Port of Spain

Trini Dispatch: De Fair Trading Commission Still Not Working, New Mortgages From TTMB, and an MP Opens a Gym While Nurses Continue to Leave

Saturday morning, Port of Spain. Trini Dispatch here, trying to sort the week into something that looks like a pattern. It mostly does not form one. I shall present the items as they come.

The Fair Trading Commission, Still Absent

Dr. Ronald Ramkissoon, former chairman of the Fair Trading Commission and an economist of considerable standing, has issued a public warning that calls are now intensifying for the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism to urgently restore the Commission to operational status.

Trini Dispatch: The Procurement Regulator Got Up, the HDC Got Halted, Thirteen More Detentions, and the Finance Bill Brings a Gift

Good morning from Port of Spain. Trini Dispatch here, reporting from a country where, as of this week, we are forty-five days into a State of Emergency and the strangest part is that most people have forgotten.

Let’s see what’s in the tray.

The HDC Contracts: $3.4 Billion, Paused

The Office of the Procurement Regulator has halted the award of $3.4 billion in Housing Development Corporation contracts to eleven companies. The halt came hours after a Government minister appeared on television to explain that the process was thorough, appropriate, and beyond reproach.