Secretary General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) José Miguel Insulza says more than 70 million people have been lifted out of poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Port-of-Spain, recently, Insulza said, “The explosive growth of the last decade has lifted a lot of people, more than 70 million, out of poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Most of it occurred in 2009. This period was marked by economic growth, decline in poverty, and more stable democracies. 

“These levels were not equal for every country however, some may have had critical moments, others grew at a double digit pace, but in general the decade provoked a reason of optimism for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

“During this period, some economists felt that the world had turned upside down and that it was the era of Latin America.” 

“The reason for that was basically the fact that some countries were better managed from an economic point of view, they had saved a lot of reserves in the previous years, had a lower rate of debt, banks were not exposed, but what played a major role was the large increase in exports.” 

He said in that decade, the price, volume and frequency of commodities grew. Mining and food products increased to a great extent for the export market.

Insulza said trade and exchange with China also grew exponentially during this period—from US$4 billion to a staggering US$71 billion. 

He said trade between China and the region was still ongoing, but not on the scale from that period. 

The secretary general said despite the progress, the economies of Latin America were going to be faced with more difficulties since internal consumption had not risen, probably because of the distribution of income and the slowdown of foreign investment in the region.

He said several countries were already tackling some of the problems. Some of the measures undertaken are: more economic reforms, an improvement of the quality of education, improvement in the investment in science and technology, and more progressive tax systems that will increase the value and power of middle class people.

Insulza said there was a social danger that needed to be address—that of the vulnerable people who had left poverty but were on the threshold, if the economy declined, of slipping back into poverty. 

He said there was good news forecast for the future. Insulza said even though the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a slowdown in economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2014, there will be recovery in 2015, according to the organizations latest report called “Legacies, Clouds, Uncertainties.”

Insulza said the IMF predicted that an increase in oil prices will benefit the region’s oil exporters as Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, and will also affect the rest of countries.

14 and under and female headed households in T&T are high risk groups—Ahmed

Minister of State in the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development Raziah Ahmed in a telephone interview with the Sunday Guardian said that in T&T the percentage of people living below the poverty line—of US one dollar per day —stood at 14.8 per cent. She also said only 1.2 per cent of the population fell below the minimum dietary consumption.

Ahmed said the population aged 14 and under totalled some 273,280, while female headed households accounted for some 33 per cent or 27,098 of households in the nation. These are the two high risk groups in the country, Ahmed said. 

She said based on poverty data the world over, women and children were most likely to be vulnerable and defenceless against the scourge of risky behaviours that lead to noncommunicable diseases, adolescent pregnancy, inadequate schooling, illicit drug use, alcohol abuse, delinquency, and other similar matters. 

In addition, Ahmed said those that preyed upon young women and teenagers making them drug mules, gang members, or illicit traders of varying kinds continued to be a burning problem.

The media and public are invited to a lecture on the late journalist Patrick Chookolingo, on Wednesday at 5.30 pm, in the AV Room at the National Library, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain. 

Hosted by Friends of Mr Biswas, the speaker is former editor-in-chief of the T&T Guardian, veteran journalist Lennox Grant, who worked with Choko and has done research on his work and life.

Friends of Mr Biswas said in a press release: “Although he has been officially recognised as a national icon, and although this controversial newspaperman was a legend in the 1970s and early 1980s, the present generation hardly know his name. Those who worked with him remember his energy and his ebullience, but there has not been much reflection on or analysis of the kind of journalism Chookolingo practised or what it might have come out of.

“Patrick Chookolingo began his journalistic career in the 1940s, the last decade of the ground-breaking Seepersad Naipaul. In many ways, not least in his unfettered imagination, his investigative bent, his intuitive grasp of what mattered in the news, and his commitment to story and personalities he was the inheritor of a kingdom created by Seepersad Naipaul.

“After early work with the Chronicle and the Gazette, Choko moved in the early 1960s to the Trinidad Daily Mirror which was owned by an Englishman. The staff also included George John, Owen Baptiste, David Renwick, Kitty Hannays, Bootkins Alkins and Ric Hernandez, and was soon to be joined by young folk like Raoul Pantin and Keith Smith.” 

When the Mirror was bought in September 1966 by Lord Thomson, who already owned the Guardian, he closed down the Mirror, and this led to the establishment of the Trinidad Express. Choko became the new paper’s general manager.

“To follow Choko’s career,” says the release, “is to trace the arc of T&T journalism in the second half of the 20th century. 

In 1972, he started the Bomb and the Sunday Punch, and in 1981 he launched the Mirror. He was the pioneer in Trinidad of the weekly tabloid, and many rank him high as an investigative journalist who was quite fearless and not averse to adding hot pepper and exciting spice to what he was serving up. He was respected by his peers, read by high and low, and had many run-ins with the law as he tested the boundaries of journalism drawn up by the powers that be.”

How would Choko have treated with 21st-century Trinidad? Veteran journalist and T&T Guardian sports editor Valentino Singh remembered: “Patrick Chokolingo, the best newspaperman that I have ever known and under whose tutelage I made my entry into this profession, once told me that no matter how convincing you think you are, and despite the strength of your argument, people are going to see what they want.”

