Quantcast
Channel: The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper
Viewing all 18762 articles
Browse latest View live

Caesar to rule in Arima today

$
0
0
Published: 
Saturday, April 14, 2018

The Glenn Mendez trained Caesar’s Country makes his belated appearance today in the feature event for imported threeyear- old and over maidens and horses rated 75-50 going over a distance of 1,750 metres.

This event sees two trainers Glenn Mendez and Harriram Gobin saddling two entrants in the main event at Santa Rosa Park in Arima.

Mendez will have Caesar Country and Hurricane Harry to fly the stable flag with Ricky Jadoo opting for Caesar Country.

This horse was highly regarded at a juvenile and finished second in the Guineas before disappointing later in his career.

He makes his return to racing for a very shrewd trainer and could return to winning ways.

Stablemate Hurricane Harry is expected to run a bold race and could upset the applecart if his more vaunted stablemate does not fire.

Glenn Mohammed saddles two runners in Hello and Peace N Glory and both must be respected on their best form.

Hello is attractively weighted on his Derby form and must go close with a penny-stamp for the in-form Ri Hernandez.

Stablemate Peace and Glory cannot be ruled out with three kilos Omar Mohammed taking over the reins.

The Harold Chadee trained Wots To Report must have outstanding chance if improving from the last race.

Post time is 12.45 pm.


Sando East wins Victoria Games

$
0
0
Published: 
Saturday, April 14, 2018

San Fernando East Zone was crowned champions of the Ministry of Education Victoria Education District Sports Association (VEDSA); bmobile Track & Field Championships which sprinted off at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella recently.

After over 30 action-packed events, San Fernando East concluded their competitive campaign with a golden tally of 422 points. They clinched a narrow six-point victory over two-time defending champions, San Fernando North (416) while Williamsville (323) held on to third place overall.

Rounding off the District were Claxton Bay/Tortuga (320), Gasparillo (297), La Romaine/Debe (214) and Lengua/Barrackpore (152) respectively. The triumphant zone will now represent the Victoria District at the National Primary School Championships on May 23.

“This is bmobile’s eighth year of sponsorship and we are once again pleased to be a major part of the Victoria District Games,” said TSTT vice president of Corporate Communications, Marsha Caballero.

“It is one of the cornerstones on which TSTT invests in young boys and girls who will make up the nation’s future sportsmen and women. We believe that sport should be considered a vital aspect of youth development and our organisation is committed to supporting our youth. Congratulations to every school represented at the 2018 Games and good luck at the upcoming National Championships.”

In his short address, Chairman of VEDSA and Games Co-ordinator, Azard Mohammed, paid a special tribute to departing Cunjal Government Primary School principal, Dayanan Ramsaran, for his stalwart contribution to education. He also recognised all participating schools for their heightened focus on physical education and external development outside of the classroom.

“Each athlete has trained and worked hard to represent their school at the meet,” he said. “They are competing at a very high level. This is the stage which serves as a stepping stone for kids who intend to further their prowess in athletics and sport as a whole. It would not have been possible however, without the sponsorship from bmobile and for this we thank them.”

One such student-athlete, Sierra Joseph of Vistabella Presbyterian Primary School (San Fernando North), showed class on the track by copping gold in the Girls Under-13 100 metres, 200m and 400m. She also played a crucial role in carrying her zone to victory in the 4x100m with fellow sprinters Destiny Douglas, Kaira Baird and Tyler Howe.

Having represented T&T at the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) Games in 2014, Joseph has been using competitions such as the VEDSA Championships for additional training towards achieving her goal of becoming a professional athlete.

“To prepare for today’s events, I did a lot of jumping jacks, drills and other exercises. I am working towards representing my country at other tournaments. But, I must listen to my coach and continue to train hard. I love track and there’s a lot of work I have to put in to become successful,” stated the Simplex Athletics athlete.

SELECTED TRACK RESULTS

3k: 1 Liam Carrington (San Fernando TML); 2 Hakeem Chinapoo (Ste. Madeline Government); 3 Joshua Braithwaithe (Marabella Government)
60m Girls U-9: 1 Alissa Jeremiah (Claxton Bay/Tortuga); 2 Kimora Duncan (Gasparillo); 3 Tasyah George (San Fernando North)
60m Boys U-9: 1 Josiah Huggins (San Fernando North); 2 Jeduthun Emptage (San Fernando East); 3 Donelle Ramnarine (Williamsville)
100m Girls U-11: 1 Jael Archibald (San Fernando North); 2 Akira Malavar (San Fernando East); 3 Azelia Mills (Williamsville)
100m Boys U-11: 1 Kadeem Chinapoo (San Fernando East); 2 Timothy Hamilton (San Fernando North); 3 Kiel Marshall (Gasparillo)
100m Girls U-13: 1 Sierra Joseph (San Fernando North); 2 Aniela Packette (Claxton Bay/Tortuga); 3 Annelyn Lewis (Williamsville)
100m Boys U-13: 1 Hakeem Chinapoo (San Fernando East); 2 Emmanuel James (La Romain/Debe); 3 Chaz Forde (San Fernando North)
300m Girls U-11: 1 Missy Rudder (La Romain/Debe); 2 Mieka Balfour (Gasparillo); 3 Yohel Ramnarine (San Fernando North)
300m Boys U-11: 1 Moses Boatswain (Gasparillo); 2 Akiel George (San Fernando East); 3 Kyron Baptiste (Claxton Bay/Tortuga)
400m Girls U-13: 1 Sierra Joseph (San Fernando North); 2 Brianna Rampersad (San Fernando East); 3 Kaadijah Arnold (Claxton Bay/Tortuga)
400m Boys U-13: 1 Hakeem Chinapoo (San Fernando East); 2 Emmanuel James (La Romain/Debe); 3 Christian Weekes (San Fernando North)
1500m Walk Girls Open: 1 Onika Mike (Williamsville); 2 Markaylia Hamilton (Gasparillo); 3 Ashia Chinapoo (Claxton Bay/Tortuga)
1500m Walk Boys Open: 1 Jahmal Castang (San Fernando North); 2 Salem Thompson (Gasparillo); 3 Zackariah John (Claxton Bay/Tortuga)
Selected Field Events
Shot Putt Girls 13-15: 1 Jenessa Doughty (San Fernando East); 2 Amaya Hills (Claxton Bay/Tortuga); 3 Haile Cox (Gasparillo)
Long Jump Girls U-11: 1 Jahzarah Zamore (Gasparillo); 2 Rayanna Gilbert (Lengua/Barrackpore); 3 Azelia Mills (Williamsville)
Long Jump Boys U-11: 1 Moses Boatswain (Gasparillo); 2 Ganesh Gobin (Lengua/Barrackpore); 3 Luke Blackie (Williamsville)
Discus Boys 13-15: 1 Ronaldo Patterson (La Romain/Debe; 2 Jabari Charles (Claxton Bay/Tortuga); 3 Kyal Marcano (San Fernando North)
Javelin Girls 13-15: 1 Shakira Wright (San Fernando East); 2 Isabel Basdai (Williamsville); 3 Haile Cox (Gasparillo)
Javelin Boys 13-15: 1 Jabari Charles (Claxton Bay/Tortuga); 2 Nicholas Maharaj (San Fernando North); 3 De Shaun Wong Shing (La Romain/Debe)
Relay Results
4x100m Girls U-9: 1 San Fernando North; 2 Gasparillo; 3 Claxton Bay/Tortuga
4x100m Boys U-9: 1 San Fernando East; 2 Williamsville; 3 Claxton Bay/Tortuga
4x100m Girls U-11: 1 San Fernando North; 2 San Fernando East; 3 Williamsville
4x100m Boys u-11: 1 San Fernando East; 2 Gasparillo; 3 San Fernando North
4x100m Girls U-13: 1 San Fernando North; 2 Claxton Bay/Tortuga; 3 San Fernando East
4x100m Boys U-13: 1 San Fernando East; 2 San Fernando North; 3 Williamsville

