quote:

Originally posted by Eric's_Revenge:
Tuesday 8th April, 2008


BGTT president:

Enough gas for all govt projects



Derek Hudson

da bald head guy looks almost like you!

He looks like any afro creole West Indian person, out of many we are one!

quote:

Originally posted by Eric's_Revenge:
He looks like any afro creole West Indian person, out of many we are one!

not everyone has that big round head like yours

PM: Master plan for south west peninsula

Louis B Homer



Tuesday, April 8th 2008(T&T Express)



In the midst of objections from various organisations to the construction of industrial estates along the south west peninsula, Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced yesterday a plan for the industrialisation of the entire area.

The plan includes the development of industrial estates, he said at the formal opening of the new Icacos Government Primary School.

Manning said: "We have now completed a master plan for the development of the southwest peninsula, which will bring this entire part of the country into the mainstream of modern development."

He said the plan envisages the development of the economic, social and physical infrastructure of the area, which will produce vast improvements in roads, bridges, water supply and other community projects.

As far as industrial estates were concerned, Manning said:

"Part of the vision is the establishment of industrial estates appropriately located along the entire south west coast of Trinidad, from Icacos to Point Lisas, with commercial activities which have particular pertinence to the resources and traditional activity of the area."

He singled out the development of the fishing industry, which will be helped with six new ports at strategic locations "at Cap de Ville, South and East Point Lisas, Brighton, Galeota and Moruga".

Manning said these would better enable the industrialisation process as well as the growth of greater global trade for Trinidad and Tobago.

"The ports will stimulate maritime activities as well as the consequential greater supervision of the area, and help in the fight against the illegal drugs and arms which now employs our presently largely unpatrolled coastlines for its pernicious activity," Manning said.

He said the new school replaces one that had become unsuitable for use since 1998 and the children were accommodated at two churches in the community.

He said a decision was taken by Government in 2003 to rebuild the school, and it became the first primary school to be delivered by the newly established Education Facilities Company.

Manning called on the teachers and parents to accept responsibility for the new school, so that the children would receive the maximum benefits from such an institution.

Govt leases 4 ferries for water taxi service


Ariti Jankie South Bureau



Wednesday, April 9th 2008(T&T Express)



After nearly a year of false starts, the San Fernando-Port of Spain water taxi service is at last underway.

Government has finally acquired four foreign used ferries for the service from Europe, it was learned.

The cost of the vessels was not disclosed, but they were said to coming from France. Each is said to be about five years old.

Works Minister Colm Imbert did not want to disclose much about the deal yesterday, but he admitted that "we are looking at the acquisition of four used vessels".

Imbert said the water taxi service will begin within a month of their arrival in Trinidad.

He said it would be "a week or so" before the deal was concluded and that, based on past experience, he was afraid to announce the formal acquisition of the vessels.

"I am virtually afraid to make a statement," he said, explaining that many problems had been encountered with owners and suppliers in the past few months.

He said, however, the four vessels would be used as an interim measure until new ones were acquired.

Imbert said a team of officials from the Work Ministry and National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) had recommended seven potential manufacturers and a choice would be made before ordering new vessels. "An order will be placed for four brand new vessels, which we hope to get in 15 months," he said.

Everything else has been put in place for the start of the water taxi service to operate the San Fernando to Port of Spain route.

In San Fernando, the harbour has been dredged and the finishing touches are being put to the temporary car park and walkway leading to the jetty.

Promising a state of the art facility, workers cleared 7,335 square metres of land at King's Wharf, San Fernando, where a car park was constructed on land leased from the Public Transport Service Corporation to the Ministry. The car park is made up of 260 parking bays, two security booths and a covered walkway between the mobile office and barge facilities.

The $98 million water taxi service was set to start in July last year and has been postponed on several occasions. Officials from the Ministry and Nidco had been searching for vessels in the US, Europe and Egypt and had gone as far as Indonesia, sources said.

Two weeks ago, Imbert announced that Government had approved $40 million for the acquisition of four new vessels to operate the water taxi service.

Trini Major Stephen Blizzard honoured



By ANGELA PIDDUCK Sunday, April 6 2008(T&T Newsday)



In honour of black history month, Canada’s Air Force pays tribute to Trinidadian, Major Stephen Blizzard, who despite the many challenges, climbed the ladder in the Canadian Forces and became a role model to all those around him. The 80 year old retiree lives in Ottawa with his wife Merle (nee La Borde).

Blizzard, who studied to be a veternarian in Scotland, practised in Trinidad before moving to Canada in 1958. where he practised for one year before entering the University of Western Ontario’s medical school, and there joined the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Programme to subsidize his studies.