Bleeding from gunshot wounds to his chest, Anil Jaikaran drove at full speed out of the Marabella Train Line, desperately trying to get his brother and sister-in-law to safety. Jaikaran’s brother, Naresh, dodged most of the bullets except one, which struck him on the leg. Miraculously, his sister-in-law Lystra, who was in the back seat the car, escaped injury. However, 30-year-old  Jaikaran, of Coconut Drive, Pleasantville, managed to drive only a short distance before he slumped behind the wheel of his car and died.

The incident occurred around 10.25 pm on Saturday when Jaikaran and his brother went into the crime infested community at Marabella to pick up Lystra who had gone there to visit her children. 
As they were leaving the area, two assailants dressed in black with bandannas over their faces opened fired on Jaikaran’s car, shooting him seven times in the chest and neck. Speaking at the family’s home yesterday, Jaikaran’s sister, Eva, said Naresh called her while the shooting was in progress. “He told me that people were shooting up the car and to call the police and come to the Marabella (train) line,” Eva said. She met officers from the Marabella Police Station and went to the scene of the shooting where she saw the bloodied body of her younger brother. “When I got there, Anil was slumped backwards in the front seat. He was already dead. Naresh was sitting in the car bleeding from his leg,” Eva recalled. She said she often warned her brothers to stay away from that area. “Normally, if they going to pick up Lystra, she would walk out of the line and meet them on the main road. I do not know why they drove in there this time,” Eva said. She explained that Lystra had two grown children who lived in the Marabella Train Line.

She said her brothers did not have any enemies. Anil Jaikaran worked as an attendant at Glen’s Distributors and Naresh was a market vendor. She said Anil Jaikaran was planning to build over his home next year. “He already had a house plan and a contractor to start the job. He was looking forward to this,” she said. Another relative, who asked not to be identified, said a resident of the Train Line had often warned Jaikaran not to go into the area. “Three years ago, he went there and was planassed,” the relative said. Jaikaran’s body was removed to the Forensic Science Centre where an autopsy will be done today. No motive has yet been established for the killing. Senior Supt Cecil Santana, and PC Hercules of the San Fernando Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.

Constitutional reform will be on the cards if a PNM government  implements the one man-one vote system at national level “as we must,” Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley signalled yesterday. Rowley hinted at this during yesterday’s People’s National Movement (PNM) delegate convention at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain. At the meeting delegates fine-tuned the Manning Vision 2020 plan for PNM’s Vision 2030 package. Decisions from discussions will form the basis of PNM’s 2015 manifesto. 

The opposition party’s policy may  be ready in two weeks. Rowley said Vision 2030 will focus on “the road ahead” since PNM will not look back after it is elected to government. He said the next PNM government will make fundamental changes to delivery. He said people liked the one-man one-vote system the PNM used in its May internal election and if the party has to do it at national level “as we must”—since some adjustment were needed—constitutional reform might be involved.

Saying revenue collection is very important, Rowley reiterated PNM’s Revenue Authority plan and expressed concern about mass transportation problems. He also reiterated plans to abolish the Local Government Ministry giving more responsibility to local government bodies and to focus more on primary schools and rolling back crime. Rowley said “pretenders” weren’t giving the truth and the real story on crime is more than the figures “out there.” “The criminal element has too much room to manoeuvre,” he said.

Noting that the Eric Williams’ PNM involved what he said were captains of industry, the professional class, barefoot people, others from St Patrick, Caroni and other areas, Rowley said today’s PNM, adding youths and experienced people, was getting close to its “original moorings as it was in 1956.” He said a vision wouldn’t always go to plan, but when things went wrong, one addressed it, built and stayed the course. He said the PNM hadn’t been the perfect opposition but was vibrant. Rowley said some had felt the PP would last one or two years only, but it seemed likely to last five years. He said no other party has done what PNM did with yesterday’s delegate planning deliberations. PNM chairman Franklin Khan asked delegates to take into consideration T&T attitudes on issues including dependency, lack of self reliance, productivity, space and environmental protection. 
 

The sex-offender registry promised by Government since 2011 will not come on stream this year. Minister of Gender Youth and Child Development Clifton de Coteau said a bill had been drafted and a report is before the Legislative Review Committee. He promised that it wouldbe brought to Parliament before year end. He did not say why the registry was taking so long to set up. In 2011, former Minister of the People and Social Development Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said announced plans for an online sex offender registry as part of an aggressive plan to protect minors. The Children’s Authority was mandated to set up the registry. Ramadharsingh was unavailable for comment and Minister of National Security Gary Griffith said he wanted to investigate the matter before commenting.

Child rights activist and head of the Child Protection Task Force (CPTF) Diana Mahabir-Wyatt said the registry should be higher on the agenda of the Legislative Review Committee. She said while the CPTF was working on legislation for the protection of children, the registry had been forgotten. “I must confess and I am ashamed that I had forgotten the registry when the Child Task Force was working so hard at other legislation. Its been so long since we debated that issue. We were wrong and we should have included that as part of the  Children’s Act. We will have to start lobbying for that registry now,” Mahabir-Wyatt told the T&T Guardian.

