Terrence Lalla, the owner of Super Industrial Services Limited (SIS), has denied that his company is funding the Prime Minister’s million dollar Christmas toy drive, whilst benefitting from lucrative contracts from Government. 

The toy distribution, which culminates this weekend in the Prime Minister’s Siparia constituency, has been criticised by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner and former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, all of whom have called on Persad-Bissessar to explain who funded the drive.

In an interview yesterday, Warner alleged that nine 40-foot containers belonginging to SIS were recently cleared at the Point Lisas port. Workers at the company have reportedly been offloading toys for children at the company’s base at Brechin Castle, 23 Rivulet Road, Couva, he added. He said he also had information that the toys, which he alleged were never checked by Customs and Excise, were being stored at a Port-of-Spain hotel before being distributed.

“It is obscene and wrong. The Prime Minister cannot say that she does not know where the money comes from. She does not know whether it is coming from drug cartels or financiers and this is unacceptable,” Warner said. Maharaj said Persad-Bissessar had a duty to disclose to the population who donated the toys. “If Government did not purchase these toys, the country needs to know if contractors who are getting contracts from Government are in breach of procurement procedures,” Maharaj said.

What PM said
On Thursday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she did not know who were the sponsors of the toy drive. She said a committee headed by vice president of the Tunapuna Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Peter Kanhai, was in charge of the toy sponsorship. Kanhai, in an earlier interview, said as far as he was aware, no Government contractors had been sourced to sponsor the toy drive. 

Kanhai said the drive had sponsors such as Kiss Baking, Holiday Foods, Universal Foods, Bermudez and Coca Cola, who often provided items free of charge or gave significant discounts of up to 60 per cent. 

Little information
Contacted on his cellular phone yesterday, Lalla appeared surprised when asked whether SIS had funded the PM’s toy drive. “Who made that statement?” he asked. He later advised that questions be referred to his public relations department. 

Asked what was the cost of the toys and whether nine containers had been brought in, Lalla said he had no information. Pressed further as to why he, as owner of SIS, did not know the cost of the toy drive, Lalla said, “The amount of things that go on at SIS, I don’t know quarter of it. I will have to ask the marketing people about those things.” Told that he was the owner and should know, Lalla replied, “Not really.”

When told of Warner’s allegations, Lalla said, “This is interesting. No comment.” On allegations that SIS was defrauding the government of millions of dollars in taxes, Lalla responded, “OK, that is news to me.” Asked whether allegations that workers were not paying NIS or health surcharge, Lalla said: “Why, you think we don’t pay NIS? Most or 99 things in the media is hot air. “Those allegations are inaccurate. You can pull all the NIS records and it is there. All our workers pay NIS and Health surcharge.”

Hours before the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management presented three thermal scanners to the Airports Authority yesterday, a Nigerian student was admitted to hospital with malaria. The scanners will be used to detect the arrival of suspected cases of Ebola at the international airports in Tobago and Trinidad. In a release yesterday, Ministry of Health officials said there were no suspected Ebola cases in the country.

On October 20, the World Health Organisation declared Nigeria to be Ebola-free. Following the WHO's move, Government removed travel restrictions on persons travelling from Nigeria to T&T on October 22. Checks into the student’s recent travel history showed that he had not travelled outside of Nigeria for over one year before he arrived in T&T in early December. Although it was confirmed that he was suffering with malaria, officials said he was being closely monitored.

The student was first treated at the Accident and Emergency Department of the St James Medical Complex on December 19, before being transferred to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for “further management.” Medical personnel became wary after the student began exhibiting symptoms such as fever and vomiting. Contacted yesterday, hospital officials confirmed the student remained warded in a stable condition.

Travel restrictions have remained in effect for countries where Ebola outbreaks continue to be reported. The ministry is continuing to monitor arriving passengers at all the legal ports of entry. Medical institutions have been urged to remain vigilant for suspected cases of Ebola and other viruses. 

Three thermal scanners were handed over to the Airports Authority of T&T (AATT) to assist in detecting suspected cases of Ebola entering Trinidad and Tobago. The scanners were purchased from a US firm at a total cost of TT$387,000, said chief executive officer of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), Dr Stephen Ramroop, speaking at a handing over ceremony at the VIP Lounge, Piarco International Airport, yesterday.

As part of a wider detection system, the scanners will be used at the Piarco and ANR Robinson International airports. Ramroop said collaborative efforts with strategic partners such as the AATT would enhance T&T’s border security. AATT Chairman Jason Julien said the scanners were not just for Ebola detection but to ensure tighter border control. 

“It is not just about the Ebola virus,” Julien said, adding that the scanners would be used to identify “any threat to the border security of T&T that may have or be related to a weapon or otherwise that could be picked up by a heat signature.” Ramroop and Julien said people would not be singled out or approached by officials and ordered to participate in the detection process.

They said the scanners would be positioned to scan arriving passengers, rather than a specific person—as body temperatures beyond 37 degrees Celsius would trigger off the computerised alarm system. Only then would passengers be taken to the port health officer for further tests. Julien declined to say exactly where the scanners would be located, for security reasons. “We have to be careful how we advertise the protections we have,” he said.

Staff responsible for border access and security would be trained in the use of the equipment and software, Julien said. The AATT was working with the ODPM to facilitate drills and table-top exercises, test emergency response mechanisms and introduce protocols.

Asked how soon the scanners would be introduced into daily operations at both airports, Julien said: “The reality is that we are going to implement it as soon as possible. The reason why we have this here now is before the peak of the Christmas travel season and because of the expected influx of passengers.”

The 2011 Lake Asphalt (LATT) audit report containing allegations of corruption, which mentions PNM Deputy Leader Marlene McDonald and other PNM officials, is being scrutinised by the Attorney General to determine if there are grounds to lay a charge of misconduct in public office. Attorney General Anand Ramlogan said this after yesterday’s T&T Guardian article on the report in which McDonald’s name appears. 

The audit report concerned a review of contracts and conflicts of interest in that company where a senior LATT official allegedly told a company in 2007 to make contributions to foundations run by McDonald and Peter Taylor, in order to get more LATT jobs. 

