Sixty years ago this month, the campaign for the election of the first Parliament of the West Indian Federation on March 25, 1958, was underway. Sir Grantley Adams and his party would emerge victorious and a Federal Government would be formed. Four years after that, by April 1962, the Federation would be terminated in the aftermath of the Jamaican referendum of September 19, 1961, on the issue of Jamaica’s self-determination to secede from the Federation.

The Caricom leaders of today still grapple with the failure of the Federation and failure to implement the Caribbean Single Market remains a major challenge.

Declassified correspondence sent to the Colonial Office by Arthur Lewis (the Federal negotiator) and a speech made by Eric Williams in 1965 provides insights into how the Federation eventually met its demise.

According to Williams:

“Where representation in the federal parliament was concerned, however, Arthur Lewis arguing on what he claimed was ‘the general consensus’ in the other territories that the formula arrived at in the Inter-Governmental Conferences should be maintained, committed himself to a Trinidad and Tobago representacomtion which was not based on the fact that Trinidad and Tobago accounted for approximately 60 per cent of the population of the nine territory federation. To put it bluntly, Trinidad and Tobago was to pay three quarters of the budget but to have less than half of the seats in the federal parliament. This was wholly unacceptable to the PNM Cabinet.” (Paul Sutton, Forged From the Love of Liberty, 1981, pp.297-298).

Arthur Lewis had been to see Eric Williams four times between the Jamaican referendum and the T&T general election of December 4, 1961, to discuss a future Federation of nine countries. His thoughts are captured in private correspondence (now declassified) that he sent to the Colonial Office about his meetings as follows:

1. “September 22: I went to see him to persuade him to declare in favour of a strong Eastern Caribbean Federation. He was full of venom and insisted that he wanted the whole Federation to ‘mash up’. Only then would he consider starting a new federation, on Trinidad’s terms...”

2. “October 6: I reported that Mr Bird of Antigua was willing to accept the main features of a strong federation, provided no attempt was made at a unitary state. He was pleased with my report that a reasonable settlement could be made. He informed me that Ellis Clarke had advised that the Federation would end in March, and I tried vainly to argue him out of this...”

3. “November 3: We had lunch in his house for two hours. He had previously read a first draft of my report, addressed to him. There was a marked shift in his thinking, towards a unitary state, but his mind still seemed to be open on this subject. The alarming shift was in his attitude to a conference. He could not have his party convention till mid-January. This would have to be followed by educating the public. Clearly he was thinking in terms of months. By now he had also publicly committed himself to the ending of the Federation in March. I gained the impression that destroying the Federation had become an obsession…”

4. “November 8: He had not yet received comments on my report. His mind was still toying with a unitary state, and seemed a little less open. But he argued in a friendly way…He would attend a conference if it was clear that the Federal Government would not keep interfering in the discussion...”

These exchanges show that the arguments between Williams and Lewis were pivotal and their failure to find consensus back then left the regional integration movement sadly handicapped. Caricom leaders of today are still contesting some of those battles that Williams and Lewis fought in 1961. Hopefully consensus will come in short order.

“Jamaica should seek a clear and definitive commitment by all member states to a specific time-bound and verifiable programme of action to fulfil all their obligations, and complete all the requirements for the CSME to be fully established and operational within the next five years.”—Golding Committee.

The above is the first line in the recommendations of the Golding Report on the implementation (non-implementation) of the Caricom Single Market and Economy, the more than two-decade-old attempt by Caricom member states to integrate production, allow for the free movement of goods and services and people across the region to make best uses of the resources of the region, inclusive of the development of a viable export platform.

It is the only new recommendation coming out of yet another report on Caricom. It seeks to counter what the commission refers to as the “implementation deficit”—ie, that Caricom leaders have historically gone to summits and other such high-level conferences, waxed warm with regional fervour, taken decisions to advance the CSME, but as soon as they return to their countries they ignore the decisions taken.

The importance of the recommendation is that it places a time line on implementation, failure to achieve which, as indicated by the chairman of the commission, former Jamaican prime minister Bruce Golding, who would himself have ignored his share of decisions taken, would result in Jamaica walking away from the CSME but remaining part of the functional elements of Caricom co-operation, having to do with matters such as health, hurricane, education, and other basic reasons for co-operation among member states. Having read only the summary of the report and its recommendations, I don’t know if the commissioners explored what’s the reasons for the “implementation deficit”.

Is it that decisions were taken without a full exploration of the implications of the same? Is it that decisions taken by the Heads of Government were not based sufficiently on research as to what is possible? Or is it the case that the refusal to implement seemingly feasible and beneficial decisions had to do with insufficient commitment to the West Indian nation?

Is it that at our core we do not trust sufficiently the Caribbean brethren across the region? It is one thing to celebrate West Indian success in cricket; another thing to truly identify as West Indian/Caribbean people, seeing togetherness as perhaps the only workable means of pooling our meagre resources to advance the cause of West Indian peoples.

Very significantly, the Golding Commission had removed from its area of consultation, discussion, and recommendation on the issue of whether or not Jamaica should sign on automatically to the appellate jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice, which its government long time agreed to be part of.

By not requiring the commission to discuss and make recommendations on the CCJ, the politicians have left the matter open for political campaigning. There is an outstanding history in Jamaica about referendum on such an issue ie, the West Indian Federation. The forces of antagonism to meaningful integration had the last say on that matter.

