A 22-year-old former student of the University of the West Indies (UWI) is in police custody after a raid on his sophisticated indoor marijuana greenhouse on Thursday. The suspect, of Diego Martin, was arrested yesterday by St Joseph police in an apartment near the university’s St Augustine campus hours after they found his illegal farm at another apartment one street away. 

Police made the first raid around 7 am on Thursday when they searched an apartment at Bedessie Street after reports of suspicious activity by the former business and information technology student. When they entered they found all the furniture had been removed and replaced with LED lamps and plant pots containing over 100 high-grade marijuana plants. An industrial air purification unit was being used to conceal the pungent smell produced by the flowering plants. 

According to reports, police returned to the area around 5 pm on Thursday after they received information the suspect was hiding out in another apartment on Old Tim Street. Investigators caught the suspect attempting to dispose of a large bag of marijuana by flushing it down the toilet. He was stopped and the drugs, which weighed a little over 900 grammes, seized. 

They also found a notebook which contained the names and telephone numbers of the suspect’s customers, their orders and outstanding payments owed to him. The man was arrested and taken to the St Joseph Police Station where, while under interrogation, he admitted to running the operation for over a year. He reportedly told police he elected to drop out of university last year after he realised he could make more money from growing and selling marijuana.

He is expected to appear in the Tunapuna Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan says the order against Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley in the e-mailgate defamation matter stands and he did not intend to retract anything he said about the matter on Thursday. He said so in an interview after attorney for Rowley in the matter, Senator Faris Al-Rawi, said an e-mail from Justice Frank Rampersad was only dispatched to him yesterday from the Judicial Support Officer Stacy Seemungal.

“The judgment is valid and binding until such time as it is set aside,” Ramlogan added. He said he had “no difficulty if this matter goes to a full trial.” He said he wanted “Dr Rowley in a witness box, under oath to be grilled under cross-examination, so that he could produce the evidence he has to justify his claim that these bogus, criminal e-mails were in fact exchanged between the Prime Minister and I.”

He said the defendant was only seeking to delay the matter by seeking “adjournments and making a mockery by converting it into a circus of applications for extension of time and not meeting the deadlines set by the court.” He said Al-Rawi must indicate whether he was prepared to ask the court for an urgent and early trial of the matter.

But Al-Rawi, speaking during a news briefing at the Opposition Leader’s office, Charles Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, said the e-mail indicating the January 7 deadline “was not copied to me as Dr Rowley’s attorney in these matters.” 

The e-mail said Judicial Support Officer (JSO) Ms Pariag, who is attached to Justice Seepersad’s team, was to inform the parties that the order was granted. The e-mail also stated, “She inadvertently and without any direction from the Judge e-mailed the claimant. She also sent an e-mail to the claimant’s attorney-at-law but failed to either call or inform the defendant’s attorney-at-law of the terms of the judge’s order.”

The e-mail also said, “In the circumstances there is no information on the Captioned file that indicates that the Defendant was informed of the Judge’s Order, dated December 16, 2014.” But Ramlogan said he could not verify the authenticity of that e-mail and was not prepared to comment in detail on it. 

But Al-Rawi said the registrar of the High Court would be asked to investigate this development. He accused Ramlogan of bringing the administration of justice into disrepute by his comments on the matter on Thursday. “Indeed, this demonstrates that there was a significant gap in the judicial administrative process.” He said Ramlogan had brought the office of AG into disrepute.

Al-Rawi said Ramlogan had received the e-mail on the order “improperly” from a JSO. Ramlogan filed the matter in the court last December after Rowley made public statements about the alleged e-mails from Ramlogan, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other officials purporting to discuss the bugging of the office of the DPP and a plot against a T&T Guardian reporter following publication of the Section 34 scandal in 2013.

Of the $314 million allocated to the National Carnival Commission (NCC) for Carnival 2015, $150 million was used to pay off the commission’s debt incurred in staging last year’s festival. This was revealed by Arts and Multiculturalism Minister Lincoln Douglas yesterday while responding to questions from the media after a press conference at the NCC’s VIP booth, at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

The press conference was called by the Arts Ministry to update the country on Carnival preparations, but Douglas also took the opportunity to discuss Carnival funding and information reported by the T&T Guardian that the minister had been denied additional funding after his ministry made an error when calculating budget proposals.

Douglas, who had previously said he was never denied $43 million by Finance Minister Larry Howai, nor was there any oversight in respect to the budget, repeated his denials yesterday, despite confirmation by Howai which the T&T Guardian reported earlier this week. 

Whereas, Douglas said, he had indeed broached the matter of additional funding with the Finance Ministry, this was nothing new and the additional funds requested were not for Carnival 2015 but for the development of the “overall carnival industry.” “The country has finite resources and after basic budget allocations, most ministries do not receive the total amount of money requested. 

“This happens every year and subsequently ministries return to the minister of finance or the Cabinet for further developmental budgets,” Douglas said. He stressed that the additional money requested was not for Carnival 2015. However, both Douglas and NCC chairman Lorraine Pouchet made it clear the NCC needed additional funds for operational costs.

The NCC had made a budgetary request for TT $588,094,661 but received only about 53 per cent of this figure, or TT $314,135,369. The NCC’s accrued debt for 2015 of $150 million was paid out of the budgeted allocation leaving just over $160 million for  this year’s Carnival. The Government, in 2013, gave the NCC $175 million to eliminate debt the commission had at the time.

Douglas said the application to the Ministry of Finance had to do  with the repaying of loans that were taken by the NCC in previous years to meet the shortfall in carnival expenditure. Pouchet said that the NCC had no major outstanding debts.

“We aren’t debt-strapped, we don’t owe anybody really, but what we do know is that we have an issue where we need to get additional funding to ensure that the NCC can continue to operate for the entire year and to the next budget and so that we could also satisfy the demands of the stakeholders within the carnival and cultural fraternity,” Pouchet said.

