Trinidad & Tobago
BP investment boost for TT
Port-of-Spain – The Trinidad and Tobago government announced last week its energy sector is due to receive a boost from multinational giant BP with a commitment of billions of US dollars over the next five years.
The announcement came following talks between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and executives from several leaders in the US energy industry. The talks took place late last month in Houston, Texas. Rowley was accompanied by Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Stuart Young.
According to the announcement from the Office of the Prime Minister, BP intends to invest (US) $5 billion in Trinidad and Tobago. The company also committed to further exploration and production.
“This important meeting between Trinidad and Tobago and BP brought discussions and negotiations that have been ongoing for months closer to finalisation,” the Prime Minister’s office said.
BP also reached an agreement with the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago to develop the Angelin gas field, situated 40 kilometres off the east coast. According to BP, this will follow the start-up of the Juniper gas project, scheduled to start in 2017.
Also discussed at the meeting were plans for Atlantic LNG, as well as the settlement of long outstanding royalty gas positions and the future of the hydrocarbon industry in Trinidad and Tobago.
Responding to last week’s announcement, BPTT confirmed that it had reached an agreement on key terms for a new gas sales agreement with NGC.
This agreement is expected to bring potential investments totalling approximately (US) $5-6 billion between the years 2017-2022, BP said.
“We are pleased that negotiations with the NGC on a new gas sales agreement have reached this critical milestone. Finalising the gas sales agreement will pave the way for the Angelin project and future investments,” BPTT regional president Norman Christie said in a release.
“BPTT recognises the critical need for increased production from indigenous gas resources and aims therefore to have the start-up of Angelin follow after Juniper, which is scheduled to start production in 2017. Reaching agreement with NGC on key contractual terms has preserved Angelin's project time-line, which anticipates the start of production in early 2019,” the release noted.
The company said it will maintain its focus on a significant investment programme in 2017, with plans to invest approximately (US) $1.5 billion in finding and developing gas resources. This includes completion of the Trinidad Region Onshore Compression and Juniper projects; the progression of future projects; an aggressive development drilling programme in existing fields; further investments in seismic; and the drilling of two exploration wells, both under way.
Also while in the US, Rowley and Young also met with senior executives from Exxon Mobil, the company responsible for leading the discoveries of substantial oil reserves in Guyana over the last two years.
According to a government report, Rowley used the opportunity to point out that Trinidad and Tobago was ideally positioned to play a key role in assisting with Guyana's hydrocarbon future.
Said Rowley: “Our location, refinery, deep water harbours, access to markets and expertise in the energy sector all make us the best candidate for partnership with our neighbour.”
He also used the opportunity to extend to Exxon Mobil an invitation to visit in order to assess Trinidad and Tobago’s readiness to partner with Guyana.
Speaking with the media following the government’s announcement of the (US) $5 billion investment pledged by BP, Caroni East MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie said it was a positive development for the country. However, he added that the issues of gas prices, the fiscal regime, local content and job creation were also critical to realising the benefits of such an investment.
Tewarie added this billion-dollar investment was always in the pipeline since 2013. He said BP had already invested (US) $5.5 billion between 2012 and 2016, and this new investment was part of the company's continuing investment strategy in Trinidad and Tobago, and in this part of the world.
Saying that he did not know if these negotiations were completed, Tewarie said it was critical that the government complete these talks with BP.
“If they aren’t, they should be expedited to make the investments possible and if the negotiations are concluded, I would be very happy because it would put into play a pipeline of projects by a long-term international investor in the oil and gas sector, and it would make the prospect for offshore gas to Trinidad and Tobago better. The key thing is whether the negotiations are completed because they have to do with a fiscal regime,” Tewarie said.
He said the government needed to make it fiscally attractive for BP to make the investment, and there was also need to address the price relationship for the sale of the gas by BP to NGC.
against crime
The march began at Bhupsingh Park, Penal and finished with a panel discussion on crime at Bakal Recreation Ground.
Persad-Bissessar, flanked by MPs Roodal Moonilal, Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh, Tim Gopeesingh, Barry Padarath, David Lee, Rodney Charles, Dr Lackram Bodoe, and Deputy UNC leader Khadija Ameen, marched at the front of hundreds of people waving placards and dressed in black and white.
“This is not a UNC event, it is organised by the Penal-Debe Foundation,” said Persad-Bissessar in a brief speech before a panel discussion.
“But why are we here? It is to make it very clear that this government has failed in every regard – education, health care, the economy, jobs, and in the fight against crime. I want to promise you as your MP and as your Leader of the Opposition that together with our team, we will do all that we can to ensure that the government listens, that the government takes charge because they are in charge now to deal with the issue of the fight against crime.”
A panel discussion was held with retired Brigadier General Carl Alphonso, former commissioner of police James Philbert, former Independent senator and youth activist Nikolai Edwards, director of the National Counselling Association Sandra Jaggernauth, and Shiva Roopnarine, president of the Penal-Debe Chamber of Commerce. The discussion focused on the definition of crime and how to recognise it; the punishment of crime; and rehabilitation of those released from prison after serving their time. From the discussions, a policy paper would be produced and sent to the Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader, and the Commissioner of Police for their comment and their action.