“I spent my summers when I was off school on Bases” Blizzard told Jenn Gearey, a writer of Air Force Articles. “First I went to College Militaire in St Jean, Quebec, and then I was sent to Trenton, Ontario., My next position was at the National Defence Medical Centre (NDMC) in Ottawa, and was one of the first three students to work there.”

At that time, Blizzard was treading unchartered territory as a black man, both in medical school and in the Air Force, but didn’t think about it much because he says, “I was so busy studying but I remember being the only black guy in my class and one time a classmate asked me, ‘How do you feel being the only black guy in the school? I just laughed and said ‘As good as any and better than most!’ I can’t say I really struggled with it.” When Dr Blizzard graduated in 1963 and finished his medical internship at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, he went back to the NDMC and became the first resident in surgery there.

He spent two years at the Rockcliffe base in Ottawa and then was sent to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, as Base Surgeon.

Having already obtained a Canadian commercial pilot’s licence, Dr Blizzard started flying training on jets, in addition to his full time job as Base Surgeon and Flight Surgeon. It was the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life. “The medical staff was very proud of me but some instrcutors weren’t too happy. Here was this doctor doing the flying training part time and still keeping pace. But I worked hard; I did ground school on my own and studied in my office from two in the morning.”

And ultimately, in 1968, all of Maj Blizzard’s hard work paid off. “My Wings graduation day was the proudest moment of my life, it was December 13, 1968. I did my jet training on a Tutor and advanced jet training on a T-33. Shortly after, the T-33s were sent elsewhere and everybody got their Wings on the Tutor.” He was then sent to the Royal Canadian Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine in Toronto as deputy commander of the Central Aircrew Medical Board.

It was time to come home to Trinidad to pioneer aviation medicine in his country. After six years, in 1975, Major Blizzard rejoined the Canadian Forces, beginning a whirlwind of postings to Borden, Ontario; Goose Bay, Labrador; and North Bay, Ontario. In 1978, he was the first doctor on site in ‘Operation Magnet’, the first airlift of Vietnamese refugees coming to Canada from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. “We brought 604 to Canada “ he told Gearey.

Then came a posting in Egypt where he earned a United Nations Peacekeeping Medal, followed by one in England where he completed post graduate work in Aviation Medicine in 1980.

He returned to the Surgeon General’s office in Canada as the advisor in Aviation Medicine, and in 1981 was sent to Zimbabwe for three months as a Medical Advisor to the Zimbabwe Air Force. In 1983, Major Blizzard went back to emergency duties at NDMC and was deputy commander of the medical clinic at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa., which was home to him.

In retirement from the Forces, Major Blizzard worked in the Department of Civil Aviation Medicine for 12 years as a senior consultant in safety, and later became chief of the department. A highlight of his civil career was a trip to the Soviet Union in 1990 when he visited the city where cosmonauts, and now Western astronauts, train, and to another city where rockets are launched into space.

Major Steve Blizzard has accomplished an invaluable amount of work for Canada’s Aviation Medicine, and also internationally, in both military and civil capacity. His work on the effects of pilot fatigue, jet lag, and proper in flight patient care is among the most celebrated.

Saturday 12th April, 2008


Longer trading hours for stock exchange


…as depository receipts se tfor launch




Chairman and chief executive officer of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Osbourne Nurse, second from right; and CEO and General Manager of the T&T Stock Exchange, Wain Iton, right, are all smiles as they discuss the launch of the depository receipts programme with executives of the SEC. From left are, deputy general manager of the SEC, Charles de Silva, and
Susan Francois, legal counsel to the SEC.

Photo: Shirley Bahadur



BY VERNE BURNETT(Trinidad Guardian)



The T&T Stock Exchange (TTSE) is expected to lengthen its trading hours from July to facilitate the introduction of a new kind of security called depository receipts.

The TTSE trades from 9.30 am to noon five days a week.

At a seminar on Tuesday at Jaffar restaurant at the Queen’s Park Oval, Woodbrook, TTSE CEO and general manager Wain Iton said the exchange will have to extend trading until 4 pm to accommodate the trade in depository receipts.

The new security is expected to be launched in July.

Iton said the first depository receipts will be based on shares of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). He said RBC shares trade on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges where the trading hours are from 9.30 am to 4 pm.

Iton welcomed the extended trading hours on the local stock exchange. He said, “For me, that’s a good thing because we have to represent ourselves as a credible market, which is what the whole five day trading week is about.”

Just last week, the exchange began trading five days a week instead of only three.

Depository receipts are derivatives of stocks which are neither listed nor traded on the local stock exchange. Iton said since the foreign securities on which the depository receipts are based will be trading on exchanges which operate all day, then the local exchange will have to trade for the entire business day as well.

Iton was speaking at a seminar organised by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to introduce depository receipts to stockbrokers, and the institutional investing community.