She said it was sad the registry was taking so long to be set up, noting: “Since 2011, so many children have been either abused or murdered by people we did not know were capable of that. What the offenders register does is help protect children from these repeat offenders so that the Children’s Authority will know these offenders and they will not be put in schools or hospitals to work with children.”  Mahabir-Wyatt said the Children’s Authority Act is due to be proclaimed before the end of this month. “We are hoping the President will proclaim the act so that we can offer better protection to our children,” she said.

Criminologist calls for action
Criminologist and principal of the Caribbean Institute for Security and Public Safety Ian Ramdhanie said sex crimes against children should be given high priority by the relevant authorities. 
“It is an area that should not be allowed to lag behind. Consideration should be given to have these registries available to the public and also online as is done in many jurisdictions.” Ramdhanie said bureaucracy may be holding back the process. “It usually takes some time from an announcement to policy, legislation, procedures, facilities, staffing, training, etc. Sometimes, these things take a considerable amount of time that may be unacceptable to the public who rightful“It is a herculean task to get done, but it must tackled with utmost urgency so that there can be some drastic reductions in these types of crimes,” he said.

He also recommended that a comprehensive independent study be done to ascertain the prevalence of sex crimes. “There is a big difference between reported crimes and actual crimes which take place. The two don’t necessarily match.” Ramdhanie said psychologists, counsellors, police officers, medical doctors, school officials, parents and siblings must play a role in resolving tragic experiences.  “Interventions need to take place for the victims, offenders and their friends and families, who are all affected by these crimes.  “Don’t feel it is only the victim—he/she probably suffers the most, but there are hosts of others who are directly negatively affected and need healing,” Ramdhanie said.

To minimise offences, he called a massive education campaign in the short term. “The relevant ministries like education, national security, youth, gender, etc, as well as the Children’s Authority, need to dive straight into the school system and implement the necessary campaigns. These should inform children—from pre-school to primary to secondary and even post-secondary and tertiary—about how they should prevent themselves from being victims of sexual crimes. “They should be taught the ways sexual predators make their advances, to be on the constant lookout for them, to know what to do when they are faced with a potential sex offender, who to go to, where, emergency numbers, etc,” Ramdhanie said.

He suggested that social networking sites be used to educate children. In the medium to long term, Ramdhanie said, there should be a more strategic approach  to get the legislation in place.  “Police youth clubs, community groups, religious youth groups, non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, faith-based organisations—all can get on board a national plan to reach their membership,” he added.

Children’s Authority Responds
A senior source at the Children’s Authority said the sex offender registry will be overseen by the Ministry of National Security. The Children’s Authority was established to champion the wellbeing of all children, to safeguard them from abuse and neglect, to provide care and protection for those who are at-risk and vulnerable and to restore childhood. Anyone wanting to report a crime against children can call Childline at 800-4321, National Family Services at 627-1163 or Child Guidance clinic 726-1324.
 

Government expects to save more than $600 million by refitting five secondary schools that had been earmarked for demolition. This was announced yesterday by Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh as he and Tertiary Education Minister Senator Fazal Karim toured schools in central Trinidad. Karim joined Gopeesingh at the Carapichiama West Secondary School on the second leg of school visit programme to assess clean-up work being done to reduce the risk of mosquito borne diseases.

Gopeesingh said the previous government had planned to demolish the buildings, which once housed junior secondary schools, at a cost of $90 million. Instead, he said, by next April students will be relocated so work can start on refitting the Five Rivers, Carapichiama, St Joseph, Marabella and Couva schools. The minister said the country’s 11 government and 14 private special needs schools were not sufficient to accommodate disabled students, so some of the school buildings would be refitted for that purpose. He said the buildings will be used jointly by the Education and Tertiary Education Ministries.

Karim said his ministry plans to use one of the buildings in central Trinidad as a UTT campus for teachers’ training to complement the existing colleges at Valsayn and Corinth. He said the buildings will  be used by his ministry for three major programmes—Caribbean Vocational Qualification, the OJT and National Life Skills.

The Chaguanas Borough Corporation is seeking private sector support for an aerial spraying exercise. Mayor Gopaul Boodhan made the appeal over the weekend, saying there had been an increase of people with flu like symptoms in the borough. 

He said an emergency meeting has been scheduled with officials of the Public Health Department and the Chaguanas Health Centre to discuss the matter. The mayor said an aggressive ground spraying exercise to curb the mosquito population and prevent the spread of the chikungunya virus and dengue was ongoing and litter wardens were increasing surveillance of properties in the borough. 

Boodhan commended the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation for embarking on aerial spraying. He said he plans to ask  Chaguanas businesses to help pay for aerial spraying of the many acres of abandoned sugar estates that surround Chaguanas.

T&T’s borders remain open to trans-Atlantic drug traffickers, gun-runners and smugglers despite the allocation of funds by Cabinet to fund at least 21 crime-fighting initiatives which remain on hold.

These include Coast Guard installations, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, armoured personnel vehicles and an emergency warning system in the event of nationwide panic and looting.

Confidential documents obtained by the T&T Guardian showed that 21 out of 35 critical crime initiatives remain on hold because of delays from the Ministry’s procurement and finance divisions.

The documents show that last November, approval was granted for a critical audit of the K-9 Unit in the Police Service. 

