Leadership Issue

8/16/2019 Leadership Issue

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Trinidad and Tobago’s

Industrial Relations’

climate has historically

been a rocky one from

the early days of the

1930s when workers

were just seeking toformalize trade unions, through the late 20th

century to now in the early 21st century.

The law does not take

into account the reality

that political contests

are essentially between

political parties striving

to win votes across allconstituencies, as opposed to contests between

individual candidates in electoral districts.

We must cast aside the

notion that leaders are

born or that leadership

is destined for a

chosen few. Within

his/her sphere, each

person can be a leader – not only leading a

company, political party or project, but leadinga home, a hike, a fundraiser.

As a society we are

v e r y g o o d a t

campaigning against

what we do not like,

but hopeless at defining

and campaigning for

what we really want.

Sometimes we need to step away from the

mire of today and to dream of the better worldthat we would like to see tomorrow.

Initiating theDiscussion onLeadership

13

Editor: Halima KhanEditorial Board: Communications Committee: Moonilal Lalchan, Catherine Kumar, Tricia Henry,Anthony Agostini, Andrew Johnson

Design & Layout JG Design CaribbeanPublished by Eureka Communications LimitedSuite #2 No.9 Avenue First, St. James, Trinidad W.I.Tel: (868) 622-2017 • (868) 628-1555 Fax: • (868) 622-4475

E-mail: • [email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected]

For The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and CommerceColumbus Circle, Westmoorings, P.O. Box 499, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago W.I.Tel: (868) 637-6966 Fax: (868) 637-7425 E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.chamber.org.ttFor this magazine contact: Tel: (868) 637-6966

Tobago Division:Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce2nd Floor ANSA McAL Building, Milford Road, Scarborough, TobagoTel: (868) 639-2669 Fax: (868) 639-2669 E-mail: [email protected]

7

Contents 1

Re-visiting aSocial Compact

ElectionCampaignFinance Reform

A quar terly publication o f The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce

10

15 Leading National Development

17 Timing is Everything: Public Service

Transformation in Trinidad andTobago

20 Is there a Global Vaccum?

22 Education and Leadership

24 Crime and Leadership

26 Tobago Tourism needs Leadership

28 Are you Irreplaceable?

30 T&T’s Golden Age of CharismaticLeaders

32 Leading in the Information Age

34 What every business person shouldknow

35 The Boissiere House

36 Right Fit for the Moderate Investor

40 Economic and Financial Statistics

42 Economic Outlook

43 Year end 2013 review

46 Energy Outlook for T&T in 2014

48 Energy Statistics

51 TTEITI Update

52 Drilling Deep: Putting First ThingsFirst

64 Pamela Williams and Associates

66 The Chamber’s Annual CarnivalCompetition

67 The Chamber’s EventsWelcome to New Members

68 Quarterly Report Tobago Division- Q4 2013

69 Trinidad & Tobago Debates

Commission Leading Change

70 Community Leadership and theCitizens Security Programme

72 Advertisers

Our LeadershipChallenge

12

Ralph Nadar



Information on Trinidad & Tobago

rinidad and Tobago (T&T) has a population of

approximately 1.3 million people who inhabit 4,827 square

kilometers (1,886 miles) in Trinidad and 300 square

kilometers (117 miles) in Tobago. Trinidad is located

between 10º 2’ and 11º12’ N latitude and 60º 30’ and

61º 56’ W longitude or 11 Kilometers (6.8 miles) of the easterncoast of Venezuela. Tobago is located 32.2 Kilometers (20 miles)

T

2

Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce • www.chamber.org.tt

to the north-east of Trinidad. There are two international sea ports

in Trinidad, Port-of-Spain and in Point Lisas. The International

airports are located in Piarco, Trinidad and Crown Point, Tobago.

Trinidad’s economy is primarily dependent on the petrochemical

sector, while the island of Tobago is mainly dependent on tourism.

The twin island republic boasts a multi-ethnic people, diverse culture

and unique cuisine. As a result of its cosmopolitan population, the

country celebrates a significant number of festivals around the year

including carnival, Phagwa or Holi, Divali and Eid-Ul-Fitr. Tobago

the smaller island, has a population of just over 54,000 and has an

interesting history in that, during the colonial period, French, Dutch

and British Forces fought for the possession of Tobago and the

Island changed hands more than 22 times – more than any otherCaribbean Island.

Pigeon Point, Tobago







Trinidad and TobagoChamber of Industry

and Commerce

5

Contact • Vol.14 No.1 2014

• Crime & Justice• E-Business, Information Technology &

Telecommunications (EBITT)• Energy• Health, Safety & Environment

COMMITTEES - TOBAGO• Business Development & Tourism • Security• Inter-island Transport • Environment

HOW TO CONTACT USTrinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and CommerceColumbus Circle, Westmoorings, P.O. Box 499, Port of Spain,Trinidad & Tobago W.I.Tel: (868) 637 6966 Fax: (868) 637 7425E-mail: [email protected] • Website: www.chamber.org.tt

Tobago Division of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce2nd Floor, ANSA McAL Building, Milford Road, Scarborough,TobagoTel: (868) 639 2669 Fax: (868) 639 2669E-mail: [email protected]

• NOVA• Trade & Business

Development• Legislative

VISION STATEMENTWe are the Voice of Business.

MISSION STATEMENTTo be the voice of business in the development towards a strong,sustainable national economy.

BOARD OF DIRECTORSMoonilal Lalchan, PresidentAndrew Sabga – Immediate Past PresidentRobert Trestrail – Senior Vice PresidentChristopher Mack – Vice PresidentRonald Hinds – Vice PresidentRakesh Goswami – Vice PresidentWade George – DirectorLuana Boyack – DirectorPaula Rajkumarsingh – DirectorJacqueline Francois – DirectorJean-Pierre Du Coudray – DirectorReyaz Ahamad – DirectorDiane Hadad – Chairman, Tobago DivisionCatherine Kumar – Corporate Secretary & Chief Executive Officer

COMMITTEES - TRINIDAD• Communications• Corporate Social Responsibility

• Facilities Management & Maintenance





Initiating the Discussionon Leadership By Moonilal Lalchan

he theme of this issue of CONTACT

is one which personally resounds with

me, as I am sure it will for many of

our readers. As I reflect on the nationalpsyche when it comes to leadership, I would

say even as we loudly plead for leadership in

which we can place faith, we traditionally resist

leadership. Put another way, we do not

voluntarily follow, preferring a highly

individualistic approach. This approach

however, has its positives and negatives. On

the positive side, we are naturally sceptical and

automatically regard those in positions of power

as being at risk to corruption and graft, and

therefore keep a watchful eye on them. On the

negative side, the pursuit of individualism isnow chipping away at our social structure and

leads to a ‘me first’ culture that, one could

argue, is at the heart of our lawless behaviour.

Can the right leadership change this? While our

history has been one, especially in the transition

from colonialism to independence, of natural,

charismatic leadership, we have also been

victims of it, not just in Trinidad and Tobago,

but as a region. The void left by a past

charismatic leader is difficult, sometimes

impossible to fill, and in the life of both countries

and corporations, can lead to its demise if not

astutely managed. But as we learn in

corporations, management will not be effective

unless there is buy-in from subordinates. The

success of any entity depends upon thecommitment, hard work and mutual trust of

all. As Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) a British

Conservative Prime Minister once said “I must

follow the people. Am I not their leader?” In

short, the leader depends upon his followers,

and vice-versa.

We must cast aside the notion that leaders are

born or that leadership is destined for a chosen

few. Within his/her sphere, each person can

be a leader – not only leading a company,

political party or project, but leading a home,a hike, a fundraiser. By tapping into our areas

of strength, there will always be opportunities

for some to lead and some to follow; a follower

in one setting may be a leader in another. This

is the value of an economy of influence, with

everyone having their own role to play in

leading change. Each role of leadership brings

with it responsibility; the responsibility for

decisions whether good or bad, the

responsibility to act in good faith, exhibit

honesty, integrity and fairness. Not all of us

may be born leaders, but the successful are the

ones who rise to the challenges, and who

recognise that leadership is ultimately about

service.

Some of our greatest leaders in their time werebranded revolutionaries: Mohandas Ghandi,

the Mahatma, and Nelson Madiba Mandela

triumphed because they held to ideals, saw the

possibility of their fellow men and put a stop

to the blame game. If we hope to change the

culture of T&T, we must revolutionise

ourselves and recognise no one individual or

entity is accountable for our successes or our

failures. As Chamber President, I lead a

Membership organisation dedicated to

representing the interests of Business, while

pursuing the national good, and the Businesssector is acutely aware of the need to take up

the challenge of true national development.

So, in this volume we explore some issues of

leadership, both on the national and corporate

front and our lead story, does an excellent job

of summing up where we need to direct our

energies as a people. As we enter our 135th

year as a Chamber, it is my hope that the issues

we have tackled in this volume will serve to

stimulate discussion and maybe even serve as

the launching pad for that change that we all

understand we must make.

Moonilal Lalchan, President, Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce

T

An Editorial Note from the President 7








Our LeadershipChallenge By Dr. Theodore Ferguson

am pretty sure that we will all like Trinidad

and Tobago to become a model society forthe rest of the world. All the ingredients

are here. We have a population of

outstanding human beings, all with the inherent

capacity and desire to be good. We are a

naturally creative and productive people. We

have the intellect to be able to acquire and

utilize knowledge to build a great society. We

have the God-given capacity to love each other

and to build a society in which harmony

prevails. In so doing, the compound issue of

indiscipline, violence and crime will be solved.

We now need the leaders, who like good chefs,will be able to blend the many rich ingredients

to produce a society that is truly outstanding

and the envy of the rest of humanity.

Can we? I believe that we can.

To do so, we need to change the national

conversation from the focus of just eliminating

the negatives to focusing on the positives in

order to build the great society that we all

desire and that we have the potential to create.

We need to live in hope that as individuals

and as a society we can become better, rather

than remain mired in fear, doubt andhopelessness. We must stop fanning the flames

of destruction and become nurturers in

developing ourselves and a society in which

the positives flourish.

As a society we are very good at campaigning

against what we do not like, but hopeless at

defining and campaigning for what we really

want. Sometimes we need to step away from

the mire of today and to dream of the better

world that we would like to see tomorrow. We

must first create it in our minds before we canbring it into reality. In December of 2002, I

wrote the following dream-induced thoughts

on the world in which I will like to live:

“I dream of a world in which:

• The creative potential of all the people isexpressed;

• The people are free of the tyranny of the

few;

• People truly understand their freedom and

their capacity for independent thought;

• People recognise their potential for human

goodness and the human goodness of

others;

• People unde rs tand the st r ength of

community and the benefits of sharing and

working together across national, tribal,

racial, cultural, political, wealth and otherboundaries;

• Our children can grow in environments

that can nurture their greatness through the

expression of their divine intellect;

• Peace and c iv il i ty a re the norms ;

• People can exercise their productive

potential to feed and clothe themselves and

to enjoy personal and communal security;

• Integrity and honesty define our cultures

and not dishonesty, broken promises,

manipulative behaviours, cunning and

greed;

• People can move with confidence and notthe false bravado of deep insecurity;

• The presently oppressed can walk proud

knowing that the rest of the world admires

them for who they are - noble human

beings;

• Leadership will emerge, grow and protect

this dream on a sus ta ined bas is .

This is the world that I dream of… It is a

more spiritual world.”

Twelve years later I am still dreaming of thisworld. Can T&T take up the challenge of

truly becoming a world leader? As an

individual, Nelson Mandela did - despite his

humble, remote and disadvantaged beginnings.

Mandela, in his last book, “Conversationswith Myself”, reminds us that: “Only great

aims arouse great energies”. We need to set

a great aim for the T&T society if we are to

arouse and direct the energies of the people

towards the creation of our dream society

rather than have the energies of the people

expended in a downward spiral of negativity

and consumed by anger, fear and hopelessness.

Let us dream big if we are to shield ourselves

of the dark thundering clouds of crime,

violence and negativity that are now hovering

and threatening to flood the society.

We have a choice. We can build a society of

positivity or we can continue to remain

imprisoned in a world of negativity. We need

great leaders who can inspire us to move in

that direction. But, do we understand what

leadership is all about?

Leadership is a much talked about, but little

understood subject, despite being a vital part

of our daily lives. More often than not, we

confuse leadership with management.

Management is about the manipulation of

physical, financial and human resources to

produce a desired output. As a manager you

are the boss and you have the power of

position and the authority to define and direct

the use of the resources under your control.

You have the power to hire, discipline and

fire. Further, you have the power to allocate

resources to those under your control or to

recall or deny the allocation of such resources.

Leadership, on the other hand, is about your

ability to inspire and motivate others to worktowards a common purpose. Others may

voluntarily choose to follow you because of

the trust, admiration and respect they have

I

10 Feature





for you as a human being, and not just because

of your position. As a result, leadership is

not within your sole control. Leadership isalways granted by others, not those who you

report to, but those who choose to follow

you willingly. You cannot become a leader

until your followers choose to elevate you

as such. You may even try to declare yourself

a leader, but if there is no one following, then

you are just another misguided person, even

if you are the boss.

The power you enjoy as a leader comes from

the followership that you attract and not from

the position that you hold. Very often, peoplein managerial positions are not admired and

respected by those they supervise and are

therefore, not seen as leaders. Such managers

have no followership and thus have only the

power of their position to try to get things

done. And as we know, they often end up

being resented as they seek to exercise their

managerial authority. In fact, the harder they

strive to be the boss, the more they are

resented and an environment of fear, stress,

low morale and low productivity is the result.

Management, by definition, is a very

autoc ra t i c bu t neces sa ry process .

When you are a leader you are a source of

inspiration for others. You exude spiritual

energy. You ignite the human spirit in others

such that they feel good about themselves as

they draw positive energy from you. You

motivate them to follow you voluntarily.

There is no coercion on the part of the genuine

leader. Those who believe that they can coerce

and manipulate themselves into leadership

soon discover that they can fool people for

only a short while – it is not sustainable.

We often think of leadership in an

organizational and political context only,ignoring the leadership that we are called

upon to display in our homes and

communities. As parents, we are presented

with a marvelous opportunity to provide

leadership in our households. This means

being a source of inspiration to our spouses

and children such that we receive their trust,

respect and admiration willingly. If this is

not happening voluntarily, and we find

ourselves having to demand respect, then we

are failing in being role models and a source

of inspiration to those in our homes, despitethe fact that children naturally look to their

parents for leadership. In such a situation,

leadership escapes us. We should not be

surprised then if our children, and perhaps

even our spouses, look elsewhere for

inspiration – sometimes to unsavory

characters such as gang leaders and drug

dealers.

The failure to provide positive leadership in

our homes is perhaps the single most

important factor contributing to the growing

anti-social behaviours of our youth. In

addition, there is widespread agreement that

there is a paucity of leadership in business,

politics and in our society.

Without doubt leadership is the missing

ingredient in the development of the Trinidad

and Tobago Society. We are over managing

with a focus on restraining negative

behaviours, thus failing to inspire and

motivate our citizenry to pursue the big dream

of truly building a great society.

Feature 11

However, there is a glimmer of hope. The

Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business

of the University of the West Indies hasrecently established the first genuine

leadership development institute in the

C a r i b b e a n . I t h a s e mb r a c e d t h e

transformational philosophy of Leading From

Above The Line.

Let us hope that the school can attract the

necessary resources to become a game-

changer in bringing leadership development

education, not just to its business students

and business clients, but to the society as a

whole.

The Chamber’s Group Health &

Accidental Death & Dismemberment Plan

The Chamber’s Group Health & Accidental

Death & Dismemberment Plan, launched in

2003, is a highly flexible Plan with Sagicor

with guaranteed protection against local and

fore ign emergencies . The Plan specifically

targets member companies and results in

favourable contributions for participants due

to the size of the Group.

As a CariCare Plan member you wil l also

receive your personal International Medical

Card affording you enhanced protection

against emergencies while travelling, or

assistance for overseas treatment. Your card

ensures the payment of all your eligible

medical bills related to your emergency

anywhere in the world. If you are interested

in joining the Plan, please send written

confirmation of your interest to the Chamber’s

Marketing and Communications Department

at [email protected].



rinidad and Tobago’s Industrial

Relations’ climate has historically

been a rocky one from the early days

of the 1930s when workers were just

seeking to formalize trade unions, through the

late 20th century to now in the early 21st century.

Globally the workplace is now characterized

by free movement, not only of capital but also

of labour. There is also contract labour which

has been replacing jobs for life. These are just

some factors that have seen trade unions’membership, not only in Trinidad and Tobago,

but across the world dwindle. In Trinidad and

Tobago, productivity has been lower than

advanced economies because of long-standing

problems on how to solve disputes between

employees and employers and it is within this

environment different actors in the industrial

relations system have seen the need for dialogue

among all groups including the Government,

business, labour and social sectors.

In January 2014, the Minister of Labourannounced a new, Social Dialogue Task Force.

It’s first meeting and involved the major

stakeholders of the State, labour, employers ,

business and civil society. But this is not the

first time that the different stakeholders have

gotten together. On October 31, 2000, the

Business Sector, Labour and the Government

of Trinidad and Tobago signed “Compact 2000

and Beyond” to address economic and social

issues. The objectives of Compact 2000 and

Beyond included sustainable development,

maintaining a stable and collaborative Industrial

Relations climate, productivity, competitiveness,

enhancing the social security system and

expansion of the economy.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Trinidad

and Tobago Chamber of Industry and

Commerce noted in 2012 that “Compact 2000

was initiated in an attempt to ratify the

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

Convention 144 on tripartite consultations.

Unfortunately, however, this Compact did not

get the attention it deserved and the project

ceased.” Andrew Sabga a representative of theChamber told CONTACT that when there are

tripartite discussions among Business, Labour

and the Government it allows all stakeholders

Re-visiting a Social Compact By Raphael John-Lall

T

12 Feature


to concentrate on the important issues like

labour legislation, productivity, competitiveness

and industrial peace. “The main objective is

to create industrial peace. For issues that are

adversarial these need to be addressed in a

non-adversarial manner. All parties must buy

into the process of dialogue and they must be

sincere and the commitment real,” he said. He

took the position that constructive dialogue

does not exist at the moment to the extent that

it should.

“The industrial climate in the country is a bit

charged now. A lot of it is unwarranted. I think

there is too much politics that the trade unions

are involving themselves in and there is not

enough dealing with the real issues,” he pointed

out. He said what trade unions must do is return

to their basic functions which include collective

bargaining and representing workers in the

best way possible. “The labour unions need to

return to basic collective bargaining. The labour

laws of the country need to be re-aligned toensure both labour and employers can work

on issues together. I am not saying it is the

unions alone to be blamed as there are some

employers and businesses - all that their

objective is, is profits - but that is not good,”

he stated.

From an economic standpoint, he believes that

good industrial relation practice is important

as it allows all parties in the production process

and economic environment to work together

for the benefit of the country. He also said that

there are sectors in the country which have a

sense of entitlement and this must be replaced

by a new work ethic. “People in Trinidad and

Tobago must be rewarded for productive labour

and learn that you get a fair day’s pay for a

fair day’s work. We need to move away from

this sense of entitlement. The reality now is

that we are surviving on oil dollars which is a

false economy, when this dries up we will be

uncompetitive as manufacturers as we will be

struggling in the face of the opening of former

protectionist markets,” he said. Based on the

challenges of the economic environment, hesaid the entire Industrial Relations system in

the country needs to be revamped and he called

for different stakeholders who have different

ideologies to put differences aside and begin

dialogue. “If there is no hope there is no life.

We all need to work together and soften our

ideological stance. If not then the problems

will grow and there could be unemployment

and other problems,” he said.

He is optimistic about the Social Dialogue

Task Force. “So far all the parties have met

under the umbrella of the Social Dialogue and

I am optimistic that we will come up withsolutions to the challenges and create a better

Industrial Relations environment,” he said.

Mr. Michael Annisette, secretary general of

the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC)

spoke about the positive aspects of such a

dialogue and admitted no gains came out of

the Social Compact of 2000. “Its original aim

was to deal with the economy, collective

bargaining, and used as a mechanism where

issues were supposed to be discussed.

Unfortunately all of the stakeholders did not

keep at it as we should have,” he said.He added that there is mistrust among the major

actors in the Industrial Relations system and

the latest Social Dialogue initiative put forward

by the Government hopefully will solve this.

“The only time we seem to get together is when

there are crises. But we need to move beyond

that to have mechanisms in place where we

can democratize the way we communicate to

deal with the challenges that exist,” he said.

He referred to the ILO, which encourages social

dialogue and he said that countries where a

social dialogue had been established now have

industrial relations systems that are conciliatory

and more productive economies. “In fact those

countries with social dialogue among all the

major players, would have fared much better

in the last world economic crisis than those

countries that did not have a system like this.

Germany and Barbados are good examples,”

he stated. Finally, he praised Minister of Labour,

the Honourable Errol McLeod for setting up

the Social Dialogue Task Force which he said

brings everyone to the table to discuss issues

on how to deal with the challenges of outdatedlabour legislation, low productivity, better

collective bargaining and other issues that the

industrial relations system faces.



13Feature

he Elections and Boundaries

Commission of Trinidad and Tobago

continues to tirelessly advocate the

need for political funding reform to

ensure that “money does not equal

speech”, thereby preventing the distortion of

democracy by the corrupting influence of

corporate money on the political process.

Currently, the provisions of the electoral laws

dealing with political financing in Trinidad

and Tobago focus primarily on the election

expenses of candidates. A good example of

this is exemplified in sections 44-59 of the

Representation of the People Act, Chap. 2:01.

The law does not take into account the reality

that political contests are essentially between

political parties striving to win votes across

all constituencies, as opposed to contests

between individual candidates in electoral

districts.

The fundamental problem undergirding the

issue of political-party financing, is the absence

of a juridical and structural basis for theestablishment of a political party. Nowhere

in the laws of Trinidad and Tobago is the term

political party defined: a serious drafting

oversight. This has contributed much to the

runaway state of affairs that exists today in

political financing in Trinidad and Tobago

and the region. And while it is clear that

putting a limit on the expenditure of individual

candidates in any new or remodelled legislation

would continue to be desirable, the critical

requirement of control of political party

financing in any new law is a sine qua non.

Social scientists have theorized that, ‘a political

party’, is one of the fundamental building

blocks in the structure of a democratic form

Election CampaignFinance Reform By Dr. Norbert Masson, Chairman, Election and Boundaries Commission

Tof government. Consequently, the term

‘political party’ should be legally defined.

Arguably, a political party is a corporate body

similar to that of a company. Companies

consisting of directors, management and

shareholders are required by law to be

registered under the Companies Act, such

legislation governing and controlling their

actions. Why then shouldn’t political parties

comprising their leaders, managers and rank

and file members be registered under some

similar authority and thereby be subjected to

governance and control? Political parties

have, for far too long, been allowed to get

away with all kinds of unscrupulous activities.

