Morning Edition: 23rd January 2024

CCNTV6

Watch Morning Edition: 23rd January 2024 - CCNTV6 on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00:00 ♪ No say nothing if you don't know nothing ♪

00:00:03 ♪ What you talking about ♪

00:00:04 ♪ No say nothing if you don't know nothing ♪

00:00:07 ♪ What you talking about ♪

00:00:08 ♪ No say nothing if you don't know nothing ♪

00:00:11 ♪ Like you're hiding it all ♪

00:00:13 - And a very special good morning Trinidad

00:00:15 to big one Marlon Hopkinson.

00:00:16 As always, welcome to the morning edition.

00:00:18 It's January 23rd, 2024.

00:00:21 Yeah, we're heading to the end of this month.

00:00:23 You know, I know that some of you all

00:00:26 have not received a salary since when, boy?

00:00:29 At the end of December, yeah?

00:00:31 So some of you all are liking that we are ending the,

00:00:36 coming to the end of January.

00:00:37 Someone is saying, "What, we getting early this month?"

00:00:40 We are, (laughs)

00:00:41 what?

00:00:42 All right, very, very good for you.

00:00:44 Listen, I like the weather that we have been getting,

00:00:49 but from what I understand right now,

00:00:52 there is a major accident on the Betham Highway.

00:00:55 I'm seeing that being plastered all over social media.

00:00:59 It's a serious situation, all right?

00:01:01 So if you can use another route to get into Port of Spain,

00:01:04 well, do that, because I understand

00:01:06 that there is bumper to bumper traffic

00:01:09 on the Betham Estate right now, all right?

00:01:12 So again, you all have to be very, very careful.

00:01:15 All of us have to be very, very careful on these wet roads.

00:01:18 We got some rain this morning, yeah?

00:01:22 So Port of Spain was very cool in temperature this morning,

00:01:25 puddles of water all over the place,

00:01:27 and on the Betham too, it was very, very wet.

00:01:32 So it's really sad news this morning that it's a,

00:01:36 I have some information coming in,

00:01:38 but it's preliminary information,

00:01:40 and you know how things change, all right?

00:01:42 But we understand that there is a fatality, all right?

00:01:45 So again, if you can use another route

00:01:47 to get into Port of Spain, look at that option, all right?

00:01:52 Let's see what's happening

00:01:52 in the Express newspaper this morning.

00:01:56 All right, on the front page this morning,

00:01:58 Lisa lashes back.

00:02:01 Cyber breach, fired TSD CEO denies misleading Gonzalez

00:02:05 after current CEO blames her.

00:02:08 Wow, there's a tit for tat happening right now

00:02:10 between former CEO and the CEO,

00:02:13 and paria diving tragedy.

00:02:15 Attorney wants $5 million ex gratia payments

00:02:20 for each family.

00:02:22 And energy approval process too slow,

00:02:24 Rowley blames slothful trinnies, slothful trinnies.

00:02:29 Yeah, that's a very interesting story.

00:02:32 I can't wait to read it, right?

00:02:33 I'll get into that,

00:02:36 and we are going to get into that sometime this morning.

00:02:39 All right, so it's time to remind you.

00:02:42 Oh, we do have sport.

00:02:44 Sorry about that, we do have sport.

00:02:45 Non-starter bravo,

00:02:50 better to miss early games of four day championship.

00:02:55 Darren Bravo will not be part

00:02:56 of the Trinidad and Tobago squad

00:02:57 for the start of the West Indies championship in February.

00:03:01 This was confirmed by head coach David Furlong

00:03:03 as he responded to questions about Bravo's absence

00:03:07 from a team's training session

00:03:08 at the National Cricket Center in Balmain, Cuva yesterday.

00:03:12 Still so much controversy concerning cricket.

00:03:16 Why is that?

00:03:18 Why is cricket always in Bacchanal?

00:03:20 Why is football always in Bacchanal?

00:03:23 Why is sport always in Bacchanal?

00:03:26 Yeah, you need to send people on some leadership seminars.

00:03:30 What do you think?

00:03:31 Yeah, and management seminars.

00:03:33 It's time to remind you about Trinbago, your nice feature.

00:03:36 To participate, WhatsApp your videos or images

00:03:38 to 737-377-8880.

00:03:41 We do have this for you.

00:03:42 Yeah, beautiful picture.

00:03:45 Is that bird perched on a bougainvillea?

00:03:48 I believe I'm right here.

00:03:50 I believe that's a bougainvillea.

00:03:52 And that picture comes from Anjali, all right?

00:03:59 You know Anjali very well.

00:04:01 Yes, producer, our viewers know Anjali very well.

00:04:05 She provides a lot of pictures to us.

00:04:08 Anjali, a very special good morning to you, all right?

00:04:11 And again, we like when you're sending your pictures,

00:04:14 you can put your name so that we can say

00:04:16 a very special good morning to you

00:04:18 'cause we do appreciate it, all right?

00:04:20 So we do have a lot for you on the program today.

00:04:23 Be careful on those roads again

00:04:25 when you're heading down into Port of Spain.

00:04:28 And whatever road you're on this morning,

00:04:30 be very, very careful.

00:04:32 Slow down.

00:04:33 You don't have to be over the speed limit

00:04:36 trying to get to wherever this morning

00:04:39 because if you get in the accident,

00:04:41 you're going to be late, okay?

00:04:43 So you have your coffee.

00:04:44 You have your tea.

00:04:45 It's a good morning for coffee and tea

00:04:46 because it's a bit chilly this morning, yeah?

00:04:48 Get something to eat.

00:04:49 We do have a very interesting program for you today.

00:04:52 We're coming back.

00:04:53 - Nature's way it's alive.

00:05:04 Kids gummies are multivitamin gummies

00:05:06 meant to support the development of children's bodies

00:05:08 like their bones, muscles, joints, brain, heart,

00:05:12 and also their immune health.

00:05:14 Choose alive kids gummies by nature's way

00:05:16 because they deserve it.

00:05:43 - "Beyond the Tape," weekdays at 5.30 p.m.

00:05:46 - Shut up!

00:05:58 I've had enough of all of you.

00:06:01 You ungrateful.

00:06:02 - I've had enough of you.

00:06:03 You took us from our countries

00:06:04 and now false pretends have us working day and night

00:06:07 like slaves and expect us to be grateful?

00:06:10 You promised us $15 an hour

00:06:11 and you pay us much less than that.

00:06:12 And now you want to take our money from us

00:06:14 with poor salaries?

00:06:15 Just allow us to leave.

00:06:22 - Please, give us our passports and allow us to leave.

00:06:25 - You can feel our things are free to leave.

00:06:30 If you step one foot out of here,

00:06:34 I will cede that immigration sends you back

00:06:37 to whatever hell you came from.

00:06:40 - If you know of or suspect human trafficking activity,

00:06:45 call the counter-trafficking hotline at 800-4CTU

00:06:49 or 800-4288.

00:06:52 Human trafficking is a crime.

00:06:53 Identify it, report it, stop it.

00:06:57 A message from the Counter-Trafficking Unit

00:06:59 of the Ministry of National Security.

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00:08:01 - 2024, The Coronation.

00:08:04 ♪ I'll be gone till Monday ♪

00:08:07 - They said that vaping is safer than smoking cigarettes.

00:08:16 - They said it has no health risks.

00:08:18 - They even said that it's just like water.

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00:08:36 (upbeat music)

00:08:44 ♪ I've been on a cruise ♪

00:08:45 ♪ Sometimes I've been shunned out together ♪

00:08:47 ♪ No place I'd rather be ♪

00:08:49 ♪ Shunned out together ♪

00:08:50 ♪ Right now is a hell of a day ♪

00:08:52 ♪ Shunned out together ♪

00:08:53 ♪ Sometimes I'm on the way ♪

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00:08:58 ♪ That I can't sleep ♪

00:09:00 ♪ I'm stressing all the time ♪

00:09:01 ♪ I can't stop me ♪

00:09:03 ♪ 'Cause I'm always on the grind ♪

00:09:05 - All right, so welcome back, everyone,

00:09:07 on this wet and cool day in Porto, Spain.

00:09:11 Again, there is an accident on the Bithumb Highway,

00:09:15 so I would have told you about that a little earlier.

00:09:18 So if you have to get into Porto, Spain,

00:09:20 other routes may be the best option for you

00:09:24 in trying to get to work this morning

00:09:26 or trying to get to school in Porto, Spain, all right?

00:09:30 So as you know, an energy conference is underway, all right?

00:09:35 So this morning, we are speaking with Javed Razak,

00:09:38 VP, Shared Services at Ramps Logistics Limited

00:09:41 and Eldorado Offshore about the ongoing conference, yeah?

00:09:46 So this year's theme is Accelerating Action.

00:09:50 Good morning, Javed.

00:09:51 Hello, Javed, are you hearing me?

00:09:55 All right, Javed seems to be having

00:10:00 some difficulty in hearing me.

00:10:02 You all could we address that?

00:10:05 And we'll get back to Javed, all right?

00:10:06 So tell me when Javed is ready.

00:10:08 So let's, yeah, I think we have Javed now.

00:10:11 Javed, good morning.

00:10:12 - Hi, morning, how are you?

00:10:14 - I'm good, I'm good, Javed.

00:10:15 Always good to speak with you.

00:10:17 Javed, as we look to see what's happening

00:10:21 at the energy conference,

00:10:23 as we discuss the energy sector again,

00:10:30 is there any concern for you and your company

00:10:36 as you go into here,

00:10:38 what's happening at this energy conference?

00:10:41 Do you have any concerns?

00:10:43 Is there anything really that you'd like to raise

00:10:48 in a holistic way as it relates to energy

00:10:51 in Trinidad and Tobago and the environment?

00:10:54 - Yeah, I think that, I mean,

00:10:58 one of the things that the services sector

00:11:01 really needs to understand is that

00:11:04 there's a difficulty with a lot of transparency

00:11:08 in the energy sector in TRT

00:11:10 in terms of what's the upcoming plans,

00:11:14 what are the current activities,

00:11:17 who's doing what.

00:11:20 The services sector needs to understand that

00:11:21 to know how to prepare what they should be planning

00:11:25 to tender on, what they should be,

00:11:28 how they should be splitting resources,

00:11:30 what the opportunities are.

00:11:32 And for a long time in Trinidad,

00:11:33 I feel like that's the norm.

00:11:37 But we compare to what happened in Guyana

00:11:39 where there is extreme transparency of public information.

00:11:43 I mean, you could check the new sites there

00:11:47 as compared to us.

00:11:48 And yeah, they have a lot of activity

00:11:50 because of the development there,

00:11:51 but everything is published, everything is known.

00:11:54 Companies are already open about what they're doing.

00:11:56 And in Trinidad, you feel like

00:11:58 you have to go to one of these conferences

00:11:59 to find out a little bit of information.

00:12:02 - But what is the reason for that, Javed?

00:12:03 What's the reason for it?

00:12:05 - There's become a culture in TNT

00:12:08 where everything and companies believe

00:12:10 and even people believe,

00:12:11 and even regulators believe

00:12:12 that everything is confidential for some reason.

00:12:15 And the majority of the information is not.

00:12:17 I think it's been, there are very few operators here.

00:12:22 I think there's become a habit over the years.

00:12:24 I think it's time is local content development as well

00:12:29 because when local companies don't know what's going on,

00:12:32 it's very difficult for them to participate.

00:12:34 - Yeah, I think that what you're speaking about there,

00:12:38 if there is no transparency and there is no,

00:12:41 let's say, roadmap as to how you move forward,

00:12:44 then how do companies prepare

00:12:46 for what is to come in the future?

00:12:48 - Yes, exactly.

00:12:50 Exactly so, right?

00:12:51 I mean, there is information,

00:12:54 but it's not nearly as open as it should be.

00:12:58 I really think the Ministry of Energy as a regulator

00:13:02 should make it a point that all tenders,

00:13:06 all contracts must be advertised on their website

00:13:10 from all these different companies,

00:13:13 that it should be published there,

00:13:15 it should be accessible by any of the companies.

00:13:18 At least the information should be there.

00:13:19 There should be lookaheads

00:13:20 in terms of what's coming next, what's upcoming.

00:13:23 And of course, there are certain projects

00:13:25 that may not be certain.

00:13:27 There might be some variation as things change.

00:13:30 Could imagine things like the Dragon Project and so on,

00:13:32 the timelines and so on are uncertain.

00:13:34 So you don't expect those things to necessarily be there yet

00:13:37 but there are a lot of projects in the pipeline.

00:13:39 So that would also help the sector

00:13:45 to feel a sense of optimism more often.

00:13:50 - But how does this affect a company such as yours

00:13:55 if there is no transparency, there is a lack of information,

00:13:59 there is a level of difficulty in doing business?

00:14:02 How does that impact a company such as yours?

00:14:05 - So for example, I'll tell you how it works

00:14:09 with the business sector.

00:14:10 You have to be pre-qualified

00:14:11 to work for different entities, right?

00:14:15 Whether it's at the operator level

00:14:16 or at the major contractor level.

00:14:18 So companies like us have to form

00:14:21 our business relationships with these companies.

00:14:24 Get into the pre-qualification process

00:14:26 which is where you show them all the information,

00:14:28 all your certifications, experience and so on,

00:14:31 that HSE, there's a lot of different areas out there.

00:14:34 And then when tenders come out,

00:14:36 you should be invited directly from these companies, right?

00:14:40 Now it takes a lot of effort and resources

00:14:42 for companies like ourselves to get to that point.

00:14:44 And there are a lot of smaller service companies

00:14:47 that are not in that position to do so

00:14:49 and they're not necessarily in the loop.

00:14:52 And even ourselves sometimes are not invited

00:14:54 to different tendering processes.

00:14:57 Sometimes we wonder if there are tendering processes

00:14:59 or they are so selected and so on.

00:15:01 And that may be warranted in some cases,

00:15:05 but majority of the work that's being done

00:15:07 should be advertised and it should be advertised

00:15:10 at least locally.

00:15:11 - Yeah, and I think Javed,

00:15:14 and I think that you will tell us just now,

00:15:16 but I think that you're agreeing

00:15:17 with what the Prime Minister said yesterday.

00:15:18 He said that he has attributed the slow approval process

00:15:23 for getting energy projects off the ground

00:15:25 in Trinidad and Tobago

00:15:26 to workers' cultural lackadaisical approach

00:15:29 and slothfulness.

