Higher oil prices help economy
In its first national budget presentation, the new Trinidad and Tobago coalition government has said that confidence is returning to the economy.
The country’s finances have been helped by higher than expected oil prices which Finance Minister Winston Dookeran said should lead to economic growth this year of 2.5%, following a 3.5% slump in 2009.
Dookeran told parliament that the improving climate accompanied by increased private sector and state investment can lead to even better things.
He said the potential for investment and capital formation in Trinidad and Tobago “could create an amount of (TT) $20 billion in this fiscal year”.
Coup inquiry date announced
The chairman of an inquiry into the 1990 coup attempt in Trinidad and Tobago has said that the commission would not engage in a witch-hunt. Sir David Simmons, a former Barbados Chief Justice, was speaking in Port of Spain after the enquiry panel was installed.
He said he hoped that the commission’s findings will help bring closure to an unsettling period in the country’s history.
The commission will begin public hearings on 2 November.
Liat and pilots hope for better relations
Liat says a new report by arbitrators has laid the basis for a new chapter in its often acrimonious relations with its pilots. The regional airline’s operations have been disrupted periodically by protracted industrial action by employees, the latest by pilots in June over pay and working practices.
A release from the carrier said it was working to implement the findings of a three-member arbitration panel on a new industrial agreement with the pilots’ union, Lialpa.
