The Regulated Industries Commission (RIC) and the Trinidad and Tobago Fair Trade Commission (TTFTC) Board of Directors will now be chaired by one person.
On Wednesday, both boards were given their instruments of appointment by President Christine Kangaloo.
At the swearing-in ceremony at President’s House, Attorney Nisha Persad was appointed head of the TTFTC as well as the RIC.
She outlined her next steps to members of the media after the ceremony.
“First plan of action is to have a board meeting because this is the first time that I’m meeting the members of the board. So we’re hoping to schedule that meeting for some time next week, and we’re hoping as well to meet with the relevant Ministers and Line Ministers so that we can properly follow the mandate that each Commission has.”
The absence of a board froze the FTC’s ability to investigate complaints of anti-competitive behaviour, conduct merger reviews, or make referrals to regional competition bodies.
Ms. Persad highlighted some of the issues the board will prioritise in the coming weeks.
“I think there are a few issues we need to address. One, of course, is that the merger, Agostini-Prestige Holdings. The other issue is the pharmaceutical boards. But, of course, again, I am not in a position to fully comment because we haven’t met yet. So after we have our meetings, then I’d be in a better position to comment on outstanding issues.”
Questioned on whether it was unusual for one person to head both commissions, Ms. Persad said she believed the move was not unprecedented.
“I believe prior to that there was the RIC chairman who was also the FTC chairman, so it’s not irregular because a member of the RIC must be on the FTC.”