Our failure to do so at the time when our

Constitution was being drafted was an

egregious blunder. This error must be

corrected now. The first step therefore in any

plan or effort to control any aspect of the

financing of a political party, an activity which

would fall within the ambit of a party’s

operations, is to have the party conform to

legally defined guidelines i.e., to be registeredfor a start. A horse fitted with a saddle and

reins is much easier to control than a wild

one without; and also easier to treat when in

need of medical attention and in a stall than

if running in the wild. State financing and

regulation of party campaign financing should

only be considered against the background

of a legally established entity.

Now we turn our attention to the proliferate

problem of money in politics. Of course we

know that when making donations to politicalparties, corporations are not being selfless.

A usual goal is often to secure government

contracts. But the unregulated flow of money

into politics subverts the Nation’s individual

voices. Corporate money has no morals and

hence no loyalty to any goal other than

maximizing profits. As such, awarding

contracts for political reasons can lead to

systemic corruption, and the inefficient

allocation of public resources. It is time to

take our Democracy back – it must be of the

people, by the people, and for the people!

Public policy decisions and electoral outcomes

should not be decided by who gave the biggest

cheque. The Elections and Boundaries

Commission is working towards ensuring that

within the democratic process there is greater

accountability from our elected officials and

campaign finance reform measures shall go

far to help regenerate public confidence in

our state institutions.

The Commission has expressed, on more than

one occasion, its views on the need to enact

legislation to deal with the registration of

political parties, political party financing and

campaign financing. The Commission has

also written to the Government in connection

with the matter by way of Cabinet Note EBC(2011) 11 dated November 25, 2013. Further,

the Commission’s Chairman raised the issue

at a meeting of CARICOM election officials

held in Barbados on 8th-9th May, 2013, and

reported the outcome of its proceedings to

Government seeking to bols te r the

Commission’s earlier recommendations.

In December 2013, the Elections and

Boundaries Commission, in collaboration

with the High Commission of Canada,

Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Instituteand the United Nations Development

Programme, hosted a National Symposium

in Port-of-Spain wherein political parties and

other civil society organisations discussed




14 Feature


concepts relative to the registration of political

parties, political party funding and campaign

financing controls. In the two daysimmediately following the Symposium,

confidential bi-lateral consultations were held

with the major political parties to determine

their preliminary views on these subject areas.

A second round of confidential bi-lateral

talks is being planned for March 2014.

Within the Caribbean region, the efforts of

the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ)

towards the monitoring and regulation of

campaign financing stand out as a beacon of

hope. In a report to Parliament dated July

2010 the ECJ recommended that “…Parliament amend the Representation of the

People Act to include the registration and

the financing of political parties.” And in

November 2011 another report was submitted

by the ECJ to Parliament on Campaign

Financing. Arising from the comments and

opinions of Members of the House of

Representatives and the Senate as expressed

in the Parliamentary debates, the ECJprepared another report dated August 2013

with revised recommendations to its Report

on Campaign Financing.

It therefore appears that Jamaica would be

the first country in the Caribbean to enact

legislation for (i) Registration of Political

Parties, (ii) Financing of Political Parties and

(iii) Regulating Political Campaign-Financing

of Political Parties. Trinidad and Tobago

must follow.

In the free society ordained by our

Constitution, it is not the government, but

the people - individually as citizens and

candidates and collectively as associations

and political committees - who must create

active change on the thorny subject of

electoral financing reform. Perhaps few

realize that politicians are in fact employees

of the electorate. An election is an eventwhereby electors employ the individuals they

want to work for them. Of course we are all

familiar with the reality that once the

politicians get into office the roles are

reversed. Politicians (the employees) are in

balcony and the electorate (the employers)

are in the fauteuils.

The question at once arises: should not

employees (the electorate) have their own

manifesto stating clearly what they want their

employees (the politicians) to do if and whenthey attain office? Never mind your manifesto

Mr. Politician. This is our manifesto; this is

what we want you to do, and high on the list

is enactment of legislation for registration,

financing and registration of political

campaign financing. Nothing less will do.



15


Feature

eadership is granted by the people

when they perceive that a larger

purpose, outside of self, is being

pursued. It would appear that,especially for developing countries, the goal

of national development and the improvement

of the living conditions of the citizen provides

a great opportunity for true leadership to come

to the fore. Yet, we fail to see that leadership

materialise in recognizable ways. We have

been unable to inspire a nation to pursue the

well-being of all its citizens. How does one

define appropriate goals and motivate the

nation to pursue them with passion in the

interest of all?

We can take a number of lessons from what

is perhaps one of the most inspiring messages

by a leader of the last century. John F.

Kennedy mobilized the people of the United

States to action when he said: “First, I believe

that this nation should commit itself to

achieving the goal, before this decade is out,

of landing a man on the moon and returning

him safely to the earth.” In one sentence

President Kennedy created the platform that

mobilised a nation to action and excellence.

Clear and long-range goal:

The goal of development and competitiveness

was other-focused and important for the

collective good of the nation. The specific

goal articulated by President Kennedy was

long-range but clear and compelling with

defined criteria for success. There was an

urgency to the task but the end was clear; not

only was it to be achieved before the decade

but success meant that the man must actually

land on the moon. A clear image of success

serves as a motivational force and every

individual connects to that outcome from theirown position. The connection is aided by

specifying the smaller tasks and critical

elements of that success that lay in the hands

of the people.

Pass ion and focus on emot ions :

Motivation is not a forced add-on. It cannot

be attained by gimmicks and external gifts

that bring short-term satisfaction. Leadership

and motivation is only evident when we ignite

the passion of people such that they pursue

their purpose with vigour, in a way that is not

only sustaining to themselves but rewarding

to others. Not only was the man to be landed

on the moon but he was to be brought back

safely to earth. All human beings have an

innate ability and desire to care and show

compassion for others. The goal that reflectsthis care, and is articulated by a leader who

consistently lives for the well-being of others

is inspiring and engaging of the human spirit.

Organisational leaders who define and guide

others to a larger purpose attain levels of

success that extends beyond the goals and

targets. The outcomes are not only related to

the targets but evident in the growth, passion

and happiness of the people who have

contributed to their attainment. Great leaders

have learned to place the people, their passions

and the larger purpose at the centre of theirlives and at the heart of their strategy.

Inspiration

Great leaders have earned the consistent

admiration of others by becoming an

inspirational force that propels others to action.

It is an unwavering commitment to a positive

outcome, despite the circumstances, that

stimulates others to action in a way that is

rewarding and consistently motivating. This

is inspiration. It is not enabled by fear of

what could happen; it is not enabled by threats

of redundancy and it is stifled by the worrythat emanates when one is constantly subjected

to a discourse of deficiency. Kennedy created

an enabling environment by confirming that

they had the resources and affirming that “now

is the time.” Companies with great leadership

are always successful, despite the challengesof the external environment. The discourse

is centred on the vision and purpose such that

that is always uplifting.

The larger question of how do leaders develop

this ability to inspire others has an even simpler

answer. Leaders whose names fall off our

tongues at first thought have consistently

sought to develop themselves. Their principles

and morality are at the core of their existence

and serve to guide their actions both in their

personal and public lives. They did not becomegreat by being self-centred; their greatness

emerged along with their love, care and

consistent actions in support of the national

good. This is authentic leadership. Not only

is it inspiring to others but it is uplifting to the

leader himself or herself. This is the leader

and leadership that will inspire us to rapid

development. It is not a quality of only the

person at the top but it is facilitated by that

individual who is thrust in a position from

which leadership is expected. It then becomes

an embedded organisational or nationalcharacteristic.

Building a nation requires a leadership of love

and care. It centres around the phenomenon

of leadership rather than motivation. It requires

inspiration and motivation is a consequence.

The leader is the source of inspiration and

vision. The development journey requires

leaps of action facilitated by visionary and

inspiring leadership. There is a collective

conscience and morality that is necessary for

the progress of a nation and its people. The

productivity and commitment of people is aninnate force that is yet to be unleashed by the

country’s leadership.

L

Leading NationalDevelopment By Dr. Kamla Mungal





Feature 17


service at the bottom of the pile, and at the

top the mandarins. Professionals were lost

in the middle and existed in a time-warp

waiting for the person ahead of them to either

move up or move out. Since promotion was

on length of service and not merit, it was a

dirge without music, a constant state of limbowhere service and servitude were the bar and

stagnation the result. Risk taking was

verboten, creativity and innovation frowned

upon and h igh ly d i scouraged , and

professionalism a matter of personal

preference. In the country of the blind, the

one-eyed man looks to where the grass is

greener and the brightest and the best departed

hastily.

A few years ago, the talk of public service

transformation resurfaced and a wind of change started as fitful gusts in the Ministry

of Public Administration. There was the

announcement of a new attempt at making

the public service more “citizen-centric” and

of reducing costs, improving quality,

increasing availability and accessibility of

goods and service and providing a 24/7 menu

of benefits and opportunities to the people.

There was disbelief and the question was

f requent ly a sked , “Publ ic Se rv ice

Transformation failed for the first fifty years

even with management hotshots like Gordon

Draper leading the way so why would anyone

think i t would succeed this t ime?”

The reason is timing. There is something

called “convergence theory”. Initially, the

theory was applied to history and sociology

and stated that all industrial systems, whether

capitalist or communist, would converge in

their social, political and economic systems

because of the determinant effects of

technological development. It was later

applied to the different electronic mediaincluding computers, television, telephones

and radio converging as they have done into

one package or one medium. In this case,

the cellphone.

In 1962 and getting even more intricately

interconnected several different forces

converged that have the power to facilitate

and even hasten public service transformation.

The first is the increasing demand by citizens

and the different stakeholder groups for value

for money from the public service. Peoplewant more for less. They expect to get their

money’s worth from their hard-earned tax

dollars. This reaction, sometimes dramatically

expressed in protests, is increasing. The public

service must do more, do better and do it for

less. People are also aware of the increasing

cost of waiting or travelling long distances

for services. They are more and more mindful

that these are “opportunity” costs and while

invisible because no cash changes hands, they

are a burden. The private sector wants greater

ease in doing business and a country that ismore competitive. They have fingered the

public service for being the problem.

Obviously the public service has no choice

but to respond positively and meaningfully

rather than face an escalating climate of

hostility and resentment.

The second force is the growing power and

ubiquity of Information and Communications

Technologies (ICTs) which are not just

simplifying and speeding up tasks and

transactions but they work 24/7. The use of

ICTs helps the public service to achieve the

“One-Stop Shops” that will allow any

transaction to take place in any Government

department anywhere in the country or to

access services through cellphones and home

computers. Already, scholarship applications,

National Insurance and other business can be

transacted from home.

The third is that the Public Service is seeing

the benefits of the change in the structure

from a pyramid to a diamond that allows

scope and space for greater professionalism,innovation, creativity, some degrees of

autonomy, accountability and more flexible

work patterns and practices. There are

scholarships for public servants in fields that

Timing is Everything: Public ServiceTransformation in Trinidad and Tobago By Tony Deyal

he Greek poet Hesiod, like William

Shakespeare long after him, realized

t h a t t i m i n g i s e v e r y t h i n g .

Shakespeare puts in the mouth of

Brutus in Julius Caesar (Act 4, Scene 3) the

importance of timing:

This is the situation in which the architects of

public service transformation in Trinidad and

Tobago find themselves. Even beforeIndependence in 1962 there were attempts at

“reforming” what was known then as the Civil

Service although one of the wits of the time

despaired. He asked, “They are neither civil

nor do they behave like servants. How can

you reform them?”

Throughout the first fifty years of national

independence there were many efforts at

“reform” and this constant harping on the

presumed inadequacies and inefficiencies of

the public service prompted a question from

one of them, “But we haven’t done anything

wrong so why do they want to reform us?”

In the meantime the “public service”, as it was

called after Independence, helped the country

smoothly through changes of Government and

the traumas of 1970 and 1990. Whatever their

perceived faults, the public service by

remaining neutral helped to keep this country’s

fledgling democracy safe, sound and secure.

At the same time the public service remained

mired in the colonial bureaucracy it had

superseded – tied up in red tape, locked in agovernance straight jacket from a Victorian

Museum of Horrors and in thrall to the office

and not the functions. Its structure was

pyramidal and bottom heavy – the bulk of the

TObserve due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor - Hesiod

There is a tide in the affairs of men.

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to

fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in sha llows and in miser ies.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures.



Communications Committee

The Communications Committee is a Board-

appointed Committee of the Chamber, chaired

by the sitting President. Its role is to

conceptualise and execute the Chamber’s

communications strategy as guided by the

Board of Directors. As such the committee

oversees the publication of CONTACT

magazine, three weekly newspaper columns,

a weekly radio programme, media releases

and other electronic newsletters and bulletins.

Each CONTACT magazine is thematic so

that two thirds of the articles explore the issues

related to the particular theme. The magazine

is distributed free of charge to Chamber

members. Complimentary copies are given

to Members of Parliament, diplomatic

missions, hotels and subscribers to the

Guardian newspaper. CONTACT may be

read onl ine a t www.contac t- t t .com.

The weekly “CONTACT with the Chamber”

radio programme airs on I95.5 FM at 7:25

a.m. each Tuesday. It represents a Chamber

editorial and is voiced by the Chamber’s Chief

Executive Officer, Catherine Kumar.

Programmes are available on the Chamber’s

website www.chamber.org.tt.

The main issues that form the basis of the

Chamber’s lobbies are largely reflected in the

newspaper columns. Since 2004, the Chamber

has maintained three weekly newspaper

columns - Wednesdays in the Business Express

and Thursdays in both the Guardian Business

and the Newsdays Business Day. Writing on

the premise that all issues which affect the

national landscape also affect business, the

columns serve to express Chamber opinion

and policy. Topics for articles have included

the economy, trade, crime, education,

agriculture, health, the environment and

culture. The committee encourages Chamber

members to submit columns or ideas for

columns on topics of interest. Columns may

be between 700-900 words in length and the

Chamber reserves the right to publish, subject

to review by the Committee. The weekly

columns may be accessed on the Chamber’s

website at www.chamber.org.tt.

For further information on this committee

kindly contact Halima Khan, Communications

Officer, Marketing and Communications, at

6 3 7 - 6 9 6 6 x 2 2 7 o r e m a i l

[email protected].

18 Feature


will contribute to the company’s sustainable

development, the silos of isolation and vertical

divisions are now being dismantled toaccommodate new ways of working including

multi-disciplinary teams, and people who for

a long time stayed stuck at the bottom of the

pile though qualified for higher levels of

service, now see daylight. At the same time

the long wait for contracts and the red tape

and legal strictures are slowly diminishing.

The fourth force is political will. In the

Caribbean, especially in Trinidad, without

the political will nothing happens – stasis and

stay-still are the order of the day. This presentGovernment recognizes the need for a more

citizen-centric public service, a more satisfied

public, and a more efficient government

machinery. They have started to agree with

sharing services and reducing waste –

improving efficiency and effectiveness.

The final factor that has melded the other

forces together is leadership. The present

Minister of Public Administration, CarolynSeepersad-Bachan, has put together and

manages a formidable team that eats, breathes,

sleeps and dreams the transformation.

Because 2012 was the golden anniversary of

the public service and 2022 will be the

diamond anniversary, the Ministry has created

the Journey From Gold To Diamond (G2D)

and has set 2022 as the target for achieving

excellence in service delivery by the entire

public service. It has rolled out its flagship

Diamond Certification Programme which is

not a competition but a standard of excellencewhich public service and some private sector

organisations are striving to achieve.

The journey is now into its second full year

since its launch at a Gala Event in December

2012. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and

Tobago made the point that public service

transformation required and would result in

the transformation of the entire country of Trinidad and Tobago. Minister Seepersad-

Bachan’s vision is simpler. She wants her

Ministry to help to create a Trinidad and

Tobago in which the public service has been

transformed so that all the services it delivers

are of the highest possible quality and meet

the most demanding standards of excellence;

a Trinidad and Tobago in which citizens can

stay at home and use computers or cellular

phones or, at worst, will not have to venture

far from their homes to access every service

the Government has to offer; and aGovernment that is putting the resources in

place so that the citizen is the be-all and end-

all, the hub and the wheel, the corona and

periphera of the public service universe.

This is the Diamond Standard of service and

some of it is already happening.





Is there a GlobalVaccum? By Vaneisa Baksh

20 Feature


elson Mandela’s death in December

2013 brought into sharp focus the

global vacuum in leadership. Notfrom the size of the crowds paying

their respects. You can’t rely on the hullabaloo

it caused worldwide to measure the size of his

shoes - the culture of today makes it necessary

to be visibly celebrating, mourning, sleeping,

eating, as long you post it right away. But with

world leaders from every sphere cartwheeling

over each other to join Mandela farewell parties

(selfies and all) it was striking how far removed

in stature they seemed—like ants teeming

around a lion.

It isn’t just on the scale of national leaders,

about whom we have been bombarded with

stories of corruption, graft, sexual misconduct,

espionage, and even genocide, in recent times.

Even when they have avoided being charged

with such offences, they say such offensive

things!

The new Pope, for instance, had been pushing

all the right buttons until he decided to include

abortion in his list of dreadful aspects of a

throwaway culture. This came as the UN

hauled the Vatican in for questioning aboutthe horrific sexual abuse of children by priests.

The Holy See, cassocked in its inviolable status

as an entity that is a veritable law unto itself,

has never reasonably addressed its long history

of sexual abuse; the untold effects on countless

lives can never be truly assessed. But the

United Nations, another institution representing

the loftiest ideals of citizens of the world (as

some might argue, the Vatican does), can be

accused of an enormous amount of moral

hypocrisy in its own conduct. It too has

condoned sexual abuse by its workers, hasbeen accused of carelessly introducing cholera

into Haiti; indeed, has averted its eyes from

Haiti many times over, and has also been slow

Nto act in the face of countless atrocities

globally.

Let’s face it, institutions are run by people

and those at the helm are the ones with the

greatest capacity to influence their value

systems. Leaders of institutions are constantly

faced with challenges regarding the types of

decisions made within. Strong institutions

develop and give primacy to following their

missions, goals and core values—nurturing

internal cultures that live by their codes. Weak

ones treat them as documents to be cited in

press releases; meaningless in practice, but

useful as public relations exercises.

There is a very fundamental aspect of

leadership which often goes unnoticed by the

conscious mind, but which resonates

profoundly on the subconscious. It has to do

with trustworthiness. A leader you can trust

can work wonders getting you to follow.

Despite the skeptical air that generally

surrounds world leaders, everywhere people

were fighting over themselves to recount

stories of when they breathed the same air as

Mandela did. Why? Mandela’s steadfastness

in the face of unrelenting trials made peopletrust him - gave them faith that he was truly

a man intent on making the world a better

place.

Globally, if you analyse some of the decisions

made by world leaders, you have to conclude

that they are driven by forces far removed

from altruism. The Catholic Church bemoans

the falling away of parishioners. It might have

more to do with the loss of trust for the

priesthood than with the other factors of

‘modern’ lifestyles that are blamed. The UN,nearly 70 years old, has not earned the kind

of support it ought to from members, because

they have lost faith in too many of its

offshoots. CARICOM did not lose its way

because people did not believe in it since like

the UN, it was conceptualized deep in theheart of idealism. It has made itself irrelevant

to Caribbean people because of poor

leadership, and by and large Caribbean people

have washed their hands off it as a mechanism

to enable development in the region.

Our local soil is soiled because for many years

the days have been bringing forth such tales

of corruption, lies, graft and fraud at the

highest levels that all public trust has

evaporated. Today, fraudulent degrees have

been the soup de jour - and just as with crime,a lot of talk but no action has left the bitter

bile of cynicism working through the gut of

our citizens. Without leadership that we could

count on, the country has tragically slipped

into a hole with no apparent way out. Our

brand has become one of crime, corruption

and poor customer relations. The leaders who,

in their blissful expeditions to excavate

national resources abandoned all regard for

decency, are finding now that they do not

know how to control the forces they tried to

harness.

The loss of confidence in institutions and

leadership feeds this growing sense of

powerlessness by the citizenry. That helpless

feeling is why many strike out angrily; why

many refuse to abide by rules that seem to

benefit only a few. Entrepreneurs will tell you

that they can hardly find staff willing to go

even an extra inch, far less the extra mile.

The economy has slowed down for many

reasons, and rebuilding trust requires deep

commitment to a process that will take time,study and resources; and leadership you can

trust, and right now, all are in very short

supply.





f ever there was a challenge to leadership

in Trinidad and Tobago, it is that which

is presented by education. Even as we

drown in incivility and violence at oneend of the societal spectrum, and in arrogance

and corruption at the other, our educated

classes have proved patently unable to devise

let alone implement any reasonable solution

to the problems faced at both ends and the

middle of our society.

Perhaps the intelligentsia has not been able

to come up with a solution because a common

definition of the problem has not been agreed.

This is in part because we are smart, but

perhaps not smart enough, each idea masteronly able to frame a problem in his own

vocabulary, unable to bridge knowledge and

language gaps to arrive at a general

understanding of the challenge we face. We

end up with a cacophony of definitions and

inaccurate solutions, yet the symptoms are

easy to see.

We know that we have a problem of crime

and that this manifests as murder and assault

on the one hand and white collar crime and

corruption on the other. Both sit at opposite

ends but are not strangers, since one needsthe other for its perpetuation. But if crime is

a problem, what is its cause? Put another

way, if crime is a symptom, what is the

underlying problem?

It is here that leadership comes into sharp

focus, since a thorough examination of any

and all issues faced by our bourgeoning

society, from crime to institutional failure to

corruption can locate both their cause and

solution firmly in the province of leadership.

This is not a generally accepted argument,

and there are many, including some Prime

Ministers past and perhaps present, who feel

or have felt that they too are victims of the

system, of a political culture gone horribly

wrong. Faced with the powerlessness of their role buttressed by a hardened and

unproductive culture, political leaders slide

into decline themselves, enriching themselves

as they go as compensation for having seen

the true nature of the beast.

Perhaps we are unable to face our own

reflection in much the same way as Wilde’s

Dorian Gray was unable to witness his

portrait, and to come to terms with the evil

represented there. So we look everywhere

else for our solutions, and instead createmore problems.

Yet one cannot escape the sense that the

problems of this country, and its opportunity

set, would be well prosecuted by a good

leader. The cynics among us may scoff, but

Trinidad and Tobago may yet be a great

nation, and we are certainly further along

than India or South Africa were when Gandhi

and Mandela rose to prominence. Even Pope

Francis has redefined the role of Church

leadership, changing very rapidly what was

until a few months ago thought to be virtuallyunchangeable. There is hope for us yet.