Earlier, SEC chairman and CEO Osbourne Nurse opened the seminar by saying that the introduction of depository receipts was a consequence of the sale of RBTT to RBC. He said RBC had given a commitment to introduce depository receipts.

Nurse explained that in talks with executives of RBTT and RBC prior to the sale of the bank, the SEC had expressed concern about the implications of delisting the RBTT shares from the local stock exchange as intended by RBC.

He said RBTT shares represented 13-15 per cent of the stock market’s capitalisation and 25 per cent of the market capitalisation of the banking sector of the market.

He said the SEC felt it would have been too “traumatic” for the market to lose such a large share of its listing at once and asked RBC to replace the RBTT shares with some kind of security.

It was agreed that this would be done via depository receipts based on RBC shares.

Nurse said it was expected that the depository receipts to be issued by RBC would replace almost all of the market capitalisation to be lost by the delisting of the RBTT shares.

He suggested that Mittal Steel Point Lisas Limited could be the next company to take advantage of the depository receipt programme. He said there was a longstanding commitment by Mittal Steel to provide up to 40 per cent of the market value of its local operations to its employees and the local market.

Nurse said Mittal Steel depository receipts are heavily traded in New York and the SEC thought depository receipts would allow Mittal to fulfil its commitment “in a relatively painless way.”

He added, “We believe that this is an instrument which, if it were successful, would allow Trinidadians and ultimately people in the region, to have a real active participation in some of the industries that contribute so much to T&T’s gross domestic product (GDP) but which we can’t buy a share of easily.”

The SEC’s deputy general manager, Charles de Silva, said the introduction of depository receipts would allow local investors to diversify their portfolios.

He said the SEC would consider it a success if there were 12-20 depository receipt programmes in existence five years from now with the new instruments accounting for at least 10 per cent of total market capitalisation.

Thursday 10th April, 2008



Govt presses on with International Financial Centre



The buildings of the International Waterfront Centre, intended home of the International Financial Centre, under construction at Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.
Photo: Edison Boodoosingh



BY ASHA JAVEED(Trinidad Guardian)



Finance Minister Karen Nunez Tesheira is intensifying her pitch for the establishment of an International Financial Centre (IFC) in T&T.

She’s on high rotation these days, a week after a two day consultation with stakeholders at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad hotel, Dock Road, Port-of-Spain; her husky sound bytes are heard on the radio; she’s been on television talk shows and been quoted in newspaper interviews.

The recent formation of the Securities Dealers Association (SDA) appears to be a curtain-raiser for Nunez-Tesheira’s outing.

The tall, sophisticated, Dolce and Gabbana spectacled Nunez Tesheira is an ideal choice to convince the average person of the viability of IFC’s. Lecturing at Hugh Wooding Law School was her training ground for public speaking.

“There’s nothing quite as challenging as lecturing law students or people who already have an MBA,” she said with a smile.

The IFC is one of her top priorities, and key to the Government’s diversification strategy since she assumed her portfolio in December.

“The utilisation of our oil and gas revenue to build a modern, viable and competitive financial services sector represents an important public policy initiative in the same way in which the monetisation of gas reserves was utilised to transform the economy from oil-based to gas-based,” she said at the opening of the consultation.

It’s a topic she’s eager to reinforce.

“As the country continues to modernise and diversify, the financial sector has been playing an increasingly important role and since 2000 has been the fastest growing non energy sector at an average rate of 8.2 per cent over the period 2000 to 2007.

“It has outperformed the non-energy sector as a whole which grew at an average rate of 5.6 per cent over the same period. In 2007, the financial services sector contributed 13.5 per cent to GDP.”

Impressed by the statistics, she looked across at her marketing officer, Dominic Hinds, who sat in for this Business Guardian interview.

“Did you know that, Dominic?” she asked, almost to check if he was following the conversation. Caught off-guard, a smiling Hinds said yes.

A nod of the head and she quickly continued to outline the benefits of an IFC.

As Nunez-Tesheira tells it, these are the most obvious:

The creation of a sustainable, diversified economic model and its associated employment generation,

The management of front office operations,

The strengthening of the payments system,

the development of a secondary capital market,

the development of a depository receipts market,

increased access to capital for small businesses

the creation of a mini-city with integrated living and office accommodation

T&T’s main advantage is its location, which will assist in promoting a core business that consists of a regional “captive market.”

“These foreign earnings from the captive market will afford T&T the opportunity to determine how the funds are managed. This development could, in effect, lead to a secondary market providing much needed capital to small and micro enterprise; regional governments and larger companies that require funding at competitive rates; other investment management opportunities and international loans syndication.”

