Vance Gabriel, chief executive officer at Banker’s Insurance is telling members of champion TT Pro League Club Central FC not to allow the thirst that drove them to be crown league champions and win other major tournaments last season to be quenched.

Banker’s Insurance is the T-shirt sponsor of the sharks which captured its first ever Digicel TT Pro League title, before the champion footballers went on to deliver what was described as an enthralling CFU Club Championship Final against DirecTV W Connection 2-1.

Speaking at the team 2014-2015 End of Season Awards held at the SIS Auditorium, Rivulet Road, Brechin Castle, Couva, last Tuesday, Gabriel said, “I want to say that it has been my absolute pleasure to be a part of this. I have not missed a game. I am very happy with all of your achievements. I think that this team is one that is unbeatable. La Galaxy better watch their back. Our support as you should know hasn’t been just financial. The Banker’s staff has attended every single one of your games, and we intend to continue that.”

But Gabriel called on footballers to be mindful of the challenges that confront them in their career which could lead to them emerging as top-tier players who lacked character.

The chief executive said he underscored that winning wasn’t everything, but held high regard for athletes who played the sport well and who weren’t afraid of losing gracefully.

“We wish Central FC more and more success. We have been happy to share that success with you. While today we will be honouring a few persons, those we are not honouring today by way of a trophy don’t feel sad, because every single one of you are winners. You play the game well. You have distinguished yourself,” said Gabriel.

CAPTION: Forward Willis Plaza, left, celebrates his award as Banker’s Insurance Central FC Player of the Year 2014-2015, with Vance Gabriel, CEO, Banker’s Insurance.

PHOTO: SEAN NERO

In spite of the frenzied efforts of the Government of T&T, the Act to provide for the establishment of the Gambling Control Commission (the Gambling Control Bill) was not passed through the Senate before it wound up. 

Depending on the outcome of the elections, the Bill may return in exactly the same form or with variations but that eventuality should not detract from the need for there to be some sort of reform of the gaming industry in 

this country.

As currently constituted, the gaming industry is not sustainable. There are too many aspects of this industry that can only, and this is being extremely generous, described as operating within the informal economy. 

The lack of a proper regulatory and tax environment has created an imbalance in the playing field which places some sectors of this industry at a significant disadvantage. The horse racing sector being the biggest sufferer in this regard. 

While it would be a big stretch of the imagination to blame these “informal” aspects for the problems in which the racing industry currently resides, they have played a role in threatening its survival.

This article will not attempt a full review of the Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Bill 2015 since that would be an exercise in futility given its delayed status but it will attempt to highlight some important considerations in any future composition of the much needed regulation.

The first area is the relationship between the Gambling Control Commission and the Betting Levy Board (BLB). It is understood that the two bodies would remain distinct and that the latter would continue to be responsible for the levy on bets made on live and simulcast racing. 

From a racing perspective, this would only perpetuate the displacement of the racing industry. Live horse racing secures most of its funding, at present, from the BLB. The BLB uses the funds raised through its taxation of the industry to finance the sport. 

The main challenge that has arisen over time is the migration of gaming from horse racing to other forms. These other forms would be subject to the control/levy of the Commission. But live horse racing cannot effectively compete with these other forms of gaming unless major changes are made. 

Proper regulation and taxation is a first step in the right direction but there should be a close correlation between the work of the Commission and the BLB, otherwise there will the possibility of double standards and misunderstanding.

A key area for consideration is curbing the proliferation of gaming machines across the country. In virtually every nook and cranny, every corner bar and mum and pop shop, you can find an electronic variant of a one armed bandit. 

This cannot be in the best interest of the country. It is pointless to be setting up a Rehabilitation Fund to aid victims of gambling addiction, when nothing is being done to monitor the opportunities.  

There is no amount of policing that can be put in place to monitor what happens at these various outlets. There needs to be stricter criteria and controls over who/where can establish a gaming outlet. These controls should be tied to population densities and size of the proposed operation, at the moment there appears to be pure uncontrolled abandonment.  

There was statistics recently quoted by one government official in which it was suggested that the horse racing industry employed the least amount of individuals and therefore it was important that the country cater for the wellbeing of the numerous other employees of the gaming sector (reference must have been to the private member clubs aka casinos). 

Without being able to attest to the numbers quoted for the private members club, there is little doubt that the numbers quoted for the horse racing industry were significantly understated. 

It is not even certain whether the number would be correct if we focused solely on those in direct employment—by the Arima Race Club (ARC), the betting shops, the trainers, grooms and jockeys. But those involved indirectly in the sport stretch even further, you have the veterinarians, farriers, feed suppliers, stud farm employees, transport providers, etc, etc. 

If you consider another important statistic, the capital investment, substantial sums are invested every year by owners in acquiring racehorses to fulfil their own ambitions but which also directly keep the sport ticking over. 

Horse racing is a big sector worldwide and could certainly be much bigger in Trinidad with a proper regulatory and taxation framework around it and better internal management by those charged with the responsibility. The fact that it was the one sport that was not under the auspices of the Ministry of Sport but rather the Ministry of Trade speaks volumes for how the sport was/is viewed. 

However in light of the problems experienced by the Ministry of Sports with many organisations, another alternative may be preferable as well.

With a goal of self-sufficiency, the barriers to the growth of the sport (internal and external) need to be removed. Internally, we have all of the issues surrounding the management of the sport which we will develop further on in future articles. Externally, we have issues which regulations such as this Gambling Control Bill should be seeking to address. 

It remains unclear whether this legislation was a necessary precursor to the ARC being able to establish its own casino, casino game, equal chance game or the equivalent but that is most necessary. It also remains unclear what is needed to change for horse racing to be able to exercise the option of putting on racing on a Sunday but that is also something that needs to be urgently reviewed. 

It is time for this country to grow up. As I have said before, there is horse racing in Italy and Latin America (and virtually every other country in the world) on Sundays, are we more religious/spiritual than they are? We continue to be held back by Victorian era laws that have long been repealed everywhere else, but in this country people must experience pain before they understand.

While the proper regulation of the gaming industry is not essential for the survival and prospering of horse racing in Trinidad, it is important for the levelling of the playing field. And it is in this context, that we hope a well thought out Bill will find it way back into the legislative agenda not too long after any new government comes into power in this country. In the meantime, we need to continue to work on improving the areas over which we do in fact have significant control.  

More on that in the future, but at the moment in light of the current upheavals and revelations in horseracing, there is need for serious introspection in all areas of the industry.

T&T’s top men’s beach volleyball pair of Daneil Williams and Fabien Whitfield created history when they became the first local pair to compete at an FIVB Beach Volleyball Grand Slam event.

This after the Toco-born duo, who earlier this year topped the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Men’s Olympic First Round Qualifiers towards the NORCECA Continental Cup for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics 2016 on home soil in May along with team-mates Abraham Josiah Eccles and Tevin Joseph, debuted at the double-gender FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour St Petersburg Grand Slam, Pinellas County, Florida, yesterday.

However, the pair could not make it as memorable as they had hoped, and went under to Austrian pair, Thomas Kunert and Christoph Dressler in the first round of the two rounds of qualifiers of the main draw of the 51-team event, 18–21, 14–21 in 39 points.

Despite the loss, the players who are preparing for the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, later this year, expressed gratitude for the opportunity and were happy for the experience of playing in such a prestigious event.

Whitefield said: “It’s a great feeling and it allows us to see where we are at and what we need to do as a team to get to the level and compete consistently against these quality teams.

Williams added: “It’s a great experience and motivation for us to play and also to train harder. We realise that we can compete against thee top teams, we just have to put in more work and get the right support systems in place.”

So far this season, Whitfield and Williams also had a ninth-placed finish in the 2015 NORCECA Beach Circuit Tour opener in Cayman Islands, back in March.

The pair qualified to compete in Cayman Islands without dropping a match or set in the first phase of the T&T Volleyball Federation’s five qualifying tournaments and then played unbeaten in the second phase of qualifiers, four tournaments, as well, between March/April, to get the nod for the Pan American Games carded for Canada in July.

The run of nine straight competition wins by the Toco duo tied the feat set by women’s pair, Ayana Dyette and Nancy Joseph, achieved between last year and the opening tournament of this season. 

Eccles and Joseph were runners-up in the local qualifiers to earn the other T&T team spot for the CAZOVA Olympic qualifier which was held at the National Development Centre, Saith Park, Chaguanas.

Today, national women’s pair, Ayanna Dyette and Malika Davidson will start their bid for a place in the main draw of the 48-team women’s tournament when they compete in the first of two rounds of qualifiers.

Dyette and Davidson, who are also preparing for next month’s Pan American Games, have been seeded 16th for the event and will tackle the 17th seeded pair which will to be determined by a draw in the afternoon.

David Cave

First impressions of German Artist Andrea C Hoffer are that she possesses a unique joie de vivre; an effervescent exuberance that  is undoubtedly direct, straightforward and refreshingly free of any ambiguity.

