So the dream of Splice Studios is no more. If Abigail Hadeed—with her brand recognition, contacts, creativity, and privilege, could not navigate to save her business during this pandemic—then tell me who can. Just reading her post was painful: ‘Thank you all who have shared, supported or created at Splice …
Read More »Dear Editor: Scrap iron proposal can earn forex for TT, Dr Rowley must think outside box
‘[…] [The scrap iron] sector has been disregarded by officialdom, perhaps because it is not a fancy or glamorous business, operated in the main by small business people who are socially unrelated to the traditional elites… ‘[…] Dr Rowley’s leadership will be judged [on] whether or not his government has …
Read More »Daly Bread: Straight answers needed on vaccines, Wasa and recovery committees
Last Sunday’s column touched on multiple subjects about which there are a lack of straight answers. The range of coverage seemed well received, but there was a common observation: ‘you left out Wasa’! First, however, to return to the growing uncertainty about when will we receive a supply of Covid-19 …
Read More »MFO study: Gov’t lauded for re-opening economy; but Covid initiatives not benefitting businesses
The Trinidad and Tobago government came in for high praise for its phased re-opening of the economy while a large percentage of businesses were aware of initiatives meant to cushion the blow of Covid-19, according to a study by Market Facts and Opinion (MFO) published on 17 July 2020. However, …
Read More »Daly Bread: T&T’s underlying system and its marginalising of black lives
Like citizens all over the world, I am following current events in the United States. I am sickened that persons there can take a black life without a second thought or one iota of internal moral restraint. What adds to the revulsion in the George Floyd killing is how disregard …
Read More »Noble: Wasting a crisis; Le Hunte wanted Cabinet to invest in our future—and they didn’t listen
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before,” Rahm Emanuel, (2008). The context for that quote—which is really a riff off one made by Paul Romer, who in …
Read More »Water more than flour; Le Hunte quit as minister after Cabinet row over WASA
Robert Le Hunte’s shock resignation as minister of public utilities allegedly followed a row with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley over a proposal for major restructuring at WASA. Although, according to informed sources, the quarrel was one-way traffic. Le Hunte, who is also deputy chair of Rowley’s post-Covid-19 economy recovery team, …
Read More »Daly Bread: Re-opening a bonito economy; continue cautiously but don’t forget the ‘small man’
As is now plainly apparent, the working poor consists of those in low paid jobs and many of the self-employed, whose work is a hustle. They are being crushed. In addition to those in the food business, we must therefore identify the vulnerable groups among the self- employed. Putting them …
Read More »T&T in a groove: Phase two starts early, fuel grant for taxis and Chin’s ‘humanitarian’ gesture explained
Trinidad and Tobago will enter phase two, on the road towards the full re-opening of its economy, on Thursday 21 May—some four days ahead of schedule—and it will be bigger than initially suggested. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said today that the country’s promising health figures satisfied chief medical officer …
Read More »Noble: Embracing the future; T&T economy is being sold short by ‘outdated’ ideas
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by our responsibility for our future.” — George Bernard Shaw. To accept the virus-induced lockdown was, for the most part, a no-brainer. To exit is not. Indeed, the public comments of the major business organisations show us more …
Read More »Demming: Dreaming of tomorrow, how recovery team can help T&T’s ease of business
There is always a gap between perception and reality. Communicators have to operate within that space trying to narrow the gap and strengthen their intended message. The government opted to use moral suasion to get citizens to stay at home, but a drive or walk through neighbourhoods, towns and cities …
Read More »An ‘exceptionally difficult’ year! Imbert on salary grants, public aid and ‘recalibrated’ budget
“[…] Trinidad and Tobago is not only impacted by the economic consequences of Covid-19; but as an oil-and-gas exporting country, the economic, financial and social consequences have been further compounded by the dramatic drop in oil and gas prices. The worldwide demand for crude oil has crashed in the context …
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