Public Services Association (PSA) president Watson Duke yesterday called for Health Minister Fuad Khan to step down, amid complaints that staff at Piarco Airport were given defective gloves to deal with people potentially infected with the Ebola virus. Duke claimed port health workers had also not been given thermometers to check body temperatures or any other equipment to ensure their own safety and that of other citizens.

Staff from the Airports Authority, Immigration, health workers of the Port Authority and Customs officers gathered at the roundabout at BWIA Boulevard at Piarco yesterday, carrying placards and singing union songs as they protested against claims by Khan about the country’s readiness for the Ebola virus. “Wine and jam and die! We not ready for Ebola,” read one placard held by an Airports Authority employee as he marched under the hot sun.

Duke told the media, “Workers are clear in their minds that Ebola coming to this country would be unwelcome and so this is the first step towards letting the Government know that the people are not Ebola-ready. “At the airport there is no isolation unit. We are concerned about that, because if you discover on an airline, someone has symptoms associated with Ebola, the first thing to do is to remove that person off the airline and isolate them. But is there an isolation room? No.” 

He said port health workers had told him there was no clear policy on screening for the virus. “They go on the aircraft, they ask a question, whether people are sick or not. They are told everything is okay, then they sign off and say everything is okay. Duke said his union would next protest outside the Caura hospital and would continue action, including a massive national march, until the Government responded appropriately. He slammed Khan for a lack of concern for citizens.

“He is clearly not equipped for this job,” Duke said.

The Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) will have to wait until next year for the trial of its lawsuit challenging the controversial Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Point Fortin Highway. High Court judge James Aboud was due to rule yesterday on a pre-trial application from State attorneys, who are seeking to have “irrelevant” aspects of the group’s evidence removed from the case. However, when the case was called at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, Aboud said he needed further submissions. 

While he entertained submissions from the group’s lawyers over whether they could introduce evidence from international environmental experts, Aboud expressed frustration over the numerous procedural applications from both sets of lawyers, which he said were slowing down the pace of the case. 

Senior Counsel Deborah Peake claimed the contentious aspects of evidence from Kublalsingh, some of the group’s members and its foreign expert witnesses should be struck out as the issues raised were not mentioned in and did not affect its lawsuit which was filed in August 2012. The State’s application was filed in June last year, during a case management conference held to clarify evidential issues to facilitate the eagerly awaited trial, which was initially scheduled to take place late this year.

However, timelines for the application and the substantive case were derailed after the group filed for an injunction stopping the project, claiming the Government has intensified its construction work. The HRM is due to take its injunction battle to the Privy Council, after it was blanked by both Aboud and the local Court of Appeal. Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has agreed to ask the British court for an expedited hearing, when the appeal is eventually filed.

Aboud is expected to rule on the application on January 16.

What the case is about
In its constitutional motion filed on August 3, 2012, the group is contending that the Government contravened its constitutional rights to “life, security, enjoyment of property, to freedom of expression and freedom of association” by building the highway without consulting its members properly. The group says it is not opposed to the entire highway extension project but only a specific segment.

As a secondary issue, the group is seeking a declaration that the alleged actions of former National Security Minister Jack Warner and a group of soldiers in destroying its Debe protest camp and arresting HRM leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and other members on June 27, 2012, were illegal.

They also claim they had a legitimate expectation that the Government would abide by the findings of a study done by a team of technicial professionals led by former Independent Senator Dr James Armstrong. 

Housing Development Corporation (HDC) chair Jearlean John says a ground-floor apartment will be available on Monday for a couple now camping in a tent in the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain. Former national boxer Wendell Joseph, 68, and his wife Erica, 56—who is wheelchair-bound and has several health conditions—have been protesting while living on cots under a tent in the Savannah, opposite the President’s House, for more than a month.

John said the couple had moved five times from apartments allocated to them previously, but  Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal was willing to allocate the couple an apartment for the sixth time. “They were allocated five times. They were allocated a ground-floor apartment. I handled that myself,” John said on Thursday. She said the couple will be offered the ground-floor apartment they had vacated last year at a building at Embacadere in San Fernando, adding that the apartment will be enhanced.

“I understood that she (Erica) needs to be in a ground-floor unit. We don’t have ground-floor units available. “We are trying to do work on the unit that they were living in before. We are redoing the ramp so she can have wheelchair access and widening the door to the bathroom,” John said. “I was told that we would not be able to widen the bathroom door, and I said even if we have to do over the entire bathroom, the door must be widened.

“We are trying our best to make it user-friendly.”

MORE INFO
More threats to tent-dwellers
In a phone interview with the T&T Guardian, Erica said none of the apartments offered by the HDC previously had been appropriate. “We don’t want anything but a ground-floor apartment,” she insisted  Minister of the People Vernella Alleyne-Toppin visited the Josephs on Thursday. Erica said the minister took their contact information and left. Alleyne-Toppin could not be reached for comment.

Erica said she continued to receive threats from passers-by. “This morning, a man passed and said he would come back tonight with two grenades and bomb us,” she said. Earlier this week someone threw a scratch bomb into their tent. Police at the Belmont station said they had not received any reports but said that they would patrol the area, paying special attention to the couple’s location.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Glen Hackett says the police will most likely need to commission a forensic audit of the scrapped LifeSport programme in order to help them conclude their investigation in a timely manner. He made the comment during the weekly media briefing at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, on Wednesday.

“This enquiry will be a protracted investigation because of the voluminous amount of material that has to be processed,” Hackett said. “It is likely that to assist the police service with the investigation into LifeSport, that we would have to commission a forensic audit so that it will inform us as to the parameters that transcends and superimposes itself on this investigation, and we would have a clear indication of the magnitude, because it appears, as the investigation continues, it is a big one.” 

He said police had so far interviewed former participants in the LifeSport programme, employees of the Sport and Finance ministries and financial institutions. However, he added that police were yet to interview others. Among the documents police confiscated from the Ministry of Sport, he said, were contracts, payment vouchers, cheques, invoices, Cabinet notes, company registers and correspondence between LifeSport and the Sport Company and the Ministry of Finance.

The programme, which targeted at-risk youth, was scrapped by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in July, after a Finance Ministry probe revealed alleged procurement breaches, fraud, theft and that people at the co-ordinating level may have been involved in criminal activity. The PM also referred the report to Police Commissioner, Director of Public Prosecutions, Integrity Commission and the head of the Public Service.

On the investigation into the death of baby Simeon Cottle earlier this year, Hackett assured it would be completed by December 31. He said the investigators had obtained documents from the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Ministry of Health and other medical institutions and were now attempting to secure a copy of the government-appointed committee’s report to further assist in the investigation, which remains active.

