The title “Father” is often bestowed upon men who have positively influenced the lives of those around them, and are thought of fondly by those they have touched. One such man is the Father of Jazz, Ralph Davies, who will be honoured during the event, A Father’s Day Tribute to Ralph Davies, on June 17.

Davies, who is 90-years-old, has been playing music for 80 years. He received tutoring in classical and jazz piano when he was growing up on Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, and went on to become a popular pianist who was frequently heard on radio in Trinidad in the 1950s, long before the introduction of television to the island in 1962.

Davies was the first musician to play at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel when it opened in the 1950s and went on to play for 16 years as an accompanist on the local shows Scouting for Talent and Rikki Tiki.

He also formed the Ralph Davies Trio and has held the stage with many local and international musical icons, including Kitchener, Sparrow, Calypso Rose, Nina Simone, Dave Brubeck, Delfeayo Marsalis, the Drifters and The Platters.

Event facilitator Ava Hutchinson said Davies has had a wonderful journey in musicianship, tutoring, mentoring, performing, accompanying and into his 90th year is very lucid in terms of the history of jazz in  Trinidad.

“He’s called the Father of Jazz,” said Hutchonson, “because he has touched so many lives, assisted so many and literally, with such humility, been a mentor for most. There’s no better day to honour T&T’s Father of Jazz than on Father’s Day, especially as he approaches his 90th birthday, having been of service to the nation for many years.”

The concert will showcase some musical giants as guest artistes, including David “Happy” Williams, and the Power Sextet, featuring Etienne Charles on trumpet, Theron Shaw on guitar, Anthony Woodroffe on saxophone, Wayne Guerra on piano, and Shaquille Noel on drums.

It will also feature tributes from many of those whom Davies has influenced, including Clive Zanda, Ray Holman, Dean Williams, Dougie Redon, Kenneth Clarke, David Boothman, Rellon Brown, Geoffrey Pataysingh, The Jazz Pickle, Gerry Banfield, “Ziggy” Hosein, Lord Relator, Lord Superior, Richard Joseph, Oluwafemi Isoke, Candace Alcantara, Ron Aqui, Roger Salloum, Anne Fridal, Juliet Robin, and Bruce Greenidge.

Proceeds of the concert will go towards the establishment of the Ralph Davies Foundation.

Hutchinson said the Foundation will have a three-pronged mandate—to preserve and promote the legacy of the spirit of the original jazz expression; to create a Bursary through fund-raising through projects and workshops; and, to enhance children’s lives through the development of their musical potential through educational initiatives.

Hutchinson said it is important that we pay tribute to our musical items because “through their vision, they are the ones who paved the way for us, in whatever genre of music, and it is important to let the ‘up and comers’ know the history whilst cherishing the impact of that. Without them, we would not be where we are now.”

A Father’s Day Tribute to Ralph Davies will take place on June 17 at the Fuzion Club, Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s, at 6 pm.

Tickets are available at Ahings Motor Oil and Accessories, Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, or Crosby’s Music Centre, 54 Western Main Road, St James.

Founded by the late Beryl Mc Burnie in 1947, the Board and management of The Little Carib Theatre is ensuring that its 70th anniversary is a bumper one. A fortnight ago, the iconic performing space showcased its Carib Dance (CD) company in a spectacular performance, choreographed by Andre Largen.

Last weekend, CD performed at Bele Djouba in Martinique, an event which happens every two years. T&T and St Lucia were guest performers.

The nucleus of CD that travelled to Martinique was supplemented by performers from Tobago to enable T&T to be fully represented as a joint representation. As this was a joint venture, there were three female dancers from Tobago as well as the three drummers joining the five dancers from CD.

Guest performers each gave 25-minute performances on two nights, Friday and Sunday. During our contingent’s performance they did what is called ‘the Trinidad and Tobago Bele, done by our eight dance ambassadors. Its choreography included the Bele reel, jig and Congo Bele by the Tobago dancers; Bele by CD’s male dancers; and, the grand Bele danced by all. On Sunday, the combined troupe did the Bele yard honouring the ancestors.