President of the Penal-Debe Foundation Khemraj Seecharan said they were moved to have the march to make a statement against the upsurge in crime in the country, and in their community.
“There has been a great change in this community where people once felt safe are now afraid to leave their home over the past few months,” he said.
The loan was finalised during a meeting between Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis and IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno on Thursday in Paraguay.
A statement from the Planning Ministry said the loan will fund a project, the specific objectives of which are: "(a) strategic allocation of public resources; (b) the control and stewardship of public resources; and (c) information management for decision making".
The ministry said the signing of the loan contract between Robinson-Regis and Moreno was "on the occasion of the 58th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB currently being held in Paraguay".
The ministry said: "The objective of this five-year programme, which will be executed by the Ministry of Finance, is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the allocation of public resources. The project is consistent with the Government's strategy towards restoring and maintaining economic stability and budgetary reform, including the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority."
The country's loan portfolio with the IDB is now valued at approximately US$524 million with an implementation rate of 35 per cent, the release said.
Also coming out of the Paraguay meeting was the announcement that the IDB will establish the hub of the Inter-American Investment Corporation – the IIC – in Trinidad and Tobago.
"The IIC will focus on the Trinidad and Tobago private sector market which will result in greater positive partnership for development. The bank identified new areas for private sector involvement including, technology, media and telecommunication, tourism and Tobago specific activities such as agriculture, and coast management," the ministry said.
of Trinidad soldier
Warrant Officer Omar Samaroo, 47, was found slumped in a dormitory at Camp Cumuto, Wallerfield with a gunshot wound to the head last Tuesday, and died hours later at hospital.
His death was ruled a suicide. But some people aren’t so sure that’s what it was, and Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge says he intends to take legal action if the TTDF does not investigate the circumstances surrounding Samaroo’s death.
In a letter to Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Rodney Smart and copied to Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, Sturge said Samaroo’s death was suspicious, based on his injuries – which he claimed included broken ribs – and how he was found.
He said the public and Samaroo’s family had a right to know whether there was any wrongdoing in his death.
“There should be an effective official investigation when individuals such as officer Samaroo have lost their lives in suspicious circumstances while on duty as a servant and or agent of the State. This officer lost his life while on duty at an army base under your command,” Sturge’s letter to Brigadier General Smart stated, adding that the matter was of “great public importance” that requires “expeditious action” on the part of the State.
“Should there be no action on the part of the Defense Force and the State in this matter I hereby formally give notice that I shall be challenging the failure of the State to initiate a proper investigation in accordance with my request herein in the High Court in the public interest. I wish to emphasize that the request for the investigation into the death of this officer is not one which ought to be triggered by anyone but one which should have been commenced forthwith by the State in the fulfillment of it substantive and procedural constitutional obligation to the deceased officer.”
However, the TTDF has called on Sturge and other members of the public to desist from making “false and unsubstantiated remarks” about Samaroo’s tragic passing and allow his friends and family members to grieve in peace.
The Defence Force said it “vigorously denounces the flow of misinformation being purported by some conspiracy theorists, in particular by certain ‘responsible’ individuals in society”.
The TTDF also dismissed claims that Samaroo’s body was bruised and that three of his ribs were broken. It said an autopsy confirmed that the soldier, who was a member of the Defence Force for 27 years, died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the head and there were no other marks of violence on his body.
Maharaj prepared a comprehensive plan free of charge for the Dr Keith Rowley administration and last week stated the government must also have the will-power to implement the death penalty. “They have to make up their minds to do it. They must have a dedicated team to track the cases but, most importantly, they have to put their minds to it,” he said.
Maharaj managed the trials of Dole Chadee and his gang who murdered four members of a Williamsville family. The result was Chadee and eight men were hanged in 1999.
Last week he announced he has now recommended the same fast-tracking mechanism in which the government must first examine the cases of those Death Row prisoners who are close to the five-year Pratt and Morgan limitation period.
The last two people who were hanged after the Chadee gang, were Anthony Briggs and Wenceslaus James on July 28, 1999.
The hanging caused a major controversy locally and abroad with criticisms from several international agencies and individuals lobbying for abolition of the death penalty.
There are approximately 36 convicted people on Death Row at this time. According to reports, staff at the office of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi have already started implementing the plan provided by Maharaj.
Maharaj said he has recommended to government that a Case Management Unit be set up which must be all-embracing, in which it must comprise representatives from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Commissioner of Prisons, Supreme Court Registry, Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The members must be responsible for ensuring all departments which fall under their respective ministries, provide all information requested by the CMU in a timely manner to ensure all necessary documents are made available for appeals and applications by convicted killers before international human rights bodies.
Citing his own experience as a former attorney general, Maharaj said if there were any delays or stumbling blocks which the CMU could not overcome, he was requested to intervene as attorney general to have the process expedited.
