Unquestionably, the desired change in the behaviour of our men towards our women in society would require more Herculean and concerted efforts than penning a letter–but it is a start.

In such regards, on the heels of International Women’s Day, celebrated merely a few days ago, our society is yet again plunged into deeper levels of sorrow and grief with the panoply of painful reports of abuse and crimes against women.

Such reports give merit to the argument that women are being targeted for reasons yet to be determined, but reasons assumed to be that of poor education on women’s rights and treatment, failure of men to protect and perform their roles and insufficient attention given by way of policy makers and law enforcement personnel, among others.Conversely, just a couple days ago, a video appeared on social media which

captured the daring, daytime mugging of a woman by a man–in front of another man and in view of several eyewitnesses.

But even worse, is the recent report of a woman being shot dead, apparently for her money while onboard a taxi, en route to the capital city. Ludicrous!

But there is a larger, more frightening picture that has been painted on the canvas. Last year, of all 495 murders, it is reported that 52 women were killed. Of those unfortunate cases, 43 were due to domestic violence.

As men, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves when these statistics come to light–we are failing our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and our nieces.

Equally, however, is the need to provide the tools and training for men to live up to their responsibilities and expectations. We can no longer rely solely on the basic unit of society–the family–to equip men to so do. The family unit in itself is in a state of disrepair.

Truly, in some cases, men were not exposed to primary socialisation and are in little to no way of being equipped to understanding their functions in society. And in others, those men have difficulties coping with the changing dynamics of the role of women in society.

The time has come for all stakeholders to unite and intensify their efforts in educating men and women alike on issues that affect the quality of life for all.

We need those of influence to stand tall and denounce these heinous and cowardly acts perpetrated against our womenfolk.

We need our local women groups to cease having the convenient voice and become consistently vocal on their stance on issues affecting women.

We need each person who observes domestic violence or other crimes against women to report those cases to the police and to support the victim(s) and the officers of whom would seek to see justice prevail.

And, more importantly, we need men to accept their roles as caretakers, as protectors, as leaders so that, as a society, we can reverse the tidal wave of destruction that has seemingly befallen our beloved land.

RYAN NANTON

We were about to travel to Tobago for our usual Easter vacation when the ferry fiasco occurred—again.

The same thing happened to us late last year and we forced to cancel our trip and, needless to say, we will be cancelling again.

My thoughts are of my poor, aged mother who I have not been able to see for over eight months, and will not be enjoying our company once again.

As a person who resided in Tobago for 37 years I got to thinking about why we Tobagonians vote the way we do.

We automatically vote for “one of us” out of loyalty and nothing else and perhaps therein lies the problem of our continued woes. The “one of us” usually take it for granted that his place is assured regardless of the neglect and suffering we may endure.

We have to change this parochial mindset if we are to progress. The person we choose at election time to determine our future must have the interest of all of Tobago at heart, regardless of race, colour, creed or district born.

We must put aside petty prejudices and start examining capabilities of our leaders and not listen to appeals to our baser instincts or we will be surely doomed.

I am truly upset and can’t begin to imagine how Tobagonians, whose livelihoods depend on the inter-island transport system, feel. Let’s all hope that God is also a Tobagonian.

True Tobagonian

Let’s see now what other entity the Government can “buss.” The oil business that has been one of our standard bearers has “gone through” and is costing the taxpayers billions, with a little help from the OWTU.

The whole of Tobago is on the skids—no ferry, Magdalena in ICU, no tourist coming, the people will have to just eat crabs, but not to worry the Prime Minister is from Tobago so we happy with the PNM.

It is blatantly obvious that this administration is absolutely incompetent, but hold your breath, the elections are not too far away so they will start spending soon so that the ignorant and ill-informed will vote for them.

This does not mean that the opposition will or can do any better.

The politicians, all, in this country are inept, corrupt and incompetent.

Gordon Dalla Costa

The population of Tobago is around 60,000, approximately 1/25th the population of Trinidad and Tobago. It is given by law, four per cent or $2.4 billion of the annual budget in direct cash in quarterly instalments.

What many people are not aware of is the additional sum of $2.5 billion in subsidy is given indirectly to Tobago, annually. This is in the form of the purchase of airplanes and ferries to service Tobago.

The staff of these boats and airplanes are paid for by the T&T government. In addition to these subsidies, police, army, coast guard, T&TEC, WASA, Immigration, the port, airports, Magistracy, Government pensions, Magdalena Grand Hotel and a host of other government services are paid by the Government and not the THA.

This makes it a grand total of approximately five billion dollars annually, which is 10 per cent of the budget. Four per cent of the population is given ten per cent of the budget and some Tobagonians now realise that Tobago produces nothing, exports nothing and yet enjoys a comfortable standard of living and, in many cases luxurious living, with no shortage of foreign exchange. According to one Minister from Tobago, the grocery shelves are stocked with high-end foreign products. What made headline news recently is someone planting lettuce in Tobago. Bread is baked in Trinidad and shipped to Tobago and purchased with the annual subsidy.

This $5 billion must not be referred to as a subsidy but as a Disability Grant. A disability grant is given to someone who is unable to generate income to maintain his or her standard of living. However, excessive amounts should not be given, as in the case of Tobago, so that things are so good that many Tobagonians go on luxury cruises with adequate foreign exchange and yet Tobago fails to produce any food for consumption. They are given this excessive disability grant and use it to import all food from Trinidad.

This is so comical that one high ranking individual from Tobago said in 2017 that Tobago expected to see a two per cent growth without tourism or exports. This should attract the top lending agencies as the IMF and the World Bank to show countries with financial problems how to experience growth without productivity or exports.

To compound the comical situation, we have set up a committee to grant Tobago full internal self government so they can pass their own laws. How can you have a functioning self government without any income generation? This committee consists of highly educated citizens and we anxiously await their recommendations.