Baby Simeon died from a laceration to the head after his mother, Quelly Ann Cottle, underwent a C-section on Carnival Saturday (March 1) at the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital. On March 17, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan appointed a team of investigators, led by retired Justice Mustapha Ibrahim to investigate.

A report was submitted on June 6 and this was later sent to the DPP and acting Police Commissioner for investigation to determine if disciplinary action should be taken against the doctor who performed the surgery.

Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne shocked many viewers this week when he aired disturbing footage of a father and his three-year-old daughter being robbed at gunpoint by bandits as they were about to enter their home. The incident took place at St Vincent Street, Tunapuna, on October 22. Alleyne got footage from the attempted robbery, cleaned it up and aired it.

The footage showed that shortly after entering their yard, the father and child were approached by a gunman. The frightened father appeared to be trying to talk his way out, but the gunman called an accomplice who was apparently standing guard outside the gate. A desperate father then ran out the yard when the bandits seemed to be distracted, leaving his daughter behind. The bandits then ran out behind him but he was able to escape them. His daughter soon picked up her things and went seeking her father.

Alleyne was able to get clear images of the bandits from he footage and told them he will leave no stone unturned in tracking them down. “The hunt is on, turn yourself in,” Alleyne told the suspects on air. 

Alleyne also aired footage of a woman and her ten-year-old son being ambushed and robbed by a bandit at Tumpuna Road, Arima, October 10. The two had just returned to their car after coming out a restaurant around 3.40 pm when, after the woman got into the front seat, the bandit rushed her son as he was entering the back of the car, held him down, then grabbed several items and ran off.

Alleyne was able to recover and clean up the footage from the security camera and is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect. Anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the suspect is asked to contact the Crime Watch hotlines. In another breaking story this week, Alleyne and his Crime Watch team visited the scene where Anil Jaikaran was murdered. 

The 38-year-old victim, who lived in Pleasantville, was shot dead by bandits on October 24 around 10.30 pm, as he was driving his Nissan Almera in Battoo Lands, Marabella. His sister-in-law and brother were also shot and are still in hospital. Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information on this matter is kindly asked to contact the Crime Watch hotlines.

Alleyne also voiced his concern about the increase vehicle theft in the wake of a case he is following, in which a man’s car was stolen outside Tru Valu Supermarket in Trincity Mall five minutes after he parked, entered the supermarket and returned to his car. The incident took place in broad daylight on October 25. 

When Alleyne visited the site and interviewed the victim he noticed three cameras in clear view and the security guards just a few feet away. The victim complained that he had not received any answers from Trincity Mall management, the security or the police. The man said mall officials told him they would call him once they get an answer. Alleyne advised the man to go back to the police to follow up his report and to keep him posted.

Unsolved mysteries
The suspect who shot and killed Deshona Sobers, 27, and Trevaughn Sobers, 31, and left two of her other family members injured on October 23 remains on the run. The suspect, in an exclusive interview with Alleyne days after the shooting, had indicated that he would eventually give himself up. He said at that time that he would only surrender to Alleyne, as he is the only man he trusts and will call. However, he is yet to do so. 

Investigations are continuing. Meanwhile, a decomposed body discovered by passersby near Unit Trust, Chaguanas, off the Uriah Butler Highway, has still not yet been identified. The Chaguanas Homicide and Crime Scene Investigators were quickly on the scene and began investigations. Investigations are continuing.

The Caribbean’s largest fossil fuel producing nation is unfazed by the falling price of oil. Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine yesterday said analysis submitted to Cabinet on Thursday shows that gas is offsetting the loss of oil revenue. He said Finance Minister Larry Howai, who was not at Cabinet, will present the numbers. “The conclusive evidence is that we get more revenue from gas than from oil,” he said.

Ramnarine also said a price at which the low oil price will begin to cut into revenue has not yet been calculated. The high quality of crude from the increased production by Repsol and Leni also fetches higher prices than the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) the minister said, adding that increased production of higher quality crude will also have an offsetting effect.

On Wednesday, Ramnarine announced that T&T’s oil production was averaging 85,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), up from the 81,000 bopd level of the past 24-36 months. Yesterday, Lease Operators Ltd, Touchstone Exploration, and Range Resources Trinidad Ltd received signed licenses from Commissioner of State Lands Ian Fletcher, Petrotrin, and the energy minister. They will explore for oil and gas in Rio Claro (Lease Operators), Ortoire (Touchstone), and St Mary’s (Range Resources), Moruga.

The three onshore blocks cover a total area of 63,716 hectares and are located close to Petrotrin’s core licensed areas and joint venture producing blocks. Petrotrin will hold a 20 per cent interest in each of the onshore blocks. Petrotrin chairman Lindsay Gillette said he hoped to see the blocks brought into production as soon as possible.

“We have seen and we are encouraged by recent successes and significant oil production increases with our partners in the eastern fields, in particular, Goudron and Catshill which are close to or within the geographic outline of the blocks,” Gillette said.

Lease Operators Ltd was the only local company to walk away with a block this bid round. The company said it is hoping to produce 5000 bold from its block. Lease Operators Ltd is a subsidiary of Well Services Petroleum Company Ltd. Lease Operators is a Petrotrin partner rand produces 2300 bopd.

Asked if he thought PetroCaribe would survive the declining oil price, Ramnarine said that is a decision of the Venezuelan government. He said PetroCaribe has helped many “brother and sister” Caribbean nations including Jamaica, St Vincent and St Lucia. Ramnarine said with the reopening of the Hovensa refinery in the US Virgin Islands Petrotrin will face increased competition to supply the region. Hovensa in St Croix was the world’s largest refinery with a capacity for 600,000 bold. 

Petrotrin’s Pointe-a-Pierre refinery has a capacity of 165,000 bopd.

Executive Chairman of the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) Dr Carson Charles has described environmental activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh as a street fighter. The Nidco top honcho also said Kublalsingh was in the political arena. One thing Charles was certain about, however, is that the San Fernando to Point Fortin highway is going full speed ahead.

Q: Dr Charles, of all the public offices you have held, is this one giving you the biggest headache? of
A:(Laughing at Nidco’s Port-of-Spain head office last week) I cannot say so, everyone provided a different challenge, right?

Is this the most challenging?
No. No. Not at all. I would say maybe there is a difference in that I am no longer 31, when I could have worked day and night without getting tired (laughing once more). My energy is probably about half of what I think I had at that time.

When this multi-billion-dollar project was thrust upon Nidco, did you think it would have been this problematic?
Well, I always expect challenges, but not these kinds of challenges. I expected challenges that had more to do with project management, managing the ambitious programme which the Government wanted to implement, and the age-old issue of how to execute major projects in the public sector within time and budget.

Given the rate at which the project is progressing, is it still on course, within budget, and the same completion date?
No. No. We would not make the same completion date we started off with. We had so many obstacles, so many hindrances, Kublalsingh being one of them (a cynical smile).

