Essential Afro-Latino/ Caribbean Current Events

[Yehuda]

Guyana’s rice exports go up, but earnings go down because of Venezuela pull-out

CARIBBEAN360 NOVEMBER 13, 2015

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Friday November 13, 2015 – Guyana’s rice exports increased by six per cent during up to October this year, compared with the same period in 2014, but a significant drop in the world market price for the product has resulted in reduced export earnings.

Acting General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB,) Nizam Hassan, said Guyana exported 437,448 metric tonnes of milled rice in the last 10 months, and 412,228 metric tonnes for that period in 2014.

But with Guyana not getting the higher than above market prices that it was getting with Venezuela – which has decided to stop buying rice from Georgetown – the dollar figures are not looking as good.

“In 2014, almost 30 per cent of the market that we exported to was Venezuela, for which the country and the farmers were receiving higher than above world market prices for the rice and paddy they exported there,” he said.

In 2014, Guyana received from Venezuela, US$480 per metric tonne of paddy. White rice, being traded now, ranges between US$390 and US$398 per metric tonne. This is compared to US$780 that was received by Guyanese exporters and millers for export of the same commodity to Venezuela last year.

Since 2014, Venezuela had notified the then Guyana Government that it would no longer be taking rice from Guyana. The loss of this market was only made public when the government changed in May of this year. Since then, efforts to secure new and expanded markets for Guyana’s rice have intensified.

However, with the loss of the market, Guyana has now seen an increase in exports to CARICOM countries – Antigua, Barbados and Belize – and to the European Union (EU).

With an aggressive marketing strategy spearheaded by the GRDB and the private sector, and with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, the country is set to soon secure other new markets for the country’s rice and paddy.

Hassan said that for its part, the GRDB is actively involved and has been discussing potential buyers for Guyana’s rice and paddy.

The country is on the verge of securing the Mexico market. Mexico is a large importer of rice, taking in about one million tonnes on an annual basis.

Guyana’s rice exports go up, but earnings go down because of Venezuela pull-out | Caribbean360

 

[BujuBoombastic]

@Yehuda

Are you Guyanese?

 

[Yehuda]

@Yehuda

Are you Guyanese?

No.

Ain't nothing interesting going on Latin America right now so I'm just posting stuff about Guyana.

 

[Yehuda]

Opinion, Letters
There is a shortage of HIV testing kits in Guyana

By
Staff Writer
November 16, 2015

Dear Editor,

For months now, I have been hearing about a shortage of HIV testing kits in Guyana. Complaints have come from people working in the healthcare sector, as well as members of the Guyanese public seeking testing. In September, the Ministry of Public Health put out a statement that “everything was under control and there is nothing to worry about.” Unfortunately, contrary to this statement, all is not well and there is still, in fact, plenty to worry about. Currently, HIV testing kits are not available in many testing sites around Guyana. This is not just hearsay; I have confirmed this by personally checking at several locations myself, in multiple regions of the country over the past several weeks. Just last week I was turned away from a public testing site in central Georgetown because they did not have the kits and told that I had to go to a private laboratory if I needed a test urgently.

This is an appalling and unacceptable state of affairs! HIV is a life-altering illness, not just the common cold that will soon blow over. A lot of money and time has been spent over the years encouraging people to get tested and know their status. When one finally makes the decision to get tested and summons up the courage to go to a testing location, but is then turned away because testing kits are unavailable, they may become discouraged and never end up getting tested. This could mean the difference between life and death; someone who is HIV positive but unaware of their status and engaging in unprotected sex could pass on the disease to all their sexual partners. Pregnant women with HIV who are not tested and treated could then transmit the illness to their babies, compounding the tragedy. Testing is a crucial component of the fight against the spread of HIV and a grave disservice is being perpetrated against the Guyanese public by HIV testing kits not being readily available at all times.