Seated in her office at the Eric Williams Financial Complex, formerly occupied by Conrad Enill, who has since moved to the Energy Ministry, Nunez-Tesheira talked fluidly about IFC’s around the world, particularly impressed by the models of Dublin and Dubai.

From a politicking MP for D’Abadie /O’Meara, its obvious that she’s grown into her role as Finance Minister. Although there’s sometimes the word she can’t place, which she assumes that the listener would pick up if they have been following the thought process, confidence has sharpened her delivery to one of authority.

She said that the conclusion of the conference left her with one resounding conviction: the need for self-belief.

All the countries which have successfully established IFCs talked about the challenges they encountered.

“There were so many challenges and there was someone who believed in it and made it happen. Because of technology, physical location does not matter. But what came out of the symposium is that people still like to do business in clusters, they like a physical location, somewhat of a mall.”

Why is T&T well-positioned?

“Well, we are certainly not coming from the back. We are not coming from that position. We are in a strong position.”

What are the things we have going for us?

“I am sure you know them,” she said, ticking them off one by one.

“Our foreign exchange reserve is about $6 billion; T&T is the bond issuance capital of the Caribbean; T&T controls about 85 to 88 per cent of the trade in the OECS territories; the coming on stream of a Caribbean Stock Exchange with one order book for trading; investment in Information Technology (IT); a Central Securities Depository is in place; every macro-economic indicator is excellent for T&T; political stability.”

She said the Financial Institutions Act and the Securities Industry Act will need to be tailored to the needs of the institutions raising funds on the international market.

“One of the things we are looking at and are excited about is the depository receipts. That is an exciting part.”

Symptoms of a developing nation

She said that the Royal Bank of Canada had committed to listing its shares by way of depository receipts on the T&T Stock Exchange (TTSE). A call which she also made to the energy majors of the country.

“We see the depository receipts as exciting. Against all competitors in the Caribbean, it sets us apart. With the Caribbean Stock Exchange coming on board, we see us being at the centre of depository receipts for the Caribbean. That’s a financial instrument that has so many pluses.”

She said a formal launch of the IFC is scheduled for Q308. The IFC will be housed in two 26 storey towers now under construction at the International Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

The Government’s optimism about T&T’s future as an International Financial Centre (IFC) is not concomitant with a reality of high food prices, crime, inflation and traffic congestion.

Oftentimes, these are known as symptoms of a developing country.

Yet, how can T&T forge ahead with a future as a regional hub of finance when these circumstances can affect the tenants of a sound financial centre?

It is argued that hours spent in traffic are a loss to productivity, that the country’s liquidity and high food prices are fuelling inflation and crime spirals despite efforts to curb it.

The emphasis is placed on the country’s economic strength, political stability, infrastructure, which includes roads and airlift and its business infrastructure: regulatory and tax infrastructure framework.

Yet, the IFC is being hailed as a diversification endeavor away from the country’s reliance on its energy industry.

“The IFC is supposed to be the replacement of oil and gas. It’s the story of diversification away from oil and gas,” said economist Jwala Rambarran, managing director of CAP-M Research.

He noted that while there are things that work in T&T’s favour, there are limiting factors. Rambarran worked on the position paper on the IFC which looked at how T&T could channel the funds that already flow between the North and South and mediate other significant flows between Russia, Mexico and even China.

“No one would want to work in Port-of-Spain when there are high levels of crime.”

Nunez-Tesheira pointed out that crime has not impacted on T&T’s expatriate community as the multinationals were still coming.

“I don’t want to minimise the impact of crime but what I am saying is that it has not stopped the foreign investment inflows or stopped people from coming. You have to look at the hard data.I don’t think, the data does not say that has stopped it. Inflows are still strong and expatriates are still coming without minimising its impact,” she told the Business Guardian.

As for inflation, Rambarran concluded that the issue was one of mismanagement of the economy.

“Macromanagement is important for an IFC. Why would a company opt to set up shop to manage other people’s money if you can’t manage your own economy?” he asked.

“The IFC supports a big expat population who are accustomed to a certain lifestyle. So you have to pitch the living standard to a metropolis level. So the physical infrastructure needs to be managed properly,” said Rambarran, with regard to the traffic congestion.

Nunez-Tesheira likened the food challenge to that of a global one.

“I think the food challenge is a challenge internationally. In America, what is their challenge? Credit crunch, rising unemployment and low consumer confidence. Those are their challenges. Does that mean that they are not a success?” she said.

She noted that the price for flour and oil was lower in T&T than the US and Canada.

“Do you know that? And people don’t recognise that,” she said.

“When you talk about food prices, as I said before, it can’t just be a discussion about food. It’s poverty. That’s what you are really talking about,” she said.

For Rambarran, the issue goes further.

“The social situation is going to impact on an IFC. The Government should not see it as a disconnect. We now have growth without development. We are growing fast but our economic growth has not translated into basic development,” he said.