The audit also noted concerns had been expressed regarding due process in relation to procurement of contracts, payment of contracts and possible conflict of interest between the former LATT senior official and Tramway Marketing Ltd. McDonald was secretary of that company up to 1999.

Ramlogan said yesterday: “The report is engaging the attention of my office with a view to determining whether there are any grounds for misconduct in public office or any violation or potential violation of T&T’s laws.” He said all aspects and issues concerning persons involved would be examined.In the absence of replies from PNM leader Keith Rowley and PRO Faris Al Rawi yesterday, PNM Deputy Leader Rohan Sinanan said he had no comment. 

But political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said the PNM would have to deal with this and other allegations concerning McDonald. “As the PNM will want to enter elections as clean as possible to ensure they’re not compared with the PP. 

“To that extent they may have to rethink some candidates. Currently, however, the PNM seems more occupied in doing damage control in defending why they didn’t vote for the Procurement bill in Senate on Tuesday and abstained on it, so McDonald may be secondary business for them,” Ragoonath said.

Fixin’ T&T yesterday called on Rowley “to demonstrate responsible leadership by publicly insisting on a thorough, transparent and independent investigation into this matter (the foundation) or providing irrefutable evidence that one was conducted and she was cleared.  

“The PNM’s handling of the recent allegations of corruption against MP Marlene McDonald mirrors that of the Government’s initial responses to allegations of corruption made against Jack Warner, Anil Roberts and Anand Ramlogan etc, as they have chosen to attack the accusers and reduce the matter to political mischief.” The group said the PP Government and the Opposition PNM “are two sides of the same coin,” reiterating appeals to the PP and PNM for campaign financing reform.

The group said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s “gift” of $55 million to churches, using public funds, was apparently ably supported by the Opposition without any system of accountability in place: “This is the same Government and Opposition that recently unanimously bypassed the Salaries Review Commission and passed legislation in our Parliament to raise their salaries and pensions...Similarities can also be seen in the Prime Minister’s unwillingness to provide full disclosure on the source of funding for her ‘toy drive’ and the Opposition Leader’s response to calls for complete transparency in the raffle for the three BMWs.”

The diversification of T&T’s economy through tourism received a boost with the completion of the second phase of the Chaguaramas Development Authority’s (CDA) Boardwalk project on Williams Bay. The expanded recreational facility was launched on Thursday night by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who vowed to facilitate the continued development of the north western peninsula as she cut the ceremonial ribbon.

The Prime Minister said the project was key to the economy’s diversification through tourism. The first phase of the boardwalk was opened in May 2012 and was extended a further 1,300 feet for the second phase. The third and final phase is expected to start soon after the turn of the new year. Planning Minister Bhoendradatt Tewarie, National Security Minister Gary Griffith and Arts and Multiculturalism Minister Dr Lincoln Douglas were among the officials present at the launch.

In her address, the Prime Minister heaped praise on CDA chairman Daniel Solomon, CEO Jocelyn Hargreaves, the board and staff for their vision and execution of the project, which she said would offer entertainment to thousands of locals and visitors and career opportunities for hundreds.

“Ask Mary McMillan of Haig St (Carenage), who manufactured the cushions for the net bridge of the zip line. Those were to be imported, but are now produced right here in Carenage. I say, ask her whether she thinks the development is good,” Persad-Bissessar said, responding to those who opposed the development.

She added, “The CDA will be a leader of the Caribbean by making the peninsula the gem of our nation and a model for development, which can’t be emulated anywhere in the world.” The Prime Minister said people entering Chaguaramas ought to feel safe as “security has been doubled” and every car that entered the area could be tracked.

A sum of $35 million was initially budgeted for the second phase. However, it is uncertain what the final expenditure on the project will be. Hargreaves, CDA’s CEO, said an impending, detailed release would clarify the expenditures and all other aspects of the project.

Plans for Chaguaramas
The PM said work on developing Chaguaramas to its full potential would continue with a number of upgrades. For one, the golf course, the first public course open to the public in the West Indies, would be upgraded to international standards in order to facilitate international tournaments. She said Chagville Beach would be rehabilitated, hills and green spaces reforested, and the Chaguaramas Hotel and Convention Centre upgraded.

Persad-Bissessar noted that new world class marinas would be developed “that will make us the preferred destination for everyone in the western hemisphere, especially those who wish to avoid the average hurricane season. Finally, she said, there was “an expansive, maybe expensive boardwalk that expands to the helipad in the west adding to the ambience and comfort of everyone on the beach.”

New political leader of the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) Kwasi Mutema says the party will deepen its commitment to coalition politics in the future as it seeks to bridge gaps and bring people closer together. Mutema was speaking during an interview yesterday, when he was elected by the electoral college on Sunday to replace Caricom Ambassador Makandal Daaga, who was the party’s founding leader.

He said he accepted the new responsibility with pride while he knew that there would be great expectations from the membership after Daaga’s tenure. He added that his election took place during a particularly challenging period for his party. Mutema said he would try to “move forward and rebuild NJAC, not just as a political party but also in the context of being a part of the People’s Partnership Government.” The other units of the PP Government are the UNC, COP and TOP.

Asked to share his view on coalition politics, Mutema said, “It will become more and more the order of the day. It can be very healthy for a country as it encourages parties to bridge gaps that may exist.” He said that was a good thing as some of the parties in the coalition had previously fought against each other.

Saying politics could be divisive, Mutema said, “Coalition politics was a way to try to correct that by bringing parties which opposed each other together.” He said in coalition politics “there must be a lot of give and take and compromise.” Several executive positions within the party are to be filled on Monday and following that meeting, there is to be a review of the party. He said the NJAC must move to reorganise and have people work more effectively.

He said NJAC must also seek to make itself more attractive to the population before the 2015 general election. The new NJAC leader said though there was no need to panic, citizens needed to be more aware of the consequences of falling oil prices internationally as it would have a negative impact on the country. A special meeting is to be held soon to appoint a team to look at the issue of falling oil prices, he said, and citizens must exercise caution in their spending.

The price per barrel of oil slumped to US$59.50 on Thursday.

