Errol Fabien, talk show host and friend of Marcia Henville, yesterday criticised and blasted residents of the community where the slain journalist lived for not helping her in her time of need. He further called on people in society to stop being bystanders and stand up for others when they needed help.

“Marcia Henville called for help. Marcia Henville screamed. In that fancy Fidelis Heights place nobody went when she called for help. If anyone in Fidelis Heights was bawling, Marcia would have been banging on that front door, but no, nobody wanted to help Marcia,” Fabien said. Henville was laid to rest yesterday in the Tunapuna Cemetery after a funeral service at the Holiness Revival Ministries in Woodbrook. 

She was found dead in her Fidelis Heights home in St Augustine last week Saturday. Initial reports stated she died in a fire. However, an autopsy said she was murdered. Fabien lamented on Henville’s final moments and chided those who did not help her while she was being murdered. Fabien, who got emotional during his testimonial to Henville’s life, admonished people for not helping others who were in need.

“This is not the country I know. When somebody was calling for help, what is going on? Who are we? Nobody ever helped you? Oh gorm, help somebody. Stand up for somebody. Believe in yourself and stand up for somebody. Even if someone is not behind you, stand up for somebody. “Like we got shy or stupid? That has to stop. We don’t have to know who call for help. 

“They don’t have to pay us. They don’t have to bawl out. We can see when people need help. I don’t know what happen. Anyone can tell me how we got so stupidly? We can’t not go when people need help,” Fabien said. He called on the mourners to reflect on Henville’s legacy and help others as much as they could.

“Marcia is not dead. Everybody we have to help Marcia. We have to help people who are in trouble...She must have a voice in all of us else we wouldn’t just bury Marcia, we would kill her and we cannot kill Marcia Henville,” he said. The service was filled to capacity. To honour Henville’s unique style of dress, many chose to wear bright pink outfits, feather boas, and one woman wore a rainbow wig. 

Some of the mourners included Community Development Minister Winston Peters, former sport minister Anil Roberts, former gender minister Verna St Rose-Greaves, the musical group 3Canal and members of the media. Henville’s children, Chioke and Nekiyah Henville, gave the eulogy for their mother. Chioke said despite all the difficult times his family had been put through, he forgave his mother’s killer.

“In life there will be people who will hurt you and cause you pain. You cannot hold grudges,” Chioke said. He said among the best advice his mother gave him was “Don’t care about what other people say about you. If you like it, wear it.” That motto, Chioke said, was reflected in her life. “She always used to say I don’t care about what other people say. It is just their opinion,” Chioke said. Chioke said his mother’s devotion to helping people would alway resonate with him.

Nekiyah reflected on her mother’s bravery, saying Marcia was never afraid of dying. “Marcia Henville, my mother, was an amazing journalist. Bold and fearless, she never hesitated to help someone.”

A last-ditch lawsuit threatening the Chutney Soca Monarch finals was thrown out yesterday, clearing the way for the event at Skinner Park, San Fernando, tonight. In a brief oral ruling yesterday, Justice Andre Des Vignes rejected an injunction application from the National Chutney Foundation of T&T (NCFTT) against the event’s promoter George Singh, of Southex Event Management Limited.

The hearing took place around 8 am at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, to allow the parties time to file an appeal against the ruling. However, in the end, the group opted not to appeal. The NCFTT, through its president Vijay Ramlal-Rai, was claiming that Singh copied its annual competition, which coincides with Indian Arrival Day celebrations, when he (Singh) incorporated traditional chutney into his competition. 

The NCFTT was relying on the Protection from Unfair Competition Act, as it contended that Singh’s show would financially cripple its own as a traditional chutney competition was unique to its organisation. In defending against the allegation, Singh’s lawyer Dharmendra Punwasee said the NCFTT had no ownership rights over traditional chutney music. 

Although, he admitted, the two promoters drew on the same customer base, the two events were not in competition because they were held over three months apart. As he addressed the NCFTT and its members present in court yesterday, Des Vignes said the legislation which incorporated that organisation did not make it the exclusive promoter of traditional chutney but rather encouraged it to work with other organisations to promote the artform.    

Speaking after the decision, Faris Al-Rawi, who also represented Singh, said he had been confident his client would prevail in the “frivolous” lawsuit. “We take the position that it was ludicrous to have come to court to seek to have a monopoly on the traditional chutney artform,” Al-Rawi said. 

Singh hailed this decision as “a victory for traditional music and the Indo-Trinidadian culture of T&T” as he stated that his event was the “largest and most important in the Indo-Caribbean calendar.” NCFTT was represented by Angela Renaud-Lewis and Temi Ade-John. 

President Anthony Carmona has hit out against those who interpret the Constitution in a “narrow way,” which he described as a “donkey cart interpretation.” he said so during the closed swearing-in ceremony for the new chairperson of the Police Service Commission, Dr Maria Therese Gomes, at his office in St Ann’s on Thursday.

“I do not believe in limited ‘donkey cart’ interpretation of our Constitution,“ Carmona said, adding that “for far too long, we have been engaging in this type of interpretation.” That was an apparent reference to a lawsuit filed by former head of the public service, Reginald Dumas, who has filed a lawsuit challenging the appointment of two sitting members of the commission—Dr James Armstrong and attorney Roamar Achat-Saney—on their lack of necessary qualifications.

Dumas, in his lawsuit, said the strict requirement for the composition of the PSC was not met when the President appointed former Independent Senator Armstrong and Achat-Saney to the commission. The President said the commission, with other members, Martin George and Addison Khan was “a nice mix of expertise, intellect and experience.” He described Gomes’ appointment as historic as she was the first woman to head the commission.

Carmona said more should be done to empower women and he was committed to place women in leadership positions in various institutions. He said he had always held the firm view that we must continue to engage at all times, a philosophy of inclusively. Carmona said he was in full support of gender equality. Carmona described Gomes as “a woman of steely determination, quiet disposition, a strong heart and soul and an incisive intellect and I think in the circumstances that you will do an excellent job.”

He told Gomes she had “a good team, you have a nice balanced team.” She replaced Prof Ramesh Deosaran, who resigned last August, over his apparent frustration in getting government to change the legislation to allow for an easier process to appoint a Commissioner of Police. Since then, the commission has been unable to meet and the fourth extension of the acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams expires today.

About the new PSC head
Dr Maria Therese Gomes has an extensive social work background. She graduated from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, with a BSc in social work (Honours) in 1995. She obtained her MSc in social policy and planning in developing countries from the London School of Economics and political science, University of London, United Kingdom, in 1995.

She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Howard University, Washington DC in 2004 with a Masters in social work, and completed her doctorate in social work in 2010 from the same institution.  

