Vaidya, Smith spoke about the CPL, facing off with friends and the experience of playing with Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.

In 2004, Dwayne Smith announced himself on the world stage with an aggressive ton on Test debut against South Africa. A decade down the line, Smith is one of the most renowned T20 batsmen in the world, with the ability to dominate the bowlers. 

When he walks onto the field in the format, there is a sense of assurance and although he may be smashing it around, there is a sense of serenity around his batting. Starting from the middle order, he was worked his way up and is one of the most sought after opening batsmen in the format.“I think it is the best place to bat. With only two fielders out of the circle, you can be aggressive. That is the best place to bat,” Smith said. The right-handed batsman opens the batting for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and of course, the West Indies. 

At the Mumbai Indians, his earlier franchise in the IPL, he was given a chance to commence the innings. He never looked back.

Smith is delighted at his IPL experience as it has given him some great moments. “I have had a great experience in the IPL. I got to open the batting with the great Sachin Tendulkar and then play under one of the best captains in MS Dhoni. The IPL has so many great players coming together,” he says. A similar league has come up in the Caribbean which captures the atmosphere and cricket, presenting an attractive cocktail for the fans around the globe. “I think it [CPL] is getting bigger. If cricket is its main objective, the CPL will certainly become big. It has nice atmosphere, nice people.” A prevalent theme in the tournament has been that players have gone on to represent other islands. For example, Pollard hones his trade away from his hometown in Trinidad and represents Barbados. 

Smith does not see it as a big factor in the tournament and in fact, believes that rivalries with friends make it more competitive. “I don’t think it makes a difference. It may be for some. In the CPL, you may be up against your friends, whom you have known for a long time. 

For example, I may come up against Sulieman Benn. It is a competitive tournament and when you play with friends, you look for bragging rights. You of course want to outperform them,” Smith says. (Nishad Pai Vaidya)

Magical Memory certainly will not be a surprise if he causes one in the twenty-runner, £100,000, 3-y-o Charity Sprint Handicap over six furlongs of ‘good to firm’ York this afternoon; Charles Hills’ charge was impressive when successful over a similar distance at Leicester last month.

That represented considerable improvement on any previous time-handicap mark; Magical Memory, ridden patiently by Ryan Moore, surged into the lead 300 yards out and ran on strongly for an eye-catching, decisive, success.

You couldn’t help but be impressed and my comment of ‘a good race awaits’ will be tested in what is bound to be an ultra-competitive dash down the Knavesmire straight.

Impression means so much to this experienced eye and when backed up with a resounding, progressive, TH mark it’s time to feel for those large betting boots.

Scalzo will probably be favourite; after winning by seven lengths recently he was reportedly ‘snapped up’ by Hamdan Al Maktoum and graciously left with trainer Martyn Meade who will definitely feel the pressure, especially if Martin Harley is alongside aboard Magical Memory in the closing stages.

Brian Ellison-trained Northgate Lad attempts to recoup recent losses and should also be ‘on the premises’ along with Scalzo and Field Game but if that ‘Magical’ moment does arise this will provide a ‘Memory’ you’ll never forget.

Looking forward to what promises to be an enthralling race and also backing two sprinters, Zuzinia and Field Of Vision, in the opening races at Bath and Chester, respectively.

Sprinting is what my exciting racing life is all about; Zuzinia hasn’t fulfilled expected potential but should be far too good for ‘moderates’ in the 3-y-o Maiden Stakes over five furlongs and, over a similar distance on the famous Roodee, recent losses should be recouped by twice-raced Field Of Vision in the 2-y-o Maiden Stakes.

There’s a jumping fixture at Hexham, click onto www.dailyearner.co.uk for any updates, if justified!

I cannot understand for the life of me why it is so difficult to get better pitches in the Caribbean. Everyone from the president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to the taxi driver taking you to the cricket knows that one of the major problems in West Indies cricket is the state of the pitches across the region.

I am currently at Sabina Park in Jamaica, where the pitch used to be very quick and gave rewards to anyone who was willing to put in the work. When the Test match got off back in the day, you could have seen your reflection on the pitch, the ball came on nicely, that encouraged shot making and the pacers all licked their chops because they got nice bounce and pace. Even the spinners got assistance is terms of that extra bounce. 

Now when you look at cricket here, it is more of a graft. The slow nature of the pitch does not encourage positive play and the bowlers have the toil for rewards. While, there is nothing wrong in having to toil for rewards, but at the end of the day it may not be attractive for the fans to look at.  

The interesting fact about the entire pitch situation in the West Indies is that the WICB’s bosses have spoken time and time again about the poor state of the pitches. Yet nothing seems to be done about improving the state of them. I have spoken to many players about the pitches they have to work with and the local guys in Trinidad have preference for the pitch at the Sir Frank Worrell Ground at UWI Spec in St Augustine.

They tell me that the bounce and pace is nice and the ball comes unto the bat for good shot making. As the match progresses, the spinners are allowed to come into their own and hence on this surface your talent will get reward. 

We have bowlers in the region who take plenty wickets on the slow tacks and then get selected for the West Indies team and can’t even buy a wicket. We have heard the batsmen in the region being criticised for not scoring ‘big’ runs. We look at Adam Voges of Australia who made his debut at age of 35, having scored over 10,000 First Class runs and then we look at Rajindra Chandrika who is playing his first Test, having never scored a First Class century. Well, I can tell you this, if Voges had to bat on our tracks regularly his batting figures would not be as flattering as it is. 

I think if nothing is being done about the pitches people need to ask why and put pressure on the authorities in order to get them moving. I intend to do a series, just as I had done about the structure of local cricket very soon. I am going to seek out the Soil Science Professor at the UWI, Dr Gaius Eudoxie, and hopefully we can do a series on rejuvenating pitches and it falls on the right ears.

Dr Eudoxie is a research specialist in soil physical condition and alteration under various land uses. He might just be the right man to point the WICB in the right path as far as pitches are concerned. 

I see the T&T Cricket Board has found a good man in terms of pitch preparation in Shaker Mano. He had worked on the UWI SPEC pitch and is now at the National Cricket Centre in Couva. That pitch was the typical slow type and since his arrival at Balmain, it is pointing in the direction of going fast. It will take some time but at least it is the right move. 

The WICB in my humble view needs to put together a committee to deal with the state of pitches in the Caribbean and have one man heading the group and moving from island to island with specialist knowledge and tailoring the pitches according to the soil types in the particular country.

On that committee, we must find space for soil science experts so that meaningful contributions can be made and a situation of having a committee for just having one, does not obtain.

Once we put the pitches in place there is sure to be some improvement in the quality of cricketers coming through. Development of West Indies cricket involves improving many facets with the state of pitches being a crucial one. 

