J'aime Paramin

Fixing CL Financial

Cl Financial is the biggest privately held conglomerate in the West Indies. It may very well be the biggest conglomerate, public or private period. This once proud giant has fallen unto hard times, and the legacy of Cyril Duprey, a true Caribbean business icon is under threat of being irreparably damaged. Not to mention the lives of thousands of policy holders across the West Indies; the fallout of which could have a negative impact on the economy of several island states for years to come. The fact that CL Financial is bankrupt is no longer in any doubt. The only question left to answer clearly is, whether the government intervention will lead to a Government controlled restructure, or will they be forced into a court ordered restructure or liquidation; by their inability to seize the opportunity to use this crisis as a means to create the necessary legislation that will help transform the economy, and lead to the diversity of ownership of public business entities, which will grow the portfolio of the Trinidad and Tobago stock exchange. Their indecision as to how to proceed is only compounding the effects of the accumulating losses.

To be fair the government is operating under several legal constraints, for example there is the formal contract signed with Lawrence Dyprey that initiated governments’ involvement, as well as the convoluted trail of intercompany loans and ownership deals. There is the bankruptcy and insolvency act of 2007 which is still awaiting proclamation, and the existing act which is modeled after the English company’s act of 1929. That’s right 1929. What really is incomprehensible is why the 2007 act has not been modified to address the CL Financial debacle, and then proclaimed over the last eight months? The news of CL financial fall was reported in the daily news papers sometime in April of this year. The new government has been sitting in parliament since June, and no one saw this as an urgent issue to be addressed. The budget which was passed made provisions to compensate policy holders, but the new bankruptcy law which could have been amended specifically to cover the CL Financial restructuring was left untouched, and make no mistake restructuring  is the unintended route the government has taken.

 Believe it or not CL Financial can be saved, at least in part if it is restructured along the lines of General Motors. This will neither be cheap or painless for anyone. First the government must take control of the company in a way that voids certain elements of the Lawrence Duprey contract. They can use retroactive dating in the modification of the 2007 bankruptcy act to accomplish this. Whether it is done on the basis of some variation of the principal of eminent domain, or economic security as national security matters not. These options have been suggested to me, but I am sure that there are some really brilliant legal minds in Trinidad and Tobago that can come up with the correct legal jargon that will pass the muster as law. They then must complete a negotiated settlement with outstanding creditors forcing them to accept a percentage of the outstanding debt owed as full payment, using a maximum target of say fifty cents on the dollar or something along those lines. All asset sales made within a specific time before the first government intervention must legally be declared null and void. The non performing companies within the conglomerate must be liquidated. This would get rid of the Clico brand name but it’s already dead anyway, and its’ underwriting portfolios can then be sold.

What would be left behind are the prize companies which can then form a new smaller conglomerate, one hundred percent of which would be owned by the government to be sold in a public offering on the Trinidad and Tobago stock exchange. The government could even enhance the overall value of the initial public offering by including one or two of its’ own holdings as part of the sale. First Citizens bank, and or, the unit trust come to mine. Some of the outstanding unpaid debt held by creditors could be converted into shares of the new publicly owned and traded corporate entity. The monies raised from the actual sale of stocks can be used to further pay down the outstanding debt, and lastly the government could issue bonds to be used as final part payment to creditors to cover the remaining balance, as well as for sale to the general public so that the burden to wind down the company is spread over ten, fifteen, or even twenty years.                               

Parang Sweet Parang

 

Christmas Black Cake Anyone?

TRINIDAD BLACK CAKE  (Christmas Cake)Recipe taken from “The Multicultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago & The Caribbean”, by Naparima Girl’s High School Cookbook
Serve 36
1 lb. prunes, seeded and chopped1 lb. raisins1 lb. currants1 lb. sultanas1/4 lb. mixed peel1/2 lb.cherries, chopped in half1/4 lb chopped almonds1- 1/2 cups cherry brandy2 cups rum2 cups or 1 lb. butter2 cups  or 1 lb. sugar (brown or granulated)10 eggs (large)2 tsp. grated lime peel2 tsp. vanilla extract1 lb.  or 4 cups flour4 tsp. baking powder2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 cup browning or more1 cup mixture of rum, cherry brandy and sherry
METHOD

1. On the day before or a few days before baking cake combine prunes, raisins, currants, sultanas, mixed peel, cherries, almonds, cherry brandy and rum.
2. Line three 8″ round cake pans with double layers of wax paper.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time: add lime peel and vanilla.
5. Combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon, fold into creamed mixture gradually.
6. Add fruit and enough browning to give desired color: stir well.
7. Put in lined baking pans 3/4 full and bake in a preheated oven at 250 F for first hour: reduce heat to 200 F – 225 F for remaining 1-1/2 hours or until tester comes out clear.
8. Pick hot cake and soak with the mixture of rum, cherry brandy and sherry. Cover and set aside. As alcohol soaks in pour more and continue to do so for 12 hours. 