Over her career she has obtained certification in distance learning, blackboard certification and international studies from Howard University, Washington, DC, and also gained certification in drama and theatre education as well as gender studies (distinction) from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine and Cave Hill respectively.

She has numerous honours, awards and grants accredited to her, inclusive of a grant from the Georgetown-Howard Universities Centre for Clinical and Translational Science Community Engagement and Research Partnership Stimulation Mini Grant in 2012, and the US/India-Howard-Jadavpur Research Initiative Award from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, in 2007.

Gomes has served as lead facilitator, campus-wide educational workshop on human trafficking, Howard University, and has presented on numerous topics including embracing social justice and equality locally and globally; immigration reform and human trafficking at the Howard University Faculty Senate Retreat in 2013; strangers in the homeland: closer examination of the reintegration of foreign offenders at the American Corrections Association, 141st Congress, Kissimmee, Florida in 2011; and addressing involuntary return migration through multi-modal community interventions at the eight Biennial Conference of Caribbean and International Social Work Educators, Trinidad and Tobago, in 2007.

—Information supplied by the Office of the President.

Breakthroughs were made by CrimeWatch host Ian Alleyne this week as he sought to uncover the truth behind the murder of 19-year-old Salma Chadee, who was allegedly shot dead by her ex-boyfriend on January 17. Alleyne revealed some key findings of his investigations live this past week after the case took a chilling twist during his probe. Alleyne said his investigations had revealed that a close relative of Chadee may have been involved in her killing. 

He said he discovered that earlier on the day that Chadee was shot by her killer, one of her relatives was seen entering a house located at Tulluck Street, not too far from her Chadee Street, Caroni, residence, seeking to buy a firearm. Alleyne called for a deeper investigation into the case, as he wondered why one of her relatives would be looking for a gun just mere hours before Chadee was killed. He also asked if the gun purchased by the relative was the same gun used to murder Chadee. 

Azad Ali has been identified as a person of interest in the case by the police. But he continues to elude the police manhunt for him, despite the fact that he is in a wheelchair after breaking both his legs in an accident. Alleyne called on Ali to get in touch with him urgently, vowing that heads would roll when he blew the lid on this case and exposed everyone involved in Chadee’s murder.

Also, this week, Alleyne visited the relatives of Krishna Rajkumar in Central Trinidad. The 54-year-old, of Roopsingh Road, Freeport, was allegedly shot dead by a relative who is a member of the police service. The policeman has claimed he was acting in self-defence after being threatened and attacked by the deceased, who was armed with a cutlass. 

But Rajkumar’s relatives begged Alleyne for assistance as they offered another side of the story and said they believed nothing would come of the matter since it involved a member of the police service. The family spoke of an alleged dispute over land and a family house and said while Rajkumar normally was quarrelsome when he drank there was nothing more to it than that. 

Witnesses to the incident claimed allegations that Rajkumar had a weapon were untrue and that he was unarmed when he was shot. Alleyne assured the family that he would get the relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter. Footage of an armed robbery at Alisha’s lounge, located at 103 Lachoos Road, Penal, was also aired. The footage showed two armed bandits robbing patrons and the owner on January 24. 

The footage can be seen on Ian Alleyne’s Facebook fanpage and the public is kindly urged to assist in identifying the suspects or their whereabouts. Meanwhile, there was a breakthrough in the investigation into the disappearance of Rosemarie Francois, 19, who went missing on October 30, 2014. Alleyne discovered that there was no kidnapping, but rather, Francois and her boyfriend who both have a pending matter in the court were in Venezuela. 

The mother of Francois’ boyfriend had appeared on the show begging for assistance because she was unaware of her son’s whereabouts. Alleyne is asking the public to call Crime Watch with any information.

Breakthrough Story
The son of Victor Anderson, the man who went missing on January 24, appeared on the programme to thank Alleyne and the nation for their help in finding his father. The man was relieved to have his father back safe and thanked Alleyne for helping. 

Unsolved Mystery
An investigation behind alleged illegal mining at the Santa Maria Quarry, Gasparillo, is ongoing. Alleyne’s investigation has revealed that the activity is being covered up by officials and the owner of the land has been receiving threats. Alleyne promised to keep investigating the matter and will speak to the minister about the situation.
 

Controversy is brewing over a multi-million dollar contract awarded to Kalco Ltd to pave the Toco Main Road from Matelot to Shark River. While chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, Terry Rondon is insisting that the paving was shoddily done and taxpayers did not get value for money, former director of highways in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Roger Ganesh, is maintaining that the work was done up to standard.

On Thursday, Rondon blew his top on the matter, stating that Kalco was provoking the residents of the northeastern region. He said motorists, residents, commuters and pedestrians had been complaining to him daily because the road was left in a deplorable condition. In 2012, Rondon said, Kalco was contracted to pave seven miles of the Toco Main Road over a six-month period.

Rondon said after waiting for almost three years, only three miles of road from Matelot to Shark River were resurfaced. “Then to our shock last October, Kalco just packed up their equipment and left. They are a law unto themselves, man. They just ain’t care about nobody,” an irate Rondon said.

Rondon: My hands are tied
To compound matters, Rondon said, while Kalco was in the process of leaving the site, a subcontractor of Kalco came and dug up portions of the road from Toco to Sans Souci and never repaired it.  “Kalco has only been playing the fool with us and not completing the work. Now they leave the people in Matelot to suffer once again. They are provoking the people. They are taking us for granted because we do not burn tyres and protest like other communities to get what we want.”

Rondon said he did not believe taxpayers got value for money. Admitting that the road had been neglected for years, Rondon said the People’s National Movement was not in government and there was little he could do. 

“Burgesses feel I have the power under the corporation to fix the road, but that responsibility lies in the hands of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. My hands are tied. It’s pure politics the Government playing. There is no doubt that the people are being sidelined because they supported the PNM. The people will talk volumes on election day.”

Ganesh: Kalco has not abandoned the job
However, Ganesh who retired from the ministry last December gave the assurance that Kalco “has not abandoned” the job. Ganesh, whose son-in-law operates Kalco, was at the helm of the highways division when the contract was awarded. Ganesh said on Friday that Kalco was awaiting the completion of works by T&TEC, WASA and the Programme for Upgrading Roads Efficiency (Pure).

“As soon as all those things are sorted out...the utilities and so, it will be completed. There is not much to be done anyway. It is just about ten per cent to be done. I can assure you that within a month’s time work will be completed under the contract. Within a month whatever defects, if there are any, will be repaired so there would not be anything for anyone to complain about.” Ganesh said he disagreed with Rondon that the paving was poorly done, having seen the work himself.