SStriker Kaydion “Drogba” Gabriel was named the Player of the Year at Banker’s Insurance Central FC 2014-2015 End of Season Awards presentation ceremony held at the SIS Auditorium, Rivulet Road, Brechin Castle, Couva on Tuesday evening.

The top-tier Morvant-based athlete and newest addition to the national senior men’s football team clinched the coveted award on the night of honours. But that was not the only major prize he received.

His teammates bestowed him with the Players’ Player of the Year Award. He was then called back to the spotlight to accept the Golden Boot Award. The latter accolade was for his outstanding feat during the Digicel Pro-League during which he emerged as the top scorer.

The award for Goal of the Season went to defender Jamal Jack.

Meanwhile, midfielder Sean de Silva was the favourite among sport journalists and took home the Sport Media Player of the Year Award. The Bankers Insurance Player of the Year Award went to forward Willis Plaza whose return to the team back in January added to Central FC’s magic.

Club director George Romano, who was on the mend having suffered a stroke back in February, received a special recognition award.

But on the night of celebration, Kevin Harrison, operations director at club appealed to players who have openly stated their intent to leave the club at the end of the season, to reconsider.

In local football culture, he said where teams reached their pinnacle, become static and ultimately disbands, Harrison declared that would not be the fate of Central FC.

The team, its technical staff and management, he said, envisioned a more prosperous and exciting future for all its stakeholders and key to that was keeping the existing squad well-knit, while clinching victory at the end of every season.

“It’s been a long season and I know that the management and board never dreamed it would have been as successful as it has been. We have reached the turning point, really, after three years. We have big decisions to make. We can do like many other clubs and play in the Champions League and maybe not play again for six or seven years or we consistently aim at being in Champions League year after year. It’s a big decision, because it means we have to look at our staffing and how we are funded. Personally, now that we have had a taste of it, I want to keep us in the Champions league every year. Why shoot for anything less? he asked

Harrison recalled travelling to Miami, USA for the Champions League draw and being amazed that leading football administrators from around the world knew of Central FC’s accomplishments.

He said, “That to me, after three years, is amazing. Then the football director from LA Galaxy came over and introduced himself. We have seen Jan Michael (Williams) saving penalties. We have seen the best goals. We have seen the performances. We have seen the awards. But really at the end of the day, what you all have achieved this year is amazing. I do believe that when people look back, this team that we put together this season, it would be remembered as one of the best teams ever.”

ASenior national women’s team defender Arin King was yesterday revealed as the first pick in the first of a two-round initial draft for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL), which is set to start on Thursday.

Yesterday’s draft was staged at the VIP Lounge of the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain, during which the franchise names and their coaches were revealed.

King was one of five top senior national women’s team “marquee players” selected for the first round. King, who recovered fully form an injury sustained in the US some months ago, will represent the franchise, Dragons, with Costa Rican Carla Aleman and England-born T&T resident Joanne Daniel leading the team as coaches. England’s Isabella Hayes joined King after being picked in the second round of the draft.

Also selected for the first round were national players Kennya “”Ya Ya” Cordner and Tasha St Louis (forwards), winger Ahkeela Mollon and T&T captain and midfielder, Maylee Attin-Johnson. Jamaicans Christina Murray, Shakira Duncan, Jodi Ann McGregor and the US Virgin Islands’ Emily Marie Cota were all named in the second round of the draft. 

The other franchises named are: Oilers, Fuego, Rush, Wave FC and Angels.

Oilers, the franchise designed as a development team of players with competition restrictions by NCAA rules, did not participate in the selection of players. Oilers are led by national women’s Under-15 head coach Rajesh Latchoo and Arnold Murphy. That team is expected to comprise mainly national U-20 and senior team players attached to US colleges.

Police FC and Fatima College coach Richard Hood and Joel Warrick will coach Fuego, along with St Louis and Murray. Former senior national women’s team coach Marlon Charles leads Rush with the two picks Mollon and Cota.

Coaching Angels are Anthony Creece and Jinelle Noel lead with along with Attin-Johnson and McGregor.

Derek Arneaud and Allistair Ramdoo are Wave FC’s coaches. They picked Cordner, T&T’s leading scorer in recent years and Duncan, a standout for the Jamaica national women‘s team.

National goalkeeper Kimika Forbes was a surprise inclusion outside of the draft and was picked by a separate random draw to represent Wave.

Minister of Sport Brent Sancho, who spearheaded the inaugural tournament, gave the opening address, during which he used the opportunity, given the announcement of the date for the general elections, to call for a separation of sports and politics.

He said the franchises will be complete with their players in the coming day when an internal draft takes place. The final squads are expected to be announced by Monday.

Some of the international players, including those from Brazil, are yet to arrive in the country. The visiting players are based at Chancellor Hotel, St Ann’s, one of the official sponsors of the tournament. Caribbean Airlines and Shanghai Construction are other major sponsors.

The fixtures are yet to be finalized. However, Sancho announced that the league will kick off with a double-header at the St James Barracks on Thursday.

T&T WPL 2015 Franchises

Oilers

Coaches: Rajesh Latchoo, Arnold Murphy. No drafted players.

Fuego

Coaches: Richard Hood, Joel Warrick

Drafted players: Tasha St Louis (first round), Christina Murray (second round).

Rush

Coach: Marlon Charles

Drafted players: Ahkeela Mollon (first round), Emily Marie Cota (second round).

Dragons

Coaches: Karla Aleman, Joanne Daniel.

Drafted players: Arin King (first round), Isabella Hayes (second round).

Wave FC

Coaches: Derek Arneaud, Alistair Ramdoo

Drafted players: Kennya Cordner (first round), Shakira Duncan (second round), Kimika Forbes (additional random draw).

Angels

Coaches: Anthony Creece, Jinelle Noel.

Drafted players: Maylee Attin-Johnson (first round), Jodi Ann McGregor (second round).

Hollywood icon James Woods lives a charmed life, and it appears that extends to the poker table as well. Woods is off to a hot start in the 2015 World Series of Poker, with two cashes and a 7th-place final table appearance in the $3,000 NLHE Shootout, but, as with every deep run in an enormous tournament field, he had a little luck along the way.

In a hilarious chain of events, captured by tournament reporters, Woods recounted how he sent two players home with quite a story. Woods was dealt a pair of nines in middle position, and made an appropriate raise. The action was folded around to the big blind, who was quick to move it all-in. Hoping he was up against two big, unpaired cards, Woods made the call, and his opponent tabled pocket aces.

Nines are an 80-20 underdog to aces with five cards to come, but the board produced a straight with Woods' nine, and the player was vanquished. 

The first hand after a break, Woods raised $2,000 from late position with 8s-9s and again was countered with an all-in scenario, but it required only an additional $4,000 to call. Again, the opponent showed Woods the aces.