Last Friday, the contingent did a workshop for school children where over 100 children attended.

On Saturday, the T&T gave a workshop for adults which was packed to capacity and attended one on Sunday given by Martiniquan dancers. Demonstrating our unique dance were choreographers Deon Baptiste and Karen Berkeley-Charles.

A CD spokesperson told T&T Guardian on the contingent’s tour: “All in all it was a resounding success and left attendees wanting more. We have been invited back again so we might return in two years. The Martiniquans also extended an invitation for us to return sooner, on holiday.”

CD’s next big outing is the 51st World Congress on dance research, to be held in Greece on July 4– 9. There they will perform Sancoche (the steelband piece, to the music of Pamberi Steel Orchestra) and Hosanna, both of which performed to raves at the recent Carib Dance: Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of The Little Carib Theatre fund-raising production.

In Greece, the Company will also be presenting a paper at the World Congress of Dance Research, as well as teaching a series of workshops on folk dancing.

CD choreographer Andre Largen, who is ably assisted by rehearsal director Hazel Franco, said in a recent interview about the performances in Grece: “We are showing two different styles because we are using the music of Andre Tanker and Pamberi Steel Orchestra, so we’ll be using their music.”

As The Little Carib Theatre continued its milestone anniversary and, in commemoration of Indian Heritage Month, the Theatre staged its Arrival Day Concert last Monday.

That evening of Classical Indian Culture featured Nrityanjali Dance Theatre dame Mondira Balkaransingh and dancers, Susan Mohip and her dancers and sitarist Sharda Patasar

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The Little Carib Theatre was formally opened in November 1948. The foundation stone was laid by Paul Robeson, who at the time was visiting Trinidad, and whom the founder Beryl McBurnie had met in New York.

By the 1960s, the work of the Little Carib Dance Company had been recognised and celebrated overseas, having performed at such events as the Caribbean Festival of Arts in Puerto Rico in 1952, the Jamaica Tercentenary Celebrations in 1955 and the opening of the Federal Parliament of Toronto in April 1958. In the 1960s the Little Carib building had to be closed down and was re-built in three years.

Many of the plays of Nobel Prize-winner Derek Walcott were first staged at the Little Carib Theatre, where he held weekly theatre workshops as founding director, from 1959 to 1971, of what became the Trinidad Theatre Workshop.

Artists Donna Tull and Tremayne Frauenfelder hosted the opening of their exhibition, Juncture, on May 11 at the Art Society of T&T, located at the corner of Jamaica Avenue and St Vincent Boulevard, Federation Park.

Tull’s work consisted of surface designs using paint on pottery, acrylics on canvas and stippling with pen which is the technique of using dots to create images.

She also used elements of typography, patterns and indigenous writing scripts in her work.

Frauenfelder displayed a variety of miniatures and dioramas on the evening. He used clay, cardboard, joint compound and gypsum mud to create the colonial style houses. Attending the exhibition were Community Development, Culture and the Arts Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, German ambassador Michael Holger and his wife Hilary, Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi chairman Ken Attale, Tull’s mother Leonora Tull and relatives of Freuenfelder.

The exhibition ended yesterday with an artist talk shop and reception at the Art Society of T&T.

Anthony Beaubrun, one of the pioneers of Trinidad and Tobago energy sector, has died.

His family reports that he died at the Port of Spain General Hospital, days before his 83rd birthday on June 26th. 

Mourning his passing are his immediate family, wife Patricia Beaubrun, daughter Giselle Beaubrun, son Dominic Beaubrun and grandsons Robert Yeates and Jean Beaubrun.

Beaubrun served for two decades on the Board of Directors of the Ansa McAl Group of Companies after an extensive tenure in the energy sector, where he held board and executive positions at Petrotrin and the National Gas Company and the former Trintoc, Trintopec.

He also served as the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce in 1990. He also was President of the Trinidad Union Club, an organisation that has been bringing business people together since 1878.

A Caribbean man, Beaubrun lived in several Caribbean countries where he enjoyed his family and friends.