Convicted killers who have exhausted appeals to the Privy Council have a right to petition the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with an appeal from the commission to the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. They also have the right to petition the United Nations Committee on Human Rights. When those fail, the convicted prisoner petitions the Mercy Committee requesting that his death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment.
Asked how long could it take for the first person to be hanged in Trinidad if his plan is effected efficiently, Maharaj said that it all depended on the status of the appeals of Death Row prisoners.
He also charged that the present PNM has not presented an economic plan for its recovery.
“Standing and blaming the People’s Partnership government does not change the fact that this government has failed to manage the economy in the interest of the people,” he said. He said this was evident in the March 17 report of the Central Bank.
Supporting the motion calling on the House of Representatives to condemn the government for rising levels of unemployment and increasing poverty in the country, Rambachan said: “The gross incompetence we have seen in the PNM has been unparalleled.” He added it was disturbing that as the government speaks of unemployment the Minister of Labour, repeatedly is unable to tell the country how many people have lost their jobs.
Rambachan said the labour minister keeps hiding behind the formal requirements of companies that have to report retrenchments, he said.
“Did you become a minister to enjoy the ride as a minister? To get a fat salary? To dress up every day? To drive in a big car but you cannot tell the country how much people are losing their jobs?” he asked.
The government cannot put an economic plan of action to deal with the level of unemployment when it does not know how many people have been displaced and in what areas of the economy.
“If you don’t have that information. How can you plan?” he queried.
Declaring the government cannot continue to borrow to stabilise the economy and that budgetary balancing was not an exercise independent of an economic plan, he said: “The danger we are facing in Trinidad and Tobago under this government is that it continues to put all its eggs in the energy basket.”
Due to rising unemployment and poverty, Rambachan said, “There is a very serious social upheaval in this country that has not found physical expression, but mentally and psychologically people are deeply affected. One wonders if the way people are psychologically and mentally affected is not leading to the frustration that is bearing out in violence to persons even in homes, and children against children in schools.”
He called on both Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus to say if they supported Minister of Social Development Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn’s stance that Trinidad and Tobago’s unemployment aligns to world figures and is not too bad. Said Indarsingh: “While the government may believe the unemployment rate is not that bad, hundreds of workers are being dismissed in both the public and private sectors on a monthly basis.” He recalled Public Services Association president Watson Duke saying the government was planning another round of retrenchment.
“Fifty monthly paid employees, some with over 20 years of service including middle and upper management, technical and administrative staff of the Chaguaramas Development Authority are to be retrenched from next month,” he said.
Indarsingh also recalled the government’s recent disclosure of the closure of three State enterprises – the Tourism Development Company, Caroni Green Ltd and the Government Human Resource Services Company Limited.
“These three companies employ hundreds of workers who will now join thousands more on the breadline,” Indarsingh said.
He added Baptiste-Primus had not yet produced any figures to rebuff his claim that 25,000 persons have lost their jobs under this government since September 2015.
He said the Central Statistical Office 2016 2nd Quarter Report indicated 16,200 persons have lost their jobs since September 2015, when the Rowley regime took office.
He reiterated the Opposition’s position that no job is safe under the Rowley-led administration, saying that unemployment continues to rise and this government is demonstrating that the care and compassion for citizens have been lost.
Indarsingh said that by contrast, statistics show the former People’s Partnership government created 66,000 new jobs and unemployment remained under five percent. The PP administration raised the minimum wage more than once and over 130 wage negotiations were settled.
“The PNM continues to manipulate the country’s workers to satisfy its own selfish and political agenda. Their industrial labour practices show the utter contempt that this government has for the working class despite their mantra that they are a caring party,” he said.
Economist Dr Terrence Farrell expressed this sentiment late last month during the launch of his latest book, We Like It So? The Cultural Roots of Economic Underachievement.
Addressing a small gathering at the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Farrell said: “As a Trinbagonian who returned from a university abroad to help develop the country in the 1970s, I have been sorely disappointed with our underachievement. As a country, we have been given much – oil, natural gas, great location, land for agriculture, beautiful beaches, exceptional flora and fauna – but we have not done as well with our endowments as we could and should have.”
Farrell quoted remarks from businessman Emile Elias, as well as a newspaper editorial, which he said shared similar sentiments. “My life has been one of high expectation. I expected that by now our country would have been further ahead …Change is vital as is growth. We are great talkers, but there is something that makes us get stuck between the thought and the actual doing,” Elias had stated.
Farrell’s latest book is a follow-up to his last publication, Underachieving Society: Development Strategy and Policy in Trinidad and Tobago, 1958-2008.
But unlike that publication which delved into T&T’s economic history, Farrell, in his latest book addresses the country’s apparent penchant for mediocrity and showing disdain for things that are presumably fixable. He cited the steelpan as an example.
“We claim as our own the steelband celebrating it as the only musical instrument invented in the 20th century, yet steelbands are still evicted from pan yards,” Farrell said.