“The audit cost less than a million and it has not been touched yet. This was critical to ensuring that we have sniffer dogs in airports and roadblocks,” a senior security official said. Prior to the announcement of the audit, police officers were accused of selling the canine dogs.

The official also said in February, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and his company were contracted to do an overhaul of law enforcement to improve detection rate, intelligence gathering, improved performance of policing and crime scene investigation.

“That has not been touched either. The process was to extract the allocated funds and send it to Giuliani, yet this has not been done,” the source said.

In another initiative, Bill Bratton’s company Harnett was also contacted to do a police audit since March 2014. 

“The Hovercraft was approved in May and that too has not been touched. It involved the use of specialised equipment for the T&T Regiment for the movement of troops and equipment around the west and southern coastline of the island,” the source added.

The armoured personnel carriers were also approved in Cabinet since March to provide necessary protection for elected heads of government and visiting diplomats has also been on hold.

“Attempts to hire New Century, a United Kingdom firm to train T&T’s counter-terrorist unit has also been stalled along with the IR Consilium, a United Kingdom firm, which was contacted to deal with security policies to secure oil and natural gas facilities,” the source added.

Among the 35 national security initiatives were standardised customer service and public relations training for the protective services which was approved by Cabinet since February 6. 

Radar upgrade proposals for a complete surveillance system for Galeota site and electro optics for day and night, as well as maintenance of the 360 degree radar system was approved over a year but has not been implemented.

Griffith responds

Asked about the stalled crime-fighting initiatives, Griffith confirmed that was hampering the crime fight.

He added: “It is indeed unfortunate, especially when projects of a more elaborate nature were approved previously within days.

“Several of these policies, which were approved by Cabinet several months ago, with funds being made available, are still somewhere in the ministry awaiting commencement.

“When I ask about these projects, all I am being told is there is a process to follow. 

“The process, which is yet to be explained, is unfortunately stalling many critical initiatives that would play a major part in crime reduction.

“Whereas one can fully understand a system to ensure proper accountability and transparency but to state that after several months, after acquiring state approved projects and funds being made available yet none of the projects have been anywhere near commencement because of the process, something is definitely wrong.” 

The anxiously awaited report from the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) on its use of the recommendations of the Highway Review Committee may not be submitted until the end of the week.

Nidco’s chairman Dr Carson Charles said yesterday the State agency was still tweaking the report which was supposed to be handed to the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) by late yesterday.

"I don't see that it would be beyond this week," Charles said, adding the phrasing of the document was still being worked on.

The report, which was requested by the JCC, is supposed to give an account for Nidco's consideration and use of the document produced by the committee last year on government's $7 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway extension into Point Fortin.

It was sparked by protest over the Debe to Mon Desir leg of the highway. It was commissioned in 2012 by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to end the hunger strike by Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM) leader, Dr Wayne Kublalsingh.

The JCC had formed part of the multi-stakeholder committee, which was led by Dr James Armstrong and ended Kublalsingh’s 21-day first hunger strike in December 2012.

Last week the JCC's demanded to know how the committee’s report had been handled by Nidco. Yesterday marked 42 days Kublalsingh had gone without food and water.

The activist, who was hospitalised after collapsing two weeks ago, has been unable to return to his camp set by the HRM opposite the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

President of the JCC, Afra Raymond, up to yesterday was still expecting the document which was initially set for submission last Friday.

After 41 days of fasting, hunger striker Dr Wayne Kublalsingh does not think he can make it beyond the next two or three days.

And if he does not, his death will be a gift to the people of T&T, he says.

Admitting he did not want to die, he made no mention of changing his mind about his strike. 

Kublalsingh spoke to the T&T Guardian in an interview at his La Florissante, D’Abadie, home yesterday, 42 days since he embarked on a second hunger strike.

He said: “I’m good to go for another day. I don’t think I could go beyond the next two or three days. This week is critical.

“I am very happy where I am. I am very contented. I see it like a gift of love to the people. There is no fear, there is no despair. People go to war every day and die. This is a social war.”

Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake played from two small speakers on a table close to his bed.

While he spoke, his son, Ori, cheerfully got ready for law school and his wife, Sylvia, recovering from an attack of ChikV, shuffled around painfully. 

Kublalsingh said he did not believe his spirit would die along with his body.

He has been monitoring his body in a close way, he said, and felt it “will now relent.”

“My urination got very weak. I almost don’t use the bathroom at all. I have some heart palpitations, signs my body is on the edge.

“I keep bringing it back with prayer and meditation but can only do this for so long,” he added.

He said he had rejected the intervention of all medical personnel and even an ambulance but if his body “relented,” he did not know what would happen.

More info

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Eight days ago, after 34 days on the pavement outside the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in St Clair, Kublalsingh said he could no longer continue the strike there because he was too weak so would continue it at home.

Kublalsingh embarked on his second hunger strike on September 17 outside the OPM. It is in protest against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s refusal to meet with him to discuss the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the billion-dollar Solomon Hochoy highway extension to Point Fortin.

He and the Highway Re-route Movement he leads have been protesting the planned route of the construction of this segment because of what they argue will be the negative ecological impact and social disruption.

Persad-Bissessar has refused to meet with Kublalsingh and has stood her ground, saying the highway, for the benefit of thousands, will go on.