Baptiste: Pro League can benefit from UEFA expertise

$
0
0
Published: 
Saturday, April 14, 2018

T&T Pro League (PL) interim Chief Executive Officer, Julia Baptiste, stands confident a three-day UEFA ASSIST-Trinidad workshop hosted at the National Cycling Centre in Balmain, Couva, a week ago could see T&T football reap enormous benefits.

Baptiste however cautioned that this can only be possible if recommendations from UEFA are implemented by clubs and the PL’s administration.

“In this (UEFA ASSIST) scenario, board members were able to come together, and someone was able to say to them listen this is what you need to do, and with us in T&T it’s always where the information comes from that is important,” Baptiste said.

The UEFA ASSIST workshop, which ran from April 4-6 and was attended by club owners and administrators, was made possible through CONCACAF following a request by T&T Football Association (TTFA) president David-John Williams for assistance to the beleaguered T&T Pro League.

Eva Pasquier, head of international relations at UEFA, headed a team of UEFA ASSIST officials that included Kenny MacLeod, who specialises in commercial, media, digital marketing and match day knowledge, and Efraim Barak, a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Arbitrator and practicing lawyer in Sport Law for almost three decades, while CONCACAF was represented by Howard McIntosh.

“UEFA ASSIST was asked by CONCACAF to come here to discuss the Pro League particularly” said MacLeod.

“But what is very important to us is that we don’t just concentrate on the Pro League and that we look at football as a whole in T&T.

“And we have met with a number of stakeholders—clubs, boards and the media—to really get a full understanding of the situation of the football in the country.”

The UEFA ASSIST team recommended that clubs formalise youth development, engage key stakeholders such as the fans, media and government and that the PL updates its strategic plan. Clubs were also reminded of the importance and benefits of fulfilling compliance regulations of CONCACAF and the TTFA following discussions that included club licensing, good governance in the federation, the league and the clubs as well as marketing and communications.

Baptiste said the UEFA-ASSIST workshop helped cement a lot that was continuously said over the 16 years of the PL’s existence.

“Now there is a cohesion, people understand. And we hope that in the understanding we could now move forward as a league and see how we can [grow] the brand and take it to another level.

“There is now an understanding that football is not only about the game, it’s a business and how do we make the business of football work for us. That is what the board will now sit down and plan to see how we can go forward.”

MacLeod highlighted that T&T’s situation was not unique in the challenges faced financially and otherwise. And that the League and clubs should find innovative ways in realising their potential.

He said T&T is seen as aspirational within the region and “we (UEFA ASSIST) want to keep you in that place”.

MacLeod said, “What we have learned is that football is well-established here—the fact that there is already a professional league in place—and you have a number of situations where players aspired and gone on to play at the top leagues [around] the world.

“The base is here but what we are trying to understand is how to professionalise it and how to take it to the next level.

“We looked at both positives and the challenges just to make a point that there is a long way to go. We are trying to benchmark here.

“And we are not trying to say we are benchmarking against the best league in Europe, but through our experience we understand where football in T&T should be.”

MacLeod said over the three days focus was placed on planning and structures “but more than anything else”, putting the fans and the players at the centre of the strategy.

“(What) we really wanted to get across was that if the fans and players can be part of the future and build in the future then I think that would be much better for football (in T&T).”

Pasquier meanwhile called for all stakeholders involved in T&T football including the lower level leagues and schools leagues to sit together and discuss “clear responsibilities, clear roles, clear system of competitions and who is responsible for what”.

Pasquier echoed MacLeod’s sentiments that the PL and its clubs must focus on growing professionally and also told club owners and officials to put more importance on youth development through academies.

T&T Pro League interim Chief Executive Officer Julia Baptiste, right, extends gratitude to Eva Pasquier, head of international relations at UEFA, while UEFA ASSIST’s Kenny MacLeod looks on following a three-day UEFA ASSIST-Trinidad workshop, which ended on April 6 at the National Cycling Centre in Balmain, Couva.

T&T women outplayed in Mexico beach vball

$
0
0
Published: 
Saturday, April 14, 2018

T&T’s LaTeisha Joseph and Suraya Chase will go into their final Pool C match versus unbeaten USA’s Brittany Howard and Kelly Reeves in a must-win situation, if they are to have any chance of reaching the quarterfinals of the opening leg of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Circuit in Aguascalientes, La Isla de San Maercos, Mexico today.

This after Joseph and Chase endured a tough first day yesterday, first losing to Mexico’s Claudia Rios and Cinthya Cruz 8-21, 5-21 followed by defeat to Nicaraguans Swan Mendoza and Lolette Rodriguez 15-21, 17-21.

In yesterday’s other Pool C matches, Reeves and Howard overcame Mendoza and Lolette 21-13, 21-12 and also defeated Rios and Cruz in a late contest.

Top ranked local women’s beach volleyball duo, Malika Davidson and Phylecia Armstrong, were also expected to compete in the opening leg of the tour as well.

However, T&T women missed their Copa America flight out of Trinidad on Thursday morning and will now look towards the second-leg which serve off in La Paz, Mexico from April 19-23.

The third-leg is carded for Varadero, Cuba, April 26–3 and T&T is is expected to be represented as well. Davidson and Armstrong had earned the right to represent T&T as the points leaders after three stages of the National Beach Volleyball Circuit at Saith Park in Chaguanas, last month.

The duo led the table with 22 points, two ahead of Rheeza Grant and Abby Blackman, who competed at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia last week.

Both Davidson and Armstrong, and pair Grant and Blackman were level on 14 points each after the first two stages of the National Beach Volleyball Circuit after winning one leg each. However, in the final of the Third-Leg, Davidson and Armstrong battled their way to a come-from-behind 25-27, 21-14, 15-13 to earn the right to fly the national in Mexico while Joseph and Chase were third on the table with 12 points and earned T&T’s second pair of tickets to Mexico in their absence.