Alcohol has caused over a quarter of road deaths and drivers are encouraged not to drink and drive during the Carnival season, says acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams. “Our research has shown that alcohol is a main contributor to 30 per cent of road deaths. If alcohol is such a major contributor, as a responsible organisation it is important for us to reach key stakeholders to partner with us and find ways and means to create safety on our roadways. 

This campaign of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) is partnering with the performing community like all artistes and entertainers. We want people to act responsibly with the consumption of alcohol,” he said. Williams was speaking yesterday at the launch of the road safety programme titled Wrong Mix: Alcohol Lyrics, iRoadsafe Public Awareness Campaign, on the Brian Lara Promenade, Port-of-Spain.

The campaign is sponsored by the TTPS and the Copyright Organisation of T&T (COTT). The police and COTT will work closely with soca and chutney artistes to carry out and promote the campaign. Williams also said breathalyser testing sites would be set up at fetes so that people could walk in to test their alcohol levels.

“Part of our approach for the Carnival season is to set up at key locations where there are events and fetes...voluntary breath testing sites where the public are given the opportunity to use. If people consume alcohol which will impede [their] capacity as a driver, people can walk in and ask for a test and the Police Service will permit patrons to be tested so they can see the alcohol level in their system. There will also be officers carrying out breath testing on the road ways,” he said.

He said the campaign reflects “contemporary policing” that the Police Service was now practising. “The TTPS in practising contemporary policing is seeking to find innovative ways of reaching out to citizens as we seek to make the roads of T&T safe. We are encouraging behavioural changes in society which we know can positively impact the way in which persons make safer and more responsible choices, especially around festive occasions like Carnival,” he said.

George Singh, CEO of Southex and promoter of the Chutney Soca Monarch, who also spoke at the launch, said no songs at the Chutney Soca Monarch semifinals on Friday night would have contained lyrics glorifying alcohol. He called on all artistes during the carnival season to send out a positive message so that people attending fetes and other carnival shows would be responsible on the roads while driving.

“Before 2011, half of the songs at the Chutney Soca Monarch contained lyrics that glorified alcohol and were related to domestic violence. In 2011 we reviewed the rules that disallowed such lyrics and I am proud to say that in 2012, 2013 and 2014 we had songs free of this type of thing,” he said.

Concerns over alleged bad industrial relations (IR) practices at the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation Ltd (Plipdeco) were brought to the fore at yesterday’s Joint Select Committee meeting, held in Parliament yesterday. Appearing before the committee, headed by Independent Senator David Small, was Plipdeco’s Chairman Ian Atherly, President Ashley Taylor and members of the Ministry of Transport including its Permanent Secretary Verna Johnson.

Small asked Plipdeco to give the committee an idea of the human resource climate at the company as there were reports regarding alleged unjust practices. “We have representation from members of the public whereby one person wrote and said he was called into the office one day and told he was given the option to either resign today or other measures would be taken. That seems extreme.

“The issue here is that it is confirmed in writing. I am concerned about that. It may be spurious and I understand the matter is not completely settled but for me, even if it is, the first opportunity was brought before the manager or whoever to say we have a problem with your performance. This flies in the face of every basic rule of industrial  relations, which is why the matter is going to court,” Small said.

He said there was more than one such incident and, according to the documents Plipdeco had submitted, there was one case which was settled in the industrial court for an “extremely large amount.” This, Small said, suggested it was a particularly egregious matter. “So that somewhere in the system I think there may be an issue because representations have been made and I am concerned about that because this is a company in which the State has a controlling share.

“I am concerned where companies could be perceived as following the collective bargaining agreement when it comes to pay bonuses but when [it comes] to proper IR practices it does not appear so, at least in the one or two instances,” Small said. In response, Taylor said he was surprised by these claims and that the company was always above board when dealing with industrial relations issues.

He said the matters would have to be fully investigated and the relevant facts obtained. “But I can assure you that what you are outlining has not and will not be the policy of the corporation as far as dealing with industrial relations matters. “I really cannot speak to what you outline there because we don’t have the facts but I can assure you that approach is not the policy of the corporation,” Taylor added. 

The issue of security was also raised, to which Plipdeco responded that two scanners would be installed before the second quarter of this year.

A week-long protest in Erin, South Trinidad, escalated yesterday as residents dragged an oil rig across the main road, blocking off access for most of the day. This happened a day after residents threatened to interfere with oil lines if the Government failed to pave their roads, provide recreational parks, improve street lighting and offer employment.

The rig, valued at $850,000, had been housed a short distance from the Los Bajos cemetery. Before dawn, about 50 protestors broke through a barrier and pushed the rig onto the road. They also erected a shed across the street and placed placards on the lamp posts reading, “Hole! Hole! Hole!” and “Fix our Roads now!” 

For the fourth consecutive day, several places including Los Charros junction, STOL Road, Happy Valley, Rancho Quemado, Grand Ravine, Carapal, Lorensotte and Petrotrin Oilfield Road were impassable. Contractor Jevan Francis said the rig belonged to Strong Arm Swabing Services. 

“I have to say that they did not damage the rig. They sent down the tyres but they did not hit the rig or put fire to it. I don’t give them wrong for protesting because this road is the worst road in the country and it is unbearable because all the oil money coming from this region,” Francis said. Chairman of the group People for Progress Victor Roberts said several calls had been made for Government to address their concerns. However, he disassociated his group from any acts of sabotage and violence.

“We are a peaceful group and we will not condone any acts to damage oil lines,” Roberts said. He also said Works Minister Dr Suruj Rambachan had requested a meeting with them, to be held at 3 pm in Gasparillo, but they had rejected it. “We find this disrespectful because we want him to come to Erin and see the road conditions for himself. Why should we meet in Gasparillo,” Roberts said. 

MP for La Brea Fitzgerald Jeffrey visited the area yesterday and accused Government of discriminating against the La Brea constituency. He said when he spoke to Rambachan, he was told “finish what you start.” Jeffrey said he was not the organiser of the protest. He also said he did not condone the destruction of property: “We will be more affected if people start interfering with oil lines. All people want right now is better roads.”