One of the laws they can pass is to legalise marijuana which will be a good source of income. We could now have Trinidad police in Tobago smoking marijuana in their off days and on their return to Trinidad, arrest people for marijuana possession. The other law they will pass is the ability to borrow excessive sums of money to continue the luxurious lifestyle and Trinidadians will have to be the guarantor of these loans.

Satnarine Singh
La Romain

Last October, Phil Taylor, an American rock performer and music producer from Tennessee was enthusiastic about his project Trini 2 The World.

The show, scheduled to be aired on HBO in September, puts the spotlight on Trinidad artists as they prepare themselves for a possible recording deal under the guidance of Taylor and his production unit Taylor Mayd.

Taylor is still determined to complete the project despite a frightful experience during the Carnival season.

However, the incident, in which he was the victim of a robbery, has not deterred him. But it means there will be a delay in airing.

“I am not giving up on Trini 2 The World. It will be refined and there will be rescheduling,” he said. “I am looking to come back to film in March.”

A video shoot to capture the spirit of the Carnival season, a crucial element to the cultural setting and highlighting the Trinidad characteristic was scrapped because of the incident, which not only affected him but a member of his film crew. Although he did not want to throw Trinidad in a negative light, having been staying in Trinidad for a year and half, he wanted to ensure that there is safety for others.

“We need to have more security cameras,” he said.

He made mention of this as a Facebook status, referencing the Hasely Crawford National Stadium. And later in explaining the nitty gritty of what happened to him, Taylor explained that he was robbed by a group of men in a taxi.

That Monday night was laden with missteps. Already gathering footage for the show, he was delayed at O2 Park, at another party.

By the time he arrived at Machel Monday at the Stadium, he missed out on opportunities to get interviews from some of the soca artistes there.

Leaving the Stadium after the concert ended at 2 am, Taylor realised that his phone battery died, and he could not call for an Uber driver.

He asked a police officer standing nearby if he could assist in getting a trust-worthy taxi and not a “PH.”

“There were two passengers in the car. It was a busy night. I lived in Petit Valley and the driver goes off route, a passenger needed to go the bathroom. I got this weird vibe. The taxi stopped off by the gas station, it was closed.

“So, the driver pulled on the highway, then abruptly stopped. One of the passengers turns around and punches my nose. They take my stuff out—wallet, keys, phones. I hear them laughing, ‘kill him, take him up the road’. As soon as the car came to a stop, I got out the car and kept rolling,” Taylor said.

Despite the trauma, Taylor has seen the positive. Discussions between private sector and government have been initiated about the installation of security cameras at critical buildings such as the Stadium, along the parade routes and concerts for Carnival 2019.

The other positive is the opportunity to regroup, a reassessment in moving forward.

“I am not going to kill the project. Who knows, we would include shots from Carnival next season. We are going to make it happen and safe,” he said.

Taylor has been in Trinidad searching for the voice of T&T. He has selected the talent and the next step is ensuring they have the best opportunity to present themselves to the world.

Trini 2 The World is co-produced by HBO Urban Music Supervisor/Director Don Bartholomew.

In this life, happiness is not a given but it is an idea so well propagated that everyone I know is either holding out for or working towards that fountain of never-ending joy. People are as busy trying to define happiness as they are trying to find it, also.

“Happiness is that feeling that comes over you when you know life is good and you can’t help but smile. It’s the opposite of sadness. Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness,” says vocabulary.com

Joy is considered a different concept altogether. People are joyful for varied reasons in a lifetime. There is joy at every accomplishment in education, the joy of falling in love, the joy at graduation, the birth of a child, getting a new car or a bigger house. But happiness is a little more elusive than this short-lived delight.

I had much time to contemplate on this in the past two weeks of feeling low-spirited and lethargic.

I’ve come to accept, with less guilt now, that tiredness is a major trigger for the undoing of my wellbeing. And so, at the end of an eight-month period in which the non-profit CreateBetterMinds was established and the real work begun, I flatlined. Kaput. Zilch. Nada. You could get very little from me for about two weeks.

Of course this was deepened by the fact that once again, the thieves in my community of Edward Trace, Moruga—a village where I am related to 95 per cent of the residents—decided that I had too much and not considering that I work extremely hard, with no idea how much it takes to work most days, the criminals broke into my home.

Despite all of that, I have been actively pursuing my peace of mind. I have come to realise from the moment my home became everybody’s “shoplifting” centre that people’s thievery is not about my shortcomings. It is their failing and I live in a community of broken stories from which I have been absent working on my mission of building capacity for mental health in T&T and the region.

So once again I ended up in what I have long considered my “zones of nothingness.”

It’s tough to be happy there. It’s a barren, joyless chasm of despair but in the midst of it I am determined more now to find ways to consider my happiness. But, am I happy? What’s the empirical evidence?

“Happiness scores go up when people break habits and behave differently,” says Ben C Fletcher in Psychology Today. “Happiness is the consequence of what we do and how we behave. So when a person who is unhappy shifts their focus and does something different they help themselves to become happier.”

So I found my depressed self reaching out to more people in the last week than I have in the last month. In the midst of my despair, I reached out to someone more despairing than I was; in the midst of grudging taking my medication I took opportunity to emphasise to a few people on different occasions, while peer counselling, how important it is to follow the entire care regime including taking meds.

I realised giving and caring are zones where I touch happy. And so, as Fletcher writes, “Happiness is the consequence of what we do and how we behave,” after satisfying my desire to remain isolated I took my own advice and shifted focus. I engaged my son in a walk on the Queen’s Park Savannah. It was so exhilarating being with a fresh, bright, young mind.