Beaubrun enjoyed sailing out of Powerboats at Chaguaramas down the islands and mooring at Scotland Bay with family and friends and was famous for his annual Carnival Fete that he hosted for some 20 years on Carnival Saturday.

Funeral arrangements are to be confirmed by the Beaubrun family.

For the past two weeks, the word EXPECTATION in relation to crime has been playing in my head. When or wherever in T&T there is an upsurge in crime, mainly murders, the police divisional heads say to the public we have increased patrols in the areas. Question what we the citizenry do to feel safer in our homes, are we to expect a decrease in murders? Is that the expectation of the police?

As of the June 13, the hierarchy of the Ministry of National Security did a walkabout in the Laventille Community from Erica Street to Rock City. What is the expectation after this walkabout? Is it that the Laventille community and surroundings can now break their self-imposed curfews and go about their constitutional right to live and enjoy life in peace?

Please answer or is this all false expectation.

ATHELSTON CLINTON

Arima

I read where members of the local television industry are hoping that the Trinidad & Tobago Telecommunications Authority will “put a hand” to help save the FTA (free to air) television industry, citing the number of streaming boxes as the main culprit.

The real question here should be why are so many people using boxes rather than viewing FTA TV?

For years the local television industry has done little to uplift the quality and standard of local productions or their content in general. In the days of plenty, many programmes were “thrown” together without much thought and in-depth research; and advertisers, who themselves should share some of the blame, just advertised without questioning its content.

News programmes were dealt with like a public relations exercise without any substance, and while all this was happening their audiences were being exposed to real news coverage and programming via the cable channels.

Over the years there was little or no training taking place for employees to keep them up to date on new techniques in the television industry; and had this happened they would have seen the writing on the wall, but instead, the industry was left to self-regulate. It was simply a case of “put something on the air” and it was sponsored regardless of cost as money was no problem.

Many local production companies actually went out of business, for their productions were given little thought or help to really have them aired; and now in “hard times” and before these “television experts” examine the truth and see where the blame lies, they are looking to have streaming boxes outlawed.

Another reality is that FTA television has been on the decline for more than two years and still nothing was being done to try and save the local industry. So now that the chickens have come home to roost, the most they can do is blame streaming boxes.

Should things turn around and money starts to flow again, they will go right back to same ole same ole. So to outlaw streaming boxes will not save the day. What is required is a serious look at the industry and hard decisions made and only then they may be able to save FTA, but I won’t put much hope in that.

Clarke Peters, via email

There has been public disquiet and a brouhaha about high public offices and pressing social matters within recent months—most notably the selection and approval of a Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police. The Government has exercised the right approach in sending the selected candidates for the post of CoP and Deputy CoP back to the PSC. The process adopted was flawed and I will expound on why later.

The selected candidates for the post of CoP and Deputy CoP by the PSC have the right of recourse through the courts like all other short-listed candidates if they feel they have been wronged - this is one of the beauties of living in a democracy as opposed to a theocracy or communist country. One would hope that just as swiftly as the EOC jumped to show avenues of recourse to Ms Nafisah Nakhid that they will also do the same thing for Assistant Commissioners of Police Mr Deodat Dulalchan and Mr Harold Phillip who, according to the Legal Notice provided to the Parliament, were the candidates for the post of CoP and Deputy CoP respectively.

The process adopted by the PSC was ideal but execution was flawed. I speak through the lens of a practitioner having just done the process. Firstly, if the body charged with the responsibility for recruitment decides that all candidates who apply will be considered for both posts (providing they meet the requisite criteria) then from inception that must be stated to ALL. Candidates should also be advised that if they do not wish to be considered for both posts to indicate as such. There are institutions in the USA that have a detailed application process with real-life application questions for all applicants to complete and applicants know that while they apply for a particular post, their candidacy after review by the office of talent management/recruitment will be considered for other suitable posts that align with the academic credentials, skills set and experience. Organisations such as Strive Preparatory, Achievement First and KIPP (Knowledge is Power Preparatory) use this method. The process entails (1) Phone screen from a talent recruiter after candidacy is deemed eligible; (2) phone interview/synchronous platform interview with hiring manager; (3) Interview with hiring committee which involves questions, demonstration or some performance related activity; (4) Final interview with hiring manager.