00:15:31 Rowley responded, "One of the things that we have to accept

00:15:33 "is our cultural lackadaisical approach,

00:15:36 "never to be hurried to do something on Monday

00:15:39 "if it can be done on Friday.

00:15:41 "And of course, don't do it on Friday

00:15:43 "if you can do it on Monday.

00:15:45 "Those things have far reaching consequences

00:15:47 "where the decisions are in fact required to start engines."

00:15:52 So I suspect what he's also calling for

00:15:55 is a re-engineering, if I can say that, of the system.

00:15:59 - Yeah, I mean, in the energy sector,

00:16:02 I mean, of course, in all the industries in the country,

00:16:04 but that's specifically talking about the energy sector.

00:16:06 You have a multitude of government agencies

00:16:09 that are required to, you have to work with

00:16:12 and get some level of permissions and so on from, right?

00:16:15 The Ministry of Energy, of course, is a major regulator,

00:16:17 but there are quite a lot of others

00:16:18 that are involved in different processes,

00:16:20 from customs, immigration, the EME, and so on and so on.

00:16:25 And all these entities function, obviously, on their own.

00:16:29 Sometimes they feel like they are all in silos.

00:16:31 And a lot of the companies who are applying to do projects

00:16:35 find that they have so many different barriers

00:16:38 to pass through, and they feel like every entity

00:16:41 is on a different page sometimes from each other.

00:16:43 So when you talk to some of the smaller

00:16:44 onshore companies as well, they'll tell you,

00:16:46 I mean, we spoke about it quite openly yesterday,

00:16:48 that even if they get through with one entity,

00:16:51 the others are very slow to move

00:16:53 and they can't understand why.

00:16:55 And I think that's what the Prime Minister was referring to.

00:16:59 I really think it's time that, I mean,

00:17:02 we speak about this all the time,

00:17:03 so it's not new information,

00:17:04 it's nothing new that we're seeing.

00:17:06 There is a culture of moving pretty slowly sometimes,

00:17:10 and I feel like it requires some direct leadership.

00:17:13 Sometimes it requires somebody to take your aims

00:17:17 and say, "Yeah, we're gonna make this process simpler."

00:17:19 Right, I mean, that could apply to anything in TNT

00:17:21 when it comes to doing business.

00:17:23 - Yeah, because we have heard business people

00:17:27 speak about this disconnect between certain departments,

00:17:31 and you did allude to the fact that you believe

00:17:33 that some organizations are really working in silos.

00:17:38 And if you get approvals here,

00:17:40 you may not get approvals there.

00:17:42 And there is this long delay.

00:17:45 But Javed, how do we correct this situation?

00:17:47 - I think, so like the Prime Minister mentioned this,

00:17:51 and we've always heard him speaking about collaboration,

00:17:54 right, better collaboration here and so on.

00:17:57 I think one of the things that we haven't done

00:18:00 is pinpoint exactly where and who, right?

00:18:03 So sometimes there's a lack of wanting to speak

00:18:07 about what entities we need to collaborate with

00:18:10 because we don't want to offend anyone, right?

00:18:12 But it's not just the entities.

00:18:14 There are individuals in each one of these state entities

00:18:18 that are in charge or that are part of the,

00:18:21 a critical part of the processes, right?

00:18:23 And I think, you know, at the energy team level,

00:18:25 which is, you know, they are their own hosts in the conference,

00:18:28 that we need to be able to identify

00:18:30 not just the entities but the actual persons

00:18:32 who may be either willingly or unwillingly

00:18:36 keeping back progress sometimes.

00:18:37 And actually let's sit down with all these persons,

00:18:41 let's sit down with all these persons at the chamber level,

00:18:44 with the reps from the government,

00:18:46 with the reps from the companies and sector and so on,

00:18:49 and actually have a discussion

00:18:50 on how we can move forward here.

00:18:51 Sometimes just not knowing who you're dealing with

00:18:54 is part of the challenge, yeah.

00:18:57 - Yeah, so there's a level of difficulty.

00:19:00 Javed, before we move on, let's look back a bit.

00:19:03 We have come to the end of 2023.

00:19:05 We're in the, we're ending,

00:19:10 we're coming to the end of the first month in 2024.

00:19:13 As you look back on 2023, how was that year

00:19:17 for let's say the stakeholders in the energy industry?

00:19:21 And as we enter 2024, what are you all looking forward to?

00:19:25 - So, I mean, the activity level in the country

00:19:29 has gone through a significant decline

00:19:32 since maybe within the last 10 years, right?

00:19:35 We've seen increase in activity levels

00:19:38 in the last year or so.

00:19:40 Again, I just have an easy example.

00:19:43 There are two rigs drilling offshore,

00:19:45 one for EUG and one for BP right now.

00:19:47 They should be here for at least a year, maybe more.

00:19:51 There, I mean, the biggest positive news

00:19:54 that we've all heard about in the last recent months

00:19:56 has been the developments on cross-border gas

00:19:59 between Trinidad and Venezuela, the Dragon, Manatee,

00:20:02 the potential that the Loran part of that Manatee field

00:20:05 could be accessed later on.

00:20:07 There's progressive discussion on the deep water gas

00:20:10 that Woodside has.

00:20:11 So those are the projects that we see in the pipeline, right?

00:20:15 There was a graph shown yesterday that put these,

00:20:17 that put, that showed the gas supply and demand,

00:20:21 and these gas supply projections.

00:20:23 And it showed that over the next three years,

00:20:25 we're going to go into probably the lowest gas production

00:20:27 we've ever seen in the country.

00:20:29 And after that three or four years,

00:20:31 it should start to climb up.

00:20:32 And if all those projects come on,

00:20:34 we could be at a pretty significantly higher level

00:20:36 by around 2030 or so, right?

00:20:39 A lot of work to be done to get to that point.

00:20:42 - Is it safe to say that there is a level of optimism

00:20:46 by the stakeholders in the sector for the energy sector?

00:20:50 - I think it's cautious optimism, yes.

00:20:54 The, you know, things like Manatee Project,

00:20:55 you may see that's the one from Shell,

00:20:57 things that we think that that one is most likely

00:21:00 to come on, that's the one that seems

00:21:01 to have the most certainty.

00:21:03 We're very optimistic, of course, about Dragon,

00:21:05 but the timelines and so on are still uncertain.

00:21:08 The deep water itself is uncertain.

00:21:10 And beyond that, there's not a lot of,

00:21:13 there are smaller projects, right?

00:21:14 There are EOG and BP, and they are doing other things.

00:21:17 There is infill drilling and developmental work being done

00:21:20 that kind of just balances the equation.

00:21:23 They kind of just, those, that gas supply

00:21:25 kind of just balances what they may lose naturally.

00:21:27 So it's important work.

00:21:29 There are big rounds happening, right?

00:21:31 There's a shallow water big round open right now,

00:21:35 I understand that closes around April.

00:21:37 Deep water blocks were signed recently,

00:21:39 and the onshore blocks, we're still waiting

00:21:40 to get to see those signed.

00:21:42 They were announced almost a year ago,

00:21:45 middle of last year, and we haven't seen

00:21:47 those contracts been signed yet.

00:21:49 And the energy chamber made a point yesterday

00:21:51 that every year that these projects take

00:21:53 to get off the ground, plus the country, you know,

00:21:57 they put a number to it, over 100 million US per year.

00:22:00 - Yeah, and you know, Javed, I think that sometimes

00:22:03 when you have persons in certain sectors speaking,

00:22:08 and if we're talking about energy,

00:22:11 sometimes the terms, sometimes it could be

00:22:14 very, very technical.

00:22:16 And we also discuss, you know, large amounts of money

00:22:21 and large amounts of investment and so on.

00:22:25 But I think sometimes, Javed, to the layman,

00:22:29 they ask, what are we getting in return?

00:22:31 So what are we getting from all of this, Javed?

00:22:33 - Yeah, no, so that's the important point, right?

00:22:37 At the end of the day, it's what the citizens

00:22:39 actually get from this, right?

00:22:40 So what how it's supposed to work

00:22:42 is that all this upstream and downstream activity,

00:22:46 in a couple different ways,

00:22:47 supposed to benefit the average person, right?

00:22:49 The government is supposed to get petroleum taxes

00:22:52 and royalties from the upstream producers.

00:22:55 And then at the downstream side,

00:22:57 they're supposed to get corporation taxes.

00:22:59 This is from like the plants at Point Lisa,

00:23:01 at Atlantic and so on.

00:23:02 So the government is supposed to get

00:23:03 significant amounts of revenue from taxation

00:23:07 at the upstream and downstream side,

00:23:08 as well as at the service company's level, right?

00:23:10 Of course, all our companies pay taxes.

00:23:12 So that's the major way that the government

00:23:14 is supposed to attract revenue

00:23:16 and then use that for the benefit of the people.

00:23:18 And then of course, the next big area

00:23:20 is in direct employment and indirect employment, right?

00:23:22 So companies like ourselves,

00:23:24 as well as the operator level,

00:23:26 they employ hundreds of people,

00:23:27 maybe thousands of people directly.

00:23:30 We also pay our taxes that go to the government.

00:23:32 And of course, that money works within the economy as well.

00:23:35 And there is quite a lot of indirect labor employment

00:23:38 as well from other sectors that facilitate the energy sector.

00:23:41 So that's the two ways that layman's supposed

00:23:44 to really benefit.

00:23:47 But of course, government policy,

00:23:49 any way that they spend money

00:23:50 is not put in control of anybody in the sector, yeah?

00:23:53 - How are we expected to compete,

00:23:56 let's say with some of the key players,

00:23:58 such as in the Middle East, Russia?

00:24:03 I know that China also has a role to play

00:24:06 in all of this too.

00:24:08 How are we as a small country expected to compete

00:24:12 with some of these main players?

00:24:14 - I mean, TNT has been for decades,

00:24:18 punching above its weight in the international space

00:24:21 when it comes to these things.

00:24:22 When you look at our production of downstream products

00:24:24 like methanol and ammonia,

00:24:27 we've been one of the highest producers

00:24:28 for such a long time.

00:24:30 Atlantic used to be one of the largest LNG facilities

00:24:34 in the world, probably still is.

00:24:36 BP and Shell, and they have boasted

00:24:39 that some of their highest producing wells

00:24:41 in the world have come from TNT.

00:24:43 So we've had a significant contribution globally, right?

00:24:48 The potential to supply cross-border gas

00:24:50 is something that, as they mentioned,

00:24:52 yesterday European countries are looking at eagerly

00:24:55 because they see that as a different source

00:24:58 that could be a long-term supply source for them,

00:25:00 as we have for many years.

00:25:02 So we are in the international space, right?

00:25:05 We don't have to try to compete directly

00:25:08 against Russia and China and so on.

00:25:10 We have our space there.

00:25:12 We have to manage, try to figure out how to get,

00:25:15 how to maintain it.

00:25:16 What new things are we going to do,

00:25:18 as we've mentioned before,

00:25:19 things like hydrogen economy

00:25:21 that we're trying to build out.

00:25:23 I understand it's making progress.

00:25:24 Again, we feel like it's just not moving fast enough,

00:25:27 but I understand significant growth

00:25:28 that's being made there.

00:25:30 - And as we come closer to home now,

00:25:32 what about the situation, let's say,

00:25:34 in Guyana and in Suriname?

00:25:37 How do we find our little niche?

00:25:41 I mean, we are speaking about,

00:25:43 when we speak about Suriname and Guyana now,

00:25:45 we're speaking about a lot of resources

00:25:48 while we are speaking about in Trinidad and Tobago,

00:25:51 dwindling resources.

00:25:52 So how do we find that balance

00:25:56 and that comfortable spot for us?

00:25:59 - I think when you look at our services sector at P&T,

00:26:02 it's remarkable, right?

00:26:04 If you went to the conference

00:26:06 and you look around at the booths

00:26:07 and you see the kind of work

00:26:09 that our local companies can do,

00:26:10 sometimes it's mind-blowing,

00:26:12 even to us who work in the sector.

00:26:14 The level of sophistication that we've built up here

00:26:16 locally over the years is great.

00:26:18 And that's where we have a huge role to play in Guyana and Suriname.

00:26:21 Our companies can work in their sectors.

00:26:24 We can partner with their local companies.

00:26:27 We can help build and train and branch out.

00:26:32 There's opportunity here for Caribbean companies

00:26:34 to become world-class and work alongside,

00:26:38 as well as for the biggest companies in the world.

00:26:40 When you look at the operators in Guyana and Suriname,

00:26:42 some of them are from the Middle East.

00:26:44 Some of them are from different parts of the world.

00:26:46 All the biggest players in the world are now in these countries.

00:26:49 And it means that if we can work for them,

00:26:51 and when I say we, I mean Caribbean companies,

00:26:53 if we can work for them here,

00:26:55 there's no reason that we can't be able to expand over time

00:26:58 and move and work in the Middle East,

00:27:00 work in Russia, work in China, work in North America.

00:27:03 So I think there's a significant upside there.

00:27:05 And what we'd like from government

00:27:07 is the facilitation of that, right?

00:27:11 Make it easier for us to do business,

00:27:13 make it easier for us to trade,

00:27:14 make it easier for us to move things around

00:27:16 and move people around.

00:27:17 And we will expand.

00:27:18 We will do what we can do, what we do best,

00:27:21 and we will take advantage of those opportunities.

00:27:23 - Yeah, I know that your company also has a foot in Guyana.

00:27:28 How has that experience been for you all?

00:27:32 - Yeah, we were early movement again.

00:27:35 Before they started exploring oil and gas,

00:27:37 when they did, we were in a good position.

00:27:40 We were able to work with a lot of the companies there.

00:27:43 When the local content legislation was put in place,

00:27:45 we experienced significant challenges.

00:27:47 A lot of that played out in the media.

00:27:49 We eventually did get our certificate and so on.

00:27:53 It has been a challenge, I will say,

00:27:55 but pie in Guyana is continuing to grow.

00:27:59 So a small slice of a growing pie

00:28:01 can still be quite large.

00:28:03 So we are looking forward to the opportunities in Guyana.

00:28:06 We have a significant footprint still.

00:28:08 We think that there will be a lot more opportunities

00:28:11 as the country grows, as well as in Suriname,

00:28:13 where we are also present.

00:28:16 So yeah, we're very optimistic going there.

00:28:18 Of course, doing business in any country in Caribbean

00:28:21 is not simple.

00:28:22 There are lots of challenges.