Amidst rumours that government’s $55 million allocation to churches for the Christmas season is an election gimmick, Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) President Harrypersad Maharaj has defended the allocation, saying it is nothing new. Maharaj said the People’s Partnership government has been allocating money to churches every Christmas season since they came into power. “This is nothing new, all religious organisations have been receiving grants over the past years,” he said. 

“I don’t understand how some people can say it (allocation) is because it’s an election year. Maybe it’s because the amount was announced in a lump sum.” Maharaj admitted that members of some organisations had spoken out, refusing the money. “I have dealt with people in the past where one or two members say they don’t want the money, but when other members of the same organisation gratefully accept the assistance.”

He said the money was used to put together hampers for the less fortunate in communities and also to upgrade churches. Contacted for comment, National Diversity minister Rodger Samuel said he preferred to focus on those who would take the allocation and put it to good use, rather than those who would decline it. “I am tremendously happy that many people will accept and that fills my heart with joy as opposed to those who will choose to decline,” he said. 

He said a list of churches that declined the offer would only be available after all money had been allocated. However, he admitted that churches have refused the allocation in the past. “Last year I gave a cheque to a pastor and he refused. Even when I told him change it and give it to the poorest members of the congregation, he still refused, that was last year.” However, he did say if the gesture was intended as political, it would not have been done the way it was.

“The PM stood up in Parliament and asked all 41 MPs to bring a list of churches in their constituencies. How can that be an election gimmick?”

“You will end up like Dana Seetahal.”This was the unnerving message former CNMG employee Eve George received after being dismissed from the state-run media company when she rejected the sexual advances of a senior official there. Now, the 30-year-old says she has had to go into hiding after the threat and is living in fear because the perpetrators do not want her to expose them.

“I have to live on the run and constantly look over my shoulder,” George told the T&T Guardian. “They sent a threat for me because I was exposing what they are doing and standing up for what is right. A man walked up to me and told me to my face ‘I will end up like Dana Seetahal’.” 

Seetahal, a leading prosecutor and former independent senator, was shot dead on May 4 after leaving a casino in Woodbrook on her way to her One Woodbrook apartment. George said a man she knew met her in Maraval and warned her about talking about the alleged sexual advances while she was employed with CNMG’s Talk City 91.1FM. “He came up to me and said that to my face. I was afraid. I did not expect that. I had already left CNMG,” she said.

The terrified George said her fear was further compounded when someone broke into her Westmoorings apartment shortly after the threat was made. 

“I have entered a safe house for my protection since the threat two Saturdays ago. I had to leave my apartment. I cannot go out alone. I have to get protection,” she said. George said she had been working at CNMG for just under a month when she was summarily dismissed after she complained about the harassment. She said the man who made sexual advances towards her remains employed with CNMG.

CNC3, on Tuesday night, highlighted George’s story. She said since that story she has been receiving a number of phone calls from people offering her support and urging her to be strong. She said her attorney Keith Scotland was in the process of taking legal action on her behalf.

Bharath: Investigation has been launched
Communication Minister Vasant Bharath says an investigation has been launched into George’s claim and her alleged unlawful dismissal. Bharath, speaking with the T&T Guardian in a brief telephone interview, said, “That matter was brought to my attention yesterday (Wednesday) and it is being fully investigated at the moment.” The line minister for CNMG said he did not have any of the details on the incident involving George or her claims of death threats. 

“I am aware that it is being fully investigated. I cannot comment until I am able to have the facts of the matter before me. It will be extremely difficult for me to give an opinion on the matter,” he said. Bharath, when pressed about allegations that George’s alleged harasser remains at CNMG, said, “I have asked the management about it when it came to my attention and they are investigating it. I should have a full report on it soon.” 

CEO: Wild allegations
CNMG CEO Ken Ali has denied that George was employed with the company, although she had a CNMG ID/media badge to prove she was employed with the company. “This is a matter that has been playing out for a number of weeks now,” Ali said. “This person was never an employee of CNMG. I have been saying that many times. She was never an employee. I am not aware that she had a badge.” 

Ali said George worked with a team that made a programme called The Ground Report and that group was not aligned with CNMG, but a private group, though he confirmed the team was still working with CNMG. “We have sold some radio time to a group on CNMG and for a short time, she was with that group. “That group had nothing to do with CNMG. We had brokered time with that group and they bring in their employees,” Ali said.

Asked about the allegations George raised, Ali said: “We do not know that anybody has been convicted of anything. We do not know if anyone has been charged with anything. People have made wild allegations and I do not know if anybody has been charged with anything.”  

George, who made a formal report of the sexual harassment at the St Clair Police Station on October 16, said witnesses had been interviewed and statements taken about the incident, which was being investigated by PC D’Heureux.

CrimeWatch host Ian Alleyne is appealing to citizens to be more cautious on the roads. He made the call after arriving on the scene of yet another horrific accident on the Uriah Butler Highway near the Caroni Bird Sanctuary on Sunday. The accident claimed the life of Rohan Peters, a passenger in one of the two vehicles involved in the accident. A standard two student of the Warren Primary School and his father were also involved in the accident and were taken to hospital in critical condition. 

Alleyne aired the footage of the carnage after the crash in the hope of curbing bad driving habits and the senseless loss of lives on the nation’s roads, especially with the Christmas season upon us and Carnival around the corner. Also this week, after obtaining sufficient video evidence, Alleyne uncovered abuse of prisoners at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca. 

The video showed prisoners being beaten and assaulted by prisons officers. A relative of one of the prisoners visited CrimeWatch to express her concern and disgust over the treatment of the prisoners. The woman said the inmates were already serving time for their crimes and should not be beaten like animals. 

Alleyne called for a thorough investigation to be launched by the relevant authorities into the matter. He was unable to determine the extent of the injuries sustained by the prisoners but he vowed to follow up the matter and obtain answers and justice for the prisoners. In another story, a machine worker whose identity was not disclosed appeared on the programme seeking assistance from Alleyne regarding a compensation claim he has against his former employer, Rio Claro-based Bachoo Clay Pots Limited. 

The man, whose hand was crushed in a machine while working, has not received compensation or assistance from his former employer, although the matter was settled in court in favour of the disabled worker. Alleyne asked the owner of Bachoo Clay Pots Limited to get in contact with him at 294-4081. Alleyne also started investigating another case of alleged police brutality. The latest case came via a complaint from the family of Cepep worker Shaquille Rodgers. 