In the preceding, there are multiple assessors involved but assessors are not allowed to be a part of all facets of the assessment phases to prevent creeping subjectivity. The method used by many progressive institutions is a technique called S.M.A.R.T - Situation Task Action Result is a method for answering behavioural questions. Behavioural interview questions are questions about how you have behaved in the past. Specifically, they are about how you have handled certain work situations. Since past performance can be a good prediction of the future, interviewers ask these questions to see if candidates have the skills and experiences required for the job.

We use like the PSC did - assessment centres which operate on the principle of a “cross-reference” system - there are multiple assessors, evaluating against multiple competencies in multiple exercises. The assessors are not involved in every phase of the assessment to prevent creeping subjectivity and to maintain objectivity.

The key is defining the right competencies and behaviours beforehand so that the exercises will facilitate the relevant behaviour. Once you know the behaviours that you are looking for, it becomes a matter of designing the exercises to easily identify them and candidates are each measured objectively against the same criteria. Some regular “behaviours” sought would include team play, customer focus, influencing, communication skills and leadership.

It is very important that candidates know what they are likely to be faced with prior to the day, otherwise it could come as a total shock and they are unlikely to perform to their full potential! All attendees should be given the same opportunity to demonstrate on the day whether or not they can do the job. As a rule, there are at least three or four different sessions such as group discussion (which lets you see how the group interacts), a role play, which might focus on team-related activities, an ability or psych test and a structured interview.

Most professional assessors operate a standard rating scale against each candidate for each exercise, and then the team of assessors consolidates their findings at the end of the session.

I hope this helps so that when the process is done again we are mindful of international best practice.

Hansen Stewart, via em

We regularly have marches by concerned citizens protesting the rise in crime and criminality throughout the country. They never appear to be biased regarding political affiliation, religion or race. Just normal citizens democratically expressing disappointment and disgust at the rising homicide statics.

I was gobsmacked to hear the Opposition Minister, MP Bhoe Tewarie of Caroni Central, speaking on Hema Ramikissoon’s Morning Brew (CNC3, June 14) as if he had allegedly thrown all caution to the winds and was openly advocating for a UNC demonstration that could allegedly be called an incitement to anarchy.

Was this telephone tirade brought on by the strong show of ministerial force (June 13) and full coverage by social media regarding the ministerial thrust against the criminal elements in Laventille?

Does Minister Tewarie believe that if he calls for a UNC protest march in Caroni Central that he could force the hands of Minister of Security and the police to show equal care for the UNC hotspots?

Why all this allegedly rough sounding rhetoric at the end of the month of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid ul Fitr on June 15? This smacks of disrespect to our Muslim sisters and brothers. Why this call to march close to the annual Labour Day celebrations, June 19. Why the alleged call to arms at the beginning of the long-awaited World Cup on June 15?

If the minister is allegedly playing at politics then he has a very poor sense of timing.

No way am I moving from in front of my TV and some excellent football to look at the UNC score own goals.

Bhoe Tewarie is not the known leader of the Opposition UNC in the year 2018. Or is he?

LYNETTE JOSEPH
Diego Martin

With all that we are hearing being spent on the problem of the ever-growing crime situation in T&T, the results are far below par.

Our crime epidemic continues to get worse and is expanding to all parts of our country, even our religious houses. Areas that were once peaceful, residents are now complaining of the drastic change that has taken place in a twinkling of an eye. The murders continue along its merry way, a western town with many gunslingers all over the place shooting up establishments.

We have to also deal with an increase of home invasions, robberies in broad daylight, raping of citizens, fear has gripped the land. That is where we are at presently.

When will our politicians and leaders seriously come together and unite with the fight against crime, I mean in a meaningful way? With the previous meetings of the heads of the parties, what have come out of this?
Let us stop the political antics and realise that citizen, men, women and children, are feeling the sting of violence in our country. I am convinced that what we are experiencing can be decreased but it will take us beginning with our leaders putting aside political agendas and “truly” working together. Not just our leaders but our protective services, both the TTPS and the national army.