Dr Charles, before going further, we are not dealing with Kublalsingh today. I am kind of tired of this whole farcial business, right? But I might ask you one or two questions on the HRM later, ok?
Yeah I don’t mind. I would like to know what is his special diet (laughs), but I really don’t mind later on. The acquisition process was the most challenging because it was a first, trying to acquire so many properties. We have acquired approximately 360 properties, most of which were acquired by private treaty.

Last week, a resident claimed Government had not yet paid him compensation for relocating him?
(Sipping bottled water) We have not had people who come to an agreement and who can make that allegation, because once we have agreed on a price, which is processed and approved, the issue is resolved. But you cannot say you want ten million dollars for a two-bedroom house and we give it to you. The problem is where there is no agreement and they are insisting on outrageous value for their property. Until that is agreed, they would not be getting any money.

Clevon, there is lots of money to be had, so some people think that they could call for anything and they ought to get it…

That Nidco is a bottomless barrel?
Yes, that’s what you expect to get with a project of this size (seven billion dollars). But we cannot do that, otherwise how are we going to stay within the budget?

T&T is a land of mauvais langue, character assassination, and the talk making the rounds is that the only reason why the highway is being constructed on this route is because some unnamed people are expected to benefit unfairly…
Well, I am sure the residents of Siparia and Fyzabad, who would like to get out of traffic jams and who would like to see the area develop, they have a personal benefit, that is the personal benefit. But what is corruption? 
The easiest thing to do is to throw accusations up in the air (gesticulating raised hand), right? You know you throw mud.

This is a project in which the procurement is out there for all to see, which was initiated by the PNM.  Almost all the pre-processes were done by the PNM, and we took up the baton and this Government is building the project.
OAS provided the lowest tender, it is that simple, $5.2 billion at the time, and the present route was designed under the PNM government. It has always been so, and when you build a highway you want to build feeder routes for the people and the towns along the way, because you don’t build it only at the two ends.

(Raising his voice) So the people who are talking about the highway being constructed as it is being done, they can’t be serious. It has to cater for the main towns and villages along the way, including Debe to Mondesir, and I will be disappointed if the PNM should now get on the bandwagon of the HRM…deeply disappointed.

How many people stand to benefit from this project?
Approximately a population of 300,000, and right now it is about 35,000 traffic volume per day rising to about 50,000 as we are catering for the next 25 years. That is a large section of the country, with a population of some $1.2 million.
And what our consultants have found in looking at the accessibility index in the entire country, that is a measure of how accessible an area is, the area with the lowest accessibility in the whole country is the south west peninsula.

In effect, that area was chosen as a priority for such development?
Yes.

When did Dr Kublalsingh and his HRM get into the picture as a protester and not as well, you know what...? (Smiles)
He and his group made their first appearance in 2012 when he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, indicating their objection to the disputed segment. What he is trying now is a little trick, trying to latch on to the previous protest, the Debe to San Francique protest which was headed by Dr Moonilal, trying to latch on to that and saying that was the first incarnation.

(With a dismissive wave of his left hand) Rubbish! Kublalsingh and his group started off in 2012. They were nowhere around when the opportunities were granted under the rules of the EMA for they to object to the granting of the CEC...they were not there when we announced the project. But they should not try to say they were always there and the story is now history leading up to the present time…

Dr Charles, is there any way at all, even at this time, for any kind of meditation as he is now crying for?
Mediation? I am not sure what a mediation is? (Retrieving a file from a second desk in his office) We are in court, if you didn’t want to go to court you would try to do that before court, I suppose. But we are in court, and the court has ruled.  The court did not rule arbitrarily, it ruled because we presented our argument as to why the project ought not to be stopped even temporarily, and the court accepted our argument.

Is this a sinister attempt, Dr Charles, by the HRM to manipulate those who do not know better?
Well, I wouldn’t say…wouldn’t say sinister or otherwise, I would just say that Kublalsingh is a street fighter, so he throws anything at you, he throws the fridge at you...anything. So he fighting you in court while fighting you with a so-called hunger strike on the side. And remember, he has already said if the Privy Council rules against him, he doesn’t care about that. But he is not withdrawing the matter from the Privy Council. Still fighting… (chuckling). He is fighting in the media...everywhere.

You seem to have carefully studied this man, Dr Charles?
Kublalsingh is linking up with political groups, so he is fighting with politics, talking about corruption, and I am not sure as yet what is his goal. And now, because we have reached Penal, he cannot be talking about wetlands. He has an anti-development philosophy and doesn’t want the people of Siparia and Fyzabad to be given modern facilities.

Finally, Dr Charles, do you believe this impasse is now at end?
No. I can’t say that. I do not know what could cause Kublalsingh and his group to find another cause (laughs).

Another farce?
Well he is good at it, clearly better than anybody else. But a general election is coming up next year, and you can never tell…Well he is good at it, clearly better than anybody else. But a general election is coming up next year, and you can never tell…

One of the main, ongoing responsibilities of presidents of T&T under the Republican Constitution is the appointment of citizens of the country to offices and bodies, established by statute, that contribute to the good and orderly governance of the nation. In a fair number of cases, the Constitution gives the President the responsibility to make appointments to offices and bodies after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

These offices and bodies include: the Chief Justice, the three appointed members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, the Ombudsman and the Auditor General. The President also has a responsibility to appoint—after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition—the chairman and members of the following commissions: Elections and Boundaries, Public Service, Teaching Service, Salaries Review, and Integrity.

The President, as well, has the responsibility to nominate, for negative resolution of Parliament, the members of the Police Service Commission and to appoint, on the joint advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, the director and deputy director of the Police Complaints Authority

It is a constitutional requirement, therefore, for the President to make these appointments in a timely fashion so that the important work of these important offices and commissions is able to continue in a seamless fashion. The failure of the President to make appointments in a timely fashion is beginning to have an impact on the good and orderly governance of the country.

On Friday, after providing the Office of the President with six weeks' notice, retired business executive Ken Gordon stepped down as the chairman of the Integrity Commission, after having served for three years. As the statute establishing the Integrity Commission refers to a five-member body, the non-appointment of a new chairman (and a chartered or certified accountant) may prevent the operation of this commission at a time when there are many serious and sensitive matters before it.

That there was no statement from President’s House on Friday announcing a new chairman was surprising. That the President’s spokesman referred to “problems getting people to serve on these commissions, especially on the Integrity Commission,” was truthful if somewhat indiscreet, given that such appointments are within the President’s remit.

If there are problems recruiting people to serve on commissions, President’s House would do well to rethink its recruitment strategy. It may think that placing newspaper employment advertisements is too public, but President’s House should consider seeking professional advice. Employing an executive recruitment firm may be a useful start. 