Rodgers’ family claimed he had just departed a Cepep jobsite when he was approached by police who questioned him and the other people whom he was with. The police allowed the others to leave but detained Rodgers and took him to the police station, where he was allegedly severely beaten. He has since been hospitalised in a critical condition and under police guard. 

His relatives showed Alleyne photos of the injuries he sustained. Rodgers reportedly suffered a broken jaw, a displaced windpipe, swollen face and the loss of a tooth, among other injuries. Relatives told Alleyne that the doctor’s report revealed that Rodgers may lose sight in one eye. Alleyne called on acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to launch a full and fair investigation into the abuse and incarceration of a citizen for no apparent reason.

There are conflicting stories surrounding the payment of over two million dollars for work on two community centres in east Port-of-Spain that never got off the ground. McEachrane’s Rental and Transport Services was paid three cheques totalling over $2.7 million from February to May 2010, for work on the Bon Air Gardens Community Centre and the Marcano Quarry Community Centre, in Laventille, but no work was ever done.

The owner of the company, Victor McEachrane, was awarded both contracts under former minister of Community Development Marlene McDonald. His name is also listed as a director of another organisation, the Calabar Foundation, which also received another $375,000 cheque in May 2010. The company, however, was only legally registered three months later in August 2010, and that cheque was cashed by September 2010.

Calabar Foundation also has two other directors, Michael Carew who has been described as McDonald’s common-law husband of 20 years and his brother, Lennox Carew. McEachrane, in a telephone interview with the Sunday Guardian, confirmed that he and McDonald have been friends since their time together at university.

While McEachrane has defended the payments as “mobilisations fees” and stated that he signed the contracts “some time in May,” the former technical director of the Self-Help programme under the Ministry of Community Development, Etienne Mendez, said that up until he resigned on September 2, 2010, the two contracts were not awarded. Mendez was responsible for the construction of community centres from 2007 to 2010 under McDonald.

Mendez, in a telephone interview yesterday, said it was unclear how a contractor could have been paid for the projects without a formal award in place. “We did identify sites for those two community centres, but no contracts were awarded up until I demitted that post in September,” Mendez said. He said no company should be paid a “mobilisation fee” unless it was awarded a project.

Who checks the cheques?
The cheques contain two signatures of the then permanent secretary Angela Jack and deputy PS Hermia Tyson-Cuffie. Jack, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, added another element to the unfolding story when she claimed that she had no recollection of those cheques. “I left the ministry in August 2010 and I cannot recall those cheques. It was years ago. I suggest you contact the ministry and ask them for the invoices that led to the payment,” Jack said.

The current PS at that ministry, Victor Jones, was unable to assist. Jones, the Sunday Guardian was informed, is in the position for one month up until January 2015 and could not locate the relevant documents. But head of the Public Service, Reynold Cooper, shed some light on how cheques to contractors are paid. 

“Yes, the PS is the accounting officer for the ministry but they work closely with the minister and cannot issue a cheque without the minister’s say-so,” Cooper said. “The PS takes instructions from the minister,” Cooper added.

McEachrane: I am innocent
Despite Mendez’s claim that no mobilisation fees could be paid unless a contract was formally awarded, the owner of McEachrane’s Rental and Transport Services, Victor McEachrane, was paid $2.3 million and another $400,000 towards the mobilisation for construction on the Bon Air Community Centre and another $50,000 towards mobilisation for the Marcano Quarry Community Centre.

The question is, where has the money gone? McEachrane has denied any wrongdoing in the matter and maintains that he was paid that money to mobilise workers and pay security for the two projects. McEachrane was also the contractor behind the Sea Lots Community Centre, which was delivered days before the 2010 election.

Yesterday, McEachrane said though the two projects were tendered, no company wanted the jobs because of where they were located. He said the $2.3 million payment represented a percentage of the actual cost of the contract. “The money I was paid did not end up in my pocket. After taxes, that $2.3 million was only about $2 million and that was to mobilise workers for the community centres,” McEachrane said. He claimed that after the 2010 election, the People’s Partnership stalled the two projects.

McDonald was the minister from 2007 to May 2010. “I cannot answer any questions on Calabar Foundation or why it got a cheque before it was registered,” McEachrane said. “I was only asked to be a director on a charity foundation but I never had anything to do with that,” he said.

MP for Port-of-Spain East Marlene McDonald has accused a former PNM politician of colluding with external forces in a bid to ruin her political career. McDonald, who has been gagged by her legal advisers, responded to two incidents that recently surfaced in the media, allegedly accusing her of misconduct. “Collusion and a witch-hunt, that is what this is,” McDonald said in an interview yesterday with the Sunday Guardian.

In a letter directed to party leader Dr Keith Rowley two weeks ago, a supporter claimed that McDonald was accused of misconduct during her time as minister of Community Development because a cheque was issued on May 12, 2010, to a company that was registered three months after that date.

The company, Calabar Foundation, lists three directors, Michael Carew, Lennox Carew and Victor McEachrane. Carew (Michael) has been described as McDonald’s common-law husband of 20 years and McEachrane as a friend from her university days. “I have never owned any foundation,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s name is also mentioned in a 2011 audit report into Lake Asphalt T&T (Latt). The audit report contains concerns about the review of contracts and conflicts of interest in that company, as a senior Latt official is alleged to have told a company in 2007 to make a contribution to a foundation McDonald had in order to get more Latt jobs. When asked if that was the same Calabar Foundation, McDonald repeated that she never owned any foundation.

“I was approached by a client at the time to form a company and used my name as secretary to incorporate the company. The year later, by 1999, my name was removed. What is this silly story even about?” she asked. She said she was not aware that Attorney General Anand Ramlogan had signalled his intention to investigate the Lake Asphalt matter.

“The AG is free to do whatever he wants. There is a lot more to look at in his own party and that is where he should be looking, but everyone will want to jump on the bandwagon now,” she said. “I have lived my entire life above board,” McDonald added. 