The Ministry of Public Health of Guyana needs to get its act together and fix the problems plaguing their inventory and procurement systems. These are not new issues; there is a long history of shortages of basic supplies and medication in the public health sector of Guyana, and inefficiency and mismanagement of this sector has been well documented over the years. It is also common knowledge that part of the reason this system does not function properly is because of interference by some people with political agendas and for their personal financial gain. This needs to be dealt with immediately. The Guyanese public has been suffering for long enough. The solutions are not complicated; all that is required are adequate and consistent funding, dedicated and attentive staff to keep proper inventory of supplies and order new stock in a timely manner, and a fair and expedient distribution mechanism.

I am aware that funding for much of the work against HIV has traditionally come from outside funding sources, but we can no longer depend on these foreign funders. We need to prioritize the health of the Guyanese people in our national budget and ensure that adequate funds are available to purchase essential items like HIV testing kits.

In addition, staff need to be properly trained and oversight provided to ensure that systems are working as they should; if they aren’t then offending persons should be disciplined and the necessary adjustments made. That is what saves lives, MOPH, not platitudes. I hope that I will be able to get a HIV test in Guyana before year end ‒ that is my Christmas wish.



Yours faithfully,

Sherlina Nageer

There is a shortage of HIV testing kits in Guyana - Stabroek News

 

[BigMan]

U sho love guyana lmao

 

[Yehuda]

TERROR LAW INVOKED

By Andre Bagoo, Wednesday, November 25 2015

FOR THE FIRST time, the State has invoked powerful provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act 2005, seeking to have a High Court judge deem an individual or entity as a “terrorist” and to freeze the assets of that person or entity. Attorney General Faris Al Rawi said an application was lodged yesterday under Section 22B of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as he promised the State would use existing laws to fight the scourge of terrorism in the wake of the November 13 ISIS attack in Paris which left over 130 dead and many hundreds injured.

While the Attorney General did not disclose details of the application, one unconfirmed report indicated the application relates to the individual known as Kareem Ibrahim, a Trinidadian who was sentenced in 2012 in a New York court, to life in prison, for conspiring to commit a terrorist attack at John F Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, by exploding fuel tanks and a fuel pipeline under the airport.

It is further understood the State has retained senior counsel Pamela Elder to represent its interest in this case which will see a judge conduct a paper review of affidavit evidence. If the judge is satisfied the person or entity has knowingly committed or participated in the commission of a terrorist act or has acted on behalf of any known terrorist organisation, the judge must order the entity to be listed as a terrorist.

A terrorist act is one that will cause or is “likely” to cause harm and destruction. The judge’s order must, by law, be made public through publication in the Gazette within six days, if granted.

The entity then has a right of appeal within 60 days.

However, the effect of any order would be to freeze the funds of the listed entity pending this appeal process. It is expected the matter filed yesterday will be dealt with as a matter of urgency in court, though there was no word on the assignment of a judge yesterday. The Attorney General yesterday disclosed the Section 22B application while addressing a plenary meeting of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), the regional group of 27 nations which implements global standards meant to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Trinidad and Tobago is pleased to announce that as of today we would have made an application before the court to cause the designation of a Section 22B entity under the Anti-Terrorism Act,” Al Rawi said at the event at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. “It is something we took control of as an incoming government and prosecuted with due process leading to an application to the courts today. It is a very important thing to apply the laws of your country and not only to have them.” It is unclear if there is any link between the current application and recent global developments.

At a later media conference, Al Rawi said the application related to a request that had been pending “for some time”. He did not indicate the source of the request, saying he would not divulge details of the application as the matter was now sub judice or under consideration by the court.

But the Attorney General made it clear that while the State is considering the question of enacting specific legislation to tackle the global terrorist environment, which has seen the emergence of ISIS and the problem of the recruitment of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) through the internet and other means, it will work with what it already has on the books.

“What the Government intends to do is apply the laws of Trinidad and Tobago,” the Attorney General said. “There is a suite of laws available to Trinidad and Tobago: the Anti-Terrorism Act; breaches of the common-law offences — whatever they may be. It is by far more important to us to catch the people who are deemed to be terrorists and treat with them. Our jails are made to be used after due process has been carried out. We don’t necessarily share the view that one ought to bounce somebody at the airport.