I declare without hesitation, seeing where crime is in T&T, the army needs to be out there 24/7 assisting the TTPS. What is the issue why we cannot see this massive joint effort by the TTPS and the national army

Please put things in place that this can happen.

Our nation must not only hear sympathising words when a murder etc takes place but must see a positive action after. Confidence, trust and a sense of security need to be restored in this nation.

As citizens, we also have our role to play but the wheel motion must begin from the top aggressively and it will filter down in “the war against crime.” We can do all, but unless we seriously pull together we will be missing the mark. Remember “country comes first.”

ARNOLD GOPEESINGH,
San Juan

Chacachacare Island will be the Labour Day destination of a family hike organised by Island Hikers on the Tuesday holiday. Rated an easy two in terms of difficulty, hikers are requested to assemble at 7 am at KFC Carpark, Westmall for the boarding of the vessel at La Soufriere (next to Heliport), on Western Main Road, Chaguaramas.

Chacachacare Island, located eight miles east from the Venezuelan mainland, is a place of historical significance.

The Island first discovered by Christopher Columbus on August 12, 1498 and called El Caracol (the Snail) because of its angular shape, is the largest and most westerly of the five Boca Islands. The five are Centipede, Gaspar Grande, Monos, Huevos, and Chacachacare.

In earlier times, cotton cultivated on the island and today the road to the Lighthouse there is some surviving plants which still blossom. It is an island to escape to from the hustle and bustle of city life and enjoy a peaceful day at the beach.

In 1813, Simon Bolivar and Santiago Marino used the island as a battle station in the liberation of Venezuela from Spanish Rule. In earlier times whales populated the Gulf of Paria and the Caribbean Sea. In 1820, there was a Whaling Station at Chacachacare. The Boca Light House built in 1870 on the highest part on the island at Morne Cabresse (825feet), remains in operation today.

In 1924, a Leprosarium was constructed to house 500 patients with its hospital wards placed at Cocos and Saunders Bay. The Dominican Nuns, who took care of the patients, built a convent and church at La Chappelle’s Bay. Many of the nuns, while taking care of the patients, contracted the disease and died. In the cemetery grounds of the Nunnery, their tombstones still exist. It is a reminder of their dedication to serving others.

It was like a death sentence, for a patient to be sent to the island. They were taken away from their families some never to return to the outside world. At Rust Bay, there was the Doctor’s House and at Blummer’s Bay the Nurse’s Quarters. During this period, the island was busy with activity and there was electricity. The patients had a cinema for recreation, and each religion had a house to worship. In 1984, with a cure for Hansen disease, the place became abandoned, and all left today are the ruins.

The boat ride to the Island will take 40 minutes, and the walk from the jetty to the Light House is approximately 35 minutes. Visible at the summit there are panoramic views of the Venezuelan mainland. On the return from the lighthouse, there is the option to visit the Nunnery and located on the eastern end of the Island there is a Salt Pond at Bandu Su Bay. For those wishing to relax there is the option to spend the time at La Tinta and Perruquier Bay.

For more details contact Marcia (490 2421); Mario (749 2956); or, Jamal (761 1889), or visit www.islandhikers.com

After 26 years in the cocoa business, Harryman “Clutch” Chattergoon has put his best foot forward and decided to tackle the local market with four products that add value to the locally grown beans.

Chattergoon made the bold move in late 2017 to offer to consumers two cocoa-based beverage mixtures, a ground and roasted organic coffee, and a 70 per cent dark chocolate bar.

He said these products are doing well at supermarkets in south and central Trinidad and he is hoping to enter into arrangements with supermarkets in the north and east of T&T.

His products are being sold under the Tabaquite Cocoa Fermentary label, a brand that he started building over two decades ago when he entered the industry. Chattergoon said the facility was opened 26 years ago to provide a service as a cocoa and coffee agent under the then Cocoa and Coffee Industry Board of T&T.

Beans for the fermentary are collected from catchment areas encompassing Tabaquite, Flanagin Town, Mamoral, Gran Couva, Brasso, Rio Claro in Central and from the southern peninsula at a cocoa depot in Cedros.