So what then is the prime quality of a leader,

and how do we get one who can lead us out

of the mire and into a more elevated space?

It is here that education rises to clear the

cerebral fog and rides, as they say, to the

rescue.

Education is far more than certification, a

point frequently misunderstood, with

disastrous effects, by employers and studentsalike. In its broadest sense, education is

intellectual, moral and social instruction and

this is the definitional latitude with which I

seek to cloak my thesis. That is to say that

the reason we have weak leadership is that

the quality of our education has fallendramatica l ly over the years as we

fundamentally misunderstood what education

is and what an educated man or woman must

be. Our education has focused on what a

person knows, and not on who they are.

Denominational schools seek to provide some

moral grounding at primary and secondary

level, however this is rapidly denuded at the

tertiary level. At government schools, which

are free of religious constraint, moral and

social instructions are bypassed far more

quickly. The upshot of this is generations of young un-rooted in a wider community of

values, whose commitment to the nationhood

project is tenuous at best.

This is not as simple a problem to resolve as

it is to articulate. We have spent years

emphasising that a person is ‘bright’ when

they pass their exams. Beyond the simple

childhood instruction that children receive

from parents – increasingly not to be assumed

– most of our young are on autopilot, receiving

little in the way of values-based coaching or

social development except through everydayexperience.

Proper education is of course the antidote,

but this involves a tough look at the society

by the society for the model is broken and

must be changed. One has only to look at

our leaders and their qualifications to see the

inverse correlation between the development

of our national character and what we think

education is. Our leaders have almost

invariably had very high levels of certification,

yet the tenor of our social relationships andthe quality of our life experiences appears to

have qualitatively declined.

22 Feature


Education andLeadership By Dr. Rolph Balgobin

I



WELCOME TO WWW.CONTACT-TT.COM

In an effort to continuously improve our services to you and due to the overwhelmingresponse we have received for our quarterly business magazine, CONTACT, we have

launched a website that caters to the needs of both our readers and advertisers.

As the premier voice of business in Trinidad and Tobago, CONTACT provides a forum to

inform about current business issues nationally, regionally and internationally.

The magazine has a strong specialised thematic content, written and researched by respected

business leaders and writers. Because of the focus of CONTACT, the magazine has a wide

distribution and reaches key executives and leaders in the business community.

The website has many features to offer, including HTML and PDF compatibilities, archived

issues of the magazine, advertising rates, along with translation assistance.

People trained to think critically, but without

any moral or social anchor, display two

dangerous attributes frequently seen in ourleaders today. They are destructively critical

and play in unanticipated spaces. Engaging

in destructive criticism demolishes new ideas,

but replaces them with nothing. The upshot

is a society which does not, cannot move,

because the social and psychological costs

for innovators and change agents are simply

too high.

We all stand in a line of mediocrity, ready to

train our guns on whoever steps forward.

Eventually the best of us retreat into our ownspaces, jaded by the wanton misuse of power

conferred by trained intellect. The battle is

won by the certificated masses who shout

loudest.

Playing in the spaces is an even more

corrupting and insidious force operating in

our society, and this is almost exclusively the

province of the certificated. This is where

we play very close to the letter of the law, of

rules, of regulations, using the training

conferred by ‘education’ to say that what we

want to do is possible since it has not beenexpressly outlawed, whether we know it to

be good for the society or not. This use of

ju st ifyi ng argu men t fo r on e’ s pe rson al

advancement tears at the fabric of a young

society and makes us all vulnerable since we

are rapidly descending, with the education

system’s help, into a place where we are each

a republic and the notion of the common good

grows distant. This is not to say that we should

Feature 23

stop our people from studying. Far from it!

Rather, my proposition would be that we need

a far more expansive perspective on whateducation should be, and we should seek to

deliver such a holistic diet to our children, so

that we may one day have more whole leaders.

If we can confront ourselves positively, and

make the changes we know we must, Trinidad

and Tobago may become the light of this

hemisphere sooner than many of us think

possible.




n excerpt from Jim Rohn’s book

“The Treasury of Quotes”, defines

leadership this way, “The

challenge of leadership is to bestrong, but not rude. Be kind, but not weak.

Be bold, but not a bully. Be thoughtful, but

not lazy. Be humble but not timid. Be proud,

but not arrogant. Have humour, but without

folly.”

Trinidad and Tobago’s leadership has been

called into question on several occasions since

the country became independent more than

50 years ago. Most times the attacks on poor

leadership are aimed at the political

directorate, but there are in fact many other

levels of leadership that are wanting, including

lower level bureaucrats who run state

companies, while the private sector has not

proven to be immune from poor leadership

skills.

The worsening crime situation in Trinidad

and Tobago has called into question the

country’s leadership. The current scenario

shows that the leadership of the criminal

underworld, which includes the gangs and

drug lords, is much better organised than that

of the country’s leadership. Clearly there isa serious leadership crisis in the country.

What the public sees is that while the criminal

entities carry out with precision their assaults

on business and citizens and even children,

government leaders continue to thrash about

with flailing arms, making noises, but not

making any real difference.

The biggest challenge facing this government

and several previous administrations is the

issue of the abatement of crime and criminal

activity. It has been recognised that gettinga handle on crime in Trinidad and Tobago is

mainly a leadership issue, which to date has

not been attacked frontally.

The politicians make the noises necessary to

appease their various constituencies, while

the Police Service remains seriously divided

with dedicated, hard-working officers on oneside and rogues and lethargic ones on the

other. This combination of “ole talk”

politicians and a divided police service makes

fertile ground for the continuing escalation

of criminal activity.

Over the last four years, there have been four

Ministers of National Security and each one

promises to save the nation from the

criminals. It is possible to assume that

between 2010 and today there have four

different sets of strategies aimed at reducing

crime, each new Minister believing he has

the solution to this grave situation.

In 2007 Lee Iacoca, a formidable leader in

the United States auto industry, published a

book the title of which asked a poignant

question, “Where have all the leaders gone?”

This same question is being asked every day

in Trinidad and Tobago, but not in such loud

tones.

A look at today’s scenario: Both the

government and private sector leaders lament

the fact that the murder rate for the countryis intolerable. And they are right. So the

focus understandably, has been for years,

placed on that element of criminality.

They are all fully aware that the majority of

murders now being committed are related to

gangland activity – the fight for drug turfs

and valuable URP contracts - resulting in

revenge killings. One Minister of National

Security went so far as to tell the country the

number of gangs that operate in various areas

in the country. But nothing has been done tostop the killings. The remainder of the

murders are “passion” killings and family

disputes. Still, the focus remains on the

A

24 Feature


Crime and Leadership By Vernon Khelawan

gangland murders and even so, little or no

progress is being made in that area.

But has anybody looked at the recent upsurge

in bank heists, armoured car hijackings orlarge jewellry thefts? Within a month there

have been two multi-million dollar thefts,

resulting in one death. A security vehicle

(not bullet proofed) was hijacked, the courier

killed and the bandits made off with lots of

cash – reportedly in the millionnns - belonging

to several local banks and destined for

Tobago.

More recently, thieves, number unknown,

were able to break into a Bank Branch in

Sangre Grande and clean out the vault, which

contained millions in cash and even jewelry

belonging to customers lodged with the bank

for safe-keeping. If there were security guards

on duty they did not hear anything, nor did

the alarm system activate.

To date, there been no arrests in either of the

two attacks and both matters have been

surrounded by a deafening silence. No

statement from any of the leaders – the

security company, the Police Service, the

Bankers Association nor the political

directorate. The Bank(s) involved did not putout an official statement.

It begs other questions: Has any connection

been made with these two heists and the

recent drug busts, locally and abroad?

Someone has to pay for the cocaine and

marijuana that have been seized? Are these

glaring heists part of that scenario? These

are questions the country’s leaders have to

answer. Saying investigations are continuing

is just not good enough.

The current drive to eradicate or seriously

damage the supply lines of illegal drugs, both

from local sources and other Caribbean




Feature 25

islands has to be hurting somebody and as such there has to be

some kind of retaliation by the criminal element to keep their

money flowing.

Then there is the matter of money laundering. It happens in all

forms and fashion in this country and has been this way for many

years. The public hears very little about the instances when money

laundering activities are discovered, and that is where it ends. The

country is never privy to the results. As a matter of fact, there has

hardly ever been a conviction, if at all, for any money laundering

offence in this country.

Gun running is an activity that has been part of the underworld

agenda of Trinidad and Tobago for many years. It is no secret that

the small time bandits who use guns to commit robberies, rapeand home invasions, are not the people who bring in the guns.

Again, the leaders in the security services and the government,

ensures the lid on such activities remains tightly locked.

It is more convenient for persons in leadership positions to trade

statements on the viability or usefulness of a British-built OPV

as against a Chinese manufactured Long Range Vessel (LRV).

Keep the arguments going while the cocaine and guns keep flowing

in from Central America.

Millions have been spent on importing so-called experts to advise

leaders in the protective services how to get a handle on crime.

In other words if it can work in New York which accommodates

some 12 million people, it shouldn’t be too difficult to have success

in Trinidad and Tobago with a population of just over a million.

There have been dozens of crime plans. Every new National

Security minister has come up with crime plans that have all

failed to stem the murders and reaped little other rewards. Leaders

must resolve to work together with the citizens, starting with the

communities, if any progress is to be made in arresting the crime

spiral. Until a real effort is made in this direction, nothing will

happen in our fight against crime.

At the rank and file level, our leaders, both public and private,fail to connect solidly with citizens on so many issues – good and

bad – which would in the long run benefit the entire country. It

is time our leaders stop talking the talk and begin to walk the

walk.



Tobago Tourism needsLeadership By Bertrand Bhikarry, Tobago Division

26 Feature


here’s a gut feeling among our

entrepreneurs that tourism is Tobago’s

only shot at a global business.

However there seems to be a problem

transforming every effort made so far intosuccessful or sustainable enterprise. The failure

arguably, points to inadequacies of leadership

and longstanding mediocre management of the

island’s mainstay. It’s a view reflected by wary

onlookers too, whether foreign-based investor

types or simply potential visitors.

At first blush, a thriving tourism-derived

economy seems inevitable for Tobago,

especially compared to better-known but less-

endowed places like Barbados, St. Kitts or

Antigua. At the regional level Tobago’s natural

assets compare favourably to any of the islands

up the chain. Reefs are still pristine, surpassing

many offering of major Caribbean destinations

and the island’s biodiversity, especially its avian

life, are already acknowledged as world class.

And far from last, the culture of Tobago is as

potentially ripe and engaging as that of any

other community in the New World. So where

exactly did we take a wrong turn with tourism?

Carlos Dillon, a highly respected Tobagonian

with many years behind him on the tourism

frontline became aware of this destination’spromise more than half a century ago,

accompanying his father in the family’s tour

operation business. Today he still recalls his

father admonishing fellow guides – and tourists

as well – about the wisdom of preserving

Buccoo’s landmark ecosystem. Beyond his

desire to revere his deceased parent, Carlos

seems genuinely proud that someone way back

then kept an eye out for the communal good.

Asked if the present generation of reef users

have taken up stewardship for the reef in thesame vein as his dad, the ‘young’ Dillon replied

in the negative, asserting though that the current

crop of youth could benefit if better examples

were set for them by their leaders. Indeed he

may have inadvertently voiced the cure for

Tobago’s tourism - if only someone could

engineer it. Carlos himself is no neophyte tothe national scene of commerce and politics.

He maintains a belief that the State directorate

should act only as executive officers when they

tend to the business of Corporation Sole. Ever

concerned about matters at home he demands

that Tobago’s political structure should remain

apart from the discipline of its business. He

always speaks with reverence of the gift of

nature inherited by Tobagonians, always

advocating for communities to take leadership

roles to ensure said gift is held in trust for the

others who have yet to be born.

Based on knowledge gained from a stint with a

multi-national oil company in the early days of

the Galeota finds, Carlos opines the first

petrodollar windfall, coming as it did so quickly

after Independence in 1962, enabled a paradigm

of poor productivity. The easy money from

government instilled a sense of dependence upon

and saw to the cultivation of a narrow band of

skillsets for the energy industry and its various

offshoots. In essence he says, the tourism industry

in Tobago (and Trinidad too), had to take a

backseat to petroleum mining.

He asserts the direction, inadvertent though it

may have been, eventually disenfranchised an

entire generation of Tobagonians, many who

could have gone ahead and developed their own

‘business’ – tourism, if infrastructure or even

the political will, was there. Asked if the situation

has been addressed, he shook his head again as

if to get rid of an early evening mangrove

mosquito.

But Carlos Dillon isn’t the only one clamouringfor effective rollout of this island’s tourism. In

March of 2013 during a stakeholder consultation,

the Tobago Division of the Chamber identified

several outstanding voids in the island’s tourism

strategy hampering the potential for growth.

Tobago’s core product still needs to be finetuned but there appears to be nothing in the

public domain that can be availed to guide

investment in the tourism industry.

Chamber heads however concur however, that

there’s room for optimism should such a plan

be presented. It would potentially allow

everyone to engage in better management at

all levels. For example, taxi drivers would be

able to forecast growth, could buy newer cars

with greater confidence, could plan other

growth or even manage family life better. It is

logical that if everyone was working to a

common plan, similar type benefits would also

accrue to the farming sector, to the construction

companies and merchants as wel l .

Of course the airlines and hoteliers – the top

of the tourism food chain, would be able also

to contemplate plant and property expansion,

budget for advertising and generally cater to

all the things that goes with forecasting.

Unfortunately, it seems that Tourism has been

left virtually uncultivated.

Now, a detailed island vision, mission and

strategy should be held in plain sight for the

general population to see. It’s an omission that

demonstrates poor decision-making from both

the Trinidad side and the House of Assembly

in equally bad parts.

Until then, if someone was inclined to do

tourism related business it will be certainly be

difficult for them to over-ride their feelings that

any industry in Tobago will have a hard time

getting off the ground. And maybe, it cannot– at least not as long as the current style of

leadership remains the status quo.

T





28 Feature


ou won’t last forever, even if you

think you’re indestructible. Your

business can continue without you,

e v e n i f y o u t h i n k y o u ’ r e

irreplaceable. Your legacy as a success or

failure doesn’t end with you, it continues onwith your successor and likely your business

does too.

There are many situations where a successor

is needed, and many ways to choose a

successor. There is also just the one way to

not choose one if succession planning hasn’t

been important to you, even though not

grooming a designated successor can lead to

the downfall of the entire business.

Some people want to leave on their own

accord. Others are pushed out. Some insistthat they want to die at their desks, and

unfortunately some do. Deciding on a

succession plan depends a lot on how open

you are to the idea that the business endures

and the world keeps spinning, with or without

you in it.

The basic steps involved in succession planning

are simply to evaluate your function, look at

people in your organisation who can do as

well as you (or half as well if you’re that

good), evaluate these people, choose a potential

successor or successors to develop, find the

gaps between what they know and what they

need to know to do your job, and groom them

for the position.

The most basic and highly successful form of

succession planning is simply human

procreation. The next generation takes over

from the first. If you have a family business

it’s natural for your children to be a part of it,

to have grown up in it and to be expected to

take over one day.

With family businesses questions arise with

succession planning in terms of which child

should take over, how do you fairly distribute

inheritances when one child works in the

family business and others do not, can children

achieve healthy separation from parents when

they work so closely together, can a family

rift cause a serious issue in the business or

vice versa, and can you maintain equitableemotional relationships with all the kids

instead of favouring the one working in the

company?

While owners of family businesses spend their

lives nurturing their business and their

children, it is sometimes difficult for them to

imagine that the kids might want no part of

the business. Some become natural successors,

some siblings squabble over who is in charge,

and some drive the company to failure either

because they feel a duty to do something theydon’t want to do, because they need to break

away from the parent-child relationship or

because they’re just terrible business people.

Many believe that it is best to allow the

children to follow their own passions, and

take time to develop their own identity separate

from the business until they feel the desire or

the comfort to come back home and take over.

It is not unusual for family businesses to look

outside the family for people to run or even

purchase the business when the business

owners want to retire. Sometimes the business

is a family legacy or sometimes it is just a

part of family history.

In large businesses succession planning or

succession development as it’s also popularly

referred to these days, is more of a formal

activity. It is an institutionalised process that

is not just about finding a replacement for a

CEO but about selecting and developing the

people in the next two layers of jobs below.

Succession development is more about the

pipeline of employees rather than just the one

being groomed to take over at the top.Indeed, the CEO hardly gets to choose his

successor anymore, more often the Board is

involved in the process to add objectivity to

the choice on behalf of the future success of

the company. The company’s focus in

succession planning is to develop the ‘bench

strength’ of the organisation, the substitutes

who would come into the game to replace

the starters when needed. Things can gowrong with succession planning of course;

it doesn’t always work out as planned.

There are leaders who refuse to leave,

transitions that take place too soon, attempted

power grabs by the chosen ones, choices of

a weaker successor to keep strong challengers

to your job at bay, dismal failure by the

successor, and crises that cause the former

leader to come back when the successor

doesn’t yet have the experience to handle the

situation.

There are leaders who don’t choose successors

and are simply blindsided by changing times,

generation gaps, and their own egos and

tunnel vision of success, or of course their

own demise. All of these can lead to the

demise of the business as well.

Planning for succession is something a lot of

business people always intend to get around

to but sometimes never do. However it is a

critical success factor in assessing the job

you’re doing for your organisation and

whether or not you truly have the company’s

best interest at heart.

A person’s legacy in business isn’t just about

their individual achievements, but also about

the preparations they have made to put the

business on the path with the greatest

possibility of success.

It is a short-sighted statement of self-

importance to think that the business couldn’t

survive without you since those boastsultimately becomes self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sustainable success has to last longer than

you do.

Y

Are you Irreplaceable? By George Deyal





e was as scholarly as he was political,

commanding audiences' attention in

both spheres in equal measure.

The intellectual in Dr Eric Eustace

Williams drove his deep-seated ambition to

release this country from British colonial rule.Williams, who became this country's first Prime

Minister in 1956 and stayed there until his

death in 1981, saw politics as an powerful tool

to engineer change. His achievements were

nothing short of meteoric. Williams, a student

of Queen's Royal College, won an island

scholarship to Oxford University in the United

Kingdom, where in 1935 he earned first-class

honours for his Bachelor of Arts in history,

and was ranked in first place among University

of Oxford students graduating in history in

that year.

Williams documented in his autobiography,

“Inward Hunger” his experience with racism

while in the United Kingdom. For instance,

he recounts that in the period following his

graduation, "I was severely handicapped in

my research by my lack of money.... I was

turned down everywhere I tried ... and could

not ignore the racial factor involved".

He would go on to announce his intention to

enter politics in a famous speech in Woodford

Square, Port-of-Spain, which was surrounded

by the courts and the Red House. Herechristened the red-fenced-and-spiked park

The University of Woodford Square. He’d later

give a series of public lectures on world history,

Greek democracy and philosophy, the history

of slavery, and the history of the Caribbean to

large audiences drawn from every social class.

His name for the square has stuck to this day.

It's in the square’s Victorian-styled bandstand

that he launched the political party, the People's

National Movement (PNM), in 1955, and won

the 1956 general election. The PNM would goon to hold the reins of power for 30 consecutive

years. T&T celebrated its 50th Independence

anniversary in 2012, a fact that cannot be stated

without acknowledging that it was Dr Eric

Williams who led us to independence from

Britain in 1962.

In his famous speech observing that historical

occasion, he said: “Democracy means more,much more, than the right to vote, and one

vote for every man, and every woman of the

prescribed age. Democracy means recognition

of the rights of others…This is what I meant

when I gave the nation as its slogan for all

time, discipline, production, tolerance.”

Where Williams used his scholastic and

political achievements to rally a nation,

Basdeo Panday made his name in the labour

movement, fighting for the rights of T&T’s

sugar workers in the ear ly 1970s .

History tells us that Panday was educated at

Presentation College and studied law at

Lincoln’s Inn in the United Kingdom. He

also studied economics at the Univesity of

London. He returned home to join the

Workers and Farmers Party to represent sugar

workers’ rights for better pay and working

conditions.

In the early 1970s, sugar workers were among

the lowest paid in T&T, working under

conditions akin to slavery for the British-

owned Tate and Lyle Sugar Company. Under

Panday’s leadership, workers won a 300percent wage increase. Years later, many

former sugar workers had framed photos of

Panday above their front door, so revered

was he.

In March 1975 there was labour unrest when

the major unions led by Panday, George

Weekes and Raffique Shah, representing

sugar and oil workers, marched in San

Fernando and were met by brutal police

resistance. This became known as "Bloody

Tuesday". He spent two weeks at the GoldenGrove Prison for leading an illegal march

with trade unionists. On returning to Trinidad,

Panday entered politics and failed in his 1966

bid to run for Parliament as a candidate for

the Workers and Farmers Party. His most

prominent debut into local politics was as

early as 1973, when he forayed into the politics

of the Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers'

Association (TICFA). He faced oppositionfrom then leader of the Sanatan Dharma Maha

Sabha, Bhadase Sagan Maraj and the leader

of the Union, Rampartap Singh, who had

succeeded Maraj. These were the favourites

of the then Prime Minister, Eric Williams, for

he was concerned about the "left-wing

radicalisation" of the union membership.

It was in this context that Panday came to the

fore. Panday was able, through backdoor

negotiations with the then union leader of

TICFA, and subsequently with Eric Williams

concerning the wages and salaries of sugarcane

workers, to claim control over the union as

the undisputed leader of TICFA. In May 1973,

he became the president General of All

Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade

Union.

Exploiting the fractural divisiveness that

existed within the then opposition of

the Democratic Labour Party, Panday formed

an alliance with other union members,

Weekes and Shah. The three formed

the United Labour Front, and in 1981–1986,he was the Opposition Leader.

He co-founded the National Alliance

(with ANR Robinson, political leader of

the Democratic Action Congress and Lloyd

Best of the Tapia House Group), to fight the

1981 elections, and later co-founded

the National Alliance for Reconstruction with

Robinson and Karl Hudson-Phillips. Following

a convincing electoral victory in 1986, he was

made Minister of External Affairs and

International Trade. In 1988, Panday, alongw i t h K e l v i n R a m n a t h , J o h n

Humphrey and Trevor Sudama, were expelled

from the party after a disagreement with

H

T&T’s Golden Age ofCharismatic Leaders

30 Feature




Feature 31


Robinson , c l a iming Robinson was

authoritarian. He founded the Club for Love,

Unity and Brotherhood (CLUB 88), whichbecame the United National Congress. In 1992

their candidates won more seats in that year's

election than the then NAR. On such a basis,

the members of what was to become the UNC,

argued this in Parliament to become the

Opposition. The party only won 13 of 36 seats

nationally. It improved this margin to 17 in

the 1995 general election. It could not form

the majority in Parliament to form the Cabinet,

so, with the support of the two seats held by

Robinson and the NAR, Panday was appointed

the country's first Indo-Trinidadian PrimeMinister. Robinson became President.