What you really want to do is ensure that you treat with the criminality in your due process and in your jail system.” Al Rawi continued, “I met an application which was languishing in respect of which there had been a conviction and I saw it as important to proceed with that application to court. I discharged my role as Attorney General under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Matters cannot afford to be in the system for long, you must deal with them as soon as they arise.” The San Fernando West MP said the population has been concerned over the lack of prosecutions under any anti- terror statute.

“The efficiency of Trinidad and Tobago has been under watch.

We have not as a country had the benefit of seeing the kind of consequences for breaking laws. Who has been prosecuted for alleged terrorist links? These are questions which are on the lips of average Trinidadians and Tobagonians.” In relation to FTFs, Al Rawi said the State was “looking at” the legislative position at an “urgent pace”.

He said the issue of striking the correct balance between constitutional rights and the need to safeguard the public interest had arisen.

It has been proposed that FTFs be banned from re-entry.

The Attorney General disclosed the National Security Council has already met with IMPACS, the Caricom-wide intelligence-sharing body, and has received reports from the head of the Defence Force, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, the Strategic Services Agency (SSA), and “other intelligence agencies” in the wake of the Paris attacks which killed 130 people.

ABOUT KAREEM IBRAHIM

A federal jury convicted Kareem Ibrahim of multiple terrorism offenses in May 2011 after a four-week trial. The evidence at trial established that Ibrahim, an Imam and leader of the Shiite Muslim community in Trinidad and Tobago, provided religious instruction and operational support to a group plotting to commit a terrorist attack at JFK Airport.

The plot originated with Russell Defreitas, a naturalized United States citizen from Guyana, who drew on his prior experience working at JFK Airport as cargo handler to plan the attack on its fuel tanks and fuel pipeline. Beginning in 2006, Defreitas recruited others to join the plot, including the defendant Kareem Ibrahim, Abdel Nur and Abdul Kadir, a former member of parliament in Guyana. In May 2007, Defreitas presented Ibrahim with video surveillance and satellite imagery of the targets for terrorist attack because Ibrahim had connections with militant leaders in Iran. — Source: FBI.

ANTI-TERRORISM ACT

22B. (1) The Attorney General shall apply to a judge for an Order under subsection (3)—

(a) in respect of an entity, where the entity is a designated entity; or

(b) in respect of an entity or individual where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the entity or individual—

(i) has knowingly committed or participated in the commission of a terrorist act; or

(ii) is knowingly acting on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with, an entity referred to in paragraph (a).

(2) An application under subsection (1) shall be—

(a) ex parte; and

(b) accompanied by an affidavit deposing to the matters referred to in subsection

(1).

(3) Upon an application under subsection (1) the judge shall, by Order—

(a) declare an individual or a designated or legal entity to be a listed entity for the purposes of this Act if the judge is satisfied as to the matters referred to in subsection (1); and

(b) freeze the funds of the listed entity.

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : newsday.co.tt :

 

[Yehuda]

Economy - 26 November 2015, 3:43 PM

Commonwealth nations are Dominican Republic’s ´major´ investors

Fernando Gonzalez Nicolas, right, with several Caribbean leaders.

Malta.- The president of the Roundtable of Commonwealth Countries in the Dominican Republic on Thursday said the Commonwealth countries are currently Dominican Republic´s major foreign investors.

Fernando Gonzalez Nicolas said the investments are in the mining and beverage sectors, free zones, banking industry and cinema production among others.

Speaking in the Business Forum at the Commonwealth Summit of Heads of State taking place in Valletta, Malta, Gonzalez urged more companies to consider Dominican Republic to invest and do business. “The private sector works closely with the Dominican Government to encourage and guarantee foreign investment.”

Gonzalez participated in the panel on opportunities available im the Caribbean Region.

The prime minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart, of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley, of Bahamas, Perry Christie, and Timothy Harris of St. Kitts also took part in the panel.

Commonwealth nations are Dominican Republic’s ´major´ investors

 

[OfTheCross]

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

Brazil's only slave memoir to be published in Portuguese for first time

Brazil's only slave memoir to be published in Portuguese for first time
Four million Africans were brought to Brazil as slaves but only Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua wrote down his story – in English as a free man in Canada



Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua, right, with the Rev William L Judd after escaping from slavery. Photograph: Public Domain
Bruce Douglas in Rio


Waking after a night’s heavy drinking at the court of a strange king, Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua found his companions gone and his hands tied.