Petrotrin responds
Petrotrin’s head of corporate communications Gillian Friday yesterday expressed concern over residents’ threats to interfere with Petrotrin’s oil lines and facilities which could possibly endanger their own safety as well as the environment. Asked whether security was being boosted, Friday said: “The company will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its employees and residents in the neighbouring communities and the security of its assets.”

Asked whether Los Charos, STOL Road, and Oilfield Road fell under the purview of Petrotrin, Friday said: “These roads are maintained by the Ministry of Works with the off-take roads to Petrotrin’s wells and facilities maintained by Petrotrin.” She said Petrotrin’s maintenance of its Field roads was ongoing in order to ensure access to its wells and facilities. Petrotrin President Khalid Hassanali also said Petrotrin would be unable to fix roads if the oil price was US$45 per barrel.

We will fix the roads—Rambachan
Dr Suruj Rambachan said yesterday that the SS Erin Road through Los Charros, Palo Seco, had been earmarked for rehabilitation. The works would be done on a phased basis, Rambachan said, but his ministry was waiting on the release of a second tranche of a loan, which had already been approved, to initiate the next phase of road rehabilitation works.

Work hard, read, read with a dictionary, don’t be a bully and be kind.  This was just some of the advice President Anthony Carmona gave children in schools along Trinidad’s north east coast on Thursday as part of his nationwide school tour. Carmona visited schools in Matura, Salybia, Rampanalgas, Cumana and Toco with a view to inspiring the children and making them believe they can do anything. 

“You are special and important. I want you to know that,” Carmona told every pupil he met. The first stop he made was at Matura Government Primary School where he visited every classroom and individually shook the hand of each pupil. He first met the First Year pupils of the school whom he told that they could do anything they wanted to if they worked hard.  Carmona made the children make a promise—after explaining to the infants classes what a promise was. 

“I promise to my parents, my teachers, my friends and my country, T&T, to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do as long as I shall live,” Carmona made all the pupils pledge. After the pledge, the President handed out a banner which had the colours of the Office of the President—blue and gold. The banner read, “Do the right thing. It is the right thing to do.” 

Moving on to another class, he asked the pupils what they wanted to be when they grew up. In that class, children said they wanted to be doctors, lawyers, superman, police officers and one girl said she wanted to be the President. Carmona, who appeared pleased by the girl’s statement, told her that anything was possible if she worked hard enough. “It is possible. It does not matter where you come from. You can be anything you want to be—even the President. Don’t give up on your dream,” 

Another point the President made sure to impress on every student he met was not to be a bully. “Do not hit anyone in class. Be kind to one another. If you are big and strong and tall, then you must stand up for other people. The strong must help the weak. You must stand up for other people. In your life you must stand up and do the right thing,” Carmona said. 

At Rampanalgas RC Primary School, Carmona reminisced on his school days at Santa Flora Government Primary School. He said he came from a community similar to Rampanalgas’ and he was able to work his way up to the highest office of the country without forgetting where he came from.

“I am from the bush. The bush did not define me. I did not stay in the bush, but I never forgot where I came from. Now I am the President. I studied hard, went to university, went abroad came back and I did that though I came from this small village. Do not let where you come from define you, but never forget the values you learned from your close community,” Carmona said.

The talk of CrimeWatch this week was a video aired by host Ian Alleyne on the programme which eventually went viral on Facebook. The amateur video, shot by a bystander, showed a fight between two groups of women at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain. 

Police said the incident started after three carloads of women arrived at the area where booths were being painted for the forthcoming carnival season, at the front of the entrance to the Grand Stand, and attacked some of the female workers. The brawl quickly got out of control and a police unit on patrol stopped and tried to intervene. 

However, the police got more than they bargained for as they women continued to fight in their presence, even attacking some of the police as they got between them. Not even a warning shot fired by one of the cops brought calm. Eventually, order was restored after a group of soldiers, who were also passing by and stopped to see what the commotion was about, helped out.

The video received a great deal of attention in the local media, as once again the police were in the forefront of a public bashing over the question of how much force was used. In this case, however, many agreed that the police did well in the circumstances. Alleyne also aired video of the funeral service of murdered teen Shabana Mohammed, who was laid to rest at the El Socorro Cemetery on January 10. 

Mohammed, 19, was found buried at the back of her house on January 3, having been reported missing days before by her family. The autopsy showed her jugular vein had been crushed by strangulation. Despite her injury, dirt found in her air passage suggested that she may have been still breathing when her body was dumped by her attacker in a drain where she was later discovered. 

The grief-stricken family spoke to Alleyne and said they are still trying to cope with their loss. The matter is still under investigation by police and no arrest has been made. In another story, Alleyne was sent footage that captured the arrest of 58-year-old businesswoman by police on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, on January, 12, 2015. 

The footage showed onlookers becoming highly annoyed over the manner in which the police treated the elderly woman, who was placed under arrest and handcuffed as she sat in her vehicle as the police were attempting to tow it away. Alleyne is investigating the matter and has called on acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams to investigate the matter, noting citizens continue to lose confidence in the police service when incidents such as there occur.

Sr Supt Johnny Abraham and his Central Division colleagues were also praised for their swift recovery of a vehicle that was stolen at gunpoint  along the Old Southern Main Road, Chaguanas, this week. The vehicle, a blue AD wagon, was recovered in Edinburgh 500 within 30 minutes of the theft. Alleyne also aired footage of a lone gunman storming into the Flirt Restaurant and Bar in Chaguanas, robbing the cashier and escaping with over $13,000. 

Alleyne was on scene and interviewed the owners and employees, who gave details of the ordeal. Within minutes, the Central Division Task Force was able to locate the suspect and arrest him. 