00:28:24 I think that Guyana is doing quite well so far.

00:28:26 We're increasing what's happening over there.

00:28:30 I think that they're taking on challenges quite well,

00:28:33 and we look forward to work over there with them.

00:28:35 - Majabed, do you think that any of the companies

00:28:41 energy companies are now between a rock and a hard place?

00:28:45 Because as it relates to fuel,

00:28:48 a lot of companies are now trying to move away

00:28:52 from that type of energy

00:28:56 and are going into more environmentally safe,

00:29:01 if I can put it that way, types of fuel,

00:29:04 such as the wind farms and solar and you name it.

00:29:08 You know it better than I do, Majabed.

00:29:11 So how do you exist in an environment

00:29:15 where we're moving away from oil and gas

00:29:18 and into a more cleaner type fuel?

00:29:22 - I think from a services company level,

00:29:25 we are extremely excited about that.

00:29:27 Majority of our companies in the country

00:29:31 are well poised to maneuver into that sector.

00:29:37 A lot of the same skills and technologies

00:29:39 that are required are required for solar and wind

00:29:42 and all these different types of things.

00:29:44 If you look at big installation companies

00:29:46 that install wind farms globally,

00:29:48 they are oil and gas installation companies.

00:29:50 They use the same vessels and so on

00:29:52 to move those types of things.

00:29:53 So as a logistics company, we're extremely excited

00:29:57 to see those kinds of developments happen.

00:29:59 We have a solar plant in Trinidad

00:30:00 that's supposed to be commissioned next year.

00:30:02 There's been a wind study recently done

00:30:04 at the ministry level that speaks to using wind power

00:30:07 as a source for hydrogen.

00:30:10 That is something that we're extremely excited to play in.

00:30:12 And there's gonna be cooperation in the sense that

00:30:15 oil and gas is not gonna go away anytime soon.

00:30:18 What we would like to see happen

00:30:19 is a solar replacement of the electricity sector,

00:30:23 as the Prime Minister mentioned yesterday,

00:30:26 for renewables in which the hydrocarbons

00:30:28 can be better used in the downstream products.

00:30:31 So I don't see that as competition at all.

00:30:32 I see that as real opportunity.

00:30:35 - But you know, Javed, isn't that another argument

00:30:38 for diversification, right?

00:30:40 A renewed trust towards diversification,

00:30:43 because if this is what is happening globally,

00:30:46 well then I suspect companies such as yours

00:30:49 and even countries such as us,

00:30:51 who rely heavily on the returns from the energy sector,

00:30:56 it's really putting us in,

00:30:59 on a fast track towards diversification.

00:31:03 - Yes, definitely.

00:31:04 And I think in Trinidad's case,

00:31:06 renewable energy projects will save our hydrocarbon sector.

00:31:11 Right?

00:31:12 Because you can replace electricity demand with renewables,

00:31:17 you'll save our gas and so on for the better value products.

00:31:21 Because you can use wind farms to generate electricity

00:31:25 for hydrogen plants,

00:31:26 you will invigorate the energy sector, right?

00:31:29 I see two of them working very harmoniously in TNT.

00:31:32 As long as you stay apart

00:31:34 and we make sure that we get to where we want to be,

00:31:37 I think those sectors will work extremely harmoniously

00:31:40 in this country.

00:31:41 - Yeah.

00:31:41 And Javed, I think that's a very good point.

00:31:43 I never thought about that,

00:31:44 about the two sectors working very, very closely

00:31:47 with one another.

00:31:48 Because I think that when we have the conversation,

00:31:51 it's always one sector being put against the other sector.

00:31:56 But Javed, as we look at further discussions

00:32:01 at this energy conference,

00:32:04 what in your mind that at the end of this conference,

00:32:12 you'd like to see being achieved?

00:32:15 - Yeah, I think that the energy sector,

00:32:20 but our energy chamber put out a couple of points

00:32:23 that they think will increase.

00:32:25 They said a fast track, I believe,

00:32:27 to gas supply and so on, right?

00:32:28 One is awarding acreage faster

00:32:31 and getting through those hurdles faster.

00:32:33 They did outline it pretty well.

00:32:34 I think what we would like to see

00:32:36 is an agreement with the regulators and the chamber

00:32:40 and the board of the chamber that represents the sector

00:32:44 on what are the milestone

00:32:45 and what are the deliverables and achievables

00:32:47 and what time frame for them, right?

00:32:49 That's how our companies operate.

00:32:51 We don't just want to hear about what should be done

00:32:53 and what could be done.

00:32:54 We want to hear people comment

00:32:55 to what will be done by a certain time frame, right?

00:32:59 Now, I don't actually think that that necessarily

00:33:00 will happen, but that's the desirable outcome.

00:33:03 We want to know what will happen by when

00:33:05 and how we can assist them getting that done.

00:33:07 - Yeah, Javed Razak,

00:33:09 it's always a pleasure speaking with you.

00:33:11 Thank you very much for the education this morning, Javed.

00:33:14 You have put things on the table this morning

00:33:16 that have us thinking, you know.

00:33:18 So thank you very much for this food for thought

00:33:20 this morning.

00:33:21 We do appreciate it.

00:33:22 Bye for now.

00:33:23 - Appreciate it.

00:33:24 - Take care and enjoy your day.

00:33:25 - All right, bye for now, Javed.

00:33:27 All right, so it's time for another break.

00:33:28 We are coming back, everybody.

00:33:29 Stay right there.

00:33:30 (upbeat music)

00:33:33 - 1983 and JMMB Bank are ready to burn.

00:33:43 We're back at the spacious Movietown car park

00:33:46 in Port of Spain every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 p.m.

00:33:49 It's back, back, back, Carnival Burn.

00:33:52 (upbeat music)

00:33:55 Six days of real endurance and fitness

00:33:59 from the fun and experienced instructors.

00:34:02 (upbeat music)

00:34:05 And all hosted by the awesome Hot 93 DJs and personalities.

00:34:10 Walk with your team and come sweat and vibe with us.

00:34:14 (upbeat music)

00:34:21 Carnival season, a celebration of color,

00:34:24 creativity, revelry, and unity.

00:34:27 We welcome people from all over the world

00:34:30 to enjoy TNT Carnival, the greatest show on earth.

00:34:34 But behind the scenes, there's a relentless effort

00:34:38 and precise preparation to ensure your safety.

00:34:41 On foot, in the air, on horseback,

00:34:45 on motorcycle and mobile patrol,

00:34:48 we are your constant line of defense.

00:34:50 While you party, we patrol.

00:34:53 While you whine, we work so you can enjoy

00:34:57 our sweet soca music.

00:34:58 All ranks out in full force under the watchful eyes

00:35:02 of the commissioner of police.

00:35:04 The rhythm, the vibes, and everything

00:35:07 that makes Carnival memorable.

00:35:09 From desk job to detective,

00:35:12 every officer is called to the front lines.

00:35:15 We come off leave so you can leave all your worries behind

00:35:19 and fet with no stress.

00:35:21 All hands on deck.

00:35:23 While you play, we work.

00:35:25 We are dedicated to protect and serve

00:35:28 to ensure that your experience of the greatest show on earth

00:35:31 is safe, enjoyable, exciting, and memorable.

00:35:36 (upbeat music)

00:35:39 - Greetings, Saints.

00:35:48 We are from Pillars of Truth Evangelistic

00:35:50 Outreach Ministries, and we warmly welcome you

00:35:53 to our television program, Turning Point.

00:35:56 We are a church in the heart of the community

00:35:58 with a heart for the community.

00:36:00 Our host pastors, Apostle Dr. Reverend Dale DeVeans

00:36:04 and his wife, Reverend Dawn DeVeans,

00:36:06 warmly welcome you to join us every second

00:36:09 and fourth Sunday, 6 a.m. right here on TV6.

00:36:15 (upbeat music)

00:36:18 All right, so welcome back, everyone,

00:36:32 on this cool day in Port of Spain.

00:36:35 Thank you very much for joining us this morning.

00:36:38 Here's what, we can open up the lines at this time.

00:36:40 You're calling us on 623-1711, and the extension is 1995.

00:36:45 Again, 623-1711, the extension is 1995.

00:36:50 We'd love to hear from you.

00:36:52 We're just coming off the weekend,

00:36:54 so a number of things would have happened over the weekend.

00:36:57 A number of things would have happened last week.

00:37:00 Today, it's Tuesday.

00:37:01 A number of things have already happened

00:37:02 for the week already, so we'd love to hear your views.

00:37:05 Just to tell you, if you have not heard,

00:37:08 Fazal Karim, he has died at the age of 71,

00:37:11 so the ex-minister is being hailed

00:37:14 for his role in education.

00:37:16 So former government minister Fazal Karim, 71,

00:37:19 has died after battling cancer.

00:37:22 Karim served as minister of science, technology,

00:37:24 and tertiary education

00:37:25 in the People's Partnership Administration

00:37:28 between 2010 to 2015.

00:37:31 Now, his funeral is scheduled for today at 10 a.m.

00:37:35 at the Greater Love Church in Cuva,

00:37:38 and then at 1 p.m. at the Karibu Chima Masjid.

00:37:42 Karim was first appointed a senator

00:37:45 and tertiary education minister on May 28, 2010.

00:37:49 He also served as the UNC's member of parliament

00:37:52 for Chaguanas East between 2015 and 2020.

00:37:57 All right?

00:37:59 So the lines are free.

00:38:00 You're calling us on 623-1711.

00:38:02 The extension is 1995,

00:38:05 so we're just seeing a picture here on social media

00:38:11 that in truth and in fact,

00:38:15 there is a fatality on the Bithumb Highway.

00:38:19 It would seem that an individual has been knocked down.

00:38:22 Not sure about the details.

00:38:24 It appears, or again, this is preliminary,

00:38:29 it appears that the individual

00:38:31 maybe was crossing the highway, all right?

00:38:34 So again, it's causing a massive traffic pileup,

00:38:39 so persons should be looking at other avenues

00:38:43 to get into Port of Spain.

00:38:46 You're calling us on 623-1711.

00:38:48 The extension is 1995.

00:38:52 All right?

00:38:54 So the lines are free, so you can call us now.

00:38:58 Some back and hell happening between the former CEO of TSTT

00:39:04 and the acting boss of former TSTT CEO, Lisa Agard.

00:39:09 Yesterday, categorically denied

00:39:11 that she provided any misleading or inaccurate information

00:39:15 to public utilities minister,

00:39:17 or to the public utilities minister on TSTT

00:39:20 on the cybersecurity breach of October 9th, 2023,

00:39:26 and quoting the acting boss, let me see here,

00:39:31 who misled public utilities minister Marvin Gonzalez

00:39:35 on the TSTT cybersecurity breach,

00:39:37 causing him to mislead the House of Representatives

00:39:39 and by extension, the country.

00:39:41 Both the chairman of the Joint Select Committee

00:39:43 on State Enterprises, Anthony Vera,

00:39:45 and member, Wade Mark, put this question to TSTT officials

00:39:49 and acting CEO, Kent Weston, who said,

00:39:51 "It was the office of the CEO,

00:39:54 a position been held by Lisa Agard,

00:39:57 who was dismissed from TSTT."

00:39:59 So that's very, very interesting.

00:40:01 So we'll see how that develops over the next few hours

00:40:04 and the next few days.

00:40:06 Why everything is bucking also in this place, boy.

00:40:09 Again, you're calling us on 623-1711.

00:40:12 The extension is 1995.

00:40:14 People sleeping or they just don't wanna talk

00:40:16 to me this morning or the line's not working, yeah?

00:40:18 So you can please call us now.

00:40:20 So attorney wants ex-grass your payments from Paria,

00:40:24 $5 million for each family.

00:40:26 Attorney Prakash Ramada has called

00:40:28 on state-owned Paria Fuel Trading Company

00:40:31 to make ex-grass your payments of at least $5 million

00:40:35 to each of the families of Faisal Kurban,

00:40:39 Kazem Ali Jr., Yusuf Henry, and Rishi Nagasal.

00:40:43 The four divers who lost their lives

00:40:45 in a pipeline incident at Paria in February, 2022.

00:40:50 That happened in 2022, eh?

00:40:53 To me, in my mind, it happened just the other day,

00:40:59 but it really happened in 2022.

00:41:00 And according to Mr. Ramada,

00:41:03 as we interviewed him yesterday,

00:41:05 since then the families of some of the victims,

00:41:09 they have found it very hard to exist,

00:41:12 not only because of the trauma,

00:41:14 but when you have lost a breadwinner in your family,

00:41:19 of course, it puts certain types of pressures on the family.

00:41:23 So now they're asking for $5 million for each family.

00:41:27 Five million, some people may say that's a lot.

00:41:30 Some people may say, well, that's too little.

00:41:32 But how do you replace an individual

00:41:37 who has died under such circumstances?

00:41:41 Again, according to Mr. Ramada,

00:41:44 he does not want this matter

00:41:45 to really play out in the courts,

00:41:48 and he has asked the authorities to do the decent thing

00:41:51 and just pay the monies instead of going to court

00:41:54 and having this thing going on for so long.

00:41:56 We do have a first call.

00:41:57 Caller, good morning.

00:41:58 - Morning, Marlon.

00:41:59 - Yes.

00:42:00 - Marlon, Mr. Ramada doesn't want this matter

00:42:04 played out in the local court,

00:42:06 but he's playing it out

00:42:09 in the local court of public opinion.

00:42:12 - All right.

00:42:13 - So that is not correct.

00:42:17 It's not right.

00:42:18 It's not proper for a lawyer of his stature.

00:42:22 Marlon, another thing is I would like to compliment

00:42:26 the turnout of people Sunday at the Panhard.

00:42:31 - Right.

00:42:35 - The (indistinct)

00:42:36 It was good to see people of all walks of life

00:42:38 going down to Desperado, going down in that area.

00:42:45 It was a pleasure to see that people of all walks of life,

00:42:51 all ages coming out and feeling safe.

00:42:55 You know, there was safety numbers, I believe,

00:42:58 and people walking from Desperado to All Stars

00:43:03 and then to Renegade.

00:43:05 I felt totally safe and I applaud Pantwin Bego

00:43:10 for the effort.

00:43:12 - Yeah.

00:43:12 - Thank you, Marlon.

00:43:13 - Well, you know, sometimes carnival brings out

00:43:16 the best in us, so that's very good.

00:43:18 And thank you very much for your call.