“I am satisfied with the work that has been done so far. Remember there are other contractors working in the area. I am not sure they are talking about Kalco.” Unable to quote the value of the paving contract, Ganesh also dispelled reports that a subcontractor of Kalco uprooted parts of the road and left it. “Whatever he (Rondon) told you, that is not correct at all. We are not abandoning any job. We don’t have anything to hide. Mr Rondon is painting a wrong picture.”

Ganesh said the time frame of Kalco’s contract was extended due to “unforeseen” issues. “That is the nature of civil construction works. When you dealing in areas where WASA can’t tell you where their lines run and those sorts of things, you have those problems always cropping up.”
 
Phillip: Kalco finished their contract a long time 
On Friday, programme director of Pure, Hayden Phillip, said as far as he was aware Kalco had wrapped up its work at the site.

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has failed the citizens of T&T. He has also brought the office of the AG, the administration of justice and the country into disrepute. 

That was the view of former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj in the face of growing calls for the removal of Ramlogan on social media, in the newspapers, and by the Opposition, after Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Director David West stated that Ramlogan had asked him to withdraw his statement in a defamation lawsuit relating to the failed extradition of Section 34 applicants Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson, in exchange for his receiving the PCA job.

 Ramlogan is now the subject of a police probe. On Thursday, a new dimension to the story unfolded when National Security Minister Gary Griffith disclosed that on the urgings of the AG, he had contacted West to find out if he (West) had pulled back a document which was filed in the High Court.

“I am of the view that the Attorney General has no moral authority to continue a minute more in his office,” Maharaj said yesterday. 

“The AG has not only brought his office into disrepute, but the administration of justice and the country into disrepute as well. Everyday this continues, Trinidad and Tobago is losing its reputation. Even the vice president of the United States of America, in the presence of T&T’s Prime Minister, stated that in the Caribbean, America has its eyes on issues of corruption and breach of the rule of law.”

Maharaj said as far as he was aware no other AG in the Caribbean had been under a police investigation. “To my recollection this is unprecedented in the Caribbean. It is not proper for an AG who is the subject of a police investigation to be still in office. “But more important, he has failed to show the standards of conduct in public life which an Attorney General must show in order to generate public confidence in the office of the AG.”

As the holder of the country’s third highest office in the land, Maharaj said, Ramlogan was duty bound to provide legal advice to the Cabinet, President, Commissioner of Police and state agencies. Maharaj said to his recollection, Ramlogan had not initiated any piece of legislation or taken any action that brought benefits to the country’s citizens. “So unfortunately, it seems, he has been a liability to the People’s Partnership Government and the country.”

Maharaj said following every misstep made by Ramlogan, there were calls for his removal, but the PM failed to act. “The public now had the perception that the PM is afraid to take action against the AG because he is a very powerful man. The Prime Minister is hoping that the Attorney General resigns.”

Police Complaints Authority (PCA) head David West is now refusing to comment on whether possible links to the People’s National Movement (PNM) influenced his decision to file a statement with the police alleging that Attorney General Anand Ramlogan asked him to recant his witness statements in the Section 34 defamation lawsuit against Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.

West was appointed as the head of the PCA three months ago, but only revealed last week that he was filing a statement with the police after a Sunday Express report stated that Ramlogan attempted to use the PCA job as a bargaining tool to encourage West to withdraw his statement supporting Rowley’s position in the high court matter.

In a brief interview yesterday, West said he had nothing more to say on the matter as it was before the police. When told that the issue of his alleged links to the PNM was not a police matter, West again declined to comment. “I am not commenting on that. I do not wish to comment on that,” he said.

In July 2009, former PNM attorney general John Jeremie took a note to Cabinet to retain West as an attorney at the Central Authority. West, according to the Cabinet note, was retained for the period July to December 2009 to supervise the mutual legal assistance requests and extradition requests made to and received by the Central Authority. 

According to the Cabinet note, the monthly retainer did not cover West working on the “matters regarding Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh.” Under the PNM, West also held three substantive posts—head of the Central Authority, director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, and as a lawyer retained by the AG’s office. Ramlogan, back in 2011, described West as an “unsuitable” pick for FIU head.

West was offered a post as a PNM senator in 2012 but did not accept it. Sources said he was likely to take up a key post if the PNM formed the next Government. This was not confirmed.

Rowley: Let Anand tell this to the court
But Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley yesterday defended West, saying that if Ramlogan believed that West was politically motivated, he should “tell it to the court.” “It is ridiculous and I will not even dignify that with a response,” Rowley said in a telephone interview yesterday. He said West’s involvement in the Attorney General’s office under the PNM “was not a secret.” “He was a contracted public officer,” he said.

Rowley said the Government often sidelined anyone whom they believed to be PNM and West’s case was further evidence of that. West was removed from the AG’s office when the Government changed hands in 2010. “It is that asinine attitude that caused the Government to fire the highly trained security personnel,” he said, referring to the government’s move to disband Sautt, the Special Anti-Crime Unit of T&T.

Rowley said if labelling West as a PNM was part of Ramlogan’s defence strategy, then he needed to state that in his court defence filings. With regards to the Law Association of T&T’s call for Ramlogan to step down, Rowley said he too made the same call and if Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had acted when she should have, then the country would not be in this dilemma.

Rowley said Persad-Bissessar was hoping she did not have to act on this matter. “She has provided defence for wrongdoings on numerous occasions,” he said, citing early issues with former national security minister Jack Warner, senator Mary King and former sport minister Anil Roberts. “Her style is that she only acts when she cannot escape the truth,” he said. Persad-Bissessar is expected to make a statement on the matter tomorrow at 4 pm. 

Eleven months after the death of her baby at Mount Hope Hospital, Quelly Ann Cottle is seeking psychiatric treatment to deal with her emotional pain and depression. On Friday, Cottle, 38, admitted that after losing baby Simeon, who received a seven-centimetre cut to the head while she underwent a C-section last March, she had not been able to cope with mounting pressures and was now seeking “psychiatric treatment” to help find the root cause of her problems.

Cottle has attended three-one hour sessions with psychiatrist Dr Iqbal Ghany in the last month, after her family life started to fall apart. She disclosed that her relationship with her common-law husband Emil Millington was now strained, her 19-year-old son Kyle seldom visited her Cumuto home, and the last child, four-year-old Samuel, kept asking for the baby. She too has not been able to function or think straight.

“I have been an emotional wreck. Everyday I crying,” Cottle said. Cottle was advised by family members and her lawyer Dr Farid Scoon to seek psychiatric help. “I am trying to pull myself together,” Cottle said, her voice choked with emotion. Cottle said for months, she kept things that bothered her bottled up inside and realised that it was doing more harm than good.