Breakthrough Story:

Ian Alleyne met with a mother who flew into Trinidad from St. Vincent in search of her two missing children this week. For three years the woman was unable to locate her children, aged three and five respectively. However, this time Alleyne had great news for the mother, as he had located them within 24 hours. Alleyne and his cameraman were on scene to film the heartwarming moment when the mother and her children were finally reunited after three years. Visit the Ian Alleyne fan page to see this video.

unsolved mystery

Sumariya Wilson, 60, of Waterloo, Central Trinidad, was knocked down by a man on a motorcycle on November 29, 2014. She sustained a broken hand and foot in the accident, but the biker fled the scene. The incident was captured on a nearby video camera and Alleyne got hold of it and has started investigations into the unfortunate incident. He appealing to anyone with information to kindly contact Crime Watch.

Relatives of 15-year-old Lakeisha Thompson, who went missing from her Sea Trace Circular, Bagatelle, Diego Martin home on December 21, 2014, also appealed to Alleyne for help this week. The public is asked to visit Alleyne’s fan page on Facebook to see photographs of Thompson, and anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Watch.

A former Life Sport director, Ruth Marchan has now taken to making a stream of serious allegations against the Government online and in a letter to Jack Warner. Marchan disappeared last June, going to a ‘safe house’ provided by the former national security minister and Independent Liberal Party leader.

Weeks later, she allegedly fled the country amid threats on her life. She remained under the radar for the better part of seven months, but resurfaced on social media sites in the first week of the new year making incriminating comments about the Government, the unsolved assassination of Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal and the $34 million paid to a single contractor under the now defunct Life Sport programme.

Marchan also e-mailed Warner last week from her hiding place to warn of an underworld plot to assassinate him. According to the e-mail, Marchan is in dire financial straits and in need of Warner’s assistance to hire a lawyer and help pay her rent. Warner, in a brief interview with the Sunday Guardian, confirmed that he had received the e-mail from Marchan and that he was convinced it was her and not some electronic ploy.

“She has pleaded with me for assistance both in terms of additional security and finance. I did this for her before and I am prepared to do so again because of what she is going through is wrong,” Warner said. Marchan’s letter to Warner, which was sent from her new e-mail address on January 10, asks for the assistance, lists details of Seetahal’s murder plot, and alleges one very tech-savvy former Life Sport contractor was retained to conduct electronic spying and set up foreign accounts for some clients.

“Behind close doors he is doing all their dirty work spying on top officials and undermining the State in a lot of areas,” she said. She claimed a local who was linked to the JFK bombing had his records cleaned up by this Government before he came back to T&T and was able to get lucrative business deals. Marchan made allegations against four senior government ministers in her letter to Warner. She also implicated a former government official in Seetahal’s assassination in her letter.

“(Name called) was given the official job to implement the plot on Dana,” she said. Marchan goes into detail about who else assisted the official by “housing” the hired guns at a private home in the West. She defended the people hired to carry out the murder, saying that they were “innocent.”

“For them is a job, the ground is innocent,” she said. She named five people behind the plot and every name linked back to the Life Sport programme in one way or another. “All that went on with lifesport and its connection with Dana Seetahal and a lot more wrong doing with the bring in of durgs (sic) and guns into the country,” she said. “I was told I have to stay away until after the elections...” she said.

She said with all the information she had “it is not safe” for her to be back in the country as she believed there would be an attempt on her life. But she wanted to hire a lawyer to help build a case against the State with respect to her involvement in Life Sport. “The lawyer I need we will win the state for all i have been through. I am innocent... I need a lawyer to represent me as well. I have a lot of grounds to sue the state on more that three situations that occur,” she told Warner.

This is not the first time Marchan has turned to Warner for help. At the height of the Life Sport debacle, Warner came to Marchan’s rescue after her own body guard, Curtis “Tallman” Gibson, was killed in his bed. Marchan said she was ready to talk and to provide the necessary evidence. While Warner did not reveal if he had handed Marchan’s letter over to the police, the Sunday Guardian revealed the contents of the letter to National Security Minister Gary Griffith yesterday.

Griffith said he was apprised of Marchan’s comments on the social media site and the alleged death threats made against Warner. “But I have to be very careful not to overstep my boundaries on any matter that is part of a police investigation,” Griffith said yesterday.

Griffith said he was also aware that the police investigations into the criminal aspects of the matter were ongoing. “Where there is a criminal offence, the police will continue investigations,” Griffith said, adding that he would continue to keep abreast of the situation.

People’s National Movement (PNM) Chairman Franklin Khan yesterday could not say whether former prime minister Patrick Manning will be able to file his nomination papers and face screening should the party’s three San Fernando East candidates be rejected. Khan was giving the media an update on the party’s screening process yesterday at Balisier House, Port-of-Spain.

Khan said the party on Thursday would screen for the Oropouche West, Couva North, Moruga/Tableland, Point Fortin, Caroni Central and San Fernando East constituencies. Christopher Chinapoo, Kenny Phillip and Eva Steel will face the screening committee for San Fernando East. Khan said if no one was chosen to contest the seat, “we send back the constituencies to continue the search.”

Asked if Manning could offer himself in a case where the three candidates are rejected, Khan said: “We ain’t reach that bridge yet...we can’t cross it. All we know is that next week Thursday we have three candidates before us and I don’t want to prejudge what would happen there because I don’t want to make any one of the people who have offered themselves feel in anyway that their position is being jeopardised.”

The PNM has selected 17 of 41 candidates for the 2015 general election. By March, Khan said, the party would have its full slate. Khan said the party’s leader, Dr Keith Rowley, advises candidates not to feel rejected if they are unsuccessful. Commenting on the e-mailgate defamation lawsuit, Khan said Rowley gave a detailed report to the general council, outlining where the missteps occurred in the hearing dates.

“From a party point of view, he (Rowley) continues to say that this is not a party matter but a private suit between the Attorney General in his personal capacity against Dr Rowley.”

Despite the continued fall in oil prices, masqueraders and partygoers are not refraining from spending for the 2015 Carnival. As a matter of fact, bandleaders and fete promoters are predicting a bumper Carnival, as the sale of costumes and tickets for all-inclusive and general fetes have been selling out. In the face of cutbacks at all government ministries, economist Dr Roger Hosein is urging carnival lovers to spend wisely and consider cutting expenses, as they enjoy the revelry in the coming weeks.

