in the pace of project execution at the level of the central government. on - going large public sector projects include the point fortin highway, the children ’ s hospital and the national aquatic centre. these, combined with other projects undertaken by the private sector, are expected to further boost non - energy activity. improving energy output should also have a positive impact on non - energy growth. • third, the central bank has begun to implement its resolution strategy for clico. this strategy always envisaged the sale of clico ’ s traditional book of business to a third party insurance company. as we undertake this sale and transfer of the portfolio, in accordance with legislative requirements, clico ’ s traditional policyholders have nothing to worry about. they will continue to be serviced by clico. the long - standing clico issue, when successfully concluded, should give a further boost to overall confidence, and reinforce the positive economic growth trend. • on this basis the central bank expects real gdp growth to strengthen to at least 2. 5 percent in 2014. over the past few years, record low domestic interest rates have contributed to consumers borrowing more to finance spending on high priced consumer durables such as motor vehicles. domestic interest rates have also fallen below or are just above those in the united states, which means investors are more likely to be attracted to seeking higher investment returns in the united states leading to capital outflows. looking ahead, the strengthening of our economic recovery, rising consumption and the threat of higher international agricultural commodity prices, all suggest inflationary pressures could increase in the coming year. with a firmly established economic recovery, the central bank will start giving more weight in its monetary policy deliberations to managing rising inflationary pressures. this will initially start with a gradual withdrawal of our accommodative monetary stance. should the outlook for inflation, growth, or financial stability change, we will take appropriate monetary action. conclusion in conclusion, i wish to reiterate that trinidad and tobago has shown tremendous resilience. yet this is not the message that we continue to absorb as a nation. instead, it usually tends to be one of negative sentiment. when i assumed office nearly 2 years ago, i faced the following economic conditions : • sharp contraction in economic growth • soaring food prices – inflation at 25 percent • declining external reserve position • weak business confidence today : • economic recovery is established – the economy is expected to grow is by at least 2. 5 percent • food price inflation is down to

who was egotistical, shiva was cutting the root problem of the mind that thinks too highly of itself. why replace the boy ’ s head with the head of an elephant? the elephant represents both gyan shakti and karma shakti. the large head of the elephant signifies wisdom, understanding and discriminating intellect. elephants don ’ t walk around obstacles, neither are they stopped by obstacles. by replacing the boy ’ s head with the head of an elephant, lord shiva replaced it with something that was beneficial to the world and for the betterment of the people. although the birth of lord ganesh appeared to be destructive, it was indeed creative and would benefit everyone involved. bis central bankers ’ speeches the message associated with the birth of lord ganesh has relevance for us here at the central bank. our power and authority to manage the financial system comes from the people of trinidad and tobago. we must exercise this great power without being egotistical. we must exercise our power in a fair and just manner, with knowledge of what actions are best for the overall health of trinidad and tobago ’ s economy. tonight, we will also see another aspect of shiva as both the creator and the destroyer. in this capacity, he is often represented as the shiva nataraja, the lord of the dance. his tandava dance is the dance of the universe, as it endlessly moves from creation to destruction, destruction to creation. until recently, scientists considered the atom to be the fundamental particle in physics. we now know there are sub - atomic particles ; some make up matter and some carry forces. movement of sub - atomic particles involves a set rhythm. this is called laya in indian thought. laya is the attribute of shiva in his tandava dance. the movement of these subatomic particles creates energy. where does this energy go? well some of you may be familiar with the term “ big bang ” ( and i am not talking about the cbs hit comedy with leonard, penny, sheldon and the rest of the gang ). i am talking about cern or the european organization for nuclear research, an international organization based in geneva, switzerland. scientists at cern are using the large hadron collider ( lhc ), the most powerful particle accelerator on the planet, to recreate the primordial conditions of the universe, and create a small version of the so - called ‘ big bang ’, by smashing atoms at near - light speed. in july