More info

Nine days ago, on October 20 on the pavement outside the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in St Clair, Kublalsingh said he could no longer continue the strike there because he was too weak so would continue it at home.

Kublalsingh embarked on his second hunger strike on September 17 outside the OPM. It is in protest against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s refusal to meet with him to discuss the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the billion-dollar Solomon Hochoy highway extension to Point Fortin.

He and the Highway Re-route Movement he leads have been protesting the planned route of the construction of this segment because of what they argue will be the negative ecological impact and social disruption.

Persad-Bissessar has refused to meet with Kublalsingh and has stood her ground, saying the highway, for the benefit of thousands, will go on.

The media and President Anthony Carmona have been described as “biggest failures” of this country by chairman of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) Jack Warner.

Warner, who was the guest at the Port-of-Spain Rotary Club yesterday, also waded in on it, questioning what had it done to uplift the country.

He said: “The biggest failure in the country are the media because if anybody in this country should be the fourth estate in this country are the media... the media... one of the dailies they so lodge in the Government bosom you could hardly make it out and surprisingly they have a new editor.

“Another daily is opposed to the Government and the third daily is neither fish nor fowl. How could you run a society that way? And when you ask them what’s happening they say they can’t do anything because they will lose advertising,” Warner added.

He said it was better to complain and lose business than lose a country.

Warner also added his voice to the criticism regarding the pre-action protocol letter to comedienne Rachel Price requesting she cease and desist from discussing the attire of Carmona’s wife, Reema.

The letter was sent two Fridays ago to Price by attorneys acting on behalf of Carmona’s wife and the Office of the President in respect of “certain defamatory statements.”

Price has maintained that she never received any legal letter.

The complaint arose out of Mrs Carmona’s dress, showing her mid-section exposed as she stood alongside a conservatively-dressed Ban Soon-Taek, the wife of United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, at a United Nations function for first ladies in New York. 

“The biggest failure in all is President Carmona. What has he done in all this sea of corruption and nepotism and the first time he makes a stand is to sully the Office of the President by writing a 

pre-action protocol letter against a comedian.

“Yuh see next year every calypsonian and they mudder will be singing about him and his wife. Didn’t the government cross the line so many times? What have you said?” Warner asked.

Calling on the Rotary Club to play a more active role, Warner said: “If ever a country needed a Rotary to stand up the time is now. Saving this country must be a collective effort and there are no halfway measures to do so.”

On the deadly Ebola virus Warner said T&T was unable to combat dengue and Chik V, far more Ebola.

“Pray to God it does not reach here because I tell you something if it does we all in trouble,” Warner said.

The UNC must be asked when it is having internal elections and if it holds executive meeting, instead of calling for the PNM to say who paid for its Hyatt convention, says PNM general secretary Ashton Ford.

He spoke after the UNC’s deputy political leader Dr Roodal Moonilal said the PNM, as the alternative government, should in the interest of transparency say who paid for the Hyatt venue for its convention last Sunday.

Moonilal claimed the Government was aware a prominent businessman had funded it and that he had asked for five ministerial appointments in return.

Moonilal added: “The Parliament has a committee for party finance and campaign finance reform and since the PNM says it is the alternative government, as such, in the interest of accountability, I will be calling on the PNM to account for finances, including who paid for the luxurious Hyatt location and if bank accounts established to collect money are not notifiable or accountable to PNM’s Balisier House.”

On Monday PNM chairman Franklin Khan declined to reply to Moonilal’s query about the Hyatt but said the PNM had fund-raising committees and a “certain amount of funds.” 

At the convention’s end Khan had specially thanked PNM deputy leader Rohan Sinanan and businessman Andrew Gabriel.

Sinanan yesterday said that was because he was a deputy leader in charge of policy and it was a policy convention and Gabriel is on the party’s events committee. Ford also said Gabriel was a member. 

PNM public relations officer Faris Al-Rawi said the PNM paid its bills but declined to say who paid for the Hyatt and whether a businessman did, as Moonilal claimed, and also declined specific query about Gabriel and payment.

Al-Rawi said the PNM had a wide cross-section of business support and was “very fortunate to have Gabriel’s assistance through his volunteer activity in the party.” 

He said: “We in the PNM all assist the party. We are a volunteer organisation financed by events, including our car raffles, parliamentarians’ salaries, members’ dues and other activities.”

He said the convention’s demonstration of “organised intelligentsia” probably frightened Moonilal. 

Al-Rawi said UNC pre-budget rallies and Monday night forums have been replaced “by $300 million worth of advertising which Moonilal is aware is the subject of a report to the Integrity Commission.”

He said PNM leader Dr Keith Rowley, who had written to the commission about that, would speak on it.

Al-Rawi said the PNM had a long history of appointments that were self-explanatory for the Cabinet and Parliament and no horse-trading for posts applied. Moonilal should not judge the PNM by UNC standards, he said. (GA)

Next month police officers interaction with the public will be monitored by mystery shoppers to assess their performance.

For those officers who get a failing grade, disciplinary action is one of the measures that can be taken, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams said.

In response to the public’s criticism of police officers’ attitudes during their town meetings, Williams announced that they would be sending out regular citizens who were genuinely seeking services to test officers response.