00:43:19 I did see some of the video on social media

00:43:23 and I did see some of it being posted in other places

00:43:27 and the crowd looked massive and that's good for Pan.

00:43:32 If you look at things in a holistic way,

00:43:33 that's good for Pan, that's very, very good for the culture.

00:43:36 But you know what?

00:43:37 I would love to see this type of response,

00:43:41 365 days for the year as it relates to Pan

00:43:45 and culture in Trinidad and Tobago.

00:43:47 You know how I feel about the Pan

00:43:48 and the culture and thing, right?

00:43:50 So I don't have to go down there,

00:43:51 but I'm just saying, right?

00:43:53 We must create a situation now where any Pan man

00:43:57 must feel that this is a viable option for him

00:44:02 and that he can do this as his only job

00:44:05 and take care of his family and have a good life.

00:44:08 That is what I would want to see.

00:44:10 I know that you're going to tell me,

00:44:12 well, some Pan men, some Pan women are doing that.

00:44:15 Yes, but I would like to see the majority of people

00:44:18 do that or have that opportunity.

00:44:20 Let's take another call.

00:44:21 Good morning, caller.

00:44:23 Good morning, Marlon.

00:44:24 Yes, sir.

00:44:25 I tried getting onto your end of the tape,

00:44:27 but I have two questions.

00:44:30 Go ahead.

00:44:31 The police had a big recruitment drive.

00:44:34 Right.

00:44:35 The applicant lined up for all.

00:44:38 They brought all the documents,

00:44:43 which the post, the advertisement,

00:44:46 where they advertise, they brought the documents.

00:44:49 Lo and behold, when they reach there,

00:44:52 they're telling the applicants

00:44:55 they don't need the letter of reference.

00:44:58 However, we need a copy of the books.

00:45:01 You need your book certificate,

00:45:03 we'll open the original, we'll open the duplicate.

00:45:06 So everybody who went in the recruitment drive

00:45:10 have to end up in the police academy

00:45:13 to bring in the book certificate.

00:45:15 Yeah.

00:45:19 Okay, that's your point, sir?

00:45:20 All right, thank you very much.

00:45:22 When you have a mass recruitment exercise such as this,

00:45:27 what I would like to see

00:45:29 is that the more information you put into the public domain

00:45:35 that is going to be good for everyone,

00:45:37 the recruits, the police officers,

00:45:40 members of the public, everyone.

00:45:42 And it should be done in this type of way,

00:45:44 whether it's the regiment,

00:45:46 whether it's the prison service,

00:45:47 whether it's the police service,

00:45:49 but you need to embark on an exercise such as this

00:45:53 so that when people come down there,

00:45:56 you're hitting the ground running and there is no...

00:46:03 How do I say?

00:46:06 Everyone knows what is expected

00:46:09 and everyone knows what has to be done.

00:46:12 So there is no whooping, as it were, down there.

00:46:15 You present your documents

00:46:17 and you have the correct documents

00:46:18 and therefore that is also going to speed up the exercise.

00:46:22 But again, that's the way that we do things in Trinidad

00:46:26 and Tobago, everything is a secret.

00:46:28 And when you go down there, you don't have the documents

00:46:30 and you have to go by the man across the road

00:46:32 to photocopy the documents.

00:46:33 So it's always something like that.

00:46:36 And the thinking has to change, as I say.

00:46:40 Everyone, you must bombard the public,

00:46:43 especially in exercises such as these,

00:46:45 with all of the information so that everybody knows

00:46:48 and everybody is on the same page.

00:46:51 So you're calling us on 623-1711.

00:46:54 The extension is 1995.

00:46:57 You hear what the prime minister say about people?

00:47:00 We have a cultural, lackadaisical approach to things.

00:47:05 Sometimes the prime minister, he had to raise his eyebrow,

00:47:09 but he says things the way sometimes that he sees them.

00:47:14 So prime minister Dr. Keith Rowley has attributed

00:47:16 the slow approval process for getting energy projects

00:47:19 off the ground in Trinidad and Tobago

00:47:21 to workers' cultural, lackadaisical approach

00:47:24 and slothfulness.

00:47:25 And let me tell you, I think it's across the board.

00:47:30 Not only it's happening in the energy sector,

00:47:33 the public sector, the private sector.

00:47:35 Sometimes you go, all right, I'll continue on that point

00:47:38 'cause I want to, but let's take our call.

00:47:41 Good morning, caller.

00:47:43 - Morning, morning.

00:47:44 - Yes.

00:47:45 (man speaking indistinctly)

00:47:48 - Paria, go ahead.

00:47:51 - Right, I am also corporate compensation.

00:47:55 I know all these things,

00:47:57 and I believe the company would have insurance and so on.

00:48:01 But I'm looking at the politicizing of the situation.

00:48:04 I mean, if it was someone that's small among the money,

00:48:07 (man speaking indistinctly)

00:48:11 - Because they jump in and say all sorts of things.

00:48:14 But I'm quite certain that they don't have to do all that.

00:48:18 If people should be compensated, I'm saying,

00:48:20 what about personal, individual responsibility?

00:48:24 If you watch a man taking a bureau,

00:48:26 there's no police there, in traffic.

00:48:28 People make decisions,

00:48:29 and these things become completely something with it.

00:48:33 You understand?

00:48:34 - Yeah. - I'll leave it there for now.

00:48:35 - All right, thank you.

00:48:37 But you know what?

00:48:38 I see things kind of differently.

00:48:41 I have no doubt that there is a bit of politics involved,

00:48:44 but I try to think about the relatives.

00:48:48 And I try to think about the challenges and the pressure

00:48:52 that the relatives have had to go through

00:48:54 since this incident in 2022.

00:48:57 And I'm sure that it has not been easy for them.

00:49:01 All right?

00:49:02 I mean, we have never seen something such as this happen

00:49:08 in Trinidad and Tobago.

00:49:10 And sometimes I think that people speak to the media

00:49:13 because they feel that the wheels of justice

00:49:16 are just going too, too slow.

00:49:18 And I think that's the reason sometimes why people speak,

00:49:23 because there are great delays in Trinidad and Tobago.

00:49:27 As it's really a certain number of things, right?

00:49:30 So we have to get the place energized, right?

00:49:35 And let's get things done.

00:49:36 You're calling us on 623-1711.

00:49:38 The extension is 1995.

00:49:41 So you can please call us now.

00:49:44 So I'm talking about the lackadaisical approach.

00:49:47 Are you seeing it in every organization,

00:49:49 the private sector, the public sector,

00:49:51 the energy sector, you name it, right?

00:49:54 You go to an organization to get,

00:49:56 and I've spoken about this, Powder Magazine.

00:49:59 Good morning, Powder Magazine.

00:50:02 - Best morning to you on a rainy, rainy day

00:50:05 down in Powder Magazine.

00:50:07 Here they go.

00:50:08 - All right.

00:50:08 Morning, morning.

00:50:10 - I want to speak about the power issue.

00:50:13 - Go ahead.

00:50:13 - I really want to speak about that.

00:50:15 You know, you had to have a family member

00:50:20 who wasn't that type to really get the gist

00:50:23 of what went on there.

00:50:24 That was such a painful, cruel, I'll say cruel,

00:50:29 to be in that small, closed up place.

00:50:32 And you know life was existing for maybe two or three days,

00:50:36 and nothing was done to try to really take them out.

00:50:40 And what is most interesting and very sad, I must say,

00:50:44 is that the people who was overseeing all those things,

00:50:48 they still have their job,

00:50:50 and they will be going in the next few days

00:50:52 to push their cart and getting salaries.

00:50:55 And I don't know what kind of country is this.

00:50:58 What kind of country we live in?

00:51:00 All of them had a big fat job and big fat salaries.

00:51:04 And I mean, people dead.

00:51:07 What is happening in this country?

00:51:10 I would like to see compensation for that family.

00:51:14 I would like to see compensation,

00:51:16 and let the chips fall with gold and chad, and then do what?

00:51:20 Thank you very much.

00:51:21 Enjoy your carnival, man.

00:51:22 I know you're not carnival man, you know.

00:51:25 - As always, thank you very much, Powder Magazine.

00:51:27 It's always good to hear from you.

00:51:29 But you know, sometimes I think about Christopher Boudram

00:51:32 and the ordeal in that pipeline.

00:51:36 And if you would have heard his account

00:51:40 of what happened in that pipeline,

00:51:44 I don't know that that is not going to touch you.

00:51:47 I really don't know.

00:51:48 It was, it's really amazing that he's alive today

00:51:53 to tell what exactly transpired in that pipeline.

00:51:58 So sometimes I think about that gentleman.

00:52:01 When we're speaking about the tragedy

00:52:04 and how he has been able to cope.

00:52:06 We do have another call.

00:52:08 Good morning, caller.

00:52:09 - Good morning, good morning, good morning, man.

00:52:11 - Yes.

00:52:12 - I'm calling to the topic on crime.

00:52:16 - Right, go ahead.

00:52:17 - Our crime situation is about 30 years old.

00:52:21 And we do not need a state of emergency,

00:52:24 but we need a state of urgency

00:52:28 to help the youths who are going the correct way.

00:52:32 Because we send so much manpower

00:52:33 to go at the youth who are going bad.

00:52:36 But we're not looking at the youths who are on the right side.

00:52:41 Like for example, yesterday,

00:52:42 the hospital, you know the hospital had no current yesterday?

00:52:47 - Which office?

00:52:48 - The hospital.

00:52:49 - Oh, the hospital.

00:52:50 - General Hospital had no current for 45 hours.

00:52:52 - Which hospital?

00:52:53 - Port of Spain.

00:52:54 - Port of Spain.

00:52:54 - General Hospital.

00:52:57 And those are just microcosmos

00:53:00 of what happened to our country, like the schools.

00:53:03 The schools are the lapidated schools.

00:53:07 And we talk about crime and we talk about equity.

00:53:11 And they have schools, opportunity, that get everything.

00:53:14 And the schools, like in Mova, Lavantel,

00:53:17 the schools under pressure, the police demoralized.

00:53:21 So all these things is what forms a whole equation

00:53:27 to our lack of the security and our crime to the man.

00:53:30 And these things tease me and it hurts me

00:53:33 to see this beautiful country go to waste.

00:53:35 While we play politics on the two sides,

00:53:39 the two sides cannot come together

00:53:42 for the sake of this country.

00:53:44 That is my contribution as well.

00:53:46 - And thank you very much, sir.

00:53:47 And I do agree with you.

00:53:49 It's a problem that began almost 30 years ago.

00:53:53 And I think at that time we sat on it

00:53:57 and pretended it was not happening.

00:54:00 And now you have where it has really festered

00:54:05 and has turned into like a leg or a part of your body

00:54:10 that has gone green.

00:54:12 We just don't know what to do with it.

00:54:13 And the authorities will tell you over the past

00:54:17 how many years that they have been trying

00:54:19 and this is what they're going to do.

00:54:21 But I don't know that we have gotten the desired results.

00:54:24 All right.

00:54:25 Are we taking a few more calls?

00:54:27 All right, so here's what.

00:54:29 We are going to break for some news now,

00:54:32 but we are going to continue with your calls after the news.

00:54:35 All right, so again, just to write down these numbers,

00:54:38 623-1711, the extension is 1995.

00:54:42 We'll take more of your calls after the seven o'clock news.

00:54:46 We're coming back, everybody.

00:54:50 (upbeat music)

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00:55:54 - The world is in crisis.

00:55:59 Distressing news are flowing from every quarter

00:56:03 in the society, and the hearts of many

00:56:06 are failing them for fear.

00:56:08 However, in the midst of these alarming conditions

00:56:12 come good news.

00:56:14 Jesus Christ saves, keeps, and satisfies.

00:56:19 This is the message of Daybreak.

00:56:22 (upbeat music)

00:56:25 - Slavery, a terrible time in our history.

00:56:33 The kidnapping, buying and selling of people for profit,

00:56:37 the exploitation of another human being.

00:56:40 It still exists today.

00:56:42 It has a new name, human trafficking.

00:56:45 Anyone can be a victim.

00:56:48 There is forced labor, sexual exploitation,

00:56:52 and domestic servitude.

00:56:54 Human trafficking is a worldwide problem

00:56:58 and an emerging concern for us here in Trinidad and Tobago.

00:57:01 If you know of or suspect human trafficking activity,

00:57:07 call the counter-trafficking hotline at 800-4CTU

00:57:11 or 800-4288.

00:57:13 Human trafficking is a crime.

00:57:16 Identify it, report it, stop it.

00:57:19 A message from the counter-trafficking unit

00:57:21 of the Ministry of National Security.

00:57:24 (upbeat music)

00:57:29 - Good morning, I am Anselm Gibbs with a news update.

00:57:37 Just exactly how did the public utilities minister

00:57:41 receive incorrect information on last year's cyber breach

00:57:45 at TSTT, which was then shared in parliament?

00:57:49 That question was raised before a joint select committee

00:57:53 on Monday.

00:57:54 - I would state in my view that the office

00:57:58 that would issue that instruction or that notification

00:58:02 would be the office of the CEO.

00:58:04 I deny absolutely that I provided any misleading,

00:58:09 inaccurate or false information to the honorable minister.

00:58:16 - Lawyers representing the families of the victims

00:58:21 of the Paria diving tragedy want the state-owned company

00:58:25 to pay up.

00:58:27 This follows the commission of inquiry's recommendation

00:58:30 that Paria be charged with corporate manslaughter.

00:58:34 - The courts have a formula that they use,

00:58:39 but I don't think that this is a case that we should go down

00:58:43 to the mathematics of a court decision.

00:58:45 I would imagine up front an ex-ratio payment

00:58:49 to put the families in a position of wellness.

00:58:52 I would imagine at least a $5 million payment

00:58:54 to each of the families.

00:58:56 It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't.

00:58:58 (upbeat music)

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00:59:15 especially during high tides.

00:59:18 Overall, generally hot, sunny and breezy conditions

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01:01:09 ♪ Jesus said to take the seat ♪

01:01:14 - Online here with this weirdo named Larry.

01:01:16 I'm getting rid of him now.

01:01:18 (soft music)

01:01:20 Eh eh.

01:01:22 (typing)

01:01:24 (laughing)

01:01:28 Let's take a selfie.

01:01:30 (camera shutter)

01:01:33 - It looking good, boy.

01:01:34 I present online.

01:01:36 - Hey, I thought you say you went to the beach

01:01:41 with your parents?

01:01:42 - Who's you?