Moreover, as she gradually revealed the intricacies and specific minutiae of her work, it became very easy to see how Hoffer's intensely vibrant demeanour is encapsulated in the 25 works of her latest series Between/Time which was launched at Soft Box Gallery on June 12.  

Ever since Hoffer completed her Master's Degree in Painting at the Art Academy of Dusseldorf, Germany in 1999, she has been fascinated with landscape painting. However, her decision to root herself in Tobago came around 1998. The biodiversity and the expansiveness of the Tobago scenery inspired Hoffer to develop novel formal and  spatial relationships that continue to morph into increasingly intriguing works of plein air painting.

Hoffer's work is indeed opulent in its technique and formalism.  This artist masterfully juxtaposes elements of interior and exterior spaces to create a dynamic and seamless transition that leaves the viewer in a perpetual state of engagement.  As the German art critic Christoph Kivelit wrote on her work in 2009, "From a purely typological viewpoint her pictures move between the interior and landscape genres without regard to clear boundaries between the two."

Nevertheless, to dwell on the technical interplay of space and colour is to merely scratch the surface of Hoffer's images that are also a profoundly personal exposé of her life.  Hoffer is clearly a free-spirited individual who wishes, more than anything else, not to be pigeon-holed or placed into a specific taxonomy. Through the paintings of this series, she seeks to obliterate all rigid divisions: the rift between the viewer and the picture plane, the geographical definition of her as a German or Tobagonian, and the classification of her as an abstract or figurative painter.

Witnessing her work invokes a state of harmonious simultaneity, where the audience is capable of seeing  her images as unified spaces.  However, at the same time one is still capable of fixating on solitary details and comprehending exactly how each motif successfully coalesces into an integrated whole. The fulfilment of this objective serves as a clear testament to the technical mastery that she has applied to her paintings.  

Above all, it must be stressed that the most significant element in Hoffer's work for this exhibition remains what can be deduced and experienced rather than what can just be seen.  Her work possesses a palpable sense of atmosphere; an ambience that can be felt rather than witnessed.  In paintings such as Queen's Hall (2009), one is placed in a living room of a familiar wooden dwelling in Tobago. The fluid hues and whorls of the wood grained walls  and the closely placed furniture effectively convey a warm homeliness. The deftness of execution and the manipulation of the paint on this canvas suggest that this space is not sterile.  People live here and continue to share experiences and emotions.

Hoffer's experience in Tobago has also been beset with personal tragedy. Consequently, this artist also needs to present a complete and absolute truth in her images. Tobago is her personal locus where she has settled down, raised a family and continues to pursue her art for almost twenty years.  Tobago also continues to be this artist's source of inspiration.  This, therefore, does not mean that Tobago is perfectly pastoral or utopian. This darker side of her life is articulated in The  Queen's Hall (2009) painting  with the use of a fan off to the lower right corner; a subtle hint that the room may also possess an overbearing heat.  Another disturbing element is the skull off to the right which emerges out of the rib-like patterns in the fabric of the sofa.

The success of Andrea's technique  is made clear by the fact that she presents a very conspicuous verisimilitude without an excessive focus on detail. Queen's Hall (2009) also places a framed image next to ​the aforementioned skull.  The image has no specific facial features.  This faceless portrait is a direct reference to the untimely death of her brother-in-law, but the deliberate absence of detail in the portrait brings home the harsh reality that even within the idyllic tropical paradise of Tobago, occurrences  of sadness and emotional pain still remain omnipresent.

Further tackling the themes of mortality and existentialism the artist focuses on self-determination and spirituality in the work titled Past Present (2015).  This piece is dominated by Hoffer's signature treatment of space with interior elements such as the old fashioned wooden chairs and ornate cushions becoming intertwined with the monochromatic vegetation and perfectly graded colour planes. This painting is dedicated to the passing of her father-in-law who made the audacious statement that he intended to pass away on his 96th birthday and this occurrence took place precisely as he had predicted .  This fact explains the departing figure and the balloons to the right of the painting.

Hoffer's first solo exhibition in T&T took place at the 1,2,3,4 Gallery in 1998.  Between/Time is therefore deeply significant for her as this is only her second solo exhibition in her adopted homeland of T&T.  Between/Time is also Andrea Hoffer's first exhibition held after the passing of her friend, mentor and fellow German artist Luise Kimme who passed away last year.  

Art collectors and aficionados in T&T need to accept that this magnum opus by Hoffer is a valid and indelible addition to the milieu of our local art. Between/Time is not only a reflection or account of the life of this artist and her family. It is Hoffer's valiant effort to embrace our sister isle as an artistic muse, where daily activities and events are skilfully transformed into high art.  Andrea C Hoffer, through her painting, has therefore affirmed her space in Tobago. It is consequently up to us, as people of this twin-island nation to grasp this body of work and claim it for what it really is: a body of work created by a German-born painter that is ultimately indigenous to T&T.

• BETWEEN / TIME runs until 11th July 2015

Closely following its one year anniversary, Trend Media Group, the leading Caribbean digital media company and publishers of online news app and website Loop, has unveiled the newest version of its app, which will see customers enjoying an improved experience when they update or download the app from the Android, Windows and Apple app store, a release said.

Already operating in the Cayman Islands, Barbados, Curacao, Jamaica and T&T, Loop’s upgrade will see customers experiencing its new layouts and features—in line with plans to make the app available in more countries in this year. 

Commenting on the new version, Trend Media Group CEO, Richie Kelly, said, “Our customers spoke and we heard them loud and clear. With innovation at the forefront of our operations, coupled with best in class service, we would like to say thank you to our over 450,000 valued customers who have made Loop the number one news app in the Caribbean in just one year.” 

He further explained; “With the newest upgrade to the app, customers will now enjoy a sleeker design and an easy to access application and website layout. In addition, we have strategically partnered with some of the world’s leading apps to provide our clients with value added services and we are happy to be first in the region with our offerings as a true online full service digital agency.” 

Customers can simply update or download Loop in the Android, Windows and Apple app store to get the latest news and more. As Trend Media forges ahead to provide best in class experience for its customers, the Loop mobile application support for versions of BlackBerry older than BB10 will be discontinued come June 10.. 

Trend Media took the decision after feedback from its users and an exhaustive examination of current market trends, as well as the technological challenges associated with developing a quality product for customers on the pre-BB10 BlackBerry mobiles. 

Research shows that only three per cent of the entire Loop customer base uses BlackBerry versions that are older than Blackberry10, as smartphone demand and market share in the Caribbean continues to shift away from this legacy software. 

To this end, despite the discontinuation of app support, pre-BB10 users can still access the Loop websites after June 10.

One June 3 newspaper report said that in a telephone interview with Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan, “he indicated he met with the ministry’s legal adviser on the Cheryl Miller case and ‘instructed the judgment be appealed’.”

High Court judge Justice Judith Jones considered that Miller would have been greatly humiliated and embarrassed by the way she was taken from her desk, taken onto the streets, and placed in an ambulance in 2012. 

Miller’s humiliation was multiplied by the widespread publicity her arrest and detention at the mental hospital attracted. “The fact that calypsoes were composed and sung about her, meant that the circumstances and manner of her detention were kept in the public eye, thereby increasing and intensifying her humiliation and embarrassment,” Jones said. Jones awarded Miller general, exemplary, and aggravated damages in the sum of $835,000. 

One report two days later quoted Dr Khan saying, “I told the legal department to appeal the judgment,” adding “the ministry has to utilise all options available to work with the system.” Khan is reported saying, “We believe, based on the evidence that we presented, that the mental officers, the doctors and the system were correct in their action; the other party thinks they are not.” The judge, however, found no reason to deem Miller mentally ill.

I’m uncertain what such an appeal means in law for the State. I’m confident, however, that Dr Khan could have used the country’s singularly largest mental health instance to say something more advancing and more poignant on the slowly widening discourse. I don’t believe money is the cause for the appeal, believing instead that it’s the issue of precedence in liability and culpability that has caused the NWRHA and Khan to react so fiercely. 

My bewilderment deepened as Khan became the latest in a number of our country’s health ministers who, by their inaction and seeming indifference to what we are made to endure, have allowed people living with mental health issues to continue living here under an ominous cloud of suspicion and neglect. 

And on the one occasion when he could have made an educated and deliberate statement to an already unsympathetic population, his action was to come out like the head honcho of health, guns blazing, who would not let any court or citizen rise in judgment of the State’s action. Maybe that is his job. Maybe his job is to protect the interest of the State against citizens, rather than to protect the State in the interest of citizens. I remain clueless about the minds of politicians. They themselves seem clueless about their own minds.

If there were to be an appeal made here, Khan should have made one for tolerance by a population that he (in a long line of health ministers) failed to educate, or to use the power/resources of his office to educate. The appeal that I was looking for is one to the population by the elected politician—whom we assume seeks the interest of his constituents, even if it’s against the State—a delicate balance that escapes politicians here too often. 