The financial sector has been playing
an increasingly important role and since 2000 has been the fastest growing non-energy sector at an average rate of 8.2 per cent over the period 2000 to 2007.


Karen Nunez-Tesheira

Govt commits $190m to Phase 1 of railway project


Ria Taitt Political Editor



Saturday, April 12th 2008(T&T Express)



Picture
cheers! Transport Minister Colm Imbert, second left, raises a toast with officials after yesterday's signing ceremony for the contract of the Trinidad Rapid Rail Transit System at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann's. Also present were Gregory Duquesne, left, of Alstom Transport; Kaisha Ince, Nidco president; and Christian Gazaignes of Bouygues. -Photo: ANISTO ALVES



Government yesterday committed US$30 million (TT$190 million) in expenditure to Phase 1 of the Rapid Rail Transit System. A further US$42 million will be spent on the second portion of this phase, Works Minister Colm Imbert said yesterday.

Phase 1, which involves design and planning, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2009.

Speaking at the signing ceremony at the Hilton Trinidad, St Ann's, yesterday, Imbert said the contract provides a number of points at which Government has the discretion not to proceed.

However, in such a situation, it would not be able to recover any part of the committed costs of $190 million, which, he said, was "a small figure" in the context of the overall estimated capital costs of the project of US$1.2 billion (TT$7 billion).

The contract was signed between Government and Trinitrain, a consortium comprising Bouygues Construction, Alstom and RATP Development.

Imbert said the first geographical segment of the project the Port of Spain to St Joseph and to Chaguanas route could be operational within three years. He added that when the railway is fully operational by "2012 or 2013", it would have a capacity to move at least 100,000 people daily.

Imbert stated that the procurement exercise was "one of the most transparent in the world".

He said the contract had an anti-corruption clause and Government had no problem with making it public.

He said Government does not have an estimate for the cost of the land acquisition involved in the project.

"We have a ball park figure, which I would prefer not to disclose at this point in time," he said.

He noted that a railway did not take up much space, occupying ten to 11 metres in width, "far less than a road".

"We are going to try and minimise land acquisition but there were some areas where it is inevitable, especially where you come into Port of Spain and it is densely populated," he said.

He added Government may have to go overhead in some locations.

The contract is a design, build, operate and maintain (DBOM) contract, which means that the Consortium would operate and maintain the service for 15 years.

Stating that Government would set the fares, he said "obviously there would be some level of subsidy".

Geographical segments include a Diego Martin to Port of Spain route, Port of Spain to Arima, Arima to Sangre Grande and Curepe to San Fernando.

University launches consultancy company



Sunday, April 13th 2008(T&T Express)



The University of the West Indies (UWI) has launched UWI Consulting, a subsidiary which draws on the expertise at the University and provides advisory and capacity building services across the region and internationally.

Launched on March 5, UWI Consulting will focus on policy analysis and development, programme management and project implementation, governance and organisation management in a wide range of disciplines. The company will offer strategic advice, consultancy and related services on all aspects of management and innovation to businesses, government, international agencies and community organisations.

Carleen Gardner is the CEO of UWI Consulting, which has its headquarters in Castries, St. Lucia and offices at Mona (Jamaica), St. Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago) and Cave Hill (Barbados).

Professor E Nigel Harris, UWI Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of UWI Consulting said the establishment of the consulting company was consistent with the stated aim of the university "to be the first point of call for Caribbean businesses, governments and agencies that need in depth expertise and advice on management, planning and development issue."

"No other organisation knows the Caribbean so well, or is so well connected, or has done so much to influence its development," he noted at the lauch in Barbados.

Describing the University as the largest and most significant concentration of advanced knowledge and technical expertise in the Caribbean region, Professor Harris said that this resource would now be available to everyone who needed it.

"UWI has produced most of the region's prime ministers, has helped to shape the politics, culture and identity of the Caribbean and boasts thousands of graduates who are influential in every walk of life throughout the region and the Diaspora," he said.

International experts to discuss contract practices in Trinidad



Sunday, April 13th 2008(T&T Express)



A team of distinguished international experts on procurement contracts will be in Trinidad for discussions at an international conference in Port of Spain on May 5 and 6.

Sir William Francis, a former president of the UK Institution of Civil Engineers, will lead the team at the conference at the Amabassador Hotel on Procurement and Management of International EPC Contracts. Other members of the team will include Andrew Goddard, QC, who has appeared in many disputes referred to arbitration under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce; Dr Christopher, an engineer and barrister with the firm Elliot of Pitchill Consulting and Akbar Ali, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, attached to the international commercial law firm, AFA Law.

The conference comes in the wake of concerns expressed by the local industry over contract procedures and practices.