Promoter of Soca Chutney Monarch and Girlz Gone White, George Singh, said the public had not yet felt the impact of the international oil prices, which fell below US$50 a barrel in January. “Party lovers have been planning and putting aside money for their tickets months in advance...way before oil prices started to drop. So it is not really affecting their pockets. They are enjoying Carnival as normal from what I heard. In my opinion, this is going to be a great Carnival.”

Singh said if the price of oil continued to tumble, Carnival 2016 might be affected. Another promoter, Cliff Harris who organises Army Fete, said if oil prices continued to decline, citizens could be affected. But for now, Harris said, people have been attending parties and fetes as usual. “It has become part of our culture.” As it stood, Harris said, it cost a party goer upward of $600 to attend an all-inclusive fete.

For a couple, it would cost in excess of $2,000. “After spending that kind of money on tickets, a new outfit, shoes and to style your hair in a salon, how many fetes can an average couple attend? They might just have to settle for one party because they would have to watch their spending. But this would not stop them from enjoying Carnival.”

‘Party goers will attend selective fetes’ Dexter Charles of Island People, which promotes popular fetes like Insomnia and Girl Power, said party goers might be a little more selective in the fetes they attended. “They may not be adventurous to try new ones, not knowing what to expect.

They would attend parties that worked in the past.” Charles said Carnival had become a staple in a Trini’s diet and people would still party and enjoy themselves to the max, even though it meant scaling down the number of events they attended this Carnival. “This is going to be a short, sweet Carnival,” Charles said. Charles said he expected his events to be well-attended. “We are expecting thousands of people.” Tribe operations not affected.

Rhiannon Pemberton, group manager of large band Tribe, admitted that the dip in oil prices had in no way affected the operations at their mas camp. Pemberton said the band’s 13 sections were sold out within weeks after it was launched last July.

The band has a following of close to 2,000 masqueraders
Tribe will showcase its 2015 presentation Wings of Desire. “It does not seem to be affecting us for the upcoming Carnival. Tribe has not had cancellations...anything more than the normal. People have already begun paying off for their costumes. So we don’t see it having a huge impact for 2015.”

However, Pemberton said, if the dip in oil prices persisted “this is something we would definitely have to monitor and make plans for in 2016.” The prices of Tribe’s costumes range in excess of $3,000 up to $9,995.

Big Mike: Trinidadians not studying oil prices
Bandleader of Legacy, Big Mike Antoine, said he did not see any disruptions for Carnival. “Trinidadians are not studying oil prices at this point in time.” Antoine said no one had informed the country to tighten its belt. “As far as I know all is well. The country is not panicking in any way.” Antoine said if oil prices continued to decline, it could affect next year’s Carnival. “Right now, it is too early to tell.

But this year, people are still spending their money because they have already worked out their budgets and events they would be attending.” Legacy will showcase 12 sections which will cater for between 1,500 and 2,000 masqueraders. Four of the 12 sections have already been sold out. Antoine was optimistic that the remaining eight sections “would sell out” in the next few days.

Kalicharan: High demand for costumes Aaron Kalicharan, assistant bandleader for Kalicharan Carnival, said he initially thought that the slash in oil prices would affect their costume sales, but he was wrong. From Boxing Day, Kalicharan said, the band saw an influx of masqueraders paying and registering for costumes. “This oil thing has not disrupted our carnival sales. We don’t know what will happen next year, but we are keeping a positive attitude that all will go well with the economy.”

This year, Kalicharan will grace the streets with eight sections, three of which will be all-inclusive. “Our average costume is $1,500. The all-inclusive sections are priced between $2,600 to $2,800. We are seeing a positive feedback. I think if the oil prices continue to dip it would affect Carnival to a point, in that, party-goers will attend less fetes. But people will still want to play their mas and free up themselves. This will be a bumper Carnival,” Kalicharan said.

Hosein: Consider cutting expenses Hosein said even though some people continued to spend freely, the rest of the economy was yet to feel the pinch of the impact. “While export and government revenues have taken a hit with the falling oil prices, the rest of the economy is faced with a time lag. People are doing business as usual and they are spending as usual. This would likely change in the coming four to six months if the price of oil remains at US$40 a barrel.”

Hosein said if the price of oil were to climb to US$80 by this September “all the lessons that we should have learned from the fall in the price of oil we would have lost because everything would go back to normal.” If, however, oil prices remained lower than US$50 a barrel for 2015, Hosein said, “then in 2016 bandleaders would have no choice but to use cheaper materials for costumes, while promoters may have to look at renting venues that are less expensive to cut costs.”

For this Carnival, Hosein said,“People should consider car pooling and cooler sharing a bit more to get the same basic level of revelry, but with a lower level of expenditure.”

Virtual shack in the 1960s, the Rehab Centre, now the National Centre for People with Disabilities (NCPD), has been amazingly transformed into a major training facility for the disabled at New Street, San Fernando. From an initial intake of approximately 25 people, the NCPD now caters to 250 trainees in many areas of productive employment, a feat achieved through the assistance of the business community, foreign agencies, and from its own fund raising activities. The centre’s chief executive officer, Dr Beverly Beckles, feels that Government can do much more than the $800,000 it gives the NCPD annually.

Q: Dr Beckles, I am truly overwhelmed by what I have just seen here...truly, truly. How did you do it?
A: (A blush followed by a huge smile at the headquarters of the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities at New Street, San Fernando, Thursday morning) How did I do it? You know it is a very…it’s a question that has been posed to me many times and is one that I have stumbled on to give a response.

The reason for this question is that I am sure you remember way back in the ’60s this place, which I now called a complex, was a virtual shack when as a neophyte in journalism, I used to report on activities here. I come here this morning, and I was indeed pleasantly shocked by what I have seen. Words have failed me. How did it happen?
(A heavy sigh of satisfaction) Well, it is complex and is something I think I have to spend some time documenting in a way that would provide the steps which were taken so that it can be a template that could be shared with other similar organisations.

