Category Archives: Caribbean

TT aid for foreign imports

By George Alleyne
November 10 2010 – newsday.co.tt

Eric WilliamsIt was late Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams, who, on December 2, 1977, first brought to the attention of a shocked Trinidad and Tobago that aid money from this country to several Caricom Member States was being used to purchase foreign imports at the expense of goods and services from Trinidad and Tobago.
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Not what you say, but how you do it

By Raffique Shah
November 07, 2010

Raffique ShahONCE more Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has triggered Caribbean hostility towards Trinidad and Tobago by another ill-timed, inappropriate statement. Coming a few months after her “Trinidad is not Caricom’s ATM” gaffe, one wonders who is advising the PM on the nuances of good diplomacy.
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Lending a Helping Hand

By Kamla Persad-Bissessar
November 06, 2010

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarA statement made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Thursday at a press conference in Macoya.

Trinidad and Tobago, as a responsible friend and partner, stands solidly behind the humanitarian and reconstruction efforts of our Caricom neighbours who were devastated by Hurricane Tomas.
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No Free Help

PM to assist neighbours hit by Tomas but…

By Ria Taitt
November 01, 2010 – trinidadexpress.com

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarNo help for Caricom countries hit by Tropical Storm Tomas without benefits to Trinidad and Tobago.

This was made clear by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday.

She said Trinidad and Tobago stands ready to assist its Caricom neighbours but she stipulated that any aid would only come after discussions with her Cabinet colleagues as well as the Opposition Leader, and must in some measure benefit the country.
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Excitement over New Low Cost Carrier

By Derren Joseph
October 24, 2010

JetI think it was back in 2007 when I was working at Caribbean Airlines that I first heard about plans for a new Jamaica based Low Cost Carrier (LCC). The rumor was that it was born from the experience of Digicel Executives who were island hopping during the 2007 Cricket World Cup. They saw inefficiencies with the existing players and decided to turn this into a business opportunity. A December 7th 2007 article in the Jamaica Gleaner however, dismissed talk that Digicel was an investor but rather a sales partner.
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Talking From Both Sides of Her Mouth

By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 23, 2010

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeA few days ago the Honorary Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Among other things she recognized that “the passport out of poverty is through education, community empowerment and social entrepreneurship.” She also acknoweldged that 16.7 percent of our people still live below the poverty line; 11.7 per cent are considered working poor whereas 9 per cent are deemed vulnerable. The goal, she says, is to reduce poverty by 2 per cent per year.
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Tourism from Carnival to Divali

By Derren Joseph
September 16, 2010

CarnivalOn August 26th, there was an interesting article in the International Tourism press. President of the Sychelles, James Michel called upon his tourism industry to engage with the government to map out a new national tourism development plan. On the face of it there is nothing special about such an announcement but three things about that article that struck me.
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Emancipation: some creation myths

By Selwyn Ryan
August 15, 2010

EmancipationI overheard someone complaining on a call-in programme during Emancipation week that people of African origin in Trinidad were a different breed from those in other islands of the Caribbean.

It was not clear whether the caller meant to say that the Trinis were a worse or a better breed. I think he meant that they were an inferior breed, since, like Prof Courtenay Bartholomew (Express, August 11) he had some critical things to say about us blacks here in Trinidad. The caller was however quite correct about Trinidad blacks being different from their Caribbean counterparts. Culture and cojuncture and not genetics were however responsible for the differences.
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Pursuing Closer Links with Guyana

By Derren Joseph
August 11, 2010

GuyanaIn looking at the often controversial dynamics of our regional integration attempts, frequent comparisons are made with the European Union. After the fall of Rome, various egotistical régimes had made attempts to unite what is now “Western” Europe with varying degrees of success. Out of this, the first point to be made is that the present European Union with its many languages and cultures is the product of hundreds, if not thousands of years of history. So when we ask ourselves why our little Caribbean region seems to struggle when it comes to cooperation, part of the answer may lie in our relative socio-political-economic “youth”.
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Supporting Tobago’s Tourism

By Derren Joseph
August 04, 2010

Tobago TourismLast week, the press carried a story about Deputy House Speaker Dr Fuad Khan urging Trinidadians to spend a portion of their vacation time in Tobago to boost the tourism industry in the sister island. The press report went on to say that occupancy rates at hotels are expected to drop as low as 15% in the coming months.
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