And what followed sums up the painful blows that only the WSOP can deliver: An ace hit the flop to give the opponent top set, but there was a spade. Turn was a spade. River was a spade, which gave Woods the winning flush.

Running deep into the money requires plenty of skill and patience, but it also requires dodging the bad luck and occasionally finding the good. It also might help to ask Woods if he has a nine in his hand if you ever are involved in a hand with him. 

The Colossus: One of the main highlights of the WSOP schedule lived up to the hype and dropped a thundering hammer on the record books. In 2006, the Main Event drew 8,773 players in an era when Internet poker bankrolls were at an all-time high and sites passed out satellite seats like candy on a parade route.

The Colossus shoehorned in 22,374 in four starting flights, and the smallish (by WSOP standards) $565 buy-in had a lot to do with it. With first-place money set at $638,880 and final table money starting at $67,681, it produced unprecedented return on investment.

WSOP senior writer Nolan Dalla, who has been covering the event since the Horseshoe days, made the interesting observation that the tournament undoubtedly created the busiest poker week in history. Eliminated players flocked to other poker rooms, creating waiting lists of 50 or more, and the 22,374 is likely to remain a figure that will stand until a similar or more lucrative tournament is developed.

Temporary golden ticket: Imagine buying into a $125-buy-in tournament, only to find that you were given a seat in an exclusive $25,000 event at the Las Vegas Aria. That is what happened to an unnamed player, who reportedly lasted more than seven hours, knocking out several players, before the clerical error was discovered and he was removed from the tournament.

“He paid for the $125 tourney, got the wrong ticket and kept quiet,” poker pro Justin Bonomo tweeted. Bonomo later tweeted that the players eliminated by the $125 player were awarded portions of their $25,000 buy-ins back.

The doors opened, the kitchen heated up and the fun exploded at an action-packed networking experience at the T&T Hospitality and Tourism Institute in Chaguaramas on May 21. YoPro’s May signature networking event, Food Network-ing: Don’t Get Chopped, saw young professionals, each with their own ingredient, form teams to create a fantastic dish to impress the judges. 

A release from YoPro said, attendees arrived at 6.30 pm where they were each given a basket of ingredients such as tomatoes, potatoes, onions, lettuce, cucumbers, Ortega taco shells and Ortega salsa to name a few. 

They then had one hour to network and get to know other young professionals in the room as they identified four other people who had ingredients they can work with to make a dish. 

At 7.30 pm, the cooking began, the team challenge ensued and the kitchen got hot. As teams entered the TTHTI kitchens, they were greeted with Kraft dressings on each station, which they had to incorporate into their dishes. 

Each team was then given 45 minutes to prepare their dish. Thirty minutes into the cooking, teams were introduced to Mrs Dash salt-free seasoning as a secret ingredient, and had to also incorporate this into their dish. As teams wrapped up, they were asked to describe their dish and ensure they can explain the use of the secret ingredient. Teams presented their dishes to the four judges and a presentation plate was served to the audience. 

“The excitement was so electrifying, it was almost better than watching the show on television. Trinidadian home cooks can really compete with American contestants on Chopped,” said Cherylann Lutchman, YoPro board member. 

The judges deliberated, provided their feedback, comments and suggestions. The dish and the team that appealed to the judges’ taste buds and olfactory senses were awarded a $50 gift voucher from Svaada for each attendee. 

Other prizes were awarded to the team that had the best use of Mrs Dash, and the team that had the best use of Kraft Dressing. Finally, a special prize from Chaud was awarded to the attendee on the night that best demonstrated leadership. The event brought together networking, team building, food, and a dash of fun all in one special room. 

“Food Network-ing spoke to us in a way that we didn’t expect. As we come up with innovative ways to engage young professionals in the community, with the sole purpose of stimulating relationship-building and professional networking, we are always encouraged by the response of Trinidadians who actually engage. I can’t wait to see what happens at the Sushi and Sake Social,” said Dr Ty Richardson, YoPro’s CEO and the host for the evening’s activities. 

YoPro’s next event is the YoPro Creative (Media and Entertainment) Opportunity Fair on June 27, and on July 16, they return to Food Network-ing, with a Sushi and Sake Social. 

• For more information about YoPro, visit www.eypglobal.com and check out Facebook page at facebook.com/yoprott or contact 362-3945 or email admin@yoproglobal.org.

“Food Network-ing spoke to us in a way that we didn’t expect. As we come up with innovative ways to engage young professionals in the community, with the sole purpose of stimulating relationship-building and professional networking, we are always encouraged by the response of Trinidadians who actually engage. I can’t wait to see what happens at the Sushi and Sake Social.” 

—Dr Ty Richardson, 

YoPro’s CEO

Some members of the media were treated to Hyatt Regency’s new brunch menu on June 6 Sunday Brunch at the Hyatt has become an established tradition and the new menu offered some traditional as well as some new elements, like the introduction of a seafood station where diners have the chance to sample either a seafood mix or a vegetarian option featuring tofu.  

Sou chef Kelly Ward said the team was happy about the response to this new menu. “So much goes into the preparation of our Sunday Brunch as well as the creation of new menus each and every Sunday,” Ward said. “The passion, versatility and pride of our culinary team result in diverse flavours, non-traditional food pairings and exciting live and other stations. Our renewed focus ensures that our menu has something for everyone including vegetarians and vegans.”

Another high point was the new desserts introduced by the pastry team led by Gregory Arrendell and Zachary Quintin-Georges. 

Georges who has worked in the US before coming to the Hyatt said the pastry chefs are keen to bring Hyatt’s desserts up to an international standard. 

“We’re doing multi-layered and multi-flavoured deserts. We’re also using bold colours that would pop,” Quintin-Georges said. “We’re also taking local flavours like pineapple, coconut and tamarind to be international. It’s strange but familiar at the same time.”

Yesterday would go down as yet another day that West Indian cricketers chased leather in the hot sun and was then battling to save yet another match. At the end of the third day of the second and final Test of the Sir Frank Worrell series against Australia, the visitors were well poised to make a clean sweep.

After Jason Holder banged 82 not out, to avoid the embarrassment of the follow-on, West Indies bowlers did not have a clue against top class Australian batting. The men from Down Under declared their second innings at 212 for two, after three men got half centuries, to set the West Indies a hefty 392 runs for victory.

Left with eight overs to negotiate before the close of the day the West Indies were tottering on 16/2. A jaded Kraigg Brathwaite played on third ball of the innings and an eerie silence fell across Sabina Park in Jamaica. Mitchell Starc was not finished just yet and ball number six, saw Rajindra Chandrika walking back to the pavilion - for another ‘duck’ on his debut Test. The Guyanese had a carbon copy dismissal from the first innings as he received a good length ball outside off stump to which he drove loosely, allowing Shaun Marsh to bend forward at gully and snap up.

