- 4 June, 2025
How kneejerk governance led to shutdown of $220 m export trade
THE misguided ban on the exportation of scrap iron is a dramatic example of what is wrong with Trinidad and Tobago’s governance.
Small shops collapse and Govt plans Independence fete as…
PUBLICLY-TRADED companies have begun publishing their first post-pandemic financial reports. And the fiscal records tell a startling story of major corporations earning even larger profits, in the process fattening the pockets of elite shareholders.
FOR SALE: CITY PORT, WITH NO PROCUREMENT LAW
Could Chinese takeover make T&T another Si Lanka?
WITH Parliament in its mid-year recess, the Government is moving ahead with privatisation of the port of Port of Spain, without procurement regulations in place.
THE COMING FOOD CRISIS
The heads of the Group of 7 – the largest economies in the world – this week warned that famine, extreme starvation and hunger are looming in several parts of the world, including possibly the Caribbean.
Brace for recession and price hikes in all food staples…
THE WORST IS YET TO COME, PRICES of virtually all food staples are set to skyrocket in upcoming months.
T&T’S POVERTY CRISIS
MORE than 300,000 people in Trinidad and Tobago cannot afford to put three meals on the table each day. Some go several days without a proper meal.
ONLINE PETITIONS FOR ECONOMISTS
THE launch of an online petition by an economist who had previously protested her political neutrality suggests that these professionals have a lot of time on their hands.
IMBERT’S BUDGET OF PIGTAIL, BUT NO DIVERSIFICATION
FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert clearly saw his 220-minute budget address as a reason to rejoice.
But there were no glad tidings in Imbert’s 2021-2020 financial package for those who expected a reset of the national economy.
For yet another year, the Finance Minister did not present proposals for weaning the economy away from the faltering oil and gas sector.
WHAT ABOUT FOREX SHORTAGE?
FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert made no mention of the crippling foreign exchange shortage in his Budget address, even as importers are paying up to 30 per cent more on the black market.
The bootleg sale of foreign exchange is a crucial factor in the higher cost of imported consumer items.
The government has not dealt with the shortage and allegations of a lack of equity in the disbursement of the limited supply.
MIA MOTTLEY MOVES IN AS IMBERT IGNORES GUYANA
WHILE Finance Minister Colm Imbert was talking about the depressed state of the national economy, two Caricom leaders were actively collaborating on investments.
Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley hosted Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali to discuss “an expanded programme of cooperation” aimed at “cutting through bureaucracy to achieve their objectives within the shortest possible time…”