It’s interesting to see to which side the discourse is/was bent, or silenced. But politicians like Khan can still gamble on the ignorance and apathy of our population to mental health. Khan can escape with such a slight because, as yet, the lobby is insufficiently powerful to cause him and his election campaign any real concern. Too many of us with mental health issues would not add/raise our voice, because each of us is concerned with hiding our status—because of the backlash such openness can have in small-minded T&T. I know. I scanned social media for reactions on the day of the judgment. There was a whole lot of support/commentary for the award of the judgment. But beyond that, the regular social media leaders—some people living with mental illnesses, too—made none of their usual learned commentary.

When I saw Miller on television, I was nervous for her and what unkind voices would say of her composure. What was said was cruel as expected. The June 3 Guardian’s editorial said, “The whole unfortunate matter only serves to highlight inadequate understanding of the fact that many tiers of intervention exist between controlling someone’s office outburst and committing them to a mental institution.” The editorial continued, “Mental health is too poorly understood and managed in T&T…In the case of Cheryl Miller, the Mental Health Act was used as a bludgeon.” 

In the case of Dr Khan, mental health does not present such a national challenge for him to even pretend to be giving it an election bligh, as he’d done so carelessly, recently, in his attempt to impress the population that he was advancing the cause of health, when he said we could tape any activity at hospitals.

•Caroline C Ravello is a strategic communications professional and media practitioner with over 30 years of proficiency. She has been living/thriving with mental health issues for over 35 years.

Members of the Prison Service are trying to contain a riot going on in the remand yard of the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca.

T&T Guardian spoke to a prison officer, who confirmed that at about 6 am today prisoners began to riot when officers opened their cells for breakfast. 

Five officers were badly beaten and are currently warded at the Eric Williams Sciences Complex in Mt Hope. Officers were stabbed and one officer’s teeth were broken.

T&T Guardian was informed that the prisoners were in possession of weapons crafted by the prisoners. 

These include shanks made out of tooth brushes and metal objects.

The prisoners have barricaded themselves in an area in the prison. The officer said the prisoners have created shields to prevent the officers from harming them if the riot police were to enter. 

Prison Officers are trying to negotiate with the prisoners to end the riot. However, many prison officers do not want to engage with the prisoners because they fear for their lives. 

Members of the Riot squad are standing by at Golden Grove to assist if prison officers are unable to contain the situation. 

A prisoner informed T&T Guardian that the riot ensued following an incident where the prisoners were soaked with water and an Imam was badly beaten inside the prison. However, T&T Guardian could not confirm this statement.

There are unconfirmed reports that approximately 40 prisoners were injured during the riot. 

It is, to say the least, unfortunate that Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro, has allowed domestic pressures to cause him to take the extreme measure of issuing a decree on May 27, creating the “Atlantic coast of Venezuela” that includes sovereignty over Guyana’s territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean off the Essequibo region and stretches eastward across the rest of the country into part of Suriname’s maritime space.

Effectively the decree claims all the territorial waters within a 200 miles range and blocks Guyana’s access to the Atlantic Ocean. Allowed to stand, Guyana would be trapped by Venezuela as the map shows.

President Maduro’s decree is, of course, illegal and would not stand-up in international law. The Venezuelan government would know this. It would also know that the only way it could enforce the decree is by military action that would be condemned by the international community with appropriate sanctions taken against an aggressor. So, why take this course of action, particularly as it is one that his predecessor and former leader, Hugo Chavez, had spurned?

The answer lies, to some extent, in the hostile domestic politics of Venezuela which have intensified in the wake of deteriorating economic conditions, creating widespread hardship. 

Part of the opposition’s campaign against the Maduro government is that it is “giving away” the country’s patrimony to Guyana. The latter assertion is based on the mythology, perpetrated for decades in schools in Venezuela, that the country was “robbed” by Britain of the Essequibo region of Guyana. 

Two further factors are: the Venezuelan government’s resentment of Exxon Mobil that has recently declared an oil find in the Guyana waters that Venezuela now claims by the May 27 decree; and the attitude of a section of the navy that is keen to flex its muscles.

On the latter point, after Guyana’s then President Donald Ramotar joined President Maduro on August 31, 2013 in expressing “optimism for the potential that exists for an enhanced relationship between Caricom and Venezuela that would redound to the benefit of their peoples” , El Universal—a major Venezuelan newspaper—carried a story on the Internet claiming that the Venezuelan Navy had “raised the alarm” about an oil concession granted by the Guyana government “in front of the Venezuelan Atlantic front of Orinoco Delta” . 

The newspaper quoted only “a spokesman who asked not to be named” , thereby raising misgivings about the motives behind the story. But it said the unnamed source “revealed that the Navy was concerned about the way this issue is being tackled, namely, Venezuela's claim over the Essequibo and its silence over multiple actions carried out by Guyana in the area.”  

According to the newspaper, its unidentified source “also remarked that some officials at the Venezuelan Foreign Office were worried about this issue, particularly in the Border Division. 

Two months later, the Venezuelan Navy evicted the RV Teknik Perdana from Guyanese waters. The survey boat was being used by Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp to carry out seismic surveys. At that time Guyana sought negotiations with Venezuela on maritime delimitations, but the authorities in Caracas took it no further.

Against this background it is not surprising that, under the decree, the Navy has been given authority to monitor the area and force international vessels, including those from Guyana, to identify themselves and request permission to navigate them. 

The oil find by Exxon Mobil would also have irritated the Venezuelan government. The two have a long-standing dispute arising from the oil company’s properties in Venezuela nationalised by the government in 2007. 

Last year, an arbitration court awarded Exxon Mobil US$1.6 billion in compensation.

President Maduro is a man who, in his present circumstances, feels under siege. Apart from the economic difficulties his government faces, on June 9, he expressed anger that the former prime minister of Spain, Felipe González, had left Venezuela in a Colombian armed forces jet sent to collect him by the presidency of Colombia. He denounced “a Madrid-Bogotá-Miami anti-Venezuela axis”. González was in Venezuela to meet and offer his support for imprisoned leaders of the local political opposition. All of this may account for what seems to be an irrational act in issuing the May 27 decree.

A number of Caribbean countries are beneficiaries of the Petro Caribe arrangement with Venezuela under which they pay for oil on a part cash-part loan basis. Guyana is one of the beneficiary countries. Regional governments have been grateful to the Venezuelan government for its assistance and they have all stated this in giving political support to both the Chavez and Maduro governments. Nonetheless, there will be regional, Commonwealth and international concern over the implications of the May 27 decree which flies in the face of the 1897 treaty that obliged Venezuela and Britain (now Guyana) to accept the result of an Arbitration as a “full, perfect and final” settlement of the Guyana-Venezuela boundaries.

The award, given in 1899, set the boundaries that now exist between the two countries. They were boundaries fully accepted by Venezuela for 63 years until 1962, as British Guiana moved towards independence, when the then Venezuelan President, Romulo Betancourt, sought to re-open the issue on the spurious claim that Venezuela was “robbed.” 

Both the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations have repeatedly affirmed “their unequivocal support for the maintenance and preservation of Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” . The Guyana government has already alerted these two bodies and the UN Secretary-General of its alarm over the decree which its Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, described in parliament on June 10 as a “baseless and shameless attempt at usurping Guyana’s territory.”

The first opportunity that Guyana and its regional partners will have to explore the issue at the international level comes up at the Caricom Heads of Government Conference to be held in Barbados in early July at which UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will be a special guest. For more than 25 years, successive Secretaries-General have appointed a “Good Offices” person to promote a settlement to the problem, but these efforts have been to no avail and are now fully exhausted. Secretary-General Ban now has the option to choose another of the means of peaceful settlement in accordance with Article 33 of the United Nations Charter.

The most effective would be to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to determine once and for all the Venezuelan claim that it was robbed and the binding arbitral award of 1899 is null. 

Guyana will obviously be encouraging the UN Secretary-General to take this course of action even as, in the words of Foreign Minister Greenidge, it “stands ready to continue discussions with Venezuela with respect to our bilateral relations”.

In the interest of peace, prosperity and development in the Hemisphere, all countries should be encouraging the Venezuelan government to withdraw the May 27 decree and to seek a final settlement in the ICJ where the world’s most experienced and talented jurists would make a determination binding on all.

(The writer is a senior fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and a senior fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto)

Internet users now routinely use their connected devices to follow favorite topics; video-conference with colleagues and to stay connected with friends and family across the world. What many users may not know, however, is that every new device that connects to the Internet needs its own unique Internet number, known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. What fewer know is that the Internet is in the midst of a major transition to a new version of IP addresses known as IPv6. 

IPv4: A victim of its success

Started as an experiment in the 1970s, the Internet Protocol (IP) has been a phenomenal success. The protocol defines the numeric codes that identify devices and destinations for the Internet. It underpins the global Internet, connecting billions of users and devices and enabling the social and economic power of the World Wide Web.

IP’s utility and ubiquity have together led to the convergence a range of technologies, such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP), that have transformed how we relate, communicate and conduct business. But its global success has created a global challenge.