In 2002, Chattergoon was one of five individuals who was granted a fermentary license to purchase and process wet cocoa.

Chattergoon showed Guardian Media his fermenting operation where wet beans are fermented in cedar boxes that are covered with banana leaves and jute bags to develop the flavour.

The fermentary is also equipped with artificial dryers that can run all day to ensure that the beans are dried evenly and properly.

In doing so Chattergoon does not have to worry about having the proverbial cocoa in the sun since all drying takes place indoors. The beans for export are packed in jute bags and filled into shipping containers.

In 2015, Chattergoon started to export fine flavour cocoa to Germany, Switzerland and Holland. In that year his operations brought home two international cocoa awards for beans from the Tabaquite and Cedros areas.

Chattergoon has started to export beans to China and the United States. His total exports have crossed an annual figure of 120 tonnes.

Chattergoon said the chocolate bar is named after his son, 15-yearold son Jeevan, who did a chocolate making course eight months ago. Chatergoon said the family has since invested in new equipment to keep up with the demands of the market.

This includes a machine to produce 300 chocolate bars a day.

Chattergoon said Jeevan is very much involved in the business. He said: “Jeevan may be the youngest chocolatier in T&T. He has an interest, having grown up in the industry. We decided to invest in equipment to produce high quality 70 per cent dark chocolate bars.

These bars retail for around $20 which is quite affordable when compared to other similar brands. We want to give people value for their money and an excellent product.”

Chattergoon said the industry has a lot of scope for young people. He said “young people should seriously consider agriculture as a career choice and look at it from a wider economic perspective.”

Chattergoon said his next product would be cocoa nibs for use in cake making.

Egbe Onisin Eledumare held its annual Sango Festival at Salybia the end of last month featuring a celebration of the late Iyalorisha Dr Geraldine Molly Ayhe.

Egbe Onisin Eledumare is a traditional African spiritual organisation functional in T&T (Ile-Iere) since 1971. The organisation has consistently been one of the most progressive voices for Orisha and African traditions in T&T facilitating the adherence of major rituals and traditions that are relevant to the peoples of the local African diaspora.

The organisation has campaigned for the passage of the Orisha Marriage Act; held two major Orisha and African Traditions Conferences in T&T; staged the first Orisha carnival band and Queen of Carnival contestant. Its credentials also include many other events and interventions that have helped mainstream the information about and the practice of Orisha and traditional African ancestral sacred science in T&T.

Sango is regarded to be the deity in custodianship of lightning and storms but actually is the very deity of ‘Life Force’ itself and the Sango Festival is one of the major festivals on the Egbe’s annual Festival calendar.

Sango is the lord of the dance with Oranfe being a primordial deity related to volcanic properties as well as storm and elemental forces.

Each year the Festival celebrates life, environmental balance, social and spiritual equality and justice via the ethos of the Festival.

Energy Minister Franklin Khan and a team of ministry officials including acting Permanent Secretary, Penelope Bradshaw-Niles and deputy chairman of the executive board, GECF, Selwyn Lashley, recently met with Dr Yury Sentyurin, secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) at the minister’s Port-of-Spain office.

Sentyurin came to T&T on a familiarisation visit from June 7 to 10 to discuss preparations for the staging of the 20th Ministerial Meeting of the GECF in Port-of-Spain from November 12 to 14.

Khan was appointed the president of the Ministerial Meeting of the GECF for 2018 and the Government has agreed to hold the 20th Ministerial Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

T&T is a foundation member of the GECF and hosted the 5th Ministerial Meeting in April 2005.

Sentyurin said the GECF is commemorating its tenth year of establishment, so this year’s ministerial meeting holds great significance.

He said Khan is the only minister in the GECF who was also a Member of Parliament. This was significant as natural gas export issues for most countries are based in the law and approved by the legislative arm of government.

Among the matters raised at the discussion were details of a natural gas symposium to be held in the margins of the ministerial meeting to which Ministers of Energy from Caricom and Latin America are to be invited to participate.