Having attended three sessions of counselling, Cottle said, she was now opening up about things she had kept silent on. “The doctor said he is seeing some good signs,” Cottle said.

Cottle, husband at each other’s throat
Last June, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan forwarded an independent report into the baby’s death to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the acting Commissioner of Police for an investigation. For several months, Cottle said, she and Millington had been “at each other’s throat.” “As far as things going it not looking too promising...We trying to patch things up right now.” Cottle said she was now being blamed by a relative for Simeon’s death, which she has not been able to live with.

Baby Simeon was not a planned pregnancy. After losing an almost full-term baby girl before Simeon, Cottle said, she had not wanted another child and used protection. “I was taking the injection, but it only worked for six months. After that, I don’t know what happened. I got pregnant.” Even though 11 months have passed, Cottle said, “the topic of baby Simeon is always a ticklish one. It has been emotional for both of us.”

Cottle said she never thought her family would have drifted apart. “I never expected a lot of things, but in life you don’t know what will happen. “As far as I am concerned, I was looking forward to a bouncing baby and that everything would have been okay. But it did not turn out the way I wanted. God knows best. He is in control.” 

Millington: I can’t function at home and on the job
Yesterday, Millington admitted that he too was affected by the loss of Simeon, and felt he needed help as well. “This thing affecting my family in general.” Asked if his relationship with Cottle was now strained, Millington replied, “terribly, terribly... bad. The way things going this is having an effect on me.” A handyman at the University of T&T, Cottle said his productivity on the job and attendance had decreased.

“When a man cannot function properly at home, he would not function properly on the job.” He confessed that he and Cottle had been drifting apart. “I don’t really push it because I think I understand what really going on. There are things that I just leave alone.” Millington said he could only hope that his family came together again soon. “With God’s help this too will soon pass.”

Psychiatric report to be sent to NCRHA
On Friday, Scoon admitted that Cottle had to seek psychiatric treatment as a result of the baby’s death. Scoon said Cottle was also seen by a psychologist, who had recommended that she obtain continued treatment in the form of counselling. “There is a lot of dislocation.” Scoon said Cottle’s problems stemmed from psychological issues, mainly the breakdown in the family unit. “It’s a difficult situation for the family.”

He said he expected that “any day now” a report from Dr Ghany would be forwarded to the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA), which had agreed to settle with Cottle out of court. This month, Scoon said, he was hopeful the NCRHA would compensate Cottle for the loss of her baby.

Lawyer calls for investigation to be pursued

Scoon, who is representing Quelly Ann Cottle, yesterday called on acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams to pursue the investigation into baby Simeon’s death. “I think eight months is more than enough time for an investigation to be done,” said Scoon. Scoon said since a report by the AG was forwarded to the DPP and Williams for a probe, no one from the T&T Police Service had contacted Cottle to take a statement or to question her.

The report was sent to the DPP and CoP last June. “As far as I know no investigator has contacted Ms Cottle. I really trust that the State would take care of those matters. It is potentially a police matter. I guess in a very limited way we can raise it. We would like the investigation to be pursued.” Yesterday, Williams could not share any information on the investigation since he was not in office.

“I would not be able to share that information at this point in time. You are calling me Saturday morning, I am not in a position to off my head tell you investigations like that. I would have to effectively check and I would not be able to access that information now,” Williams said.

Two government ministers are among the four lawyers tipped to replace Attorney General Anand Ramlogan should his appointment be revoked tomorrow. Apart from Ramlogan, Police Complaints Authority (PCA) head David West could also see his appointment revoked. Cabinet insiders said the Prime Minister was “not aware” that he was a key witness in a civil matter involving Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley at the time of his appointment to the PCA.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is expected to make a statement at 4 pm tomorrow at her office in St Clair. While she did not indicate what the topic of her statement would be, there is speculation that following massive external pressure to remove Ramlogan, she would address that issue.
 
The Sunday Guardian was informed that Persad-Bissessar held heated talks with key government ministers yesterday, looking for a way to address both the internal Cabinet tension and the external pressure from the public to remove Ramlogan from office. The four shortlisted candidates discussed at closed door meetings yesterday were Minister of the Environment Ganga Singh, Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar, former attorney general Anthony Smart, and lawyer Larry Lalla.

The Sunday Guardian learned that both Singh and Smart—chairman of First Citizens—refused the position. While Ramadhar’s name is still technically in the ring, it is Lalla who may get the final nod of approval from Persad-Bissessar and her Cabinet. Though Lalla yesterday said he had not yet been approached, one Cabinet insider yesterday confirmed that his name was heading the pack to replace Ramlogan. 

“The truth is she has not yet made a final decision, but Lalla’s name is being circulated,” one Cabinet insider said during a break in the meetings. Persad-Bissessar is expected to meet with Ramlogan and National Security Minister Gary Griffith before she addresses the situation publicly tomorrow.

Griffith has remained adamant that he will not bow to Cabinet pressure to recall his witness statement supporting West’s claim that Ramlogan sought to “pervert the course of justice” by asking him (West) to recant his witness statement in the Section 34 matter. It was reported that Griffith was asked by Ramlogan to confirm that West had recalled the witness statement. Griffith, it was reported, did not know what the statement was about.

Law Association: Anand must go
The Law Association of T&T yesterday issued a media release calling for Ramlogan to step down. The association said in the light of the police investigations, Ramlogan should step down in order to prevent an “erosion of confidence” in the Office of the Attorney General. The association said it made “no comment” on Ramlogan’s guilt or innocence but felt that given the circumstances, Ramlogan should be removed from the post of Attorney General. 

According to the Law Association, to prevent the erosion of confidence in the Office of the AG, the investigations which have been embarked upon by the police should “be conducted thoroughly and expeditiously in the interest of the national community.”
Once the investigations are completed, the association said, any and all appropriate legal steps should be taken “with due expediency.”

Officeholders under probe should step aside—COP
The Congress of the People also issued a statement yesterday saying that it expected Persad-Bissessar to make an announcement “shortly.” “The Prime Minister has responsibility for appointments to ministerial offices and we await her decision in this matter,” Ramadhar said in the release. He reiterated that the COP’s position was that officeholders under investigation “should step aside while investigation proceeds.”

A toddler of Bamboo Village, Valsayn, has died after a steel gate fell on him at his home on Friday night. According to a police report, around 7 pm, computer technician Ishwar Rampaul, 37, was at his John Drive, Bamboo No 3 home, attempting to fix his sliding front gate which had stuck in its tracks. 