It was the start of a nightmarish journey that saw the low-ranking Muslim civil servant from west Africa sold into slavery and shipped to Brazil in the middle of the 19th century.

Years later, a free man living in Canada, he recounted the horrors of his experiences in a dictated memoir – the only autobiographical account of an African-born slave in Brazil.

“I imagine there can be but one place more horrible in all creation than the hold of a slave ship, and that place is where slaveholders and their myrmidons are the most likely to find themselves some day,” he wrote.

Brazil imported more African slaves than any other country in the Americas – for every one European who immigrated to the country, eight Africans were imported as slaves – but until now, no memoir by a Brazilian slave has ever been published in the country.

This month Baquaqua’s story will finally be released online in Portuguese as part of a project to improve the teaching of Afro- Brazilian history.

A law passed in 2003 mandated the teaching of black Brazilian history in schools, but until now there has been a severe lack of engaging teaching materials.

Funded by Brazil’s ministry of culture and the Canadian government, Project Baquaqua is the initiative of Bruno Verás, a doctoral candidate at York University, Canada, and a former history teacher from the north-eastern state of Pernambuco.

“When I taught in high school, whenever we taught slavery we would just have a few small, indistinct images of black people working on a sugar plantation,” he said. “The point of this project is that you can see the real people affected by slavery.”


More than 4 million Africans, or some 40% of all the slaves that crossed the Atlantic, landed in Brazil. Yet despite the African population’s profound impact on the country, the teaching of Afro-Brazilian history still encounters serious resistance.

“I think it’s shameful that slavery has not been examined very deeply in Brazil,” Verás said. “It’s a past that those in power want to forget. But this legacy for a part of the population that is still marginalised should not be forgotten.”

Baquaqua was sold to a baker who forced him to carry heavy stones on his head, then made him sell bread under threat of whipping. He attempted to run away, but also considered suicide or killing his master, before he was sold to a merchant in Rio de Janeiro who took him to the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

In 1847 he was on a ship carrying coffee when it docked in New York, shortly after the state had abolished slavery and emancipated its slaves.

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Liberated by a group of abolitionists, Baquaqua was spirited away on the underground railway – first to Haiti, then back to the US and finally to Canada, where he dictated his story to an Irish abolitionist, Samuel Moore, in 1854.

His last documented whereabouts were in the British port of Liverpool in 1857, where scholars believe he sought to find a ship to take him back to Africa.

While in the US slave narratives played a hugely important role in the abolitionist movement, external pressure – particularly from the British navy – was more significant in Brazil, which only ended slavery in 1888, becoming the last country in the western hemisphere to do so.

Although a fragment of Baquaqua’s story was published in a Brazilian academic journal in 1988, the full text has never been published in the country until now.

“Baquaqua’s story matters because it is one of the only surviving biographies of someone who was enslaved in Brazil,” Paul Lovejoy, a distinguished research professor at York University, said.

Project Baquaqua, due to go live on 30 November, is based on Lovejoy’s annotated English-language account, published in 2001.

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

Is it possible that this thread could become a wider black diaspora (outside of the U.S. and perhaps Canada because a lot of Canadians post on the Coli) thread?

 

[Yehuda]

UNESCO Names Colombia's Marimba Music 'Intangible Heritage'

The popular rhythms of marimba have been named an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. | Photo: EFE

Published 3 December 2015

Marimba music is a popular and important part of the culture for African communities in Ecuador’s and Colombia's Pacific coast.

The popular rhythms of marimba, a traditional instrument and music from Colombia and Ecuador, has been named an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations cultural organization known as UNESCO.

UNESCO made the announcement Wednesday, emphasizing that these musical expressions are part of the social fabric of African descendants of the South Pacific region in Colombia and the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador.

“Men and women of this community sing stories and poems, accompanying their performances with rhythmic body movements in various rituals, and religious or festive events to celebrate life, worship saints or the mourning of a deceased,” said the cultural organization a statement.