The recruitment firm would undertake the initial, thorough vetting of the list of potential candidates, which has become increasingly important given the fact that the Integrity Commission has often found itself embroiled in imbroglios.

Between 2003 and 2014, there have been five chairmen of the Commission: Gordon Deane, John Martin, Fr Henry Charles, Eric St Cyr and Ken Gordon. All except Gordon resigned prematurely because of missteps—including once in February 2009 when the entire board stepped down after it was criticised by a High Court judge for misfeasance in relation to the Landate investigation.

The close scrutiny and ferocious, often partisan, attacks the commission has suffered in recent years may explain the reluctance to serve. But the Integrity Commission serves a very important role in T&T, a country that has been troubled by widespread allegations of corruption among government officials for decades. It is imperative that President Carmona find a few good citizens to serve.

Caricom’s heads of government will hold a special meeting on the Ebola virus and chikungunya disease here on Tuesday, a release from the Office of the Prime Minister said yesterday. The release said the 17th Special Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caricom will deal specifically with Ebola, which has ravaged West African countries, as well as the chikungunya disease, which is affecting people within the Caribbean Community.

The meeting will be hosted by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s, from 4 pm. The release said the primary purpose of the meeting is to review action being taken regarding the current challenging public health issues facing the Caricom region, the Ebola and ChikV diseases, and to agree on a way forward.

It added that in early September, Persad-Bissessar had called for the special meeting of Caricom to discuss the public health issues. This call, the releases noted, was made even before the United Nations discussed Ebola at its 62nd General Assembly Meeting in New York in late September.

Dr Denzil Douglas, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Lead Head of Government for Human Resource Development, Health and HIV/AIDS, also called for discussions regarding these significant public health challenges, given the implications for the Caricom community. Expected to attend the meeting are Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Health in the region.

The release said Caricom heads will also seek to arrive at a consensus with regard to the Caricom candidate for the post of Commonwealth Secretary-General. Several Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, St Vincent, Grenada and T&T, have recently placed a travel ban on citizens from Ebola-stricken West African countries, including Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and put measures in place to either screen or quarantine its own nationals who have travelled to those countries.

Three bandits went to commit a robbery at a Gasparillo restaurant on Saturday night, but only two came out alive after one of them was shot dead by a security guard. The surviving suspects were eventually held in Princes Town but up to yesterday police were yet to identify the other man, who is believed to be in his 20s. Police said the bandits, armed with two cutlasses and a gun, walked into the Chinese Phoenix Restaurant and Bar along Bonne Aventure Road and began robbing patrons.

The guard, who was at the back of the building at the time, was alerted by staff. When he tried to get the bandits to leave, they threatened him. The guard then reportedly drew his gun and fired three shots behind the bandits. One of the men was hit on the back and his accomplices picked him up and dragged him to the car park. But they eventually left him outside and ran off. Gasparillo police were called in but the suspect died before an ambulance arrived. 

The restaurant, which usually opens on Sundays, remained closed. while staff cleaned up yesterday. One worker said the boss was not there and she could not speak. A resident told the T&T Guardian that his daughter sent him a text message around 8.30 pm telling him not to come home because a robbery was in progress. He said when he reached home around 10 pm the man’s body was still lying in front of the restaurant.

Gasparillo police and Southern Homicide Bureau, led by Sr Supt Cecil Santana and Supt Zamsheed Mohammed, were on the scene. The man was reported to be an Afro-Trinidadian with a dark complexion and low haircut. In an unrelated incident, the son of a Central Division superintendent is expected to appear before a Chaguanas magistrate today for assaulting a policeman and possession of a knife.

According to reports, police were on patrol in Chase Village around midnight Saturday when they passed the man walking along the road and he began acting strangely. When they stopped him he put up a fight, forcing the police to subdue him. A knife was also found in his pocket. Police said yesterday the boy’s father is currently on suspension.

Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan has admitted to being a very close friend of Dr Dinesh Ariyanayagam, the surgeon at the centre of a controversial procedure in which 17 cocaine pellets were allegedly removed from a patient’s stomach last year. The surgery, which was performed at the St Augustine Private hospital, cost close to $100,000. The patient was later transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex, Mt Hope, and placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after falling seriously ill.

In an interview yesterday, Khan said despite being friends with Ariyanayagam, whom he referred as “Dr Ari,” he has distanced himself from any aspect of the police probe into the matter. He also denied speaking to Ariyanayagam about the matter. Ariyanayagam is a general and vascular surgeon. Khan’s response have come in wake of reports that the investigators had complained of a senior politician blocking certain aspects of the case.

“Everybody knows who the doctor is. Dr Ari and I are very close friends....who does not know that? We have been close friends since in medical school. So what? “There are very few people who hold a specialist position like myself and there are very few people who hold a position like him, so we consult all the time on patient care,” Khan told the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview.

The Health Minister said he was even a guest at Ariyanayagam’s wedding. “So out of 1.3 million people in this country I must not know anybody? In my field it is only obvious I must interact with other doctors and maintain relations with them,” Khan added. Khan, who questioned the relevance of his relationship with Ariyanayagam in relation to the case, said such information being relayed to the media was part of a plot to try to taint his good character.

“There are certain people who are trying to make something out of nothing and the whole thing is just complete rubbish. “I have made it my business to stay clear out of the investigation and unlike other people who have been uttering all sorts of things, I have chosen to utter nothing and let the police do their work,” Khan said.

Pellets given to nurse
One source close to the investigation said yesterday that when the pellets were removed from the patient last December they were placed in a plastic bag by the doctor and then handed over to a senior nurse and another relative who were present at the hospital. The nurse, who is assigned to the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital, is the patient’s mother. But the nurse denied receiving the pellets when questioned by the police on the matter.

“What was removed was described as ‘foreign objects covered in faeces’ because they could not tell exactly what it was. “What was explained to the police is once it is a foreign object, other than a body part, the normal procedure is for it to be handed back to the patient,” the source said. The source said when the patient was taken to the hospital he said he had a history of “abnormal blockage” which ran in his family.

After the surgery, the patient reportedly asked no questions of how he fell ill in the first instance or what was removed from his stomach. “Instead, he told the police he had great trouble speaking. After the surgery his mother also asked no questions from the doctor and the police found this strange as the man had nearly died,” the source said. It is also believed this was not the first time the man had swallowed cocaine pellets and police also suspect the nurse to be part of a drug ring.

Probe launched at Mt Hope
Contacted yesterday, Dr Shehenaz Mohammed, chairman of the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA), said the hospital will be conducting its own internal probe and the findings, if necessary, will be passed on to the relevant authorities, including the police. “Initially, the man was not a patient of Mt Hope but rather that of a private hospital where a major surgery was performed. It was only when he fell gravely ill was he transferred to Mt Hope and then placed in ICU,” Mohammed said. 