Both Armstrong and Chase are coming off helping Glamorgan to a fourth straight lien on the Flow National Indoor Women’s Premier League title at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo on Sunday last and have never competed on the NORCECA Tour before.

Locally, the National Beach Volleyball Circuit which has been on a break since March 12 and is set to resume on May 5 at Chaguanas.

Saturday 14th April, 2018

T&T women blanked in Mexico beach vball

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

T&T’s LaTeisha Joseph and Suraya Chase ended in joint 13th place in the 14-team competition when the opening leg of the 2018 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Circuit continued in Aguascalientes, La Isla de San Maercos, Mexico yesterday.

This follows a 17-21, 9-21 lost to US Virgins Islands duo, Melanie Valenciana and Katherine Wanket in the Losers draw quarterfinal to end with a winless record, the same as Guatemalans, Paola Alvaro and Maria Juarez.

When the T&T duo resumed play yesterday morning in a must-win match versus USA’s Brittany Howard and Kelly Reeves it was the latter who prevailed 6-21, 9-21 to top Pool C with a 3-0 record while the T&T women ended 0-3.

On Friday’s opening day, Joseph and Chase endured a tough start , first losing to Mexico’s Claudia Rios and Cinthya Cruz 8-21, 5-21 followed by defeat to Nicaraguans Swan Mendoza and Lolette Rodriguez 15-21, 17-21.

Top ranked local women’s beach volleyball duo, Malika Davidson and Phylecia Armstrong were also expected to compete in the opening leg of the tour as well.

However, T&T women missed their Copa America flight out of Trinidad on Thursday morning and will now look towards the second-leg which serve off in La Paz, Mexico from April 19-23.

The third-leg is carded for Varadero, Cuba, April 26–3 and T&T is is expected to be represented as well.

Davidson and Armstrong had earned the right to represent T&T as the points leaders after three stages of the National Beach Volleyball Circuit at Saith Park, Chaguanas last month.

The duo led the table with 22 points, two ahead of Rheeza Grant and Abby Blackman, who competed at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia last week.

Locally, the National Beach Volleyball Circuit which has been on a break since the March 12 , is set to resume on May 5 at Chaguanas.

Dillon, Cato get ready for Panama

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

Belgian based Nicholas Dillon has been named in the 24-man squad announced by headcoach Dennis Lawrence yesterday for the April 17 friendly international versus Panama at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

Dillon joined the national team in training on Wednesday and was a welcome edition.

“The team is shaping up nicely and with the addition of Dillon it gives us another huge option in the attack,” Lawrence told TTFA Media. “We did not expect many foreign based players to be available for this match as it fall outside the FIFA window, so when we got information on his availability it was an easy decision to have him join the training squad,” the coach added.

Dillon will have some familiar faces around him with several of his teammates from his days with the National U20 team also making it to the senior ranks. Justin Sadoo, Taryk Sampson and Kathon St. Hillaire all campaigned with Dillon at the 2017 Concacaf Championship in Costa Rica.

The biggest boost to the team will arguably be the additions of Daneil Cyrus and Cordell Cato who also indicated their availability for the match and will be arriving to join the squad today. Cyrus with 71 caps will be the most experienced player in the line-up just ahead of goalkeeper Marvin Phillip with 65. The versatile defender who plays for Juticalpa F.C. of Honduras will be aiming to play his part in maintaining T&T’s international “clean sheet streak” which now stands at four matches. Cato at the other end of the pitch will be eagerly seeking to add to his international goal count while giving the team some pace and trickery in the midfield.

With such an enticing line-up of youth and experience it will interesting to see the starting XI on match day but the aim of Lawrence is clear. He said, “A good team performance, will bring the result. That’s what I am looking for, a good all-round team performance. We have individuals with a lot of talent, even young Judah Garcia has been impressive in training but against an organised opponent like Panama, team is key.”

T&T will face Panama on Tuesday at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva from 7:30pm. Gates open at 5:30pm and tickets will be sold at the venue at a cost of $40.00 for Adults and Children Under 16 $20.00.

NULL
Nicholas Dillon, right, in action for T&T’s Under 20 Team in 2017.

Kantasingh traps five

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018
PowerGen under pressure in Penal

PowerGen Cricket Club facing demotion in the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) Premiership Division I League competition, lost first innings points over another relegation threatened team QPCC II at Syne Village in Penal, yesterday as matches in the final round got underway.

PowerGen made a paltry 130 for nine batting first with Aaron Jones 29 and Teshwan Castro 27 among the runs. The two put on 55 for the first wicket before N Seupaul with five wickets triggered a spectacular collapse that saw PowerGen losing nine wickets for 75 runs.

PowerGen fought back well to dismiss Queen’s Park II for 184 with Jonathan Augustus scoring a fine 73 and Sherwin Peters 33. Left-arm orthodox spinner Kavesh Kantasingh took five for 47 for PowerGen, while West Indies player Samuel Badree nabbed two for 57 and Ancil Bhaggan three for 49. Batting a second time PowerGen closed on five runs for one wicket.

Defending champion QPCC I playing against Victoria at the Queen’s Park Oval made 214 batting first. The host got 71 from Yannic Carriah, 53 from Darren Bravo and 56 from Nicholas Pooran. Andrae Bryce opening the bowling for Victoria took 5/33.

Challengers for title Alescon Comets seemed as if they can run away with it as they were 160 for five, at the close of a rain affected day against Merryboys. Play started 20 minutes after tea and the Charlieville Boys batted well. Guyanese Chris Barnwell made 52 to lead to the way for Comets.

Central Sports will be hoping they can bowl out Clarke Road cheaply when play resumes this morning, so it can bat a second time and score some quick runs and the look to bowl the opposition out as they look to go past Comets. Going into the round they were 14 points behind. Yesterday, they scored 256 all out batting first against Clarke Road with Kamil Pooran scoring 53, Kjorn Ottley 50 and Al Small 45, Akheel Mollon four for 61 and Yannick Ottley four for 61 kept them honest. Clarke Road responded with 86 for three when stumps were drawn for the day.

SCORES

At Syne Village: PowerGen 130/9 dec (Aaron Jones 29, Teshawn Castro 27, N Seupaul 5/49, Dominic Drakes 2/20, Darren Deonarine 2/40) & 5/1 vs QPCC II 184 all out (Jonathan Augustus 73, Sherwin Peters 33, Kavesh Kantasingh 5/47, Samuel Badree 2/57, Ancil Bhaggan 3/49)

At the Oval: QPCC I 214 all out (Yannic Carriah 71, Nicolas Pooran 56, Darren Bravo 53, Andrae Bryce 5/33, Viokash Rampersad 2/31, Garey Mathurin 2/57) vs Victoria 72/3.