The marimba is a xylophone that is often made out of palm wood. However, the term also refers to a kind of musical genre. The most commonly known marimba style from Colombia's Pacific coast is called Currulao, which is frequent in social gatherings and is well known internationally. It also involves hypnotic chants and a traditional dance.

According to UNESCO, marimba music is “rooted in family and daily activities and the community as a whole is considered the bearer and practitioner, irrespective of age or gender. Elderly people play a crucial role in transmitting legends and stories from oral tradition, while music teachers oversee the transmission of musical knowledge to new generations.”

African communities in Colombia have long faced discrimination in the country. According to reports by the activist group Chao Racismo, these communities often face economic disparities, a large educational performance gap and major underrepresentation in politics.

Racism has continued to disadvantage the Afro-Colombian population, as evidenced by economic disparities, a large educational performance gap, and underrepresentation in politics.

They also face high “unemployment, high dropout rates, illiteracy, overcrowding, poor access to potable water, poor sanitation, child labor, and poor access to government services, among other things,” according to Colombia Reports.

UNESCO established its lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage in order to ensure better protection of important cultures and heritage worldwide, and raising awareness of their significance for local communities.

The announcement comes just one day after UNESCO announced that Colombia's Vallenato folk music is endangered because of the ongoing conflict.

IN DEPTH: The Colombian Peace Process Explained



UNESCO Names Colombia's Marimba Music 'Intangible Heritage'

 

[Jammer22]

Technology firm tTech prepares December IPO
BY AVIA COLLINDER Caribbean Business Report reporter collindera@jamaicaobserver.com

Friday, December 04, 2015

tTech has placed on offer up to 25,652,000 shares, inclusive of the 9,250,000 reserved shares at $2.50 per share. The offer will open on December 16 and close on the 18th.

The company has authorised shares numbering 106,000,000 of which 80,348,000 are already issued. The remainder are to be issued in the IPO.

Current shareholders are Charmaine and Edward Alexander with 51.1 per cent of shares, Hugh Allen with 10.94 per cent, Enqueue Limited with 18.98 per cent, and Auctus Holdings Inc with 18.98 per cent. Each will give up varying amounts of their shares to facilitate the current offer of 24 per cent of the company in the IPO.

The company says its intention is to use the proceeds of the public offering to inject additional working capital into its operations and to "allow it to effectively increase its productive capacity and, thereby, its service offerings and its ability to take on new business".

For the six months to June 2015, tTech saw revenues of $81 million and net profit of $9 million. Management says sales improved by 28 per cent, with net profit before tax growing by 23 per cent. The company's assets up to June were valued at $75.38 million.

The IPO will facilitate continued growth for the company by providing an injection of capital that will allow the company to further develop its managed IT services, particularly in the area of security, which has been identified as a service offer that will afford the company growth opportunities.

tTech also intends to pay the expenses associated with the invitation out of the fund-raising proceeds, estimating that the expenses in the invitation will not exceed $10 million.

tTech CEO Edward Alexander says that, if successful, tTech will be the first technology stock on the JSE, with managed IT services which are its core business and not a sideline.

"This means that members of the public will have the opportunity to participate in the future growth of the company as owners. This would mean sharing in the risks associated, but also benefiting from any appreciation in the value of the company's shares that ensue and also having the possibility of receiving a dividend once the company's profits allow," Alexander stated.

He also said that now staff will be able to participate in the company's ownership, another reason for wanting to go public.

tTech Limited was incorporated in Jamaica on December 1, 2006.

Currently its principal shareholders are Edward "Teddy" Alexander, Norman Chen, Christopher Reckord and Hugh Allen. The company has no parent company or subsidiaries. Its registered office and place of operation is 69 Harbour Street in Kingston.

''The main goals of the company are to help its clients to maximise value and minimise cost from their investments in information technology. These goals are achieved by providing services to manage customers' IT infrastructure cost effectively, freeing up their customers scarce IT resources to concentrate on managing their mission-critical business applications," Alexander told the Jamaica Observer.

Alexander says the company has successfully pursued its goals of helping businesses to "gain the benefits of economies of scale by spreading the costs of highly skilled IT personnel across multiple customers and companies.