Outside of that first recommendation quoted at the top, the vast majority of the 33 recommendations are ones which have been stated and re-stated over decades by many other “Wisemen” groups, inclusive of many of the most distinguished and committed West Indians.

The issue is whether or not commitment to time and verifiable programmes of action can force action upon member states, their leaders, and people. The Jamaican Prime Minister, the relative youngster Andrew Holness, has made the important statement that the establishment of the commission and the purpose are not to give Jamaica an opportunity to opt out but rather a reason “to optimise Jamaica’s participation in Caricom.”

But that is the easy rhetoric which Caricom leaders are good at.

In bracing for Brexit, Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange cautioned Europe that Brexit could trigger a financial crisis if France and Germany try to demolish London’s status as a global financial centre.

The OECD warned that a no-deal Brexit would wipe out around £40bn off UK economic growth by 2019. But does prosperity purchase the kind of childhood we desire for our children? Lord Richard Layard, at the Wellbeing Research Programme at the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance, is blunt in his view that a child’s emotional health is far more important to their satisfaction levels as an adult than other factors, such as if they achieve academic success when young or wealth when older.

Prof Layard’s work challenged the educational policy of Secretary Gove who callously instructed schools not to focus on ‘peripheral’ issues like children’s moral, social and cultural development in favour of academic excellence. Gove’s successor, Secretary Nicky Morgan reversed his policies because she understood the impacts of consumer society on generation ‘Y’. They are socially networked, ethnically diverse, tolerant of difference, with confidence spilling over into entitlement and narcissism, unrealistic expectations that sometimes lead to disillusionment, and are politically and religiously unaffiliated.

Without shame they are not expected to delay or repress pleasure. Rather, they are urged to enjoy all they can consume inside life’s ‘Vanity Fair’. No need for discipline and obedience, because at every level everything is possible—inside the alternate facts and fake futures of augmented reality.

Unconventionality is the fabric of the 50 veils they weave and wear. Oedipus, an amulet of patriarchal society which their loving parents once pinned inside their shirts, is replaced by vanity, by Narcissus and their fascination with the selfie. Fullness of consumption means fullness of life. I shop therefore I am. To shop or not to shop—that is the question. From cradle to coffin, the stores are the pharmacies that cure all afflictions. They unfeelingly unfriend others, dispose of things by ordering a new version with better features.

Bergdorf and Isetan are their high temples. Shopping lists are their hymnals as they circle these shrines to rid themselves of things they no longer want and to replace them with better ones. But economic inequality is the barrier to the varied and countless temptations that are made and multiplied each day and whose absences are violently resented by those who cannot buy them. The Occupy Movement against economic inequality, which began in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and the Spanish 15M movement, established three encampments in London. One outside St Paul’s Cathedral, one in Finsbury Square, and one inside a disused UBS office which they labelled the ‘Bank of Ideas’.

Reacting to the mutiny of the humiliated must always be measured because it can only deepen the self-same humiliation that caused the rebellion in the first place. And curfews fail because they are just prisons for problems.

The new Education Secretary of England, Damian Hinds, plans for an increase in faith schools and to discontinue a policy which compels new Catholic schools to accept 50 per cent non-Catholic pupils as he grapples with an education system besieged by parents. But former education secretary Justine Greening warned it would lead to ‘increased segregation’ and ‘education apartheid’. Allowing more Catholic-only schools would also mean more Muslim-only and Jewish-only schools. The 50 per cent cap, introduced a decade ago, was aimed at stopping the ‘ghettoisation’ of schools.

Mr Hinds denounced the 50 per cent cap, saying: ‘A half-Catholic school is not the same thing as a Catholic school.’ If we follow Layard’s thesis we can conclude that prosperity must be built outside of the trappings of opulence and inside the non-material forms of the future, families and the meaning of life.

For millennials it will never be inside walled gardens. Like Oliver Twist they will politely ask—’Please, sir, I want some more.’ Well-being and freedom to live a decent human life must be the ultimate objective of economic planning because a child’s early emotional health is central to their satisfaction levels in adulthood—even much more than amassed wealth when older.

Three independent incidents kept some of us engrossed in the news last month. There was the much-anticipated global release of Marvel Comics’ Black Panther movie, yet another mass shooting in a US school resulting in 17 lives lost and right here, the killing of an alleged gang leader followed by rioting from members of his community in East Port-of-Spain, causing the closing off of parts of the city.

Each of these events incited public outrage and accelerated public rifts relating to black empowerment vs white fragility, US gun control vs US 2nd Amendment rights, and law enforcement empowerment vs law enforcement accountability.

What struck me as I had conversations with people and combed social media considering the posts on each side of these deeply polarizing debates, was the commitment to the “us” and “them” binary at the cost of seeking deeper understanding of the other.

Despite what for the deeply melanated was an almost out-of-body, cathartic experience, the Black Panther backlash from conservative whites in America, and some others, has been loud and resilient, from the posting of fake memes on social media and protests outside cinemas, to talk-show soliloquys on how idiotic black people are for reacting in their way to the film. The divide is deep and for the most part both sides are talking at each other, convinced and convicted by their own rectitude.

Watching and listening to this polarised debate made me deliberate on the irony that one of the real lessons from Wakanda had sailed right over so many of the debaters’ heads, namely that there needs to be a conversation about current human solidarity, brotherhood and understanding, while at the same time recognising the historical and structural injustices which the people of the African diaspora have and continue to suffer. We manufacture easy false binaries which make us feel safe in a world so vast, multi-faceted, and byzantine that to do otherwise would force us to confront our own impotence to deal with it.