At Felicity: 256 (Kamil Pooran 53, Kjorn Ottley 50, Al Small 45, Akheel Mollon 4/61, Yannick Ottley 4/61) vs Clarke Road 86/3 (Yannick Ottley 52, Nicholas Sookdeosingh 24no).

At Diego Martin: Alescon Comets 160/5 (Chris Barnwell 52, Vikash Mohan 29, Andy Gobin 23, Imran Khan 20no) Merryboys.

NULL
Left-arm orthodox spinner Kavesh Kantasingh took five for 47 for PowerGen,

Mitchell to make time despite new portfolioConstituents come first

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Amidst accusations from constituents that he was not spending enough time in his constituency, newly-appointed Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell yesterday vowed to make a better effort to address the needs of constituents, despite his new portfolio.

Speaking to reporters at the San Fernando East Health Fair at the Pleasantville Community Complex, Mitchell acknowledged that his duties as a minister, member of parliament and for other stakeholders posed a challenge as occurs with most MPs. (See page A10)

“That is one challenge you face. We have to satisfy stakeholders, Parliamentary duties and constituency duties. The constituents come first at all times. I will make the effort to spend more time in the constituency and to ensure that constituents receive all services that they deserve,” Mitchell said.

He added, “When you are in Government, you have many different challenges. You have to ensure that your Ministry is run and serves all of T&T. The constituents will always want to see you more and more. I will always make myself available to them.”

Mitchell also said his first task as Tourism Minister would be to meet with all tourism stakeholders.

“I took notice they’re calling for a meeting and that is a priority. The new entity Tourism Trinidad Limited has been formed and the board is operational. The organisation has to be populated with top management and with other members of staff,” he said.

He noted that Government was embarking on a new strategic shift in the marketing of tourism and rather than marketing T&T as one entity, the destinations would now be marketed separately.

“In the past, T&T has been marketed as one destination and that has not worked in our favour. Tobago is a separate product—they market leisure, sun, sea and sand. Trinidad is more work/play. We have a good market for exhibitions, conferences, Carnival, parties, fetes, which represent the energy of our people. That is what we are focusing on.

“Trinidad Tourism Limited will oversee the marketing of Trinidad tourism. It’s a new strategic direction, branding Trinidad and Tobago as separate and distinct,” Mitchell said.

He noted that low energy prices of 2015 and 2016 made it imperative for T&T to diversify its economy with tourism as a priority.

Coast Guard to bring Cedros fishermen home today

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

After two weeks of suffering in Venezuela, Cedros fishermen Awardnath Hajaree, Nicholas Hajaree and Shammi Seepersad will finally be escorted back home today by the T&T’s Coast Guard and Venezuela’s Guardia Nacional.

T&T Coast Guard public relations officer, Lt Sherron Manswell, yesterday confirmed that the trio were contacted via the Venezuelan authorities and arrangements were made for them to come home today.

“The T&T Coast Guard will receive the fishermen at Soldado Rock at 11 am, following which they will be returned to their families,” Manswell told the Sunday Guardian. He added that based on information received all three fishermen were alive, contrary to reports which were circulating that at least one of them had died.

Awardnath’s wife Heermatie Sankar praised God yesterday, saying she was finally convinced they were on their way home. Sankar has been expecting them to return since last Tuesday after they were released from a Venezuelan jail, but they never did despite the payment of fines for their safe release.

Hajaire, 52, son Nicholas, 26, and Seepersad, 36, went fishing aboard a pirogue off Cedros on April 5, when they were arrested by the Guardia Nacional.

A Trinmar worker captured footage of the Guardia chasing the pirogue in T&T waters where the fishermen were arrested. Since the arrests, the Government has come under attack for not assisting the Cedros fishermen on a timely basis. (RD)

EOCLaws alone won’t fix issue—chair

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

T&T does not have a national sexual harassment policy.

Although sexual harassment in the workplace has remained a largely taboo subject which continues to be dismissed, ignored, covered up and simply swept under the carpet—it has fallen to employers both in the public and private sectors to implement measures aimed at protecting their employees.

However, efforts are now being made to fast-track legislation following the scandal involving former Sports Minister Darryl Smith and former ministry employee Carrie-Ann Moreau.

Moreau was reportedly paid off and transferred out of the ministry after allegations of sexual misconduct and impropriety surfaced.

In its Revised Edition of the Guidelines on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace released earlier this month, the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) assured it was currently the best avenue to address complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Equal Opportunity Act Chap 22:03 empowers the EOC to receive, investigate and conciliate these complaints free of charge. Officials said if a dispute cannot be resolved at conciliation, the matter can be referred to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal, presided over by its chairman, who has the status and powers of a high court judge.

The EOC said: “Managers and business owners in Trinidad and Tobago function in an environment that has not specifically legislated for sexual harassment.”

They urged employers to develop appropriate mechanisms for the prevention and management of complaints.

EOC chairman Lynette Seebaran-Suite wrote: “No amount of legislation and case law in the world will root out sexual harassment if employers do not ensure that there is zero tolerance for it in their workplaces.”

She added while sexual harassment prevention was more difficult than implementing grievance procedures, it is crucial to workplaces in which merit is rewarded, discrimination not tolerated and equality fostered.

Employers are being urged to be mindful that it is in their best interest to avoid the escalation of sexual harassment matters into full-blown conciliation and/or litigation outside the workplace, as such actions could prove costly and serve to tarnish the organisation’s reputation and generally negatively impact on the organisation’s end product.

Additionally, the EOC advised employers to develop complaints/grievance procedures to suit their particular workplace, which includes conferring with the organisation’s attorney to ensure the right steps are being taken to determine whether sexual harassment did in fact occur.

The guidelines read: “In offering various choices, it is vital that the manager possesses the relevant knowledge and receives the correct training to handle complaints of sexual harassment.

“Staff should also be made aware that the complaint could be forwarded to any other relevant agency external to the organisation.

“The employer should act in good faith and the employee should not be compelled to sign mandatory arbitration agreements which would strip them of their rights to sue and seek recourse to the courts.”

The EOC stressed: “The alleged victim is reminded that he/she may also lay a criminal complaint in the Magistrates’ Court against the alleged perpetrator, while a workplace investigation is being pursued. And the alleged victim is also reminded that he/she may also seek legal advice to determine whether there is merit in pursuing a civil lawsuit in the High Court.”

Box

The Australian Human Rights Commission states sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, an unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances.

Unwanted conduct is defined as any behaviour that is not requested or wanted by the victim and that is considered inappropriate.

Whether it was “reasonable” for the victim to believe that he/she was sexually harassed would depend on the context in which “it occurred,” for example the frequency of the occurrence, the seriousness and extent of the intimidation, the form of its manifestation and whether a hostile and offensive working environment was created for the victim.