Speaking at the Ste Madeleine Regional Complex on Monday night, Williams said the plan was being drafted and should be rolled out by December.

Mystery Shopper, also know as secret shopper, is used by companies in their market research to determine the quality of service at their institutions. 

Williams said the same concept would apply to the Police Service. 

He added: “This concept is one we want to use within the domain of the Police Service to test how the public receive services at police stations. 

“We want to use that concept to get people into police stations to request services and provide us with the feedback in relation to the delivery of that service. 

He said police officers were being trained in public relations to enhance the communication between the public and the police.

“We can take disciplinary action but in reality our focus is about finding a mechanism to improve service so training is a critical intervention that we will seek to have in those circumstance,” he added. 

He assured officers that the mystery shopper would be someone seeking a genuine service, noting that it would be unethical to make false request and it would be wasteful employment of the police.

A panel, including acting DCP Glen Hackett, ACP Donald Denoon, Snr Supt Cecil Santana and Supt Zamsheed Mohammed, were told by villagers that although there were many good police officers there were a few “rotten ones” which give the service a bad image.

Local Government Minister Marlene Coudray, a villager of Ste Madeleine, said that while there were police patrols in the community, officers should walk through the streets and meet with residents to foster better relations.

Reform/Manahambre councillor Ramesh Karapan said the public also was aggrieved at the lack of compassion and discretion by police officers when it come to issuing traffic fines. 

Karapan said police charged citizens for blown tail lights, even when it could have been blown during the trip.

In response, Williams promised that more foot patrols would be done throughout the country in the coming months.

However, Santana said that once a law has been broken, police have no choice but to enforce the penalties.

Former national heavyweight boxer Wendell Joseph, 68, and his wife Erica, 56, escaped serious harm yesterday after an intruder tossed what appeared to be scratch bombs into their tent at the Queen's Park Savannah (QPS) at about 2.10 am.

Joseph, an amputee, said she was having difficulty sleeping and was sitting on the mattress when she heard a noise outside the tent.

"I turned around and saw that someone was tugging on my wheelchair but it was tied. Then I saw this man wearing a yellow jersey and I start to beg him not to do me anything."

At that point, Joseph said, the man threw a small lighted device, which exploded within seconds, scorching her mattress and sheet.

"I also got scorched on my hand. Why do I have to go through this? What I do to deserve this?" Joseph asked.

She also queried why the Government and the Housing Development Corporation were taking so long to allocate the couple a ground-floor apartment that is equipped for the disabled.

"Would they wait for someone with a machine gun to come and shoot us up? All I am asking for is a proper home, suitable for me."

Yesterday marked 34 days since the Josephs moved into the QPS.

She and her husband have been relocated five times to different apartments belonging to the HDC across the country since 1998 but say none was suitable.

This is not the first time the couple have opted to live in the Savannah. In 2004, they moved there and sought help via the media after their home was destroyed by fire.

Belmont police visited the couple yesterday afternoon and are investigating.

Another accused in the murder trial of Vindra Naipaul-Coolman has denied any culpability in the businesswoman’s kidnapping as his statement to police was read out to the jury yesterday. 

The statement of Antonio Charles, dated May 12, 2007, was admitted into evidence by Supt Cecil Harry.

The legal team

The defence team includes Ulric Skerritt, Joseph Pantor, Selwyn Mohammed, Lennox Sankersingh, Ian Brooks, Wayne Sturge, Mario Merritt, Richard Valere, Kwesi Bekoe, Colin Selvon, Vince Charles, Christian Chandler, Delicia Helwig and Alexia Romero.
The prosecution team includes, Gilbert Peterson and Israel Khan who are bing assitsed by senior State prosecutors Joy Balkaran and Kelly Thompson.
​

The accused

The 12 men before the jury and Justice Malcolm Holdip are: Allan “Scanny” Martin, twin brothers Shervon and Devon Peters and their older brother Anthony Dwayne Gloster, siblings Keida and Jamille Garcia, brothers Marlon and Earl Trimmingham, Ronald Armstrong, Antonio Charles, Joel Fraser and Lyndon James. A 13th man, Raphael Williams, was charged with the crime but died in prison in 2011 of complications from sickle-cell anaemia.

In it Charles said he knew most of his co-accused but he was not involved in Naipaul-Coolman’s kidnapping. Harry testified that during an interview with Charles the accused was questioned about Naipaul-Coolman’s kidnapping and not her murder. 

In the statement, Charles said he frequented a house, called the Black Album, at La Puerta, Diego Martin, where Naipaul-Coolman was allegedly killed. He said it was located five to six houses from his. 

Asked about his involvement in the kidnapping, Charles said in the statement that he never saw Naipaul-Coolman in the house. 

He also denied helping eight of his 11 co-accused carry Naipaul-Coolman’s body out of the house on December 28, 2006 or counting $100 and $20 notes outside the Black Album. 

He also denied he carried water to soften dirt in order that one of his co-accused could dig a hole to bury Naipaul-Coolman.

In the statement, Charles admitted he was charged along with Keida Garcia, one of his co-accused, with possession of a gun which the State is alleging is linked to the businesswoman’s kidnapping. 

The trial continues today when Charles’ attorney Mario Merritt would continue his cross-examination of Harry. 