Organised by First Forum International Limited, a global leader in training and conferencing, a number of local speakers will also participate in the two day event which will bring together leading experts from the Caribbean and the international community of Caribbean based construction, infrastructure, gas and petro chemical industries.

With particular focus on large scale projects with international contractors, the conference will provide a comprehensive review of different types of contracts for project delivery from employer's design to turnkey EPC and hybrid forms. It will deal with the apportionment of risk, project management, claims, delay analysis and dispute resolution.

Passionate TT humanist had vision



Sunday, April 13 2008(T&T Newsday)



MELBOURNE: EVERY Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning for more than 30 years, a small, modest man carrying a black briefcase would enter the Beaurepaire Swimming Centre at Melbourne University, backstroke 20 laps before visiting the Victoria Market, and then take a bus home.

Neighbours who saw him come and go found him to be gentle and friendly, a good conversationalist who had once written a book or two.

Further afield, Ralph de Boissiere, who has died of kidney failure at home in North Balwyn, aged 100, was known as an outspoken opponent of racism, injustice, greed and corruption, a passionate humanist with a vision of a just society.

He was a powerful voice for the masses.

The identity by which Ralph recognised himself was that of a creative writer. As a young man in Trinidad, where he was born, he tuned in not only to the cadences and dialects of the people as he learned of their sufferings under colonialism, but to their intelligence, their aspirations and their amazing strength. In his teens, he had aspired to become a concert pianist but, discouraged by his family, he turned to his other passion, writing.

In the 1920s, he joined the emerging Beacon Group of writers in Trinidad and is now acknowledged as having been one of the founders of the West Indian literary tradition.

Ralph migrated to Australia in 1948 and worked at GMH in Melbourne and later, the Gas and Fuel Corporation.

He sought out people of like mind and joined the Communist Party from which he later resigned and the Realist Writers group. It became his habit to get up at 4.30am and write; he became the first published author of the Australasian Book Society with his novel Crown Jewel. The ABS also published his Rum and Coca-Cola (1956) and No Saddles for Kangaroos (1964). As well, his musical play Calypso Isle enjoyed a successful season in Melbourne in 1955.

In 1957, he was in a party of Australian writers who travelled to China and the Soviet Union, and the letters he wrote home during the visit gave a detailed and insightful account of those places at a time when they were largely closed to the West.

His novels were translated into eight other languages, but were not published in Britain or even the Caribbean until 1981, when Crown Jewel was met with rave reviews from Salman Rushdie and the New York Review of Books.

Ralph’s Tolstoyan breadth of vision he took a course in Russian at Melbourne University in order to read Tolstoy in the original and his respect for the strengths of women in times of crisis are among the traits for which he became noted.

He had left Trinidad because of the strict racial and social demarcations that governed society there and on arrival in Australia was stunned to find how different its practices were. Children at school still had to recite an oath of allegiance to Britain, but an astonishingly egalitarian climate prevailed.

On his first day at work on the assembly line at GMH, he almost ducked for cover when one of the workers looked up at the boss passing by and called him by his first name. “G’day, Harry,” replied the boss. “How’re your wife and kids?”

Ralph never lost the joy of finding that here, he was, after all, a man. This was the start of his becoming a genuine Australian, a pride he was describing again less than a week before he died.


Ralph de Boissiere...died in Australia.

The article forgot to mention he is also a cousin to Dr Eric Williams.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Eric's_Revenge,

Tourists still safe despite crime



Monday, April 14 2008(T&T Newsday)



Tourism Minister Joseph Ross said his Ministry has embarked on a programme to implement mechanisms to safeguard tourists and ensure they enjoy their stay while in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Ministry of Tourism’s role is to ensure TT is made as safe as possible for both visitors and residents, he said.

His comments came yesterday at the Second Annual Tourism Family Fun Day held at the Greens North of the Kayak Centre, Chaguaramas. Ross said that under his leadership for the past four months and a half, some of the measures put in place include the posting of security at the nation’s beaches and the move to advise and disseminate information on criminal activities in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ross expressed great confidence in his Ministry and the Government as he said that they are working closely to address the matter of spiralling crime.

“Rome was not built in a day,” he said. He explained that the Government is working arduously to put things in place to prepare a proper system where gang warfare and other forms of crime will become a thing of the past.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago In Coming Tour Operators’ Association Lorraine Pouchet explained that the day’s proceedings was geared towards exposing the variety of destinations and attractions available to the visiting public.

She said that the her contingent along with other arms of the Tourism Ministry are actively involved in a programme to promote the wonders of the islands to not only tourist, but also to those who live here.

She said that her greatest desire is for the people of TT to appreciate what they have at home. She added that the “uniqueness” of the people and the “combinations of cultures” were irreplaceable assets that Trinidad and Tobago possessed.