01:01:44 - It's me, Larry.

01:01:47 - From online.

01:01:48 (soft music)

01:01:50 ♪ Come on and we shouting ♪

01:02:04 ♪ Eh eh eh eh eh eh ♪

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01:02:10 ♪ So you know I'm a trinity ♪

01:02:12 ♪ Eh eh eh eh eh eh ♪

01:02:15 - All right, so welcome back, everyone.

01:02:17 So we are opening up the lines to you again.

01:02:20 You're calling us on 623-1711.

01:02:22 The extension is 1995.

01:02:23 We still have a lot for you on the program,

01:02:26 but that situation concerning the RTA on the B-SOM,

01:02:31 it has even impacted some of our guests today, all right?

01:02:36 So as they come in, we will speak with them,

01:02:44 but that accident has caused a major disruption

01:02:48 in business already for today, all right?

01:02:52 So talking about traffic,

01:02:54 again, you're calling us on 623-1711.

01:02:56 The extension is 1995, so you can please call us now.

01:02:59 The lines are free.

01:03:00 So traffic woes cost TNT $2.26 billion a year.

01:03:06 We do have a call.

01:03:10 Good morning, caller.

01:03:11 - Good morning, Mahalan.

01:03:12 Good morning, Narayan Tobago.

01:03:14 - Morning.

01:03:15 - Mahalan, clearly the country has collapsed.

01:03:19 Crime, infrastructure, economy, everything else.

01:03:24 I think if Dr. Rowley really cares about this country

01:03:28 and the welfare of the people,

01:03:30 he will do the right thing and call the election now

01:03:35 because he has collapsed on the job.

01:03:39 The evidence is there.

01:03:41 It is plain, and I urge the audience

01:03:44 and the Tobagonians, before we lose our entire generation,

01:03:48 we should stand up and take our country back.

01:03:50 Thank you.

01:03:51 - All right.

01:03:52 I suspect you're speaking democratically, right?

01:03:55 So the direct economic cost of traffic

01:03:57 in Trinidad and Tobago is an estimated $2.26 billion per year

01:04:02 or 1.37% of the GDP,

01:04:05 and the average commuter spends an average of 793 hours

01:04:11 cumulatively, 33 days, one month of a year in traffic delays.

01:04:16 Now, these are two of the main findings of the study,

01:04:19 assessment of the economic costs

01:04:21 of vehicle traffic congestion in the Caribbean,

01:04:25 a case study of Trinidad and Tobago

01:04:27 produced by ECLAC Caribbean.

01:04:28 We do have another call.

01:04:29 Good morning, caller.

01:04:31 - Good morning, good morning.

01:04:33 How are you?

01:04:34 - I'm good, sir.

01:04:34 - Are we short on brief?

01:04:38 - Yes.

01:04:39 - When last have you been to Manzano, Merrill?

01:04:43 - It has been a while.

01:04:45 - You should, you should.

01:04:47 You know the road collapsed about a year and a half ago?

01:04:51 - Yes.

01:04:53 - And only, only June of this month,

01:04:58 this year, they started to fix the road

01:04:59 when the rain started to fall.

01:05:02 My Lord, it has been a disaster.

01:05:06 You know what I feel, I feel sorry for the taxi drivers.

01:05:10 - Are you still there?

01:05:15 He's gone?

01:05:16 - Yes, yes, I'm here.

01:05:17 - Go ahead, go ahead, we're listening.

01:05:18 - But I'm not hearing, is this man on up?

01:05:23 - Yes, you go ahead, you go ahead, we're listening.

01:05:25 You go ahead, you go ahead.

01:05:26 - Okay, okay, sure, yeah.

01:05:28 So it has been a disaster.

01:05:30 - Yeah.

01:05:31 - I'm concerned about the people who are sick

01:05:36 coming in the ambulance from, from Mayarrow

01:05:39 to San Ysidrande, but don't take my word for it.

01:05:44 I want you today, maybe after you finish work,

01:05:47 and you have a busy schedule, take a drive up there.

01:05:49 I have a house up in Mayarrow,

01:05:52 and there are a lot of people who, right now,

01:05:54 thinking about selling their properties

01:05:57 because the road is really bad.

01:06:00 There are people who are on the mountain in a stretch.

01:06:05 Couldn't get to their houses for months, months, right?

01:06:10 And nobody is doing nothing about it.

01:06:15 - Sir, thank you very much.

01:06:18 - All this? - Yeah.

01:06:19 - All this could have been avoided.

01:06:20 Yeah, okay, sir, have a good day, bye-bye.

01:06:22 - You too, thank you very much,

01:06:23 and thank you for putting that back

01:06:25 on the front burner for us this morning.

01:06:26 - You need to look at it for me, please, please, please.

01:06:29 - Yes, because I know that a few months ago,

01:06:32 we did discuss it.

01:06:33 I believe we had discussed it with the MP for the area.

01:06:38 We did quite an extensive interview at that time,

01:06:42 so maybe it's something, again,

01:06:44 that we'll have a conversation about it,

01:06:47 because you know, sometimes,

01:06:49 so many things are happening in Trinidad and Tobago.

01:06:51 Sometimes we discuss one thing,

01:06:52 and we expect that the matter would have been addressed,

01:06:57 and then you hear someone calling, saying,

01:06:59 "Well, it has not been addressed."

01:07:00 So we really rely sometimes on you

01:07:03 to give us the information,

01:07:04 and for that, we thank you very much this morning, all right?

01:07:07 But we will be looking at that situation

01:07:10 for you all in that area.

01:07:12 All right, again, you're calling us on 623-1711.

01:07:16 The extension is 1995,

01:07:19 so I was telling you about the delays

01:07:21 on the nation's roads and what it has been costing us.

01:07:26 So the report, the ECLA Caribbean report,

01:07:29 also stated that over the period June to September 2023,

01:07:32 data was collected using online field surveys

01:07:35 in which respondents answered questions

01:07:37 on their traffic congestion experience

01:07:40 in Trinidad and Tobago.

01:07:41 And do we not see it every afternoon into evening,

01:07:46 traffic heading east, usually the traffic heading west?

01:07:52 There is no traffic, but traffic heading east,

01:07:56 because of course, it's going along the east-west corridor,

01:07:59 it's going into Chaguanas and into south and other areas.

01:08:02 So it's very, very bad.

01:08:04 And you know, sometimes one vehicle

01:08:07 that is not working well can shut down the entire country,

01:08:10 as we have seen that over and over and over.

01:08:13 But hopefully, there is some study being done

01:08:17 on traffic in Trinidad and Tobago

01:08:19 to get rid of these problems

01:08:21 that we have had for so many years, all right?

01:08:26 You're calling us on 623-1711.

01:08:28 The extension is 1995.

01:08:31 The lines are free, so you can please call us now.

01:08:36 Yeah?

01:08:38 Roger calls for removal of Paria Board.

01:08:42 So President General of the Oilfields Workers' Trade Union,

01:08:45 Ansel Roger, is calling for the immediate removal

01:08:48 of the Paria Board,

01:08:50 following the Commission of Inquiry report

01:08:51 into the deaths of four divers, Kazem Ali Jr.,

01:08:54 Yusuf Henry, Faisal Kurban, and Rishi Nagasa.

01:08:58 So Mr. Roger says, "All right,

01:09:00 "we'll return to this story."

01:09:02 Let's take a call.

01:09:03 Good morning, caller.

01:09:04 - Marlon, me again, yeah.

01:09:07 I had what to call you, you have to submit.

01:09:09 Well, listen, Marlon, on that traffic situation

01:09:11 I'm now hearing about that you mentioned there,

01:09:14 that, Marlon, there are a lot of reasons for that now.

01:09:18 The thing is that there are a lot of vehicles in Trinidad.

01:09:21 At the present, we have more vehicles than people.

01:09:24 That's a fact.

01:09:25 - Yep.

01:09:25 - And that report also says that we,

01:09:28 at a rate of like 15,000 vehicles a year

01:09:31 comes on the road in Trinidad.

01:09:33 Now, the public transport has to be restructured

01:09:38 like we did PetroTrain and WASA and all these other things.

01:09:43 Public transport services has to be restructured.

01:09:46 Flexible hours has to be encouraged also by employers.

01:09:50 A digitization of the public service

01:09:54 would take a lot of people off the streets.

01:09:56 There are a lot of people on our streets,

01:09:58 they are traveling up and down needlessly

01:10:00 that have no reason to be going into city centers

01:10:04 to conduct businesses.

01:10:05 A lot of businesses, a lot of offices,

01:10:07 government offices, services should be available

01:10:10 in the district or area where you live.

01:10:13 You don't have anywhere, a lot of people on the street.

01:10:15 Now, public transport is critical in this country

01:10:20 and I think the government has a duty

01:10:23 to attempt to restructure that entirely

01:10:28 because we have some profitable routes with these buses,

01:10:31 like the North-South buses,

01:10:33 but most of the people who are using these transports

01:10:35 are senior citizens who don't pay on the service.

01:10:39 But the people who are going to work rush hour is critical.

01:10:44 And unless we restructure that

01:10:47 and discourage people from bringing their taxis,

01:10:49 the water taxi hub, parking has to be available

01:10:52 so that people can park their vehicles

01:10:55 and use public transport

01:10:57 and the work from home policy has to be wrapped up.

01:11:02 Thank you.

01:11:03 - Thank you very much.

01:11:03 And clearly, sir, you have thought about it

01:11:05 and I do agree with you.

01:11:07 And I believe that certain areas should be pedestrianized

01:11:12 in Trinidad and Tobago,

01:11:14 where you're saying that your vehicle,

01:11:17 you can park it in a certain area,

01:11:20 provide a shuttle to people,

01:11:22 maybe at a small cost,

01:11:25 maybe a dollar or two, right?

01:11:28 And you can take them through places like Port of Spain,

01:11:32 but again, there must be a reliability

01:11:35 or it must be a reliable system

01:11:38 for people to embrace that and to latch onto it

01:11:41 and to think, well, you know what?

01:11:44 This is something that I could do.

01:11:46 All right, so I do agree with you.

01:11:49 All right, you're calling us on 623-1711.

01:11:51 The extension is 1995.

01:11:54 The lines are free.

01:11:56 So you can please call us now.

01:11:57 President makes industrial court appointments,

01:12:00 five new judges.

01:12:02 We do have a call.

01:12:02 Good morning, caller.

01:12:03 - Good morning, Mahalan.

01:12:06 - Yes, sir.

01:12:07 - Mahalan, a gentleman called a while ago

01:12:10 and said that the prime minister should (indistinct)

01:12:16 election.

01:12:17 And I want, Mahalan,

01:12:19 this country is in a serious (indistinct)

01:12:25 and quite frankly, I find the government is

01:12:29 in the wrong

01:12:30 and the prime minister,

01:12:32 any and everyone

01:12:34 who has a very different opinion.

01:12:37 And I'm like, I mean, what next?

01:12:40 Next point, Mahalan,

01:12:41 that I recently went to renew my permit

01:12:46 and I was told that I have to walk utility bill.

01:12:51 But Mahalan, they are keeping your utility bill

01:12:54 and I want to know why they're keeping my bill.

01:12:58 I mean, I would think they would copy

01:13:00 or they would bring a copy as well as the original.

01:13:04 But why are they keeping my utility bill?

01:13:07 I have a problem with that.

01:13:08 And my final point,

01:13:10 2024 has started, Mahalan.

01:13:14 The police still (indistinct)

01:13:19 I don't want (indistinct)

01:13:25 - All right, caller,

01:13:31 we are getting the gist as to what you're saying,

01:13:34 but we really do have a very, very poor connection,

01:13:37 but I know that you expressed concern

01:13:39 about the noise pollution problem

01:13:41 and that you also spoke about licensing,

01:13:46 keeping your utility bill.

01:13:48 So we do get the gist as to what you were saying

01:13:51 this morning, but we did have a very,

01:13:52 very poor connection, all right?

01:13:54 You're calling us on 623-1711, the extension is 1995.

01:13:58 I am continuing on my discussion with you

01:14:01 and we'd love to hear the many views

01:14:05 that you would want to express this morning.

01:14:08 So five new industrial court judges have been appointed

01:14:10 by President Christine Kangaloo.

01:14:12 The new judges are Glenn Wilson, Mario Als,

01:14:15 Peter Ramkisson, Stephanie Fingal, and Carol London.

01:14:20 We do have another call.

01:14:22 All right, so you're calling us on 623-1711.

01:14:26 The extension is 1995.

01:14:28 In a media release issued yesterday,

01:14:30 the industrial court stated that Ramkisson, Wilson, Als,

01:14:33 and Fingal all preside in the general services division

01:14:37 while London presides in the essential services division.

01:14:40 We do have another call.

01:14:41 Good morning, caller.

01:14:43 - Yeah, good morning, Mr. Huffington,

01:14:45 and good morning to your viewers.

01:14:47 - Thank you.

01:14:48 - This is a follow-up call from some weeks ago.

01:14:51 I had commented about the very efficient chairman

01:14:56 of the Tsunabunapi Aco-Regional Corporation, Mr. Austin,

01:15:00 and how very effective he was in removing gardens.

01:15:05 I have not seen that same effectiveness

01:15:08 being transferred into cutting the overgrown lot

01:15:12 in the Tunapuna area, particularly on Pele Street.

01:15:17 There's a highly overgrown lot which is a danger.

01:15:20 It poses a danger in terms of harboring the giant snails.

01:15:25 It poses a danger in terms of criminals can hide there,

01:15:29 and while school students and young women

01:15:34 go up and down the street to get to their workplace,

01:15:38 they're at risk, and I am calling this morning

01:15:41 on Chairman Mr. Josiah Austin to ask the council

01:15:46 for the area to put on their shoes

01:15:49 and come up on Pele Street and look at the overgrown lot.

01:15:51 It's terrible.

01:15:52 It's really terrible.

01:15:53 There have been residents there who had to go out and fire

01:15:56 because they couldn't get the fire tenders

01:15:59 to come and out it properly,

01:16:01 and we don't want that situation like that.

01:16:03 We are asking kindly that these people

01:16:05 who are seen removing grass on the side of the road,

01:16:09 the little two-inch grass that comes out of the pitch,

01:16:13 remove them from that and let them cut these 10-foot grass.

01:16:18 This grass is 10 feet tall at least

01:16:22 on Pele Street, Tunapuna.

01:16:23 Malan, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity

01:16:26 to express my utter frustration.