Naipaul-Coolman, 52, was kidnapped from her home at Radix Road, Lange Park, Chaguanas, on December 19, 2007. 

Her family paid a $122,000 ransom but she was not released and her body has never been found.

Frustrated by flooding over the past few months, residents of the Bel Air, La Romaine, say the highway construction is to blame and they want the problem to be resolved immediately.

Several residents were unable to go to work or send their children to school yesterday because they were marooned by flood waters which rose on Monday evening after a torrential shower, invading their homes and community.

Residents said materials used in the construction of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin have clogged the drains in their community, causing the water to back up.

Highway contractor OAS, residents said, up to yesterday was trying to pump out the water which rose to about two feet in some places.

Speaking with T&T Guardian yesterday, Richard Anderson said the situation was unacceptable.

“The rain came down yesterday (Monday) for about half-an-hour and the place got flooded out, almost two feet of water in front my house and in the yard a foot. A lot of sand and gravel came down. 

“To the back of my house is where they are doing the new highway. We never had these problems before.”

However, he said since May the area has flooded about four times.

Recalling when his home was flooded on October 10, he said: “Everything got soaked. The walls are gypsum. The tiles in the bathroom came out and in the kitchen presently the tiles are being raised up, there is also mould.”

Saying it was obvious the flooding was being caused by the highway work, he said: “We need a solution to this problem.” 

He said officials of OAS, Penal Debe Corporation, Drainage and Minister of Works visited the community yesterday.

Another resident, Raquel Noble, said if the drainage was not fixed, flooding would continue and it was a health risk.

She added: “We have children. It is not sanitary. There is stagnant water in the drain so we are thinking about the mosquitoes. 

“When the water is gone and the snakes and worms are left, who has to get rid of that? It is not like they are going to sanitise the area for us. This is our greatest fear.”

She said since May they complained about blocked drains and no run off for the water.

“We don’t want temporary relief,” she said.

Robert Baird said when he returned home from work on Monday, he was shocked and frightened when he saw the height of the water on the road but he still took “a chance” to drive through it to get to his home.

“At least four houses on the lower level were totally flooded out. Some vehicles were blocked because of the flood in the road. It was terrible,” he said.

Calling on the authorities to urgently address the situation, he said: “They are concentrating on the highway. It is most important to get it done and they are not studying the residents and communities in the area and proper drainage.

“They are taking the waste materials from the highway and dumping it on the side of the roadway and the drains are totally filled.”

He said to compound matters, they had no running water because a water line was ruptured during the highway works.

Another resident, Karen Archie, described the situation as scary, saying she was also worried about future flooding.

“Right now there is water in my house. OAS is responsible for the drainage system. I cannot understand, have they stopped thinking in a humane way? We have families here. It is not a nice situation.”

In the first article yesterday we highlighted the celebration of National Library Week and the activities that are ongoing until November 2. Today you will find out just how your library works for you.
Have you ever wondered how the library system works? Well one thing’s for sure, it’s not just about borrowing and returning books. According to T&T’s National Library and Information System authority (Nalis), libraries are to be viewed as useful, exciting, life changing and relaxing. Corporate communications manager, Debbie Goodman and director of Public Libraries Division, Diane Simeon expound on the services and activities and tell you why it is important to join a library nearest you.

History: Incorporated in September 1998 to provide for the full development and co-ordination of all library services in T&T, Nalis strives to be a dynamic network, innovative, businesslike, customer-focused and community-oriented institution, offering information services to T&T and the world. Goodman said Nalis manages several libraries including the school libraries, special libraries, the Heritage Library, public libraries, educational libraries division (responsible for secondary and primary schools libraries and other corporate libraries). Nalis also has libraries in institutions like the Maximum Security Prison (MSP), Youth Training Centre (YTC), woman’s prison at Golden Grove and the St Jude’s Home For Girls in Belmont. All libraries are staffed by Nalis. “So to just elaborate our special libraries cater to specific publics who work in government ministries, departments, hospitals and corporations. These libraries provide a variety of information services to meet the needs of a specialised population, providing staff and researchers with the information they need to carry out their tasks,” Goodman said.

Services
Nalis has a range of services suitable to the needs of every age bracket including the unborn, toddlers, adolescents, adults and the elderly. Simeon said the library provides secondary school students getting ready for college or university, with information on Scholastic Assessment Test (SATs), the scholarships available, and  information on the best colleges are also provided for those who want to study abroad. “We also provide literacy instruction. And, I particularly want to highlight the Youth Lit programme where we provide literacy instruction for young people and for adolescents between the ages of 12-15 who have challenges with reading and writing. We do this in conjunction with the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (Alta). “Alta provides the trained tutors to deliver the programme. We sought its assistance because we recognise some of our young people are leaving school unable to read or write, so we have a responsibility in the information business to ensure while we are providing information or providing all the resources for the readers we also need to cater to those who have reading challenges.