It started with what is the purpose of this place...and this interview cannot start to reveal the entire story but to make it short, with the advent of the International Year of the D i s a b l e d , NCPD, well it wasn’t so named, instead it was the Rehabilitation Centre, The Rotary Club of San Fernando decided they would undertake to reorganise the Rehab Centre which was established in 1964, which meant getting somebody to help with its reorganisation. Needing someone with the organisational skill, that is where I came in, which was in 1982 and without a background or any experience in disabilities, I spent three months outside of the country looking at and preparing myself, and I fully got into it in 1983.

One of your brochures has spelled out the services offered here under four headings, ie vocational and skills training, light manufacturing, community outreach, consultative services, and under each heading a very wide range of activities are being offered. At the beginning in 1964 the trainees received classes in a very small area. As you know, I stutter. Can I come for speech therapy?
(Laughs) Yeah, but all of us have some kind of disability, and I cannot interview www.guardian.co.ttSUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2015 FACE-TO-FACE with Clevon Raphael do anything unless I put on my glasses (quickly putting them on), or else I wouldn’t be able to read what I have in front of me. In terms of those with physical disabilities that you have just seen, some of them in wheelchairs, walking aides and so on.

At the beginning, we had just about 25 people. The current population is 250. And these encompass all types of disabilities across the board, except for mental illness which is one that we don’t particularly handle as we do not have the capability or expertise to deal with, but it is an emerging area which we need to give consideration to.

Dr Beckles, do you get any assistance from the Government, as I am sure this must be costing you all a fortune each day to run?
Yes. Yes. Let me give you an idea as to how this organisation is funded. First of all, we are an NGO and so it is a charitable organisation. We receive an annual subvention from the Government which has been so since NCPD was formed.We are on leased land, we own all the buildings on this campus, as I prefer to call it (smiles), the equipment and everything else.

What we have been able to do is develop a partnership with the corporate sector and they have been able to fund some of the projects to help us in our operations.

And the question of expansion of the facility, purchasing of equipment, those are the things we have been able to achieve in partnership with the business community and international agencies, out of which we deliver a quality service. We have two major fundraising events, including a Carnival fete, and we offer a social entrepreneurship to the public which simply means selling some of the products we produce by the trainees.

Exactly what kind of funding you receive from the State? The last increase from the Ministry of (the People and) Social Development was 11 years ago, which puts the figure at $800,000 annually.

Wait, it is hard to believe that. I am looking at the expanse of this facility where you have a food crop farm, a talipia breeding pond, so much equipment, including an information technology programme, a furniture manufacturing section, a sewing project. Name it, you have it down here. Is that all the State can give you all? Yes. But we also get some additional funding for some academic trainees which is not a fixed sum, but that is also a big challenge. For instance, we have not received money for the last term.

Have you been making requests for an increase in your subvention? Over and over. Not only that, we are the only ones out of the NGOS who receive this education grant as we offer vocational training, and we should not be receiving the same amount of financial assistance. At the same time, that is a conversation going on there.

Has anyone from the Ministry been down here to see your campus facility? Yeah. You do invite (speaking in a hushed tone)...

Weren’t they impressed with what they saw?  (Tone raises animatingly) But they ain’t reach yet! We have a professional staff here and if you want to retain them and give them further professional training, you have to give them a decent remunerative package. And that is my greatest wish at this time.

Do you have a level of indiscipline which can be described as a problem here at the NCPD? It exists, but one of the things… and it has to do with the kind of approaches made to the young individuals…we all have our challenges, we do not know what is happening in their home environment, but there is a level of confidentiality with each trainee.

Do they reside on this compound? No. No. We have a turnout every year, people graduate and they move out to the employment market because that is the objective of the centre. We want to get them out there and in order for that to happen, we also need to have a society that is acceptable, a society that is understanding and realise that we are in a diverse environment.

Has it been your experience that the society is that tolerant of the disabled community? We have been fortunate in terms of having some successful placement at different levels in the public sector, in the oil and energy sector, in the manufacturing sector, in the small business sector. (Furrowed brow) What we want, however, is a society where the disabled person is accepted, they are not denied access into the workplace.

Are the people generally discriminating against the disabled? It exists because I get people coming here all the time who did not necessarily come through us and who we did not place. When we place somebody there is a process we go through with the employer and the employee, so the prospective employer would know how to treat such a person. People who have not come through our facilities who may have their qualifications they just couldn’t get that opened.

It has happened and it is happening, so what we are doing at this time is a lot of advocacy work, public awareness drives, trying to sensitise the general public that here is a sector of our society, 15 per cent of the population, that have skills and can function and they should not be denied, their disability is not contagious, but to accept them and to understand that we all have challenges.

Marabella mason Kareen Mitchell died yesterday after being shot three times in the back for protecting a close friend from harassment. Mitchell, who worked with United Engineering, had gone to Boy Joe’s bar at Southern Main Road to lime with friends when the tragedy occurred. His mother, Margaret, said it was one of his favourite liming spots. A witness said around 4:15 am, Mitchell got into an argument with a man who was harassing one of Mitchell’s female friends.

“He tell the man not to interfere with his sister. They had some hard talking. A short while later, a man wearing a Marvin Gaye hat and a dark shades walked up to him from behind and shot him in the back,” a source said. Witnesses called the police and Mitchell was rushed to the San Fernando General Hospital where he died at 7:20 am. Describing Mitchell as hardworking, Margaret said she never believed that crime would hit home one day.

“My son was a limer boy, but I never worry about him because he had his own car and would drive when he went to party. He worked for what he wanted but whenever he had free time, he would lime and come back with a lot of girlfriends,” Margaret said. Saying the crime rate was ridiculous, Margaret said she was sure that robbery was not the motive for her son’s murder because all his valuables including his jewelry, money and wallet were intact. “Right now, I feel if I don’t keep busy I will break down.

 hope the police catch the right person who did this to my son,” Margaret said, as she worked in the family grocery. Mitchell’s elder brother, Kelvin, said he also hoped the police would apprehend the killer. “God don’t sleep. We will get justice,” Kelvin said, adding that Mitchell was always helpful and considerate. Police said they had obtained a description of the suspect and would make an arrest shortly. Officers of the Southern Homicide Division, including Insp Don Gajadhar, are investigating.  