01:16:29 - Thank you very much, sir.

01:16:30 - And have a beautiful day, you and your crew.

01:16:32 - Thank you. - Thank you, Malan.

01:16:33 - Thank you very much, sir.

01:16:33 Yeah.

01:16:34 All right, we just have time for maybe one more call.

01:16:37 Yeah, we are.

01:16:38 You're calling us on 623-1711.

01:16:40 The extension is 1995,

01:16:42 while Trinidad and Tobago's energy future may be bright,

01:16:45 the reality is that small and medium-sized businesses

01:16:48 in the industry are struggling today.

01:16:50 Chairman of the Energy Chamber of TNT, Jerome Dukie,

01:16:54 has lamented, and I understand that we do have

01:16:56 some live images as to what is happening right now.

01:17:03 This is where?

01:17:04 Makoya, that was Makoya just now.

01:17:07 So the traffic has extended to Makoya.

01:17:11 And remember, the accident has happened on the Betham.

01:17:14 So this is what you are experiencing this morning, right?

01:17:19 Thank you very much to our camera person, Brandon Benoit,

01:17:23 who is out there stuck in the traffic, but still working.

01:17:26 So thank you very much to Brandon Benoit.

01:17:29 As I told you earlier today,

01:17:30 that some of you may have to use other avenues

01:17:34 to get into Port of Spain.

01:17:36 So take a look at this.

01:17:37 I don't know that you want to be stuck in this.

01:17:39 We do have another call.

01:17:40 Good morning, caller.

01:17:41 Caller, good morning.

01:17:43 All right, the caller, we have lost the caller.

01:17:47 All right, you're calling us on 623-1711.

01:17:50 The extension is 1995.

01:17:53 So you can please call us now.

01:17:55 And I'm just positive that that traffic there,

01:17:59 it extends beyond Makoya, all right?

01:18:02 So these are the shots from in the vicinity of Makoya there.

01:18:07 And because on a daily basis,

01:18:10 that traffic stems from the vicinity of Trin City

01:18:13 and straight down into Port of Spain.

01:18:15 So I just couldn't imagine how it is this morning.

01:18:18 And I'm sure that the weather is also not helping, yeah?

01:18:23 So again, a very special good morning

01:18:27 and thank you to Brandon Benwell,

01:18:28 who has fed us these pictures.

01:18:31 Yeah, so the lines are free.

01:18:35 You're calling us on 623-1711.

01:18:37 The extension is 1995.

01:18:39 Listen, if you are listening to us on the radio,

01:18:43 in that traffic, you can also call us.

01:18:45 We'd love to hear from you

01:18:47 as to what is happening out there.

01:18:49 Good morning, caller.

01:18:50 - Yes, why minister do open the bus route

01:18:53 for ephemeral period, thank you.

01:18:56 - All right, maybe a good suggestion.

01:18:58 Ministry of Works and Transport,

01:19:00 because of that situation on the Betham,

01:19:02 the caller said,

01:19:03 "Maybe you all should think about

01:19:05 "opening the priority bus route, yeah?"

01:19:07 You're calling us on 623-1711.

01:19:09 The extension is 1995.

01:19:12 So you can please call us now.

01:19:15 It has become, oh, we are going to a break?

01:19:22 All right, all right.

01:19:23 So that's gonna do it for calls, people.

01:19:25 Thank you very much to all of our callers

01:19:28 for spending some time with me this morning.

01:19:30 As I told you, some of our guests

01:19:33 are stuck in the traffic, yeah?

01:19:35 One of them has just walked in.

01:19:37 You'll see that person after the break.

01:19:39 We're coming back.

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01:20:43 (gentle music)

01:21:00 - I, I could, I tried to be invisible when they returned.

01:21:09 But they see me, they always see me.

01:21:11 Oh, how about my parents?

01:21:13 They're doing great, everybody's well.

01:21:16 I have bruises and marks that I have to make up stories about

01:21:19 when people ask.

01:21:21 What they say?

01:21:21 I fall off my bike, you know how it is?

01:21:24 They beat me up and I'm tired of lying.

01:21:27 Once, just once, I want to say no, I'm not fine.

01:21:32 Please someone, just help me.

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01:21:39 - Children have rights.

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01:22:20 - All right, so welcome back everyone.

01:22:23 Thank you again for joining us this morning.

01:22:26 And look who has joined us,

01:22:28 a gentleman who has been in the traffic for a while,

01:22:31 Sergeant Ansel Ford.

01:22:32 He has been fortunate to get out of that situation.

01:22:35 Sergeant, thank you very much

01:22:37 for making it to the studio this morning.

01:22:39 - Pleasant morning Marlon,

01:22:40 pleasant morning, Transantibego.

01:22:41 Yes Marlon, the traffic was intense, right?

01:22:45 I understand that there is a report of a fatality

01:22:49 on the beat him in the vicinity of Vemca there.

01:22:53 So that would have contributed to massive backup.

01:22:57 So persons who are in traffic,

01:22:59 I trust that you all understand

01:23:01 what is causing the traffic delay.

01:23:03 And I ask you all to be patient

01:23:05 whilst the police officers

01:23:06 try to manage the situation out there.

01:23:08 - But as you made your way to the studio this morning,

01:23:12 what areas you would have seen

01:23:16 where the traffic it's bumper to bumper traffic?

01:23:20 - Prior to meeting the maritime flyover there,

01:23:25 it would have traffic all before that.

01:23:27 And persons were trying to go over the maritime flyover

01:23:31 because of the traffic situation.

01:23:33 So that would contribute.

01:23:34 - So that extends all,

01:23:34 if they're taking that route,

01:23:36 that would extend all into Mova too, I suspect?

01:23:38 - Up to, like you said,

01:23:39 the bus route and the main road,

01:23:41 continue in there, yeah.

01:23:42 - All right, thank you very much Sergeant.

01:23:45 Okay, Sergeant, what do you have for us this morning?

01:23:48 - Yes, Marlon, we are continuing with our safety tips.

01:23:53 We can evolve, but in particular,

01:23:55 we are focusing on pepper spray

01:23:58 and the use of pepper spray.

01:24:00 So as of 2021, with the amendment to the Firearms Act,

01:24:05 pepper spray became lawful for persons to import,

01:24:12 for persons to sell, for persons to acquire.

01:24:18 And have on their person as a level of protection.

01:24:23 However, it is not a carte blanche.

01:24:27 For one, persons cannot simply import

01:24:31 any type of pepper spray.

01:24:33 Not anybody could import it.

01:24:37 And whatever it is you import

01:24:40 has to meet the approval of the minister

01:24:45 and the standards set by the minister

01:24:50 in terms of its velocity, the strength of it,

01:24:54 and things associated with the,

01:24:56 I wanna say the composition of pepper spray.

01:25:00 Now, Marlon, firstly, what is pepper spray?

01:25:05 And for the purpose of being clear,

01:25:08 I would read the definition

01:25:10 from the Firearms Amendment Act, 7 of 2021.

01:25:15 Pepper spray means any inflammatory agent

01:25:18 which when applied on the body of an individual

01:25:21 may cause the mucous membranes in the eyes, nose,

01:25:25 throat, and lungs of the individual to become inflamed,

01:25:29 resulting in the immediate closing of eyes,

01:25:32 difficulty breathing, runny nose, and coughing.

01:25:35 That speaks to what pepper spray is

01:25:40 and the impact it will have on the body of the individual.

01:25:45 Marlon, before we can even think about

01:25:48 us accessing pepper spray, we need to understand that,

01:25:52 one, there is a requirement for an import permit

01:25:56 by someone who wishes to bring pepper spray

01:25:59 into the country, and even a retail permit,

01:26:03 somebody who intends to sell.

01:26:05 So, Marlon, in terms of a pepper spray import permit,

01:26:09 according to the definition,

01:26:11 means a permit authorizing the holder

01:26:14 during such period and from such source

01:26:17 as may be specified in the permit

01:26:19 to import pepper spray into the

01:26:21 environmental and institutional antibiotic.

01:26:23 So the permit is for a time,

01:26:27 the permit directs who, or in terms of the source

01:26:30 you'd be obtaining the pepper spray from

01:26:34 before it could come into the country, right?

01:26:37 Additionally, Marlon, a pepper spray permit

01:26:40 means a permit authorizing the holder

01:26:43 during such period as may be specified in the permit

01:26:45 to, A, manufacture, produce, export,

01:26:50 divert, sell, or distribute pepper spray.

01:26:55 B, purchase, acquire, or have in his possession

01:26:59 pepper spray.

01:26:59 Marlon.

01:27:02 - But before we move on, Sergeant,

01:27:04 who does one, or which organization does one

01:27:10 approach for this import license?

01:27:13 - Marlon, I'm happy that you asked the question.

01:27:15 The Commission of Police, right?

01:27:18 Is the person authorized under the Firearms Act

01:27:22 to grant these permits upon application.

01:27:27 So, online in terms of the police service website,

01:27:32 the application forms are available

01:27:34 and persons can visit who are desirous

01:27:38 of engaging in the use, or let us say,

01:27:40 the sale of pepper spray.

01:27:43 Marlon, further to that, pepper spray,

01:27:46 whilst it is now, let us say, permitted,

01:27:51 it is a prohibited weapon.

01:27:55 And again, Marlon, to speak to what is a prohibited weapon,

01:28:01 again, refer to the Firearms Act.

01:28:04 Definition for a prohibited weapon means

01:28:08 any artillery or automatic firearm,

01:28:11 any grenade, bomb, or other like missile,

01:28:14 any weapon of whatever description or design

01:28:17 which is designed, manufactured, or adapted

01:28:20 for the discharge of any noxious liquid gas or other thing.

01:28:24 In this section here, pepper spray falls

01:28:29 within the definition in terms of being able

01:28:32 to discharge any noxious liquid gas or other thing.

01:28:37 And whilst it is that one may think

01:28:41 that I can have pepper spray on my person, right,

01:28:46 the law goes further to speak to a public place, right?

01:28:54 So, if it is that you are in public with pepper spray,

01:29:02 and you don't have a permit, you are committing an offense.

01:29:06 If you think, because I'm not in public,

01:29:10 and I have it in my private dwelling, or a private place,

01:29:15 it is a prohibited weapon.

01:29:19 And for you to import it, for you to have it,

01:29:23 you are required by law to obtain the requisite permit.

01:29:28 And failing to do that, you are committing offenses,

01:29:32 and serious offenses, Marlon,

01:29:34 because they carry stiff penalties.

01:29:37 And I would speak to the penalty.

01:29:39 Section three of the act speaks to any pepper spray

01:29:46 that is not approved by the minister under subsection one

01:29:50 is a prohibited weapon for the purpose of this act.

01:29:55 Section four, a person who contravenes subsection two

01:30:00 commits an offense and is liable,

01:30:02 A, on summary conviction to a fine of $250,000,

01:30:07 and to imprisonment for five years.

01:30:12 This makes it, one, Marlon, a summary offense,

01:30:15 but also an arrestable offense,

01:30:18 for which the police don't need a warrant to arrest you

01:30:24 because of the term of imprisonment that it carries,

01:30:27 which is five years.

01:30:29 And we're speaking about at the summary level.

01:30:31 In relation to it, a person on conviction on indictment

01:30:36 to a fine of $750,000, and to imprisonment for 15 years.

01:30:41 The law is very strict in terms of the offenses,

01:30:52 and we can understand why,

01:30:54 because as much as it is now lawful for you to carry,

01:30:59 it requires a certain degree of responsibility

01:31:03 and proper management, because--

01:31:07 - Sergeant, if I can stop you there,

01:31:08 we do have a call for you.

01:31:10 Good morning, caller.

01:31:12 - Good morning, good morning to you, Marlon,

01:31:14 and good morning to the sergeant.

01:31:16 - Yes. - Hi, pleasure, morning.

01:31:18 - Good morning.

01:31:19 - Go ahead, sir.

01:31:21 - I have a question for the sergeant.

01:31:22 - Yes.

01:31:23 - I have a background in chemistry,

01:31:25 and I can make my own pepper spray.

01:31:27 What about that?

01:31:28 - Okay. - Thank you very much, sir.

01:31:32 - Before, I spoke in relation to manufacturing,

01:31:37 in terms of one of the definitions

01:31:40 that would require that the person have a permit.

01:31:44 So notwithstanding your background in chemistry,

01:31:48 if it is that you were to manufacture a pepper spray,

01:31:51 and you do not have the requisite permission,

01:31:54 then, or permit, sorry, you would be committing an offense

01:31:57 and subject to the sanctions of the law.

01:32:00 - Yes, thank you.

01:32:02 - Yes, Marlon, so we identify that there are stiff penalties

01:32:08 in relation to persons who contravene,

01:32:15 let us say, the basic part of the act,

01:32:19 which identifies that the minister has the authority

01:32:24 to approve certain types of pepper spray.

01:32:27 And if you have, in your position,

01:32:29 contrary to what the minister would have approved,

01:32:33 you are committing offenses,

01:32:34 and the sanctions before were specific

01:32:37 to those particular offenses.

01:32:39 - All right, Sergeant, we have another call.

01:32:41 You're hot this morning, Sergeant.

01:32:42 They wanna speak to you, eh?

01:32:44 - Interesting topic, Marlon.

01:32:46 - Good morning, caller.

01:32:48 - Good morning, good morning.

01:32:49 - Hi, pleasant morning.

01:32:51 - I was interested, I have a bit of statistics to find out,

01:32:53 like, on our fridge, like,

01:32:55 how many applications do we get for pepper spray?

01:32:59 And if they are rejected, why is it grown, they are rejected?

01:33:02 And like, well, yeah, like, what was the recommendation,

01:33:07 and if we are not getting them rejected?

01:33:12 - All right, thank you very much.

01:33:13 Sure, all right.

01:33:15 Caller, with respect to the statistics,

01:33:18 I know that for the time that they became lawful,

01:33:23 there was in excess of 400 applications,

01:33:28 which range from persons who wish to import,

01:33:31 persons wishing to retail,

01:33:33 and persons wishing to have for their own use.

01:33:36 To break it down in terms of the granular numbers,

01:33:40 I'm unable to do that as we speak,

01:33:42 but I can provide that information,

01:33:45 probably even on our next segment.

01:33:47 - Yes. - Yes?

01:33:48 - Yeah, all right, Sergeant,

01:33:50 time is against us this morning, right?

01:33:51 So we just have about, there's another call for him.