Wil l iams led T&T to independence .

Panday fought for sugar workers’ dignity.

Bhadase Sagan Maraj built a Hindu

organization through which illiterate Hindus

were educated. Maraj, who died in 1971, was

a politician, religious leader and businessman.

He founded the Sanatan Dharma M aha

Sabha in 1952, which grew into the

major Hindu organisation in T&T. Maraj,

born in the tiny village of Caroni, had a strong

desire to take his family out of the poverty,

deprivation and degradation that had been

their lot ever since his father stepped off anindentured labourers' boat. Before he could

help the Hindus, Maraj himself had to be

strong enough. He was a violent man who

used violent methods to achieve his wealth

and social status. Maraj earned his first million

dollars by digging sand for construction in

the Caroni River. It was quite a thing to see

this strapping young six-footer with a long

bamboo pole pushing his flat-bottomed boat

up the Caroni River. He was not yet 30. Soon

the young Maraj bought a truck and was in

the transport business. World War II and thearrival of the American armed forces to T&T

placed Maraj into the big league.

He was one of the biggest contractors on the

American naval base at Chaguaramas, and

when the order came for the Americans to pull

out their task force from this country, Maraj

was able to buy out large areas of the base

that were being deactivated. As a millionaire,

Maraj now had the means to fight for Hindus.

When he was elected to Parliament in 1950,

the Maha Sabha did not exist.Neither did

Hindu schools, and illiteracy among Hindus

was about 50 percent.

In early 1952, the Maha Sabha was formed

and was given permission to build and operate

their own schools. Maraj declared, "By

September, we will have six schools." Cynics

laughed, but Maraj kept his word. September

saw the establishment of six Hindu Schools.

H indu schools we re mushrooming

everywhere. To those who said Maraj was

building cowsheds which were unhealthy and

physically unfit for children to be educated,

he declared, "It is better to have a child receive

an education in a cowshed than none at all".

He was elected to the Legislative Council in

1950, founded the People's Democratic Party,

and later merged it into the Democratic Labour

Party, which he led between 1958 and 1960

(when he lost control of the party to Rudranath

Capildeo). Maraj continued to be active in

politics until his death, often opposing

Capildeo and other members of the DLP. After

Capildeo's Chaguanas seat was declared

vacant in 1967, Maraj won the seat in a by-

election boycotted by the DLP.



32 Feature

ver the last 30 years the world has

seen one of the most significant

shifts in human history - the shift

f rom the indus t r i a l to the

information economy. Like the

shifts before it – from feudal to mercantilist,

and from mercantilist to industrial – this latest

shift has brought with it a sea change in terms

of access to knowledge and information, in

terms of what is valued as capital, how

economic activity is structured and has

impacted the basis of competition between

nations.

This global information and knowledge society

has been driven by the democratisation of the

internet and the proliferation of computers, the“Cloud” and mobile telephony. These

developments have profoundly changed how

we conduct almost every activity in our daily

social and business activities. Equally notable

has been the steady decrease in the cost of

computer hardware, mobile communication

devices and broadband connectivity, not only

for government and big business, but more

importantly for Small & Medium Enterprises

(SMEs) and individuals. The result has been

a paradigm shift in the way that communication

between entities (individuals, businesses,governments) occurs and in the manner in

which information is disseminated, accessed,

manipulated and consumed. This shift has

even a profound impact on social culture and

introduced a multitude of new terms to the

technology, management and business jargon,

both in the academic and casual usages.

However, many leaders of public and private

sector institutions, from middle management

to top level executives, are not fully aware of

the strategic opportunities that the current ICT

paradigm presents. New ICT-enabledframeworks allow for the re-thinking of the

b o r d e r s o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e

revolutionisation of business models (think

Kodak vs. Flickr – when last did you go to

a store to print a photo?) and the opportunity

to effect multiple simultaneous transactions

efficiently.

When persons in consequential leadership

positions do not possess a deep understanding

of the technology, or an ability to clearly

communica te how the t e chnology

developments can enable the achievement of

organizational goals or a national vision,

sustainable development is put at risk.

As a case in point, let us look at the issue of

natural disasters. The Caribbean knows well

the cost of natural disasters, and the years,

sometimes generations that it takes to recoverfully from an event (think of the volcano

eruption in Montserrat). Imagine the scale of

the issue should there be an “internet disaster”.

What systems would we start to try to put in

place at that time when, (for e.g.) an external

service provider – say Google or the Florida-

based Network Access Point (NAP of the

Americas) - denies service (due to say a

natural disaster in the US); and a Regional

Prime Minister is then unable to communicate

with his / her Attorney General?

If we as nations, put our children on ICT

learning platforms, but have no say into the

platform (i.e. no meaningful understanding

of the architecture of the internet on which

the platform is based, and further no

ownership stake at the state level of this basic

infrastructure) - then we court disaster. What

if the platform, through no fault or action of

ours becomes unavailable? How do we begin

at that point to think about starting to find a

solution or an alternative?

ICT managers do not believe it within theirpurview to make those kinds of decisions.

Disaster professionals do not feel they know

enough about the strategic ICTs matters to

strongly opine. The vicissitudes of the political

process and generally short timeframe in office

has lead politically motivated leaders to shy

away from taking decisions which have long

term implications or impacts which cannot be

seen within the political t imeframe.

And so we collectively agree that no one is

going to decide; to lead. In so doing, we

collectively make a very definitive decision

to court disaster. This cycle must be broken.

The time is now, while we have not yet had

such eventualities to face, for business and

national leaders to really think deeply about

the priorities for the current and future

development of our economies and about thecompetencies and assets that we must nurture

as a people. We must be led by leaders who

have applied themselves to understanding the

times and can proactively lead our captains

of industry and the state sector to think about…

“what if”? We must begin to understand what

are the costs of action and the consequences

of in-action. Leaders must demand that we

strategize a proactive response and eventually

build capacity to turn these threats into

opportunities for growth in the national and

Regional interest.

This requirement is squarely in the lap of

leaders, because such issues are not ICT

problems. They are not challenges only for

the disaster risk management professionals.

These are sustainable development issues

which require a bold and informed kind of

leadership to squarely address.

Business Sustainability

We must recognize too that transnational

undersea fiber cables represent market access

highways which make it as easy for a domesticconsumer to purchase product from a North

American or UK firm as it is for that same

consumer to purchase product from the

O

Leading in theInformation Age


By Atiba Phillips, Principal Consultant, INFOCOMM Technologies Ltd.



Feature 33


physical retail outlet around the corner. This

means that there is a leak of financial resources

out of our economies, particularly to firmswho do not support our financial system

through taxation, corporate social responsibility

(CSR) initiatives or employment.

Domestic businesses, on-the other hand, have

not (by and large) taken up the internet

challenge to make their goods and services

available on-line. This places the domestic

private sector at a significant disadvantage in

the global competitive landscape and skews

the benefits of technology development to

extra-Regional, more established, non-domestic players.

The Regional Mandate

The Region needs to introspect and determine,

from an informed state, what position and role

will technical connectivity of its islands and

economies play in the vision it has for itself

mo v i n g f o r w a r d . W h a t r o l e w i l linterconnectivity play in facilitating functional

CARICOM integration? What role will it

play in helping islands coordinate relief efforts

post natural disasters? What role is there for

technology and communication connectivity

in enhancing intra-regional trade? What role

will it play in helping to promote Caribbean

cultural products (music, dance, literature and

design) abroad?

Fully understanding the impact of the global

change from the industrial society to theinformation society will require leaders to

take the time to learn of the implications,

opportunities and threats. It will require

dedicated State ICT institutions that have

greater permanence and are less subject to

the political vicissitudes of the day. It will

also require a concerted and collaborative

effort among telecommunications companies,banks, civil society (including international

groups such as ICANN), traditional businesses

as well as governments to make the change.

Innovative startups which bring to bear

customized applications and platforms which

encourage intra-Regional exchange also have

the potential to make a significant contribution.

Finally this will take a significant dose of

political will. It will require at least one nation

in the Region to lead the way and define andimplement pro-ICT policies at the business

and state levels which the other nations can

follow.

Leaders wanted.



34 Feature


What every business person shouldknow

• The Planning and Facilitation of

Development Bill 2013

A Special Select Committee has been

appointed by the Senate of the Parliament

of Trinidad and Tobago to consider and

report on a Bill entitled: “An Act relating

to the planning and development of land

and to repeal and replace the Town andCountry Planning Act, Chap. 35:01”.

The Bill proposes to, inter alia, repeal and

replace the Town and Country Planning

Act, Chap. 35:01, to establish a new system

for the preparation and approval of

development plans, and a new system for

obtaining planning and development

approvals.

• Trade and Investment Convention 2014

The Trade & Investment Convention (TIC)

is a Business-to-Business Forum which will

take place at the Centre of Excellence in

Macoya, Trinidad over July 2-5, 2014. The

theme of this year’s TIC is “Creating

Opportunities, Driving Growth” and will

focus on this country’s innovative and robust

manufacturing sector.

TIC 2014 is hosted by The Trinidad and

Tobago Manufacturers’ Association and is

sponsored by the Ministry of Trade,

I n d u s t r y a n d I n v e s t m e n t ,

Telecommunications Services of Trinidad

& Tobago and First Citizens. The

c o n v e n t i o n w i l l b r i n g t o g e t h e r

manufacturers, service providers, buyers,

distributors, financial institutions, investors

and regulatory agencies responsible fortrade.

For further information please contact the

TIC Secretariat at 1-868-675-8862.

Alternatively you may contact the

Secretariat via [email protected] or

[email protected] .

• Expo Jamaica 2014

JAMPRO, the Government of Jamaica’s

trade and investment promotion agency,

in collaboration with the Jamaica

Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) and

the Jamaica Exporters’ Association (JEA)

is visitors to Expo Jamaica April 3 –6,

2014 at the National Arena, Kingston.

Two hundred Jamaican companies,

showcasing over 2000 products will be

represented, encompassing the product

categories: Food and Beverage, Chemicals,

Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals, Electronics,

Electrical & Automotive, Fashion,

Furniture and Bedding, Information,

Technology and Communication, Art and

Craft, Jewellery, Minerals and Metal,

Printing, Packaging and Labelling, Textile

and Apparel along with Financial and

Business Services.

Buyers from all countries are invited to

participate and registration is free to them.

All buyers will be facilitated by JAMPRO

in the Buyer Hosting Programme.

Registration and further details on Expo

Jamaica are available on the expo website

www.expojamaica.com.jm, you may also

follow on twitter at www.twitter.com/

expojamaica , become a fan on facebook

at ww w.facebook.com/expojamaica or

c o n n e c t t h r o u g h L i n k e d I n a t

http://www.linkedin.com/company/3214

325.

Should there be any queries you may

contact JAMPRO’s Buyer Recruitment

Coordinator, Ms. Janene Hibbert at

[email protected] or tel . number

(876) 978-7755 ext. 2067.

An Approved Mediation Agency registered with the Mediation Board of Trinidad & Tobago

For more information contact: THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTRE, Ground Floor,Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Building, Columbus Circle, Westmoorings.

Tel: (868) 632 4051 or 637 6966 Fax: (868) 632 4046 or 637 7425 E-mail: [email protected]

SERVING THE CARIBBEAN

The P ro vi de r o f C ho i ce fo r Pro fe s s io n a l M e di a tio n & A rbi tra tio n Se rvi ce s :Corporate, Commercial, Construction, Engineering, Medical Negligence,

Personal Injury, Intellectual Property, Human& Industrial Relations,Insurance, Debt Recovery, Sport, Land, Estate & Family Business Disputes



Feature 35


ocated at 12 Queens Park West, Port

of Spain, the Boissiere House was

the first Grand City Home on the

western edge of “Paradise Park”

(Queens P ark Savannah) was built during the

time of the Arts and Crafts Movement in

Architecture. The building also has Victorian

traditional detailing, an abundance of intricate

fretwork and a unique roofline of gables,

turrets and dormers. It is this lace-like

detailing that has lead to it being affectionately

known as “The Gingerbread house”. Because

of this mix of styles and influences the

building represents architecture that is truly

Trinidadian, reflecting our unique mixed

heritage. It holds both architectural and

historic value for all Trinidadians and

Tobagonians and is considered an important

Cultural Heritage site.

The House was constructed in 1904 and was

designed for Charles Ernest Boissiere by

Architect Edward Bowen who was a close

friend of the family. Charles was a descendent

of the De Boissiere family and a prominent

businessman.

The house was recently purchased by Junior

Sammy and his family. It is being sensitively

rehabilitated with no change to the original

design of the House.

LThe Boissiere House

Courtesy Citizens for Conservation




Finance & Economy36

very investor is unique, often facing

varied circumstances and financial

situations. Even with such a high

degree of individuality, we all

exhibit some collection of characteristics that

make us common to each other. In this way,

investors typically fall into one of three broad

risk/return profiles – Conservative, Moderate

or Aggressive. This article takes the middle

ground, so to speak, focusing on the Moderateinvestor and a portfolio mix well-suited for

this investor type.

In brief, we can define different investor types

as follows:

The Conservative/Risk-Averse Investor

This investor’s main investment objective is

preservation of capital and generation of

income, with limited focus on capital

appreciation.

The Moderate Investor/ Risk-Neutral

Investor

This investor is prepared to generate moderate

returns with a reasonable level of risk,

focusing more on capital appreciation but

also income generation.

The Aggressive Investor/ Risk-Tolerant

This investor is willing to take a high level

of risk. The focus for this investor class is

almost exclusively capital appreciation, with

the willingness to take concentrated portfolio

positions to achieve this objective.

When choosing how to invest, you should

always consider five (5) factors, namely your

investment objectives, investing time horizon,

tolerance for risk, personal investment

experience and overall financial situation.

Having taken all of this into account, you

should now be in a better position to determine

the types of investments best suited for your

specific goals and objectives.

Profi le of the Moderate InvestorHaving described broadly the investment

objectives of the Moderate investor above,

we look at the other factors behind this type

of portfolio allocation. The time horizon for

this investor varies, but generally falls within

a range of 10 to 20 years. A longer investing

time span allows the investor and his portfolio

to bear higher levels of capital fluctuation,

with there being more ‘recovery time’ for

the portfolio’s investments.

The tolerance for risk is higher than theConservative investor. For example, the

Moderate investor may be comfortable with

a 10% short-term drop in the value of his

assets, knowing that the investment time

horizon is sufficiently long for potential

recovery. Personal investment experience

determines which types of asset classes the

client may be comfortable with holding in

his portfolio.

Less experience in investing typically leads

clients to be comfortable with more popular

classes of assets such as equities and bonds,

whereas more sophisticated investors are

willing to include commodity and alternative

investments in their portfolios. The moderate

investor tends to stick more closely to equities

and bonds, with a higher allocation toward

equities.

Finally, the overall financial situation of the

moderate investor is also quite varied. One

common theme across all moderate investors

however, is that their investment portfolios

can be left invested for a reasonably longperiod with generally predictable cash flows

and without significant capital withdrawals.

In other words, the moderate investor does

not rely exclusively on the investment

portfolio for meeting living expenses and

other financial commitment.

If you fit this profile, read on…

The Moderate Portfolio

As part of our investment themes for 2014,

we proposed the following guidelines as seenin Table 1 given local market conditions and

the international outlook.

We present our perspective on what a ‘typical’asset allocation for a moderate portfolio could

look like in Exhibit 1. This allocation is

appropriate for investors willing to accept

modest risk to gain higher long-term returns.

The asset allocation in the moderate portfolio

reflects a tempered risk appetite for the reasons

mentioned earlier. The suggested portfolio

mix for the moderate investor typically

maintains a balanced asset allocation to

preserve capital while generating long-term

capital appreciation. In this portfolio, 45% is

allocated to bonds, 50% to equities and 5%

in cash. The fixed income investments offer

a predictable investment stream while

preserving capital. For the equities allocation,

the investor can take on more risk by investingin growth stocks to benefit from both dividend

income and capital appreciation.

Exposure to USD will assist in protecting

against depreciation of the TTD and help to

generate higher returns as yields on the local

market remain depressed. As seen in the

moderate portfolio, USD investments speak

to 50% of the portfolio. A model portfolio

was constructed to reflect the returns an

investor would experience if invested in a

moderate portfolio. This was based on keylocal and international indices which were

selected based on meeting the specific

E

Right Fit for the Moderate Investor

TABLE 12014: Bourse’s Themes for the Trinidad

and Tobago Investor

1. Target Positive Inflation Adjusted Returns2. Lengthen your Investment Horizon3. Diversify across Currencies4. Diversify across Asset Classes



Finance & Economy 37

performance, volatility and correlation

objec t ive s of a mode ra te inves tor .

Based on the returns of indices selected, if TT$100,000 was invested at the start of 2009,

those funds would have grown by 61.8% by

the end of 2013 to reach a total of $161,839.94.

Clearly, given local market conditions, it makes

eminent sense to expand your investment time

horizons to reap beneficial returns as seen in

Exhibit 2.

CHALLENGES

Investors may not have the time and/or the

necessary knowledge to manage their

investment portfolio efficiently and effectively.

One of the main challenges to realising your

portfolio is access to currency and stock

selection. When looking for someone to assist,look for a reputable and long standing

investment house such as Bourse, who will be

able to execute on the local, regional and

interna t ional f ronts on your behalf .

As illustrated above, the model portfolio would

have outperformed any savings account or

fixed income product available over the time

period. It is worthwhile noting that results

typically vary in uncertain investing

environments. However, Moderate investor’s

investment time horizon is usually sufficiently

long to navigate periods of unfavourable

investment cycles. The key to a successful

portfolio, then, is asset allocation, security

selection and diversification.

For more information on these and other

investment themes, please contact Bourse

Securities Limited, at 628-9100, email us at

[email protected] or visit us at

any one of our three offices located in Port-

of-Spain, Chaguanas and San Fernando.

Investors can also visit our website at

www.bourseinv estment.com or Bourse

Secur i t ies Limited Facebook page .

This document has been prepared by Bourse

Securities Limited, (“Bourse”), for information

purposes only. Any trade in securitiesrecommended herein is done subject to the

fact that Bourse, its subsidiaries and/or


affiliates have or may have specific or potential

conflicts of interest in respect of the security

or the issuer of the security, including thosearising from (i) trading or dealing in certain

securities and acting as an investment advisor;

(ii) holding of securities of the issuer as

beneficial owner; (iii) having benefitted,

benefitting or to benefit from compensation

arrangements; (iv) acting as underwriter in

any distribution of securities of the issuer in

the three years immediately preceding this

document; or (v) having direct or indirect

financial or other interest in the security or

the issuer of the security. Investors are advised

accordingly. Neither Bourse nor any of itssubsidiaries, affiliates directors, officers,

employees, representatives or agents, accepts

any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect

or consequential losses arising from the use

of this document or its contents or reliance

on the information contained herein. Bourse

does not guarantee the accuracy or

completeness of the information in this

document, which may have been obtained

from or is based upon trade and statistical

services or other third party sources. The

information in this document is not intendedto predict actual results and no assurances are

given with respect thereto.







40 Finance & Economy

Economic and Financial StatisticsTrinidad and TobagoTable 1: Real GDP Growth Rates

INDICATOR Year on Year Per cent Change

QIII- 13p QII- 13 QI-13 QIV-12 QIII-12 QII-12

TOTAL -0.5 2.3 2.3 1.1 1.6 -2.8

Energy GDP -4.1 1.8 0.5 0.0 0.6 -7.3

Petrochemicals -8.0 -9.3 -2.6 -7.5 -6.4 -5.3

Other Petroleum -3.6 3.3 0.9 0.9 1.5 -7.5

Non Energy GDP 1.9 2.6 3.6 1.9 2.3 0.6

Construction 3.0 3.5 3.0 2.3 1.3 -3.5

Manufacturing -0.0 4.6 2.9 0.7 0.9 -4.2

Distribution 1.5 2.2 0.5 4.6 2.0 2.1

Agriculture 1.9 2.0 3.5 1.9 1.1 -9.4

Source: Summary of Economic Indicators September 2013, Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago P: Preliminary Estimates

Table 2:Labour Market

Percent Change From

Labour Force

(‘000s of persons) Latest Period Latest Value Previous Quarter Previous 6 months Previous Year

Non Institutional Population QIII-12 1,017.9 0.3 0.8 1.1

Labour Force QIII-12 631.5 0.7 1.3 3.6

Employment QIII-12 600.9 0.7 1.9 4.0

Petroleum QIII-12 20.9 0.0 -4.6 2.0

Manufacturing QIII-12 50.2 8.4 7.7 2.7

Agriculture QIII-12 23.9 22.6 7.7 11.7

Construction QIII-12 99.0 -1.6 -0.5 0.6

Services QIII-12 405.1 -0.5 1.6 4.5

Source: Summary of Economic Indicators September 2013, Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

Real GDP Year-on-Year Per cent Change

QIII-13 QII-13 QI-13 QIV-12 QIII-12 QII-12

Caribbean

Barbados ND -0.7 -0.4 -0.2 -0.8 -1.3

Jamaica ND -0.1 -1.3 -1.2 -0.3 -0.1

Source: Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, Central Bank of Barbados, Statistical Institute of Jamaica

Regional Indicators

Year-on-Year Per cent Change

QIII-13 QII-13 QI-13 QIV-12 QIII-12 QII-12Brazil 2.2 3.3 1.8 1 .8 0.9 0.6

India 4.8 4.4 4.8 4 .5 5.3 5.5

China 7.8 7.5 7.7 7.9 7.4 7.6

Sourced from Bloomberg by Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

International Indicators

Table 2: 2013 Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings

WORLD RANK COUNTRY OVERALL SCORE PROPERTY RIGHTS FREEDOM FROM GOVERNMENT BUSINESS INVESTMENT

CORRUPTION SPENDING FREEDOM FREEDOM

1 Hong Kong 89.3 90.0 84.0 88.9 98.9 90.0

2 Singapore 88.0 90.0 92.0 91.3 97.1 75.0

3 Australia 82.6 90.0 88.0 62.8 95.5 80.0

4 New Zealand 81.4 95.0 95.0 33.2 99.9 80.0

5 Switzerland 81.0 90.0 88.0 63.8 75.8 80.0

6 Canada 79.4 90.0 87.0 44.8 91.7 75.0

7 Chile 79.0 90.0 72.0 83.7 70.5 85.0

8 Mauritius 76.9 70.0 51.0 81.9 78.2 90.0

9 Denmark 76.1 90.0 94.0 5.9 98.4 85.0

10 United States 76.0 85.0 71.0 47.8 90.5 70.0

Source - Index of Economic Freedom www.heritage.org






The Chamber's " CONTACT with theChamber" radio series is a five minute programme which airs every Tuesday at 7:25a.m. on the I95.5FM morning show. This programme is voiced by the CEO of theChamber, Catherine Kumar and is one of themeans by which the Chamber communicateswith members and the public at large. Theseries focuses on business-oriented subjects,social responsibility and other issues affectingour country.