There are a finite number of IP addresses. The current system, known as IPv4, only has 4.3 billion combinations to go around. It sounded like an inexhaustible supply when the Internet began. Not any more. Thanks to the extraordinary growth of the Internet, we are now almost all out of IPv4 addresses. Today, barely 3.4 million addresses are left.

The American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN) expects that all remaining IP addresses for North America and the parts of the Caribbean they serve will be claimed before the end of this year. Europe ran out in 2012 and Asia since 2011. 

IPv6: a no brainer solution, right?

Thankfully, the exhaust of IPv4 addresses has not caught the Internet community unawares. A replacement for IPv4, known as IPv6, was approved in 1998 and has been available ever since. The updated version launched with 340 undecillion addresses—that’s 340 trillion trillion trillion—and can comprehensively addresses the shortage. 

So you’d think, “problem solved” and moving to IPv6 would be a no-brainer, right? Well, not exactly. 

As with any large-scaled systems transition, there are always groups that cling as long as possible to legacy systems, either out of laziness or lack of economic incentive, or both. Just ask Microsoft about its efforts to migrate users off of its Windows XP operating system.

Transitioning the range of systems around the world that use IPv4 is not a straight forward undertaking. The Internet is huge. The tens of millions of routers, switches and servers that operate behind the scenes to make it work were mainly designed for IPv4. Upgrading infrastructure on such a massive scale entails a significant capital investment and careful planning. 

Also, despite the age difference between IPv4 and IPv6, there is little automatic network performance or security improvements with using IPv6. The primary benefit is really about capacity. 

However, on that front there are workarounds to extend the life of IPv4 systems. For example, Network Address Translation, commonly referred to as NAT, allows for multiple devices to share a single public IP. 

Still, network engineers know such workarounds are only temporary fixes.  The transition to IPv6 is inevitable. The challenge is that there is just no sufficiently compelling business argument to make the transition urgent or immediate.

Microsoft, for example, spent $7.5 million in 2011 buying 666,624 IPv4 addresses and effectively deferring its need to invest in transitioning its extensive network to IPv6. 

Growing IPv6 adoption

There is some good news though. The Internet Society (ISOC) reported that more and more IPv6 being deployed in networks around the world, and those networks are seeing a lot of IPv6 traffic. Some of the world’s most popular websites—Google, YouTube, Yahoo!, and Wikipedia—have been using IPv6 for quite some time now.  

Meanwhile, other major companies have been diligently preparing their networks for IPv6. Facebook, for example, announced that it has switched 90 percent of its network to IPv6. At this year’s Apple developer conference, Apple announced that the AppStore would require IPv6 support for all iOS 9 apps.

Slow Caribbean adoption

Where does this all leave the Caribbean? The major holders of IPv4 addresses in the Caribbean are the Internet Service Providers and network operators, like Cable and Wireless and Digicel. They are reported to have sufficient IPv4 resources to take care of current regional demand. As a consequence, IPv6 support does not feature high on the priority list. This may soon change.

"In the coming weeks, for the first time in ARIN’s history, an organisation will come to us to request IPv4 address space and qualify, but we won't have any in our inventory to fulfill the request," said Mark Kosters, ARIN's CTO, recently at a gathering of the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG). 

Organisations such as CaribNOG, the Caribbean Telecommunications Union have been raising awareness of the need for organisations and governments to transition their networks to IPv6. 

Their message is now amplified by the reality of exhaustion of IPv4 addresses and the abundance of IPv6 address space for anyone who needs it.

Incentives for transition 

Transitioning networks in the Caribbean to IPv6 is no longer a question of if, but when. Even with the available inventory of IPv4 addresses in the hands of ISPs, there is need for more. That need is being fuelled by the region’s growing appetite for and dependence on IP-based services and connected devices. 

The technical expertise to meet that need exists in the region. There is also ample support is available from regional and international Internet organisations such CaribNOG, ARIN, LACNIC, ISOC and PCH to help organisations plan and implement the transition. 

What is missing is appropriate incentives and an unequivocal commitment by network operators across the region to make the investment to upgrade their networks to support IPv6. 

The time is now for national governments to provide regulatory and economic incentives to encourage IPv6 adoption. Governments can also lead by example by officially adopting IPv6 within government agencies and requiring it of service providers who must connect to government networks. Standards agencies can also require IPv6 compatibility in computing equipment procurement procedures.

The private sector should not wait for government or regulatory prodding though. Anyone responsible for managing an IP-based network should adopt IPv6 priority as if the future of their networks depended on it, because it does. 

Securing IP addresses stability is key to safeguarding the bourgeoning Caribbean digital economy. With IPv4 coming to an end and Internet growth continuing to rise, there is no time like the present to make the shift to IPv6. It’s simply too important an issue to leave unaddressed.

Bevil Wooding is an Internet Strategist for Packet Clearing House (PCH), a US-based non-profit research organisation. He is also a founding member of the Caribbean Network Operators Group. Follow on Twitter: @bevilwooding 

In its simplest definition, labour productivity measures the amount of output produced by given a labour input. Labour productivity can be used as a gauge for several economic indicators as it offers a dynamic measure of economic growth, competitiveness, and living standards within an economy. 

In the context of T&T, the past regimes have all attempted to provide the framework to generate a productive labour force by engaging the population in universal education as well as career development programmes such as on-the-job training. 

However, there still remains a vital mismatch of essential skill sets to solidify the country’s sustainable development. T&T should now, especially in the current economic context, look at strategies to improve our competitiveness, including increased productivity in the labour force.  

Based on the input of resources and the output of performance, questions naturally arise. Do we even know how to create an efficient labour force? Have we identified systems of improved labour productivity? Are we united in our approach to improve labour conditions? 

The adoption of a mechanism that will promote labour productivity or act as the platform for the improvement of employee performance focuses on some very basic concepts:  trust, unity and cooperation. 

These very basic principles are sometimes long forgotten, often overshadowed by more exclusive plans and initiatives with decorated acronyms that have no traction in getting the idea or project going. By critically assessing the role each of these basic ideas play, a greater appreciation of where the focus needs to be can lead to more effective executions of national labour productivity initiatives.

Unity

Increasing labour productivity at the national level cannot be accomplished by one segment of the society. There needs to be a non-discriminatory consultative approach that takes into consideration representatives from the labour movement, academia, government, private sector and civil society. 

This will ensure that the each stakeholder has a uniform campaign that sets the country on a developmental path aimed at improved labour productivity. As each unit adopts the common philosophy to improve labour productivity at the national level, economic growth and social equity will follow. Not only restricted to labour and productivity issues, multipartite or tripartite arrangements like that of the “COMPACT 2000” signed between the then Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, the labour movement and the private sector play a critical role in resolving issues that can ultimately lead to increased labour productivity. For far too long, each of these social partners have focused on singular agendas, isolating themselves which have led to a natural collision of interests and as a consequence creating the conditions for protest, civil unrest and disunity.

Trust

There needs to be a mutual desire to remove suspicion, distrust and foster trust and solidarity between all stakeholders. The International Labour Organisation states that all negotiations should be done in good faith.  

There must be a mutual commitment by all parties to be honest and open about their intentions and stay away from activities that may have short-term gains, but which ultimately undermines the climate of good faith that should be present in negotiations. 

Co-operation

The previous two principles are both necessary for third element to be achieved. Co-operation between the trade unions and government is essential in transforming the public sector to be fully capable and competent in the roll out of government services. Having both parties focus on a central labour productivity objective will facilitate a more effective public sector. We must embrace the fact that the transformation of the public sector has to come from both the government and trade unions.

Modern industrial relations have shifted the dialogue from focus solely on salaries to pay for performances and productivity models. The government must consider allowing trade unions to play a more proactive role in areas in which they have a vested interest, and mandate them to hold members to a high standard of responsibility for compliance. 

Once there is a commitment to cooperate and an expectation of social dialogue, industrial relations will become more diplomatic and rewarding for the worker. 

Each player—whether it is the private sector, civil society, the labour movement or government—must commit themselves to these fundamental concepts. 

The consciousness of these three rudimentary principles alone, will have a significant impact on the improvement of the industrial relations climate in the country, giving rise to successful labour productivity initiatives.  

As a grandfather who launched his first businesses as a teenager in the wild and crazy 1960s, I do reasonably well at staying current with today’s digital advances and the opportunities they present for businesses of all sizes. Understanding new platforms and apps is not difficult, social media and digital networking may have given us new ways of communicating with customers, but the underlying concepts reflect business practices that go back a very long time.

Having suffered from dyslexia all my life, I do occasionally have trouble keeping up with acronyms. I once famously suggested at a meeting that my team should get a “DNA” in place before continuing talks with a potential business partner. 

There were a few embarrassed coughs and some “did-he-really-say-that?” glances shot at me before a senior executive from Virgin quipped: “Ehm, Richard, we don’t really need to check into their genetics, a simple nondisclosure agreement will suffice.”

I put my foot in the alphabet soup recently when a conversation with one of our marketing groups turned to the need for “UGC.” Rather than asking “UG . What?” I instead said, “Oh yes, I remember UGC—the French company that acquired Virgin Cinema Group.” Again, I got some blank, mystified stares before someone said, “That may be so, Richard, but this UGC is ‘user-generated content.’ You know, like earned media, that kind of stuff.”

Fortunately, the conversation improved from then on because it turned out that I have been an active promoter of UGC for decades. The idea at its core is to give customers a forum to interact with your product or service, share their feedback and tell other perspective buyers just how good your brand is. Two can play this game!

I recently read a report on a study conducted by the Nielsen Company in which they found that while 47 per cent of consumers in countries around the world trust traditional paid advertising, a whopping 92 per cent trust earned promotions (such as word-of-mouth recommendations from friends). 

Similarly, earned media involves messages that advertisers don’t fully control. Instead, this type of brand publicity relies on customers’ everyday use of the Internet and social media.

We’re essentially talking about word of mouth, delivered on a multitude of apps and platforms. It has always been true that when your friend says, “I always use Product X for reasons A, B and C,” that’s a lot more effective in inspiring you to buy Product X than anything that Product X might say about itself in a slick paid advertisement. Digital technology simply makes it easier for customers to recommend products.

Discussions about this can be full of buzzwords about “social engagement” and keeping the right “content” out there, about “social signals” that are “quality indicators,” or about the “ripple effect” can occur when paid and earned media converge and create a digital marketing tidal wave. 

Don’t be distracted by the terminology: engaging with your customers is critical, and the strategy you decide on should be tailored to your business.

When you’re working on reaching out to customers, don’t forget that you also have to win over your internal customers, that is, your employees and colleagues. They are likely to generate your brand’s most influential “content,” so make sure you are also putting effort into developing or maintaining open internal communications.

Years ago I used to delight in cold-calling Virgin Atlantic passengers in their limos (which we provided) after their arrival at London’s Heathrow airport. I’d ask how they’d enjoyed the flight and whether they had any suggestions about how we could do things better. 

I suppose this strategy could have been called “RGC: Richard-Generated Content.” It was always a great source of customer feedback and a wonderful exercise in public relations.

These days I reach more people on a much wider range of topics via my blog at Virgin.com/RichardBranson, which somehow attracts millions of visitors and stimulates all nature of healthy debate. 

And, if I can manage to attract eight million followers on LinkedIn, there’s no reason why other entrepreneurs—no matter what their age—can’t go with the social media flow and make it work to their commercial advantage too.

(Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group and companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Active. He maintains a blog at www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/richardbranson. To learn more about the Virgin Group: www.virgin.com.)

(Questions from readers will be answered in future columns. Please send them to RichardBranson@nytimes.com. Please include your name, country, e-mail address and the name of the Web site or publication where you read the column.)

BHP Billiton, the operator of all of the deepwater blocks given out in T&T, has said it will decide how many wells it will drill based on its ongoing interpretation of the 20,000 square kilometres of seismic data it has collected.

In an email response to several questions from the Business Guardian, the Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum company, said the structures in the deepwater are “complex” and in-depth analysis is required. It added that the drilling campaign will begin next year but did not say in which quarter.

It said: “The number and location of wells to be drilled depends on our assessment of the seismic data.  The geological structures are complex and in-depth analysis of the seismic data is currently being undertaken. Over 20,000 square kilometres of seismic data were obtained in water depths of between 2,500 and 8,500 feet.”

The company was asked which rig it will be using to drill the deepwater well but did not respond to that question.  However, investigations have revealed that it will be using the Deepwater Invictus which is a drill ship owned by Transocean, which has a long history of deepwater projects. The Deepwater Invictus drill ship can operate in water depths of up to 12,000 feet and drill as deep as 40,000 below the surface.

BHP Billiton reportedly told a meeting of the Geological Society earlier this year that it was excited about the prospects from its deepwater blocks after seeing the initial seismic results. The company reported that it had seen massive structures and that it also conducted a piston core sample which revealed that there is an active hydrocarbon system at work.

Both Dr Krishna Persad and Helena Innis say they are confident that BHP will find large oil in the deepwater blocks. Dr Persad said BHP’s presentation only reconfirmed what he had been saying for some time.

Innis told BG that it was her conviction that there was oil in the deepwater that drove her to call for a reprocessing of data which showed that there is real potential in the deepwater while she was director of resource management at the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs.

She said BHP’s revelation is welcome news.

 “All piston core data acquired to date points to the fact that there is a source rock generating hydrocarbons and the conditions exist for these hydrocarbons to be reservoired in sheet sands in large structures. Studies commissioned by the Ministry of Energy supported these conclusions and the fact that BHP Billiton is moving ahead after acquiring the seismic allows one to be optimistic about the results.”

Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine, in a speech to the Caribbean Geological Conference, said BHP is working on the theory that  the deepwater depositional environment in T&T is a product of the Orinoco river system.

“What we know is that we have some key geological ingredients. Firstly we have the depositional environment. Secondly we have the source rock in the form of the Cretaceous. Thirdly, the 2D seismic that was acquired in 2002, and re-processed in 2011, shows the existence of big reservoir systems and large traps. These two features would be easier to see and understand using the recently acquired 3D seismic which was of high quality and that has allowed for faster processing. Finally we have the “Atlantic Mirror Theory” and this says that there are similarities between the deepwater Tano Basin in Ghana and the deepwater off French Guiana/ Suriname/Guyana.”

He added that in the northern deepwater blocks in which BHP is the operator with BP as its partner these are expected to be on the same Oligocene trends as Angostura.

Angostura is BHP’s current field which it operated and in which it discovered significant oil and gas but which has been difficult to produce because of significant faulting.

The northern blocks which were initially awarded to BP Exploration Operating Company had the same trend as BHP’s Angostura field. Blocks 23(a) and TTDAA 14 are offshore the east coast of Trinidad and BHP believes that they are a continuation of Angostura.

Greater Angostura field lies in 36-46 metres of water on the continental shelf, 37 kilometres east of Trinidad and in the eastern Trinidadian sector of the Eastern Venezuela basin.

The shallow-water integrated oil and gas field development is part of Trinidad Offshore Block 2c. It is operated by BHP Billiton (45 per cent) on behalf of joint venture partners. BHP first signed a production-sharing contract on April 22, 1996, and acquired a 3D seismic survey in 1997. BHP and its partners’ licence to operate the field continues until 2021 under a PSC with the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs.

The Greater Angostura field has a production life expectancy of 19 to 24 years.

The discovery well, Angostura-1, was drilled in 1999. This intersected 950 ft (gross) of gas pay. The hydrocarbon potential of the structure was confirmed by the drilling of Aripo-1, Kairi-1, Canteen-1, Kairi-2, Angostura-2, and Canteen-2 wells. Each of these exploration and appraisal wells also intersected sands. The Kairi and Canteen fault blocks contain most of the oil while Aripo has a thin oil rim overlain by a significant gas cap.

During the six-year exploration phase of the PSC a total of four exploration and three appraisal wells were drilled, discovering significant oil and gas resources within a large faulted structure known as the Greater Angostura structure.

It first produced gas in May 2011 with a new gas export platform with a design capacity of 280 MMcfd of gas and is alongside the company’s existing facilities within Greater Angostura field.

However, since then its gas production has been above 400 MMscfd because of greater demand from NGC.

Deepwater oil projects and complex gas facilities worth around US$200 billion have been cancelled or put on hold worldwide in recent months due to the sharp drop in oil prices over the past year, consultancy Ernst and Young said on Tuesday.

Further project cuts and delays are likely as the industry braces for an extended period of lower oil prices as a result of a supply glut.

“The mind set in the industry at the moment is that prices are unlikely to be bouncing up materially in the near term,” the consultancy’s Andy Brogan said in a presentation. “There is an expectation that volatility is with us for a reasonable period of time to come and companies need to cope with that.”

The delays in multi-billion dollar projects that can take up to 10 years to develop, and needed to support rising global demand for energy, could create a shortage in the future.

International companies have responded rapidly to the near halving of oil prices since last June, slashing tens of billions of dollars in capital spending in order to boost their balance sheets and maintain dividend payouts to investors.

“A total of $200 billion of oil and gas projects have been deferred or cancelled,” said Brogan, global oil and gas transactions leader at Ernst and Young.

“Portfolios reviews are happening more frequently and probably with more rigour,” Brogan told the World National Oil Companies Congress. “There isn’t anywhere for projects to hide.”

The main 24 mega projects that have been put on ice or scrapped are spread across the globe, according to EY.

For oil, many of the projects are complex, deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, West Africa and Southeast Asia with budgets of up to US$20 billion.

Among the most expensive are liquefied natural gas facilities such as the Arrow liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia, operated by Royal Dutch Shell’s and PetroChina and BG Group’s Prince Rupert LNG project in Canada.