01:33:55 All right, good morning, caller.

01:33:57 - Morning. - Morning.

01:33:59 - Hi, morning. - Sergeant is here.

01:34:00 Go ahead, sir.

01:34:01 - The conduct of the proverbial food is,

01:34:05 my wife applies to the food to carry pepper spray,

01:34:08 nearly a year ago, and we have produced nothing.

01:34:11 - You're hearing the gentleman, sir?

01:34:14 - Yeah, I'm hearing him as well.

01:34:15 That his wife applied for a permit

01:34:19 about a year over a year ago, and has heard nothing.

01:34:21 Caller-wise, I cannot speak to the application.

01:34:25 What I can advise your wife to do

01:34:28 is to communicate with the Office of the Commissioner,

01:34:32 and the particular officer with the responsibility

01:34:37 for the applications,

01:34:39 you will be directed to that office,

01:34:41 and you will get the necessary information

01:34:44 in relation to the status of the application.

01:34:46 And that is the advice I can give to you.

01:34:48 - Yes, Sergeant, apparently this is a hot topic

01:34:50 for members of the public, all right?

01:34:52 I know that time is against us this morning.

01:34:54 We just have about a minute again.

01:34:55 - Sure. - But I'm sure that we can

01:34:56 continue the conversation again when you return next week.

01:35:00 But go ahead, sir.

01:35:01 - Yes, well, Marlon, definitely,

01:35:02 I would look forward to furthering the conversation

01:35:05 on our next session. - Yes.

01:35:06 - All right, so Marlon, in relation to the persons who may...

01:35:11 All right, let me read. - Yeah.

01:35:20 - Sorry, yeah, right.

01:35:22 So under Section 6, any person who is applying

01:35:26 for a pepper spray import permit,

01:35:29 or pepper spray permit under Section 6(b),

01:35:33 if they make any statement, or give any information,

01:35:36 which to his knowledge is false,

01:35:38 or is any material respect misleading,

01:35:41 commits an offense and is liable on summary conviction

01:35:44 to a fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for five years,

01:35:49 on indictment to a fine of $750,000

01:35:52 and to imprisonment for 15 years.

01:35:54 So this speaks to the truthfulness,

01:35:58 the veracity of the applicant.

01:36:01 And if it is that you knowingly provide false information,

01:36:05 you are committing an offense.

01:36:07 So the persons who wish to apply,

01:36:10 we want to encourage you to be truthful in your application,

01:36:15 understanding that it is an offense to do otherwise.

01:36:19 So Marlon, we will have to stop at this time,

01:36:23 due to the time constraint. - Of course, the topic is not

01:36:24 like pepper this morning, you know, Sergeant.

01:36:26 - And I commit to further the discussion

01:36:29 on the next reading. - Yes, all right.

01:36:31 Thank you very much, Sergeant,

01:36:32 and we will continue, as the Sergeant said,

01:36:34 we will continue the discussion.

01:36:35 We just can't take calls this morning on the topic

01:36:38 because we have run out of time, all right?

01:36:39 But Sergeant is going to be back next week.

01:36:41 We are going to a very short break.

01:36:43 We are coming back.

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01:38:04 - Did you know that vaping with nicotine

01:38:08 can permanently affect brain development

01:38:10 in people under the age of 25?

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01:38:14 - Did you know that e-cigarettes are associated

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01:38:45 ♪ Ride out, if you touch the ground ♪

01:38:50 ♪ Wanna look as a waste and strong ♪

01:38:52 ♪ And you bump our road to the music done ♪

01:38:55 ♪ Grab a cup with your friend ♪

01:38:56 ♪ If you know that the truth is the end ♪

01:38:58 ♪ Memories are the time we'll spend ♪

01:39:00 ♪ Feel less, there's no pretend ♪

01:39:02 ♪ Grab a cup with your friend ♪

01:39:03 ♪ If you know that the truth is the end ♪

01:39:05 ♪ Memories are the time we'll spend ♪

01:39:06 - All right, welcome back, everyone.

01:39:08 So we are talking about soca.

01:39:10 We're taking the energy up this morning.

01:39:13 It's a cool morning in Port of Spain,

01:39:15 so we're taking the energy up this morning

01:39:17 with 16-year-old soca artist Josiah Beckles,

01:39:20 also known as Sire,

01:39:22 and he's here to tell us about his 2024 carnival offerings.

01:39:27 Sire, thank you very much for coming this morning.

01:39:29 - I appreciate you being here today.

01:39:30 - Yeah, let me tell you,

01:39:32 oh, Sire, 16 years old and all that.

01:39:34 - No, no, no, no.

01:39:35 - Not 16?

01:39:35 - No, no.

01:39:36 - Well, we're wrong.

01:39:37 How old are you? - 19.

01:39:38 - 19?

01:39:39 Are you not 16, 19?

01:39:40 - Yeah. - You're on the same thing.

01:39:41 I can't remember when I was 19.

01:39:43 It must be a good thing, Sire.

01:39:45 But Sire, tell us about,

01:39:46 for people who may not be too familiar with you,

01:39:49 let's speak a little bit about this journey into soca.

01:39:53 - Yeah, so as I said, my name is Sire 16.

01:39:56 I recorded my first song at the age of 16.

01:39:59 - Oh, all right.

01:40:00 - So that's why, hence the name Sire 16.

01:40:02 So the soca, this is actually my first time

01:40:04 trying soca music, you know, first time doing this.

01:40:08 My main plan in the soca was to come and win soca mona,

01:40:11 but then I have another Sienna,

01:40:12 so my main goal with the soca right now

01:40:15 is to reach out to the promoters,

01:40:17 to let them know that, hey, us youths,

01:40:19 we're trying the soca,

01:40:20 we wanna be in it as the bigger heads.

01:40:23 And so far the journey is going good,

01:40:26 but as I said, the promoters and them,

01:40:29 they're not really too open to new people

01:40:31 that they're accustomed to the higher ones.

01:40:34 So if they could hear us out and hear that

01:40:37 youths trying to come in with the soca,

01:40:39 we're trying to blend in and thing,

01:40:40 and if they can take us in, that would be very nice.

01:40:42 - Yeah, but Sire, I want to tell you,

01:40:44 it's not, some of the same people

01:40:47 that you're seeing right now,

01:40:48 I'm sure that they will tell you it's not an easy journey.

01:40:51 So it's, you have to creep before you walk.

01:40:54 And I have, judging from what I'm hearing from you,

01:40:57 thus far, I have no doubt that you're not going to do well.

01:41:02 I think that you are going to do well.

01:41:03 So let's hear some of the music

01:41:06 that you have for us this morning.

01:41:07 Sire has three songs, you know?

01:41:09 - Yeah. - Yeah?

01:41:10 Studio, let's hear the first song he has for us.

01:41:14 What's the name of this song?

01:41:17 - The name of this song is "Misbehave."

01:41:20 - "Misbehave," you wrote this song?

01:41:21 - Yes, my man, Jani.

01:41:23 - Yeah, who produced this song?

01:41:24 - Junior Record Labels and Trini Baby.

01:41:26 - Yeah, have you already launched it?

01:41:29 - Yes, yes. - Yeah?

01:41:30 - On YouTube. - On YouTube.

01:41:32 - And all platforms, no matter how far.

01:41:34 - What has the response been?

01:41:36 - Very good. - Yeah?

01:41:37 What about radio stations?

01:41:38 You're getting a little play?

01:41:39 - Yeah, I got radio station plays.

01:41:40 I was on interviews, I'm on "Ice Lamb" next week.

01:41:43 I mean, on "Ice Lamb" this Wednesday.

01:41:44 - Yeah? - So that's a good thing.

01:41:46 Pavement lines and those type of stuff.

01:41:48 - Yeah, man, Sire, you need take, man.

01:41:50 You have nothing to complain about.

01:41:51 Let's hear the song from Sire.

01:41:52 ♪ You know each other behind me ♪

01:41:54 ♪ Never mind all that body ♪

01:41:55 ♪ What? ♪

01:41:56 (laughing)

01:41:58 ♪ Go ahead, Sire, go ahead ♪

01:42:02 ♪ Wave, sentimental beasties ♪

01:42:04 ♪ Say bumper all around, yes, it's Carnival again ♪

01:42:08 ♪ Big parade, just when I misbehave ♪

01:42:10 ♪ Say soca in my veins, so we shellin' down the ♪

01:42:13 ♪ I say, "Mask man, big chop, dunk water, spin" ♪

01:42:17 ♪ Carnival Tuesday, sunshine, not no rain ♪

01:42:20 ♪ Say rag up, rag on the gal, whine and low ♪

01:42:23 ♪ Say vomit, we system, we don't care how it goes ♪

01:42:26 ♪ Oh, jump up, jump up, feel the soca vibe ♪

01:42:29 ♪ Hands in the air, let the music take a guide ♪

01:42:32 ♪ Say soca fever, we spreadin' all around ♪

01:42:35 ♪ Join in the monastery, we dance to a song ♪

01:42:39 ♪ In the place, when we touch the road ♪

01:42:42 ♪ We not going home, no day ♪

01:42:44 ♪ Say jab, jab in the vein, when I overload ♪

01:42:48 ♪ Bring the alcohol to me ♪

01:42:50 ♪ Come, and now we have no behavior ♪

01:42:52 ♪ When you run it down, we run it down ♪

01:42:53 - So is this a Juvé song?

01:42:55 - Yeah, this is a Juvé song.

01:42:56 - Because I'm hearing you speaking about jab, jab and so on.

01:42:57 - Yeah, this is a Juvé song.

01:42:58 - Yeah, yeah?

01:42:59 All right, so we have two other songs for Sy, eh?

01:43:02 Yeah, all your wheel, wheel, wheel.

01:43:06 Yeah, what was the name of that song again?

01:43:07 - Misbehave.

01:43:08 - Misbehave.

01:43:09 And what are the names of the two other songs?

01:43:11 - This one here is called, um,

01:43:14 Bunnets.

01:43:16 - Bunnets?

01:43:17 - Yeah, it's Bunnets.

01:43:18 It's a, it's a road map song, actually.

01:43:21 - All right.

01:43:22 This song is for the road, everybody.

01:43:23 - Yeah.

01:43:24 - From Sy.

01:43:25 ♪ This is an emergency ♪

01:43:26 ♪ And I move in there in urgency ♪

01:43:27 ♪ I come in with fire ♪

01:43:29 ♪ Fire with a blazing flame ♪

01:43:30 ♪ As soon as I mash up, fest and burn it down ♪

01:43:32 ♪ They gon' do my name ♪

01:43:34 ♪ So underestimate the power inside of me ♪

01:43:37 ♪ It's vibrant energy that lives within inside of me ♪

01:43:40 ♪ So if you think that you could come and ignite this flame ♪

01:43:43 - We don't run with the new TV tricks, eh?

01:43:45 ♪ Who could be coming to burn it ♪

01:43:47 ♪ Smash up the place and burn it ♪

01:43:48 ♪ Trampoline stage and burn it ♪

01:43:50 ♪ All in the road with bunnets ♪

01:43:51 ♪ Hey, we coming to burn it ♪

01:43:53 ♪ Water spilling over it ♪

01:43:54 ♪ East to west, we go burn it ♪

01:43:56 ♪ Take it over and burn it ♪

01:43:58 ♪ Hey, we coming to burn it ♪

01:43:59 ♪ Burn it down ♪

01:44:00 ♪ Money's getting dry to the core ♪

01:44:01 ♪ We go burn it ♪

01:44:02 ♪ Burn it down ♪

01:44:03 ♪ Money's fractured to the core ♪

01:44:04 ♪ We go burn it ♪

01:44:05 ♪ Burn it down ♪

01:44:06 ♪ Money's placed high to the door ♪

01:44:07 ♪ We go burn it ♪

01:44:08 ♪ Hey, you see we could burn it ♪

01:44:10 ♪ Hey ♪

01:44:11 ♪ This iron is the one and some ♪

01:44:12 ♪ To set the fire coming down ♪

01:44:14 ♪ So all the things that could test me ♪

01:44:15 ♪ Just be prepared and be ready ♪

01:44:17 ♪ I hope they know I'm the beast ♪

01:44:18 ♪ I ain't thinkin' 'bout some tough old ways ♪

01:44:20 ♪ So brace yourself ♪

01:44:21 ♪ 'Cause the fire's lit ♪

01:44:22 ♪ We coming to burn it ♪

01:44:24 ♪ Burn it down ♪

01:44:25 ♪ Money's getting dry to the core ♪

01:44:26 ♪ We go burn it ♪

01:44:27 ♪ Burn it down ♪

01:44:28 ♪ Money's fractured to the core ♪

01:44:29 ♪ We go burn it ♪

01:44:30 ♪ Burn it down ♪

01:44:31 ♪ Money's placed high to the door ♪

01:44:32 ♪ We go burn it ♪

01:44:33 ♪ Hey, you see we could burn it ♪

01:44:34 - Don't take that literally, yeah.

01:44:36 Don't take that literally.

01:44:38 Don't go out there with no matches

01:44:39 and then trying to burn nothing down, yeah.

01:44:41 But Sire, and the next song.

01:44:44 Yeah, here's the next song for us.

01:44:45 - All right, so the last song is a groovy.

01:44:47 - Right.

01:44:47 - It's a full soca that I wrote for the season.

01:44:50 Actually, I just want three of 'em in the morning,

01:44:52 my manager and I.

01:44:53 So the next song is called "Ride On".

01:44:55 - You need.

01:44:56 - I need.

01:44:57 - Yeah, let's take it in.