Fletcher believes that when “a person who is unhappy shifts their focus and does something different they help themselves to become happier.” I considered that depression and unhappiness are totally different things but I also deliberated on the fact that they both have elements of sadness and despair and I determined to change what I do.

I recalled something I read in Time Magazine’s 2017 special edition on Can money buy happiness? The lesson is: “Doing things can bring us more joy than having things. Our preoccupation with stuff obscures an important truth: the things that don’t last create the most lasting happiness. (time.com/4856954/can-money-buy-you-happiness/)

The lesson is, in the midst of the struggle, “trying to think yourself happier is difficult; happiness comes when you change what you do.”

• Caroline C Ravello is a strategic communications and media professional and a public health practitioner. She holds an MA with Merit in Mass Communications (University of Leicesster) and is a Master of Public Health With Distinction (The UWI).

Last Sunday there was standing room only at Kaiso Blues Cafe, located on Woodford Street, Newtown, when Toronto-based songstress Charmaine Forde did a sparkling performance.

The Belmont singer, having last performed on a local stage six years ago, attracted many of her loyal fans including T&T-New York diplomat Donna Cox, Woodbrook councillor June Durham, journalist Lennox Grant, Denise Demming, Marlene Goddard, Josanne Lennard, Kathy Sheppard and Kathleen Gittens. Forde’s mother, Babsie, was also in attendance as well as her sister Carol Hobbs and friends from Toronto, Canada.

Forde was accompanied on guitar by Michael Boothman, Stephen Encinas (keyboards), Clint De Coteau and Jonathan Hensley.

Other artistes attending included Bri Celestine, Pelham Goddard, Dean Williams, David and Roger Boothman and Arthur Marcial.

In the traditional economy, a person would take a job and hopefully turn it into a live-long career. This is what the Trinidad dream is all about, you get a steady long-term income and you can build your home, own a car (or SUV), raise a family and get a secure pension.

But that is changing. There is new economy on the rise; it’s called the gig economy. You might be part of it or may find it offers the kind of alternate life style that you might treasure.

What is a gig?

This word may have originated in the music industry, maybe in Jazz, where a newly formed band would move nomadically from location to location. They would earn some money (but frequently not much) and, hopefully, one day a music executive would be in the audience and offer them a record contract. Then they become stars with access to more marketing and production resources to use their talents.

Gig economy

The phrase “gig economy” is a new buzz word. It is part of what the economists would call the informal economy; meaning it does not get counted in the GDP figures. People work temporarily, without typical work contracts, but perform jobs frequently for companies that want to outsource some part of their operation to lower their cost or just looking for some special expertise that they (firms) do not possess.

Smaller firms or individuals may outsource also. Think about that IT technician you hired to do some computer work, usually a young person who is in high school and needs some extra cash to buy the next big software. She is the one who works informally in the shadow economy with no office or business name but she performs valuable work and larger companies should take notice as there is money at the bottom of the pyramid.

A good example is Uber and Airbnb. They “hire” people as independent contractors to use their underutilised cars or homes for customers who want a short-term arrangement, a lower cost alternative.

Airbnb hotel suppliers are not part of the formal hotel industry as would Hilton and Hyatt. Same for Uber, the poster child of the gig economy has created a different market space or a blue ocean. In a blue ocean you avoid the bloodshed of the current players. Change the game instead and compete away from the established firms.

New world of work

Work has changed because of some new drivers. The world is moving to more services, machines and technology (think artificial intelligence and drones). People want things faster and cheaper (think Amazon).

This means the contract of employment has changed. We have more short-term contract employees, temps, on-call employees, independent contractors and people doing PJs (private jobs). Some employees moonlight, afraid that their employers would object on the grounds of a conflict of interest or it will take away from their full-time jobs. But this does not stop the brave and the entrepreneurial.

On the workers’ side things have changed also.

The new worker doesn’t want to spend all her time in one company. She wants new challenges. Some millennials, and especially the Generation Z (post millennials) having mastered social media and the internet, and like the advantages that they can work to reach their full potential.

Working for a company is for their fathers and mothers. Their office is their homes, at Rituals or Starbucks or in their cars. The new world of work is 24/7 and work and play are the same.

When work becomes fun, it’s when you do something you enjoy, when you can create something new, something that you could be proud of.

Here you can reach your highest potential.

Work in transition

Doing jobs as a freelancer might be good for the typical worker but you might have a bigger dream.

You may be able to develop your idea further, test the market and then launch a business—this is a different level. While this may not appeal to the average person, it may for someone who has his sights on being an entrepreneur; creating innovative ideas and testing a new business model.

Starting as a solo entrepreneur is normally where it begins—part-time, doing gigs, when it gets bigger, the feeling of self-sustainability becomes over powering and then the internal debate starts.

• Should I leave my stable job or stay?

• Do I need a safety net as many things can go wrong?

An entrepreneurial mindset will embrace the uncertainty but balance that with calculated risk taking. But it not so easy to launch out on your own.

Gianpiero Petriglieri et al, researched some of the ways independent workers can survive and thrive in the gig economy. Their work published in Harvard Business Review’s March-April 2018 issue and outlines the four types of connections that can help them with the challenges of an unpredictable flow of work and emotional issues that result from being on your own.

1 The first is place. Place is where these successful soloists have designed so they can work uninterrupted and help reduce the feeling of rootlessness. Working out of a home office with all the amenities of a workplace office can give one the feeling of being at work. These freelancers have the option of designing it their way, a luxury one does not have in the corporate world. Cubicle life can be toxic.

2. The second is routines and having a regular pattern of doing tasks like a do-list, a schedule and making calls at a certain time of the day, gives the solo entrepreneur focus and a performance edge.

3. The third is a sense of purpose. Purpose is when the entrepreneur takes work that is aligned to what is important to him. This creates a sense of fulfilment and when the going gets tough, the motivation is there to complete the project.