FORMS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Sexual harassment is manifested in the following forms:

(i) Misuse of sexual behaviour and request for sexual favours - when it is made a condition of employment or promotion

(ii) Physical sexual harassment - sexual violence or unwelcome physical contact

(iii) Verbal sexual harassment - offensive and sexually suggestive jokes and comments

(iv) Non-verbal sexual harassment - suggestive gestures of a sexual nature and sexually suggestive body language

(v) Written or graphic sexual harassment - displays of sexually explicit photographs and pornographic materials

(vi) Psychological sexual harassment - repeated unwanted proposals and taunts of a sexual nature

WHAT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Interaction which is based on mutual consent is not sexual harassment. Sexual harassment does not refer to occasional compliments that are socially and culturally acceptable and appropriate.

CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH SEXUAL HARASSMENT MAY OCCUR

Sexual harassment is not just unlawful during working hours or within the confines of the workplace itself, and also not only between co-workers. The behaviour is unlawful in any work-related context including conferences, work functions, office parties and business and/field trips and includes interactions with clients and customers.

TIPS FOR REPORTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

(i) Document incidents and unwanted behaviour as they occur by noting: -

(a) What happened

(b) Where and when it happened

(c) Who witnessed it (if anyone)

(d) How your physical condition has changed as a result of this behaviour (that is, sleeplessness, crying bouts, weight loss/gain, etc.), and

(e) What, if anything, you did about it at the time and thereafter.

(ii) Lodge complaints early and put all complaints in writing.

(iii) Secure, where possible the cooperation of other persons who have witnessed the harassment.

(iv) Seek extended support.

(v) Share with colleagues as it happens.

GUIDELINES ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

It is the employer’s responsibility to document:

(i) Conversations with the parties involved in the complaint

(ii) What actions were taken to resolve the harassment

(iii) What was witnessed

(iv) What was said, and

(v) Who witnessed any conversations/behaviour should the records need to be made available to investigators.

Cuffie 3rd absentee MP in ParliamentTouchy case for PM to deal with

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

When Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley reshuffled and reassigned ministerial appointments on Monday, the demotion of Maxie Cuffie as Minister of Public Administration and Communications to Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration and Communications left many people concerned.

They are now wondering whether if he was already absent from Parliament since September 2017 due to illness, how he could be expected fulfil his new job functions. Aside from the Opposition, there have been calls from various circles for Cuffie to step down.

A post on We Are Trinis’ Facebook page went up on Thursday with the message: “Maxie Cuffie needs to be fired!

“Maxie Cuffie continues to receive his salary of $40,000 (plus perks) monthly, in addition to taxpayers’ footing his medical bills of over $2.5 million. What purpose is this man serving in this country? Is he working from his hospital bed?” the post read.

Nikoli Edwards, vice-chair of Policy, Advocacy and Projects at the Commonwealth Youth Council, said it was now important the PM also revoke the appointment of Cuffie as Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration, since he is clearly unable to carry out the functions of his office due to health complications. The precedent has already been set, however. Cuffie is not the first absentee MP in T&T.

He is number three. That dubious distinction belongs to Dr Rudranath Capildeo, leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), and MP for St Augustine in the first independent congress.

In 1963, Capildeo accepted a permanent position at the University of London, but did not resign his Parliamentary post and attempted to run the DLP and serve as Opposition Leader while based in London. He was able to retain his seat in Parliament through special dispensation from the Speaker of the House Arnold Thomasos.

People’s National Movement MP for Port-of-Spain North/St Ann’s West, Gordon Draper, became the second representative missing from Parliament from 1995 to 2000, by leave of Speaker Hector McClean, for personal business. Political scientist Dr Winford James said the closest thing to Cuffie’s situation, though from a different time, was San Fernando East MP Patrick Manning, who suffered a stroke and was absent for the House of Representatives for almost a year.

Manning, now deceased, was absent from 31 sittings of Parliament and Speaker Wade Mark had granted his requests for leave at three-month intervals. In 2013, councillor for Mon Repos Shaka Joseph said there was no need to replace Manning in the San Fernando East constituency, which he had served since 1971.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian on Thursday, James said: “In our democracy, for Manning to no longer be the MP for San Fernando East, he had to resign or his constituency had to bring pressure upon him to resign. That was different from a prime minister asking the President to appoint somebody who was medically ill and cannot perform his functions.

“The reason why Cuffie was moved from being full minister to a minister in a ministry is because of his incapacitation and he cannot fulfil his responsibilities.”

He said in Cuffie’s capacity as MP for La Horquetta/Talparo MP, his constituency office can make an arrangement for the people to be properly represented while he is ill and away.

James said this was straightforward, but the question to answer was if Cuffie cannot be full minister because of his illness, how can he be a minister in a ministry and was still ill?

A close family relative of Cuffie said on Wednesday that he was in good spirits and was awaiting the doctors’ call for the most appropriate time to perform an operation to implant a metal implement (brain stent) in his head.

The relative said as soon as the procedure has been worked out, Cuffie will do the procedure but will still need rehabilitation, adding he should be back home in about three weeks time after the operation on the call of the surgeons.

Cuffie is now walking on his own, talking animatedly with family and medical personnel and was making great progress.

Chaguanas man missing

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

The T&T Police Service (TTPS) is seeking the public assistance in locating 38-year-old Keifer Powell.

He was last seen on April 12, when his wife Keisha went to work at 7 am and left him with their three children at their Chaguanas home.

When she returned from work around 4.45 pm Powell wasn’t home. Thomas asked her sister, who lives in the neighbouring yard, to call him so she could go down the road to get food for the children. She said her sister got in contact with Powell around 6 pm and he told her he was in Curepe and was coming home after he wrapped up some business. Thomas said since then she has heard nothing from him and all calls to his cellphone have gone straight to voice messaging as it seems to be switched off.

She said she went to the Chaguanas Police Station the following day and made a missing person’s report.

Thomas said she just wants him to come home safe and sound wherever he is as their children are worried about him also.

Powell is 5’5”, of African descent, medium brown complexion and medium frame. If you have any information on his whereabouts please call 555, 999, 800-TIPS or the Chaguanas Police Station at 665-5271 or 665-0200.

Human r

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Although T&T’s unemployment rate has jumped to 5.30 per cent, director of health at the Southwest Regional Health Authority, Dr Albert Persad, says the authority is having a difficult time recruiting nursing staff.

Speaking at the third annual health fair at the Pleasantville Community Centre yesterday, Persad said recruiting nurses has become just as arduous as recruiting specialist doctors.

Saying the SWRHA has responsibility for over 600,000 people stretching as far as Icacos to Couva, Persad said, “We are finding it very difficult to recruit basic and general nursing staff. We need specialist nurses so if you have teenaged children or grandchildren let them know this could be career options.”

He added, “We also need physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychiatric nurses, nutritionists, people to take out X-rays and these are viable careers that people can look at.”

He noted that the SWRHA could go on a “crusade” getting youths matched to prospective careers which are desperately needed in the SWRHA. Persad also said they were also looking to recruit two paediatricians to work in health centres.