Holder played a gem of an innings to take the West Indies to 220 all out in reply to Australia’s first innings knock of 399 all out. On the back of a solid lead, Australian openers David Warner and Marsh took to the crease and looked untroubled for the most part. After negotiating the new ball, they blossomed nicely into some fine stroke play that was lapped up by their travelling fans.

Warner, who has struggled against the West Indies in the past, got his highest score against them of 62 before he was dismissed by Kemar Roach. His opening stand with Marsh was worth 117. At the end of this stand, the West Indies was effectively out of the game. Warner batted for 146 minutes and faced 100 balls striking seven fours and a six.

Marsh who batted well within himself, left with the score at 163 for 69 - giving spinner Veerasammy Permaul his first wicket of the innings, after he was plundered all around the park. His 69 came off 153 balls with nine fours and a six. Steve Smith the run machine continued his good work and scored a fluent 54 not out, when skipper Michael Clarke declared the innings. Smith’s 54 not out came from 83 balls with five fours and a six.

The scale-up stage of the business life cycle has its own unique issues for entrepreneurs to deal with. How do I grow my business so it becomes a more sustainable and profitable entity?

Customer share

We may not know for sure, but many of our customers shop elsewhere and we have just a share of their business not 100 per cent of their purchases. As an example, one day while working in a store, I was confronted by an irate customer who claimed we sold her expired baby food. The lady was professionally dressed but was not so professional in showing her displeasure. I did say that we did not sell that flavour of baby food but she did not hear me. Later I pointed to the price sticker and said it was bought at a competitor’s store. She quickly apologised and wanted to return it to where it was bought. I had realised from a previous conversation that she split her purchases evenly between the two stores and I had about $1,000 of her business. So I offered to give her a refund and, of course, she was puzzled by my action. I told her I did not want her to go through the hassle of returning the item. She accepted my offer and so I gained another $1,000 in monthly sales. But was that all I got?

If you see the customer over time, you will see a different picture. 

She was worth an additional $1,000 per month (sales from the competition) for the next 20 years. She had just started a family and this 20-year period her family should buy at least $480,000 (not counting food inflation and more mouths to feed). 

While most managers would not want to break the return policy, I was guided by the Life Time (not the cable channel that makes women cry) Value (LTV) of the customer concept. This LTV concept means you should never look at a transaction, but the relationship over the long term.

There are other ways to increase customer share. 

One way is to do what KFC does. The attendant always tries to up-sell you with a bigger drink and fries and they never seems to stop. If you are selling automotive parts and a customer orders oil, a wise suggestion is to suggest a filter to go with it. 

Cross selling is an important sales strategy for counter and field sales personnel. Cross selling works better if you can get a customer to buy a higher gross profit item or better get them to switch to a higher value product. All these require sales persons who understand selling and strategising as opposed to order taking.

New customers

If you have a large share of your customer’s business, then the next step is to look for more customers to increase sales. New customers are difficult to get and while it is easier to get an existing customer to purchase more, acquiring a new client can significantly grow the top line (sales).

You can gain new customers by targeting those that are in your industry and later those that are in a similar industry. If you were selling bathroom cleaning products to households through the supermarkets, you can then decide to also sell the cleaning and maintenance companies with a larger size of product.

You can also gain more customers by going deeper into the channel. If you sell lubricants to automotive retailers, you can also sell to large garages that do oil changes. But be careful as this strategy might backfire on you as the nearby parts retailer, your trade customer, may see you as both a supplier and competitor.

Export is another way to grow your company. This market is just 1.3 million people, Caricom is larger with 17 million and, of course, the world has seven billion. Many companies stay at home as the market is protected and less risky, but large companies such as Associated Brands and SM Jaleel have gained access to numerous overseas markets. Recently I saw Chubby selling at Winn Dixie in Ft Lauderdale, a major US supermarket.

New products

To get your existing and new customers to buy more, you need new products. New products are both an opportunity and a risk. Existing products have a life span and go through a life cycle. Your bread and butter product one day will decline eventually and so will your business. 

A few decades ago cola drinks like Coke and Pepsi were the dominant brands of the segment and their sales seemed unstoppable. But, due to rising health concerns and the need to drink more water, Americans are turning their backs on carbonated beverages. 

Today, the sales of water have surpassed colas in the US. Further to that, in T&T a litre of bottled water is more expensive than super unleaded gasoline! People will pay more.

Whether you acquire a new product or develop one, there is a high risk of failure. Most new products fail. Some popular failures include Fresh Express (cold sandwiches sold in retail outlets) and New Coke (an attempt to change to a sweeter formula to beat Pepsi).

Product development by its nature is very expensive, plus the marketing costs to gain awareness and market penetration. Most companies try with a few new products so the risks would be spread, before you get a winner. It’s like kissing frogs; you have to kiss a number of frogs before you get a prince!

Buy a business

Sometimes an opportunity arises when a key player in the market is for sale. The SME sector is full of businesses that have owners who want to sell for various reasons. They may want to retire and enjoy life, sell to pay for medical expenses or they may not have a successor. 

Family businesses, which consists of the majority of the SMEs, have issues of succession and family conflict. The owners may want to cash in and divide the spoils among family members. Sometimes, shareholders may want to move on due to death or divorce.

While acquiring a business has many advantages; more sales and product lines, better brands and suppliers, it has some disadvantages. Buying a business is risky as the valuation of an SME is quite tricky and who says customers and loyal employees will transfer to you. In addition, the cash spent buying a business can be a burden on the existing organisation.

Lower costs

While the above strategies are more focused on the top line, costs should not be ignored. There are many ways to lower costs, for example, outsourcing to a cheaper supplier. Most shoe manufacturers in the US have contracted their production to China and Asian factories. The rationale is simple: if China makes it, don’t make it. However, they have kept the important designing and marketing functions.

Costs can also be lowered by improving the process. 

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but he was an innovator in that he found a better and cheaper way to produce cars. He delivered cheaper cars to the middle class through the moving production line. You can find the moving production line the next time you order a Subway sandwich (from two sandwich artists to the cashier) and a cheaper way to deliver and customise your meal.

Sajjad Hamid is an SME consultant. He can be contacted via email: entrepreneurtnt@gmail.com; or Web site: entrepreneurtnt.com

The following is a Q&A: Why raising the percentage of  mutual fund managers who are women could help investors

Diversify. The financial industry says you have to do it with your investments. But when it comes to who’s running mutual funds, diversity can be tough to find. Less than 10 per cent of all managers are women, according to a recent tally by Morningstar.

Women make up similarly small percentages across the spectrum of investment professionals, from money managers to analysts to consultants, according to a study by the State Street Center for Applied Research. After surveying hundreds of professionals around the world, the think tank found that women approach investing in a complementary way to men.