The Chamber wishes to thank the most recent sponsors of its programme which have madeit possible for us to continue expressing our

The Chamber’s “CONTACT with the Chamber” radio series

views on matters affecting our community.They are: Pharmaco Limited for January

and February, and Co lumbus Business

Solutions for March 2014.

We also open our doors to all membersinterested in coming on board as short-termsponsors of “CONTACT with the Chamber”, for packages of one, two or three months.Sponsorship is at a cost of TT $900.00 per programm e. Your organiza tion wi ll becredited on I95.5FM and recognized throughother communications produced by theChamber.

For more information on sponsorship and branding opportunities please contact: Malika Rouff, Members Com munications and PROfficer, Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Columbus CircleWestmoorings P.O Box 499 Port of Spain.

Tel: (868) 637-6966 Ext. 289Fax: (868) 637-7425Email: [email protected] Website: www.chamber.org.tt

42

Economic OutlookInflation

Core inflation reduced from 2.9 per cent in September to 1.9 per

cent in October 2013 and is expected to remain stable for the

rest of the year. Food inflation rose slightly to 3.7 per cent in

October 2013 from 3.0 per cent in September 2013. In the twelve

months to October 2013, headline inflation decelerated to 2.7

per cent from 3.0 per cent in September and 5.1 per cent in

August 2013.

Monetary Policy

Liquidity levels in the banking system remain high and business

lending contracted for the tenth consecutive month in September

2013. The Central Bank continues to maintain the “Repo” rate

at 2.75 percent.

Consumer lending increased by almost 6.0 per cent in September

2013, slightly lower than the 6.3 per cent growth posted in the

previous month but up from 2.3 per cent at the end of 2012.

Finance & Economy


Business lending, fell by 3.7% in September 2013 compared

with a decline of 5.8 per cent in August 2013 and growth of 1.0

per cent a year earlier. A sectoral examination of commercial

banks’ business loans showed contractions in lending to the

finance, manufacturing and petroleum sectors.

Energy Sector Performance

Large scale maintenance activity in the natural gas and downstream

industries in September resulted in a sharp contraction of just

over 4.0 per cent (year-on-year) in energy sector activity in the

third quarter of 2013. The fall-off in natural gas production

impacted the entire energy sector, with the production and

exploration, and refining sub-industries contracting by 5.0 per

cent and 2.3 per cent, respectively. With the majority of the

maintenance work completed production in the energy sector is

expected to return to more normal levels in 2014.

Source: Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago




Finance & Economy 43

total volume traded or 15,933,570 shares

changing hands. Next was Sagicor Financial

Corporation (SFC) which accounted for 11.41

per cent of all trades with 11,184,882 shares

traded.

On the TTD Mutual Fund Market, a notable

24,326,842 CLICO Investment Fund (CIF)

sha re s t r aded in YE13 va lued a t

$531,482,831.40. The share price closed

YE13 at $21.99. In addition, 109,215Praetorian Property Mutual Fund (PPMF)

shares traded with a value of $399,275.90.

PPMF’s share price declined 22.83 per cent

or $1.05 in YE13 to close at $3.55.

The top gainer for YE13 was First Citizens

Bank Limited (FIRST), up a noteworthy

82.95 per cent or $18.25 to close at $40.25.

The second major advance was National

Flour Mills Limited (NFM), rising a

commendable 58.33 per cent or $0.35 to

$0.95. TCL was next, registering a 47.65 percent gain or $0.71 to end the year at $2.20.

For YE13, Scotia Investments Jamaica

Limited (SIJL) led the declines, down 34.78per cent or $0.80 to $1.50. This was followed

by L.J. Williams ‘B’ Limited (LJWB) with

a decline of 26.97 per cent or $0.24 to close

at $0.65. The third major decline was Guardian

Holdings Limited (GHL), which fell 24.32

per cent or $4.50 to $14.00.

Dividend Payments

Highlights for the Fourth Quarter of 2013

December 2013

• Sagicor Financial Corporation (“Sagicor”

or “the Company”) announced that the

Company received approval from the

regulatory authorities in the United

Kingdom and the Cayman Islands to sell

Sagicor Europe Limited (''SEL'') and its

subsidiaries, which include Sagicor at

Lloyd’s Limited (SAL), to a wholly-owned

subsidiary of AmTrust Financial Services,

Inc. SAL is the managing agent of Lloyd’s

property/casualty insurance syndicate 1206,with stamp capacity of £200 million, and

life insurance syndicate 44, with stamp

capacity of £7 million. SEL is a Cayman

Islands-domiciled holding company, and

the sale also includes a reinsurance entity

and two Lloyd's corporate members. The

transaction will provide cash proceeds of

£86 million to Sagicor, which consists of

£56 million purchase price and the release

of £30 million, which supported a Letter

of Credit.

• Mr. Arthur Lok Jack, Group Chairman of Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL)

confirmed that it has voluntarily applied to

the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) to have

Year end 2013 review

Local Market Summary

The local equity market for the year ended

December 31, 2013 (YE13) saw both the

Composite and All Trinidad and Tobago

Indices post double digit gains while the Cross

Listed Index closed in negative territory. The

Composite Index increased 11.27 per cent or

120.07 points to end the year at 1,185.05, the

All Trinidad and Tobago Index advanced

17.67 per cent or 299.45 points to 1,993.72

while the Cross Listed Index closed YE13 at49.43, falling 12.25 per cent or 6.90 points.

In the Fourth Quarter alone (Q413), the

Composite Index and All Trinidad and Tobago

Index rose 3.62 per cent and 5.01 per cent

respectively and the Cross Listed Index lost

2.83 per cent. Overall for 2013, there were

17 stocks advancing and 10 declining.

There was an outstanding increase in volumes

traded on the First Tier Market for YE13. A

total of 97,984,389 shares crossed the floor

of the exchange in 2013 compared to

50,677,836 shares in 2012. This represented

a notable increase of 93.35 per cent. Q413 onQ412, market activity more than doubled, up

a significant 118.71 per cent from 11,106,179

shares (Q412) to 24,290,021 shares (Q413).

When compared to the previous quarter

(Q313), volumes traded declined 26.73 per

cent from 33,149,828 shares. The value of

shares traded increased 48.04 per cent from

$ 7 4 6 , 6 0 4 , 4 0 1 .6 8 i n Y E 1 2 t o

$1,105,243,367.06 in YE13.

Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) was the

volume leader with 28.89 per cent of themarket or 28,307,308 shares traded. This was

followed by Jamaica Money Market Brokers

Limited (JMMB) with 16.26 per cent of the




Finance & Economy44

its shares delisted from the JSE pursuant to

Rule 411B. The JSE in turn has approved

GHL’s request. The action by GHL wasreached after it undertook a thorough

analysis of the costs and benefits of

maintaining its dual listing on the Trinidad

and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) and

the JSE. This analysis revealed that, trading

activity on the JSE represents less than 1.5%

of the overall trading activity in GHL shares.

As a result of this voluntary move, GHL

closed its register on December 24, 2013

and its shares were delisted on December

31, 2013. Thereafter, Jamaican investors

can continue to trade GHL shares throughthe Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange,

where its shares will trade as normal.

• FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited

informed the Stock Exchange that on

December 13, 2013, the Board of Directors

appointed independent director Mr. David

Ritch OBE, JP as Chairman of the Board.

Mr. Ritch has been a director since 2002.

• Mr. Arthur Lok Jack, Chairman, Guardian

Holdings Limited (GHL) announced the

promotion of Mr. Ravi Tewari to the position

of Group Chief Executive Officer effective

January 1, 2014. He will replace Mr. Jeffery

Mack who retired on December 31, 2013.

October 2013

• 55,817,101 Fortress Caribbean Property

Fund Units (CPF) were de-listed from the

Stock Exchange on Monday October 28,

2013. The de-listing order was granted

pursuant to an application for de-listing

made by the Exchange subsequent to the

restructuring of CPF which was approved

by its unit holders at a special meeting held

on September 26, 2013.• Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited

informed the Stock Exchange that Jamaica

Money Market Brokers Limited through

Jamaica Money Market Brokers (Trinidad

and Tobago) Limited (their Trinidadian

holding company) has obtained 100%

ownership of Intercommercial Bank Limited

and Intercommercial Trust & Merchant Bank

Limited (IBL Group), having concluded the

transaction to acquire the remaining 50%

shareholding in those entities on October 3,

2013; making it JMMB’s very firstcommercial bank. JMMB acquired its initial

50% holding in IBL, in 2005.

Fixed Income Market Summary

According to the January 2014 Monetary

Policy Announcement released by the CentralBank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT),

Headline Inflation, on a year on year basis,

accelerated to 5.60 per cent in December

2013, up from 4.40 per cent in November

2013. Core inflation, which excludes the

impact of food prices, remained unchanged

at 2.00 per cent in December 2013.

In December 2013, the yield on the 1-year

Open Market Operations (OMOs) rose

minimally to 0.45 per cent from 0.44 per cent

in November. The Central Bank hasmaintained the Repo Rate, the rate at which

it lends to commercial banks, at 2.75 per cent.

Key Rates

Jamaica Market Summary

In Jamaica, the major benchmark, the JSE

Market Index, declined 11,467.67 points or

14.22 per cent to close 2013 at 80,633.55.

A total of 1,388,664,255 shares traded on the

Jamaica Stock Exchange in 2013, a decline of

2.99 per cent when compared to the1,431,444,731 shares traded in the prior year.

However, Q413 on Q412, trading activity was

up 82.22 per cent from 232,776,057 shares in

Q412 to 424,159,488 shares in Q413.

Comparing Q413 on Q313, the volume of

shares traded increased 34.15 per cent from

316,174,070 shares in Q313. The value of

shares traded for the year under review totalled

J$14,208,550,949.22, a decline of 22.34 per

cent from 2012’s total of J$18,295,157,465.46.

The volume leader was LIME with

211,053,549 shares traded or 15.20 per centof the market. Caribbean Cement Company

Limited (CCC) was the major advance for the

year, up 250.00 per cent or J$2.50 to J$3.50

followed by Hardware & Lumber (HL), which

saw an increase of 79.41 per cent or J$2.70 to

J$6.10. Next was Ciboney Group Limited

(CBNY), advancing 66.67 per cent or J$0.02

to end the year at J$0.05. The major decline

for the year was Radio Jamaica Limited (RJR),

which fell 34.67 per cent or J$0.69 to J$1.30.

Seprod Limited (SEP) was next in line down

32.26 per cent or J$5.00 to J$10.50. Following

was Berger Paints Limited (BRG), which

registered a 31.64 per cent drop or J$0.81 to

J$1.75.

Energy Prices

Global Market Indices





Energy Update46


ill 2014 be “one of the busiest

for the energy sector in over

30 years?”

That's what Energy and Energy Affairs

Minister, Kevin Christian Ramnarine, claims

but his words will only bear fruit if all the

initiatives that should be undertaken actually

come to pass.

That would, for example, include the 14

exploration wells which the minister says are

expected to be drilled by the eight rigs that

were operating in Trinidad and Tobago waters

at the start of the year. He did not mention it

but other rigs are assumed to be active on

land as well, with state-owned integrated oilcompany, Petrotrin, for one, supposed to be

launching its own exploratory effort based on

the results of its 312 sq km 3D seismic shot

in 2011.

Though no drilling will commence this year,

the award of the three large land blocks offered

by the Ministry in 2013, should help to re-

focus attention on Trinidad's onshore province,

likely to be the main contributor, along with

Trinmar in the Gulf of Paria, in helping reverse

the calamitous decline in crude oil productionover the last 35 years.

In the short-to-medium term, any production

reversal will require more development

drilling, since exploratory wells, if successful,

only start to yield oil several years thereafter.

Judging by the word from Petrotrin and the

host of individual operators known as the

Independents, scores of such wells should be

sunk during the course of 2014.

What the effect on overall crude output willbe is unpredictable. Suffice it to say that oil

production has been stubbornly resistant to

any increase, despite Ramnarine having made

hired in 2011 to update the country's proven,

probable and possible reserves, as the Ryder

Scott Company does every year with gas

reserves. My understanding is that the Ministrydid not consider its report comprehensive

enough and Netherland Sewell was asked to

go back and revise it. That revision must be

completed, and presented to the public, this

year.

The “asset integrity” work on offshore gas

platforms that has affected production over

the last three years, is now said to be

completed and Ramnarine has predicted that

2014 “is expected to be the best year for

natural gas production since 2010,” when it

averaged 4,319 million cubic feet a day(mmcfd).

bpTT, the main culprit in the gas shortfall

will be making amends in 2014 with a major

contribution from its very productive

Savonette platform, which will be capable of

delivering 900 mmcfd once its well 7 is

completed.

Ramnarine wants crude oil output to recover

as quickly as it can, not only because it means

that the Petrotrin refinery will be able toreceive more lower-cost domestic input but

because the tax take from crude is higher than

that from gas.

“From a country perspective,” he says, “we

calculate at the Ministry that for every 10,000

b/d increase in oil production, we will be able

to give to the Minister of Finance anywhere

from TT $1.5-2 billion, which is even a

conservative estimate because its based on

an oil price of US $80 a barrel.” But the

Minister recognises the crucial developmentbenefit of natural gas, which has underpinned

the country's highly-successful gas-based

downstream heavy industrial programme over

this his priority since his accession to office

in 2011. Last available statistics show that

average crude oil yield was 67,660 b/d in 2013

compared with 69,062 b/d in 2012. (The restof liquids output is made up of condensate,

the light oil that comes with the delivery of

rich gas).

Analysts are well aware that, though oil

production has been declining, this does not

mean there is less oil to be found. On the

contrary, Trinidad (if not Tobago) is full of

crude resources, in the form of “left-behind”

oil in existing reservoirs and crude of an

American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity

of 18 degrees or less, known as heavy oil.

Trinidad contains billions of barrels of both

types but neither has been pursued with any

aggressiveness over the decades.

While development drilling for “conventional”

– medium to light oil reserves proceeds in

2014, - and this should logically include

development of the small oil pools for which

tax incentives were awarded in the 2012-2013

national budget – greater attention needs to

be devoted to both “left behind” crude in

existing reservoirs and heavy oil.

Both will be more costly to access, it is true,

but the country can not let two potentially

valuable sources of crude simply go to waste,

year after year. Minister Ramnarine's plan for

a pipeline to carry CO2 emissions from the

Point Lisas Industrial Estate, to the oilfields

of southern Trinidad, in order to lift some of

that “left behind” crude, should be speedily

moved forward in the course of the year.

While any additional oil will add to existingreserves, it is important to know exactly what

those reserves are at the present time. The

US's Netherland, Sewell and Associates was

Energy Outlook forT&T in 2014

By David Renwick, Energy Journalist HBM (Gold)

W



Energy Update 47


the years. It is from this perspective that the

Ministry has engaged consultants to draw up

a “natural gas master plan” for the use of gasreserves up to the year 2024.

So far, Trinidad and Tobago's gas has been

primarily monetised through investment in

industries like methanol and ammonia, in

power generation and in the export of liquefied

natural gas (LNG).

It will be interesting to see what the

recommendations of the consultants turn out

to be in relation to the expansion of the LNG

industry, since that is clearly a potentialgrowth area, perhaps more so than even

domestic gas-related industry.

Even taking into account the threat the United

States as a future LNG exporter could pose

to Trinidad and Tobago's LNG trade, I would

expect the consultants to identify the markets

where this country could still be competitive,

in particular the emerging Caribbean market

for small and medium-sized cargoes.

The government gave the green light at the

end of 2013 for the first such initiative tomove forward – the proposal from the UK's

Gasfin Development SA for a 500,000 tonne-

a-year train at La Brea, fed by around 70

mmcfd of gas.

Domestic gas aggregator, the National Gas

Company. (NGC) and its industry-promoting

subsidiary, National Energy Corporation, are

closely involved in this ground-breaking

project and it needs to be expedited as rapidly

as possible in 2014.

Its significance lies not only in the fact that

it will capture a whole new market for gas

but will enable Trinidad and Tobago as a

country to insert itself in the LNG value chain

for the first time (hitherto, only international

companies operating locally have done so).

The reason for speed in this matter is that

others are also eyeing the regional market,

where utilities are desperately keen to reduce

the cost of electricity by substituting gas for

high-priced heavy fuel oil and diesel.The US is also examining the potential of the

market and so is Colombia but if Trinidad

and Tobago can gain the first mover

advantage, it should thereafter be unassailable.

two countries as one that could lend itself to

“joint seismic surveys and joint exploration,

if feasible.” Block 3b, adjoining 4b to thesouth, where Anadarko sank a well in 2008,

could also be in the frame.

Suffice it to say that the Minister has declared

his firm intention of wanting to “mop up all

the open acreage that remains in shallow and

average water.” Ramnarine can not escape

having to pay special attention to State-owned

crude oil/gas producer/refiner Petrotrin in

2014. Indeed, he has publicly said that “careful

consideration has to be given to Petrotrin's

future.”

Last year's oil spills for which the company

has to take some responsibility, and which

caused great discomfort to the residents on

the south west coast of Trinidad who were

obliged to feel its deleterious effects, were

bad enough but the State company has several

other problems on its hands. These include

the losses at its refinery, its only real money-

making activity along with its gas sales and

its hot-and-cold attitude to its joint venture

partners in oil-winning efforts on land, who

it loves one minute but is then accused of undermining the next.

It has blamed its refinery losses on competition

from Gulf Coast refineries that use lower-

priced shale oil and have cut their processing

costs by utilising even cheaper shale gas but

many analysts don't buy that.

They say, it is its own refinery costs that are

responsible for Petrotrin's uncompetitiveness

but the company has not succeeded, so far,

in reducing those to any great extent, despitethe efforts of consultants Shell Global

Solutions.

Trinidad and Tobago must have a refinery to

ensure energy security for its citizens. The

country certainly does not want to be in the

situation that faces almost every other

CARICOM country of constantly scanning

the skyline every month, awaiting the arrival

of a tanker-full of refined products.

By the same token, however, it sees no reasonwhy that refinery can't be efficiently run and

we shall see what the Minister intends to do

about that in 2014, the last full year before

his term in office expires.

Gas marketing, of course, has to be

accompanied by gas discovery and

development for the whole process to besustainable. Most of the exploratory drilling

referred to above is targeting gas but there is

also a development imperative and in that

category I put the gas lying cross-border

between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela

in the Manatee and Loran reservoirs, 2.7

trillion cubic feet (tcf) of it on the Trinidad

and Tobago side.

The total unitised amount of gas is about 10

tcf and both governments have agreed to

develop it jointly but up to the end of 2013no operator to take charge of that process had

been appointed.

If it has not yet happened, that operator must

be selected as soon as possible, so development

work relating to the recovery of cross border

gas can proceed well before the end of 2014.

One of Ramnarine's achievements as Minister

has been annual offerings of exploratory

acreage and 2014 is expected to be no different

in that regard.

He has already spoken of another auction of

blocks in the shallow and average water areas

around the country. The last such was in 2010,

when his predecessor, Carolyn Seepersad-

Bachan, was Minister. Out of that resulted

successful bids for blocks NCM A 2 (Niko

Resources and RWE Dea AG), NCMA 3

(Niko Resources), NCMA 4 (Centrica Energy)

and 4b (Niko Resources).

BG International's bid for block 5d was initially

regarded as inadequate but this was resolvedafter further negotiations and it was eventually

awarded the block.

In other words, that was a very successful

block auction and it is to be hoped that a

similar exercise in 2014 will turn out likewise.

Which pieces of acreage will be chosen for

offer this year were unknown at the time of

writing but Minister Ramnarine has hinted

that they might include the South Marine block

off the south coast of Trinidad and, possibly,block 21, north west of Tobago right up against

the maritime boundary line with Grenada.

That block is actually mentioned by name in

the framework energy agreement between the



Energy StatisticsIn this FIRST quarter issue of CONTACT for 2014, we continue our evaluation of the current statistical data arising from Trinidad and

Tobago’s prosperous energy sector. We place special emphasis on crude oil, and natural gas production under both time-series and cross-

sectional circumstances.