“We will have to do our own investigation and part of that investigation would be looking at the medical notes. Whatever action is then meted out would be done in accordance with the rules and regulations of the RHA Act and that includes the disciplinary process.” Secretary of the Medical Board Dr Seetharaman Hariharan said yesterday the board will meet on Wednesday to discuss the matter and determine the best way forward.

He said one of the key areas to be examined will be the conduct of the doctor and whether he was culpable. Hariharan said based on what is determined this will be forwarded to the police. But he said the board will not discuss the allegations surrounding the nurse, as this is a matter for the Nursing Council to decide.

Only one Police Service
When told of the NCRHA’s internal probe and of the meeting of the medical board, Khan said as far was he was aware there was only one Police Service in the country. “People are continuing to get this thing wrong. The police must first do their investigations and coming out of that it would then determine what action would be taken.

“So in the meantime what offence has the nurse committed, because no charges have been laid? How can you probe a nurse when the police have not charged her? “The NCRHA does not have to power to investigate anything of this nature because this is a matter for the police. It is not a medical mishap. Has the NCRHA suddenly become an arm of the Police Service?” Khan questioned.

He said he had no problem with the medical board holding “whatever meeting” it wanted, but warned there was a process to be followed and people had failed to understand this. “Let the police do their work and stop messing up the police investigation,” Khan said.

National Security Minister Gary Griffith said yesterday the controversial surgery performed on a patient to remove 17 cocaine pellets is a either a massive fabrication or a massive cover-up. He made the statement in response to the claims last week that the police could not charge anyone due to a lack of evidence thus far.

The patient, 34, from Arouca, reportedly swallowed the pellets in a bid to smuggle the narcotic to England, but had to fly back home after falling sick there. Once back in Trinidad he was rushed for treatment at the St Augustine Private hospital after experiencing stomach pains.

Last Wednesday, acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams said the matter had been investigated thoroughly and the decision against laying charges was made on the advice of then deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Kathy Ann Waterman-Latchoo. 
Waterman-Latchoo, who tendered her resignation in September, will be taking up a judgeship in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Williams said there was no evidence which could be used to pursue prosecution against surgeon or patient at this time. But yesterday, Griffith assured that despite the lack of evidence the police were working on the matter.

The National Security Minister, who had a lengthy telephone conversation with Williams yesterday, said, “There is no evidence of cocaine pellets at this time. The medical notes say nothing about cocaine pellets being removed, we have no one admitting to removing cocaine pellets and we have no witnesses coming forward to say they actually saw cocaine pellets being removed from the patient.

“So given all this the police cannot charge anyone based simply on suspicion because there is no evidence to do so.” He said removing “foreign objects” from a patient’s stomach does not equate to admitting to having illegal drugs taken out. “If a doctor knowingly removes cocaine pellets and then hands it back to the patient then that is a criminal offence and it is grounds of aiding and abetting to a crime.

“If a doctors says he simply removed foreign objects that is a different case, leaving the police with nothing to go on. So either this is massive rumor mongering or a massive cover-up because there is nothing to prosecute in the first place,” Griffith added.

AG: Cops under microscope
Asked if he believed the matter will remain unsolved, Griffith said it could only be so if a criminal act was ascertained in the first place. “But the police are still working on this matter and they are continuing to look for evidence, but again it is difficult to go ahead if you have nothing solid to go on,” Griffith maintained. Also contacted yesterday, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan urged the police act with a great sense of urgency in bringing the matter to a close.

He said there were “many good officers” and called on members of the public to give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to do their work.

Former Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) executive member Chuck Blazer, once a close friend and confidant of Jack Warner, spent months compiling information for the FBI and IRS with secret devices hidden on his person, the New York Daily News has reported.

In an expose over the weekend, the paper reported that Blazer secretly taped conversation with officials from Fifa and other top sporting bodies with recording devices since 2011, after he agreed to help the FBI. Blazer’s cooperation can reportedly help the authorities secure criminal charges against powerful current and former Fifa executives.

It said Blazer, now 69 and gravely ill with colon cancer, is at the epicenter of a sprawling criminal investigation in which authorities are angling to link fraud and money-laundering to the highest levels of soccer around the world ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. 

His surreptitious assistance over the last three years coincided with a series of internally commissioned corruption investigations that stretch from the Caribbean to Zurich, from Australia to Moscow to Qatar, the small Arab nation playing host to the 2022 World Cup. A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in New York neither confirmed nor denied the report when contacted by the paper.

The investigation, it said, is believed to include a grand jury and has generated requests sent to subjects in foreign jurisdictions including Zurich, home to Fifa, where Swiss banking secrecy laws have long protected massive business deals from public scrutiny. Delia Fischer, head of media for Fifa, told the paper, “We never had any request from the American law enforcement in regards to (Blazer’s cooperation with the US government).”

Those who would be shaken by Blazer’s help to the FBI and IRS include members of Fifa’s powerful executive committee, of which Blazer and Warner were members during Blazer’s tenure from 1996 to 2013. The paper visited Blazer for comment but he reportedly refused, saying, “I just can’t talk about that.” The FBI reportedly used Blazer’s failure to pay taxes on undeclared income as leverage to lure him into helping them.

The report said the investigation was facilitated after Blazer and Warner were ousted from Concacaf in 2011 and the body launched an investigation which produced a 144-page integrity report that accused the duo of committing fraud against the organisation, breaching their fiduciary duties, violating Concacaf and Fifa statutes, misappropriating funds and violating US tax laws.

Their sackings followed a Caribbean Football Union meeting which Warner hosted at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad, where then Fifa presidential candidate Mohammed bin Hammam allegedly handed out envelopes stuffed with $40,000 cash in a bid to unseat Sepp Blatter atop Fifa. Fifa subsequently banned Bin Hammam while Warner resigned.

“I feel compelled to say the environmental impacts have not been properly studied.” This is the conclusion arrived at by one ecologist who presented information before the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) on the controversial Debe to Mon Desir leg of the highway to Point Fortin. He has requested anonymity, as he works for an international company and both he and the company are fearful of political backlash, especially with the general election less than one year away. 

The ecologist has scoured through close to 800 pages of Environmental Impact Assessments and supporting documents on the highway, with emphasis on the Debe to Mon Desir leg currently being challenged by the Highway Re-route Movement. He is concerned over how the environment and wildlife will fare in light of insufficient mitigation to the potential hazards defined in various reports connected to the project.

He said,“The question is not whether the highway should be built, the question is when we build such highways and spend so much money, that it is built without creating problems in the future.” But mega engineering projects have been successfully completed in environmentally sensitive areas all over the globe. For instance, Walt Disney World Orlando has been built on swamp land.