Suzanne Duncan, the centre’s global head of research, recently talked about why that means better-balanced mutual fund management teams could lead to better results. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Why should I care that so few mutual-fund managers are women?

It’s about the return on investment.

Men and women approach investing very differently, but in a complementary way, so diversification can make a difference when it comes to managing money.

It’s about how we’re wired biologically to define and measure success. Male mutual-fund managers tend to focus on outperforming their benchmark or their peer group. They want to be in the top quartile. The female definition of success is not that. It is to achieve the long-term goal. 

For the professional, that could be her organisation’s long-term goal. Or, for the individual investor, the most common long-term goal is to comfortably retire.

There is no right or wrong answer. We do need near-term metrics to evaluate success, but we also need to be focused on the long-term goal of what success should actually result in. If you put those together, you can achieve a superior outcome.

It doesn’t seem like there’s much research saying that women are better investors than men, in the short- or the long term.

The more important question in our view is: Are men, together with women, better investors? There isn’t research about that, specifically for investment performance, because the sample size is too small. There aren’t many teams of men and women managing money. It just doesn’t happen in today’s world. But research has been done about highly successful teams in other areas, and it’s not about high IQ. It’s about diversity. One of the characteristics of having a high-performing team is gender diversity.

How else did you find that male fund managers differ from women?

Men, on average, tend to take credit for their decisions when they’re successful. And when they’re not successful, they blame others. Women are the opposite. We don’t take credit when we’re successful, and we blame ourselves when we fail.

We asked portfolio managers around the world: Tell us about a recent successful investment that you made and why were you successful. 

The No 1 reason men gave was “my experience.” 

“My analytical abilities” was No 2.

“My ability to strip out my emotions from my investment decisions” was No 3. My, my, my. All factors that are internal to them. The next question we asked was: Tell us about a recent investment you made that was not so successful and why. The No 1 reason was “the markets took a turn for the worse.” No 2 was “bad luck.”

It’s a coping mechanism to deal with fear. We asked the portfolio managers how many months of underperformance it would take to be fired. The average response was 18 months, a very short-term basis. So we end up building this entire system, this machine, on a very short-term basis. And we are taking away from the ability to focus on what we should, which is the long-term goal.

Enter the female into the equation.

Are you seeing more of a push to get more women into these roles?

Yes, there’s the 30% Club (a group that advocates getting more women on boards of directors). The CFA Institute just had their first-ever Women in Investment conference. Gender diversity has picked up momentum in a pretty meaningful way. As we’re out there doing face-to-face interviews, we find that it is top of the list in terms of not only awareness but also execution on what to do about the issue. And that’s new. That’s largely since the financial crisis.

Do you think it’s because of the crisis?

The crisis was a very powerful inflection point. Everyone is taking a step back.

It started with a conversation between spouses, and that’s trickling through the whole system. Males have been mainly responsible for the decision making in couples’ finances in this country, and after the financial crisis, couples said, “We just lost a lot of money. Can we start talking about partnering and making decisions together as opposed to the male making decisions in isolation?”

That is trickling through the financial adviser community, where the first movement has been. Now the mutual-fund managers, who are selling their product to the financial advisers, now they’re paying attention.

Think about the DNA of this industry. Think about what these mutual-fund managers do on a day-to-day basis. They construct diversified portfolios. That’s what we live and breathe in this industry. We have yet to apply diversification when it comes to talent. It is a huge missed opportunity. If we can do it for assets and securities, I have to think we can do it for talent. And diversity in general, not just gender but also ethnicity. It sounds like a good investment to me. AP

Although based in Jamaica, JMMB Group (formerly, Jamaica Money Market Brokers Ltd), has significant operations in both the Dominican Republic and in T&T.

Despite achieving top-line growth, its profits were restrained by significant one-off expenses related to its expansion activities.

Issued less than nine weeks after the close of its fiscal year on March 31, 2015, we will now review JMMB Group’s performance for that period.

Changes in financial position

Total assets advanced from J$206.7 billion to J$217.7 billion last March, reflecting an increase of 5.3 per cent.

The largest component, investment securities, rose from J$145.8 billion to J$157.2 billion. Assets described as available-for-sale securities accounted for J$117.5 billion (2014: J$102.5 billion). Within this grouping, Government of Jamaica paper, including guaranteed debt, comprised of J$78.3 billion (2014: J$69.6 billion).

Securities described as loans and receivables fell to J$28.8 billion from 2014’s J$32.3 billion. Here again, Government of Jamaica paper accounted for the largest decline, moving to J$28.5 billion from the previous level of J$32.1 billion.

Cash and cash equivalents fell to J$18.7 billion from J$23.3 billion. There was a precipitous drop in the cash component to J$7.5 billion from J$13.7 billion.

On the other hand, cash equivalents rose to J$11.1 billion from 2014’s J$9.6 billion. Included in the 2015 balance were restricted sums totalling almost J$551 million. The larger component, at J$543.2 million, related to amounts held by a broker as security for funding other securities. The smaller element of J$7.7 million was deposited at 2.5 per cent interest with a building society to assist employees with home ownership.

Loans and notes receivable rose from J$26.6 billion to J$31.9 billion. Strong increases were recorded in sums due from both corporate borrowers and financial institutions. The former rose to J$17.6 billion from J$14.8 billion while the latter jumped to J$6.3 billion from a low base of J$2.4 billion. On the other hand, advances to individuals fell to almost J$9 billion from J$10.2 billion in 2014. These amounts represent gross values before impairment of J$1.04 billion (2014: J$0.9 billion).

Marginally helped by the acquisition of AIC Securities made in the current year, property plant and equipment rose to J$2.03 billion from J$1.84 billion. The major movements were additions of J$465 million and depreciation charges of J$287 million.

Total liabilities rose from J$188 billion to J$196 billion. Securities sold under agreements to repurchase accounted for J$144.5 billion (2014: J$143.3 billion). This category represented 73.7 per cent of total liabilities in 2015 and 76.2 per cent of total liabilities in 2014.

Out of this total, almost 62 per cent or J$89.25 billion is denominated in US dollars. A further J$44 billion or 30.5 per cent is denominated in Jamaican dollars with the remainder spread over five other currencies.

As part of its fund-raising activities, the group has both notes payable and redeemable preference shares outstanding. The notes payable were issued during the 2014/15 fiscal period.

Notes payable totalling J$3.64 billion comprises two portions. The larger quota is a senior unsecured fixed note denominated in US dollars with an outstanding value of J$2.3 billion. Interest is at 6.75 per cent. If it is not redeemed at its July 18, 2016 maturity, the noteholders may extend its maturity to July 18, 2019, but at a higher interest rate of 7.75 per cent.

The second component has a value of J$1.35 billion. This represents a subordinated debt of TT$80 million, which has a maturity of March 28, 2022 and incurs an interest rate of 4.5 per cent. This debt was issued by a Trinidad-based subsidiary, probably, Intercommercial Bank Ltd.