"Since the skills required to manage infrastructure are generic and not business-specific," Alexander said, "companies can outsource the management of their IT infrastructure with access to more expertise than is available from their internal IT personnel."

Future strategic objectives for owners of tTech, he said, are to grow the security services portfolio and also provide services to assist customers to migrate from on-premises platforms to cloud-based platforms. This will allow customers to take advantage of the flexibility and lower cost of cloud-based platforms.

tTech also plans to increase consulting services in the areas of IT strategy business application selection and deployment, project management and business continuity planning, all of which are complementary to the services now provided by the company, Alexander said.

Alexander notes that the collective experience of the tTech technical services team is in excess of one hundred and fifty person years covering a broad range of technologies.

Currently, tTech's main service offering is the management of other businesses' IT infrastructure remotely and on a monthly, recurrent basis.

The technology firm earns its revenue from four business lines, including outsourced IT services. This includes server and network design and management, infrastructure monitoring, server virtualisation, and help desk/user support services.

Number two is PBX equipment and support services, under which tTech supplies, implements, manages and supports very cost-effective open-source, enterprise-class PBX telephone systems for its clients.

Third is managed security services, described by Alexander as a growing line of business with services that span the gamut of IT security, including security assessments, managing anti-virus and anti-spam systems, managing intrusion-detection systems, and security systems for protecting mobile devices.

Fourthly, tTech earns from cloud services, which include cloud/internet-based backup, Microsoft Office 365 migration and support.

Other services offered, the CEO said, are complementary to the main business lines or consulting services.

Alexander comments, "An important aspect of tTech is the intense focus the company places on customer service."

Alexander admits that a number of other IT companies in Jamaica are offering similar outsourcing services, but says "only tTech Limited offers IT outsourcing services as its core business", citing staff experience and the sole focus on IT outsourcing and managed services .


Read more: Jamaica Observer: Jamaican News Online – the Best of Jamaican Newspapers - JamaicaObserver.com

 

[Yehuda]

Jamaica Pay Gap Worsens, Women Earn 60% Of Male Salary

Published:Wednesday | December 9, 2015 | 12:00 AM Steven Jackson

Women in Jamaica earn 60 per cent of their male counterparts' pay, which, alongside other disparities, has contributed to the country's fall in the rankings to 65 in the Global Gender Gap Report 2015.

For every $100 made by a man in Jamaica, a woman earns around $60 on average.

The overall rank of 65 equates to one of the worst in the Caribbean. Barbados topped the region at 24, Cuba at 29 and Trinidad & Tobago at 46. Iceland led the list of 145 countries analysed in the report published late November by the World Economic Forum (WEFORUM), a non-aligned Europe-based intellectual group.

The average annual pay for women in Jamaica totalled US$6,730 (J$800,880) or 60.58 per cent of the US$11,109 ($1.3 million) earned by men. In the previous report for 2014, Jamaican women earned US$6,468 or around 60.25 per cent of the average US$10,735 earned by men. Wednesday Business could find no country among the 143 surveyed in the average-pay category, in which women earned the same as men. Even Iceland recorded women earning US$35,700, while men earned US$50,900.

The pay-gap report, now in its 10th edition, indicated that Jamaica continues to worsen from its peak ranking of 25 among 115 countries in 2006, then dipping to 52 in 2014, before free-falling this year.

"Jamaica has dropped 13 places on the 'Economic Participation and Opportunity' sub-index, mostly due to recently available data for the number of female legislators, senior officials and managers. It has closed the gender gap fully on health and survival and is the most-improved country of the region on this sub-index since 2006. It has also improved on political empowerment but is the region's least-improved country on economic participation and opportunity and on the overall Index," the report stated.

Jamaica scored low in the sub-rank of females in Parliament at 109. Additionally, it scored 25th in terms of the years in which the country has held a female head of state. While Jamaica has never had a female head of state, its head of government has twice been a woman - Portia Simpson Miller. However, the working definition of 'head of state' in the WEFORUM report includes prime ministers.

Interestingly, Jamaica scored the best in the world in the sub-rank index of females enrolled in tertiary education.