4. The last is people. We are all social creatures and even with all the technologies to connect, face-to-face connections are still the best form of human interaction.

The authors had one last piece of advice: success in making it in the gig economy requires viability (doing productive work) and vitality (feeling alive in one’s work). Maybe the gig economy is the opportunity for you.

Sajjad Hamid is a SME & family business adviser. He can be contacted via entrepreneurtnt@gmail.com or at entrepreneurtnt.com

The building of its new headquarters in downtown Kingston allowed GraceKennedy Ltd (GKC) to benefit from significant tax relief, which, along with gains from a new acquisition, helped it report an improved net result for 2017.

Let us now review GKC’s results to December 31, 2017.

Changes in financials

Total assets expanded by 2.8 per cent to J$129.9 billion from $126.5 billion.

Gross investments securities and pledged assets declined to J$36.8 billion from J$39.3 billion; the pledged portion contracted from J$15.4 billion to J$4.9 billion. Government of Jamaica securities fell to J$12.9 billion from J$17.9 billion while Bank of Jamaica instruments closed at J$9.9 billion from J$10.6 billion. The largest increase was corporate bonds, which expanded to J$9.5 billion from J$6.7 billion.

Loans receivable rose 6.3 per cent from J$25.9 billion to J$27.5 billion. Of this sum, J$6.9 billion is receivable in US dollars.

Receivables expanded by 15.8 per cent to J$15.85 billion from J$13.7 billion. The largest contributor to this increase was net insurance receivables, which swelled to almost J$3.0 billion from J$1.8 billion; these reflected sums due from reinsurers resulting from hurricane damages in the later part of the year.

Meanwhile, other receivables climbed to J$1.5 billion from J$0.9 billion.

Of its total loans and other receivables, its largest exposures were to individuals of J$10.1 billion (2016: J$8.7 billion), professional and other services of J$4.9 billion (2016: J$4.6 billion) and J$3.3 billion to the distribution sector (2016: J$4.1 billion).

Inventories were little changed, moving from J$11.5 billion to J$11.3 billion. The value of merchandise increased to J$6.9 billion from J$6.3 billion while goods in transit fell to J$1.5 billion from J$2.2 billion.

Cash and deposits declined to J$12.08 billion from J$12.28 billion. The major fall was shown under deposits, which closed at J$2.3 billion from J$2.6 billion. Of the total, J$6.4 billion was denominated in Jamaican currency while J$4.3 billion was due in US dollars.

Total liabilities were marginally higher at J$82.98 billion from J$82.94 billion.

Customers’ deposits increased to J$33.53 billion from $30.65 billion or by 9.4 per cent. Of this total, J$16.8 billion was denominated in US dollars while J$16.4 billion was due in Jamaican currency.

Notably, securities sold under agreements to repurchase contracted to J$3.8 billion from J$12.3 billion.

Bank and other loans grew to J$16.5 billion from J$13.2 billion. The bank overdraft component expanded to J$2.68 billion from J$1.97 billion.

In addition, bank borrowings advanced from J$8.44 billion to J$10.84 billion; the bulk of these loans mature within twelve months.

Payables rose to J$22.2 billion from J$20.3 billion. Consistent with hurricane losses, insurance claims climbed to J$4.2 billion from J$2.97 billion. In addition, other payables swelled to J$3.6 billion from J$2.1 billion.

Equity gains

Total equity expanded from J$43.54 billion to J$47.01 billion. Excluding non-controlling interests of J$1.79 billion, shareholders’ equity advanced from J$42.06 billion to J$45.22 billion.

Share capital fell increased from J$534.25 million to J$540.95 million. This expansion reflected the net issuance of 275,000 new shares totalling J$6.7 million.

Capital and fair value reserves mostly benefitted from other comprehensive income of J$274.5 million and closed at J$6.09 billion from J$5.81 billion; the largest contributor was net fair value gains of J$250.4 million.

Retained earnings improved from J$29.33 billion to J$32.12 billion. This component benefitted from the current year’s comprehensive income of J$4.18 billion, which was then reduced by dividends of J$1.12 billion and transfers totalling J$275.2 million to capital and banking reserves.

The weighted average number of shares increased from 993,087,000 to 993,618,000; consequently, the book value of each stock unit improved to J$45.51 from J$42.36.

Revenues, profits

Total revenues advanced by 4.8 per cent to J$92.48 billion from J$88.27 billion. However, expenses increased by 5 per cent to J$88.94 billion from J$84.68 billion. Consequently, gross profit fell by 1.4 per cent to J$3.53 billion from J$3.58 billion.

The sale of products improved to J$72.6 billion from J$68.8 billion while financial services income grew to J$7.8 billion from J$7.5 billion.

Consistent with higher product sales inventory costs rose to J$50.4 billion from J$47.6 billion while staff costs registered at J$13.8 billion from J$13.5 billion. Interest and similar expenses increased to J$5.2 billion from J$4.99 billion and legal, professional and other fees consumed J$3.6 billion from J$3.0 billion.

Other income declined to J$2.09 billion from J$2.38 billion. Here, there were four major swings that, in total, were insufficient to match the previous year’s out-turn. The relative stability of the Jamaican dollar resulted in a contraction in net foreign exchange gains to J$282.8 million from J$785.4 million.

Also, the gain on disposal of investments shrunk to J$45.7 million from J$610.6 million. However, fees and commissions improved to J$486.9 million from J$310 million.

Finally, there was a one-off gain of J$418.5 million on the acquisition of Consumer Brands Ltd; the total purchase consideration of J$1.1 billion was less than the net assets acquired of J$1.52 billion.

These changes saw the profit from operations close at J$5.62 billion from J$5.97 million.

