September 3, 2016:
The following is the featuress address by Brigadier General (Ret'd) the Honourable Ancil Antoine, Minister of Public Utilities at TSTT's Long Service Awards Ceremony on Saturday September 3, 2016 at the Hyatt Regancy Trinidad, Port of Spain.
SALUTATIONS
Thank you Master & Mistress of Ceremony, Mr. Floyd Solomon and Ms. Peridot Webster
Dr. Ronald Walcott, CEO of TSTT
Members of the Board of Directors of TSTT
Ms. Carol David, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Industrial Relations, TSTT
Other members of the Executive of TSTT
Officials from the Ministry of Public Utilities
Specially Invited Guests
Awardees and other members of staff of TSTT
Friends and relatives of these special awardees
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good evening. It is indeed a pleasure to be here and I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share a few words with you as together, we celebrate those who have distinguished themselves by decades of quality service in the telecommunications sector.
I understand that this function is the culmination of a year- long process of evaluation and appraisal. Such an intensive approach must be commended and I urge the Board and executive management of TSTT to continue to seek innovative ways of inspiring their staff towards excellence. As important as these celebrations are, this year’s event is made even more significant by the fact that TSTT celebrated its 25th Anniversary in January. And so, tonight, as we celebrate and recognise individuals for their years of service, we do it against the backdrop of an evolving telecommunications sector that has contributed greatly to the development of Trinidad and Tobago over the past quarter of a century.
The theme for this evening’s proceedings – “TSTT at Silver … Celebrating our Standard Bearers”, reflects that rich legacy while reminding us that it was carried on the shoulders of men and women, some of whom are sitting among us this evening.
As a military man, the term ‘standard bearer’ carries special significance for me. In the army, the standard bearer is the soldier responsible for carrying the flag of the unit, the regiment or the country. It is an honourable post, one that carries with it the weight of everyone’s hopes for the outcome and their collective pride. But besides its symbolic importance, the role of standard bearer also served a necessary function in battle, one that has been rendered obsolete by technological advancements in warfare but that still presents a useful perspective to us today. When a unit or regiment was engaged in battle, the standard or flag was a means of communication. The standard bearer would lower, raise, wave, or make some other motion to inform the troops of a change in tactics or to rally them on as they fought. To the onlooker who was removed from the battle, the standard bearer stood out in the mayhem. And the flag’s position, whether held aloft, or lowered, signalled which side was losing and which side had gained the upper hand.
And so from my perspective, to refer to you, our awardees, as ‘standard bearers’ is to indicate just how important you are to the overall performance, outlook and reputation of the company of which you are a part. It is a term that recognises and praises your contributions so far, while urging you on to deeper commitment and greater exploits. The outcome of the war, after all, depends on you. But the term standard bearer can also refer to TSTT as a corporate entity. Since its incorporation in 1991, this company has developed a suite of services that place it in a unique position. No other service provider in Trinidad and Tobago offers fixed line and mobile communications, Broadband access, subscription-based IPTV, and business and home alarm monitoring services. Those products, along with the Bzones that have been installed nationwide and the availability of a 4G Network, positively impact the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of Trinbagonians on a daily basis by providing them with access to each other and to a world of information.
And then there are the more recent projects, like the introduction of the Metro e fibre rings across Port of Spain, providing businesses and Government agencies with highspeed broadband and IP Phone PBX service, and the establishment of the GOVNETT Network, which aims to connect all Government Ministries. These are just a few of the many projects that TSTT has implemented.
As line Minister, I am aware of others that are already in the works and that will soon be on-stream. As many and varied as these initiatives are, they point to one thing, a more connected Trinidad and Tobago. To convince you of the importance of such connectivity to the health of our economy and the wellbeing of our citizens, I would like to depict a few scenarios.
Imagine, if you may, the secondary school student doing research for a School Based Assessment, the mother who wants to check up on a sick child, the senior citizen who needs to feel secure in his or her own home, or the entrepreneur who must host an urgent Skype meeting with international stakeholders – all of these people rely on the various services offered by TSTT. And the ready availability and quality of those services directly impact the quality of their lives. Scenarios like these constitute the day-to-day lives of many of us in Trinidad and Tobago. And they form the basis for my insistence that TSTT is indeed a standard bearer within the telecommunications sector.
And so, even as I commend tonight’s awardees and thank them for their service to our national community, I would like to recognise the invaluable role that TSTT has played in our continued national development. As Minister of Public Utilities, I am fully aware of the strength of your contributions as well as the challenges that you face, both internally and externally.
I encourage you to keep up the good fight and I pledge the continued support of the MPU and by extension, the Government, as together we serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
This evening, I salute you, the standard bearers within the telecommunications sector, and I urge you to keep the flags of TSTT and our beautiful Twin-island republic flying high.
Thank you and may you enjoy the rest of the evening.
END
For further information, please contact:
Corporate Communications Manager
Ministry of Public Utilities
Office: (868)-628-9500 ext. 1419