WEFORUM indicated that while most areas in the world saw a reduction in the gender gap over the last decade, the disparities in political empowerment remained the widest.

"The magnitude of national gender gaps is the combined result of various socioeconomic, policy and cultural variables. Governments thus have a leading role to play, as the closure or continuation of these gaps is intrinsically connected to the framework of national policies in place.

The Index does not seek to set priorities for countries, but rather to provide a comprehensive set of data and a clear method for tracking gaps on critical indicators, so that countries may set priorities within their own economic, political and cultural contexts.

In addition, governments must align their efforts with those of business and civil society to foster growth that includes both men and women," said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEFORUM, in the report's preface.

Jamaica pay gap worsens, women earn 60% of male salary

 

[BigMan]

"Head of state" is governor general which is a ceremonial position which doesnt mean shyt. Also females in Jamaica have a higher employement and higher business ownership rates too

 

[Yehuda]

Trinidad and Tobago 'officially in recession'

Saturday, December 05, 2015 | 10:52 AM

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Friday said that the oil-rich twin island Republic is “officially in a recession” after it failed to post any economic growth for any quarter of 2015.

Central Bank Governor, Jwala Rambarran, addressing the Fifth Monetary Policy Forum organised by the Downtown Owners and Merchants said the country is “facing austere economic circumstances.

“The economic priorities in 2016 must be aimed at supporting a firm enough recovery through appropriate monetary and fiscal policies, setting forth a medium-term framework which balances consuming, saving and investing energy wealth.”

He said that the appropriate monetary and fiscal policies could only come from the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance working together.

“We have no choice, we can and should work together to ensure we get the policies right for the country’s recovery. We will all be double damned if spite, vindictiveness and ego keep us from working together to help our country,” he added.

Rambarran said that the grim reality is Trinidad and Tobago is in a recession, stuck in a low growth cycle, vulnerable to further declines in energy prices and production.

He said the Central Bank’s short-term outlook for 2016 is for continued contraction of the Trinidad and Tobago economy, on the back of a further decline in the energy sector, which will compound sluggishness of the non-energy sector, the country’s external position to come under more pressure;

Central Government’s fiscal deficit to increase from what was budgeted; and public debt to rise as a result of more government borrowing to finance projects.

Rambarran told the Forum that since the release of the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Report in early June this year, “Trinidad and Tobago’s economic growth prospects remain subdued amid weak business and consumer confidence.

He said following a dismal first half of 2015, domestic economic activity was depressed in the third quarter of this year and similar weak economic conditions have prevailed so far into the fourth quarter of 2015.

“Four consecutive quarters of decline in real GDP (gross domestic product) in 2015 means Trinidad and Tobago is now officially in a recession,” he said, adding “what brought on this 2015 recession… should not come as a major surprise to many of us”.

Rambarran said prolonged supply disruptions in the energy sector in 2015 continued to result in sharp shortfalls of natural gas production which, in turn, adversely affected output of LNG (Liquefied natural gas) and petrochemicals, including methanol, ammonia, urea and iron and steel.

He told the Forum that lower energy prices also negatively impacted the domestic energy sector. This has already been reflected in job losses at some energy companies. The decision by Arcelor Mittal to idle its steel plant will not only affect energy output but also jobs, he said.

“The non-energy sector, which has kept the economy from veering off its already weak growth trajectory for the past few years, seems to have lost its momentum. Weakness has crept into key sectors such as distribution and construction, following a temporary pick-up in non-energy activity driven by spending in the run-up to the General Elections. The latest Business Confidence Survey suggests optimism waned among the local business community in the third quarter of 2015.”

Rambarran said that on this basis, Central Bank estimates the Trinidad and Tobago economy is likely to contract by 1.5 per cent this year, a reversal of the sluggish but still fairly decent growth of around one per cent in 2014.

“We expect the energy sector to contract by just over 3.5 per cent, while activity in the non-energy sector is expected to be flat in 2015.”

During the campaign for the September 7 general elections here, the Kamla Persad Bissessar-led People’s Partnership Government had denied any economic slowdown in the court and dismissed the then Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) of not having any plan to further improve the economy.