We are satisfied with MARLENE—Rowley
Meanwhile, Rowley continued to support McDonald’s bid for re-election to the Port-of-Spain East seat next year. He said he was not surprised that the AG was planning to investigate the matter and he was leaving it up to McDonald to respond accordingly.
“If the response is inappropriate then we will act,” he said. Rowley said he was aware that some people “hated” that McDonald was re-selected for her constituency seat.

“But that is their point of view, we are satisfied that we have chosen a proper candidate and until we are convinced otherwise, she shall remain,” he said.

Finance Minister Larry Howai says the Government has started an internal conversation about the possibility of deeper cuts in spending due to the continued decline in the international price of oil, and the fact that T&T is likely to receive less tax revenue for its LNG exports. The minister said last week that those discussions focused on the need to reduce or delay purchases of goods and services, and limit new hiring in the public sector. He said there was already a 30 per cent vacancy level in the public service.

Howai, in a statement to Parliament on November 28, signalled that the Government wanted to reduce its expenditure in the 2015 fiscal year by $1.3 billion, which was about two per cent of the $66 billion the Government expected to spend from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015. The Government’s original budget was based on an assumption that oil prices would average US$80 a barrel and T&T’s netback price for LNG would be US$2.75 a unit.

The reduction of $1.3 billion was based on a scenario in which oil prices would average around US$65 a barrel for the year, while the natural gas netback would be US$2.75. West Texas Intermediate for January delivery rose US$2.41 to settle at US$56.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. The February future closed at $57.13, which was US$22.87 below the price on which the current budget was predicated.

He said the discussion about deeper cuts in spending arose because natural gas prices have come down with the most recent netback price being US$2.90, which is just US$0.15 above the price on which the current budget was predicated.

Howai said the Government intended to ensure that expenditure on social programmes was not cut, and there was a commitment to ensure that rent arrangements and debt payment were untouched. He said some of T&T’s capital expenditure projects might be deferred, but he was reluctant to go down that road because of the multiplier effect of infrastructural spending.

The minister said that, as of last week, the country’s revenue stream remained “fairly good” and that the Government hoped to get a clearer picture of the 2015 budget by the end of January. He said he did not see a contradiction between his call for spending restraint on November 28 and the Prime Minister’s subsequent announcement of a $55 million gift to Christian churches.

With murders skyrocketing—399 up to yesterday—Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the Government will be making another attempt to reintroduce the death penalty. The “hanging bill” will be reconsidered by Cabinet and taken back to Parliament early next year, Persad-Bissessar announced yesterday, during the annual Christmas toy distribution in her Siparia constituency.

The Government’s first attempt to pass the The Constitution Amendment (Capital Offences) Bill, known as the hanging bill, was defeated in the House of Representatives in February 2011 after it did not get the requisite support from the Opposition, with a vote of 29 for/11 against. Asked to comment on Trinidad’s ranking as the tenth most violent country in the world, Persad-Bissessar said fighting crime remains the government’s top priority. 

“We will continue with initiatives and some new initiatives. In fact, I have asked the Attorney General to bring back the hanging bill for cabinet’s consideration, so we look again to introduce the death penalty for homicides, for murders. We have brought down serious crimes but the murders still remain too high and, therefore, I want Cabinet to reconsider the introduction of the death penalty and to take that legislation to Parliament.”

Asked if she was confident that the death penalty would reduce murders, she said there was empirical data that an effective death penalty contributed to a reduction in murders. Fighting crime, healthcare delivery and a reduction in food prices would remain the government’s top priority in the new year, said Persad-Bissessar.

The Prime Minister added that she had a two-hour meeting with Finance Minister Larry Howai on what projects could safely be put on the back-burner and what should be put on the front-burner in the light of falling oil prices. “We have agreed that social services programmes will remain priority, the National Security Ministry will not be cut. We put those as high priority areas, and health service delivery also as a high priority area.”

Therefore, she said, work would continue on the completion of the Couva Children’s Hospital and construction of the Point Fortin Hospital. With regards to the 20 per cent reduction in National Flour Mill (NFM) products for Christmas, she said she got really good feedback. Trade Minister Vasant Bharat, she said, had assured her that NFM would be giving full accountability and “the drain on state coffers is not as great as people may imagine it to be.”

Responding to her critics, including former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, about her toy and hamper distribution, she thanked all those who assisted “and to the scrooges,” she said, “I also wish them a very Merry Christmas.”

People’s National Movement (PNM) leader Dr Keith Rowley says former prime minister Patrick Manning may have deliberately misguided his constituents regarding the nominations for the San Fernando East seat. Rowley, speaking with the media at the PNM’s hamper giveaway at Balisier House yesterday, confirmed that Manning may not be eligible to contest the seat in next year’s election. The deadline for nominations is tomorrow.

“The constituents have put themselves in a position where they are not able to meet the seven-day notice that is required by the party constitution. That is a deliberate act that the party takes note of and we will rectify it and the process will continue,” Rowley said. “The constituency unfortunately was guided to a point where they did not make the party groups get involved in the process as required by the party’s constitution,” Rowley said.

Rowley and Manning were in a small tussle regarding the deadline for nominations for the screening for his seat. The PNM had acquiesced to Manning’s request for deadline extensions twice, with the final deadline for nominations ending tomorrow. Manning, in a message on social media, stated that he had medical tests that would run until early next year and he would not be available for screening until January 3.

The PNM has since been adamant that December 22 is the final date for submissions. Rowley said by Monday afternoon, the party would know who was nominated for the San Fernando East seat. “We will take it from there, we won’t jump ahead of ourselves. It is a process and the process will win out in the end,” he said.

Shopping has remained steady in the bustling towns of Princes Town and Chaguanas, but in the industrial capital of San Fernando shopping remains slow in the lead-up to Christmas. In Princes Town, on Friday, business owners said shoppers were attracted to excellent prices, exemplary service, and proper traffic control by police officers.

Parking remains easily accessible on the outskirts of the town while street vendors have been accommodated in the town’s “Triangle,” situated a stone’s throw away from the police station.  Yassim Rahaman, who operates an agro shop and a car park at Tramline Street, said a steady stream of customers had been flowing through the town centre.