Wakanda has other lessons, the principal of which has not been missed by most commentators—the role of female leadership in Wakandan society. They guide, they protect, they are warriors—but for me, most important of all, they embrace their femininity, are open, conscious of their power, and creative in their understanding of how and when to use it.

Contrast this with the latest idiocy from the 45th Potus: let’s make schools safer by bringing guns into the classroom! Let’s not bother to try to understand the problem; let’s not try to get its root. No, if the teachers had been armed, they “would have shot the hell out of the gunman before he knew what happened.” I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. But this isn’t late-night satire on TV with Jimmy Kimmel: this is the man with the nuclear codes in his jacket pocket.

And then I saw the pictures from East Port-of-Spain and I read the reports of how our leaders were planning to respond: tougher legislation to root out gang leaders, armed police and soldiers. I may have missed it, but I heard and read nothing about understanding why our young men from certain communities are subscribing to gang culture, about why gang leaders are trusted more than elected officials in those communities, and nothing about the need to identify and address the underlying causes of this societal dysfunction and exclusion. No, the answer is more guns.

And I considered again the female leaders, Nakia and Okoye. Undoubtedly strong and as tough as steel when required; but thoughtful, compassionate, understanding and full of grace, always. I thought of their profound stand-off with very different and deeply held ideologies and yet their ability first to seek understanding of the other and eventually finding a path to manifesting a solution neither of them could have achieved on their own.

If ever you see them in our Parliament, ask them to stay.

Margaret Rose

Materialism and selfishness have taken over the world. The people of T&T have not escaped this phenomenon. The immediacy of our wants far outweighs waiting to get our needs. These are the problems which have overtaken the world.

The obvious question must be, can this period of Lent really have such a serious impact on you that will make you change your way of life—the materialism, selfishness and money must play a secondary role during this period—and you put God first in all you do. It’s hard. I know.

“Human sinfulness begins with self-centred thoughts that lead to selfish actions: me first, my family, my tribe, my will,” so writes Deborah Meister in the booklet ‘Living Faith’. “Repentance,” she said, “means giving up my will in order to accept God’s will. What is best for me and mine gives way to God’s love for all of creation.”

She continues, “We strive to love as God loves us though mortal love is never perfect. When we fail, overcome by anger, impatience, jealousy or apathy, we can heal these relationships with repentance, asking for forgiveness as we forgive others.”

This tells us how we should deal with our fellow man. How we should deal with our enemies by the utilisation of forgiveness. This world has too much hate, discrimination, and anger, but we can do our little bit to change that culture.

To do this, you would need God’s grace to experience a conversion of heart. And Fr James Behrens OSCC said, “It is such a conversion that entails a turning of one’s heart toward God.” To make Lent meaningful, he said this along with other penitential practices which are traditional; like the giving up of certain things or doing your best to attend daily mass.

Fr Behrens said, “We might also consider that a turning toward God involves two encounters—with God and with our brothers and sisters in Christ.”

“Lent,” said Fr James, “can and should be a very fruitful time when we make a determined effort to forgive those who may have hurt us and when we make amends to those whom we may have offended. Making peace with God is inseparable from making peace with others. If we do our best to right wrongs during these coming weeks, we will also find peace within ourselves.”

Are you prepared to live with only what you need? Or, would you rather live with the things you want? The second option is what most people would prefer. It is a much more comfortable lifestyle—the ability to get your hands on anything you want always seems the better way to go regardless of how it is accomplished.

Nowadays, materialism is a worldwide phenomenon and it has reared its ugly head in the T&T society, making choices more difficult for many people. It has become akin to the old Barbadian saying “all is mine” and there are those who would do anything to ‘get rich quick’, regardless of morals.

Let us Christians pray for a more upright society using forgiveness as our main weapon.

Vernon Khelawan is a columnist for Catholic Media Services Limited (Camsel), the official communications arm of the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain. Its offices are located at 31 Independence Square. Telephone: 623-7620.

RAMDEEN: AGATHA “Doods and Miss” of Chootoo Road, El Socorro, San Juan passed away peacefully on Thursday 1st March, 2018. Wife of Deonath Ramdeen. Daughter of the late Catherine and Albert Elliot. Sister of Hilda Ramoo and the late Bob Elliot, Angela Williams, Ben Elliot and Albert Elliot Jr. Sister-in-law of Bhagwandeen Chootoo, Chan-dra Ramcharitar, and Anuradha Lawrence (Duya – deceased). Daughter-in-law of the late Ramdeen Chootoo and Seemania Ramdeen. Aunt of the Williams, Elloit, Richards, Theophilus and Ramdeen families. Relative of Evelyn Chootoo and Ram Ram-charitar. Funeral at 10.00 a.m. on Thursday 8th March, 2018 at St. Ann’s R.C. Church, St. Ann’s thence to the Crematorium, Long Circular Road, St. James for 12 noon. No flowers by request. A collection will be taken up for the upkeep of the Church. For enquiries, call C&B 625-1170 or visit http;//www.clarkandbat-too.com

CHATLANI BHAGWANTI, MRS. of Saddle Road, Maraval passed away on Thursday 1st March, 2018. Beloved wife of Thakurdas (deceased 2006). Mother of Hari, Kamla, Prakash, Chandru, Jaya & Vishnu. Beloved God-Mother of Rajee. Mother-in-law of Nita, Murli, Nina, Anganie, Ashok and Preeti. Aunt of Doulat. Dearest grandmother of Roma, Sapna, Navin, Kanchan, Sheetal, Kirti, Roshan, Aneeta, Anjana, Kumar, Menaka, Neelam and Neeraj. Grandmother-in-law of Amit. Great-grandmother of Jahan, Aarzu, Rumi & Brendan. Treas-ured, aunt and friend of many. The funeral is still to be deter-mined Please contact 721-7612

BIRMINGHAM, England—Jamaican Kimberley Williams and T&T’s Deon Lendore increased the English-speaking Caribbean’s tally to three at the IAAF World Indoor Championships yesterday.