The group has four tranches of redeemable preference shares outstanding, totalling J$4.23 billion. Interest rates on these non-voting instruments range from 7.25 to 8.75 per cent.

Customer deposits rose to J$38.5 billion from J$35.9 billion, reflecting an improvement of 7.2 per cent.

Equity improvements

Stockholders’ equity advanced to J$20.96 billion from the previous level of J$18.33 billion.

Retained earnings improved by a net of J$1.39 billion to close 2015 at J$7.57 billion. The current year’s profit of J$1.9 billion boosted this figure while dividends to shareholders of J$538 million lowered the net result.

The investment valuation reserve improved by J$1.4 billion to J$2.04 billion; this reflected unrealised gains on available-for-sale securities.

Foreign exchange differences of J$165 million more than wiped out the previous year’s positive balance causing the cumulative translation reserve to end at a negative J$109 million.

With 1,630,552,530 ordinary shares outstanding, each share has a book value of J$12.85 (2014: J$11.24).

Total interest income expanded by 8.6 per cent to J$13.33 billion from 2014’s J$12.28 billion. With the exception of investment securities, all other streams of income advanced robustly.

Notably, interest from loans and receivables climbed by 58 per cent to J$2.51 billion from J$1.59 billion. Interest from resale agreements jumped to J$812.8 million from J$11 million (or by 7,216 per cent!) Even interest on cash balances scored a robust improvement, moving to J$46.2 million from J$16 million.

While still being the major component, interest on investment securities fell from J$10.66 billion to J$9.97 billion.

Total interest expenses climbed disproportionately by 15.1 per cent to J$8.07 billion from J$7.02 billion. 

Interest paid on repurchase agreements rose by J$657 million or 10.5 per cent to J$6.92 billion from J$6.26 billion. Meanwhile, interest on notes payable jumped to J$806.8 million from J$451.6 million, reflecting a 79 per cent increase.

The increase in interest on redeemable preference shares moved to J$353.4 million from J$306.7 million; this reflects the interest on the two new tranches of preference shares that were issued in August 2013.

The net effect of these movements saw net interest income being almost unchanged at J$5.26 billion for both periods.

The group’s other major sources of income was its net gains on securities trading. This component climbed by a solid 47.1 per cent to J$3.42 billion from the previous year’s J$2.33 billion.

Other significant contributors to income were foreign exchange margins from cambio trading (2015: J$936 million; 2014: J$588 million) and fee and commission income (2015: J$546.3 million; 2014: J$427 million). In addition, fees earned from managing clients’ funds moved from J$129.6 million to J$154.8 million. Other miscellaneous income sources advanced to J$62 million from less than J$10 million in 2014.

The net effect of these changes saw total income climb by 18.8 per cent to J$10.38 billion from the 2014 level of J$8.74 billion.

Unfortunately, JMMB incurred staff costs that were 36 per cent greater than in the previous year and other expenses that climbed by 39 per cent.

The combined effect of these changes pulled down operating profit to J$2.59 billion from J$3.07 billion. 

The impairment loss on financial assets of J$259.2 million, which related to its equity and corporate bond portfolio, obscured the modest J$19.3 million gain on the acquisition of AIC Securities Ltd.

After accounting for all these changes, JMMB’s after-tax profit registered at J$2.05 billion; this was more than J$1 billion lower than the J$3.06 billion earned for 2014.

These results translated into 2015 EPS of J$1.18 versus J$1.74 for 2014.

Segment performance

Both major operating units delivered strong top-line gains, whether measured by external revenues or interest income.

Unfortunately, both segments incurred unusual one-off increases in expenses relating to acquisitions of Trinidad-based companies.

JMMB’s interest in Intercommercial Bank Ltd moved from 50 per cent to 100 per cent. This change impacted the banking segment’s expenses and results.

The financial segment’s expenses were squeezed by the integration of AIC Securities Ltd (subsequently renamed JMMB Securities (T&T) Ltd). Even so, in its first 11 months as a JMMB subsidiary, the former AIC Securities contributed J$38 million (TT$2.25 million) to revenues and J$4.2 million (TT$249,000) to net profits.

Among other expenses that increased, the assets tax (in Jamaica) jumped from J$194.8 million to J$374.2 million. In its third quarter report, expenses associated with the two Trinidad acquisitions were given as J$795.8 million. In addition, there was a further J$662.4 million that related to integration and other costs.

Dividends and share price

Total dividends with respect to its 2014 fiscal period was J$0.33. For the 2015 period, an interim dividend of J$0.16 was previously paid on December 16, 2014 and, on June 29, 2015, a final dividend of J$0.16 will be paid.

Using the 2015 dividend of J$0.32 and a recent price of J$7.80, investors in Jamaica enjoy a yield of 4.1 per cent. This yield is almost on par with the local market, where the dividend is equivalent to almost TT$0.02 and its recent share price was TT$0.45.

In its home market, the share price of the predecessor company (JMMB) was traded at J$7 last June. The successor company, JMMB Group Ltd, peaked at J$10.00 on May 5, 2015.

The future

With much of its integration expenses behind it, the rebranded and restructured JMMB Group Ltd can look forward to a brighter future in its three major operating localities.

As an associate of NCBJ, which owns 26.3 per cent, it has access to many useful contacts.

When fresh funding is needed to finance future growth or settle maturing obligations, the lower rates available in Trinidad should make it the preferred choice.

Ingrid Lashley, managing director and CEO of the T&T Mortgage Finance Company (TTMF), says the increase in the mortgage benchmark rate is likely to have an immediate impact on new mortgages offered by commercial banks.

On June 1, the Central Bank increased the Mortgage Market Reference Rate or MMRR by 25 basis points from 2.25 per cent, to 2.50 per cent. The rate was introduced in 2011 at 3.50 per cent.

For those not familiar with the rate, it—along with several accompanying guidelines—was introduced to give consumers a better idea of how their mortgage interest rate is formulated.

Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran has announced, in recent months, plans by the Central Bank to raise the repo rate in preparation for a tightening of US monetary policy. This would involve an increase in US interest rates, which potentially could make US investment instruments more attractive to local investors.

But, as the MMRR is also an interest rate, can it be affected by the rise in repo rate? 

More importantly, when the MMRR is increased, what happens to existing mortgage holders and people who are thinking about applying for mortgages? 

On the issue Lashley said, “The MMRR benchmark is relevant to mortgages held by commercial banks in the main. Further, while the Central Bank’s guidelines require that downward movement in the MMRR redound to the benefit of the borrower/mortgagor, they do not compel such adjustment with upward movement. 