Some writers also tell of New Orleans, the sinking city, being more like the world’s most habitable swamp—and subject to years of flood engineering. We challenged the ecologist—What is it with the Debe to Mon Desir leg and does the Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) have a point? He said many of the impacts will be permanent and unavoidable but the residual impacts of the project was deemed to be low.

“I was looking at the mitigations (for impacts ranked as high). For instance, the sensitive and endangered species, when I looked at the mitigations, there were very few… yet the ranking was downgraded to low,” he explained. The Institute of Marine Affairs documented eight such impacts:
1. Loss of habitat
2. Fragmentation of wetland habitat
3. Altered hydrological conditions from inception and diversion of water sources to wetland
4. Loss of permeable surfaces
5. Increased flooding potential
6. Increased pollution from vehicles
7. Increased colonisation of invasive species
8. Increased squatting 

There has been discord between the HRM and the National Infrastructural Development Company Ltd (Nidco) on the issue, with the former saying the route passes through wetlands and the latter denying this—contending that the land-form has since changed. “Neither is correct, because the assessments done by the IMA, the Meteorological Society and the EIA point that it is really in the areas which drain into the wetland itself,” the ecologist said.

According to the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) study, he said the highway’s alignment in the contentious segment passes through three major wetland types where the black mangrove (Avicenna germnanis) is the most predominant vegetation—the Oropouche River, Coora River and the marshland at Puzzle Island. The EIA records several rare and endangered animals at risk in these habitat, including Sulphury Fly Catcher (rare), Blue and Yellow Macaw (endangered) and the Scarlet Ibis (vulnerable).

But the ecologist believes not enough protection is being afforded to the country's rich wildlife. “When you look at the endangered animals listed in the EIA, which one has been protected by the EIA? None. In all cases it said they could not be protected and there will be a natural loss based on the project.”

Another organisation to add expertise on the project, he said, was the T&T Meteorological Society, which expressed concern with potential flooding and landslides. It said the removal of vegetation, cutting of slopes, back filling and paving would magnify the drainage problems. “If you are not careful, the work will affect where run off drains… it drains into the Mosquito Creek area, which is a big fisheries bed as well.”

But isn't there an organisation founded in 1995 responsible for protecting the environment? The Armstrong Report catalogued the EMA’s assessment of the EIA, declaring it deficient in the following ways.
1. There was insufficient detail with respect to the socio-cultural environment and more details were needed.
2. There appeared to be a lack of adequate consultation with agricultural land owners.
3. There was no clear provision for the compensation of people who stood to lose property.
4. There was no indication of arrangements for individuals, households, businesses and farmers to be displaced by the right-of-way (ROW), by resettlement or otherwise. 

According to the JCC’s findings, the EIA was submitted to the EMA in February 2009 and was rejected. But the CEC was granted one year later, even though the concerns were not addressed, according to the report. It wrote, “The CEC was issued on April 20, 2010, although the administrative records at the EMA provided no additional information to determine the basis of its decision. 

“The opinion of the HRC is that the EIA was not acceptable and should have been rejected and returned to the applicant. It seems that the EMA relented without having the applicant provide adequate responses.” The ecologist pointed out that the JCC’s ability to get conclusive evidence may have been stymied because of a lack of proper records on the project.

“There are few things on record… in fact, the JCC could find no record of any submittals after the EMA requested further information, yet the CEC was still approved,” the ecologist said. He said the present predicament is a serious situation and laments that the truth is not being told.

“If you know now in hindsight that some of the impacts, based on future determinations, are bigger than you thought… wouldn't it make sense to take another look rather than make a big mistake for the nation?” Like many others, the expert agrees that the highway is a must, but mitigation ought to be strengthened.

Law enforcement officers searched the Blanchisseuse forest for several hours yesterday, but there was still no sign of a family of four from Paria who disappeared under mysterious circumstances over a week ago. Although the search for the missing mother, her two daughters and her one-year-old granddaughter was unsuccessful, investigators reportedly arrested four “persons of interest” from the remote North Coast village for questioning. 

However, a senior police source warned that investigators could not hail the arrests as a breakthrough in the case, as the men were yet to be interrogated up to late yesterday. “We don’t want to talk too much about them as yet because we’re not sure what they know. They may be eventually released,” the source said. The source said during yesterday’s search several villagers told the search team that a 51-year-old man also went missing on the same day as the family. 

“We cannot confirm as yet. We don’t have any official report of this. Today is the first time we heard about this,” the source said. According to reports, a team of police from the North Eastern Division Task Force (NEDTF) and soldiers from the T&T Defence Force were dispatched to search the vast and dense area early yesterday. The search was called off around 6 pm because of poor visibility and difficulty in navigating te terrain at night. 

Despite being supported by a National Security helicopter, the search team, which comprised two dozen people and several police cadaver sniffer dogs, was unsuccessful in locating the family or any evidence related to their disappearance. The team is expected to embark on a fourth consecutive search mission today. 

According to reports, Irma Rampersad, 48, her daughters Felicia Gonzales, 17, Jenelle Gonzales, 19, and Jenelle’s one-year-old daughter Shania Amoroso, were reported missing two Sundays ago. Rampersad’s husband Peter Sylvester and five other children were not home at the time. 

Her brother-in-law John McDavid, who  spent the night at the family’s Bleu Road, Brasso Seco, Paria, told police that when he woke up he found the front door open, a window broken and his relatives missing. Since the incident was reported by the media, investigators have received a reports from a man claiming he spotted one of the missing women in Sangre Grande on Friday.  The information, one of the few lead in the case, is currently being investigated.  

Speaking with the T&T Guardian on Friday, Rampersad’s daughter Nicole said she feared her relatives had been kidnapped as none of their clothes or other personal items were missing from the house. She also said her mother and sisters had been receiving death threats since their 31-year-old neighbour Phillip Noreiga was shot dead near their home in early August. Detective of the Blanchisseuse Police Station are continuing investigations.

A report from the Ministry of Health shows that almost a quarter of the T&T young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are smokers. The results of the survey were revealed by County Medical Officer of Health for the Victoria District, Dr Akenath Misir, at the ministry’s second annual Anti-Smoking Poetry Slam at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts, San Fernando, last Friday.

“According to the Panam Steps Report, 23 per cent of persons between the ages of 15 to 24 years are smokers,” Misir said. “This alarming statistic alone shows that by engaging in this deadly habit, one could expect a lower quality of life and an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases, such as heart (disease), stroke and cancer.” Sixteen schools took part in the Poetry Slam and Misir praised the students for their contributions.

“The performances were excellent, it is great to see the high standard that everyone adhered to. “We believe your voice and influence are most important in spreading the message of a tobacco-free lifestyle to your peers,” Misir said. Girls dominated the competition, with the top three prizes awarded to Holy Faith Convent and St Joseph’s Convent. 