Saying there were lots of people who had the capability of doing medical work, Persad said the SWRHA planned to open several new clinics which will feature mental health, child guidance, child development, senior citizens services and a specialist diabetes clinics, which required staffing.

He also recommended that the Ministry of Health be restructured into the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The new restructuring, Persad said, will enable the ministry to put systems in place for proactive health programmes. He said if people engaged in preventative care, there will be less burden on the nation’s hospitals. Persad said the San Fernando General Hospital has 700 beds, but on any given day there were 800 people needing bed space.

T&T’s unemployment rate was reported at 5.30 per cent in the last quarter of 2017. It ranks as the world’s 68th lowest recorded unemployment rate, having jumped from 4.5 in January 2017.

Poor economics, maritime logistics

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

In Baracoa, on the eastern tip of Cuba, is the ‘Cruz de la Parra’—a cross made from parts of a Crucifix planted by Christopher Columbus. The relic is now swathed in silver to protect it from visitors who break off bits as souvenirs. Celebrated for having failed to discover new trade routes to China that could circumvent the treachery of the Old Silk Roads, Columbus inadvertently fashioned a new convoy system—the ‘Spanish Silver Fleet’ linking Andalucía to ‘El Dorado’. These silver galleons transported lumber, gold, gems, pearls, spices, feathers for fashion, tobacco, and other exotic commodities to and from ports in Portobello, Havana, Cartagena, Veracruz, and Seville.

Xi Jinping’s One Belt One Road will now connect the Old Silk Roads to El Callao, Manta, and Taltal. Manufactured goods from China Inc, once displaced the Atlantic as the Mare Nostrum of international trade with Pacific Coast ports in Seattle, Tacoma, Oakland, and Long Beach stifling East Coast ports like New York (NY), New Jersey (NJ), Baltimore, Savanah, and Charleston.

An expanded Panama Canal has reversed this imbalance. Ships now cross the isthmus and head for Norfolk and Miami. The Bayonne Bridge was raised to 215 feet to allow the Port of New York and New Jersey to welcome larger, more efficient vessels. By 2020, ten per cent of container traffic will shift to the East Coast Ports serving huge consumer hubs like Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, and Memphis. The Port Authority of NY & NJ makes New York blossom into one of the most opulent cities in the world. Businesses clamour to locate there, hoping to reap the windfall of profits that being close to this port can bring.

In doing so, these enterprises support 400,000 jobs amounting to nearly $25.7 billion in annual wages. Many of these jobs are apportioned to a variety of skilled trades. Meanwhile the port generates close to $8.5 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues.

San Antonio port in Chile has allocated $40M for dredging and a further $400M for storage. The Posorja Port in Ecuador invested $530M to accommodate postpanamax vessels. Buenaventura Port in Colombia is dredging its canal, improving wharves, installing postpanamax gantry cranes and RDT yard cranes, all to the tune of $80M. Cartagena invested $800M to make its port neopanamax ready.

Caucedo in the Dominican Republic is investing $30M to take advantage of the Las Américas International Airport and the Caucedo Logistics Park and to increase its share of inter-American container cargo transport, redirecting cargo from Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil.

Freeport Container Port (FCP) in the Bahamas has dredged its port. Upon completion of the $250M Phase V Development, FCP will have a total quay length of 1,536 metres, a yard area of 63 hectares, a depth alongside of 15.5 metres, nine post-Panamax cranes and one super-post-Panamax quay crane. The Jamaican, Kingston Freeport Terminal can now accommodate extra-large container ships with the completion of upgrades on section one of the Kingston Container Terminal.

Stage two of the upgrade on the south terminal is to be completed by this year at a cost of $150M. These upgrades along with new gantry cranes and cargo handling equipment will position Jamaica to benefit from increased transshipment business.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster has accelerated changes in Japan’s energy matrix. Production of gas from shale formations in the Gulf of Mexico has seen growth in top-off transfers of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) from larger vessels outside the Canal to those that can pass through the waterway transporting LPG to Japan.

Today, top-off operations are reduced as LPG transport ships with a capacity in excess of 6M cubic feet of gas and VLGC-type tanker vessels traverse the new ‘Green Route’ taking the least polluting fossil fuel through the Canal.

ExxonMobil, Hess, China National Offshore Oil Corporation-Nexen operating offshore Guyana at the Pacora-1 well discovered an oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. Pacora will boost Guyana’s production to more than 500,000 b/d of oil once it and Payara come online. Pacora-1, Payara and Liza will be developed using a floating, production, storage, and offloading vessel. Undoubtedly, since the Spanish West Indies, the unravelling of port economics and global supply chains remains a rich passage to competitiveness and prosperity.

Dr Fazal Ali


The politics of disclosure

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

As Zuckerberg underwent his ten-hour long interrogation this week on Capitol Hill, we observed him bob, weave, and genuflect through the complicated maze of citizens’ rights to privacy and control of their data, the limits to those rights, and exactly how much we give away in service of the connectivity and opportunity that Facebook and other such social platforms provide. We saw the congressmen and women, with a couple exceptions, struggle to corner the icon or catch him in dishonesty because of a combination of their inability to phrase technically-savvy questions and his razor-sharp intelligence.

Thus is the paradox. Almost all of us use technology but only a small percentage really understands how technology works. Those who understand how it works have an extraordinary advantage over those who do not. Yet Zuckerberg could not help but look like an unfaithful husband desperately seeking to save a marriage after being caught in an affair.

You see, the defining feature of our time is our hyper-connectivity and its precious progeny, big data. Each of us who use Facebook are in a relationship with Mark which many believed was monogamous—in fact it’s a threesome.

Every time we share, post, message, send a WhatsApp, or use a credit card online, we are acting as “Data Producers (DPs)”. Seduced by the promise of fun, the latest goods, connectivity, or some mind-numbing activity, DPs create and exchange their data freely with the “Data Aggregators (DAs)” (mostly app and platform developers). Most DPs are unaware that there is an outside person in their relationship with the DAs —the “Data Consumers (DCs)”—companies, universities, research facilities, think tanks, and political groups which then analyse large data sets to uncover patterns, trends, and associations, relating to human behaviour and interactions. Some DCs like research organisations collate and analyse data to increase knowledge, spur innovation and development and others do it in order to exert influence over human behaviour.

Facebook is the largest DA of our time and nothing prepared us or them for the sledgehammer effect of the Cambridge Analytica disclosures on how Facebook uses data. The CA scandal also exposed the previously camouflaged relationship between DAs and DCs. With access to aggregate data, both DAs and DCs now know more about DPs than they know about themselves.

This raises the unavoidable political question of whose data is it? Who has the right to that data and the power to control and/or to use that data? Should it be us, or Mark, or, (please not) the DCs?