Though often just as expensive, most oil mega-projects benefit from the advantage of returning value within three to four years from first investment, compared with up to 12 years for LNG projects, Brogan said.

“We have seen IOCs (international oil companies) already go through one rigorous review of their portfolio. We are now seeing them turning their attention to see how flexibility can be embedded in their portfolios and businesses.” Reuters

Businesses in T&T need to develop a more risk-taking culture and also there needs to be more funding from financial institutions for businesses that take risks and make investments, says Kristine Thompson, director of the local franchise of Chuck E Cheese’s and former chair of InvesTT.

“Innovation in the research and development (R&D) sense is difficult without critical mass and the economies of scale. If people know their prize is a lot bigger, it is easier to take the risk. In T&T, we are not, culturally, a risk-taking society. We also do not have the funding mechanisms in place. R&D and infant industries require government’s support in the early stages to get off the ground; then it can be self-sustaining. T&T could have more of that,” she told the Business Guardian on Tuesday.

Thompson, who previously was vice president of business development of the CariSal chemical plant project, said the transition from that project to setting up a US franchise in T&T was an easy one.

CariSal Unlimited was founded in 2005 for the construction of a chemical complex that was expected to produce caustic soda, calcium chloride, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite. It never got off the ground because of lack of financing.

“The CariSal project was a US$400 million project that we were negotiating with the Inter-American Development Bank and other banks. It was a complex and difficult process. Moving away from that to Chuck E Cheese’s was much easier as the project was smaller and accessing financing was much easier. The CariSal project, in a way, prepared me for Chuck E Cheese’s as I developed contacts, some of whom I used in setting up this present franchise,” she said.

She added that traditional forms of financing for innovators are not readily available in T&T as in other countries.

“There are the angel capitalists, venture capitalism, other sources of equity funding that are not readily available in T&T. Getting bank funding for a new and proven idea is extremely difficult. 

“In fairness, bank financing is not an appropriate source of funding for SMEs. Bank funding is not risk funding. You need risk funding supported by bank funding. I think young business owners need to be plugged into the right networks of people to help them develop their ideas. I believe bright minds do exist. There are lots of innovative, creative young minds in T&T but are not finding their path to success with their ideas.”

Thompson said getting a business off the ground in T&T is difficult.

“We have lots of opportunities but, unfortunately, getting business plans executed takes a lot of stamina and persistence. We have a culture of autocratic governance where power is centralised at the top. 

“The Cabinet of the Government of T&T is a perfect example of centralised decision-making where many different types of decisions need to go to Cabinet for approval. We have intelligent people in the Cabinet but they cannot get through the action items in an efficient manner. This causes delays for projects and investments. It is difficult.”

She said one possible answer is accessing financing from liquidity from credit unions and other non-bank institutions.

“There is a lot of liquidity in non-bank financial institutions like insurance companies, credit unions and other places. I keep lobbying some of my finance colleagues. If we could get our legislation to allow even up to five per cent to back capital to be invested in projects outside of an admissible asset, something that does not have a three-year track record. You cannot play Russian roulette with people’s retirement funds but perhaps you can take a small portion and collectively put it towards developing good ideas in a structured way.”

She said T&T is not the only country in the world where corrupt practices have hurt business practices.

“You can find the example of business disasters caused by ethical failings all over the world. You can look at Wall Street, look at Lehman Brothers, look at Enron. I do not think lack of business ethics in business is a T&T thing. However, we need to be able to manage those judicial and regulatory systems swiftly and correct them so they do not happen again. We cannot have white-collar crime go unfettered.”

She said T&T needs business leaders who are persistent and have the ability to cut through the bureaucracy that exists.

“Persistence is important. Also, there needs to be commitment. Never give up, follow up and, eventually, it will get done.”

Thompson’s business partner and co-owner of Chuck E Cheese’s, Joanna Rostant, argues that T&T is more innovative than many people think.

“Firstly, innovation is not just about a product but about a service. Look at how maxi taxis evolved in this country. It was the answer to poor services in the public transportation system. Look at mas bands like Tribe and Bliss and how they have revolutionised that Carnival industry and taken it around the world. They have taken the partying experience to a different level.”

Thompson and Rostant spoke to the Business Guardian at its Chaguanas office.

Expansion

Next month makes it one year since they opened the first restaurant in Brentwood, Chaguanas, on July 17, 2014.

Thompson spoke about expansion plans.

She estimates that the cost of a opening a new restaurant is $15 million.

“This does not include base building construction. This sum covers the outfitting like furniture, ceilings, carpet, walls, electrical, kitchen equipment and games. The truth is that it is 13,000 square feet that you have to outfit and close to a 15,000-square-foot restaurant in San Fernando.”

She said they plan to open two more restaurants over the next two years and they will be bigger in size than the first store.

She added that their first year’s experience “exceeded their expectations.”

“Our most immediate next restaurant is San Fernando. We are opening that in the new C3 Centre where MovieTowne in San Fernando is going. That should be opened by the end of the year. It is going to be 15 per cent bigger in size and 20 per cent bigger in games and seatings. We have 65 games in Chaguanas and will have 85 in San Fernando. What they are replicating in that San Fernando development is like a MovieTowne. So we would be in the fiesta plaza equivalent, alongside other casual dining restaurants. The aim is that families would go there for entertainment and have a variety of options.”

She said the economy will improve and it is important for business to look ahead and capitalise on the opportunities that exist.

“Our offerings within the competitive space is superior and I think, because of that, the concept will continue to do well. San Fernando is booming right now. What the US has found is a concept of resilience in a recession. Even if you have your last $100, mothers want to put a smile on their children’s face. So they will pay for that.”

Given their experience in the corporate world, Thompson and Rostant wanted to create a new project from the ground.

“We felt we had achieved a lot but we were not getting the balance in our lives that we wanted. We are mothers. There was the desire to create something from the ground up, something more entrepreneurial. A new challenge. Chuck E Cheese’s for us filled a major gap in the market for family entertainment. 

“We believed as mothers of young children there were not many options. This offering of the fun, entertainment and games which Chuck E Cheese’s provide—having seen it in the US—we felt it was fantastic experience at an affordable price and it would do well in T&T.”

Rostant said the Chuck E Cheese’s concept is very easy as customers walk in and there is menu to choose from.

“Value meals are a package where there are drinks, meals and the token for the children to play. There are children’s meals, platters, sandwiches, pizzas. The options are limitless so you can come and just play and come and eat or both. We average about $100 a person. If you come in with a family of four and spend $400 you can have a grand time for a few hours.”

She attributes their success to being able to offer a wider variety than other restaurants in the casual dining restaurant industry.

“We have competitors that are doing some of what we do; there are pizza chains serving pizza, there are other entertainment centres serving entertainment with some snacks. We offer the holistic experience. The character of Chuck E Cheese is an orphan but he celebrates life every day. That mascot comes out in the restaurant every hour and provides a vibe and experience that is hard to replicate.”

She said the Chuck E Cheese’s mascot is more well known than Mickey Mouse worldwide and continues to grow.

“Chuck E Cheese’s is now in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica and all over the world.”

Thompson believes that it is their well-trained staff and investment in training that keeps employees happy. They do not have the major headache of labour shortages as other businesses do.

She acknowledges there is a shortage of labour in the country. She believes that the way business owners treat their employees has a lot to do with whether they stay or go.

“I cannot accept the premise that Trinis are lazy and Trinis are rude and we do not care. We brought down the Chuck E Cheese’s team from the US for training and, up to this week, they were here. A significant proportion of the staff has been with us from the start. We are competing for employees the same way we are competing for customers. 

“In the labour market you are going to have a competitive advantage if you treat your employees well.”

There is little doubt in the mind of most thinking people that it is unfair, unethical and unjust to pay monies to Clico’s directors and senior officers at the same time as other non-assenting policyholders and before the Colman Commission of Enquiry has reported.

As noted last week, in this space, the common sense solution would have been to pay those directors and senior officers who owned Clico policies after all other creditors, including the Government as the insurer’s largest creditor, had been paid in full.

This concept of ranking creditors was at the heart of this column’s objection to the original proposed Clico settlement, which was reduced to a Cabinet Note and a Letter of Intent between the Government and the CL Financial shareholders back to July 2013.

It is very strange that neither Clico nor the Central Bank thought that there was anything wrong with the June 3 statement that said the insurance company, “by law, has to treat with all classes of creditors as part of its resolution strategy.”

In theory, that is probably an accurate statement of the law. But, the issue is that in most corporate restructurings shareholders and executives of the company in jeopardy are always the last to recover value from the failed entity.

As a result of the public outcry over the payment of the Clico directors, just two days following the June 3 statement, the Central Bank terminated the appointments of the Clico chairman, Gerry Yetming and the company’s managing director, Carolyn John.

The basis on which the Central Bank took this decision, made public in a June 5 statement, was that the two “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 included obtaining approval from the Bank for all payments prior to disbursement.”

What is telling about this controversy is the fact that, according to credible reports, the Central Bank acted to terminate the appointments of Yetming and John without prior consultation with the Minister of Finance, Larry Howai.