Rampaul had just sprayed it with WD40 and was pulling and pushing it in a bid to loosen the wheels. His two-year-old son, Adam Alejandro Rampaul, on realising that his father was outside the gate ran out of the house to meet him. As the child ran up to the gate it came tumbling down on him. His mother, Lisa Munglasingh, 35, did not reach in time to get him out of harm’s way and she was struck by the gate as she attempted to protect him. She suffered a broken left leg.

Both Mungalsingh and her son were taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where Adam was pronounced dead on arrival. Little Adam was born with a hole in the heart and his medical condition was highlighted in the Sunday Guardian on September 28, 2014. His parents were raising funds for years to have the child flown to the United States for a cardiac catherisation procedure. 

Open heart surgery was also an option, however Munglasingh said they chose for the child to undergo catherisation closure because it involved less trauma and a quicker healing time for her son. In December 2014, he was taken to Miami for medical screening and treatment at a paediatric hospital. When Sunday Guardian visted Rampaul and his wife yesterday, they were seen consoling each other in the garage area of their home. Relatives were also seen sitting around in silence.

Munglasingh said her husband came home from work about 6.30 pm and was opening the gate when it stuck. She said for about half an hour he was outside struggling with the gate. “Adam would go crazy for his daddy, so I had to keep him inside. I placed two boards blocking the doorway outside so that Adam wouldn’t run out to meet his daddy but when he (Adam) realised his dad was outside, he ran to the back of the house through the kitchen. 

“He was so fast I couldn’t catch up with him, so I had to run through the front door. By this time, Adam had already reached to the front and was running towards the gate and that was when I darted out and almost grab him, but the gate had already started to fall. It was too late.” “It happened so quick. We were just in shock and still in shock.” 

Rampaul, in tears, said he believed his only child, Adam, was God-sent. “Adam was a peaceful yet joyous child. He greeted everyone with a smile. He brought happiness to our lives.” An autospy is expected to be conducted at the Forensic Science Centre in St James tomorrow. Funeral arrangements are yet to be made.

In keeping with his word, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training Fazal Karim has forwarded a $53 million cheque to the cash-strapped University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine, campus, as the first tranche in backpay to its staff. 

The $53,945,733 cheque was sent from Karim’s Port-of-Spain ministry to UWI’s Principal Prof Clement Sankat on Tuesday, days after the impasse between the university and the West Indies Group of University Teachers (Wigut) which withheld students’ grades in protest over campus administration’s failure to pay outstanding backpay. The backpay was for the period August 2, 2011, to July 31, 2014.

The funds were released on Tuesday by Finance Minister Larry Howai to Karim, who in turn handed over the cheque to Sankat. Karim said the second and final tranche amounting to $33,054,267 million would be handed over to UWI in April, which would be reflected in May’s salaries for workers. The two tranches would total $87 million, Karim said.

On January 19, Karim promised that Government would make a cash intervention in the wage dispute and would release funds to help the campus pay the monies owed, following days of on-going protest by students and staff on campus. Karim said Government had since honoured the first part of its commitment, days before the scheduled date.

“I have kept my word. I gave a commitment to pay the outstanding backpay and we have delivered on the first tranche way before its scheduled time.” Karim said he was happy that the matter had been resolved between UWI’s administration and Wigut. He said as far as he was aware students had received their grades and were attending classes. “Things are back to normal,” Karim said. 

Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj says the entire Cabinet could be the subject of a police investigation if it is proven that pressure has been applied on National Security Minister Gary Griffith to withdraw his statement in the matter involving Anand Ramlogan and David West. Maharaj said Cabinet members could face a probe “for attempting to pervert the course of justice” if this had indeed happened. He said this would mean the entire Cabinet was now “contaminated.”

“If it is correct that members of Cabinet, at a weekly meeting, allegedly tried to apply pressure on Griffith to change his story...to bury information relating to a criminal offence, it would mean that the police would have to direct their investigations for an attempt to pervert the course of justice by members of the Cabinet. “So all the members of Cabinet who participated and encouraged this must be the subject of a police investigation.

“It looks like Griffith is standing for the truth. The issue is, did they try to put pressure on Griffith? If they tried to put pressure on Griffith, that is where the offence is committed.” The former AG said acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams should call for a police investigation into Cabinet immediately. While there is immunity for members of Parliament, Maharaj said, “there is no immunity for members of Cabinet if they are engaged in an unlawful conduct.”

In the last week, Maharaj said, the Government had lost all credibility and morality. Maharaj said the ramifications of this new development could lead “Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to fire the Attorney General, dissolve Parliament, and call a general election.” He said although this had never happened in T&T before, it would be the starting point for the country to be “purged because no one is above the law...not even a member of the Cabinet.”

“It is unheard of for Cabinet members to apply pressure on one of their own...It is not what you would hear in a democratic country and according to the rule of law. In another country, if that had occurred, the Prime Minister and her Cabinet would have to resign. And we should follow suit. If the PM fails to act swiftly, more pressure will come her way.” Maharaj described the PM’s explanation for not firing Ramlogan as weak and lame.

“She should have dealt with the matter upon her return from Costa Rica the same night or next morning. That is of priority to “the country. The Prime Minister is obviously afraid to deal with this situation. And there may be good reason why she believes that she should not deal with it.” Maharaj said even if the PM removed Ramlogan it would still show she lacked leadership.

missteps involving ag ramlogan
Emailgate—The matter was first brought to the public’s attention by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley during a motion in Parliament in May 2013. Rowley had read out a thread of e-mails in the Section 34 fiasco, which he claimed alleged serious misconduct on the part of those involved.

The e-mails were purported to have come from e-mail addresses belonging to the PM, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, and three other senior ministers. Rowley is moving to strike out a legal victory being claimed by Ramlogan in the Emailgate scandal.

Section 34—was proclaimed on August 31, 2012. Approximately 42 applicants filed motions to have their criminal cases dismissed. The act sought to abolish preliminary inquiries for serious criminal matters. Section 34 had caused widespread concern and anger. There were also reports that businessmen Ish Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson who are facing fraud charges on the Piarco Airport project might have been able to go free because of Section 34. The AG was linked to this matter.
 
Prisongate—On August 30, 2013, then Solicitor General Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell bypassed her line minister Attorney General Anand Ramlogan and wrote to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressing concerns about what she called an “unethical business” venture in prison litigation matters. Last April, Persad-Bissessar broke her silence on the issues related to the alleged unethical conduct of lawyers and inmates involved in prison-related lawsuits against the State, and in which calls have been made for the Office of the Attorney General to be investigated, and referred the matter back to Ramlogan for investigation. 