Interest income from non-financial services edged up to J$378.2 million from J$372.3 million while interest expense from non-financial services closed at J$662.9 million from J$676.9 million.

Meanwhile, the share of profit from its associated companies expanded to J$485 million from J$441 million. The contribution from its 50 per cent owned Dairy Industries Jamaica Ltd improved from J$360.5 million to J$370 million. In addition, the net profit from CSGK Finance Holdings (40 per cent owned) rose to J$115.5 million from J$83.5 million.

These changes saw pre-tax profit decline to J$5.82 billion from 2016’s J$6.10 billion.

The effective tax rate dropped from 25.7 to 18.0 per cent. Consequently, taxation fell to J$1.05 billion from J$1.57 billion. This contraction was largely influenced by the urban renewal tax credit of J$416.4 million, which was granted on the basis of the construction of its US$25 million (J$3.125 billion) headquarters in downtown Kingston.

This brought the net profit up to J$4.77 billion (2016: J$4.53 billion). After removing the profit due to minority interests of J$656 million, the profit attributable to shareholders registered at J$4.12 billion versus J$4.00 billion for 2016; that result translated to diluted EPS of J$4.14 from J$4.03.

(The bulk of non-controlling interests of J$628.3 million reflects the 25 per cent stake in GraceKennedy Money Services Caribbean SRL, which is owned by Western Union.)

Divisional performance

Despite the temporary suspension of services in some territories in the early part of 2017, the money services segment maintained its profit performance; it continues to be the largest source of profit for the group.

The Jamaican branch of the food trading segment was strengthened with the acquisition of Consumer Brands Ltd, which is a distributor for Proctor & Gamble products and other international brands.

At the American branch, growth was driven by the Grace and LaFe brands.

The Canadian operations established a relationship with the warehouse club Costco. These developments are expected to fuel further growth in its North American operations.

In contrast, the UK operations suffered some setbacks with its “Nourishment” brand of milk drinks; new promotional activities are expected to resolve that challenge.

Hurricane activity damaged the results of the insurance sector.

Building on its strong improvement in both revenues and profit, growth in the banking sector is expected to be fuelled by the recent acquisition of a licence to pursue agent banking activities and the further development of its “money link” activities.

Investor returns

On the JSE, over its fiscal year, GKC’s share price increased from J$40.29 to end at J$43.84 last December. Last Wednesday, the price spiked to J$55.00 but then closed at J$46.54.

On the TTSE, the price opened at TT$2.67 and closed at TT$3 last December and then settled at TT$3.35 last Wednesday.

Dividends improved from J$1.02 in calendar 2016 to J$1.13 in calendar 2017. Concurrent with the release of its 2017 results, the company announced that it would pay its first dividend of J$0.40 (2017: J$0.30) in May 2018. This 33 per cent increase might suggest that total dividends for calendar 2018 could be as high as J$1.50.

The J$46.54 price reflects a P/E multiple of 11.2 and offers investors a trailing dividend yield of 2.6 per cent. That price also exhibits a modest premium of 2.3 per cent above its book value of J$45.51.

Recent developments

On January 10, 2018, GK Investments, a subsidiary of GKC, announced that it had acquired a one-third stake in Gray’s Pepper Products Ltd, which is one of Jamaica’s largest processors of seasonings and sauces.

In Goddard Enterprises Ltd’s Annual Report, they stated that they had signed a letter of intent to sell Globe Finance Inc, to a third party; Sagicor is a shareholder in Globe Finance. On February 8, 2018, Barbados Today reported that Signa Financial and Globe Finance were exploring a possible merger. The shareholders of Signia Financial are Massy United Insurance, Cave Shepherd and GraceKennedy.

On February 14, 2018, GKC confirmed that it was exploring the possible merger of the two entities; will GKC eventually emerge as the largest or sole shareholder in the combined entity?

In the next article, we will review the 2017 results of Jamaica Stock Exchange Ltd.

Trading activity on the First Tier Market registered a volume of 582,795 shares crossing the floor of the Exchange valued at $15,099,427.03. Angostura Holdings Ltd was the volume leader with 205,260 shares changing hands for a value of $3,222,629.80, followed by Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago Ltd with a volume of 88,670 shares being traded for $5,541,558.11. First- Caribbean International Bank Ltd contributed 88,598 shares with a value of $823,961.40, while Prestige Holdings Ltd added 35,783 shares valued at $359,619.15.

Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago Ltd registered the day’s largest gain, increasing $0.48 to end the day at $62.50. Conversely, Massy Holdings Ltd registered the day’s largest decline, falling $0.05 to close at $47.44.

Clico Investment Fund was the only active security on the Mutual Fund Market, posting a volume of 5,743 shares valued at $115,434.30.

Clico Investment Fund remained at $20.10. Bourse Brazil Latin Fund remained at $8.40. Calypso Macro Index Fund remained at $20.48. Fortress Caribbean Property Fund Ltd SCC - Development Fund remained at $0.67. Fortress Caribbean Property Fund Ltd SCC - Value Fund remained at $1.70. Praetorian Property Mutual Fund remained at $3.05.

The Second Tier Market did not witness any activity. Mora Ven Holdings Ltd remained at $14.49.

The Evolving Tecknologies and Enterprise Development Company Limited (eTecK) has undertaken aggressive debt collection as it targets an outstanding $14 million and is also ending 99-year leases.

This was indicated by company chairman Imtiaz Ahamad and acting president Maureen Singh when eTecK management appeared before a Parliamentary committee on Monday.

Ahamad had said the company’s two biggest issues were making the Magdalena Grand hotel in Tobago viable and tenanting the $1. billion Tamana Industrial Park. Solution-wise, eTeck is sourcing a new long-term operator for the Magdalena - due by October - and is working with InvesTT finding more tenants for the 21-site park.