Like jilted partners, DPs are deleting their accounts left, right and centre with retorts like “they are selling my data and I’m not making anything from it!”, “targeting me with fake news!” and “I won’t be a product!”—making a stand for DP rights on the political question of who should have power over data. DAs and DCs, unsurprisingly, are scrambling to justify billion-dollar business models built on monetizing user data to maximize profit over privacy.

But is this a zero-sum game? Yes, Facebook is not the idealized platform for connectivity and opportunity. However, isn’t it something much greater?

These people breaking up with Facebook are choosing to leave an unprecedented, and until recently, unimaginable, collective of 2.13 billion people of which over 730,000 are from T&T. If this collective were a country it would be the largest country on the planet by almost one billion people and growing at the rate of 14 per cent per year. A collective where over 2.4 million pieces of information are shared every minute and which has over 100 million people interacting in meaningful online communities.

Undoubtedly, innovation has outpaced regulation. Under interrogation, Zuckerberg conceded that the European GDPR was a progressive step in data protection and that Facebook was willing voluntarily to comply with this regulation worldwide. In a data-chess game, that Zuckerberg move would have been a check. If Zuckerberg does follow through, this would mean that for countries like US and T&T, where politicians are dragging their feet on comprehensive Data Protection legislation, corporations would be providing more protection of fundamental human rights to privacy than governments. Ponder that.

Margaret Rose-Goddard is a lawyer and public procurement specialist. She is currently a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Policy Research, University of Bath, UK and is the founder of the Procurement Innovation & Leadership Lab and U-Solve School of Empathic Leadership & Entrepreneurship. contact@u-solve.org

Is money your God?

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

Money, they say, is the root of all evil. And this is so true when you examine almost every aspect of business in T&T. Somewhere, there’s always somebody who is seeking to scam the other person out of their hard-earned cash—pay for a service you’re entitled to or just extraordinary prices for goods. So, there is corruption any which way you turn.

And because of this, we have developed a penchant for money—quick money, regardless of what it takes. Money means everything. Everyone wishes for a better lifestyle; a top-of-the-line car; an upscale or expensive house or sometimes a condo; in fashionable clothes and, of course, a prestigious school for the children. All these things take money, lots of it.

Now, there is nothing wrong with seeking all these things, as a matter of fact it’s very commendable. The question which haunts everybody, is the means employed to achieve all these goals. The road to hell is always paved with good intentions. Then, there is the realisation for many that to accomplish your dreams is very, very tough and fraught with many temptations.

This is where your strong Catholic grounding and education become pre-eminent. So many times, we want these goals to come quickly, almost immediately. And such is the problem which faces many of us—too many. Tradition has it that you reach your goals by dint of hard work over time. That’s the Catholic way.

But when dreams and hope are allowed to be fuelled by money, that’s where many of us begin to think we can accomplish our dreams “by any means necessary.” And that’s when plans start to take root and our dreams become coloured with thoughts many of which are illegal. At this crossroad the torment of decisions come up and so many times we choose the wrong road to travel along. God doesn’t like that. But, He allows it to happen.

Now it’s time to ask, Is money your God? And we think it sets the way, the only way to accomplish what we want. And if the temptation is strong enough, you go for it. And again, Is money you God? I want you to think carefully before you answer. Because in this society and I daresay globally, it seems to be the trend—get money at all costs, even if it disrupts another’s life. We must remember this verse in Proverbs (2:6) which says, “The Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

In the world of true Christians, financial decisions can be tough to make. And in the words of the late American evangelist Billy Graham who said, “If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.”

For all our adult lives money matters—salaries or wages, winnings and inheritances—they all mean money and therefore a certain amount of wisdom is necessary in allocating these monies to where they will make the most sense. And we must ask God for such wisdom. We need to pray, pray, and pray some more. He will direct you. But be reminded that praying without trust is almost useless and as such we must use the knowledge and wisdom we have gained and commit your decision to Him.

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

 

Breeding success in Moruga

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Farmer hatches a family business

Two and a half years ago, Vijay Bhagwat quit a lucrative job as an offshore health and safety manager to become a poultry farmer.

He started off as just three chicks to launch what has now become a booming venture that includes a hatchery located on six acres of land at Rest House Trace, St Mary’s Village, Moruga.

His stock now includes Black Giants, Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire Red, Plymouth Rock, Dominique, Hybrid Turkens (clean neck), Blue Orpington, Buff Orpington, Dark Brahma, Buff Brahma, Light Brahma, Ameraucana and Araucana. The latter are much sought after as they lay blue/green eggs.

Apart from the imported chickens, which can fetch anywhere from $40 to $500 depending on the rarity, Bhagwat’s livestock includes pure bred jumbo Guinea birds, three times the size of local ones, ranging between seven to ten pounds. These are considered a local delicacy, costing as much as $400 a dish.

A former school teacher, Bhagwat, 36, said he switched careers because he was working from Sunday to Sunday and never had time for his family.

“I was going to a job which made me unhappy,” he said. “I got three chicks which were initially collectors but soon realised there is a commercial application of possibilities and I looked at the feasibility of the business.”

That was how Infinity Imports TT Limited, an online import delivery company, was born. It is closely affiliated with the St Mary’s Hatchery which is also operated by Bhagwat and his close-knit family.

Bhagwat’s father, Doodnath, a retired teacher, is in charge of the Guinea birds and his mother, Marilyn, is responsible for the hatchery. Sister Devika oversees the eggs and brother Devanand, who is self-taught, handles all the woodworking.

When he started off, Bhagwat used all of his savings to invest in Black Giants birds. He soon realised no one was importing heritage breed chickens into the country.

“What we have in Trinidad and Tobago are mostly inbred, whether third or fourth generation, fowls. After extensive searching I realised I couldn’t get any pure stock locally and it took me about a year and a half to get a supplier from the US and that’s how we started getting them in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.

Bhagwat, who has double major in Management and Government from UWI and is the father of an 18-month-old boy, Liam, has never regretted his decision to rear livestock.

He said people come from all over the country to buy his high-bred chickens. There are currently 14 different breeds of birds at the hatchery.

Why invest in such expensive livestock? Apart from wanting a few of his own, Bhagwat explained: “We wanted to add to the gene pool we had at the hatchery. It was pretty much an expansion move.

“On the other side of the coin, we can supply different breeds to the country as well as add to the existing gene pool of the breeds in Trinidad and Tobago.”

He said the venture has been very viable as most of his initial expenses have already been recovered.

“However, given that it’s work in progress, we are nowhere where we want to be. A lot of the capital being generated is being ploughed back into the operation,” he said.

Bhagwat plans to import 50 other breeds in the coming months and wants the business to become parallel with household names such as Arawak and Nutramix which specialise in broilers.

“We want to be the largest in what we are doing in the country,” he said. Peachicks and peahens are among the top sellers at the hatchery. A new batch is expected to arrive in July but all were sold out since November last year with the Indian Blue fetching $3,000 a pair and the white $5,000 a pair.