Students at the UWI St Augustine Campus are being told to start the Semester Two registration process, although they still haven't received their Semester One grades. 

In a January 18 Facebook post to the UWI St. Augustine page, Campus Principal Prof. Clement Sankat told students, "Faculties have been encouraged to publish a pass list but no grades will be made available to students."

Sankat advised students to complete academic advising at respective Faculties, as second-semester registration will continue despite ongoing talks between the university management and key stakeholders from government, labour and students.

Continue to use hashtag #FreeOurGrades to let us know how you're being affected by this situation. We want to hear from you!

What Sankat said
Here's the full text of Prof. Sankat's Facebook post:

My dear students,

I know that some of you may be anxious about the situation as it pertains to registration for Semester II, but let me assure you that the Campus Management team has been working feverishly towards a solution with all the stakeholders involved including the Government, the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) and the Guild of students.

While attempts are being made to pay the outstanding salary arrears to the Academic, Senior Administrative and Professional Staff, the WIGUT at a meeting yesterday, has agreed with the UWI Campus Management team that the student registration process for the second semester will continue despite the current impasse.  

For this registration, the following process will apply.

1. Students must complete academic advising at their Faculty before registration.
2. Students are required to go to Faculty Deans, Heads of Departments, or their representatives at the Faculty Office for direction on what courses they should pursue.
3. Students who are required to withdraw will also be advised.
4. Faculties have been encouraged to publish a pass list but no grades will be made available to students.

The Deans of our faculties have assured me that they are facilitating Academic Advising and are guiding students through the registration process for Semester II, and the commencement of classes on Monday January 19th, so that you are not disadvantaged. In some cases, you have pre- requisites and co-requisites to complete and your Faculty Advisors will direct you to ensure that you work towards successfully completing all the requirements for your programme of study.

In closing, let me reiterate that the Campus Management team is working steadily with our stakeholders to resolve this matter, and as a student-centred institution; we are focused on facilitating your registration and progress. I am hopeful that this matter with our union WIGUT will be resolved very soon, and with minimal disruption to your progress.

I thank all for their support at this time.

Campus Principal

The charge

Singh is accused of using a fraudulent document to transfer of $50 million from the organisation’s Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) account to another account at Republic Bank’s branch, Tropical Plaza, Point Lisas. 

The transfer allegedly took place on January 18, 2013. 

The manager at Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) Employees’ Credit Union, accused of trying to steal $50 million from the employer, has been granted $3.5 million bail. 

Magistrate Christine Charles, as part of her decision ordered Darren Singh, 35, of Claxton Bay, to surrender his passport and stay away from his workplace.

Singh, a father of five, had been refused bail since his first court appearance on Monday as police investigated allegations of witness intimidation. 

During yesterday’s hearing, assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) George Busby said the alleged threats were still being investigated by the Fraud Squad. 

Charles, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court also ordered Singh to refrain from communicating with the unnamed witness.

“He is to have no contact with the witness either electronically or otherwise. This includes social media,” Charles said. 

In adjourning the case to next Monday, Charles requested that prosecutors provide her with information on whether Singh was still employed with the credit union at the next hearing.

Singh is being represented by Martin George and Candace Lopez.  

Parliament has approved the recommendation of Dr Maria Therese Gomes to the post of chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC).

She had been recommended by President Anthony Carmona last December to replace Prof Ramesh Deosaran.

Deosaran resigned last year in apparent frustration over the failure of government to amend the legislation to make the appointment of a Police Commissioner and other senior officers less cumbersome.

Debate on the issue concluded around 12.45 am yesterday after the Parliament dealt with a number of other matters. The session began at 1.30 pm on Wednesday. 

Among the issues debated were amendments to legislation on the protection of children, including the adoption of children.

Gomes is expected to be sworn in as PSC chairman following yesterday’s parliamentary approval of her nomination.

The approval of the new chairman comes just days ahead of the PSC’s latest assessment of acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams, whose latest acting stint expires on January 31. This is Williams’ fifth assessment and the PSC would decide whether to grant a further extension or put someone else to act in the top cop’s post.

Gomes, a sociologist and behavioural scientist, joins other PSC members Martin George, Roamar Achat-Saney and James Armstrong.

A lawsuit, filed by former head of the public service Reginald Dumas challenging the appointment of Achat-Saney and Armstrong, on the basis they did not have the qualifications and experience in the disciplines of law, sociology, management or finance, to be appointed by the President, is still pending before the High Court.

No confidence motion

Parliament sits again today to deal with private members’ matters, including a motion by Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner calling for the House to express its loss of confidence in Finance Minister Larry Howai and to have the Prime Minister revoke his appointment.

The motion notes that Howai was CEO of state-owned First Citizens bank during 2006 to 2009 when a loan was granted to build Carlton Savannah Hotel, St Ann’s.

The motion claims that Howai’s conduct in his previous capacity as CEO of the bank has eroded the confidence of the public in the his ability to administer over the finances of the nation in the best interest of the public. 

The Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM) yesterday declined an invitation to discuss issues related to the economy and the energy sector with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, calling the invitation disrespectful and labelling it a public relations ploy.

However yesterday, while meeting with 17 trade unions and workers’ association at the Diplomatic Center, St Ann’s, Persad-Bissessar said there was no disrespect intended. 

Yesterday, speaking on behalf of JTUM at a press conference at Communication Workers’ Union Hall on Henry Street, President General of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget announced that JTUM members had decided to stay clear of the meeting.

The meeting called on unions to discuss, “the turbulence in the global energy sector and the impact of lower oil prices on economies” such as T&T’s. 

Roget, who said the JTUM was about seeking the interest of the development and the progress and the welfare and well being of T&T, said the unions would spare no effort to ensure that all citizens, all members and workers were protected in good times and bad times.

He said members of JTUM had decided not to attend the meeting as they felt the invitation had come as an afterthought.