Williams’ second place finish in the women’s triple jump with a personal best leap in the morning session on the third day of the Championships gave Jamaica their second silver of the meet, following Danniel Thomas-Dodd’s historic medal in the women’s shot putt the previous day.

Lendore captured the two-island republic’s first medal of the Championships in the evening session, when he landed a bronze in the men’s 400 metres.

Lendore benefitted from the disqualification of Spain’s Oscar Husillos and Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic for lane violations to clinch the bronze, edging Aldrich Bailey, Jr of the United States 46.37 seconds to 46.44.

It was a gratifying finish for the Lendore, who brought back memories of him holding off British anchor Martyn Rooney in the men’s 4?400 final at the 2012 London Olympics to clinch the same colour medal for T&T.

Pavel Maslak of the Czech Republic became the first three-time winner of the men’s 400 at these championships, when he clocked a season’s best 45.47 and was well clear of American champion Michael Cherry, who clocked 45.84 who took silver.

Husillos was first across the line with a 44.92 championships record, but his surprise reign was short-lived following his disqualification, the same fate that befell Santos, the 2012 Olympic champion, who chased him over the entire second lap, paving the way for Maslak’s historic triumph following his victories in Sopot in 2014 and Portland two years ago.

Bledman, Callender crash out 60m

T&T’s sprinters Keston Bledman and Emmanuel Callender yesterday failed to advance to the semi-final round of the Men’s 60 metre sprints.

Bledman, running out of heat 2, crossed the finish-line in a time of 6.79 seconds in fifth in lane 5, way behind the winner Bingtian Su of China who clocked 6.59 seconds to be one of three qualifiers in the race.

Warren Fraser of Bahamas and Jamaica’s Kimmari Roach, who both produced similar times of 6.71 seconds in the heat have advanced to the semis.

Callender on the otherhand had a better finish in heat 3 running a season’s best 6.80 seconds. But it was not enough to earn him a place in the semis with Slovakia’s Jan Volko (6.66s), Iran’s Hassan Taftian (6.74s) and Dominik Zalesky of the Czech Republic (6.74s) claiming the top three qualifying spots.

Meanwhile, T&T’s 4x400 metres team of Renny Quow, Jereem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon also produced a season’s best time of 3:05.96 to qualify for today’s final behind first place Belgium (3:05.22) which was also a season best, and Poland (3:05.24) in second in heat 1. The T&T men were third.

Meanwhile, Williams, the bronze medallist at the previous Championships in Sopot, Poland, led the women’s triple jump with a lifetime best mark of 14.48 metres until Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela produced a mark of 14.63m with her fifth-round effort to land the gold medal.

Having set her season best mark of 14.16m in Birmingham as a guest of the British Championships a fortnight ago, the 29-year-old Jamaica also improved on that mark five times during the competition which fielded 17 starters – and looked a

The John O’Brien trained Trini Aviator made it two wins from his last two starts when he impressively took the feature Modified Benchmark Handicap for Three-Year Olds and Over Horses Rated 80-60 over 1500 metres on the turf course.

The David Ojar owned three-year-old chestnut colt was sent off as the 7-5 favourite to land the $20,612 first prize cheque and punters never had an anxious moment.

The Glenn Mendez trained unbeaten United States Bred three-year old Spoke In Yuh Wheel was well supported at 8-5 to land his third straight success and remain unbeaten in his career but this did not materialise as he trailed in a well beaten 12 lengths for fifth.

When the horses were sent on their way Ronald Ali pushed Trini Aviator straight to the front and the son of Rock Hampton never saw another rivals until the came back to the winners enclosure.

Going down the back-straight Trini Aviator had a two-length lead on Spoke In Yuh and Sea of Gdansk, these were followed by Root of Jesse, Pauseforacoors and Eye See You with Lady Following as Scotus trailing the field.

At the far turn, Ronald Ali quickened the pace and Trini Aviator opened a three-length gap on Root of Jesse and Spoke In Your Wheel which was coming under pressure as Sea Of Gdansk kept pace.

At the corner Trini Aviator quickened clear of her rivals which tried in vain to narrow the distance as his challengers just kept fading away tamely.

At the line Trini Aviator had a 4 1/4 advantage, as Root of Jesse stayed on for second with Sea of Gdansk in third and Eye See You staying on into fourth.

Leading Lady did not land a blow and does not seem to appreciate the turf course.

Trini Aviator registered the time of 1:31.68 for the trip.

Champion trainer John O’Brien was the day’s leading training as he saddled three winners in Lord Silver, Trini Aviator and Catalonia.

Riding honours were shared between Ronald Ali and Naim Samaroo both of whom rode two winners apiece.