“People come from as far as Diego Martin, Tunapuna, Mayaro, and Port-of-Spain to shop here,” he said. “The purchases in Princes Town are sometimes 50 per cent cheaper than in other areas.” Several shoppers confirmed Rahaman’s claim.

“In Princes Town people don’t try to dig out your eyes with prices. We have honest businesspeople who will put a small mark up on their goods,” Kamal Ali said. Christine Gopaul and Damien Ali, who were seen buying curtains at Miguel Moses store, said they preferred shopping in Princes Town because of convenience and value for money. “We live in Princes Town and we decided to sew our own curtains this year,” Gopaul said. 

At the Treasure Chest Jewellery store, businessman Kazim Mohamed said 2014 was a bit gloomy compared to 2013. He said many customers were purchasing jewelry online. Mohamed said his prices were very good and he had a loyal clientele, and this was what made his business prosperous. However, some business owners said falling oil prices had had an impact on shopping.

Camille Mohamed, manager of Shamell’s Fashions, said, “There are lots of stores where people get reasonable prices, but I think people are watching how they spend.” She said Princes Town has remained one of the busiest towns in the country. Meanwhile, in San Fernando, business owners complained that too many people were window shopping rather than buying.

“We have had people come to the stores but not many of them are buying, like what we saw in previous years,” one store owner said. President of the San Fernando Business Association, Daphne Bartlett, said she hoped that business will pick up as Christmas drew near. She said shoppers were dissuaded by the chaos caused by street vending. She explained that vendors who were given an opportunity to vend on the streets walked with long tables which blocked the streets and pavements.

“Vehicles cannot stop to pick up shoppers on High Street and it is chaos. If we accommodate 80 vendors and some of them bring four and five tables for goods, there will be no room to walk,” she added. Bartlett said because of falling oil prices, people were being more cautious with spending. In Chaguanas, business activity also remained steady. 

However, business owners said they expected to have even more shoppers this weekend. President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Rishi Sookhai, said, “Shopping has not picked up as it should. Lots of people are still window shopping, but we expect it will be picking up in an exponential way because we will have a lot of procrastinators who will be catching up on late shopping.”

Asked why people have not been shopping as they usually do, Sookhai said, “People are waiting to get paid, to get bonuses...People are worried about the falling oil prices and they have to be a little cautious.”

Looking at the undulating hills where sugar cane once grew creates a feeling of nostalgia for 75-year-old Ramrajie Ramdeo. For most of her life, Ramdeo worked on the sugar estates with her husband Ramdeo Maniram, earning $1.20 per tonne of cane from Mr Tancoo, the largest cane farmer in Barrackpore in the late 1950s. Today, Ramdeo’s husband is dead from excessive drinking, and some of the undulating hills in the sugar belt have been cut down for various developmental projects. 

Ramdeo said she misses the days when the smell of burning cane would envelop the entire village. Although her husband built a concrete house with a loan from the Agricultural Development Bank, Ramdeo spends most of her time in a wooden shed behind the concrete structure. She continues to cook on a chulha (mud and clay stove) using firewood and a pooknie (metal pipe used to blow the firewood).

The elderly woman lamented that they could not account for a lot of Caroni’s assets. “I remember when the engine (train) used to pass and how we suffered when Caroni closed. That is why my son left the village, he is living in Tortuga now,” she revealed. Life has been more bitter than sweet for Ramdeo’s and many other families who relied on the sugar cane industry. 

Caroni’s assets, which once included 77,000 acres of land, a profitable rum distillery, a research station, a feed centre, citrus, dairy, rice and beef divisions, as well as sugar engineering and transport sections, have been auctioned, pilfered and in some cases, abandoned.

Large chunks of Caroni lands are being used for private development, government projects, residential housing, agriculture, squatter regularisation, and by religious organisations. However, the exact amount of Caroni lands used, and how much is left, remains a mystery. 

The Estate Management Business Development Company (EMBD, which was given responsibility for Caroni’s assets in May of 2008, has been stripped of some of its power and no longer constructs roads and bridges to facilitate farming. 

As such, many of the two-acre plots given to ex-Caroni workers have been abandoned. A great portion of the two-acre agricultural blocks distributed to some workers remains uncultivated and many are now being sold in the Picton, La Fortune and La Gloria estates. There are also claims that agricultural land is now being converted to residential purposes and sold.

Along the M2 Ring Road, in Picton, there are concrete houses in various stages of construction. While a few plots of land close to the Woodland intersection have fields of corn, peppers and melongene, the vast majority of plots are overgrown with weeds.

Roads and drains have been built on the Trinidad Hill leading to Monkey Town, but plots have not yet been distributed even though underground water and electricity lines have been run. Officials of several state agencies said no data had been compiled to assess how Caroni’s vast assets were distributed.

EMBD says it’s not our responsibility
The EMBD, which was granted responsibility for Caroni’s assets by Cabinet in May 2008 has been stripped of some of its powers. In an interview with the Sunday Guardian, EMBD’s newly-appointed Acting CEO Gary Parmassar said it was not true that EMBD had responsibility for all Caroni’s lands, as it had responsibility only to execute some agricultural leases.

“We have the head lease for seven estates and these are Caroni, Edinburg, Felicity 1, Felicity 2, Jerningham Junction, La Fortune and La Gloria. Out of those estates we have 3,149 agricultural plots, most of which have been distributed,” Parmassar said. 

Based on a November 2014 EMBD report, Parmassar explained: “We have executed 2,104 leases but there are some that have not yet been allocated by Caroni.” Asked why, Parmassar said he did not know. He said the EMBD had between 800 to 900 leases to execute but were experiencing challenges because of the length of time it took for things to be put in place. 

“We are finding that the ex-workers have passed away. We have to now find the beneficiary. We are asking them to come and sign the lease but they are not coming.” Parmassar said the impasse at the Board of Inland Revenue also posed a challenge as documents could not be legally registered if stamp duties were not paid. He also said that EMBD did not have the head lease for any residential land as this was being controlled by the Commissioner of State Lands and Caroni.

In 2003, Caroni (1975) Ltd closed its doors, sending home 7,965 employees. Workers were offered VSEP at a cost of $741.5 million.