The company is also devising other ways to meet challenges.

Singh said eTecK is also owed $14m by debtors up to periods of four months and the company has focused heavily on debt collection in the last year. Seventy-five per cent of the debt is collectible, she added. Its own debt - $455 million - is being serviced by the Finance Ministry.

Ahamad said there are other areas under way to improve eTeck’s position, including cost control and exploring service fees for leases that permit this. The new board also decided to end 99-year leases due to the economic situation. He said eTeck would take on board the parliamentary committee’s advice to dialogue with lease holders on reducing lease periods like the 99-year leases.

Committee member David Small said, “You can’t have people sitting on prime property paying $1 a year for a lease or paying less than $100 per square foot for leased land - like in Diamond Vale.”

The company is also focusing on its agro-processing industrial park at Moruga, which Singh said is needed for communities in that region. Other plans to increase asset base involve another industrial park - the 133-acre Phoenix Park project. Plans are also in the works to sell unused sites.

Businessman Phillip Weston, owner of popular PRW Enterprises which is head-quartered in San Juan, has died.

Weston, 58, a father of two and grandfather of one, died on Monday night after recently recovering from pneumonia, his wife Shanti said yesterday. In an interview with the T&T Guardian, Shanti said Weston died of heart failure at the St James Infirmary.

Weston operated six branches of PRW across T&T and was one of the leading suppliers of computer and computer accessories across the Eastern Caribbean for more than 20 years.

Shanti said she married Weston in 2000 and they had more plans to build the company.

“We will still move forward with the company in memory of him. He wanted to go up the island and yes I definitely plan to do that for him,” she said.

She described Weston as the “most loving, respectable, great businessman and awesome husband.”

“Everyone who knew him loved that man. He will be dearly missed by everyone of us,” she said.

The funeral will be held at the Trinidad Christian Centre, Morne Coco Road, Petit Valley, on Friday at 10 am.

San Juan Business Association PRO Abrahim Ali said yesterday that Weston had made a huge impact on the country’s financial sector.

“He has contributed tremendously in providing services to the social media of the country and we will surely miss the contribution that he has provided to our sector.

We extend condolences to his immediate family and friends as they mourn his passing,” he said.

If all members of the higher judiciary are entitled to similar accrued vacations that the Chief Justice is now invoking, we might be looking at another judicial and financial problem in this country.

Sabbaticals and vacations seem to be interchangeable this week. The definitions appear to apply to those burnt out, who want to study or perhaps those looking at the best possible way to walk away from a situation, complex and overwhelming enough, to hope that when you return, the firestorm you slipped away from has died down.

The team leading the Chief Justice would have anticipated the next steps after the first round of this case. If sabbatical was too controversial, why not vacation? The bottom line—get the client far enough away from the firing line till the fire dies down. But is this quick turnaround of application and approval for accrued leave an entitlement of all members of the higher judiciary, specifically in circumstances like these?

Neither a sabbatical nor a vacation will put an end to questions that have arisen in the matters involving the CJ, already in the public domain.

There is a curious difference—in life in general—between what is permissible and what is right.

Big bad multinationals or naive local negotiators

It’s getting too easy to paint a picture of big bad multinational energy companies taking advantage of nalve little Caribbean islands.

Little Caribbean islands have produced some of the most skilled negotiators, brilliant minds and talented legal experts in almost every field, many of whom have had an impact around the world.

During yesterday’s “Spotlight on Energy” the Prime Minister put his foot down, on—let’s face it—some pretty poor deals which various previous local administrations agreed to, without doing proper long-term analysis.

The Prime Minister is right to insist that we reopen some of the deals this country has made. You can’t exactly blame a multinational negotiating with a country that either chose bad negotiators, or made arrangements in the interest of only a few.

Good luck, Lyle

May Lyle Alexander, the retired Defence Force Commander who has decided to walk the gang plank into the Port Authority, find his way and have better luck than his predecessors. It’s great optics to have a title like that, just as great as the optics of getting a private sector player to look into the mess last year. But we need to sort out the matters affecting our Port and the seabridge urgently. It’s unproductive, old and embarrassing.

In a nation desperately looking for an avenue, if not a miracle, to peg back the criminal elements, I can safely say that almost every law abiding citizen, after several years thinking that we would finally get a substantive Police Commissioner appointed based on a stringent process to select the best candidate, all very disappointed.

We have seen a disaster emanating, based on a process that last several months and over $3 million taxpaying dollars down the drain, as several revelations showed that the process was indeed badly flawed and the more I have listened to the Special Select Committee interviewing the Police Service Commission, the more I am convinced that this PSC failed miserably in their objective.

But rather than cry over split milk, what is important is to ensure that history does not repeat itself and I believe it starts and ends by the new President selecting a new PSC that is fully aware that this process is not about them and who they feel should be Commissioner, but to adhere to the process and the law that stipulates the process to ensure that the best person is appointed for the post.

My personal opinion is that the outgoing president must take some responsibility for what has taken place as he selected this PSC, inclusive of the chairman. Even prior to this Pandora’s Box being opened at the SSC hearing, I realised that we were set for a disaster, when Professor Deosaran, a highly-qualified Criminologist, at the JSC over the Audit to TTPS, rightly stated that the view of the public should have a part to play in the process over the selection of the Police Commissioner, as the public confidence and trust in who is selected has a major part to play in his success, hence the domino effect of the success or failure of the Police Service.

One would expect that to appoint such individuals for such a critical Commission, a stringent approach would have to take place, inclusive of ensuring that highly-qualified persons are appointed, with a high degree of knowledge, experience and qualification in the field of criminology or law enforcement, as we have seen in the past when one of the most respected criminologists in the Caribbean was Chairman, being the same Professor Deosaran.