“Given this, it is likely that new mortgagors will experience the upward adjustment immediately. Existing borrowers, however, will experience a lag in movement particularly where their risk profile has not changed. In any event, over the next year or so, mortgage interest rates offered by commercial banks will move slowly but steadily upward in keeping with such movements in the MMRR and the repo rate,” said the TTMF managing director, whose  clients will not be affected by the change. 

The Sunday BG also spoke to Resha Seeram Singh, the chair of the MMRR sub-committee of the Bankers Association of T&T, to get a better sense of what factors drive change in the MMRR and how these affect mortgagors.

The elements that make up your mortgage

“The MMRR is the rate that is set by the Central Bank on a quarterly basis and used by the commercial banks also on a quarterly basis in determining the mortgage rate that a client gets for his or her mortgage,” explained Seeram Singh. 

The MMRR is a “benchmark” rate which serves as a base from which mortgage rates can be determined across institutions. To this rate, the spread is added.

The spread is made up of all the other factors involved in setting your individual mortgage rate. These can include your credit rating, your debt service ratio, the type of property as well as the profit that the bank expects to make on offering you the mortgage.

“Let’s say, for example, your mortgage rate is anywhere between 4.50 per cent and 6.0 per cent. The MMRR is currently 2.50 per cent. It means that the spread attached to different mortgages could be between 2.0 per cent to 3.50 per cent ” said Seeram Singh.

The two together make up the current posted interest rate that is your mortgage.

Factors influencing the MMRR

The MMRR does not go up or down in isolation. 

According to the Central Bank release, “increases in both the 15-year Central Government Treasury yield and commercial banks cost of funds” were responsible for the 25 basis points increase.

Yield, in this case, refers to return on government bonds. As the Central Bank increases interest rates, the price of bonds will decrease. However, the yields from bonds will increase because bond prices and yields have an inverse relationship. The increase in the MMRR is based on this rise in yield, specifically, the yield for the 15-year treasury notes. Seeram Singh explained why this one is used.

“This longer tenor instrument is comparable to the tenor on mortgages, which can range up to 30 years,” she said. Tenor refers to the life of the bond or any other loan, essentially, how long until it reaches maturity.

The MMRR is also pegged to bond yields because it represents an alternative to other investments with similar returns banks could have made, such as lending you money for your mortgage.

Seeram Singh said: “It’s like a trade off. If I have a dollar to invest, like a bank, I can either lend it to you and there is a rate of return, which is the posted rate that I am charging you. Or, I can invest it in a treasury bond and get the yield that the bond is going to generate for me. The bond yield basically has to be worth the alternative.”

The MMRR is also influenced by commercial banks’ cost of funds. The cost of funds is the rate of interest commercial banks pay on their deposits. 

On June 9, David Dulal-Whiteway, managing director of Republic Bank, said it was unlikely that interest rates were going to rise significantly in near future, even though the Central Bank had been making adjustments to the repo rate. 

The Sunday BG asked Seeram Singh why the MMRR would go up, even if there was little increase in interest rates. 

While indicating that she did not want to comment on Dulal Whiteway’s statements as she did not hear the original context in which they were made, she said the bond yield and the commercial bank’s costs of funds do not share the same weighting in determining the MMRR.

“The reason the MMRR has gone up, by 25 basis points, is largely due to the increase in the Treasury bond yield. So even though the cost of funds went up as well, because of the higher weighting that the increase in the treasury bond carries, that drove the increase in the calculation of the MMRR rate,” said Seeram Singh.

Explaining 25 basis points

Most consumers may be inclined to think of a “25 basis points” increase as a large one, representing a potentially serious dent to their pockets.

A basis point is equivalent 0.01 per cent. Twenty five basis points will be 0.25 per cent or ¼ of a per cent. A 25 basis point increase in the MMRR therefore will be a 0.25 or a ¼ of a per cent increase over the old MMRR, which was 2.25, bringing it to 2.50. Seeram Singh used an illustration to show mortgage holders what this means in dollars and cents.

“Let us take an average mortgage of $1 million. Assuming the mortgage is for 30 years and the client’s rate was 5.25 per cent. If the client’s monthly payment is $5,522.04, and we increase that by 25 basis points to 5.50, the new monthly payment is $5,677.89. The difference is about $156. That is how much extra a client would have to pay on a monthly basis.”

Seeram Singh also said that the Central Bank has instituted a cap by which the MMRR could be increased to protect mortgagors.

“A client might be concerned that the MMRR is going up and wonder whether he or she will have the capacity to pay. However, over a three year period the client's actual rate cannot go up by more than 350 basis points or by the change in the repo rate, whichever is greater.”

The implications

Existing homeowners, therefore, can expect that their mortgage rate will increase. However, this will only apply to individuals with variable rate mortgages. Banks must also provide notice that the mortgage is increasing. 

“Most mortgage contracts give clients 30 days notice for interest rates changes. On the anniversary date of a mortgage, if there has been a change in the MMRR, clients get notice that in 30 days time their rates will be amended accordingly. Clients will also receive a disclosure statement outlining their new interest rate and payment amount as well as a revised amortisation schedule.” 

Depending on the contract, this notice period could also be either 60 or 90 days.

Seeram Singh added, “It is important to understand that when the rate changes and notice is given, this rate will hold for a period of one year, subject to the next renewal. So every year, on the anniversary date of the mortgage, it is subject to re-pricing. For example, I took my mortgage in August. Every year in August, my mortgage will come up for renewal.”

This increase will be based on the most recent MMRR at the time your mortgage anniversary comes up.

People acquiring mortgages after the adjustment are required to pay the new rates at the beginning of their mortgage.

“Any new mortgage that is put on the books from the month of June, onwards, is valid for three months, June, July, August, so the benchmark rate would be the 2.50. The bank adds the margin to come up with the posted rate at that point in time,” said Seeram Singh

The rate for new mortgagors is also locked in for a year.

Certain categories of mortgages are exempt from changes in the MMRR.

“It does not currently apply to mortgages held at TTMF, HMB, credit unions and insurance companies. It is not applicable to commercial mortgages, or mortgages granted through any kind of special government housing arrangement like HDC facilities,” said Seeram Singh.

The announcement by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Friday that the 2015 general election will be held on September 7 raises three questions that should be of interest to those who keep a close eye on the T&T economy: 

• What is the current state of the economy?

• Will the management of the country’s finances play a role in the outcome of the election?

• Does it matter who wins the election?

In terms of the current state of the economy, the official statistics indicate that unemployment is low at 3.3 per cent, inflation is moderate at 6.7 per cent but that economic growth is at a virtual standstill.

According to the Monetary Policy Report (MPR), T&T’s single most important source of revenue, natural gas production, declined by 5.3 per cent for the first quarter of 2015, when compared with a year earlier.

The petrochemical sector contracted by roughly 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 as “curtailments at several plants limited activity in the downstream industry in early 2015, as a number of plants were taken down for maintenance.”    