KELVIN “N”
 

A hairball is exactly what it sounds like—a ball of hair or fur. If you’ve ever owned a cat, you will be familiar with this, especially if you’re the one in the family who ended up with the unpleasant task of cleaning it up!

Hairballs occur as a result of your cat grooming herself. She has tiny hook-like structures on her tongue that act as a brush by catching and removing loose and dead hair in her coat which is then swallowed. The majority of this hair passes through the gastrointestinal tract without any problems and is passed out in the stool. Sometimes the hair can accumulate in the stomach, forming into a hairball and blocking the outgoing part of the stomach. Food is unable to pass through and is vomited instead with the hairball. As the semi-digested food and hairball pass through the narrow tubular structure of the oesophagus on the way out, the resulting hairball appears thin and tube-like rather than round.

A cat’s digestive system is designed to process hair—its own as well as the hair and fur attached to the skin of prey animals—and as such, hairballs should not be a regular occurrence in a healthy cat. Hairballs are more common in long-haired breeds such as Persians and Maine Coons. Cats with behavioural problems such as obsessive compulsive disorders are also more likely to have hairballs because they swallow more fur due to excessive grooming. If you notice your cat grooming more than usual, visit your veterinarian to rule out physical issues such as allergies, skin diseases, parasites or infections; as well as behavioural issues such as anxiety, stress, frustration or boredom. Some breeds of long-haired cats may experience additional hair shedding at certain times of the year due to seasonal changes.

It is often distressing for owners to see and hear their cats vomiting a hairball. Common hairball symptoms include: hacking, gagging and retching followed by the vomiting of the hairball. Sometimes hairballs can get “stuck” in the digestive tract causing an impaction. The following symptoms can indicate that a hairball has caused a potentially life-threatening blockage: ongoing vomiting, gagging, retching or hacking without producing a hairball, lack of appetite, constipation or diarrhoea, lethargy, vomiting of undigested food and a swollen abdomen. Immediately contact your veterinarian if your cat is showing any of the above impaction symptoms.
Copyright © Kristel-Marie Ramnath 2017

The treatment and prevention of hairballs is generally focused on the following:

1. Additional grooming of the cat’s coat with specially designed brushes to remove as much loose and dead hair as possible. The more hair you remove through brushing, the less hair is available for your cat to swallow.
2. Hairball control commercial cat foods and treats which have added fibre to help bind the hair and stimulate the intestine to aid in eliminating hairballs. Cats are carnivores and their natural diet consists of a high protein level and low carbohydrate level. Grain-based foods tend to be higher in carbohydrates, leading to changes in the flora (bacteria) of the cat’s intestinal tract which may reduce the motility in the tract and contribute to the inability of the hair to pass normally through the intestinal tract. A grain-free, high-fibre diet may therefore be more appropriate for a cat who vomits frequently.

3. Petroleum-based laxatives and hairball remedies (which can be flavoured to make them palatable for the cat) help to lubricate and move the hairball through the intestine.

4. Water is important to keep your cat’s digestive system flushed and healthy, so ensure that your cat always has a fresh, clean supply available.

Recurrent hairballs should not be seen as normal in an otherwise healthy cat. It may indicate that there is an underlying problem that needs to be assessed and treated by your veterinarian.

T&T has many companies and businesses with a strong information technology base, as well as many innovative entrepreneurs who are looking for opportunities.

However, as a small developing country, its companies and businesses need technical help in marketing, research, technology and financing, says Dr Atul Wad, president, Tambourine Innovation Ventures, a company based in the United States.

Wad will be a speaker at the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) First Pillar event next Thursday.

IDB launched its Unfollow: Same Never Made a Difference campaign in November 2017, to support dissemination of its 2016-2020 Country Strategy Trinidad & Tobago. The campaign seeks to reach the wider public in a meaningful and activating way, highlighting the need to be different and disruptive, while promoting change, collaboration, idea generation and innovation from all sectors of society.

Wad has more than 30 years of experience in sustainability, entrepreneurship, technology management, innovation, and business strategy. His career has spanned private sector, not-for-profits, academia, multilateral development banks (MDBs), international organizations such as UN, and the venture capital industry.

Economic diversification

Despite the present challenges, Wad is optimistic T&T can diversify its economy.

“Trinidad and Tobago has a very strong entrepreneurial economy that needs to be supported,” he said.

“Trinidad and Tobago has a fairly strong base of technical expertise. What is needed is active Government support and of course money is needed. The banking institutions in the Caribbean are not prone to taking risks.”

According to Wad, there is a legacy economic structure in T&T that has been dominated by the energy sector to the exclusion of other sectors.

“Now there is an effort by the Government to re-balance the economy away from its over dependence on oil, which I think is a very good thing,” he said.

While he see potential in some areas earmarked for diversification, such as agriculture and health, Wad is less optimistic about other areas such as the maritime sector and aviation.

“I tried to make sense as to why aviation technology is important as a diversification strategy for Trinidad and Tobago. Does Trinidad and Tobago want to become the NASA of the Caribbean? Does Trinidad and Tobago want to become like airplane manufacturer Boeing? What’s the motivation? I couldn’t get a handle on it to be honest,” he said.

Wad’s company is studying the crops of T&T searching for potential for value added in the agriculture sector.

“When I say value added, I do not mean taking papaya (paw paw) and selling the juice. You could take local Scorpion Pepper and extract its contents which can be used for different applications in the food industry, for pain killers. If done properly, it can be used as an important revenue stream,” he explained.