 

I Just Love This Song

 

Just Some Thoughts About Marriage

Lately I have been thinking about the whole act of marriage. What is it exactly, that motivates a man to commit such a romantic act of unselfish love? For that is what a proposal of marriage truly is. Why else would any man willing choose to abandon the comfort of his own home, and venture out to create for the benefit of others some as yet unborn; that which is already at his feet. What does it mean to a man when at last he finally finds the courage to ask a woman for her hand? Some would be quick to say he does it for love, but is this all? What other noble cause is there that so compels his love towards self sacrifice?

 Men by their very nature are providers and are thus driven to do just that, but what exactly does that mean in today’s world? For if the very nature of providing for one’s family has changed; does that not also mean the very essence of what makes a man a man has changed as well, and if indeed it has, how has it affected the nature of marriage, and the role of the man in it. If it is that a man is driven to find a kindred female sprit with whom to share his life, and to whom for the promise of love’s gentle comfort he thus bequeaths all the fruits of his life’s labor; then what have we as a society lost, because we can no longer fathom or bring ourselves to believe the true depths of a man’s commitment to, and for, the woman he chooses to be his bride? What have we all lost because society has found it easier to measure all men against the extreme behavior of the exceptions, rather than the unsung, and heroic sacrifices of the much more abundantly faithful, loving husbands, and fathers? This subtle bias that implies all men are to be deemed tainted with the stigma of male hubris and can only become less so by their constant effort of proving they are in fact enlightened, saps the very lifeblood of romance out of marriage.

While the following words no longer hold sway in our modern times; there is a certain romantic beauty to them, for it begins by establishing that a husband is first, and above all else a man of self sacrificing, and noble character. To wit his wife is beholden, to honor and respect his commitment to her well being.      

"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labor both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst though liest warm at home, secure and safe,
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks, and true obedience-
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as the subject owes the prince,
Even such a woman oweth to her husband;
And when she is forward, peevish, sullen, sour,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey."

 

The Time For change Is Now

So I have been procrastinating, or was just plain too lazy to write for the last couple of months. I‘m going to claim writer’s block, but the real cause is life happens while you are trying to live, and with Patrick de man Manning gone I sort of lost interest in the political side of live. Then there was the rest of the summer vacation. Not forgetting the back to work, and school rush. So here we are in December already and four months have happened all too quickly. At this rate I won’t be ready for Christmas until sometime in February of next year.

 Winter is about to settle over New England once again so we up here will be doing our part to help the  economic situation back home by burning heating oil, and gas like it going out of style to heat our homes for the next three months. Fall has left the trees all but bare of leaves, night falls at five in the afternoon, and wild geese are getting ready to fly south. Thanksgiving has come and gone and the first inkling of snow is in the air. Change is happening all around us.

  Back at home Kamla has been busy flying here and flying there, Jack seems incapable or unable to stay away from the headlines, meanwhile nothing has really changed. Putting out the fires left burning by the last government is all well and good but we need to address the real cause of all those fires; if we are to ensure that we do not spend our time running everywhere but going nowhere. Give them time is what I am hearing from most everyone, but how much time is enough time when everything is broken and must be fixed, and who is to say at what point in time does enough time become too much time.  Rowley is yet to prove he is anything other than Patrick lite, me thinks he doth protest too much, and Patrick de man Manning has completely lost his freaking mind.

Here is one example of the sorry state of politics in T and T. School children now have laptops but the schools lack the operating IT platforms to turn these computers into effective learning tools. On an investment that is valued in the tens of millions of dollars are you kidding me? I have looked everywhere to see if I could find out whether the schools are using Google Docs for Schools, or First Class as their IT platform software, but have been unsuccessful in my endeavors thus far.  Have the ministry of education installed WI fi towers on school campuses to enable wireless access to these platforms. This by the way would allow the IT department at the school or ministry to block unwanted websites.  Has the ministry created school websites that have access to and employ the IT platform software? Have teachers been given computers? Have teachers and students been given dedicated school email addresses?  Have the teacher and student computers been preloaded with Microsoft works?  Do these school websites have parent portals which would allow parents to monitor class assignments, teacher comments, their child’s grades, and daily attendance record among other things? Do these school websites have access to virtual bookstores or dedicated online resources? Do they have Student portals where home work assignments, class lessons, reference material and class notes can be posted? What arrangements have been made to ensure that all students can access the school website from their homes? Your guess is as good as mine.

At present on any given afternoon from any computer and from any place in the world with internet access my son can sign onto his school’s website. Lookup what was studied in any of his courses on that day, or he can search the class achieves if need be. Find his specific homework assignment, open a new word document and complete it, and then he can email it directly to his teacher. I can from any place in the world sign onto his school’s website go to the virtual bookstore and order his schoolbooks, check his grades, check to see if he is really in school, and email any of his teachers using their dedicated school email  with my concerns.         

 The point I want to make is this, the PNM government engaged in shortsighted, uncoordinated, partial planning even in the smallest of projects and look what it has wrought upon all of us. Is the people’s Partnership already guilty of making the same mistake? Is this whole and unprecedented change of government a case of same khaki pants different back pocket?