Failed State of 
Emergency—Sixteen men arrested during the 2012 State of Emergency (SoE), and allegedly linked to a plot to kill Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and three government members, had signalled their intention to sue the State if compensation for their alleged wrongful detention was not made. The men were released from the Eastern Correctional Facility, Santa Rosa, without being charged when the SoE was lifted. Opposition Leader Keith Rowley slammed Ramlogan “for threatening people” who seek to take legal action if they believe that they have been wrongfully arrested, maliciously prosecuted, or faced false imprisonment.

One of the country’s leading entertainers once decided to quit the calypso arena because of unfair targeting of Indo-Trinidadians by some of the bards. Samraj Jaimungal, 50, known in the entertainment industry as Rikki Jai, said those calypsonians doing so were seeking political gains not realising they were shooting themselves in the foot. He strongly believes that they should not seek to alienate a section of the national community with that level of disrespect. 

In spite of feeling personally saddened by these attacks, he has resolved never to give up the on the calypso art form, and he intends to work harder to win the National Calypso Monarch title.

Mr Jaimungal, the list of the many hats you wear in the entertainment field is a lengthy one—calypsonian, chutney champion (six times), composer, reggae singer. How do you manage to successfully combine all those in one lifetime?
(Seated in the front seat of a car in the parking lot of a Tunapuna commercial bank on Thursday morning) Well, I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago which is one of the few countries in the world where cultural strains are fused and closely knitted together and as a boy growing up, my father and mother exposed me to the various cultural aspects in our beautiful country.

Q: You were one of the early exponents of soca chutney?

A: Yes. But Drupatee was the one who had broken down the door completely and when I saw her opening up that door, I literally ran in behind her (Indicating with his hands a sprinting gesture).
While growing up, I learned a lot of Baron’s songs while going to Naparima College, all David Rudder songs, all Sparrow songs…I knew a few of Kitchener’s songs, but Baron was the ultimate person I would look to and learnt every song. 
I even practiced to sing like Baron, so much so that when I released my first song there was a competition on the radio station asking listeners to identify the singer, and every caller said it was Baron. I sat down (hands folded resting on his chest) and felt good because my mission was accomplished (smiles)...well, temporarily.

Did you ever regret leaving your day job to become a professional artiste?
Well before I get to that, once I went to Triveni that’s where I got exposed to the big fetes in Port-of-Spain and worked with the big bands around that time…Charlie’s Roots, Fire Flight, Kalyan, Sound Rev, Chandelier, Charlie’s Roots...the heavy rollers.

Were you feeling out of place being the only Indo-Trini in that environment?
Nah! I was feeling good because as the only East Indian frontline singer at that time among performers like Ronnie Mac Intosh, KV Charles, Colin Lucas, David Rudder, Christopher (Tambu) Herbert, all those artistes, it was great. I was getting to grace the stage and that was a big thing for me. I was feeling very, very happy just to be in that glorified environment.

The turning point for me to become a recording artiste was at the Airports Authority with Triveni, Byron Lee, Taxi, and Drupatee made a guest appearance and when I saw her on that stage mashing up the place with Roll up De Tassa, I knew this was something I needed to do. So I decided to do some “detective work” like who wrote her song, where she recorded it, and I followed the same route. Yeah, Kenny Phillips was the one. GB wrote Sumintra and so the ball started rolling.

How about any regrets?
No. I don’t regret leaving my job at Customs Division where I was the administrative officer and at 4 pm in October 1996, I submitted my resignation without looking back, and it was one of the lowest points in my career. I had no hit song, no job on the table, and I resigned a paying job (slightly smiling). But I decided there and then, I am not serving two masters at the same time because I realised that culture was the way I wanted to go.

The day job would not be able to provide me with what I wanted in life—one, freedom of expression; two, freedom to do what I wanted; and three, do what I love to do and live off it, and that is what I am doing from 1996.

 Rikki Jai, you have not yet won the National Calypso Monarch title. Does it mean you have given up winning that prestigious title in the Big Yard?
Not at all. I made the finals up there in 2001 and that same year, I entered six competitions, made the finals of all six, and won four. Historically nobody else has done that, and I am the only Indo-Trinbagonian to ever make it to the Big Yard finals.
I have not given up on winning that title, it just happened that chutney soca began taking up a larger part of my life, a bigger part of my career.
People were calling for me in that aspect of our culture and when they hear Rikki Jai, they automatically think chutney. I love calypso music, it is dear to me, and look out for Rikki Jai to return to that Big Yard very soon.

 Mr Jaimungal, the traditional calypso tents have been taking a financial beating within recent years through aggrieved Indo-Trini patrons boycotting those tents because of a handful of calypsonians who have been accused of performing distasteful and disrespectful calypsoes against them. Are those people right to do so...staying away from the tents?
I see nothing wrong with that, and I would certainly feel awkward if I were an Indo-Trinidadian paying my money to hear somebody disrespect me. It is like you telling me to pay and come to hear somebody insult me...I would be condoning that very unacceptable behaviour. 

Don’t calypsonians have some kind of poetic licence to…
I agree that calypsonians have a moral licence to sing about everything in the country, but it went a bit overboard so much so that calypsonains did not see that they were shooting themselves in the foot.
Once the East Indians started to stay away from the tents, the Syrians and others, the tents were unable to support themselves.
You ask Machel Montano and he would tell you that you need a cross section of the people to come to his shows because his fan base is wide and varied. So too in days gone by, there were a lot of of people who would come to the tent just to hear David Rudder, and that speaks volume for what people like in this country regardless of their race, creed or colour.

How do you feel personally when those fellows would come on stage and sing songs which people felt were derogatory to one section of our population?
I never liked it and being in the tent at the time, there were sometimes when I said to myself “You know you need to come out of it as well.”
Because by being in it somehow you were condoning that kind of disrespectful behaviour.
I always like to look at things in a holistic manner without doing anything to offend anybody in the society as I want to attract everybody, I do not want to attract Indians alone. And I can safely say that when Rikki Jai walks down Frederick, George, Charlotte streets the amount of people who hail me out... Not only Indians. All the vendors know me and that is something I worked hard for, and all artistes should follow that road and not alienate one section of the population for political reasons.

 Mr Jaimungal, why you have never delved into the hardcore political arena in your calypso repertoire?
I have stayed out because Trinidad and Tobago is a small country and everybody blood is near to their skin. I have worked to develop my name here and I think, I might be wrong, I am well liked by one and all, and we as a society are not yet that mature for artistes to openly support political parties as it is done in other parts of the world.
When this is done here, they brand you one time. You run the chance of going to Skinner’s Park and getting “lick down” or somewhere else getting booed, because the maturity in our thinking is not just there.
I keep my political allegiance to myself and I give the people of Trinidad and Tobago, Rikki Jai, the entertainer.