 While oil production increased by 4.4 per cent in the first quarter, the report noted that “the increase in oil production comes at a time when energy prices are relatively low.” 

As a result, the Central Bank concluded: “Given these considerations, preliminary data suggests the energy sector as a whole, declined by just over 3.0 per cent (year-­on-­year) in the first quarter of 2015.”

The report also suggests that the performance of the energy sector is not expected to pick up during the second half of 2015.

The MPR states: “Early evidence suggests economic activity was anaelic in the first quarter of 2015 as maintenance-related activity once again weighed on the energy sector’s performance. Discussion with key energy industry players suggest there may be further stoppages during the year.”

Further, the report states that the “non­‐energy sector is expected to grow, albeit at a slower pace, in the coming quarters, even as the Government’s capital and infrastructure programmes continue apace.”

The MPR noted that there have been few private sector projects initiated over the past months—with the exception of the C3 and Caribbean 10 cinema and shopping complexes in south—which may drive growth forward.

“Evidence of waning business confidence in the economy over the next six to 12 months, coupled with sluggish borrowing by the corporate sector, suggest private sector investment may be limited in the coming months,” according to the MPR.

In terms of the country’s fiscal performance going into the election, in a speech on June 1, Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran said that despite the collapse of oil and natural gas prices over the last nine months, the Government is expected to realise a moderate fiscal deficit of around $2.5 billion or 1.5 per cent of GDP during the 2015 fiscal year.

Rambarran said the Government is expected to receive large extraordinary revenue inflows amounting to close to $8 billion that will boost non-energy receipts, partly offsetting the $2.5 billion decline in energy revenues.

“These inflows represent proceeds from the sale of Clico’s assets, receipts from the Phoenix Park IPO (Initial Public Offering) and unbudgeted loan repayments from Trinidad Generation Unlimited,” he said.

Will economy be a factor?

The extraordinary revenue inflows have saved the Government from having to make severe fiscal adjustments before the election because if the on-off revenues are excluded, “the fiscal deficit would widen substantially to around $10.5 billion or almost 6 per cent of GDP.”

Put another way, Government has close to $8 billion in revenue that is available to it, if everything goes according to its plans. Not all of that money will be in cash. On March 27, the Central Bank announced that, as part of the Clico resolution, the Government would receive $4 billion in cash and about $3 billion in lieu of cash through the transfer of Clico’s shareholdings in Angostura Holdings Ltd, CL World Brands and Home Construction Ltd. The dismissal of Gerry Yetming and Carolyn John from Clico may slow down the transfer of the shares in the three companies to the Government.

Also, it was originally projected that the Government would receive close to $1.9 billion from the 100 per cent state-owned National Gas Company for the sale of shares in Phoenix Park Gas Processors. But, as has been reported in this space, it appears that the Government will accept less from the IPO of Phoenix Park.

But the point is that the Government will have substantial one-off, non-energy revenue with which to start paying higher salaries and salary arrears (backpay) to public servants and teachers.

It is expected that the public servants and teachers are due to begin receiving their backpay by the end of this month. This means that if the Phoenix Park IPO is in July, the country stands a reasonable chance of evading the inflationary pressures that the Central Bank referenced recently.

Will the payment of backpay to public servants and teachers, the Clico payouts to non-assenting policyholders and the transfer of wealth from the State to the population by way of the Phoenix Park IPO influence the outcome of the 2015 general election?

I am sure it will. But the issue is by how much.

Does who wins matter?

If T&T’s energy prices remain low, whichever party wins the 2015 general election will be forced to make serious adjustments to the country’s spending and its taxation. 

The 2016 budget is unlikely to have the benefit of the one-off revenue from the Clico resolution and the sale of shares that the 2015 will have.

Plus, whichever party wins the general election will have to move quickly to come to grips with T&T’s economic situation as the 2016 budget must be debated and passed before October 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

There is little doubt that the 2016 budget will make substantial cuts to expenditure and raise revenue through higher taxes or new taxes—in an effort to bring T&T’s fiscal ship back on the right path

Also, a strong argument can be made that when it comes to the economy, both the ruling People’s Partnership and the opposition People’s National Movement sing from the same International Monetary Fund-inspired hymnbook.

If the Central Bank did, in fact, receive legal advice on the proposal to pay Clico’s directors and senior officers, on what basis did the Central Bank terminate the appointments of the chairman and managing director of the insurer?

On the face of it, the announcement by the Central Bank late Friday night that it had terminated the appointments of the chairman and managing director of Clico appears to massively contradict a statement the bank put out on Wednesday.

In the mid-week statement, the Central Bank said that “there would be no legal basis on which Clico may now withhold payment” to the former directors and senior officers of the insurance company if no litigation was contemplated or initiated against them.

The indication in the statement that there would be “no legal basis” for withholding payments to the former directors and senior officers of Clico strongly suggests that the Central Bank sought and received legal advice on its proposal to pay the directors and senior officers.

The Wednesday statement defending the payment of monies to Clico’s directors and senior officers, who also held policies with the company, is indicative of legal advice because it represents a departure from the 2009 principle that related parties should not receive monies because they may have contributed to the financial collapse of the insurance company.

If the Central Bank did, in fact, receive legal advice on the proposal to pay Clico’s directors and senior officers, on what basis did the Central Bank terminate the appointments of the chairman and managing director of the insurer?

In its statement late Friday night, the Central Bank says it terminated the two because they “failed to follow direct instructions issued by the bank on March 26, 2015, setting out the protocols for all disbursements to policyholders and creditors under the Clico Resolution Plan.”

These instructions, according to the Central Bank, “included obtaining approval from the bank for all payments prior to disbursement.”

As the Central Bank could not be suggesting that each and every one of the applications from the 1,500 non-assenting policyholders required the approval of the bank, the statement infers that the chairman and the managing director received direct instructions not to pay Clico directors and senior officers and disobeyed those instructions.

If this were the case, the chairman and the managing director would have been fired ten days ago when the story broke and not two days after the Central Bank had issued a stout defence of payments to directors and senior officers.

The absurdity of the Central Bank position should be obvious.

What is not obvious is why the Central Bank or Clico decided to pay the directors and senior officers of the insurer before the completion and submission of the report of the Colman Commission of Enquiry—which was set up to investigate the reasons behind the collapse of Clico.

As this newspaper noted in its Friday editorial, that decision was shortsighted, reckless and naive...and it must have caused panic at the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance when the implications of that editorial became evident to the occupants of those buildings.

In all the circumstances, the Minister of Finance should now see fit to cause an independent investigation to be launched into the Central Bank’s handling of the Clico payments, with a view to discovering why payments have been made to the company’s directors and senior officers, who may yet be named and shamed in the Colman Report on the Clico debacle.