The three-day programme comprises a data exchange workshop and the executive board meeting on November 12, a natural gas symposium on November 13 and the 20th Ministerial Meeting on November 14.

Energy Ministers from GECF members Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and observer countries Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman and Peru are expected to attend.

With the certainty of hindsight, we now recognise 2006 as Tobago’s glory days when everything seemed to be falling in place for the creation of a solid economy, rich with foreign exchange courtesy of tourism and real estate investment, and based on a very modest but rewarding annual international visitor count of around 90,000.

The real estate market at the time was hot, so hot in fact that some vendors and agents were pricing themselves out of the market, and it became clear that something was out of control. Prices certainly, but something else too. Real estate sales appeared from the outside to be so easy that the island was flooded with agents lacking professional education, training or oversight and therefore the skills to correctly appraise property values.

Everyone was a real estate specialist and prices bore no relationship to reality. The term “flipping” an investment became popular but totally out of place in such a small and fragile market that was over-heating.

Thanks to the unusual level of real estate activity, especially involving foreign buyers, the THA chose that moment to ask Central Government to impose a licensing regime on the island, which they did in February 2007 via a Cabinet Order attached to the Foreign Investment Act of 1990. Overnight the foreign investment market died and to date has never recovered because tourism also fell into a decline, for this and other reasons, and has never recovered. Needless to say real estate did not remain untouched.

Today, international arrivals to Tobago total a mere 18,000 per annum and the economy of the entire island is failing after a decade of steady and uncorrected decline and no new investment.

Real estate as an investment shines when it is viewed as a mid- to long-term investment and, of course, the economic tide of Tobago will change at some point and trigger a new wave of major infrastructure and tourism expansion.

With this in mind, clearly it is a good time to consider buying when the market is slow and prices are falling. Not everyone can afford to invest in a recession, but the price benefits are clear.

Tobago is at that point now, but not if your investment requires an immediate return. It is still too early for that, given the perception of T&T as a whole and the state of the tourism sector in particular, which is effectively the only major income-generating sector on the island.

Investing for the future, however, can look very attractive in 2018.

Buying land, a run-down property for renovation, even villas that can pay their way in the present depressed economy because the island does still enjoy modest airlift from Europe and North America. With basic marketing and help from social media can be enough to ensure occupancy for a small property.

The process of buying is simple, even for a foreign national, with the difference that after signing a sale agreement, the buyer must apply for a licence to own land/property before he can complete the purchase.

This licence application is best done by your agent or attorney and involves form-filling, support documentation and persistence.

The biggest challenge for buyers is financing.

For local investors the problem is borrowing in a recession when risk is increased and the future uncertain. Institutions are understandably more cautious than usual and credit limits tight. This forces the majority of enquiries down to the lower levels of the property market and forces higher-end property to gather dust on the shelf.

An overseas buyer is required to pay at least the 10 per cent deposit in his foreign currency, but usually pays cash. There is a major benefit to buyer and seller where the property being bought is owned by a foreign national, or a T&T citizen resident overseas. Here the option of payment in the country of origin of the owner is very attractive while an absence of foreign exchange reserves currently prevents banks from repatriating funds for those owners. This is one very good reason to attract overseas investment (FDI) at this time.

A recent development in the banking world has served to further complicate the business of funding investment from overseas. With the focus so strongly on money laundering and terrorism financing, foreign-owned banks in T&T have tightened their internal procedures to the extent that no foreign national may open an account or borrow from a bank unless he already owns property in the country where he is trying to invest further. There is even talk that international banks may be refusing entirely to trade in T&T currency.

Real estate, like life, is cyclical and over the past three decades alone Tobago has seen change from little to no investment to a boom in land sales to locals and Europeans—European airlift strengthened as the Berlin wall fell, triggering large movements of funds—to the loss of that overseas investment with the 2007 land licence, leading to a steady decline today in even local buyers as they see less and less incentive to buy when ROI cannot be guaranteed.

Clearly Tobago needs to change gear and attract new tourism investment. It is the island’s largest and best established sector, and plant and infrastructure is ready and waiting for an injection of funds and hope for the future.