My reading of the Central Bank Act is that this failure to consult with the Minister directly contravenes Section 44 F (5) of the Act, which states: “In the performance of its functions and in the exercise of its powers under Section 44 D, the Bank shall comply with any general or special directions of the Minister and shall act only after due consultation with the Minister.”

Did the Central Bank terminate the appointments after due consultation with the Minister?

If the Central Bank did not consult with the Minister before the terminations, is the Central Bank in breech of Section 44 F (5) of the Central Bank Act?

On the issue of general or special directions of the Minister, on April 16, the following question was asked of Minister Howai: “Are all of Clico's related parties entitled to receive payment from the $950 million that the company will disburse as the first payment to all statutory fund STIP holders who did not accept the Government's offer?”

Mr Howai’s response was: “Yes. All outstanding STIP holders will be titled to a partial payment in the first tranche.”

I responded to the minister’s statement by noting: “If the Government has decided to pay all related parties, it seems to me that that represents a policy shift from the position held by the previous administration.”

Mr Howai’s response: “I didn't say that we would pay. I said that they are entitled to payment. We haven't changed our policy position.”

My response to the minister: “If you tell someone that they are entitled to receive a payment from the Government, can you explain how you are going to discriminate between those who have a legitimate entitlement and those who don’t?”

Mr Howai’s final response on this subject: “The policy position hasn't changed. The funds will be placed in a blocked account pending the outcome of the various legal actions currently in various stages.”

In this last response, the minister outlined what seems to have been the Government’s policy on the payment of Clico’s related parties: that the funds for them would be sequestered pending the “completion of various legal actions.”

Was this policy (which strikes me as being fair, just and equitable) communicated to the Central Bank as a special or general direction of the Minister?

If the policy was communicated to the Central Bank, can it be argued that the institution is in breach of Section 44 F (5)?

And if it was not communicated to the Central Bank, can the minister tell the nation why he took the time to explain the Government’s policy on whether and how related parties would be paid to a journalist, but not to the Central Bank.

Traditional portfolio

The other aspect of the Central Bank’s governance of the Clico resolution that needs is the length of time it has taken for the Bank to hire an investment bank to solicit offers to purchase Clico’s traditional portfolio.

On May 19, 2014, the Central Bank responded to comments made by the Minister of Finance on the issue of the Clico resolution in the previous day’s Sunday BG. Mr Howai had said in an interview that Clico’s traditional portfolio would be sold.

In its response, which was signed by Governor Rambarran, the Central Bank stated: “The Central Bank is in control of CLICO, pursuant to Section 44D of the Central Bank Act Ch. 79:02 (the Act). This regulatory action started on February 13, 2009, in order to safeguard the interests of policyholders and creditors and to prevent disruption, substantial damage or impairment of our financial system.

“The Central Bank is the only entity empowered to restructure the business or undertakings of CLICO, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

“As part of the resolution strategy for CLICO, the Central Bank proposes to transfer CLICO’s traditional insurance portfolio for value to an acquiring insurance company that is well capitalized, has a proven track record and the capacity to honour all obligations to policyholders.

“In order to achieve this objective, the Act requires the Central Bank to have a market price for Clico’s traditional portfolio determined by an independent valuation company. An independent actuarial firm has, therefore, been engaged to value Clico’s traditional business for this purpose and the exercise is still in progress.

“Subsequently, the Central Bank will conduct the process for the sale and transfer of Clico’s traditional insurance portfolio on a transparent, open market basis. The Bank has neither engaged with any prospective buyers nor made any decision on the structure of the portfolio transfer.”

Subsequent to this statement, the Central Bank announced on June 10, 2014 that Neil Dingwall had been hired as a consultant to the Central Bank on the restructuring of Clico, with an emphasis on organising the sale of the traditional portfolio.

More than a year after Mr Dingwall was hired as a consultant, can Mr Rambarran explain why an investment advisor has not as yet been appointed to lead the sale of Clico’s traditional portfolio, which comprises its life, group heal and pension policies?

It was Mr Rambarran who, in his address on June 1 at the fourth Monetary Policy Forum, disclosed that the Central Bank would “soon appoint an investment advisor to lead the portfolio sale.”

Can the Central Bank also explain whether the dismissal of the chairman and the managing director of Clico will speed up or slow down the appointment of the investment advisor?

And what impact would the dismissals have on the value of the portfolio if enough people lose confidence in the Bank’s handling of this issue?There is little doubt in the mind of most thinking people that it is unfair, unethical and unjust to pay monies to Clico’s directors and senior officers at the same time as other non-assenting policyholders and before the Colman Commission of Enquiry has reported.

As noted last week, in this space, the common sense solution would have been to pay those directors and senior officers who owned Clico policies after all other creditors, including the Government as the insurer’s largest creditor, had been paid in full.

This concept of ranking creditors was at the heart of this column’s objection to the original proposed Clico settlement, which was reduced to a Cabinet Note and a Letter of Intent between the Government and the CL Financial shareholders back to July 2013.

It is very strange that neither Clico nor the Central Bank thought that there was anything wrong with the June 3 statement that said the insurance company, “by law, has to treat with all classes of creditors as part of its resolution strategy.”

In theory, that is probably an accurate statement of the law. But, the issue is that in most corporate restructurings shareholders and executives of the company in jeopardy are always the last to recover value from the failed entity.

As a result of the public outcry over the payment of the Clico directors, just two days following the June 3 statement, the Central Bank terminated the appointments of the Clico chairman, Gerry Yetming and the company’s managing director, Carolyn John.

The basis on which the Central Bank took this decision, made public in a June 5 statement, was that the two “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 included obtaining approval from the Bank for all payments prior to disbursement.”

What is telling about this controversy is the fact that, according to credible reports, the Central Bank acted to terminate the appointments of Yetming and John without prior consultation with the Minister of Finance, Larry Howai.

My reading of the Central Bank Act is that this failure to consult with the Minister directly contravenes Section 44 F (5) of the Act, which states: “In the performance of its functions and in the exercise of its powers under Section 44 D, the Bank shall comply with any general or special directions of the Minister and shall act only after due consultation with the Minister.”

Did the Central Bank terminate the appointments after due consultation with the Minister?

If the Central Bank did not consult with the Minister before the terminations, is the Central Bank in breech of Section 44 F (5) of the Central Bank Act?

On the issue of general or special directions of the Minister, on April 16, the following question was asked of Minister Howai: “Are all of Clico's related parties entitled to receive payment from the $950 million that the company will disburse as the first payment to all statutory fund STIP holders who did not accept the Government's offer?”

Mr Howai’s response was: “Yes. All outstanding STIP holders will be titled to a partial payment in the first tranche.”

I responded to the minister’s statement by noting: “If the Government has decided to pay all related parties, it seems to me that that represents a policy shift from the position held by the previous administration.”

Mr Howai’s response: “I didn't say that we would pay. I said that they are entitled to payment. We haven't changed our policy position.”

My response to the minister: “If you tell someone that they are entitled to receive a payment from the Government, can you explain how you are going to discriminate between those who have a legitimate entitlement and those who don’t?”

Mr Howai’s final response on this subject: “The policy position hasn't changed. The funds will be placed in a blocked account pending the outcome of the various legal actions currently in various stages.”

In this last response, the minister outlined what seems to have been the Government’s policy on the payment of Clico’s related parties: that the funds for them would be sequestered pending the “completion of various legal actions.”

Was this policy (which strikes me as being fair, just and equitable) communicated to the Central Bank as a special or general direction of the Minister?

If the policy was communicated to the Central Bank, can it be argued that the institution is in breach of Section 44 F (5)?

And if it was not communicated to the Central Bank, can the minister tell the nation why he took the time to explain the Government’s policy on whether and how related parties would be paid to a journalist, but not to the Central Bank.

Traditional portfolio

The other aspect of the Central Bank’s governance of the Clico resolution that needs is the length of time it has taken for the Bank to hire an investment bank to solicit offers to purchase Clico’s traditional portfolio.

On May 19, 2014, the Central Bank responded to comments made by the Minister of Finance on the issue of the Clico resolution in the previous day’s Sunday BG. Mr Howai had said in an interview that Clico’s traditional portfolio would be sold.

In its response, which was signed by Governor Rambarran, the Central Bank stated: “The Central Bank is in control of CLICO, pursuant to Section 44D of the Central Bank Act Ch. 79:02 (the Act). This regulatory action started on February 13, 2009, in order to safeguard the interests of policyholders and creditors and to prevent disruption, substantial damage or impairment of our financial system.

“The Central Bank is the only entity empowered to restructure the business or undertakings of CLICO, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

“As part of the resolution strategy for CLICO, the Central Bank proposes to transfer CLICO’s traditional insurance portfolio for value to an acquiring insurance company that is well capitalized, has a proven track record and the capacity to honour all obligations to policyholders.