In any society, if private motivations sacrifice public interests and if sleight of hand corrodes the moral fibre of institutions of justice, then the pillars that hold up stable democracies will crumble. There will be chaos. It is as if we are haunted—haunted by an evil phantom in the halls of institutions of the people. 

For nearly five years, the Government’s J’Ouvert band didn’t stop distracting it from the business of steering the ship of state to its destination. We don’t know where that is, but know we want it anchored in safe moorings. 

We are a tolerant, sensitive, and politically tribal people, who have often sidestepped objectivity. We tend to overlook serious errors of judgement by those in positions of trust, or just dismiss their failings depending on tribal affiliation. So, the brand name for corrupt behaviour became “misstep,” and we remained in denial that the pains we’re experiencing are not growing pains, but symptoms of trickery, mismanagement, incompetence and poor judgement. 

But, civil society is beginning to take responsibility for the abusive performance of public officials. We are progressing not because of what any government has done, but because of what governments have failed to do, which has spurred fed-up citizens to take the lead. In taking responsibility, they’re not prepared to accept evasion of truths. 

The history of this country is not one where citizens have ever felt afraid to speak out and protest, to the credit of successive governments. The political ole talk about citizens only now feeling free to ventilate is nonsense. They licked up Williams, insulted Chambers, blamed Robinson for the attempted coup, and beat-up Manning like a bobolee. 

Since it came to office, citizens have signalled to the Government their perceptions of prevailing threats to the integrity of public institutions. Their voices were unheeded and dismissed with the clichés: “He did nothing illegal.” “There’s no evidence to take action.” “It’s opposition politics.” “They want to bring down the Government”…until the media dug up facts, and the public demanded action. 

Citizens have continuously condemned unprofessional behaviour of Cabinet ministers, yet the conductor played on until everything hit the fan. It started with the breach of Parliament’s Ethical Code of Conduct back in 2010. Then a forged resume to compromise a national security position, unsatisfactory explanations for the state of emergency, and more fraudulent resumes by incompetent board members of public companies.

Like a thief in the night, came the proclamation of Section 34—a clause that guaranteed the non-prosecution of alleged fraudsters who were also campaign financiers. It was a slick sleight of hand leaving well-intentioned and trusting lawmakers compromised. 

Ultimately, they were responsible for that law. 

The six million dollars to hoist up a fallen fire truck was symptomatic of systemic corruption. Abusing systems to purchase a Range Rover, an unresolved emailgate probe, an illegal flying squad, prisongate, the trauma of a Solicitor General, and forging of a press release are all unhealed scars. Over $600 million wasted in the LifeSport scandal. And in between all of these events, were a series of other crooked steps and allegations of widespread corruption. In time, the increasing cost of the Pt Fortin Highway will be revealed. 

Still, the conductor continued to play while the Government choir sang songs about the corruption under the last regime. In other words, why shouldn’t we thief too. These scenarios go beyond the pale of mere allegations.

Now playing in the public theatre is alleged tampering of a witness by one of the most senior government officials. Not to be outdone, the opera became frenzied as the integrity of Parliament was again drawn into the orchestra pit. When will the nightmare end? As a matter of priority, citizens want conscientiousness in protecting the integrity of public offices. 

They want spontaneity by officials in adhering to the principle of stepping aside during investigations into serious allegations in order to preserve the integrity of public institutions and public confidence. It’s one way to pre-empt wrongdoing and allow investigations to proceed unfettered.

It is the conductor who is ultimately responsible for performance of the discordant orchestra. As said, this is a politically sensitive society who would easily believe that pre-emptive action is not taken when necessary to preserve public confidence, but rather, only when it is politically expedient.

Granted, the conductor has walked a step further than her predecessors. She has dismissed several of her ministers—perhaps, too many to feel comfortable about judgement in the first place. That aside, the fact is she eventually took action.

The country deserves a government that will explore complex issues and make wise decisions; that acts in the public’s interest and builds public confidence. There’s a void in critically thinking through problems and the logical consequences flowing from decisions. It is as though the phantom turns off the lights leaving the orchestra in darkness. There’s light with the awakening of civil society, and opportunities to bring about change.

National Security Minister Gary Griffith is threatening to quit in the face of scathing press release issued by Communication Minister Vasant Bharath yesterday accused him of making false claims and compromising the integrity of Cabinet.  Bharath was referring to reports that Griffith claimed he was pressured by his Cabinet colleagues not support a criminal complaint by Police Complaints Authority Director David West.

West claimed on Thursday that Attorney General Anand Ramlogan asked him (West) to withdraw his witness statement in a defamation case between Ramlogan and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley in exchange for the PCA post. 

Griffith is now threatening to expose private details of a meeting he and his wife, Congress of the People chairman, Nicole Dyer-Griffith were “summoned to” with Bharath and United National Congress’s campaign and advertising consultant Ernie Ross on Thursday in Woodbrook. In a subsequent interview though, Bharath denied calling Dyer-Griffith to any meeting and he also denied being present at any meeting with Griffith, Dyer-Griffith and Ross.

In a telephone interview yesterday, a livid Griffith, who was at the National Panorama semifinals, at the Queen’s Park Savannah, in Port-of-Spain, said that he was surprised that Bharath would be the first to say there was no Cabinet pressure on him to not support West. Griffith also criticised Bharath, claiming that the move to discredit him was a “red herring” designed to push him out of office.

“I do not need to sell my soul for a political seat and I am not begging anyone to stay, I could walk out of the Government tomorrow with my head high,” Griffith said. Griffith said Bharath never contacted him before issuing that statement and was shocked that Bharath would make such damning statements without verifying whether he did in fact say that Cabinet was putting pressure on him not to support West.

“It is surprising and ironic that the Minister of Communication is the first to jump out and make those statements. It is ironic that he of all people would be saying that but you know what they say about people who protest too much,” Griffith said.

He said it was “interesting” that Bharath would make such statements “as if he forgot” what played off between the four of us at a meeting at Ross’ office on Thursday, after news broke that Griffith was in fact maintaining that he would remain a witness against Ramlogan.

“The court of public opinion could judge me and I could keep my head high but I want Bharath to answer to the country what he was doing up in Ernie Ross office on Thursday and why they summoned me and Mrs Griffith to a meeting and what was said there,” Griffith said. “The Minister of Communication lacks the most basic common sense and manners if he cannot contact me before making these statements,” he said.