Negotiations are on-going with Sandals Resorts for a two-hotel project on the island and other investors are showing interest because of the island‘s enormous potential for being a haven of tranquillity and green standards in a world that is more and more threatened by pollution, extreme climates, extreme population numbers and autocratic money-driven politics. Tobago is an attractive investment opportunity. A Caribbean island that remains a beautiful, natural, still point in the midst of the global storm.

Submitted by Dawn Glaisher, director, Association of Real Estate Agents

SANTIAGO—At least 14 Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries will design multiple projects to mobilise resources from international sources allowing them to improve the resilience and adaptation of their agriculture, food systems and rural communities to change climate.

The projects will be funded under a new initiative created by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Mexican Agency for International Development Co-operation (AMEXCID).

FAO Director General, José Graziano da Silva, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Luis Videgaray, signed the agreement that creates the fund with an initial budget of US$500,000.

They said the money will be used as a pre-investment resources that will mobilize millions of dollars for resilience and adaptation projects.

“Thanks to the support of the Mexican Agency for International Development Co-operation, 14 Caricom countries will design 27 projects to mobilize resources against climate change,” said the FAO Director General.

“We all know that the Caribbean is one of the region’s most vulnerable to climate change. We saw it in the last hurricane season, when the islands of Dominica and Barbuda were practically destroyed,” said Videgaray during the signing agreement in Rome.

The countries that will develop the projects are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Suriname, and T&T.

Ten of the projects will be presented to the Green Climate Fund, 12 to the Global Environment Facility and five to various European Union mechanisms. They will focus on vulnerable rural communities facing climate risks.

The fund between Mexico and FAO will also support Caricom countries develop their institutional and technical capacities for planning, decision-making and project management, to enable them to better cope with natural disasters and extreme weather events, the FAO said.

Mexican experts and specialists from FAO will work side-by-side with their Caribbean counterparts in the design and implementation of the projects.

“The fund is a combination of financial resources and human resources,” Videgaray said.

Both the FAO and Mexico say building resilience requires improving the quality of infrastructure through actions such as rectification and strengthening of river channels and burying power lines, but these are expensive investments and the Caribbean countries do not always have the necessary capital to implement them.

“That’s where international funds come in. This initiative from Mexico and FAO will allow countries to obtain much needed resources that are currently available but that many times Caribbean countries cannot access, because their projects have to improve from a technical standpoint,” Videgaray said.

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico explained that the fund signed between FAO and Mexico is an agreement open to other countries.

“We already have the good news that the government of Canada is going to come on board with resources. And this is key because the challenge is enormous. We must recognise that the Caribbean is not generating climate change but that it is one of the most affected regions, so we all have the responsibility to contribute,” Videgaray added.

RBC Royal Bank has partnered with Prestige Holdings to equip KFC delivery drivers with RBC point-of-sale devices.

“This partnership will not only provide more convenience and security for KFC’s customers, it will also allow their delivery drivers to go cashless, making their jobs safer and easier,” said Darryl White, managing director for T&T, RBC.

“We are proud to be the leading financial institution supporting KFC here in one of their fastest-growing markets.”

RBC point-of-sale devices allow businesses to accept debit and credit cards as a form of payment. These devices are fast, secure, and reliable and provide an added layer of security and convenience for merchants and customers by eliminating the need to carry large quantities of cash.

Charles Pashley, CEO of Prestige Holdings, said: “KFC continues to strive to find new ways to increase consumer convenience as well as providing our employees with a safer working environment. Our consumers will be able to enjoy our great tasting products, value and convenience of service with a new cashless system. We will continue to find innovative methods to allow us to put people first and we are happy to partner with RBC to make this possible.”

KFC is introducing these devices at various locations across the islands. By the end of June, all KFC delivery drivers will be equipped with RBC’s mobile point-of-sale devices and will be able to accept debit cards and credit cards at the door.

“RBC point-of-sale devices are a prime example of how technology is helping businesses meet their needs,” added White.

“Convenient payment solutions, along with chip and PIN technology are just some of the ways RBC is using technology to help businesses grow while bringing convenience and security to customers.”