Karina Rodriquez, of Holy Faith Convent, Couva, captured first place with her contribution Hashtag: Don’t Smoke. Portraying a smoker with lung cancer, Rodriquez questioned the choices her character made, likening the nicotine addiction to slavery. “From this slavery there is no emancipation!” she proclaimed. Urging her peers never to indulge in smoking, Rodriquez made them roar in approval with her closing line, “Hashtag: Don’t Smoke!”

Second-place winner Dominique Friday also gave a stunning performance, dressed as a cigarette. She told the audience putting a cigarette in their mouths was like receiving the “kiss of death.” The St Joseph’s student said while people have the power to choose, they are holding triggers to their own heads when they smoke. The third place winner, Holy Faith Convent’s (Penal) Harmony Farrell, also likened smoking to suicide and begged her peers not to become statistics.

A Point Fortin mother is calling for the immediate suspension of a male teacher at the Vance River RC school who allegedly collared her nine-year-old son, violently shook him and hit his head on a wall during class last week. Gonzales Village, Guapo resident Jame Nicholas, a security guard and mother of four, visited the T&T Guardian pleading for her son’s story to be heard.

Nicolas said her son Omari, who is a Standard Two pupil at the school, had been traumatised from the alleged attack and has been suffering from fever and headaches since then. “He told me he went to complain about another student calling him a ‘macomere man’ but the teacher told him ‘That’s because you is a ‘macomere man,’” Nicholas claimed. “Omari told him, ‘Sir, you can’t tell me that’ and the teacher collared him and started shaking him, hitting his head on the wall.” 

Nicholas said after the incident Omari was told to sit down. The concerned mother said although the incident took place just after lunch time, she only became aware of it when the school’s principal called her mother (Omari’s grandmother) around 4 pm that day to apologise. “The principal called my mother and told her she wants to apologise for her teacher’s behaviour. It was only then we found out. She told my mother she wasn’t in school and other students told her when she came back,” Nicholas said.

She said her son went to lessons after school and when he came home at about 5.30 pm she saw his head was swollen. She said she noticed two bumps on his head and asked him about it. It was then, she said, that the child related his story. Nicholas said she immediately took him to the Guapo Police Station to make a report and then to the Point Fortin Health Facility. She said the child complained of severe headaches.

“I made a police report and carry him to the health centre, the doctor gave him painkillers. But the next morning he woke up with a high fever,” she said. She said the male teacher is not Omari’s regular teacher, but was substituting for another teacher at the time. Nicholas said her father visited the school on Tuesday and she went in on Wednesday. 

“The principal told my father that Omari was being disrespectful to the teacher, but I don’t understand, if he did that why didn’t the teacher take him to the principal or call his parents?” She said she was told to “forget” the incident by officials at the school. “I asked the principal if she reported it to the Education Ministry, she said she will do it but she wants me to forget about it,” Nicholas said.

She said she came to the T&T Guardian because she feels the school officials are covering up a dangerous secret. “How long have they been hiding this teacher’s violent behaviour?” she asked. “I am standing up now so this does not happen to any other child. My child is at least alive, what if he kills the next child who ‘disrespect’ him?”

The Guardian contacted the school via telephone and spoke to a woman who identified herself as the principal. When questioned about whether the incident occurred, the woman replied, “What? You want to write about this in the paper? Ma’am I am asking you not to do this.” When a request was made to speak to the principal, she said, “I am the principal.” Pressed further, she repeated, “My only comment is do not do this, think about everything.”

TTUTA in dark

The T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) was also contacted, but up to Friday president Devanand Sinanan said they had not heard of the incident. Also contacted on the allegation on Friday, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh declined to comment, saying he was in a conference and unable to address any questions. 

However, a source in the ministry, who did not want to be identified, said there was no report of the incident by the school’s principal to the school supervisor 3 for the St Patrick district, which the school falls under, up to last Thursday. The source said once the report is submitted the matter will be investigated and the Teaching Service Commission will have to decide what action is to be taken against the teacher. 

An officer at the Guapo station confirmed a report was made last Monday about the incident and said investigations into the matter are continuing.

As told to BC Pires

My name is Linda Daniel and I make jewels from coconut pieces, coral, seashells and haematite stone I find on the beach in Tobago.

I come from a small family: my mom, my stepfather, two sisters and myself and a brother. I’m the eldest for my mother. I have a 14-year-old daughter, Lauralee Greene, and a five-year-old son, Antonio Glasgow.

My days, growing up in Parlatuvier was really fun. We didn’t know anything about KFC. We go to the beach, is like we picking green mangoes to make chow. And we bury that green mango in the sand, so it will get hot.

We even used to thief Mummy’ Golden Ray and go down on the beach and roast breadfruit and drink lime juice. My kids don’t know nothing ‘bout that! They want a box of KFC. And you find restaurants and bars on the beach now. But the Golden Ray and breadfruit taste much better, taste like heaven!

I went to Castara Government Primary and  hen, at the age of six or so, I further all my studies at the Parlatuvier Anglican School, right on the beachfront. Days when the sea get really rough, it will wash up all underneath the school. And they had was to close off school when we had rough sea days.

I was in a bad accident in 2008 coming from Mount Dillon on the lookout. The driver probably fell asleep and the car plunge straight over the cliff. Me and my daughter were a passenger in the back seat with a other passenger in the back seat. Two persons died on the spot, the lady in the front and the person in the back seat.

Really mashed up! The driver is silent-mad right now. Me and my daughter had was to crawl from the precipice to come up to the main road. I get injuries on my face and hands but I didn’t get any broken bones. They rushed me to the emergency room, the doctors get two heart beat. I was pregnant with my son! It’s a miracle why me and my two kids are here for today.

Since the accident, I have this thing that I’m not pretty any more. Because of the scars on my face. But me and my two kids are living a second life and that’s my story.

I go to Trinidad to buy materials sometimes but don’t spend much time. I have structured my life to be self-employed so that I can have time with my kids. I don’t leave my kids with anybody unless it’s and emergency, I leave them with my mom.

I love rough weather when the sea comes up in Parlatuvier and Bloody Bay: so I can go on the beach and get my seashells, my driftwood pieces, which I use sometimes to do some of my jewel, sea fan also. When I go home, as soon as I get a little spare time, I make jewel. Sometime I go out with my kids to football, I will sit down, because I always have my material with me in my vehicle, and I will make up some earring pieces. Most of my pieces is one-of-a-kind pieces.

When guests come to the island, they not looking to buy jewels from China. They’re looking to buy stuff from here. I am good with my mouth and am able to sell my business.

I’m making jewel ten-15 years now, self-taught, I have never gone to a class anywhere to learn how to do it. But now I have the privilege of teaching classes to schools. And to adults, community development-wise.

Although I haven’t travelled as yet, I’m all over the world: because my pieces have gone all over the world!