He said the development of the agriculture sector can produce many jobs and it has export potential.

The health sector is another good area to diversify the economy into and there are opportunities in education sector and aquaculture, he said.

Wad has been involved in the Caribbean for two decades mainly in the areas of science and technology.

“We have worked in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St Lucia. Belize and now Guyana. We know the region well. We work in the public sector in regional organisations such as Caricom, the University of the West Indies and Cariri in T&T,” he said.

His company is also involved in projects supported by the IDB related to innovation, entrepreneurship and technological change.

Cariri

Wad’s relationship with Cariri goes back many years and he spoke about a project that he is working on with them in technology intelligence.

He asked: “How do you go about finding out where are the sources of technology that can provide solutions to challenges being faced in Trinidad and Tobago?”

Smaller companies in T&T and around the world just don’t have the expertise to find and develop the latest technology, he explained

“They don’t know where to look, they don’t know how to talk to the people, they don’t know how to relate. This is important in getting the private sector in Trinidad and Tobago more innovative.”

Cariri’s employees are currently being trained and the next stage is implementing a unit there that provides technology for the benefit of local companies. Wad is also working with 20 local companies identified under another IDB programme.

“Our responsibility is to identify innovative companies in Trinidad and Tobago and help them to move forward with whatever assistance they need, such as marketing, technology, financing and so on. There are companies working on blockchain and that’s impressive so there are smart entrepreneurs in T&T,” he said.

Social media has proven to be profitable for 32-year-old entrepreneur Kathryn Nurse. It was the platform that has helped her find a market for her start-up, Immortelle Beauty.

The success of the brand, a range of beauty products, recently earned Nurse Scotiabank’s Vision Achiever Class of 2018, Social Media Champion 2018 award.

The former New Jersey lab technician, who once worked at formulating cosmetics for a company in the United States, returned to T&T to start a business creating beauty products for the Caribbean woman.

After studying the market and what was available, she identified an opportunity and began pursuing her dream in 2011. Through social media she managed to reach her target market in T&T as well as internationally. Her monthly marketing budget ranges between between $5,000 and $15,000, with savings realised from not having the overhead expenses associated with a brick and mortar store.

“I work from home and use a contract manufacturer, a company located in Laventille that does packaging, labelling and filling the containers,” she explained.

Nurse is now sold on social media as the best platform for entrepreneurs to get the word out about products and services.

“Cosmetics are very visual things. They look very pretty and easy to photograph, but the area of social media where I get the most engagement is when I show people how I am using the product,” Nurse said.

“On Instagram there is a feature called Instagram story where I can literally talk to the followers, answer questions, show them how the products work and engage them on a deeper level, because it’s almost like you are talking directly to them.”

She said her online store allows her to reach overseas customers in the US who can make purchases from where ever they are.

The social media platform also enables her to get an audience with people who have a lot of contacts and she can send samples of her products to them. Reviews are then obtained or feedback is given.

“It can be very time consuming to do the posting, so I do hire somebody to post some of the content on Facebook and on Instagram,” she said.

Undaunted by competition from other companies selling similar products, Nurse said because she can talk directly to her customers, they are be able to differentiate the product.

She explained: “You can show how you are different from all of these competitors who might look very similar, so you can adapt your social media persona to match your brand image and to differentiateyourself  and make yourself stand out.”

Athough she occasionally advertises with traditional media, Nurse prefers social media because it allows her to zoom in on her target market.

“Within Instagram it will show your product to people who are interested in beauty, as opposed to showing it to everybody, rather than have it go into one ear and out the other, to people who don’t have a specific interest,”she said.

“That’s why I prefer the online marketing and online advertisements, feedback is instant.”

The Vision Achiever Programme Nurse said she was motivated to join the programme when she got to a point in the business where she needed structure and a better understanding of managing.

Since winning her award, Nurse has been encouraging other upcoming entrepreneurs to participate in Scotia’s programme.

“We had to learn cash management, figuring out how to do financial statements, planning and system sessions—that is putting things in place so the system becomes more automated.

“There was a team management session about how to deal with your employees and setting your job descriptions. It was very holistic and included all the different elements of business management,” she said.

The programme ran from October to December 2017, following which the bank measured the social media traction of all the participating businesses.

“At the end of December, Scotia recorded us doing our elevator pitches, which we have been training to do during the programme.

It was put on Facebook on Scotia’s page and then we had to encourage our friends and family to vote on the business. Entry into the programme was free.”

Electronic bank statements have virtues — saving trees, keeping your desk uncluttered — but they also have a vice: They can be easy to forget.

You could instead get paper statements delivered by mail, an option that’s becoming less popular as technology gets better.

But Nessa Feddis, senior vice president for consumer protection and payments at the American Bankers Association, says they “won’t disappear entirely.”

Whatever form they take, these monthly records help you spot fraudulent purchases and errors and, in the case of bills, remind you of payment deadlines.

Here’s what you can expect from bank statements in the future and how to decide whether sticking with paper makes sense for you.

A more digital future

Bank statements played a key role when balancing a checkbook was common. You would keep track of deposits and withdrawals on paper and compare your numbers each month with your statement.

One perk to using paper is being able to mark it up.

But, just as cheques gave way to debit cards, paper bank statements are being replaced by electronic ones and other technology.

“Instead of a formal document at the end of the month, it’s a rolling, continuous spending tracker,” Cole Kennedy, a copywriter in New York City, says of his bank’s tracking feature.

