OPM Quarterly April 2017

Message from Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley

Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

At the start of each year many of us commit to making significant adjustments to our lifestyles. We want to eat healthier, exercise more, be more positive in our outlook or simply learn to take life’s challenges in stride.

Many of us also assess where we are and make an extra effort to get where we want to be during the course of the year.

Government opened the year with a Cabinet Retreat at the Diplomatic Centre to do just that – assess where we are and determine how we should be moving forward. The retreat included non-Cabinet Ministers and brought together Ministers and their Permanent Secretaries, to gauge how
successfully the Government’s Strategic Development Plan was being implemented at the level of the Ministries.

I wish to commend all members of the OPM staff who contributed to making this very important retreat a success. As a nation we have started the New Year with some challenges, in particular the area of crime, but this Government continues to utilize every option available to us to ensure that citizens are safe and secure.

We have also witnessed some very positive developments. As you know, in February the Tax Information Exchange Agreements Bill 2016 was passed thereby enabling our country to become
compliant with the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

In March, Trinidad and Tobago joined with countries worldwide in celebrating the many accomplishments of our women and girls on International Women’s Day. Once again

I take this opportunity to congratulate the women of OPM for their sterling contribution not only to this organization but also to our country.

These are some of the topics which you will read more about in this edition of the OPM Quarterly and I trust that you will continue to find our newsletter informative and beneficial.

I look forward to 2017 as another productive year for the OPM and for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley
Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago