Trinidad and Tobago

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - “He’s done the best thing he could have done in T&T’s interest.” That was PNM deputy leader Marlene McDonald’s response yesterday to news the Prime Minister had accepted Jack Warner’s resignation. MSJ leader David Abdulah said_ “Given the evidence, there was little option but to resign. But although he’s no longer in Cabinet, he’s not the only one who’s manifested bad governance and therefore the issues continue.”

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said while all parties within the coalition People’s Partnership Government were “free to practise freedom of speech”, she was confident they would all “abide” by her decision on National Security Minister Jack Warner. This statement came on Saturday in regard to the coalition partner, Congress of the People, and that party’s call for Warner to step aside from his Government position following damning allegations contained in the Concacaf Integrity Committee report.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Less than 24 hours after he submitted his resignation as Minister of National Security, Austin “Jack” Warner has resigned as chairman of the ruling United National Congress (UNC).
Media reports said Warner had submitted his resignation hours after being removed from the cabinet.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - National Security Minister Jack Warner has the “full support of every single member of the Cabinet”, Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed said yesterday.
Mohammed was responding to questions on whether the Cabinet had discussed the various controversies associated with Warner and the fact that he continues to be the focus of negative attention.
Members of the Cabinet include Congress of the People (COP) leader Prakash Ramadhar and chairman Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, as well as other COP members (including Mohammed).

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The lone commissioner in the enquiry into the collapse of CL Financial Limited, Sir Anthony Colman, QC, yesterday ruled that Clico business magnate Lawrence Duprey and former group financial director of CL Financial, Andre Monteil, must present themselves to testify at the ongoing enquiry.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - A trade quarrel over toilet paper between Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica is heading to CARICOM for a solution. Speaking to the Express yesterday, Trade Desk Officer of the T&T-Jamaica Trade Facilitation Desk at the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association(TTMA), Naika Pichi-Ayers, said TTL, one of their members, had contacted them in early March to resolve their concerns that Jamaican authorities were not allowing their products entry into the market.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC - Guyana has dominated the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) /TravelMole Sustainable Tourism Awards. For the second consecutive year, Guyana won three of the six awards at the awards ceremony at STC-14 that ended here on Thursday night. The 2013 awards comprised six categories covering all aspects of sustainability, from overall excellence, to accommodation, community, heritage and biodiversity.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Just six years after it was created to replace its debt-ridden predecessor, BWIA, state-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is facing severe financial turbulence. There are reports of a $500 million debt that the airline is seeking to address with long-term financing from local banks. The carrier’s latest financial statements show that CAL’s losses almost doubled from US$43.6 million in 2011 to US$83.7 million for 2012. Whether the airline can stave off bankruptcy will depend on sound financial and operational strategies over the next few months.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – An American Airlines plane left here four and a half hours late on Thursday after security officials here said they had been alerted to a “strange” package placed on board the airline. A statement from the Airport Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (AATT) said that American Airline Flight 2282, which was on its way to Miami “was taxiing at the Piarco International Airport when the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago’s Security Department received a phone call about a security issue aboard the aircraft.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - After two days of extensive dialogue and negotiations, T&T and Guatemala have concluded their final round of negotiations with the signing of an Aide-Memoire on Wednesday at the Ministry of Trade in Port-of-Spain. The Aide-Memoire summarised the items discussed, amended and agreed to over the two-day negotiating period. Present to oversee the signing was the Vasant Bharath, Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment and Iván Espinoza Farfán, Vice Minister, Foreign Affairs Guatemala.