His bank also provides graphs of his spending history.

Many banks have tools such as mobile alerts to help prevent fraud, and someday digital banking might affect paper statements too.

“We’re not going to snap our fingers and stop sending paper” to people who want it, says Rob Krugman , chief digital officer at Broadridge, a customer communication and analytics firm that delivers financial statements on behalf of thousands of brands. “But there’s an opportunity to make the paper and the digital work together.”

For example, he says, a one-page statement could have an integrated chip in the paper, which you could scan with a smartphone to see more details online.

Going paperless’ isn’t for everyone

Banks have encouraged customers to opt into electronic statements, or “go paperless,” for over a decade, and the push continues; a quarter of banks now charge a fee to send a paper statement, according to 2014 data from banking analytics firm Novantas.

About 61 per cent of chequeing account customers only receive electronic statements, according to a 2017 survey by Javelin Strategy and Research.

But some people don’t benefit from e-statements. About a third of US households don’t have access to broadband, or high-speed, internet at home, according to a 2015 study by the Pew Research Centre.

Banks, by law, have to make paper statements available as an option. They can’t assume everyone has internet access. Accessing a statement online at a library or other public place might not be as secure as accessing it through your home network. Plus, having a smartphone might not be enough.

It’s “very different seeing a bank statement on a full sheet of paper (rather) than a small screen,” says Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Centre. Certain transactions and bill deadlines on credit card statements might get overlooked and lead to missed payments.

Why some prefer paper

Even people who can easily receive statements online may prefer paper for various reasons:

° To cut through information overload online. Emails about statements can get overlooked in a crowded inbox, and checking e-statements usually requires logging onto online or mobile banking and downloading a PDF.

“Clients who have paper statements check them at least once,” says Dana Twight, certified financial planner and owner of Twight Financial in Seattle. “It comes in the mail and they see it.”

In contrast, Twight adds, her clients with e-statements don’t read them, except maybe around tax time.

° To keep a more permanent record. Computers crash and files get lost, so storing statements digitally isn’t foolproof. Although paper takes up space, having a copy at hand can be more reassuring than one in cyberspace.

° To make it easy for family to find, if necessary. If an older person can no longer manage their finances, relatives might need to step in. Finding paper statements might be easier than tracking down bank website passwords.

Save your statement

Tax audits, lawsuits and other situations may require a bank statement. Storing paper in a safe place is intuitive, but e-statements should be saved offline too, either printed out or saved on your computer. Some banks keep them available online for up to seven years.

Whatever the future may hold for statements—paper or digital—they’re important financial records.

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin may not be regulated by the government, but they’re still subject to being taxed.

There have been various forms of digital currencies around for years, but several have taken off in popularity recently. And that may leave some newcomers to this marketplace unaware that they face taxation on their dealings.

The IRS says that cryptocurrency transactions are taxable by law. That means people who made money (or lost it) on bitcoin trades, “mined” ethereum or even bought a cup of coffee with digital currency face potential tax implications. Failure to report it could mean potential audits, fines and penalties.

There are also people who may be upset to find that cryptocurrencies, which are not linked to a government or central bank, aren’t as off-the-grid as they hoped. Part of their appeal is that it could be used as a new, more anonymous kind of currency that operates outside the traditional banking system and government oversight.

“There’s a very strong sentiment that taxing cryptocurrency is sort of sacrilegious,” said Tyson Cross, a tax attorney in Reno, Nevada who specializes in this niche. “But most people understand there is a difference between upholding a principle on an anonymous internet forum and going to jail over it.”

The IRS didn’t weigh in on how to tax digital currency until 2014 and that remains its only guidance to date. We spoke to a few experts to help break down the basics:

Wait, I owe taxes in this?

Yes, most likely.

All digital currency transactions are taxable events, according to the IRS. That includes if you sell it, trade it, “mine” it, use it to pay for something or were paid with it. Even if you sell cryptocurrency and keep the gains in your exchange account, instead of as real cash in chequeing account, it’s still taxable.

Bought some bitcoin but still holding on to it? Relax, you don’t owe any taxes yet. But any time the digital currency’s value was “realized,” you need to report it.

How it is taxed depends on how you used it, said Lisa Greene Lewis, a CPA and tax expert at TurboTax.

Another key thing to remember is that these digital currencies are taxed as property, instead of currency, for tax reasons. That means the same rules apply if you sell bitcoin as if you sold stocks.

So what do I do?

Keep good records.

It’s tough to figure out the value of some of these transactions. There is software out there to help you figure out your capital gains and losses for digital currencies, such as bitcoin.tax and cointracking.info. You can also seek out a tax professional or other expert who has some experience in this field.

And “be deliberate about when to make crypto trades” says Cross. It’s very easy to get caught up in the next trade without realizing how it’s calculated. You could be racking up considerable capital gains without realizing it.

Our last article, A Local Mittelstand, argued that we cannot leave the diversification of the economy to serendipity, to the expectation that the general public will come up with the ideas that will foster a myriad of SMEs. We spoke therefore, of the need for a foresighting exercise to choose the industries/technologies, set the vision, that we should exploit via innovation, in the creation of globally competitive companies.

The Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB) under the chairmanship of Dr Terrence Farrell, undertook a roadmap exercise, supported by the Cambridge University Group, to select potential export (foreign exchange earnings) activities that should by 2030 deliver some 40 per cent of our foreign exchange. The EDAB foresees, for example, that by this date our fine cocoa could spawn a locally owned franchise selling cocoa drinks worldwide which are prized for their nutraceutical benefits.