Former prime minister Patrick Manning promised “a golden handshake,” inclusive of 30 residential housing estates to accommodate 5,000 former employees with offers of leases at subsidised prices of $30,000 per lot, provision of alternative employment in the industrial sector through establishment of e-Teck, development of 17 agricultural estates at a cost of $598.1 million and training of 3,400 former employees at a cost of $16.5 million. 

However, while ex-Caroni workers got compensated, cane farmers said they were still waiting for help. Mahadeo Persad, of Gunness Trace, said he planted ten acres of cassava but had no market. “The floods washed away five acres of corn. We have to pay so much money for fertiliser. If it wasn’t for pension and social grants many people would have suffered,” Persad said. Shanti Gopaul, of Rochard Douglas Road, said she had been working Cepep since Caroni closed.

Commissioner responds
Commissioner of State lands Ian Fletcher said that he did not have data to show how Caroni’s assets were distributed. He also denied authorising the transfer of agricultural lands for residential uses. 

“That data has to be obtained from Caroni. I don’t have that figure at all,” Fletcher said. Asked why lands were now being sold on the open market, Fletcher referred further questions to corporate communications officer Sookram Ali. He also said that routine checks were done and if the stipulations of the lease were broken, the lands could be taken away.

Caroni ceo—i don’t know
Chief Executive Officer of Caroni Kevin Singh also could not produce the data on how much of Caroni’s lands had been divided up for various uses. He said Caroni was in charge of distributing lands for residential purposes only, and not agricultural leases. However, he said, he would have to compile data before making a further comment. He said at the end of the first quarter of next year, perhaps around March or April, the remaining lots would be distributed.

Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal did not respond to e-mails on how much of Caroni’s lands were used by Udecott for government projects. 

Daphne Bartlett, president of the San Fernando Business Association: 
“My personal wish is that I would continue to be thankful and grateful for what God has given to me and my family thus far. My wish for the country for 2015 is for our leaders to be inspired to curb wastage and manage our resources carefully, especially in light of the drastic drop in oil prices. We also want our people to be more prayerful and thankful. I wish for us to be our brother’s keeper. I also wish that we would look for less handouts and try to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. 

I pray for peace and harmony in our country, especially since it will be an election year and everybody will be jostling for a leadership role. I wish also that there will be no natural disasters.” 

Errol Mc Leod,  Labour Minister and MP for Pointe-a-Pierre:  
“I wish there will be peace on the industrial front and T&T will be able to effectively deal with the crime situation that is affecting everybody and it is a matter that we must all come together to solve, if we can solve it at all. The new year is going to hold a lot of positive promises for this country. I think we have done well over the last 12 months and we will see a lot of successes in many areas. Yesterday (Thursday), negotiations on behalf of teachers were concluded and signed off. 

Public servants are going to settle in a short while from now, and there are positive indications notwithstanding the economic and financial problems that seem to be hovering with the falling price of oil and gas. These are two important commodities on which our economy depends. My personal Christmas wish is that every family in T&T and every individual in T&T remembers the Christ child and how he suffered and died for our sins.

Basdeo Panday, former prime minister of T&T: 
“My wishes are that constitutional reform will come to this country and all the political shenanigans that are taking place across the country will finally come to an end. Constitutional reform will make this country a better place for all of us to live in. As for my wish for the new year, I wish this entire country will be happy not only for Christmas but for all eternity.”

Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, former attorney general: 
“My personal Christmas wish is for T&T to be saved from the political precipice which it finds itself in. Unless a new group of people comes forward to save this country and present to the people a powerful political alternative, T&T may not be able to be rescued from this Partnership government. My wish for the new year is for this group to help to formulate and mobilise a national front to rescue T&T. So certainly, my wish is for this People’s Partnership administration to no longer be in office.”

Rev Joy Abdul-Mohan, minister of religion (Presbyterian):
“My Christmas wishes are that people will strive for spiritual growth and strive to serve humanity in a positive way. I wish for the transformation of the minds and hearts of people so that they will live worthy lives. I also wish for fervent leaders who will give of themselves selflessly without seeking self-aggrandisement. I want us to take better care of our children. In the new year, I hope that people will see challenges as opportunities for growth and approach life in a more positive way.”

The Black Caucus is taking the lead to ensure that Trinbagonians of African origin have a greater share in the economic prosperity of this country. Chairman of the Black Caucus, Keenan Munro, feels that the black community in T&T has not benefitted from the economic prosperity of the country and that they are suffering from the lack of co-ordination and unity enjoyed by other ethnic groups in T&T.

The 35-year-old businessman said that unlike the other groups, the black community does not have social or economic support mechanisms.

Q: Mr Munro, at the risk of sounding pessimistic, hasn’t the economic train long left the Black Caucus at the station?
A: (Puzzled expression at the Western Main Road, St James, head office of the Black Caucus (BC), Wednesday afternoon) It hasn’t left the BC by any station (chuckles)...Do you understand what we are doing?

Well, that’s what I am trying to find out...this is where you come in.
Hold on, Clevon, I am calling my father (entrepreneur William Munro) before this interview starts. (After getting the okay from his father on his cell phone, the chat got underway). Well, the Black Caucus is an organisation that is geared towards creating black economic visibility. We have recognised that this community is the one group within this country that hasn’t benefitted from the economic prosperity of the State.

Doesn’t that say something about the leaders of the country, political and otherwise? What it says is a lack of co-ordination and unity among the black community by any governing body. Be it what it may, the fact remains that there isn’t any entity as a guiding force for these people.

Why is it necessary that blacks have their own co-ordinating body, and is there a similar entity among the other ethnic groups in T&T?
What we did was to look at all the other groups and we realised a particular pattern; they are all working with a similar agenda for their upliftment and for their betterment, they have created a support system among themselves. Now, within anyone’s inherent culture there are built-in mechanisms to take care of their own but because the black community is one that was not left with their culture, we do not have those support mechanisms within our behavioural, social, and thought patterns which formed our culture.

Is that an excuse or explanation for their economic position today?
What I am saying is that there are solid examples where black people came together under a unified, co-ordinated front and became prosperous and well taken care of…where black people started trading among themselves in the late 1800s/early 1900s, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

What it resulted in was that they managed to acquire over 200 acres of land.