01:44:58 ♪ It's soca time ♪

01:44:59 ♪ Just wind and move your waistline ♪

01:45:01 ♪ This session all in my mind ♪

01:45:03 ♪ This thing just have me on a grind ♪

01:45:06 ♪ I be trippin' on the road ♪

01:45:07 ♪ Right now, so I'm a feelin' exposed ♪

01:45:09 ♪ Right now, it's a bumper balloon ♪

01:45:11 ♪ With the T-shirt on, we're closed ♪

01:45:13 ♪ I be feelin' the vibe ♪

01:45:14 ♪ Chop up, we ain't wasting no time ♪

01:45:16 ♪ Right now, I just want the wine ♪

01:45:19 ♪ We goin' ♪

01:45:20 ♪ Ride on, down the down ♪

01:45:22 ♪ Ride on 'til we touch the ground ♪

01:45:23 ♪ One and a low 'cause the waistline strong ♪

01:45:25 ♪ And the bumper roll to the music on ♪

01:45:27 ♪ Ride on, down the down ♪

01:45:29 ♪ Ride on 'til we touch the ground ♪

01:45:31 ♪ One and a low 'cause the waistline strong ♪

01:45:32 ♪ And the bumper roll to the music on ♪

01:45:35 ♪ Put your hands in the air ♪

01:45:36 ♪ Keep it up if you have no fear ♪

01:45:38 ♪ It's no dancing, it's soca and tear ♪

01:45:40 ♪ For the game 'cause we have no care, yeah ♪

01:45:42 ♪ Boys, they close to the sky ♪

01:45:44 ♪ A tribute to your era, the lie ♪

01:45:46 ♪ Come drink it so many nights ♪

01:45:48 ♪ 'Cause we goin' ♪

01:45:49 ♪ Ride on, down the down ♪

01:45:51 ♪ Ride on 'til we touch the ground ♪

01:45:52 - That's the dance? - Yeah.

01:45:53 ♪ One and a low 'cause the waistline strong ♪

01:45:54 ♪ And the bumper roll to the music on ♪

01:45:56 ♪ Ride on, down the down ♪

01:45:58 ♪ Ride on 'til we touch the ground ♪

01:46:00 ♪ One and a low 'cause the waistline strong ♪

01:46:02 ♪ And the bumper roll to the music on ♪

01:46:05 ♪ Grab a cup with your friend ♪

01:46:06 ♪ If you know that the truth is the end ♪

01:46:08 ♪ The memories of the time was spent ♪

01:46:10 ♪ Realness, there's no pretend ♪

01:46:12 ♪ Grab a cup with your friend ♪

01:46:13 ♪ If you know that the truth is the end ♪

01:46:15 ♪ The memories of the time was spent ♪

01:46:17 - You're gonna chase your dreams.

01:46:18 ♪ Oh, go on ♪

01:46:19 ♪ I'm a trippin' on your road ♪

01:46:21 ♪ Right now, 'cause I'm a fearless force ♪

01:46:22 ♪ Right now, 'cause I'm above a load ♪

01:46:24 ♪ We can still all get boozed ♪

01:46:27 ♪ I'm a feelin' divine ♪

01:46:28 ♪ Choke up, we don't waste no time ♪

01:46:30 ♪ The boys are singin' ♪

01:46:32 - This is it, this is all you.

01:46:33 ♪ 'Cause we goin' ♪

01:46:34 - Learn it.

01:46:35 ♪ Ride on, down the down ♪

01:46:36 ♪ Ride on 'til we touch the ground ♪

01:46:37 ♪ One and a low 'cause the waistline strong ♪

01:46:39 ♪ And the bumper roll to the music on ♪

01:46:40 ♪ You goin' ride on, down the down ♪

01:46:43 ♪ Ride on 'til we touch the ground ♪

01:46:45 ♪ One and a low 'cause the waistline strong ♪

01:46:45 - Sire, this is my favorite song.

01:46:47 - Yeah, it's good.

01:46:48 - Yeah?

01:46:49 - Yeah, I like it. - I like this.

01:46:50 I really like it.

01:46:50 - It's a crowd favorite.

01:46:51 - It is a crowd favorite.

01:46:52 - Yeah.

01:46:53 - Yeah?

01:46:54 Studio, how much time do I have on Sire again?

01:46:56 All right, Sire, I have two minutes with you.

01:46:58 - Yeah.

01:46:59 - If people want to get in contact with you,

01:47:01 how do they do that?

01:47:02 - They can find me on Instagram @sires16,

01:47:05 TikTok @sires16, and for bookings,

01:47:08 Junior Record label on Instagram,

01:47:09 and my music is on YouTube also, @juniorrecordlabel.

01:47:12 - Yeah.

01:47:14 Where can we see you for the carnival season?

01:47:16 - Carnival, as I said, this Wednesday,

01:47:18 we're outside in Iceland.

01:47:20 - Right.

01:47:21 - And to keep up with the carnival stuff again,

01:47:24 follow me on Instagram, follow Junior Record.

01:47:26 - Yes.

01:47:27 - And you'll be updated.

01:47:28 - Sire 16, I like the song.

01:47:31 I think that you're doing well,

01:47:32 and we look to a bright future with you, you know, Sire.

01:47:36 Don't give up, eh?

01:47:37 - I won't die without you.

01:47:38 - Yeah?

01:47:38 All right, take us out now, Sire.

01:47:40 We're going to have a break.

01:47:41 This is my favorite song.

01:47:42 Let me go, let me go out here.

01:47:43 (singing in foreign language)

01:47:47 (singing in foreign language)

01:47:51 ♪ Hey, if you have no fear ♪

01:47:54 (singing in foreign language)

01:47:57 ♪ When you look up to the sky ♪

01:47:59 (singing in foreign language)

01:48:20 ♪ Got my puppets a friend ♪

01:48:23 - Hot 93 and JMMB Bank are ready to burn.

01:48:28 We're back at the spacious Movietown car park

01:48:30 in Port of Spain every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 p.m.

01:48:34 It is back, back, carnival burn.

01:48:37 (singing in foreign language)

01:48:41 Burn.

01:48:42 Six days of real endurance and fitness

01:48:44 from the fun and experienced instructors.

01:48:47 (singing in foreign language)

01:48:50 And all hosted by the awesome Hot 93 DJs and personalities.

01:48:55 Walk with your team and come sweat and vibe with us.

01:48:59 (upbeat music)

01:49:04 - Carnival season, a celebration of color,

01:49:09 creativity, revelry, and unity.

01:49:12 We welcome people from all over the world

01:49:14 to enjoy TNT Carnival,

01:49:16 the greatest show on earth.

01:49:18 But behind the scenes, there's a relentless effort

01:49:22 and precise preparation to ensure your safety.

01:49:26 On foot, in the air, on horseback,

01:49:30 on motorcycle and mobile patrol,

01:49:32 we are your constant line of defense.

01:49:35 While you party, we patrol.

01:49:38 While you whine, we work so you can enjoy

01:49:41 our sweet soca music.

01:49:43 All ranks out in full force under the watchful eyes

01:49:47 of the commissioner of police.

01:49:49 The rhythm, the vibes,

01:49:51 and everything that makes carnival memorable.

01:49:54 From desk job to detective,

01:49:57 every officer is called to the front lines.

01:49:59 We come off leave so you can leave all your worries behind

01:50:03 and fet with no stress.

01:50:06 All hands on deck.

01:50:07 While you play, we work.

01:50:10 We are dedicated to protect and serve

01:50:13 to ensure that your experience of the greatest show on earth

01:50:16 is safe, enjoyable, exciting, and memorable.

01:50:21 (upbeat music)

01:50:24 ♪ Double carnage ♪

01:50:34 ♪ Look the world gone sleeping ♪

01:50:38 ♪ Tell them we not leaving ♪

01:50:42 ♪ Till the last drop of the canal ♪

01:50:44 ♪ Is practicing the capital so ♪

01:50:46 ♪ I feel like I run it down again ♪

01:50:48 ♪ Jump and shake the drum again ♪

01:50:50 ♪ Wave with all my friend and demon ♪

01:50:52 ♪ No plan in life ♪

01:50:55 ♪ It's a 16 again ♪

01:51:07 ♪ Journey records ♪

01:51:09 ♪ It's hookah time ♪

01:51:11 ♪ It's time to free up your life ♪

01:51:13 ♪ Shin maker is paradise ♪

01:51:14 ♪ Time to come and enjoy the vibe ♪

01:51:17 ♪ It's hookah time ♪

01:51:18 ♪ Just wine and move your waistline ♪

01:51:20 ♪ This session all in my mind ♪

01:51:22 ♪ This thing just have me on a grind ♪

01:51:24 ♪ I'm a tripping on the road ♪

01:51:26 ♪ Right now so I'm feeling exposed ♪

01:51:27 ♪ Right now what's up I'm overload ♪

01:51:29 ♪ With the things in the hallways ghost ♪

01:51:32 ♪ I'm a feeling the vibe ♪

01:51:33 ♪ Jump up in a waste of no time ♪

01:51:35 ♪ Right now I just want to wine ♪

01:51:38 ♪ We going right down down down ♪

01:51:40 ♪ Right down till we touch the ground ♪

01:51:42 ♪ Wanna look cause the waistline strong ♪

01:51:44 ♪ And the bump our road till the music down ♪

01:51:46 ♪ Right down down down ♪

01:51:48 ♪ Right down till we touch the ground ♪

01:51:50 ♪ Wanna look cause the waistline strong ♪

01:51:51 ♪ And the bump our road till the music down ♪

01:51:54 ♪ Put your hands in the air ♪

01:51:55 ♪ Keep it up if you have no fear ♪

01:51:57 ♪ Don't you know that this hookah is here ♪

01:51:59 ♪ For the king cause we have no care ♪

01:52:01 ♪ Want to top city sky ♪

01:52:02 ♪ A true beauty I really rather die ♪

01:52:04 ♪ I'm drinking so mad now ♪

01:52:08 - 16 and let me tell you, it's always good

01:52:10 when you're seeing young people involved

01:52:12 in some level of positive activity.

01:52:16 We have one more interview for you.

01:52:18 I know we are pressed for time this morning.

01:52:21 We do actually, we do have our interviewer,

01:52:23 interviewee, all right?

01:52:25 So our next guest is gospel artiste, Jerome Deveens.

01:52:28 Jerome, good morning.

01:52:30 - Good morning, good morning.

01:52:32 - All right, I'm hearing Jerome.

01:52:34 I'm not seeing him.

01:52:35 Ah, Jerome is there.

01:52:36 Jerome, what do you have for us for this season here?

01:52:40 I understand that you're a gospel artiste.

01:52:42 - Yes, I am.

01:52:44 So for this season, I would have came in already,

01:52:47 you know, for Kingdom Army.

01:52:48 But this time, you know, I have much on.

01:52:51 So I'm making sure I'm represented.

01:52:54 - Right. - For Kingdom Army.

01:52:57 - Uh-huh, all right.

01:52:59 - So Kingdom Army was the so-called song

01:53:02 that I put out this year, you know,

01:53:04 a gospel song that, you know,

01:53:07 talks about uplifting, you know, individuals.

01:53:10 And, you know, basically that we are already,

01:53:13 our socks are preordained, you know?

01:53:18 Whatever is for us is for us.

01:53:19 So basically that is it, a soldier who, you know,

01:53:23 could fight any war, could, you know,

01:53:26 succeed in everything that they put their mind to.

01:53:28 - Yeah.

01:53:29 Let's talk a little bit about the merch.

01:53:32 Where can people get it?

01:53:33 - So the merch will be available online on my page,

01:53:37 @jeromedebeans on Instagram.

01:53:40 And also you'll be seeing the merch on Instagram,

01:53:44 you'll be seeing it on TikTok,

01:53:44 'cause I do TikTok videos as well.

01:53:46 So we still have it all over.

01:53:50 - Right. - I was actually

01:53:50 supposed to bring it in for you all,

01:53:52 but I will bring it in, I'll bring in one.

01:53:53 (laughing)

01:53:56 - Is it just T-shirts alone?

01:53:57 - Well, for now, it's T-shirts.

01:54:01 I have ideas of going into the hoodies,

01:54:04 and then I may do some bucket hats and, you know,

01:54:07 other merch.

01:54:08 - Yeah.

01:54:09 So let's talk a little bit about what's in store.

01:54:13 What next is in store for you?

01:54:16 - Well, I have a few events that I'll be performing in.

01:54:21 One for sure will be Momentum.

01:54:24 I'll be performing in Momentum,

01:54:25 so welcome to the show, put me there.

01:54:27 I'll also, you know, be dropping a few songs

01:54:30 outside of the season, right?

01:54:34 So I'll be dropping some songs outside of the season itself.

01:54:37 The spell songs, pretty good songs,

01:54:41 you know, so a little bit of stuff like that.

01:54:44 - Yeah.

01:54:45 So, I think it is safe to say that we can expect

01:54:50 a few contributions from you over the next few months?

01:54:55 - Correct, for sure, for sure.

01:54:58 - Yeah.

01:54:59 - Let's deal with a bit, because you know,

01:55:04 in every genre of music,

01:55:08 there are different types of, how do I say, boy?

01:55:14 In the genre, there are other genres.

01:55:19 So, Jerome, is it that, is there a particular type

01:55:23 of gospel music that you dabble in, that you like?

01:55:28 - Well, I really, really love dancehall,

01:55:31 and surprisingly, when I did Kingdom Army,

01:55:35 a lot of people, they were questioning

01:55:38 if it was a gospel or a soca,

01:55:41 and what I had to explain to them was that gospel

01:55:43 is the message in the song,

01:55:46 but gospel for me is not a genre.

01:55:49 I love soca, I love dancehall.

01:55:51 You know, so dancehall is my favorite genre right now,

01:55:56 but I also love soca.

01:55:57 So, it wouldn't really be under the genre of gospel.

01:56:02 It would be under the genre of dancehall.

01:56:05 It would be sometimes under the genre of soca.

01:56:09 - Yeah.

01:56:10 Jerome, anything else you'd like to tell us

01:56:11 before you leave us this morning?

01:56:13 - I wouldn't really have much to say,

01:56:17 but you know, just look over the merch.

01:56:19 It will be available online.

01:56:22 This is the full merch.

01:56:23 There's Army, Soul there in front,

01:56:26 and then you have Kingdom Army across the chest,

01:56:29 and then in the back, you have the quote.

01:56:32 I don't know if you might be able to see it properly.

01:56:34 - Yeah, yeah, we're seeing it, we're seeing it, yeah.

01:56:36 - Yeah, so that's a quote in the back?

01:56:38 - Yeah.

01:56:39 - Yeah.

01:56:41 - Yeah, Jerome, it's always a pleasure speaking with you.

01:56:43 All the best in your future endeavors, okay?

01:56:46 - Appreciate it, thanks, man.

01:56:48 - All right, bye for now.

01:56:50 So, that's gonna do it for our program for today.

01:56:52 Yeah, in the meantime, we leave you

01:56:54 with this image from a viewer.

01:56:56 See you tomorrow, everybody.

01:56:57 It's from Anjali.

01:56:58 Good morning, Anjali.

01:56:59 Bye for now.

01:57:00 (upbeat hip hop music)

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01:57:22 Left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right

01:57:25 (upbeat music)

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