Also, using the technologies developed by the Cocoa Research Centre invest in cocoa-growing orchard-based farming systems in Latin America and Africa; a T&T company as the best known marketer of coconut based products and another as the largest international distributor of sauces based on our hot peppers. T&T is also seen as a centre for business process outsourcing employing our accountants, lawyers, software programmers.

Further, our energy services business and professional supply of high level skills to Guyana, Suriname and Africa; transshipment of volumes of products through the new port of Port of Spain; facilitating Chinese plants in the free zone that assemble products for the region; local companies that hold multiple patents for energy efficient motors are all options for development (Reference- Terrence Farrell, “Diversification Strategy and Roadmap: Let’s Do It”).

The diversification of the economy requires public sector investment even of foreign exchange, in order to acquire the required infrastructure, knowledge, its implementation and creation, in the innovation for new companies, existing ones and their scale up to compete internationally. Hence the EDAB recommended, to ensure a secure and continuing source of funding, one that is not subject to the political vagaries of, say, the annual Budget or changes in political regimes, that a certain portion of the income earned by the HSF be assigned by legislation to the funding of the diversification and innovation.

Unfortunately, this did not meet with Cabinet’s approval. Instead the establishment of a hopelessly inadequate innovation fund of some $50million was approved—developed countries assign some 2 per cent of GDP to R&D for innovation which for T&T would be more like $2.8billion!

Let me quote from the Innovation Paradox by the World Bank Group 2017: “Policy consistency and predictability require systems that cultivate innovation policies and institutions over time, overcoming fluctuations in political economy and guaranteeing a predictable environment for long run innovation investing (funding). Instead (in developing countries) there is often limited national consensus on the importance of the innovation agenda and high level commitment, and policy, is subject to weak backing and frequent reversals.”

This says it all for our experience in T&T in trying to set up a national innovation system, though we all mouth the need to diversify the economy.

In general the choices of the EDAB roadmap target the areas in which we have either a comparative advantage and/or some current economic activity; e.g. cocoa, peppers, coconuts, agricultural R&D. Indeed as declared by the World Bank Group in its above publication:

“Firms and governments appear to be leaving billions of dollars on the table in foregone productivity growth and lost competitiveness. Indeed policy advice to move into production baskets thought to be more growth friendly raises the critical point that countries unable to innovate in their present industries are unlikely to do so in new industries”—gives some credibility to the EDAB roadmap that recommends in general incremental innovation/expansion in what we are doing at the moment as opposed to new industries.

The developed world, in the meantime, in carrying out to date the impressive socio-economic developments by the Schumpeter’s policy of creative destruction via the immensity of innovation, provides the knowledge/technology that is used by developing countries in their so-called Schumpeter-catchup growth via incremental innovation. Moreso, the return on investment in the endless innovation by the developed world is substantially higher than that of the developing countries in incremental innovation leading to Prof Anthony Clayton’s comment that incremental innovation is a high risk option for the region- we have to engage in disruptive innovation, we have to create new industries, we have to address global problems.

Yet developing countries lag behind in innovation driven development. As in T&T they lack certain complementaries that include adequate physical and human capital, R&D facilities, trained workers and engineers and adequate governance and managerial practices. However, the late Prof Celestous Juma told us that all it takes to get to the cutting edge of a technology is to send one or two graduates to the relevant research institutions.

In our thrust for diversification do not ask the people to grow peppers, teach them to long for the endless immensity of innovation and diversification becomes a by-product! (With apologies to Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

Specially invited speaker Khali Kwodwo Keyi Ogunlade, an ‘Afrikan’ artist specialising in unique hand-made leather work, talks about his experiences and inspiration behind his creation I Am with members and guests of Traditional Afrikan Women’s Organization (Tawo) at their Morvant installation of the organisation’s monthly conversation recently.

Ogunlade explains he started working on a “blacknificent” piece entitled I Am when he was given an opportunity to meet with Dakota native people in Wyoming, members of the Sioux Nation and first people of North America. He draws on the similarities between their cultures and his, Orisha, and how the cultures intersect.

More of Ogunlade’s works and the inspiration behind them can be found at his site kekiyoarts.com and/or his social media Facebook page ‘Keyiko Afrikan.

Having premiered at Central Bank Auditorium on February 16 and running for the past fortnight, RS/RR Productions’ The Boy Toy goes south this weekend to Naparima Bowl.

The Boy Toy is a two-hour hilarious comedy about lies, lies and more lies and features three of Trinidad’s leading ladies of comedy: Nikki Crosby as a dizzy flight attendant from Venezuela, Penelope Spencer playing Joan a nervous and shy woman who seems to be losing out on loving attention from her husband and seeks the affection of a Boy Toy, and Debra Boucaud Mason who plays Sandra who lends out her house to her best friend Joan without her husband knowing for the secret rendezvous.

Confusion heightens as unexpected guests arrive. From there the confusion escalates as husbands and wives lie with comic bravado through the night leading to a hilarious series of events and complications after complications that had audiences in stitches of laughter in the Central Bank run.

The Boy Toy features alongside Crosby, Boucaud Mason and Spencer the likes of Richard Ragoobarsingh, Aaron Schneider and David Serrette. It is directed by Boucaud Mason and Ragoobarsingh.