When you have the idea in your head and it come out to reality, that is the best part of the job. The bad part is when I’m not getting the material to do what I want.

I prefer Tobago a hundred per cent to Trinidad. Especially for my kids. We sleep with our back door open. In Trinidad, you want to trust people, but you don’t know who to trust. In Tobago, it’s more like one family, everybody knows everybody.

Tobagonians are good with our hands, meaning: sweet food!

T&T on the whole is all about culture, all about freedom.

Before filing a civil claim, the court expects that parties comply with pre-action protocols to act reasonably in exchanging relevant information and documents and in trying to avoid litigation. Generally, the following steps should be taken by parties, with the advice of or through their attorneys:

• The party with a potential dispute should write a letter of claim to the other side;
• The other party should acknowledge receipt of the letter (usually within seven days) and indicate when he/she will provide a written response (one month is considered to be a reasonable amount of time);
• The other party should provide a detailed response, including any counter-claims once he/she has gathered all the relevant information and documents;
• The parties should then conduct genuine and reasonable negotiations with a view to settling the claim economically, speedily and without resort to court proceedings; 
• After discussions and negotiations, if the parties do not come to an agreement, both parties should work together to reduce/narrow the issues in dispute for possible court proceedings. 
The letter of claim should comprise the following:
• Sufficient details for the other side to understand and investigate the claim without requiring further information. This includes what remedies the party is seeking and copies of essential documents being relied on (eg. receipts and medical records).
• A request for a prompt acknowledgment of the letter; a full written response within a reasonable time period; and whether court proceedings will be issued if the full response is not received within that time.
• A request for copies of any essential documents, not in the party’s possession, which he wishes to see.
• Whether the party wishes to enter into a form of alternative dispute resolution (eg. mediation).
• Draw attention to the court’s powers to impose sanctions for failure to comply with the pre-action rules and enclose a copy of the practice direction. 
The recipient/ other side should include in his/her full written response: 
• Whether he/she accepts the claim in whole or in part and make proposals for settlement; or
• State that the claim is not accepted and give detailed reasons why not, identifying which parts of the claim are in dispute with copies of any essential documents relied on.
• Enclose copies of documents asked for in the letter of claim or explain why they are not enclosed.
• Identify and ask for copies of any further essential documents not in his/her possession, which he/she wishes to see. The party making the claim should provide these within a reasonable time or explain in writing why he is not doing so.
• State whether they are prepared to enter into an alternative method of dispute resolution. 

The pre-action protocols are intended to provide people with a fair opportunity to resolve issues early through the exchange of information or to lay the groundwork for the efficient conduct of court proceedings. Parties are encouraged to attempt to settle matters using alternative methods of dispute resolution and should view court proceedings as a last resort. 

This column is not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, you should consult a legal adviser.
Co-ordinator: Roshan Ramcharitar

Caribbean leaders have adopted a ten-point plan of action to ensure the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) does not reach the region. Cuba is also expected to play an integral part in the initiative. The announcement was made after a four-hour meeting held at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s yesterday afternoon. The meeting also centred on the Chikungunya virus outbreak.

The plan, which is referred to as, Stop Ebola There and Here (Seth), also included measures to seek financial support from non-governmental organisations and business communities. 

Among those present were Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, secretary-general of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, chairman of conference of Caricom and Antigua and Barbuda PM Gaston Browne, St Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas and executive director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (Carpha) Dr James Hospedales. 

Asked what was the figure of monies needed Persad-Bissessar said: “There would be some level of funding and I believe the number of US$7 million was mentioned but that was only for the work of Carpha. So there will be national efforts, as well as regional efforts and efforts outside of the region of those who have expressed interest in partnering with us in terms of financial assistance.” 

Browne, who chaired the press conference, said the discussions focused on the possible health impact of the virus and also the possibilities of the economic and social consequences one case could have. “Responses to diseases must be a community effort. No member state of Caricom must battle these public health challenges on its own.

“The meeting accepted that the likelihood of penetration of the Ebola virus in the region is low and this is based on the low level of traffic from affected areas,” Browne said. Persad-Bissessar, who endorsed Browne’s statements, said there would be the establishment of a regional rapid response team known as (Carib React).

This team, she added, would be integral in ensuring quick response and attention to any member state, and would be able to provide support to national response teams to contain any outbreak. She said: “One of the critical areas identified for action is that of capacity building among Caricom member states, particularly in the areas of prevention and control.

“Regional leaders acknowledged the enormous contribution of Cuba in assisting affected West African countries, and noted that the country has indicated interest in working with Caricom to build capacity in the region to deal with any incidence of EVD.” Persad-Bissessar said T&T supported the participation of Cuba in the regional strategy and the matter would be discussed further at a Caricom-Cuba Summit to be held next month. 

On whether government would heed the call of some to ban Carnival next year, the PM said it was too early to decide adding that plans were “full steam ahead.”

The plans

The Ebola ten-point plan
• Strengthen effective, co-ordinated measures at ports of entry to prevent Ebola from entering the regional community, including harmonising travel restrictions
• Strengthen health systems including training, equipment, laboratories and containment, and enlist the participation of airlines in the Region in transporting specimens and response teams
• Create a Regional Rapid Response Team (Carib React) able to reach any member state in 24 hours to support the national response team to contain/stop an outbreak early on
• launch an intensive public education campaign for citizens of the Region, visitors and those outside.
• Organise a comprehensive resource mobilisation effort including a possible Stop Ebola There and Here (Seth) Fund, to which governments, citizens and businesses here and abroad may donate
• Finalise and implement the harmonised regional operational response plan by end-November, co-ordinated with national response plans;
• Participate in capacity-building efforts at the global and regional levels to gain experience for our benefit;
• Establish a Regional Co-ordinating Mechanism on Ebola (RCME) with CARPHA as Chair, including the Caricom and OECS Secretariats, IMPACS, CDEMA, and inviting Cuba to participate, The RCME will report to the lead head of government on health, with the immediate responsibility to develop a comprehensive regional strategy to address Ebola preparedness in collaboration with PAHO/WHO.
• Invite PAHO/WHO, the United Nations, development partners and other contributors to a meeting within one (1) month to expand the effectiveness of our collective response;
• Review and reinforce the effectiveness of these measures as implemented at intercessional meeting of conference in February and the conference of heads in July 2015.

Plan for Chik V
• That there must be a multi-sectoral approach to fighting the disease that would include education, tourism, media, local government and other sectors and capabilities, including private enterprises, and explore the use of new technologies 
• That there must be a well-co-ordinated, continuous public education campaign on how the disease is spread, targeting the citizenry, travellers, and tourism stakeholders
• The strengthening of vector control response capacity
• The facilitation by PAHO/WHO of Bulk purchase of essential public health supplies, such as bednets, insecticides and repellent.