She said that although crime was prevalent it did not “drastically” change the local tourism industry, since crime is an international problem. She used Jamaica as an example, saying that although they have a high crime rate, tourist arrivals are consistent.

The inclement weather did not put a damper on yesterday’s itinerary as Ross accompanied other participants on tours throughout the Chaguaramas area.


Ross' Ride: Tourism Minister Joseph Ross gets some assistance from a cyclist as he gets ready to go on a bike trail at yesterday's Second Annual Tourism Family Fun Day held at the Greens North of the Kayak Centre, Chaguaramas.

GTL Plant to deliver cleaner diesel


first such commercial venture in Western Hemisphere



By Raffique Shah


picture and source
Wednesday, April 16th 2008(T&T Express Business section)



THE highly touted gas to liquids (GTL) plant at the Petrotrin refinery may be one year behind schedule in becoming operational. Its cost has risen from US$170 million to US$240 million. And the "new" plant is really an idle methanol plant from the USA that was scrapped, stripped and shipped to Pointe a Pierre, now re-assembled, and being fully refurbished and upgraded.

But World GTL (T'dad) Limited's chief operating officer, Carlos Contreras, who heads a team of 55 employees that is overseeing the construction and commissioning of the first such plant in the Western Hemisphere, is confident it will be a resounding success.

Speaking at his Marabella head office, Contreras, a former Energy Minister in Bolivia, said although the plant at Petrotrin was World GTL's first such venture, he was confident it will blaze a trail for many more similar projects as oil prices shoot through the roof, and demand for clean energy increases worldwide.

"In many ways, GTL is a fuel of the future," he told Business Express. "We expect to produce 2,200 barrels per day (bpd) of 'clean' diesel which will exceed current world standards. Our fuel will be sulphur free and carry a Cetane rating of 74, way higher than the 38-to-51 ratings of diesel currently being produced here from Nigerian crude."

GTL is not new technology it was developed in 1920 by two German scientists, after whom the Fischer Tropsch Synthesis process, which the local plant will use, was named. During World War II, when Hitler's armed forces were starved for fuel, its scientists were able to make diesel from coal using the Fischer Tropsch process.

And in the 1950s, when apartheid South Africa faced a world trade embargo, that country, too, developed and used diesel and paraffin, also made from coal. Today, GTL, which is cleaner than conventional fuel, is a synthetic liquid fuel derived from natural gas.

Speaking about delays in construction, Contreras said most energy sector projects worldwide had to contend with the few global firms that specialise in critical components for such plants being stretched beyond their limits. "Ours is not the only energy related project that suffered delays," he added. "But we were fortunate coming to a country that has a rich history and much experience in the oil, gas and downstream energy sector.

Besides 90 per cent of our staff for the planning and operational phases being nationals of this country, our main sub-contractors are local." He cited Damus, Weldfab and Insertech as the three main local contractors.

Ventech, a Houston, Texas company, specialises in dismantling old plants and reconstructing them, performed that role for World GTL.

"We now expect to start production in the last quarter of 2008," Contreras said. The locally-registered company that will run the plant is a joint venture between Petrotrin (49 per cent) and World GTL (51 per cent). During the construction phase the contractors employed up to 800 persons, many of whom are still on the job. When it becomes operational, its staffing will comprise around 100 persons.

In what way will this plant add to Petrotrin's profitability, seeing that the national oil company is the minority partner in the venture?

Contreras responded: "Oh, several. In the first instance, we shall buy all our feedstock (natural gas) from Petrotrin. As an added benefit, the plant will attempt to utilise gas from existing fields that are currently shut-in, or gas that is being flared or re-injected. So our daily requirements of 21 million cubic feet (mcf) will, in part, be met from gas that is not now being utilised.

The joint venture will then sell the 2,200 bpd of GTL to Petrotrin, to be blended at a ratio of at least 20 per cent GTL to 80 per cent regular diesel to meet superior emissions standards. Petrotrin then sells the finished diesel and makes even greater profits."

The premium diesel and paraffin coming out of the joint venture will fetch higher prices than what is now paid for low grade diesel. Petrotrin currently produces around 7,000 bpd of diesel. Paraffin numbers were not readily available, but Contreras pointed out that a derivative of this product (known locally as kerosene) is used as Jet A-1 fuel. "The potential is enormous," Contreras added. "Airbus, France's big aircraft manufacturer, is already experimenting with use of GTL fuels. And several motor vehicle companies have begun using the synthetic fuel."