Teen world
It’s a teen world when it comes to programmes and activities. “Edutainment” gives teens the opportunity to participate in writing and creative competitions, talks with local celebrities, developmental classes, computer and information literacy, conversational Spanish, gaming tournaments and a soca star and underground slam star competitions to name a few. “Generally we do school visits. For vacation time we do a range of activities for the children in particular. We provide story telling, book clues and book talks for them,” Simeon said. Digital resources are also available with e-books and DVDs. Readers can get access to electronic material through the e-books on EBSCOHOST. Customers who have created accounts at libraries can log on to EBSCOHOST via the Nalis Web site to download e-audio books and e-books from anywhere at anytime. “We provide Wi-Fi in all libraries, computers with word processing software, and homework help or general enquiries via our Ask Nalis hyperlink on our Web site,” Simeon said. She reiterated the library provides spaces for study and leisure. “People use our libraries for many different reasons. They use it for social space, it is a space for serious study and a space where they can come in and relax.” (Continues Tomorrow)

A group of young people, calling themselves Project 40, is optimistic that President Anthony Carmona’s acknowledgment of a letter to him seeking his intervention in the ongoing hunger strike by Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh shows that “a positive outcome can still be achieved.” A statement from the group yesterday said the fact that Carmona accepted the letter “was an important step in establishing invaluable lines of communication on the matter.”

The group had delivered letters to Carmona, Anglican Bishop Claude Berkley and RC Archbishop Joseph Harris on Monday seeking their help to mediate the dispute between the HRM and the Government in the contentious Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Solomon Hochoy highway extension to Point Fortin. 

Project 40 members who are in support of the HRM are predominantly under 35. For the past 17 days a different member of the group has been fasting from food and water in solidarity of Kublalsingh’s action. An e-mail copy of the letter sent to Carmona said citizens had been continuously disappointed with its leaders which was made evident by the apathy and selfishness which were pervasive in the once relatively cohesive society.

It also called on Carmona to demonstrate strong and fair leadership, adding that his intervention could not only be the key to unlocking a matter which had become stalemated but also could send a powerful and crucial message so that the Office of the President would play an integral role in providing hope for the country in times of turmoil.

“At your presidential inauguration on March 2013, you gave so many of us hope that your presidency harkened positive change, with your assertion that there must be a willingness to be accountable, and your promise to ‘Do right to all manner of people without fear or favour, affection or ill will,’” the letter added.

The T&T Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA) has joined with the Advertising Agencies Association (AAAT) to scrutinise closely the quality of advertisements in print and broadcast media. TTPBA president Daren Lee Sing revealed that in a telephone interview yesterday. He was responding to questions on recent advertisements targeting Highway Re-route Movement leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and the daily newspapers. 

In Tuesday’s and yesterday’s T&T Guardian a group identifying itself as Citizens 4D Highway published ads accusing the media of threatening freedom of expression. This followed condemnation of an advertisement earlier this month designed to look like a news page and including a spoof report on the discovery of a species of reptile called “the kublal”. Lee Sing said the biggest concern over the advertisements was that the advertiser was not properly identified.

“In these ads we don’t know who created them or put them forward. There is no way for the public to have redress if they take offence to the material. “For ads that are political, it is not enough to put an e-mail address. E-mail addresses do not assist the public in identifying the advertiser,” he added. He said the TTPBA and the AAATT were attempting to resolve the issue internally and had discussed the matter with the management of Ross Advertising, who placed the ad on the pro-highway group’s behalf.

He added: “We have already agreed that we would keep a more rigid guard of these ads. The advertising agencies are usually the first line of defence and the media is the last line and we all feel the public must be protected.” 

“The core functions of the AAATT include steering honesty and veracity of messages communicated by maintaining and protecting fairness, morality and good taste and encouraging the continued recognition of the social responsibility of advertising generally, and related to state or public welfare particularly.” Lee Sing said the partnership between the organisations had begun earlier this year with the goal of discussing the ethical considerations in publishing before the 2015 general election.

“We had planned to launch publicly with this initiative after Carnival but after the first ‘kublal’ ad we decided that we would begin in November,” he said. Lee Sing said agency management had agreed that the current code of ethics set out by the Bureau of Standards was archaic and needed to be modernised and revisited to reflect the expansion of media to online platforms.

Commenting on the advertiser’s charge that the media was attempting to block the right to freedom of expression, Lee Sing said all the media houses were free to choose where to draw the line. 

Community activist Brenan Daniel was arrested yesterday as Point Fortin and La Brea residents blocked vehicles from Brazilian construction firm Construtora OAS from exiting an asphalt plant which supplies material for the construction the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin.

Daniel, who has been advocating for jobs for residents and contractors on the $7.5 billion project and compensation for farmers, was taken into custody by officers of the South Western Division Task Force. They said he was blocking the free flow of traffic. He was expected to be charged last night and taken to the Point Fortin Magistrates Court today.

Scores of residents gathered at the entrance of the asphalt plant in Vance River, calling for another meeting with the highway’s project manager, the National Insurance Development Company (Nidco) to discuss their issues. Speaking before his arrest, Daniel said while they respected the police, the had a right to protest. He warned if no meeting was held soon their actions would intensify.

As residents told police of their right to protest, an officer said they had a right to remove them from obstructing traffic. Daniel then told the police he had been prepared to be arrested six months ago. Asked why they took their protest to the asphalt plant, Daniel said: “If you choke a person, they have to do something to remove your hands from their throat. We see this as the chokehold and we know we will get the results we need. We will see the relevant people today to deal with the issues once and for all.”