Rambarran said that the word recession “is not the kind of news you want to deliver to the country 19 days before Christmas.

“However, the economic events over the past year should have started sobering, even the most financially nonchalant among us,” he said, adding that the last time the country saw economic performance figures like these was in 2009, a recession which lasted all of one year.

Prior to that, the country experienced a severe recession for seven consecutive years from 1983 to 1989.

He said that the Central Bank’s proactive monetary policy stance is a “a clear example of damned if you do, double damned if you don’t.

“We always have to consider whether to act early or act later. Since September 2014, we started gradually increasing our policy interest rate.

“We believe we must act well in advance and as much as possible to help insulate the Trinidad and Tobago economy from the potential disruptive shocks we are expected to feel from rising US interest rates. Close linkages with the United States expose Trinidad and Tobago to fluctuations in US economic activity and changes in US monetary conditions.”

He said the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting this month agreed to raise the ‘Repo’ rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 per cent.

“Although this was the eighth consecutive hike in the Repo rate, the MPC still views the monetary policy stance to be accommodative. In fact, we are still far from reaching the neutral policy rate, which is considered neither too restrictive, nor too accommodative.”

He said that the most influential decision driving Central Bank’s monetary policy stance is the forthcoming normalisation of US monetary policy.

Rambarran said the US Federal Reserve has delayed the long-awaited increase in its policy interest rate, waiting until the US labour market shows continued strength accompanied by firm signs inflation is rising towards its medium-term target.

He said while there is still the possibility for the Fed’s first rate increase since June 2006 to occur before the end of 2015, market opinion remains somewhat divided on its exact timing.

“The Fed’s interest rate lift-off could lead to bouts of market turbulence and reversals of capital flow in emerging economies, at a time when global financial markets are already volatile owing to uncertainty over China’s growth prospects and falling commodity prices.

“The continuing challenge for monetary policy is to achieve a fine balance, let me stress, an extremely fine balance between insulating the Trinidad and Tobago economy from external shocks and not unduly undermining short-term growth.”

He said the MPC had considered delaying further increases to interest rates, adding, “this could give the Monetary Policy Committee room to reassess unfolding developments and avoid choking off a possible recovery in the non-energy sector.

“On the other hand, the MPC was of the opinion that delaying further increases to interest rates would require an even stronger monetary policy response in the future, with more severe consequences for short-term growth in the non-energy sector. In other words, move interest rates slow and steady, instead of a big bang.”

He said when the Central Bank started moving interest rates last September, the rate was at three per cent.

“What if we didn’t move then? In order to protect us now, we would have to raise interest rates by at least 100 basis points. Let’s say the Fed announces its rate increase in mid-December at its last meeting of the year, our MPC meets every two months and our next meeting would be at the end of January, two months after the Fed’s hike, and all the financial markets have reacted.

“We would be caught playing serious catch-up. Since our rate hikes take about six months to start working its way through the banking system, that means we could have been facing almost a nine-month lag between our increase and the Fed’s.”

The Central Bank governor said that there have been those who have not agreed with the Bank’s position, “a difference of opinion is healthy, but I say to those sitting on the sidelines, don’t be so quick to judge, damning us for our proactive monetary policy.

“Central banking is like perfectly balancing an orange on a pin’s head. It’s not impossible, just nearly. We of all people understand the implications of our decisions and what’s at stake. We are not nonchalant with our country’s economy.”

He warned that for Trinidad and Tobago, the timing and pace of increases in US interest rates have tremendous implications for portfolio capital outflows and foreign exchange demand, especially since returns on U.S. dollar asset remain more attractive than Trinidad and Tobago dollar assets.

“Higher domestic interest rates are necessary to enhance returns on TT$-denominated assets, helping to curb portfolio capital movements out of Trinidad and Tobago. Higher domestic interest rates are also necessary to discourage heavy consumer borrowing on imported consumer durables, which are a major source of foreign exchange demand.

“Higher interest rates are even more important to provide a lifeline to private pension funds and insurance companies whose investment portfolios have been under tremendous stress in the prolonged low interest rate environment.”

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