In Qatar, which boasts of the largest proven gas reserves in the world (900tcf), several GTL plants are either on stream or under construction. Oryx GTL Ltd. was established in January 2003 as a joint venture company between Qatar Petroleum (51%) and South Africa's Sasol (49%). The design capacity of the project is 34,000 bpd of diesel. Qatar

Petroleum and Sasol/Chevron have signed a MOU for the Oryx expansion project that will support the planned increase in the output of the foundation plant to 100,000 bpd.

Shell's GTL is an integrated project which will develop about 1.6 billion cubic feet of gas to produce approximately 140,000 bpd of synthetic fuels and base oils. The project will be developed in two phases with the first phase operational in 2009. Sasol/Chevron submitted a proposal in July 2002 for an integrated upstream/downstream GTL project to produce 120,000 bpd of GTL product in two phases.

And to underscore his confidence in the synthetic fuel, Shell's country manager in Qatar, Andrew Brown, drives a GTL powered Audi sedan to show how the fuel burns quietly and without the smell of early forms of diesel. In fact, Shell V-Power Diesel is already available in parts of Europe. Other companies involved in GTL projects in Qatar are ExxonMobil, PetroCanada, Occidental and ConocoPhillips.

Reuters quoted Qatar Energy Minister, Abdullah al-Attiyah as saying: "It's time to take the genie out of the bottle. We want to be the capital of the world for this new age of fuels."

GTL holds immense potential. Its fuels can be made from any hydrocarbon gas, coal, factory sludge and carbon, according to one industry source. Global production potential stands at 27 million bpd. Global oil consumption stands at around 80 million bpd. Its other attributes, says World GTL, are:

GTL fuel is a synthetic fuel, produced from natural gas by chemical transformation.

GTL fuel can be made from any hydrocarbon - gas, coal, factory sludge, even garbage - the daily supply of which could create 27 million barrels of GTL fuel each day.

GTL fuel is clean: it is non-toxic, biodegradable, and does not contain nitrogen or sulfur.

GTL Diesel is pollution free with no sulfur, aromatics, or toxic ingredients so pure that one can even drink it; it's simply hydrogen and carbon.

Blending just 20 per cent GTL diesel with conventional diesel results in a fuel that exceeds nearly all international environmental standards for 2015.

The technologies to manufacture GTL gasoline and diesel refining crude oil and to distribute them to end users through pipelines, road and rail tankers are well known, cost effective, and largely in place, making GTL a realizable alternative fuel option.

World GTL will be the first GTL producer in the Western Hemisphere, further reducing many travel costs and inconveniences.

World GTL owns a patented process for converting idle methanol reactors into GTL plants, which will bring a refinery online sooner.

According to a 2006 industry report, worldwide, gas to liquids production is set to grow rapidly over the next decade. "It joins fuel sources like bitumen, which is mined in vast open pit operations in Canada, and ethanol, which is widely consumed in sugar cane rich Brazil, in easing reliance on crude oil for transportation. A small experimental plant also exists in Ponca City, Oklahoma, though gas to liquids production in the United States is likelier to one day come from coal since the nation's natural gas is expensive and in short supply."

Malaysia (where Shell's first pilot GTL plant was commissioned) and Qatar are not the only countries in the race to corner the old-new technology for cleaner transportation fuels.

Reuters reported: "Qatar is not alone in what may be the largest multinational experiment with alternative fuels. Chevron is building another US$3 billion complex in Nigeria to produce 34,000 barrels a day. Syntroleum, an Oklahoma company, is attempting to advance similar ventures in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, while in Algeria, companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil of Norway and Sasol of South Africa are vying for a project focused on that country's Tinhert gas field. Energy companies are also targeting gas rich nations such as Australia, Iran, Egypt and Trinidad and Tobago for projects."

Reuters reported: "Qatar is not alone in what may be the largest multinational experiment with alternative fuels. Chevron is building another US$3 billion complex in Nigeria to produce 34,000 barrels a day. Syntroleum, an Oklahoma company, is attempting to advance similar ventures in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, while in Algeria, companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil of Norway and Sasol of South Africa are vying for a project focused on that country's Tinhert gas field. Energy companies are also targeting gas rich nations such as Australia, Iran, Egypt and Trinidad and Tobago for projects."

On the prospects of more GTL plants being constructed here, World GTL says: "We would like there to be additional plants based on the success of this plant. The development of this industry would give an additional diversification for natural gas use in Trinidad. World GTL (Trinidad) Limited was formed by Petrotrin and World GTL to build and operate this plant and to develop additional GTL projects. So we hope those additional plants will be WGTL projects."

The company adds: "With investment in GTL, almost all the value added is in Trinidad. GTL produces products that are needed and used by the local or regional market. GTL diesel reduces the emissions from diesel fuelled trucks, buses and cars. With LNG, only a portion of the value added is in Trinidad as there are significant investments required to transport and re-gasify LNG."