Energy Update


48

Table E.1 – Crude Oil Production by Companies for September

2012 to November 2012 and September 2013 to November 2013

(Barrels of per day)

Table E.2 – Natural Gas Production by Company for September


(mmscf/d)

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol. 49 No. 1-12Vol. 50 Nos 1-11*Figures in red are preliminary

Table E.3 – Natural Gas Utilization by Sector for September


(mmscf/d)

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol. 49 No. 1-12Vol. 50 Nos 1-11*Figures in red are preliminary

Company September October NovemberSeptember October November

2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013

BG 562 295 991 168 644 951

REPSOL 11,044 11,882 10,386 12,168 13,106 11,112

BPTT 6,012 6,182 8,246 9,278 10,336 8,900

TRINMAR 20,189 20,865 21,207 22,377 22,461 22,392

BAYF 1,994 2,131 2,163 - - -

TEPGL - - - 1,359 1,527 1,383

EOG 2,299 2,347 516 1,638 1,667 1,499

BHP 12,353 12,206 11,793 9,859 9,754 9,406

PRIMERA 366 451 454 369 332 382

PETROTRIN 13,697 13,523 13,762 13,326 13,255 13,457

TEPL - - - 652 643 578

TRINITY 514 489 590 - - -

BGCB 805 1,121 852 1,147 1,180 1,031

NHETT 84 96 76 77 90 86

NMHERL 141 136 137 108 124 128

PETROTRIN (FO) 1,201 1,151 1,090 912 889 811

PETROTRIN (LO) 5,396 5,922 5,953 6,368 6,464 5,983

PETROTRIN (IPSC) 413 399 406 917 882 857

TED 6 4 6 - - -

MORA 213 337 219 410 273 348

LAND SUBTOTAL 22,108 22,804 22,736 23,230 23,226 22,651

MARINE SUBTOTAL 55,179 56,733 56,111 57,910 60,411 56,568

TOTAL 77,288 79,537 78,847 81,140 83,638 79,220

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol. 49 Nos 1-12 &Vol. 50 No. 1-11


2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013

BPTT 1,832 2,010 2,386 1,891 2,251 2,079

TRINMAR 16 13 15 23 14 14

PETROTRIN 5 4 4 4 5 5

EOG 601 572 370 496 563 552

BG 779 592 928 551 952 802

BHP 442 423 410 403 385 398

REPSOL 33 32 35 30 27 27

TOTAL 3,707 3,645 4,148 3,398 4,197 3877

Sector June July August June July August

2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013

Power Generation 310 316 304 301 319 307

Ammonia

Manufacture 515 432 538 406 523 549

Methanol

Manufacture 494 363 530 429 605 587

Refinery 66 62 36 68 65 79

Iron & Steel

Manufacture 95 107 98 72 90 118

Cement

Manufacture 14 13 8 13 12 13

Ammonia Derivatives 25 21 22 15 16 19

Small Consumers 12 24 23 26 27 26

Gas Processing 27 12 11 11 10 11

Liquified Natural

Gas (LNG) 1,852 1,990 2,283 1,761 2,314 1,933

TOTAL 3,409 3,339 3,854 3,101 3,982 3,642

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol. 49 No. 1-12Vol. 50 No. 1-11

Table E.4 - Ammonia Production for September 2012 to

November 2012 and September 2013 to November 2013 (Tonnes)


2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013

YARA 20,649 9,368 13,999 20,552 21,332 20,734

TRINGEN 1 23,372 26,918 33,911 32,705 35,911 35,585

TRINGEN 2 40,325 40,325 26,049 0 4,747 41,271

PCS NITROGEN 141,805 124,476 160,990 98,567 179,245 170,810

POINT LISAS

NITROGEN 34,653 0 22,267 55,170 56,307 42,103

CNC 51,545 7,903 46,943 41,884 40,579 5,496

NITROGEN 2000 31,246 50,927 42,294 42,121 49,134 45,950

AUM-NH3 1,346 1,346 13,677 0 0 2,269

TOTAL 344,941 344,941 360,130 290,999 387,255 364,218

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol. 49 No. 1-12Vol. 50 No. 1-11

Table E.5 - Ammonia Export for September 2012 to November

2012 and September 2013 to November 2013 (Tonnes)


2012 2012 2013 2013 2013 2013

YARA 21,001 24,675 0 9,621 11,819 36,826

TRINGEN 1 16,614 34,775 24,672 23,599 43,134 43,693

TRINGEN 2 48,950 20,223 44,559 0 20,151 18,706

PCS NITROGEN 115,051 84,950 170,066 116,790 89,872 120,265

POINT LISAS

NITROGEN 17,504 23,400 35,738 72,676 77,021 39,044

CNC 20,000 45,670 40,760 28,610 45,616 6,958

NITROGEN 2000 19,902 78,013 67,442 20,397 46,738 45,739

AUM-NH3 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 259,022 311,706 383,237 271,692 334,351 311,232



Energy Update 49


Energy StatisticsChart E.2 Natural Gas Production by Company (mmscf/d)

Chart E.3 Natural Gas Utilisation by Sector (mmscf/d)

Chart E.4 Ammonia Production (Tonnes)

Chart E.1 - Crude Oil Production by Companies (barrels per

day)

Table E.8 - UREA Production and Exports for September 2012

to November 2012 and September 2013 to November 2013

(Tonnes)

PCS NITROGEN (Tonnes)

PERIOD Production Exports

September 2012 45,112 45,994

October 2012 48,013 30,837

November 2012 33,212 30,406

September 2013 41,427 28,418

October 2013 39,870 20,033

November 2013 33,377 53,535

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol. 49 No. 1-12 &Vol. 50 No. 1-11

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol. 49 No. 1-12 &Vol. 50 No. 1-11

Table E.6 - Methanol Production for September 2012 to

November 2012 and September 2013 to November (Tonnes)

Company September October November S eptember October November

2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013

TTMC I 8,092 11,780 30,104 26,752 29,379 9.004

CMC 36,403 34,528 39,071 26,964 48,805 43,754

TTMC II 46,066 39,681 37,913 43,817 43,818 42,521

MIV 45,706 16,054 43,752 46,269 52,181 49,019

TITAN 63,376 64,933 52,911 0 51,991 71,818

ATLAS 118,361 17,625 118,604 133,667 150,096 140,803

M5000 104,314 117,166 119,141 80,796 164,139 158,687

TOTAL 422,318 301,767 441,496 358,264 540,409 515,606

Source: Ministry of Energy and E nergy Industries, Vol 49 No. 1-12 &Vol. 50 No. 1-11

Table E.7 - Methanol Exports for September 2012 to November

2012and September 2013 to November 2013 (Tonnes)

Company September October November September October November

2012 2012 2012 2013 2013 2013

TTMC I 3,711 12,569 23,471 622 0 0

CMC 2 09,496 201,496 226,576 189,918 213,490 256,797

TTMC II 5,085 0 0 26,788 23,307 40,361

MIV 0 0 0 0 0 0

TITAN 56,192 99,327 38,965 23,157 17,475 93,770

ATLAS 148,422 26,228 94,506 113,326 152,248 147,815

M5000 28,946 0 26,613 80,796 82,127 28,357

TOTAL 451,852 340,099 410,132 434,606 488,647 567,100

Chart E.5 Ammonia Export (Tonnes)



Corporate Social Responsibility

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Committee was established in November 2007

as one of the Chamber’s special focus

committees providing support and assistance

in areas relevant to its members. The

Committee’s mission is to build a platform

for learning, advocacy and technical assistancethat enables every business to be an active

pa r tne r in c rea t ing a soc ia l ly and

environmentally sustainable Trinidad and

Tobago.

Corporate Social Responsibili ty is a

commitment by companies to contribute to

sustainable development by working with

employees, their families, other organisations,

communities, government, and the society at

large, to improve the quality of life and the

environment in ways that are good for both

business and social development.

The Committee’s mandate is to serve the

learning needs of its members, as well as to

provide advocacy and technical assistance

using practical, realistic and adapted

approaches that enable these organisations

and individuals to maximise the efficiency

and effectiveness with which they undertakeCSR activities. This approach encompasses

working not only with members, but engaging

other Chambers, civil society, public sector

and international organizations.

Objectives:

• Learning

The CSR Committee provides members and

other stakeholders with access to relevant

CSR related course materials to assist in

developing an understanding and appreciation

of CSR, both conceptually and in practice.

This enables members to better incorporate

CSR into their organisations and foster

more responsible business practices.

• Advocacy

The CSR Committee provides a forum for

advocacy with key stakeholders to

facilitate an enabling environment thatencourages private sector investment in

CSR related activities.

• Technical Assistance

The CSR Committee is working with its

members through outreach forums,

workshops and individual meetings to

assist in the implementation of CSR

activities and initiatives that are strategic

in nature, in line with their core business

practices and focused towards sustainable

development.

Energy Statistics

Energy Update50

Chart E.8 (a) Urea Production (Tonnes)


Chart E.6 Methanol Production (Tonnes)

Chart E.7 Methanol Exports (Tonnes) Chart E.8 (b) Urea Exports (Tonnes)



Energy Update 51


Introduction

All countries that are ‘resource rich’ are

encouraged to implement the Extractive

Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The

International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its

Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency,

defines a resource-rich country as one in

which the total average fiscal revenues, or

the total average export proceeds, from theoil, gas and/or mining sectors, has been at

least 25% over the previous three years. The

IMF recognizes that such countries, being

heavily reliant on the exports of and revenues

from a small number of concentrated, volatile

and non-renewable revenue streams, need to

manage those revenues more carefully to

avoid the economic, social and governmental

distortions and corruption that have occurred

in many resource-rich countries. In the case

of Trinidad and Tobago, the energy sector

contributes approximately 45% of GDP and

80 % of foreign exchange earnings, therefore,

membership of the EITI is a given.

The EITI is a global coalition between

government, extractive companies and civil

society with the objective of promoting

transparency and accountability by companies

and governments involved in extractive

industries (oil, gas and mining). It discloses

to citizens the payments made by companies

to government, independently reconciled with

the government’s declared receipts. The

checks and balances of the EITI are essentialtools in ensuring that T&T maximizes its

benefits from the extraction and monetizing

of its natural resources.

Implementation process

When the T&T government committed itself

to implementing the EITI, it agreed to the

following steps in accordance with the EITI

Criteria and the EITI Validation Guide: (a)

Sign up, (b) Preparation, (c) Disclosure, (d)

Dissemination and (e) External validation.

The sign-up or candidacy step began with

an unequivocal public declaration by

government on 8 December 2010 of its

intention to implement the EITI. It committed

to working with the other stakeholders viz.

extractive companies and civil society. It

established a Multi-stakeholder Steering

Committee charged with overseeing the

implementation process. The application for

EITI membership was made on 4 February

2011 and approved with Candidate Country

status on 1 March 2011.

The preparation step involved the Steering

Committee’s engagement of government

agencies, extractive companies and civil

society to share knowledge about the EITI,

build capacity, explain the roles of the

respective stakeholders in the implementation

process and gain commitment.

In a Memorandum Of Understanding, signed

on June 7, 2013 , the stakeholders committed

themselves to work together and agreed on

the definition of material payments and the

format of the data reporting templates to be

filled out. Government and the companies

committed to ensuring that information

submitted was based on properly audited

accounts.

Also, the government and the participating

companies committed to removing any

obstacles to implementation that might be

encountered. A major legal obstacle that

government had to overcome was the

confidentiality requirements of the Income

Tax Act. The Steering Committee selected anindependent EITI Administrator to produce

an EITI Report on the payments reported by

the selected companies with the corresponding

receipts reported by government for fiscal year

2011 (October 1 2010 to September 30 2011).

The disclosure step required the government

and the companies to comple te the

Administrator’s Reporting Templates to share

data on payments received and made for the

Administrator’s analysis and reconciliation if

discrepancies were found. The EITI Reportpublished on 30 September (download at

www.tteiti.org.tt) detailed the total payments

made by companies, disaggregated by

company and payment streams.

The dissemination step involved the sharing

of the EITI Report with all stakeholders. The

report was widely distributed and workshops

conducted to explain the published figures so

that stakeholders understand the process and

the findings. The Administrator was mandated

to write the Report in simple language so as

to ensure that the general public can easily

understand the findings, conclusions andrecommendations. A section providing

contextual information on the structure and

operation of the oil and gas sectors was also

included.

The external validation step, which

commenced on 10 January, 2014, sees the

country’s implementation process being

subjected to a detailed examination and

analysis by an independent Validator approved

by the EITI’s International Board. The aim is

to ascertain if the country is fully compliant

with the EITI implementation rules and thus

qualify for promotion from Candidate Country

status to Compliant Country Status, the highest

level of membership. If unsuccessful, a country

is told what its shortcomings were and given

time to put right the deficiencies.

TTEITI’s validation

T&T is now at a crucial juncture in its EITI

implementation and is undergoing the

Validation Test. The outcome will determine

if T&T will join 25 other Compliant Countries

worldwide, including Peru, currently the onlyone in the Americas. Three years of hard work

is being judged by the Validator and the

outcome is anxiously awaited. The Validation

Test is being administered by International

Petroleum Associates of Norway (IPAN), a

firm contracted through a Central Tenders

Board competitive process. IPAN visited T&T

from 13 February 2014 and interviewed the

Steering Committee members and persons of

their choice from among the three stakeholder

groups and examined relevant documents.

IPAN’s Report will be submitted to the EITIBoard and T&T will be advised of its findings

and decision. We are keeping our fingers

crossed as the story of T&T’s EITI

implementation continues.

TTEITI Update

By Victor Hart, Chair, Trinidad and Tobago EITI Steering Committee

TTEITI at crucial juncture



Energy Update52


o get to our destination, we have

to know where we want to go. It’s

a simple, straightforward statement,

and a good starting point to look

at the governance of our energy sector. One

of the challenges to greater public participation

in the sector is its complexity. The oil and

gas business brings together geological

science, engineering, technology, macroeconomics, government policy and law in an

ever-evolving, sophisticated system. Even for

people within the sector it is difficult to get

the complete picture of its workings.

That’s why the starting point for a conversation

on T&T’s energy sector should be the

fundamentals. Every citizen is more than

capable of asking the fundamental questions

and seeking out the fundamental answers.

What do we want from our energy resources?

What approach should guide us in their use?

What kind of legacy do we want to leave for

future generations? Asking and answering

these basic questions are vital to the proper

governance of the sector. Why? These

fundamentals will be the final measuring stick

against which we can assess the structures

and systems that are put in place, and the

results they achieve. At the dawn of our post-

Independence petroleum industry these core

values and aims were put in place, and for

many years they served us well. But that was

half a century ago.

As with any system, there is a very real dangerthat over time the energy sector has lost its

clarity of focus; has become trapped in the

details at the expense of the objectives; and

has lost capacity and/or desire for self-

a s se s sment and se l f - improvement .

A simple and easily agreed upon goal for

T&T’s energy sector is “maximising the value

of our energy resources for the benefit of

present and future generations.” Is that goal

being expressed in our policies? Do we see

it in when and where we choose to explore

and produce? Is it reflected in the agreementswe enter into and the terms of those

agreements? How about in the laws we pass,

the institutions we create and the regulations

In T&T we do have elements of this type of

governance structure in place. At the national

level there are several oversight entities,

including the President, the Judiciary,

Parliament, the Auditor General, Ministries,

Agencies and Cabinet. In practice however,

policy is almost exclusively in the hands of

Cabinet, which operates relatively free from

interference and is not subject to a robustsystem of monitoring and feedback.

This is not to say that some measure of

oversight is not provided for under the

Constitution and laws of the land. But rather,

the approach to oversight being taken is not

proactive. There are several reasons for this,

some of which will be dealt with in future

articles. But this situation is a sure sign of

the growing divide between our objectives

for the energy sector and the systems we have

in place to achieve those objectives.

How is Cabinet making its decisions? How

is it ensuring that the right resources are inplace to implement those decisions? How is

it evaluating the results of its decisions? How

does it determine if a course correction is

necessary?

We need to ask ourselves, do the citizens of

T&T know the answers to these questions?

Do they have a way of finding out these

answers? The answer, unfortunately, is “no.”

And even if somehow, despite these issues,

we were somehow managing to meet the

objective of maximising value for presentand future generations, the circumstance

would still be unacceptable. Our stake in this

finite resource is too high for the citizenry to

be so far removed from the system under

which it is governed.

Bid rounds – How do we measure success?

One of the main strengths of our energy sector

is its depth. For a relatively small society our

oil and gas business is remarkably

interconnected and complex. T&T's energy

business begins from when oil and gas areextracted from the ground. It includes

transportation of the raw materials using

extensive pipeline networks, refining them

we put in place? What about in the use we

make of the revenues generated from the

industry? What about the results we achieve?

Governance should be a laser-like expression

of our fundamental objectives. And if that is

not the case then either the governance

structure or objectives themselves must be re-

examined.

From policy to delivery

So what is a proper system of governance? It

is a system in which a clear, consistent path

runs all the way from vision to policy to

oversight, all the way to delivery of desired

objectives. It Includes:

Vision – what we want to achieve

Policy – the “big picture” principles by which

all participants orient themselves to meet our

objectives

Legislation/regulations – the laws we put in

place and the regulations we develop for

implementing agencies to ensure that we

adhere to the policies

Strategy – the decision making process that

allows us to select from a range of options,

making trade-offs in a cohesive manner

Plans – an organised approach to implementing

the strategy, including “master plans” and

subordinate programmes, individual projects

and ongoing operations

Operating systems and procedures – aligned

with the legal and regulatory framework and

inclusive of contracts, licenses, codes,

standards and measurement and reporting

mechanisms

Monitoring and feedback – the system

should not remain static , i t must be

continuously assessed and improved, with

implementing agents accountable and

reporting to regulators, as designated in

legislation and/or regulations. At each stage,the process must be undertaken by entities

that are effective and efficient, with the

necessary, capacity, powers and accountability.

T

Drilling Deep: Putting First Things First By Anthony E Paul Good governance must follow vision



Energy Update 53


for a multitude of uses, using them to feed

other industries, transporting them for export,

and even selling them as finished products.At every stage of this chain new value is

created. And at every stage of the value chain

decisions are made and implemented that

determine the outcomes our energy sector

produces. At every stage we can and should

ask the question, did we make decisions that

match our shared vision for the sector?

How did we determine when and how much

to extract from the ground? How did we go

about negotiating extraction agreements and

selecting providers? Are these resources being

properly developed? Are we efficientlycollecting and maximising revenue? How are

we managing and sharing the revenues we

receive? And finally, are we achieving

sustainable development from these precious,

finite resources. An effective system of

governance ensures that every aspect of the

system is an expression of a clear objective.

With these clear objectives we are able to

better evaluate the governance structure – the

laws, the institutions, the strategies, the

activities and everything else, including, most

importantly, the outcome.

An outstanding example of this is how we

plan, conduct and evaluate bid rounds for

potential oil and gas blocks. Are our bid rounds

aligned with our vision for the sector? Are

they a proper manifestation of what we say

we want to achieve? Based on those criteria

can we judge our bid rounds as a success?

In 2013 the Ministry of Energy and Energy

Affairs held an onshore bid round for three

blocks. Following the close of bidding, Energy

Minister Kevin Ramnarine said, “the 2013on shore bid has been a success .”

This echoes statements from the Ministry

after the close of its 2012 deepwater bid round,

at that time stating it was “the most successful

deepwater bid round in 14 years .”

But how do we measure success?

In the upstream energy segment, bid rounds

are auctions that require competitors to make

offers to the government to win the right to

carry out exploration and production activities

in a given area (or block). They are a crucial

area of energy sector policy as they dealspecifically with how and when oil and gas

will be discovered, extracted and utilised. The

way a nation conducts its bid rounds should

tell you a great deal about its intentions for

case of natural gas, which requires market

access).

Increasing revenue – increased production

can lead to increased revenues, provided this

is not entirely offset by tax concessions. In

bid rounds, governments can also require

“signature and production bonuses” from the

successful bidder. The first deep water bid

round (opened 1996, closed in July 1997)

attracted bids from the leading super majors

and majors, with blocks being awarded to

Exxon (2 blocks), Shell/Agip and a consortium

of Arco/Petrobras/Union Texas. Five of the

nine blocks attracted no bids, yet theGovernment was able to raise US $100 million

in signature bonuses, at a time when the

economy was fairly weak. Apart from the

overall goal of hosting a bid round to stimulate

industry activity, as in any auction, success

is measured by the number of bids, quality of

bids and quality of the bidders themselves

(do they have the resources, track record and

expertise to achieve the major country

objective?). And, as in all auctions, the

outcome is conditional on the quality of the

asset (real or perceived) and of the marketing

strategy in promoting the value and qualityof the asset, and in attracting the bidders who

are most interested in accessing these assets

and have the ability to make the most

competitive offer for them.

This brings us once more to the question –

what are our objectives and how do these bid

rounds align with them? Why have those in

the recent past been judged successful? The

number of bids received is not the sole or even

the primary determinant of success. Does the

quality of the bids meet our predeterminedhurdles? Do the bidders have the resources to

conduct the activities we want at the proper

standard? Most importantly, do our

policymakers themselves know exactly what

we want to achieve and how to craft bid rounds

to meet their goals? As of this writing, the

Ministry of Energy is still accepting bids for

their 2013 deepwater competitive bid round.

The deadline for submissions is January 31,

2014. It is more than likely that they will make

a statement following the close. Pay attention

to what is said, particularly in regards to theobjectives of the bid round and its success.

Think critically. Question what you are told.

The topic may appear complex but the

fundamental questions are simple. Ask them.

its energy sector. But bid rounds are not as

simple as conventional auctions. Unlike the

typical auction in which the goal is to get thehighest price for a particular item, a petroleum

bid round’s objective is to achieve the highest

“value.” And value is (should be) determined

by the priorities of those holding the bid round.

In oil and gas exploration and production there

are several types of value:

Improving geological understanding –

providing valuable understanding of the

geology, so that the country has a better handle

on its resource base – how much it might have,

where it might be, how easy or difficult (orexpensive) it may be to prove and/or produce.

This is achieved by geological and geophysical

data collection, analysis and interpretation.

In the late 1980’s the T&T Government held

a successful bid round (closed to selected

bidders) to understand the petroleum potential

of the onshore cretaceous formations that are

deeper and older than those that have

traditionally been producers. A consortium

led by Exxon conducted extensive exploration

activities which provided a new understanding

of the geology and led to later discoveries in

the Southern Basin.

Increasing reserves – to prove new reserves

and, in so doing, increase the worth of the

country’s asset base. This is achieved through

a programme of exploration and appraisal that

includes drilling. By definition, reserves are

only proven when physically tested by drilling.

(Note that a change in the fiscal regime or the

price of oil or gas also influence a change in

reserves, as the definition of proven reserves

requires that their production must be

commercially viable). Other categories of reserves (potential and possible) can be added

without drilling, but cannot be “banked”. A

bid round that seeks to increase proven reserves

must therefore include a commitment for

drilling. .The East Coast Block 2 Angostura

Field was discovered as a consequence of one

such bid round, which led to new reserves and

new production.

Increasing production – this requires one or

more of drilling of new wells, working over

existing wells, applying new technologies orpractices to enhance recovery from existing

discovered fields, and improving commercial

conditions (including the adjustment of fiscal

terms and market activity, especially in the



54


increased competition. Prime frequency bands,

like the 700 MHz band, will enable either new or

incumbent mobile operators to utilize ‘state-of-the-

art’ technologies in the deployment of new networks

and services.TATT envisages technologies such as Long Term

Evolution (LTE), in the 700 MHz spectrum, to be

utilized, thus opening the door for greatly enhanced

mobile broadband speeds and enhanced services

to the public.

Do we need it?

There is a clear demand.

Cris Seecheran explained that in a country with

1.88 million mobile voice subscriptions in 2012, it

is estimated that 22.4% of the mobile population

used mobile Internet services via their phones. As

at December 2012, approximately 422.5 thousand

mobile voice subscriptions were using mobileInternet services.

When compared, there were approximately 224.1

thousand fixed Internet subscriptions versus the

approximately 422.5 thousand mobile voice

subscriptions over the same period. Fixed

narrowband Internet subscriptions accounted for

2.9 thousand.

Even more noteworthy, he stressed, was the jump

in technology with the introduction of High Speed

Packet Access (HSPA+) by the operators in Trinidad

and Tobago. This jump to a basic 4G network has

paved the way for the provision of services at

broadband mobile Internet access speeds, a

significant step up from the 2.5G technology (i.e.

Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE)).

Since 2012, mobile operators have offered

customers mobile Internet services utilizing both

HSPA+ and EDGE technology.

These higher broadband speeds, he added, will

bring improvements in application performance and

enterprise mobility creating a range of benefits:

• Increased sales and improved customer service

• Improvements in products and services

• Productivity gains

• Personal and team productivity

• Management effectiveness and innovation

• Process e f f ic iency and e f fect i veness

• Direct cost reductions

• Improved employee motivation

• Improved flexibility, agility and decision making

It is this enhanced performance and increasednational productivity that TATT is trying to bring to

the local market and why it took the decision to

make spectrum available to providers in order to

facilitate the provision of enhanced data services

and included the opportunity to further open the

mobile market to increased competit ion.