Roget said it was an invitation to get involved in a “massive public relations exercise” of the Government for Persad-Bissessar to portray herself of being in control.

“The Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour who signed this invitation, carry absolute knowledge of all the unions in this country and their leadership and structures and so on and therefore we felt afronted and disrespected to have received a piece of correspondence signed by the Minister of Labour on behalf of the Prime Minister addressing us as dear stakeholder.”

He said all unions in the country were headed in particular ways and had particular structures.

“We take it as a mark of disrespect to have been served an invitation in a generic approach and addressed as labour stakeholders.”

Roget also said  JTUM felt that no purpose would have been served in the interest of workers, with them attending the meeting.

Twelve years after the closure of the sugar cane industry, Cabinet has finally approved $130 million compensation for cane farmers to be used for agricultural diversification.

The funds were provided by the European Union (EU) to address the negative social and economic impact of the closure of Caroni (1975) Limited in 2003. 

During a meeting with four cane-farming groups on Wednesday, Planning Minister Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie announced that Cabinet had approved the disbursement of funds to be used for the benefit of private cane farmers and cane cutters. 

Tewarie, who is the national authorising officer for the EU Grant Resources, said the schedule for disbursement highlights a first tranche of $27 million, followed by a second tranche of $75 million and a third tranche of $28 million to be paid in 2016.

He said once the groups agree, a technical committee, led by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development, including representatives of the Ministry of Food Production and representatives of the cane farmers, would develop a suitable formula for equitable distribution of the funds. 

Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj, representatives of the Cane Producers Association of T&T, the Cane Farmers’ Co-operative, Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers’ Association and Direct Delivery Cane Farmers’ Co-operative and EU representative Kathrin Renner were also present at the meeting.

Contacted for comment yesterday, president of the Cane Producers Association Seukeran Tambie said the $130 million would not be given directly to cane farmers.

Based on a strategic business plan submitted by the association in 2013, Tambie said the funds would be used to set up several agricultural projects, including commercial hot peppers, citrus and mixed crop, aquaponics, rabbit-rearing and sheep and goat farming.

Tambie said a needs-based analysis report would be done in the former sugar belt.

Saying cane farmers were overlooked when compensation was distributed to sugar workers in 2003, Tambie added: “I am pleased that after so many years Cabinet has given final approval the funding to be used for the benefit of cane farmers.”

Tambie said when the industry was closed in 2003, more than 6,000 cane farmers and 3,000 cane cutters were left on the breadline. 

He said suicide rates climbed, families broke up and poverty peaked. Tambie said all of the former cane cutters and farmers would be located and a technical team would co-ordinate resources. He said another meeting would be held among stakeholders next week.

Two chutney music promoters are locked in a legal battle over this year’s Chutney Soca Monarch competition. 

The National Chutney Foundation of T&T (NCFTT), an incorporated organisation representing chutney artistes and responsible for the international marketing of the genre, is seeking an injunction to stop the finals scheduled for next Sunday at Skinner Park, San Fernando.

The matter came up for hearing in Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday. Representatives of the NCFTT and event’s promoter George Singh of Southex Event Management Company Ltd sat at opposing ends of the courtroom. 

During the hearing, presiding Judge Andre des Vignes gave instructions to lawyers for both organisations to file submissions and witness statement related to the claim. 

Des Vignes advised the lawyers to file extensive submissions before the next hearing to ensure the issue is rectified expeditiously. 

“I hope you don’t have any plans. Just remember the event is on the 31st,” Des Vignes said, as he jokingly suggested that they take the entire weekend to complete the task he set.

Speaking with the media after the hearing Singh’s lawyer Faris Al-Rawi said the lawsuit was doomed to fail.  

“These are two independent entities. Our client has a long and well established track record in this industry. Chutney is an artistic form in T&T and nobody has ownership over that,” Al-Rawi said. 

The organisation initially attempted to stop the semi-finals of the competition last Saturday but were hampered by a major blunder, albeit not their own, as the person who prepared the case was not qualified to practice. 

Des Vignes stated that he planned to report the person to the Disciplinary Committee of the Law Association.

The NCFTT is being represented by Angela Renaud-Lewis and Temi Ade-John, while Dharmendra Punwasee is leading Al-Rawi in the case. The case has been adjourned to next Wednesday. 

ABOUT THE CASE

​The NCFTT and its president Vijay Ramlal-Rai are suing the Singh for allegedly breaching the Protection from Unfair Competition Act by copying “fundamental” aspects of the NCFTT’s annual Chutney Monarch competition

The NCFTT, which was incorporated in 1994, is claiming that Singh copied their competition, usually held outside Carnival season in May, when his organisation added a traditional chutney category into their chutney soca competition this year. 

Singh, whose company has been hosting its competition since 1996, has denied the allegations. 

 With construction of bpTT’s $2 billion Juniper Platform already started, scores of job-seekers blocked roads and chained the gates of Trinidad Offshore Fabricators Company Unlted (Tofco),  La Brea, demanding employment.

The protest follows claims by scrap iron dealer Nick Richards who said he found a cardboard box filled with resumes, cover letters and copies of certificates at the Guapo landfill. 

Richards said when he looked at the documents, they had addresses of people from La Brea and surrounding areas.  

Councillor for Brighton/Vessigny Gerald Debisette said residents had a meeting with Tofco on Monday and they were promised orientation on Tuesday for the start of short-term employment. 

He said the community boasted of skilled men and women who were being bypassed for people who lived outside the area. 

Debisette said Government promised a lot of development for La Brea but five years have passed with nothing being built.

At 5 am yesterday, heaps of tyres were piled across the Southern Main Road, Vessigny, Point D’Or and Sobo Village, blocking early morning commuters on their way to work and school. 

La Brea police, backed by South Western Division Task Force, cleared the way but protesters marched to Tofco’s compound inside the La Brea Industrial Estate and locked the gates.

Protesters said they planned to pitch a tent outside the compound and ensure no work continued until Tofco met with them to discuss employment. Calls were made to Tofco’s office yesterday, but there was no response.