I pray that the incoming President would be very meticulous in selecting not just the new PSC Chairman but also the other four PSC members, and that they too should be qualified and trained with credentials and experience worthy to select and monitor the performance of a Police Commissioner.

I do hope that President-elect Weekes gets this one right, as this may be her first and probably one of the most critical decisions in her tenure as President.

Vindra Doolam

In 2004, Hurricane Ivan threatened the southern coastline of the United States. The Louisiana State government in assessing its readiness noted significant deficiencies. In particular, the levees were in disrepair and would burst if the hurricane hit, flooding roadways thereby significantly affecting any evacuation, hinder rescue efforts and add to the hurricane damage. Ivan spared Louisiana and disaster was averted. But the authorities did nothing to remedy these deficiencies.

One year later, Hurricane Katrina struck with devastating consequences from which New Orleans is still recovering 13 years later.

There are three lessons to be learnt from this experience. First, that you need to do your homework. Second that having identified systemic weaknesses, action must be taken to correct them. If you fail to plan, prepare to fail. Third, corrective action must be taken in a timely manner.

At a May 2012 luncheon hosted by the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Robert Riley, former president of bpTT, warned that the NGC model was outmoded. He noted that the model made NGC a virtual cash cow “trapping cash in the middle of the chain and diverting it to the state”.

Riley noted that the NGC had to accept a decline in its profitability if the sector was to remain competitive.

In 2013, CEOs on the estate wrote the then Minister of Energy noting the disparity inherent in the model especially in the light of the gas shortages.

Dividends from the “cash cow” in the sum of TT$16 billion facilitated the continuation of government’s unsustainable recurrent expenditure in the 2014-16 period and its profits financed several wasteful projects that are incomplete or abandoned.

An NP (?) pipeline station in Caroni that remains incomplete and unused after several years; a billion-dollar wastewater project that was abandoned and is the subject of a civil court action, to name two.

This history is unlikely to endear NGC to the downstream plants owners or to the public.

Fast forward to 2018. The gas shortage of the last four years is narrowing. Meanwhile, the gas market has changed. The shale revolution lowered gas prices in the US and allowed the US to become an exporter.

Contemporaneously, and as predicted by Riley in 2012, the gas pools are smaller and upstream costs have increased.

The Minister of Energy has pronounced that “the era of cheap gas is over”. Natural gas, however, remains a profitable and growing business, but margins are thinner and an acceptable, revised formula for sharing of the proceeds is outstanding.

The breakdown in negotiations with CNC and the decision by NGC to curtail gas supplies to CNC signalled NGC’s desperation to cling to its original business model.

This is the first of ten contract negotiations due to take place over the next 12 months; hence the need to set the tone for the other negotiations? The outcome of these negotiations could well determine the future of NGC, the petrochemical sector and the economy.

Yesterday, at the close of the Spotlight on Energy Conference at the Hyatt, the Prime Minister announced that the gas supply to CNC had been restored.

NGC has been at the core of the Government’s policy. This is exemplified by the prominence of its chairmen. Malcom Jones, engineer, close friend of PM Manning; Larry Howai went on to become the Minister of Finance; Gerry Brooks, former business executive, was rumoured to be in line for several cabinet posts including that of Finance Minister.

NGC’s actions and the public role of Mr Brooks place him at the centre of the impasse. The closure was damaging; NGC, CNC and the country all lost money estimated at US$250K per day. No business can survive without customers or with the wrong business model. Mr Brooks should know that, given his training and experience.

On February 15, it was publicly announced that NGC had lost its arbitration with Point Lisas Nitrogen Ltd (PLNL). PLNL had offered a compromise to renew the contract at higher rates than the previous contract but less than NGC’s proposals. NGC lost, and the arbitration tribunal-imposed prices which were lower than those offered by PLNL.

The CNC issue bears a strong similarity to that of PLNL. For reasons unknown, NGC (Brooks? The Government?) turned down the CNC offer. Is the agreement announced yesterday any different from the original offer?

Like the Seabridge disaster, which continues to unfold generating significant negative effects, the candle may cost more than the funeral. By now, NGC ought to have calculated the various scenarios, options and the down side risks estimated.

T&T’s reputation as a place to do business is likely to have been significantly damaged in the process. This requires cold, unemotional calculations and a recrafting of NGC’s strategic business model.

Times have changed, but the need for leadership and management have not.

Mariano Brown

Established in 1965 Antillean All Stars, one of the oldest steel orchestras in San Fernando, is in the process of developing an after-school space in its pan yard for the youth in the community.

The goal of the management of the orchestra is to further develop the youth from within the community, in academics, musical literacy and practical theory of steelpan, and other musical instruments.

Through an application to the Digicel Foundation’s Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities (EPIC) programme, the management team of the Antillean All Stars orchestra secured a grant for $33,750 to construct the space along with restrooms for the band members.

On February 27, Digicel Foundation’s Operations Manager Cindyann Currency met with Antillean All Stars president Jerod Williams, who showed her the progress made on the space. With the work underway, the aim is to have the project completed by the end of March and to have the space up and running before the Easter break.

The long-term plans for the area will be two-fold, as the intension is to have the facility also used as a revenue generator for the band and for some of its other social initiatives in which it is involved.

US-based T&T songstress Charmaine Forde held nothing back when she made a resounding return to the local stage at Kaiso Blues Café last Sunday with We Kinda Jazz.

Whatever was in the liquid concoction passed to her by her friend Patrice Grey-Smith at the start of the show, it worked magic on Forde’s supposedly sore throat from rigorous rehearsals the evenings before.

Her rich voice showed no sign of even the most minor injury.

There was no gratuitous exploring of the great standards, but the best female jazz singers are known to expertly employ vocal range and treatment when interpreting music from a wide range of available genres.