Bhagwat said this is the last year he will be importing exotic peachicks like the Black Shoulder and Java Greens as he intends to breed them locally for sale.

The hatchery is also a one-stop shop, offering free technical support, with Bhagwat sourcing equipment and machinery for clients.

There are benefits for the community, he explained: “We try to inject money back into the community. We hire a lot of people within close proximity of our operations to do transportation, labour and contract jobs.

We spend an exorbitant amount of money in the neighbourhood hardware and agro shops to buy feed and other supplies.”

Profits from poultry

There is tremendous profitability in chicken rearing. A farm raised layer will produce table eggs which sell at around $12 a dozen, while home fowl eggs, the types supplied by Bhagwat, are priced between $25 and $35 a dozen. A crate of 30 home fowl eggs sells for $50 to $60.

It costs between 22 cents and 44 cents to produce an egg a day regardless of the chicken breed, Bhagwat explained.

“Profit on each layer egg will be between 78 to 56 cents per layer egg as compared to $1.86 to $1.64 per home fowl egg per day,” he said. “If one were to scale operations to 100 birds, the monthly profit based on a 30-day period would be: Layers, $2,340/$1,680 while home fowl eggs would be $5,590/$4,930 at $25 a dozen and $8,090/$7,440 at a price of $35 per dozen.”

Bhagwat said meat production calculations are based on one of two categories of chicks-crossed breeds at $20 each and pure breeds at $40 each.

The birds consume between $0.22 to $0.44 in feed a day for monthly feed cost per bird per day of $6.60 to $13.20 a month to maintain each bird at a 30-day monthly cycle.

“Factoring in the cost of respective chicks, it will cost $59.60 to $99.20 to raise a crossed breed bird for six months, while it will cost $79.60 to $119.20 for a pure breed bird.

“If one were to scale the operation to 100 birds, at the end of a six-month cycle profits on the cross breed birds will range between $13,540 to $9,580, while pure breed profits will range between $5,580 to $9,540 after sales,” he said.

Birds supplied by Bhagwat have the capability of achieving more than the average seven pounds in less time and in many cases they weigh more than ten pounds.

Mining the birds is a cost in itself, especially to ensure good health and production.

Bhagwat says he prefers a natural diet, including grains, grass and corn, rather than pumping the poultry full of antibiotics.

Frustrated by bureaucracy Bhagwat faces his fair share of pitfalls. Importing the birds is challenging.

“There is only one supplier that ships to Trinidad from outside of the US and they ship solely to our operation but to get them to go outside of their general portfolio of operation was a bit difficult.

“It took about a year and a half just to convince them to start shipping to Trinidad. That is an exclusive arrangement we have,” he said.

Because he is seeking to rapidly expand, sourcing capital is an issue and banks are not always a viable route.

“Going to the bank for loans is not an option for us so we generally reinvest into the business. Cash flows might then to be an issue from time to time,” Bhagwat said.

While there are incentives available from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to access finances, that is easier said than done, he said.

“The bureaucracy and the amount of red tape and the amount of criteria that you have to meet to get a loan...we decided not to go through that avenue.

“The system is designed to frustrate entrepreneurs.

Whether you check the banks or the Government programmes, it is too bureaucratic.

“They ask for a million things you have to provide, meet criteria and eventually when you do get thorough you end up paying through your nose on the interest.

That’s a headache I prefer to do without,” Bhagwat said. Opportunities for retrenched workers Since establishing Infinity Imports, Bhagwat’s clientèle has included a growing number of retrenched workers.

One of them is former fire watch attendee Joanne Graham- Boucher who was laid off more than a year ago and still hasn’t found employment.

With her husband as the sole breadwinner and two children in school, Graham-Boucher said investing in poultry will bring in much-needed income as well as feed her family.

“Even people with secure jobs, as well are looking to do something that is stress free and profitable, they are putting things in place,” Bhagwat said: “so the tough economy is a catalyst in the growth of my business as well. We are building the business one customer at a time.”

ttconnect partners with CourtPay

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

Anyone that has had to make a maintenance payment at the court house would know that the process could take hours; not to mention the hassle of having to leave work; take a taxi or find a place to park. All of this is now a thing of the past. The Judiciary of T&T, WiPay and ttconnect got together last month to launch CourtPay, a digital solution that would make it easy for anyone required to pay child maintenance fees.

The service is the first electronic payment solution within the Judiciary that allows for the electronic payment of fees. It is hoped that in the near future all court fees could be paid via this method.

ttconnect, is a division of the National Information and Communication Technology Company Limited (iGovTT), and its service centres and express buses will provide citizens with direct access to the CourtPay platform. The company is currently reviewing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Judiciary, which will guide the rollout of CourtPay at ttconnect.

Soon, persons without online access can avoid going to Court by using CourtPay at any of ttconnect’s seven service centres—located in Princes Town, Chaguanas, Tobago, Sangre Grande, Arima, Curepe and St. James—or on the ttconnect Express buses during their visits to various communities. ttconnect will not be accepting cash at the service centres or buses, as payments must be made via top-up card or credit card.

CourtPay is the latest online service to be added to the more than 50 government services provided by ttconnect. The ttconnect online portal, network of service centres and buses serve as an extension of the arm of the government of T&T, by bringing the delivery of government services to persons in residing rural areas or outside of the capital city. Instead of having to travel long distances to obtain in-demand services, these services are readily available via ttconnect.

Massy Motors over the moon with ADDY awards

$
0
0
Published: 
Sunday, April 15, 2018

Massy Motors and their trusted advertising partner of over 17 years, Valdez & Torry International (VTI), are basking in the glow of advertising success following the conclusion of the recently held Caribbean Advertising Federation (CAF) Addy Awards. The two companies came together to unleash creativity in the form of the balanced mix of contoured beauty and rugged beast embodied in the Volkswagen Amarok—a collaboration which resulted in VTI grabbing hold of two Silver awards at this year’s event.

The fairytale-inspired Volkswagen Amarok ‘Wolf’ print advertisement won awards in the Magazine and Newspaper categories for VTI in the world’s largest advertising competition. The agency’s co-President Steven Valdez, summed up the wins as the result of a beautiful, creative synergy.

“We’ve always taken pride in going above and beyond for Massy Motors, and by involving our client in the creative process, we’re always able to deliver creative work that’s memorable for all the right reasons,” he said.

Massy Motors CEO, Natalie Karamath joined in to say that “the longstanding relationship between the two companies is evident in the way we communicate with each other.”

Top from left: Natalie Karamath, CEO, Massy Motors; Steven Valdez, President, VTI; Kristy Ramsumair, Senior Art Director, UTI; Candyce-Marie Gosein, Account Executive, VTI; Richard Hill, Senior Brand Manager, Volkswagen-Massy Motors; and Astrid I-Neal, Executive Creative Director, VTI.
Viewing all 18762 articles
Browse latest View live


<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>