OK, you are speaking about an alien venture, but I want to look at…
(Interrupting) Well, the reason why I am using that foreign example is because it was at a time when you had the most amount of prejudice against black people, and we are in a much more conducive environment for us to thrive today. And they managed to create one of the wealthiest black societies because of the practice of group economics in America.

Very well. Did we have to wait for the advent of Keenan Munro before replicating that system here? (Laughter)
Well, there is a saying, there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. The time is now, and I am not the person who is coming up with this idea and everything. As far as I see it, it is a concept that wants to be born and is utilising all the people involved to bring it into being.

Again, Mr Munro, I am not being pessimistic but...
Anything you want to ask, brother, say it...trust me, we cool like that (laughter).

Mr Munro, I am sure you would have heard of and perhaps have experienced it...the lack of unity among the black population...
Absolutely. However, can you say silk ten times, please?

Why do you want me to do that?
Just bear with me. What does a cow drink?

Silk. (Quickly realising he was caught with this trick question, both men laugh).
OK. Do you know why you got caught with that question? It had nothing to do with me. The human body deals with entrainment, and when the media bombards people with certain imagery and certain latent messages, saturating our consciousness, it is then we start believing and automatically acting in that vein.

Wait. Wait. You are not following those who seek to blame the media for most of the negatives in the society today?
What we are doing now is using the media to spread positive messages. As we start to bombard our people with positive messages, that is how we would have positive results. Because understand this, just as I did that experiment with you, when you start putting positivity into the community you understand how powerful entrainment is. So is reconditioning of the mind, and we cannot do so if we do not get the message out there.

Given the fact that black people already have their finances tied up with long-standing businesses, credit unions, finance institutions, and you are embarking on what can only be described as a herculean task. How can you get them to join your organisation?
By no means are we doing that. All we wish to do is to perhaps put one or two steps in there to maximise his opportunities to do just that. One of the principles we are working with is the circulation of the dollar within the black community.

But isn’t that dollar already circulating elsewhere?
Now you must understand something...when people get paid on a monthly basis... and from what I have heard, the figure is $200 million the black community spends.

Where did you get that figure from?
One of the researchers gave it to me. And out of that, probably ten per cent is what we retain and the rest we spend out. If money and blood is to be equated, then we are bleeding out, which ultimately leads to atrophy. That is why we are always on the economic treadmill. There is no building up of value in our community.

The Black Caucus, simply put then, is attracting wealth towards the black community?
Yes and creating a self-sustain ecology just as how all the other groups have done in some way or fashion, creating some self-sustaining ability by spending money among themselves.

The practical concept of group economics?
To practise group economics we have to start controlling our finances to some degree. This is why we are working on establishing the African Credit Union, setting up cooperatives where we would create an investment plan, where the average person can put in a nominal amount and receive dividends at the end of the year.

A loyalty card to receive discounts during the year, developing of plans where they can offset some of the expenses based on the investment projects we are putting in place. Being a member of the Black Caucus you will get places to rent at favourable rates to operate a business.

Mr Munro, no offence meant, how would you respond to any accusation that the BC is just an effort by somebody to make some easy money at the end of the day?
Mr Raphael, that is such an unfair assessment. You came in here and you are seeing the expenses we have. You see a staff, what you are seeing is not anybody’s family concern, it is a genuine staff, genuine electricity, genuine overheads, utilities, people doing counselling who we have to pay, business and social counselling, I could tell you today, swear to God, I do not receive a salary for doing this, you know.

We, my father and myself, we have other businesses, you know. I make money, but my services toward Black Caucus is absolutely free.

As the country recorded its 400th murder for the year, Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams says the murder rate is way beyond what the service had projected. “We wanted a massive reduction but it is obvious that we haven’t achieved that,” Williams said in a telephone interview yesterday. The murder toll for 2013 was 407. Williams said the Police Service statistics recorded 399 murders but lists compiled by independent media houses confirmed that the figure was 400.

There are nine more days until the end of the year. Williams said while the murder rate had not decreased nationally, there was a significant decrease in murders in two divisions. “Two divisions which have nationally had the highest murders in previous years have shown significant decreases, and those are Port-of-Spain and Northern Division.”

Port-of-Spain Division decreased by 38 murders as compared to the same time last year and Northern Division murders decreased by 18, he said. Williams attributed this to the TTPS’ drive to remove guns off of the streets. Police have been able to remove over 560 illegal guns from criminals this year. “Firearms are killing people. In 2014 we worked to get the firearms off the streets and that impacted murders in Northern and Port-of-Spain. We have to push all divisions to do the same thing.”

He said illegal guns will continue to be a problem until issues relating to guarding this country’s ports of entry were improved. He said National Security Minister Gary Griffith was taking measures with the ports and the T&T Coast Guard to improve security at entry points.

While those two divisions showed a decrease in murders, Williams said the Central Division and Eastern Division had shown increases in murder. “The increases in those divisions are where our concerns lie,” Williams said. He said police were doing a detailed study on murder patterns in these areas to better strategise for 2015.

Williams said the police service had improved its work within communities and would continue in this area as crime was a “social phenomenon.” He said there had been a significant increase in the level of positive engagement or sharing of information with the public. “Criminal elements are usually a small group of people in the community. Most of the people in communities are law-abiding citizens.”

Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan is calling in police to ensure that the breathalyzer is used with increased frequency over the Christmas season. He was speaking with the media yesterday after he joined members of the Chaguanas Borough Council to distribute hampers to needy people at the Chaguanas Borough Corporation new administrative complex at Cumberbatch Street. His comments came even as another fatal accident was recorded in the Chaguanas district.

Police said Randolph Taitt, 45, of Edinburgh 500 was struck and killed by a Nissan Wingroad as he attempted to cross the highway, near the Unipet service station yesterday morning. Boodhan said he was upset at the level of road carnage that took place in T&T and the borough in 2014. He said police should step up their patrols and be on the alert for intoxicated drivers. 

Boodhan said drunk drivers can sometimes use their vehicles as a weapon, causing havoc and undue distress to innocent families. The mayor said the hampers were donated by Massy Finance. He called on other corporate entities in the borough to adopt needy families not only for the holidays but throughout the year to help them rise out of poverty.