In this respect, there was also little by way of indigenous compositions to bring meaning to the evening’s billing. But who really cared anyway?

Kicking off an energetic set before a packed house was a faithful rendition of the 1980 hit What You Won’t Do For Love, originally produced for Forde by guitarist Michael Boothman who led musical accompaniment for the show. Later on, the music veteran intervened with some of his trademark cool jazz solos.

On the keyboard was 1980s hit-maker under the Kalinda label, Stephen Encinas. Encinas is best known for his 1979 ballad Rock-A-Bye Baby Love and memorable collaborations with legendary drummer/percussionist Toby Tobas.

The youngsters on deck providing competent support, were Clint DeCoteau on the bass and Jonathan Hensely on the drums.

DeCoteau and Hensely emerge from the Boothman stable of musical protégés. The veteran guitarist currently leads a musical mentorship programme involving new and upcoming talent.

Forde’s opening statement was followed by a dreamy rendition of Anita Baker’s Caught Up In The Rapture which set the stage for a selection of jazzy interpretations of popular R&B/Pop hits of the past and present such as Roberta Flack’s Feel Like Making Love and Sam Smith’s Stay With Me.

Nothing to betray the age demographic of an audience more than the sing-along segments and Forde worked a knowledgeable crowd that included the likes of Pelham Goddard, Arthur Marcial, David and Roger Boothman, and a cross-section of other accomplished musicians and aficionados.

Encinas could have done the same with his memorable 1979 paean to the children of the world, but instead chose to provide background vocals and elaborate support on the keys.

Boothman, on the other hand, knew he could not get away without a contemporary treatment of his 1977 hit, Heaven. It was what the crowd needed as a valuable lagniappe during an evening that promised We Kinda Jazz and delivered much more.

It may well be that Sunday’s standing-room-only show signals the need for a larger space for quality presentations of this kind. The customary Kaiso Blues Café quality service however helped keep things classy and cozy.

In celebration of Alta’s 25th anniversary, Alta students around the country were asked to write about the impact the organisation has had on their lives.

Since 1992, Alta has provided classes around the country for thousands of Trinidadians who struggle with reading and writing.

Alta students enrol in the programme at many different levels of literacy and leave when they have accomplished their literacy goals.

While it is difficult to manage work and family life alongside Alta classes, students continue to persevere and in all cases see changes in their lives after attending Alta classes.

In the coming weeks, Alta will share their pieces through this column.

This week, two students from the NALIS Port-of-Spain venue share how Alta has impacted their lives.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more Alta student writing on the impact the organisation has had on their lives.

The T&T Fashion Company Limited (FashionTT) is inviting applications for the second cohort of the Value Chain Investment Programme (VCIP). This programme is aimed at providing designers strategic assistance to improve their business performance at varied stages of development.

Since its start in 2016, the VCIP has been the cornerstone of the Strategic Plan for the fashion industry. The VCIP assesses local firms by an independent international panel and categorises each firm into one of the four levels of the programme:

1. The Global Value Chain (GVC) Support Programme

2. Non-Global Value Chain (non-GVC) Support Programme

3. Incubator Programme for New/Young High Potential Companies or Partnerships

4. Firms that are Earmarked for Future Support

FashionTT general manager Lisa-Marie Daniel, stated, “the fashion industry is filled with a vast array of creative professionals and this programme is meant to hone these innate talents and produce fashion designers who are focused on the business of fashion and not only the craft/talent side.”

In 2016, a panel consisting of three fashion industry experts, founder of Geoff & Company, Geoff Cooper and professors at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Raymond Wong and Vincent Quan, interviewed various designers before allocating them to their respective level in the programme.

FashionTT partnered with the National Entrepreneurship Development Company Limited (Nedco) to deliver the third tier of the VCIP, the Incubator Programme. The programme is a collaborative initiative designed to enhance the products and services of local fashion businesses. It examines and identifies gaps in designers’ business model, structure and operations, so that solutions can be addressed for a more sustainable business. A total of 11 designers benefited from being a part of the programme.

Also selected by the panel of fashion experts was the first ever cohort of five designers to participate in the second tier of the VCIP, the Non-Global Value Chain (non-GVC) Support Programme; Ecliff Elie, J Angelique, Charu Lochan Dass, Millhouse and Ted Arthur Leather Collections.

Each designer was presented with the opportunity to meet one on one with Vincent Quan, the VCIP consultant, to gain valuable advice and guidance on their firm’s business strategies. Professor Quan identified gaps which needed to be bridged by each firm and provided customised plans and attainable goals for over the programme’s five-year period.

With support from FashionTT and the guidance of professor Quan, each designer was able to make noteworthy advancements under the VCIP programme in the areas of social media presence, business planning and growth, and technology.

Daniel explained: “It is never an easy road to travel but it is a rewarding one. FashionTT will continue to do its part in helping develop our local designers, and the industry as a whole, through VCIP. We hope that stakeholders take advantage of this open call and apply.”

Designers interested in obtaining funding from FashionTT during the fiscal are required to participate in this open call and interview process. For more information, or to apply, visit www.fashiontt.co.tt/VCIP or call 622-1455.

ABOUT THE T&T FASHION COMPANY LTD

The T&T Fashion Company Limited (FashionTT) was established in 2013 with the mandate to stimulate and facilitate the business development and export activity of the fashion industry in T&T to generate national wealth. As a subsidiary of the T&T Creative Industries Company Limited (CreativeTT), FashionTT provides service for our local fashion industry stakeholders primarily fashion designers in the areas of fashion apparel, functional apparel and accessories.

The strategic plan for T&T’s fashion industry can be found at www.fashiontt.co.tt/strategy and more detailed information on the various projects and initiatives spearheaded by FashionTT can be found on www.fashiontt.co.tt