At this stage in the tender process, TATT has

received and responded to clarifications sought by

interested parties who purchased the tender package

and awaits the closing date for proposals, Tuesday

1st April 2014, in order to commence the evaluation

process. It is anticipated that any award(s) arising

from the RFP process will be completed by end

September 2014.

Telecommunications Authorityof Trinidad and Tobago

TATT Seeks EnhancedMobile Data Services forTrinidad and Tobago

t is about bringing enhanced data services to

the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Fast, secure,

and robust data services that improve the

customer data experience at affordable rates.”

Cris Seecheran, Chief Executive Officer,Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

explains why the new product offering of higher

frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band.

Mr. Seecheran was speaking to TATTBytes on TATT’s

issuance of a Request for Proposal in order to attract

providers of Enhanced Mobile Data Services via the

following mechanisms:

1. Award Licences for 700 MHz spectrum to

Incumbent Mobile Operator(s) and/or potential

Third Mobile Operator.

2. Potential for award of a Concession to a Third

Mobile Operator.

3. Potential award of Licences for available 850MHz and 1900 MHz spectrum to a Third Mobile

Operator.

Mr. Seecheran explained that there is a current trend,

world over, for higher and more efficient broadband

speeds, especially in the mobile market. In addition

to the above, TATT has been seeking to make

broadband more universal and affordable throughout

Trinidad and Tobago.

It is that demand that guided TATT to take the decision

to make spectrum in the 700 MHz band available to

providers in order to facilitate the provision of

enhanced data services and TATT took the

opportunity to further open the mobile market to

I“

Mr. Cris Seecheran, Chief Executive OfficerTelecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

The Chamber’s NOVA Committee’s Jumpstart Programme wasestablished in 1998 and seeks to assist school-leavers to learn aboutthe working environment and to access opportunities for employment. Selected schools and institutions across the country are invited tonominate graduating students to participate in this highly regarded

‘youth development programme’.

Criteria for student selection- Each student must:• Be unable financially to pursue further education upon graduation,• Demonstrate potential and a will ingness to learn,• Attend all scheduled train ing sessions, and • Complete a data entry form outlining goals,

skills & identifing areas requiring development.

Participating company requirements- Each company must:• Pay a weekly recommended stipend,• Assign a mentor to the apprentice and • Complete an assessment review at the

end of the apprenticeship.

Furtherinformation

is available on theJumpstart Programme fromthe Chamber’s Secretariat

or Cheryl-Lyn Kurban, ProjectAssistant at 637-6966 ext 228 or

[email protected]





56


ccording to Peter Drucker (1909-2005),

The Practice of Management, “the

purpose of business is to create and

keep a customer and the business

enterprise has two – and only two -

basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing

and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.

Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of

the business." It is an ever-evolving discipline and

today it is like a revolution, a whole lot like the

Industrial Revolution. It builds on the past while

taking advantage of new opportunities. The change

is profound.

Within the last decade, classic marketing

management principles are being challenged by

new developments within the marketing environment.The information revolution has changed the way in

which firms use data to understand and manage

customer demand. The use of credit cards, bank

and grocery cards, online shopping and customer

databases generated by sales and inquiries have

created a wealth of consumer information and offer

advantages to those who can evaluate and assess

consumer preferences, sentiments and consumption

patterns.

Marketing has long been data driven, with a lot of

survey research and polling. But the volume and

kind of data that we are beginning to acquire is

vastly increasing, requiring better computing facilities

and greater knowledge to handle. The kinds ofquestions that we can ask are much more

sophisticated and require a whole new science.

The study of social networks, for example, has long

been something that sociologists and marketers

have thought was important. But there really wasn’t

much we could do, because a lot of the data simply

was not available to us.

Prior to a few years ago, you couldn’t have observed

the ties that existed between hundreds of millions

of individuals. Now we have market analytics and

big data that provide exactly that kind of information.

As the tools and philosophies of the big data spread,

it will change long standing ideas, the value ofexperience and the practice of Marketing

Management.

A

The Future of Marketing

Globalisation and the internationalisation of brands,

the fragmentation of consumer segments reflecting

changes in the global media infrastructure, the advent

of consumer-led marketing initiatives, emerging

markets and the move from product to services,

entertainment and experiential marketing, all require

new managerial responses and new theoretical

perspectives. Global competition has placed a

premium on jobs that can improve the likely success

of new products, more effectively target consumers’

wants and needs, minimize inventory levels and

reduce the costs of advertising. This is what

marketers and survey researchers are charged to

do. These jobs will be central to success in the 21st

Century economy.

Consumers’ engagement with products and servicesare changing, so too are the factors that shape the

buying decisions. As a result, the methods marketers

employ to reach consumers must change as well.

Traditional marketing considerations are now being

replaced by new ones, such as market analytics,

search engine optimisation, SEM, and digital and

social media management. Today’s marketing

managers need to be innovative, multidisciplinary,

and customer focused. Yet, they must be quick to

respond in order to strategically position their products

or services to meet the needs of an ever-changing

consumer base. In an age where the consumer

rules, companies are forced to restructure and adapt

to the evolving needs of the marketplace. As a result,

businesses are creating new roles and jobs just tostay competitively positioned; this is necessary to

not only survive, but to thrive.

Why choose the International Master of Strategic

Marketing?

Today’s marketing managers are expected to lead

at an operational level in the rapidly changing

economy. Firms in Trinidad and Tobago and

regionally are increasingly seeking managerial talent

with the skills to cope with the increased complexity

and competition in both the domestic and global

markets. The next five years will require more

sophisticated marketing practitioners. Recognising

these trends and being the leading business schoolin the Caribbean, the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate

School of Business has responded to this new

marketing environment by introducing The

International Master of Strategic Marketing

programme. This innovative curriculum blends 21st

century topics in Market Analytics, Services

Marketing, Digital and Social Marketing, Human

Behaviour, Cross-Cultural Management, Innovative

Product Development and Designing Consumer

Experiences with key marketing core courses.

The aim of the International Master of Strategic

Marketing programme is to develop the students’

analytical, critical thinking, strategic, decision making,

and leadership skills, as well as, the ability to think

creatively and act ethically to address issues of

concern in the ever-changing business world. The

focus of this programme is to increase the quality

of decision making towards evidence-based, to beproblem finders not just problem-solvers. In so doing,

our marketing graduates can identify and preempt

the threats that could mean disaster for their

organisations. Let us keep in mind that organisational

breakdowns and collapses do not just occur in a

flash, they evolve over time. They begin with a series

of small problems, a chain of errors that often

stretches back many months or even years. Mistakes

tend to compound over time; one small error triggers

another. And once set in motion, the chain of events

can be stopped. However, the longer the wait, the

more that momentum builds and the once-seemingly

minor issues spiral out of control. Therefore, our

marketing leaders cannot wait for problems to come

to them. As retired general, Colin Powell, once said,“Bad news isn’t wine. It doesn’t improve with age.”

Marketers are now being described as

Anthropologists: if marketing leaders wish to discover

the problems that could mushroom into large-scale

failures in their organisations; they too must venture

out of their offices. They must immerse themselves

occasionally in the everyday contexts in which work

is being done, and in which consumers buy and use

their products and services. They need to hone their

skills of observation. They need to see actions,

behaviours and processes for themselves.

Successful companies are no longer conducting

research in an unnatural setting, as Proctor and

Gamble now has an extensive observationalresearch campaign, it’s twofold: “living it and working

it”.

Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business

By Nadia Salamat-Ali

Programme Director and Lecturer for the Internat ional Master of

Strategic Marketing, Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business





58


n Act to provide protection to investors

from unfair, improper or fraudulent

practices; foster fair and efficient

securities markets and confidence in

the securities industry in Trinidad and

Tobago; to reduce systemic risk, to repeal and

replace the Securities Industry Act Chap 83:02 and

for other related matters” (The Securities Act, 2012;

Act No. 17 of 2012)

Systems generally require an overarching

governance regime that will provide a structure

through which this specific system will operate.

Standards of operation, which promote best practices

and ultimately facilitate the overall development,

administration and maintenance of the system, are

also normally established. These operations are

administered by some form of authority be it a

government or governing body. This same analogy

can be used in the context of the securities industry.

The Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange

Commission (TTSEC), the regulator of the market,was established by Section 5 of the Securities Act,

2012 (SA 2012, The Act) to provide necessary

oversight and regulation of the securities market

and its participants. Our legislation prescribes the

legal framework that the Commission employs and

consequently outlines the regulatory framework for

Trinidad and Tobago’s securities industry

(Figure 1).

This article will demystify the framework which has

been adopted by the TTSEC for the regulation of

the securities industry.

Figure 1

Governing Legislation

The SA 2012 establishes the Commission as a body

corporate that regulates the securities market. The

Act outlines its powers and functions1; some of

which include enforcing policies and procedures in

order to ensure the efficient operations of the market

and mitigate against systemic risk2. These policiesand procedures as informed by the SA 2012, form

the legal framework by which the market is regulated.

Some core policies which are explicitly stated in the

A

The regulatory framework for the localsecurities industry

Act require:

1. All persons who wish to conduct the business of

broker-dealers, investment advisers or

underwriters, to be registered with the Commission

(Section 51).

2. All securities distributed or listed with any Self-

Regulatory Organization3 to be registered with

the Commission (Section 62).

3. Reporting issuers4 to submit annual reports and

financial statements, material change statements

and interim financial statements. These

statements must be filed and delivered via a

specific process (Sections 63-67).

In addition to the mandate outlined in the Act, the

Commission also plays a role in ensuring compliance

with Anti Money Laundering and Combating the

Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) legislation which

also include the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) and

The Financial Obligations Regulations (FORs)5.

As part of its legal framework, the Commission drafts

and issues guidelines to market participants whichexplain the various protocols to be observed within

the securities industry. These guidelines also set

standards of behaviour which are expected of

registrants as they conduct their business. Examples

of these are listed below;

- Guidelines on Anti-Money Laundering &

Combating The Financing of Terrorism

- Repurchase Agreements Guide l ines

- Collective Investment Scheme Guidelines

- Promotion Presentation Standards for Collective

Investment Schemes

The Regulatory Framework

The repeal of the Securities Industry Act, 1995,

required the Commission to update themethodologies that it uses to regulate the market.

Under the SIA 1995, the core methodology was

more disclosure-based; however, the SA 2012,

requires a more risk-based approach to regulation.

An example of this shift is the need to ensure that

entities are sufficiently capitalised. The following

paragraphs outline the processes that currently exist

and where applicable, identify the more salient

amendments to the Act.

Registration

Section 51 (1) of the SA 2012 provides that:

(1) Subject to this Act, no person shall carry on

business or hold himself out as, or engage in any

act, action or course of conduct in connection with,or incidental to, the business activities of—

(a) A broker-dealer;

(b) An investment adviser; or

(c) An underwriter,

Unless the person is registered, or deemed to be

registered, as such, in accordance with this Act, and

except for persons deemed registered, the person

has received written notice of the registration from

the Commission.

This means that those entities which seek to engage

in the activities above, must obtain approval from

the Commission before operating in the securities

market. Registration is one of the primary ways

which the Commission adopts, in order to offer

protection to the investor. This process allows for

the review of necessary documents to ensure that

they meet the regulatory and legislative requirements

before products and services are released into the

market.

Compliance and Inspections

The passage of the SA 2012 gave the TTSEC the

power to perform on-site inspections of its registrants

in order to ensure compliance with the provisionsof enforceable legislation (SA 2012, POCA, FORs).

Ideally, inspections and their frequency should be

carried out using a risk-based approach. This

approach greatly enhances the effectiveness of the

inspection process as it facilitates the profiling of

registrants according to the risks associated with

their business and its operations. This will also allow

the Commission to effectively determine who is

inspected, at what time and the frequency of the

inspections to be carried out. The first on-site

inspection was conducted in December 2013.

Market Surveillance

In its capacity as the primary regulator for the

securities industry, the Commission is activelyinvolved in the surveillance of this industry. A key

constituent of the Commission’s surveillance activities

is the monitoring of trading activity on the Trinidad

& Tobago Stock Exchange. However, surveillance

activities extend to all areas of possible market

misconduct. This is accomplished through various

systems and tools designed to detect and address

misconduct as early as possible. One such tool is

the handling and processing of complaints from

members of the public on matters pertaining to the

securities industry.

Enforcement

In cases where registrants are perpetually non-

compliant with the rules outlined in the legislation,the Commission has the power to apply sanctions

or penalties through a court of law. A snap shot of

the penalties in the Act are outlined on page 59:

Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission

By Kerry-Ann Thompson

Head of Geographic Information Systems Department, Amalgamated Security Services Limited

“



59


OFFENSE

Failure of Self-Regulatory Organizations (SRO) to complywith the Act or inability to enforce its rules of governance

Misrepresentation of documentation to the Commission

Contravention of section 51(1) or (2) of the SA 2012

Failure to meet registration requirements, misrepresentations,

fraud and dishonesty at home and abroad, payment defaults,

ceasing to meet registration requirements

payment defaults, ceasing to meet registration requirements

To find out more about the local securities industry or the Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission, we invite you to visit

our website www.ttsec.org,tt, follow us on Facebook, read our WordPress Blog or call 624 2991.

SANCTIONS

- censure of SRO- limitation of activities

- suspension/revoking of registration

- imposing administrative fine (S156)

- liable to conviction on indictment to a fine of one

million dollars and imprisonment for five (5) years

- Fine of two (2) million dollars and imprisonment for

five years

- Suspension of registration, warnings, censure

SA 2012

Section 48

Section 60(1)

Section 60(2)

Section 57

Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission



60


“…The dominant paradigm underlying corporate

social responsibility or CSR is centred on the

idea of creating ‘shared value’.” from “Why Every

Company Needs CSR and How to Build It.” 2012

orporate social responsibility isn’t the

typical driving force of the average

business but we can honestly say that

our passion lies in creating value for

society and a win-win reality for all of our

stakeholders, clients and communities. For Guardian

Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries, the period

July to August 2013 saw the rebranding under the

umbrella brand, “Guardian Group” of the nine (9)

distinct brands of the group across Trinidad and

Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and the Dutch

Caribbean. While the companies within the group

remain separate legal entities, we all now carry a

single brand name, logo and tagline, solidifying

Guardian Group as a single brand. With this new

single paradigm, the Group is even more committed

to playing an active role, in co-operation with other

community minded organizations and individuals,

in furthering the wellbeing of our community. We

therefore chose to transition our approach to CSR,

actively encouraging individual and societal

development, improved wellbeing and the realisation

of human potential.

Health & Wellness

We all know that healthy people are happy people

and at Guardian Group we have defined this as the

ethos of our revamped CSR framework. For us, a

healthy lifestyle requires four simple but essential

actions: get active, make healthy food choices, know

your numbers and achieve balance in life.

Towards this end, in 2013 we celebrated the 15th

consecutive year of sponsorship of the Herman

Griffith Primary Schools Cricket Competition, which

grooms young Barbadian talent and promotes a

C

Guardians of a Better Tomorrowphysically active lifestyle and the building of a

healthier nation. This sponsorship was borne under

the Guardian General subsidiary, dating back to its

early years as Caribbean Home Insurance Company

Limited.

In Trinidad, we participated in the Diabetes

Association’s Annual Walk 2013 in recognition of

World Diabetes Day and, for the fifth year since its

inception, Guardian General (TT) supported the

Daren Ganga Foundation's Annual Free Cricket and

Football Camp for pre-teens and celebrated Nelson

Mandela Day in Tobago with a Celebrity T20 Cricket

Match. The campers interacted with professional

coaches and players and participated in a celebrity

T20 cricket match with sporting heroes including

Larry Gomes, Daren Ganga, Lincoln Roberts,

Sherwin Ganga, Richard Kelly, Gibran Mohammed,

Dinanath Ramnarine, Navin Chan and many more.

Our Dutch subsidiary, Guardian Group Fatum hosts

the largest run and walk event on the island of

Curacao. This event raised money for several good

causes as well as good health in general. In Curaçao

we also supported the Ride for Roses, which raises

money for the Princess Wilhelmina Fund in the fight

against cancer. Guardian Group is a key sponsor

of the Tumba Festival, a cultural local event thatmakes it possible for the community to organize and

enjoy balance in life.

Academic Leadersh ip D eve lopment

While health and wellness is core to our CSR, at

Guardian Group ours is a rich legacy and tradition

of support to academic leadership. Our Life, Heath

and Pensions line of business, invests in academic

leadership at the primary and tertiary level of

education throughout the Caribbean region. This is

consistent with the promotion and achievement of

excellence that is symbolic of Guardian Group’s

interventions, interactions and accomplishments

within the Caribbean region. Our Guardian Life

Limited Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT)

scholarships in Jamaica reward students who perform

outstandingly in the GSAT examinations with a five

year J$50,000 scholarship to finance their secondary

education.

At the tertiary level, we teamed up with The University

of the West Indies for the 15th year to host the

Premium Teaching Open Lecture Series. This event

alternates annually with the Premium Teaching

Awards in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. The

Open Lectures aim at improving teaching

effectiveness and this year featured a guest lecture

by Dr. Todd Zakrajsek of the Department of Family

Medicine at University of North Carolina.

Philanthropy is a deeply rooted in our culture

In Jamaica, the Labour Day project to give St.

Joseph’s Hospital in Jamaica a facelift was a group-

wide initiative where Guardian Group employees

turned out in great numbers to paint and prune the

hospital grounds in the true spirit of serving others.

Guardian Life also donated two life-saving ventilators

valued at J$2.5 million to the John Homi ICU,

University Hospital of the West Indies.

In a similar vein, the highlight of the holiday season

was our annual Shoebox Project where employeesbrought joy and good cheer to thousands of

underprivileged children. In Aruba, Barbados,

Bonaire, Curaçao, Jamaica, St. Maarten and Trinidad

and Tobago, members of our staff presented

approximately 2,000 boys and girls with shoeboxes

filled with toys.

All in all, in every Guardian Group office and every

Guardian Group territory, we have brought corporate

social responsibility to vibrant, invigorating life –

challenging our team members to truly make life a

little easier for our stakeholders, clients and

communities.

Guardian Group

An Approved Mediation Agency registered with the Mediation Board of Trinidad & Tobago

The Centre’s Mediation Programme is Accredited by the Mediation Board of Trinidad and Tobago

For more information contact: THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTRE, Ground Floor,Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Building, Columbus Circle, Westmoorings.

Tel: (868) 632 4051 or 637 6966 Fax: (868) 632 4046 or 637 7425 E-mail: [email protected]

SERVING THE CARIBBEAN

The Centre provides public and customized in-house training in ADR & related fields, such as

Mediation, Negotiation, Arbitration, Conflict Resolution, Stress & Anger Management,

Self Management for the Busy Executive, Dealing with Difficult People, Critical Thinking





Global Business Services - CareerLimiting or Role Promoting? By Brenda Lee Tang, FCCA Head of ACCA Caribbean

62


ACCA

lobal Business Services, or GBS, is

the next ‘big thing’ for shared services

finance models around the world.

GBS brings together important internal

and external functions such as finance, human

resources, IT, property and facilities into one

department within an organisation. It is often seen

as a back office function, but it is changing into afunction that cuts across the business with the aim

of delivering real and measurable value.

Deloitte has analysed the growth of GBS in a recent

report called Better Together, which confirms that

GBS is a rising trend. For over 20 years, many

organisations have used shared services models

to achieve growth, and to drive savings and

operational efficiencies.

But where do we go from here and what does this

mean for the management accountant?

ACCA has worked to answer these questions, and

believes that GBS is a transitional time for profession

and for the finance professional that could find

themselves part of a GBS function. Indeed, this was

the title of our report Global business services: a

game changer for the finance organisation? For this

report, we spoke with a number of contributors,

including KPMG, Aviva and Accenture Business

Services, who all fed in their views about GBS and

its future. One thing is certain from contributor’s

feedback – that GBS is transformative.

Transforming business

The modern-day accountant is increasingly seen

as a business partner to the wider organisation.

With their broad perspectives on businesses, andtheir ability to work across functions on a wide range

of issues, this makes them ideally placed to manage

the GBS environment, and play an important role

within it.

GBS is transforming how business is done. Since

2011, ACCA has explored how leading businesses

are transforming their finance functions by adopting

shared services and outsourcing models. Finance

leaders have been early adopters, with over 70%

of Fortune 500 companies moving some component

of their finance delivery into consolidated operations

on a country, regional or global level. This changes

the relationship between the retained finance function

and the rest of the business.

Developing careers

GBS also has significant implications for finance

professionals’ career paths. Firstly, the retained team

may see a shift in its focus from managing processes

– even in a shared-services or outsourced model –to business partnering and corporate finance.

Finance professionals in a GBS structure may see

their responsibilities shift from managing single

functions to managing across functions. So the big

question is whether GBS is good for the finance

professional?

So the move to a GBS model could be seen as

another step on the finance professional’s career

path. The change started some years ago, as finance

departments segregated strategic, management and

execution finance tasks, and then industrialised rules-

based transactions work by consolidating it into

delivery centres.

The implementation of GBS will call into question

the role of the retained finance team, including those

embedded in the business, such as management

accountants.

It may change the responsibilities, reallocating roles

previously under the purview of the CFO’s team. If,

for example, transactional finance processes shift

out of the control of the CFO, the traditional career

path upward may be more limited; it will certainly be

disrupted because the linear functional relationship

between transactional finance and the rest of the

finance organisation ceases to exist.

What is important is that the GBS function is seen

as offering a clear career pathway and that there

are routes to progress within it. However, there is

a concern that the finance professional may not be

able to gain sufficient technical experience unless

there is a defined path through GBS, and this may

not necessarily steer them back through the finance

function. At the same time, the finance leaders in

the retained finance organisation may be further

removed from transactional finance process delivery.

It is important to have a joined up approach.

GBS, Technology and Skills

Finance is a perfect candidate for the application of

more technology, not less. So it follows that an

important dimension of GBS is the use and role of

technology.

If process integration is underpinned by better

technology, it should mean fewer work diversions

for the finance organisation, quicker access to data,and more actionable insights. As businesses

increasingly seek to use better workflow tools, there

will be advantages in having an operational

construction that allows processes to work together

seamlessly. The deployment of social, mobile and

cloud technologies, providing more and better data,

could have significant implications for finance and

for the management accountant who so often has

to take a future view.

One of the last issues of important to the future of

GBS is skills; with the rise of GBS, finance

professionals need to acquire new and deeper

management capabilities.

Because finance activities within a GBS model no

longer align vertically within the finance function,

but are delivered horizontally and linked end-to-end

with key tasks contained within other functions,

finance professionals are confronted with the need

to adapt their ways of working. In a GBS structure,

having deep finance skills is no longer enough as

professionals must work within a cross-functional,

matrix set up.