“In order to achieve this objective, the Act requires the Central Bank to have a market price for Clico’s traditional portfolio determined by an independent valuation company. An independent actuarial firm has, therefore, been engaged to value Clico’s traditional business for this purpose and the exercise is still in progress.

“Subsequently, the Central Bank will conduct the process for the sale and transfer of Clico’s traditional insurance portfolio on a transparent, open market basis. The Bank has neither engaged with any prospective buyers nor made any decision on the structure of the portfolio transfer.”

Subsequent to this statement, the Central Bank announced on June 10, 2014 that Neil Dingwall had been hired as a consultant to the Central Bank on the restructuring of Clico, with an emphasis on organising the sale of the traditional portfolio.

More than a year after Mr Dingwall was hired as a consultant, can Mr Rambarran explain why an investment advisor has not as yet been appointed to lead the sale of Clico’s traditional portfolio, which comprises its life, group heal and pension policies?

It was Mr Rambarran who, in his address on June 1 at the fourth Monetary Policy Forum, disclosed that the Central Bank would “soon appoint an investment advisor to lead the portfolio sale.”

Can the Central Bank also explain whether the dismissal of the chairman and the managing director of Clico will speed up or slow down the appointment of the investment advisor?

And what impact would the dismissals have on the value of the portfolio if enough people lose confidence in the Bank’s handling of this issue?

Police are probing a phone call made to murder victim Simeon Gibbs Waldron less than an hour before he was executed at the Rambert Village Cemetery, San Fernando on Wednesday night.

Waldron, 22, a loader at the San Fernando City Corporation for the past two years was found lying faced down at the entrance of the cemetery with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. 

According to police, residents of Dumfries Road reported hearing several gunshots in the community around 11.20 pm. 

A party of officers, including ASP Ali Mohammed, Insp Don Gajadhar and Sgt Steve Persad responded and found Waldron dead with his work bag besides him. Investigators said they had no motive for his killing, especially as he had no criminal record.

Tears were plentiful at his Church Street home in Golconda yesterday as everyone described him as humble and hardworking. His sister Simone Waldron, 20, said he was home watching television on Wednesday night until he got a phone call.

She said he left home around 10.30 pm, only saying that he was going to meet a girl.

His friend Nicole Charles said she believes he was set up to be robbed and killed by a girl who he recently met. She said the girl likes gold jewellery, adding the Waldron’s gold chain and earrings were stolen from him.

“This had to be a set up and look at how they killed him. They put him to kneel on the ground and just shot him in his head. He was a humble fella, if they wanted the gold they could have just taken it, he would not have put up a fight. 

“He worked hard for what he wanted and just next week when he got paid he was planning to buy a bed and a wardrobe,” Charles said.

PC Seedath of the Southern Homicide Bureau is continuing investigations.

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

Exactly 78 years after Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler led the historic Labour Riots in south Trinidad, chaos broke out in Fyzabad when the police riot squad physically threw Public Service Association (PSA) president Watson Duke out of the annual Labour Day celebrations.

Leading thousands of members from the National Trade Union Centre (Natuc), Duke, along with Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) president Michael Anisette broke through a human barricade formed by South Western Division Task Force and stormed the Joint Trade Union Movement’s (JTUM) gathering at Charlie King Junction.

This led to reinforcements being brought in and officers held Duke by his neck, hands and back and dragged him out of the crowd. Guns were aimed at protesters and several of them were struck with batons as they followed their leaders.

According to Senior Supt Patsy Joseph, police had approved Natuc’s request to march through the streets of Fyzabad, but instead of following the intended route through Lum Tack Hill, they went to Charlie King Junction.

But a defiant Duke said the police was out of order to stop them as Charlie King Junction belonged to the people of T&T.

“Charlie King Junction belongs to no man. It represents the highest point of the struggle since the 1930s and today we have come to pay homage to the late great Butler at Charlie King Junction and no man can stop us from that,” Duke said.

Anisette said the police showed a clear bias by their actions, adding that Natuc never agreed to bypass Charlie King Junction.

In a response, Roget said Natuc’s efforts were planned in advance and was intended to stop the Joint Trade Union Movement’s performance appraisal of the People’s Partnership. However, he said they failed.

The chaos

Blowing whistles and horns, Natuc members brought a halt to the activities outside the Oilfields Workers Trade Union’s office. Duke demanded that he be invited on stage with JTUM members who had previously warned Natuc that they were not invited to this year’s celebration.

President of the T&T Postal Workers Association welcomed the members saying that trade unions shared the common goal of representing the national labour force. But after this failed to quiet the PSA, Joseph and T&T Unified Teacher’s Association president Devanand Sinanan took to the podium and asked Duke to control his supporters.

Instead of calming down, PSA members began chanting, “Tell Roget the same thing.” 

While the commotion was taking place, Roget, who is also mourning the death of his mother, sat calmly and revised his speech. Assistant Commissioner of Police Donald Denoon held a discussion with Duke, but also failed to quell the union’s defiance.

Lawyers representing 25 inmates of the Golden Grove Prison who were injured in this week's prison riot have begun their litigation against the State. 

After an emergency sitting at the San Fernando High Court which ended last evening, Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh granted approval to the men’s legal team to revisit their clients today to take photographs of their injuries. The meeting is expected to take place between 2 and 5 pm today. 

As part of his ruling, Boodoosingh also granted their legal team permission to file a judicial review against the Prison Service challenging its decision to bar them from taking the photographs during their initial visit on Thursday afternoon. 

A date for the next hearing of the case will be set after the lawyers file their substantive case. The prisoners’ legal team includes former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, Gerald Ramdeen, Kent Samlal and Varun Debideen. The Commissioner of Prisons was represented by Neil Byam. 

The riot, the largest since two major incidents in 2009, reportedly began on Tuesday night while prison officers were searching cells for contraband items. 

By the time the the disturbance was brought under control, a dozen inmates had to be taken to hospital for various injuries. 

Prison sources said when the prison officers returned to the cells the following morning to deliver the inmates’ breakfast another riot erupted. During the melee 13 more prisoners were wounded while five prison officers had to seek medical attention. The riot was eventually quelled around midday on Wednesday.

The prisoners were taken to various hospitals across east Trinidad but have since returned to their cells at the prison. No more disturbances have been reported since. 

The wounded prisoners, 22 of whom are on remand for murder, are all Muslims.

In a telephone interview with this newspaper last night, one of the injured prisoners said that despite being heavily medicated he and his fellow inmates will still fast for Ramadan. 

He said the photographs will assist in their lawsuit against the prisoners officers for assault and battery as it would clearly show the extent of their injuries, which include swollen eyes, concussions and multiple cuts and bruises. None, however, suffered any broken bones. 

In a press release issued yesterday, the Prison Officers Association secretary Gerald Gordon denied that the incident was based on the mens’ religion. 

“Officers of the T&T Prison Service continue to conduct their duties without prejudice to any particular inmate’s religious beliefs. In fact, as much as is practical and within the tenets of maintaining safety and security, inmates are encouraged to hold on to and even rekindle their religious beliefs and practices,” Gordon said. 

The Media Association of T&T (MATT) has called on the T&T Police Service to swiftly investigate threats of murder, physical assault, nuisance legal action and cyber bullying against journalists.

The association also called on State-owned media house CNMG to end slanderous and defamatory contributions from callers and immediately effect responsible moderating on-air by its presenters.

This follows verbal attacks online and threats of physical attacks by political party supporters toward journalists.

While MATT focussed mainly on journalists who had made police reports on the threats, many other journalists receive threats and harassment from political party supporters regularly.

In a statement yesterday, the MATT executive expressed solidarity with journalists who had been and continued to be subjected to intimidation, slander, defamation and bullying in broadcast media and on social media. 

“MATT takes note of the numerous journalists from various media houses targeted for vicious attacks on-air and online.

We are deeply concerned about ongoing threats to free and open media coverage, including threats of murder, physical assault, cyber bullying and nuisance legal action against journalists that unduly limit their freedom of expression, particularly during the election season.”

MATT made three requests of the Police Service, including swiftly investigating the report made by Express investigative journalist Denyse Renne on June 15, 2015, and the threat reported by Express investigative journalist Asha Javeed in October 2013 and two serious reports of cyber attacks filed also by Javeed this year.

The association also called on the police to outline its policing policy on cyber bullying which it said had become a perilous, far-reaching threat to Trinidad and Tobago’s democratic landscape.

“Protecting freedom of expression, preventing attacks on working journalists by holding political parties and leaders to account and promoting open debate by all citizens is also the responsibility of the TTPS. The TTPS must promptly investigate such attacks when they do occur and bring those responsible to justice.

MATT said it recognised that incumbent governments benefitted from disproportionate media coverage, from their control of state-owned media houses and often from of their wider economic reach. 

“This places an additional duty of care on State-owned media to act responsibly.

MATT insists that Government and leaders of all political parties must make clear their zero tolerance for supporters who slander, defame and threaten journalists. Political parties cannot continue to remain silent while attacks against journalists are launched and sustained in their name.”