Technology skills are therefore vital to the smooth

running of GBS.

These are early days in the life of GBS. So what is

ACCA’s conclusion? Quite simply, the accountant

and the finance function itself are well placed to

embrace the challenges and opportunities presented

by GBS.

They are also well placed to make an impact and

bring about change. And because GBS is a relatively

new construct, the management accountant can be

at the forefront of tailoring the services, of being at

the forefront of a cross-department service that can

only grow in size and popularity.

G






Pamela Williams and Associates

64 Member Corporate Profile

amela Williams & Associates was

founded in October, 2007 on the

ambition and passion to see a change

in the local Service Industry by

December 2010, hence our tagline “Changing

the Service Landscape” in T&T.

We employ top-notch professionals with a

combined experience of over 30 years in the

areas of Human Resource Development,

Banking and Finance.

Together, we have changed mindsets and

built skills in excess of 20,000 persons; our

work spans from as far as Trinidad and

Tobago in the south to Jamaica in the north,

through St. Vincent & the Grenadines,

Grenada, Barbados, Antigua, St Kitts/Nevis

and the Dutch and French speaking Islands

of Curacao, Bonaire, Aruba and St Maarten.

In these locales, our clients include firms

which are giants of the Financel, Tourism,

Government, Business and Education,Industrial, Manufacturing, Energy and,

Pharmaceutical Industries, Displaced workers,

small business owners, telecommunications

companies, sports teams and volunteers of

world class sporting events and functions.

A sample of our interventions are, but not

limited too, the design, development and

delivery of workshops in the areas of Banking

Fundamentals, Personal Development and

Growth, Motivation and Outbound Team

Building, Supervision and Leadership,

Customer Service and Sales, Emotional

Intelligence, Strategic Planning, Train the

Trainer, Developing the Internal Consultant

and Change Management using the ADKAR

Model.

Principal Consultant, Pamela Rachael

Williams, attended the Disney Institute,

Orlando, where she participated on their

flagship programme "Disney’s Approach toBuilding Customer Loyalty", workshop and

is accredited by Hay Group (USA) -

"Providing Service Solutions using Emotional

Intelligence", Teleometrics International

(USA) - “Models for Management", American

Management Association (AMA) “Principles

of Professional Selling”. She is also an ICC

Cricket World Cup (2007) Trainer and

Assessor and holds an NVQ Qualification in

Assessing Candidate Competence level in

Customer Service.

Pamela Williams & Associates is dedicated

to providing only the most qualified

professionals for our clients. We are all

certified trainers who have worked together

for 7 years at RBTT and Roytec and as a

result, we have achieved a level of integration

of values, purpose, attitudes and action both

within and among us. We were carefully

chosen for our knowledge, experience and

pride of accomplishment in the Banking and

Finance, Communications and Service

industries.

Experience the Difference

Our success was created through a unique

hands-on, interactive style of training that

engages participants and captures the attention

of our audience. We deliver every workshop

with a unique storytelling style designed to

inspire and motivate. We guarantee that our

interventions would not only meet your needs

but also foster Transfer of Learning and yield

Returns On your Training Investment (ROTI).

Our Philosophy is “To become a valuable

partner to our clients and not just one of their

vendors”

Our Service Promise is “To create an

environment that”:

1. Is Easy to do business with

2. Is Accessible to our clients3. Accurately, resolves concerns promptly

within 24 hours

4. Views feedback as opportunities to review

and improve our service

Experience the Difference

Email Address: pamelawilliams02gmail.com

Tel #: 1 (868) 687-7324

website: changingtheservicelandscape.com

Facebook: Pamela Williams & Associates

P





TheChamber’sAnnualCarnivalCompetition

66 Chamber

his year, Trinidad and Tobago

Chamber of Industry and Commerce

(the Chamber) partnered with

Energy Chamber of Trinidad and

Tobago (ECTT) and Trinidad & Tobago

Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) to

host its Annual Carnival Competition, held

at the Chamber’s Conference Hall in

Westmoorings. Staff of the business

development organisations competed in

Calypso, Lip Sync and Ole Mas categories.Though having a relatively small turnout a

good time was had by all, with food for the

“all inclusive” sponsored by a member of the

T&T Chamber, Angelina’s.

Judges for this year’s competition included

Arnold Cato, a past Vice-Chairman of the

Chamber’s Nova Committee, well known

Teacher/Music Director/ Voice Trainer

Michelle Hazell and longstanding Member

of the Chamber’s Crime and Justice

Committee Andrew Johnson (one half of the

Statler and Waldorf team) who judgedcompetitors on creativity and originality.

The hard work of the Competition’s co-

ordinator Cheryl-Lyn Kurban, who brought

her special skills as a Project Assistant with

the Chamber to bear over the past three years,

paid off once more. With prizes sponsored

by Ms. Brafit, Angostura, VemCo Limited,

Oscar Francois, HiLo Foodstores, Caribbean

Airlines, Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, National

Flour Mills, Blue Waters, Coca Cola, Sacha

Cosmetics, Trade Winds Hotel and CascadiaHotel, prizes were awarded to all entrants and

special prizes were given for Best Lyrics, Best

Interpretation and Most Humorous. At the

end of the competition we can say it was an

even match between the T&T Chamber and

the Energy Chamber. Winners were as

follows:

Calypso Competition:

1st place – Rhea Nelson (T & T Chamber) –

King of the Heap

2nd place – Resha Edwards (Energy Chamber)

-The Love Gun

3rd place – Brittany Bain (T & T Chamber)– To be Advised

4th place – Cheryl lyn Kurban (T & T

Chamber) – The Political Cricket Tour

Special Prize: Best Lyrics – Brittany Bain

(T&T Chamber)

Lip Sync Competition:

1st place – Resha Edwards ( Energy

Chamber) - Born with This by Allison

Hinds

2nd place – Brittany Bain ( T & T Chamber)

– Man in Yuh House by Cassi

3rd place – Rhea Nelson – T & T Chamber)

- Bring Back the Old Times Days by

Nappy Mayers

4th place – Keegan Constantine (T & T

Chamber) - Big People Party by Farmer

Nappy

Special Prize: Best Interpretation – Keegan

Constantine (T&T Chamber)

Ole Mas Competition:

1st place –– The Energy Chamber Group –

Energy Workout Plan

2nd place – Brittany Bain (T & T Chamber)

– Watch out My Children

3rd place – Keina Calliste and Glen George

(Energy Chamber) – MPs Salary Increase

4th place – Keina Calliste & Glen George

(Energy Chamber) – Kubalsingh’s Tyres

Special Prize: Most Humorous – Energy

Workout Plan (Energy Chamber Group)

T




Business Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

and Gala DinnerThe Chamber inducted three highly esteemed individuals into its prestigious Hall of Fame at the

awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency on November 16, 2013. The year’s inductees were Mr.

Victor Mouttet, Mr. Carlton Mack (posthumous) and Mr. Harry Sooknarine (posthumous). The

Chamber is proud and honoured to celebrate their lives and achievements in its Hall of Fame Mr.

Brendan Paddick, chairman and ceo Columbus International Inc. Delivered the feature address.

Partnering with the Chamber this year were; Platinum Investor – First Citizens, Diamond

Investor – Columbus Communications and Gem Investors – Atlantic and Shell.

EVE ANDERSON & ASSOCIATESAddress: 143 Edward Street, Port of Spain,Tel: 627-8233Fax: 625-1588

MARK DE MOMENT LIMITEDAddress: 20 Sinanan Gardens

Lower Santa CruzTel: 779-2154Fax: 638-4147Website: www.markdemoment.comEmail: [email protected]

PAMELA WILLIAMS & ASSOCIATESAddress: #23 Court Drive, Champ FleursTel: 637-7324Fax: 662-2525

RORA TECHNOLOGIESAddress: #25 Caroni Savannah Road, Chaguanas

Tel: 299-4477

SERVUS LIMITEDAddress: #3A Warren Street, WoodbrookPort of Spain,Tel: 628-8013Fax: 628-3129

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEANAddress: Maracas Royal Road, Maracas,St. Joseph,Tel: 662-2241/2242Website: www.uscedu.tt

VALVE INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

LTDAddress: Lp 813 Southern Main RoadCalifornia, Couva,Tel: 374-9990

Welcome to New Members

The Chamber’s Events 67


The Nova Committee of the Chamber hosted members and new SME’s to a Business Networking Cocktail

Reception on November 28, 2013 at the TSTT Hospitality Booth, Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain.

Partnering with the Committee to host this event were; Blink Bmobile and Republic Bank Limited.

Network for Net Worth

Customer Service

ExcellenceThe Chamber hosted a session entitled “Customer

Service Excellence” on November 25, 2013. This

one-day workshop was facilitated by Mrs. Pamela

Rachael Williams. Some of the topics covered

included Developing skills in dealing with customer

complaints, Making the telephone work for you,

and The secret of excellent customer service.

The Trade and Business Development Unit of the Chamber hosted a two-day Conference over November

27-28, 2013. The business community was highly engaged in discussion at this conference regarding

new business opportunities. Presentations were made by the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro

Enterprise Development, TSTT, T&TEC, WASA, Ministry of National Security and Microsoft, among others. Partnering with the Chamber to ensure the success of this event were; Blink Bmobile, IBIS,

IGOVTT, Microsoft, Ministry of National Security, T&TEC and Peter Richards Landscaping Limited.

BizOppsTT

On December 3, 2013, the Chamber in collaboration with RBC Bank Limited hosted a session entitled

“Understanding Workplace Fraud and Criminal Behaviour”. The session was facilitated by Mr. Jeremy

Jones, Head – Enterprise Services, Technology and Enterprise Services, RBC Financial (Caribbean)

Limited and Mr. Antonio Ventour, Manager – Fraud and Corporate Investigations, RBC Financial (Caribbean)

Limited. RBC Bank Limited was the exclusive sponsor of the session.

Understanding Workplace Fraud and CriminalBehaviour

The Event, hosted by the Chamber’s Marketing and Communications Unit, took place on September 26,

2013 at the CLICO Hospitality booth of the Queen’s Park Oval. New members met, greeted and networked

with each other and Chamber Executives. Partnering with the Chamber to host the event was PWC.

Meet Me @ Five!



68


he year 2013 ended with the Tobago

Division pursuing its strategic plan

– to invigorate the local economy.

Its four sub-committees Business

Development, Inter-island Transport,

Security and Environment all reported on their

various initiatives as follows:

Tourism numbers remained down, due

primarily to lack of product branding,

marketing and problems with the airlift. Issues

with the inter-island ferry service also

contributed negatively to satisfactory

movement of local goods and services. The

Division is however hopeful that following

communications with key parties in relation

to the air and sea bridge, the efforts will bear

f rui t , moreso in the tour ism sec tor .

A key concern for the Division for all of 2013

has been improving eff icacy of the

government’s loan guarantee (GLG)

programme. The programme was designed tooffer financial help to tourism sector businesses

on the island which have been negatively

T

Chamber

affected by the economic climate. The

Chamber has met with all the players of the

GLG Fund over the course of last year, and

will continue to advocate for improvements.

Security in the lead up to the Christmas season

remained a clouded issue for Tobago, as much

was still to be finalised, e.g. monitoring of

surveillance cameras, police related issues

(manpower, visibility and customer service).

In an effort to effect changes, the Tobago

Division met with the Assistant Superintendent

(ASP) of the T&T Police Service who assured

the private sector of his Division’s ability to

deal with the criminal element on the island.

The Chamber by way of strengthening the

relationship of the business sector with the

nation’s crime-fighters, made a small donation

of trousers for the Tobago bike squad.

During this quarter the Citizen Security

Programme (CSP) initiated a meeting with

the Division. Plans were drawn up to involvethe business sector in a concentrated Tobago

outreach initiative to create awareness among

citizens about the risk due to crime and factors

to mitigate it, as well as for dealing the wider

responsibilities of the public in order to

encourage a crime free environment.

Challenges to the Tobago environment – due

in large part to improper waste management

techniques and provision for municipal solid

waste became the focus of the Division.

Driving the challenge was clause in the

proposed Beverage and Containers Act for

manufacturers and distributors to buy back

the receptacles from which their products was

sold. The Division took the stance that since

Tobago merchants already face high costs to

take their goods to market, an alternative to

the buyback needed to be found, for example,

better recycling of plastic drink containers to

begin with, but eventually converting other

streams of waste into revenue. To achieve

these ends the Tobago Division of Chamber

is cultivating partnerships locally amongNGO’s and other environmental interests.

Quarterly Report Tobago Division - Q4 2013

Are you looking for an ideal location to host your Private Meetings, Training Sessions,Product or Media Launches, Christmas Cocktails or even your Wedding Receptions?

Then your Chamber is here to meet your needs! Duncan Campbell Meeting Room

WM Gordon Gordon Board Room

Leon AgostiniConference Hall

Events have become the hallmark for many Corporate Communications andMarketing Divisions and finding that ideal venue is perhaps one of the mostimportant aspects to the success of all activities. At the Trinidad and Tobago

Chamber of Industry and Commerce we pride ourselves in providing rooms forsmall and medium sized functions. Our venue, at Columbus Circle, Westmoorings,has been rented by many members and non-members.

As a “One Stop Shop” we provide complete services - Wheel-chair access,Parking, High Speed Internet access, Catering, Audio and Video, all in our air-conditioned facility. Our rates are among the lowest, given our secure and sceniclocation. As a member of the Chamber your rental fee is discounted by 10%.

Named after the Chamber’s first President, our Leon Agostini Conference Hall,accommodates Theatre seating up to 200 persons and Banquet seating of 180(rectangular tables) or 120 (round tables). Our Duncan Campbell Meeting Room

can accommodate Theatre seating up to 40 persons and Round table seating upto a maximum of 16 persons. Our special offer to weekend clients is the WMGordon Gordon Board Room which accommodates up to 14 persons in comfortableexecutive style.

The Chamber’s staff stands ready to assist and will work with you in ensuring thesuccess of your event. Upon request we will assist with the coordination at areasonable fee.

We invite you to contact Eustace Pierre at 637-6966 ext. 286 or [email protected] so that a tour of our facilities can be arranged.Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you.



Trinidad & TobagoDebates CommissionLeading Change

IMPACT 69

he Trinidad and Tobago Chamber

of Industry and Commerce ,

recognising that the political processof Trinidad and Tobago did not

include the formal debating of key issues by

appropriate leaders or representatives of

opposing parties in a publicized forum, and

believing that such debating would bring

significant value to the citizens of T&T,

championed the creation on the Trinidad and

Tobago Debates Commission (TTDC) in April

2010.

TTDC is an independent, autonomous, not

for profit organisation committed to changing

the landscape of Trinidad & Tobago’s politics

by advocating for the country’s political

leaders to participate in electoral debates in

the public fora.

TTDC is currently governed by eight

independent Commissioners who have been

chosen to cover a range of professions and

demographics ensuring a fair and balanced

perspective, namely social scientist Father

Clyde Harvey, retired Justice of Appeal

Humphrey Stollmeyer, banker Ronald

Harford, academic Professor Rhoda Reddock,media practitioner Kiran Maharaj, entrepreneur

Angella Persad and Chairman Andrew Sabga,

a businessman and former Chamber President.

TTDC is funded by both the private sector

and civil society and the secretariat is housed

at the Chamber.

TTDC’s first attempt to host a debate in the

lead up to General Elections in 2010 was not

successful as agreement to debate by all the

leaders was not forthcoming. However, since

its inception in 2010, TTDC has successfully

hosted debates for three elections – LocalGovernment Elections 2010, Tobago House

of Assembly Elections 2013 and Local

Government Elections 2013. These debates

covered areas such as Tobago Economic

Development, Local Government Reform,

Social Sector Development and Local

Government Representation. As a result of these three debates, the country became more

acutely aware of electoral debates of this

magnitude in the local election landscape for

the first time.

Although TTDC hosted its first debate in 2010,

it was truly the 2013 debates that made us a

household name with several groups calling

for the Commission to host debates outside of

the regular national electoral debates. The

debates were major news stories on several

media stations, commending the work done

by the Debates Commission. Several social

media sites – including the TTDC facebook

page – was flooded with positive comments

by citizens on the impact of the debates. One

such comment thanked “TTDC and by

extension TTCIC for the well produced

debates”.

It is truly important for TTDC to ensure that

there is maximum public awareness, interest

and involvement in the debates, as they are

staged to educate the public to make informed

decisions when voting for the leaders of this

twin-island Republic. The debates help withour political evolution and reinforce democracy

and TTDC will continue to call for the support

of the public for feedback on the key issues

that they would like to hear debated.

TTDC believes that citizens have the right to

participate fully in the processes of governance

and is committed to providing a forum

whereby the people of Trinidad and Tobago

can continue to have unimpeded access to and

learn more about the political candidates who

wish to serve them. Debates will therefore

allow for more informed political decision-

making by the electorate. The TTDC has

already begun to prepare for debates for the

upcoming General Elections which are due in

2015. The Debates Commission anticipates

continued support from Corporate T&T and

civil society as we advocate for further

transparency and accountability in election

campaigning, thereby giving the voting public

the opportunity to make more informed

choices.

T




70


he degree of difficulty inherent in

leadership is sometimes made to

appear non-existent by those who do

it selflessly. The time and dedication

to duty by a leader is often seen as a matter

of simply accomplishing some tasks and

calling it a day. To the onlooker the deft

balance of authority, mediation skills, vision

and heart it takes often goes unrealized.

In communities such as the ones the Citizen

Security Programme (CSP) has partnered with

in its initial pilot phase, leadership has been

one of the key elements to the success

experienced with the Programme’s methods.

In truth, the key to many of the achievements

have been the leaders in communities and

organisations who have stepped up to the plate

and engaged the tasks head on.

We can speak of youth leadership of the typeexhibited by Tisha Mohan and Kesean

Bascombe. Both were awarded special prizes

by the CSP last year for the critical role they

played in their communities. Kesean who

hails from Quash Trace, Sangre Grande was

the youngest person to chair his Community

Action Council (CAC) as a Deputy Chairman.

His founding of the Quash Trace Management

Council, an organisation of primarily young

people saw improvements to the community

being maintained youths, something previously

not a part of the community’s landscape..

Tisha, of Farm Road, St. Joseph, is a young

lady of stalwart character who during the

meetings of her (CAC) often enquired about

programmes that were designed for youth

advancement. At a mere 18 years, Tisha was

vocal enough in her encounters to have been

placed on the committee which meets with

the Land Settlement Agency to settle matters

of land tenure for residents of her community.

Having ensured that opportunities were created

for the youth of her community she didn’t

stop there. During a sound reinforcementworkshop sponsored by the CSP, Tisha braved

inclement weather to mobilise youths in her

T

The Dispute Resolution Centre

community to ensure they did not miss the

opportunity to gain another skill. Many are

the occasions where, without leadership the

impetus needed to change a community into

a place of hope and success, the status quo

no matter how dangerous would have been

maintained. The community of Never Dirty

was awarded the Safest Community Platinum

award by the CSP at the end of 2013.

The reason was simple, a community which

had registered some twelve murders in 2008

and which had earned the reputation as one

of the most dangerous places in the country,

transformed its fortunes and registered no

murders in 2012 or 2013. The result of

collaborative efforts among CSP programming

and the leadership of the major churches and

community structures in the area, the story

of Never Dirty is one which epitomizes the

impact of strong, positive leadership. Thestrength to take up the challenge, the vision

and the tenacity to stay the course are all

facets of the leadership that ensured this

transformation.

Throughout the length and breadth of the

communities that CSP has partnered with

there are examples of stalwart leaders who

stand up and take that uncommon step to

create light where it is most needed. Those

who answer the call to lend a hand and delve

heart first into alleviating strife, teaching

much needed life skills or giving opportunities

which change lives. In Arima a school

principal facilitates a youth group that has

taken young people through various

experiences which shape their ability to adapt

to various challenges in life. Her dedication

to raising the standard of community conduct

attracts assistance and sponsorhip from private

citizens and businesses in her community.

In another eastern community one gentleman

teaches youth the game of football. Not only

has he produced stellar players who have

contributed to the pool of national players buthe bridges important gaps. There are residents

of surrounding communities who will not

enter the location that he is from, yet they all

send their children to him to learn the game

and benefit from his discipline.

The ability to engender that level of trust and

willingness to have one’s children take a path

different than their own is only facilitated by

an individual of uncommon character and

good standing. Moving to the environs of thecapital city another football coach went from

being a new invitee to a meeting to being the

Chairman of the CAC for his area. His ability

to speak to the youth from warring factions

within his community has been responsible

for the discovery of many talented young

people in sport, photography and even

mediation.

During the five years of its operation in T&T

the CSP has been graced with the experience

of myriad situations of positive growth withincommunities. In the partner communities we

have seen a 60% reduction in murders, more

than a 40% reduction in woundings and

shootings and a 40% decrease in sexual

offences . We have witnessed the

transformation of communities from hot spots

to the site of many cool things happening.

There has been the coming together of

communities which traditionally have been

at odds for more than a decade. All of this is

due to the work of people who have spared

no effort, and even suffered losses, to ensure

that the vision of a better place and a better

quality of life for themselves and future

generations was realised. They remain the

foundation of the programme and its drive

f o r c o mmu n i t y e mp o w e r me n t a n d

enhancement towards the goal of crime

reduction. It is no small feat that so much has

been accomplished in five years and will

continue to be accomplished by virtue of the

exceptional commitment given by the leaders

at its core.

Published in Partnership with the Citizens

Security Programme

Community Leadership and the Citizens SecurityProgramme





ACCA Pg 4

ACI Pg 9

Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business Pg 57

BEI International Limited Pg 23

Beacon Pg 41

bpTT Pg 45

Boss Pg 29

Colfire Pg 3

Columbus Business Solutions Pg 6

Caribbean Institute for Security & Public Safety Pg 7

Caribabies Mobile Creche Pg 35

Courts Pg 63

Eureka Communications Limited Pg 31

Eximbank Pg 33

Export Trinidad and Tobago Pg 38

Guardian Group Pg 61

JG Design Caribbean Pg 11

Kex Limited Pg 14

Laparkan Pg 27

Advertisers72

Lexmark Outside Back Cover

MBM Pg 39

Neal & Massy Automotive Ltd Inside Back

Pereira & Company Ltd Pg 2

PWC Pg 65

Repsol Pg 19

Republic Bank Pg 8

Southern Sales & Service Co. Ltd (Kia Motors) Pg 21

SSS Rental Division Inside Front

Telecommunications Authority of

Trinidad and Tobago Pg 55

The Fitness Center Ltd Pg 47

Trinidad and Tobago Securities and

Exchange Commission Pg 5 & 59

Trinre Pg 16

Unipet Pg 25

UWI Pg 71

Voila Gourmet Catrering Pg 64

Women Only Workout Pg 72






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Leadership Issue