“Let them continue, I have no intention to lie to protect anyone and I am not going to be pressured to lie,” Griffith said. Despite Griffith’s threats, it was Bharath who drew first blood yesterday when he issued a media statement saying that Griffith’s word and actions had “compromised the integrity of Cabinet”.

Cabinet confusion
Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj said on Saturday that the entire Cabinet could be the subject of a police investigation if it proven that pressure had been applied to Griffith to withdraw his statement in support of West. The media release carried the headline “Bharath: Griffith’s claims ‘false and without basis’ and went on to say that Griffith’s claim that he was pressured by Cabinet was “COMPLETELY false and without any basis whatsoever!”

 “Any suggestion that such a request was made of the National Security Minister at the meeting of Cabinet last Thursday is completely and utterly false. The Cabinet never, at any time, attempted to do as Mr Griffith has claimed,” the release noted.

“In dismissing the claims, Minister Bharath added: “More than Mr Griffith’s claims being completely untrue is the fact that he has, by his actions, compromised the integrity of Cabinet, and has done so without any clear or rational reason,” Bharath’s release said. 

“The irony of these claims are also very stark, when one considers that it is this Government that has done the most to not only maintain, but improve the processes and mechanisms that promote accountability and transparency in Government,” Bharath said.

AG to resign ...Lalla tipped for job

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan is set to resign today and attorney Larry Lalla is expected to be sworn in. The Cabinet change will take place before Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar makes her much anticipated announcement at 4 pm.

According to the Constitution, Cabinet must be made up of the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, so once Ramlogan steps down, Lalla would have to be signed in immediately in order to uphold the Constitutional description of what constitutes a government.

The T&T Guardian understands that Ramlogan has not met with Persad-Bissessar but instead was allowed to send a statement to her following reports that Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Director David West made a complaint to police, accusing Ramlogan of attempting to “pervert the course of justice” by asking him to withdraw his witness statement in a civil matter filed by Ramlogan against Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.

The T&T Guardian was informed that Ramlogan met with three lawyers on Thursday; his private lawyer Pamela Elder SC, Wayne Sturge and Gerald Ramdeen. While both Sturge and Ramdeen were spotted entering Ramlogan’s office on Thursday, Elder refused to comment on “anything concerning the AG”, when contacted yesterday. Key members of the Cabinet met at Persad-Bissessar’s home in Phillpine, South Trinidad up until 4 am Sunday morning, sources said, but Ramlogan was a no show. 

The T&T Guardian understands that he spent the past three days in his gated-community Palmiste home with his family, discussing his next step. The T&T Guardian was told that while Ramlogan appeared crest-fallen, he stands by his denial that he ever sought to bargain the PCA job as an inducement for West to withdraw his witness statement in the defamation case with Rowley.

“He has said that by the grace of God, he would prove this was a move driven by hate and vengeance,” the insider said. In a statement last Thursday, hours after West made his report, Ramlogan claimed the allegation was “part of a wider political conspiracy designed to damage the government as we draw closer to elections.”

National Security Minister Gary Griffith, who has been identified as a witness in West’s complaint, when he claimed that Ramlogan duped him into contacting West to follow up on whether the witness had withdrawn the witness statement as discussed. Griffith had claimed that he did not know the contents of the document he was asked to follow up on with West. 

Griffith said yesterday that has been cleared by investigators and was not a suspect in anyway while the provisions of PCA Act 2006 protects West. Lalla, the T&T Guardian learned has not yet been informed of the confirmation of the appointment but has signalled to close friends that once approached, he would accept. “He is not saying anything until the Prime Minister speaks because he does not want to jump the gun,” a close friend said.

Opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley yesterday criticised all attempts to link Police Complaints Authority Director David West to the People’s National Movement (PNM).  Rowley, in a series to text exchanges with the T&T Guardian yesterday, was also critical of any move to label the growing discord between Attorney General Anand Ramlogan and West as “political”.

West has accused Ramlogan of attempting to “pervert the course of justice” by asking him (West) to withdraw a witness statement he made in support of Rowley in a defamation case between the two politicians relating to the Section 34 fiasco. The reports stated that West was approached to be a PNM senator back in 2012 but refused the offer. 

“I was the Opposition Leader in 2012 and I know of no such authorised development, directly, indirectly,” Rowley said. He said the people attempting to implicate West as a PNM supporter hid behind the “sources” moniker. “As for ‘sources’ say he was likely to take up a key post if the PNM formed the next Government? Once again there is absolutely no basis for this unwarranted speculation,” he said.

Rowley was also disdainful of the people that sought to undermine “matters of a serious nature” with speculation and “busy spreading gossip and rumour to implicate serious people in self serving spin and foolishness and naked lies”. “There has to be some decency and professional trust in this country,” Rowley said. “It is unacceptable and irresponsible,” he said. Rowley said those seeking to paint West with the PNM brush are “creating public mischief”.

“Because of the office I hold, I can speak to those issues and they are fabrication designed to steer the public away from having guilty people be made accountable to the embarrassing truths which now threaten to unmask them all,” Rowley said. He said the attempts to undermine the PNM with these rumours was the work of “specialist loopholer rats on a sinking ship who hope to escape their inevitable drowning”. 

The first evidence hearing for the Commission of Enquiry into the Las Alturas housing project has been postponed because of insufficient witness statements being available. This was confirmed yesterday by the Justice of Appeal Mustapha Ibrahim, chairman of the Commission. This hearing that was scheduled to begin today. “When the parties appeared before me last week, some of the witnesses were either out of the country or could not be found,” Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim stated that there were numerous parties involved in the matter, each of whom need to have witness testimonies. Ibrahim said the Commission decided to postpone the hearing to an undetermined day untill all witnesses could be accounted. “We could not start the hearing of the Commission until we have the statuses in, so that we could have a global understanding instead of a partial one,” Ibrahim said.

On January 26, the Commission held its procedural hearing at the Caribbean Court of Justice, Henry Street, Port-of-Spain. The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) are to be listed as parties to the proceedings. Ibrahim said then to be “party to the proceedings” meant that such a person was entitled to an audience before the commission, to examine and cross-examine witnesses, and make submissions.

Both sets of attorneys said at that hearing that their clients intended to co-operate with the commission, while Martin Andrews of Geotech Associates Ltd and Ian Telfer of C E Management and Services Ltd also confirmed their willingness to participate in the proceedings. Other invited to attend that hearing included Geotech Associates Ltd, C E Management and Services Ltd (CEMAS), S Kistow Engineering Services, and Planning Associates Ltd (PAL).

Pamela Elder, SC, and Jagdeo Singh, instructed by Alvin Pariagsingh are representing the commission. Vincent Nelson, QC, and Larry Lalla are representing the HDC, while Katherine Denbow appeared on behalf of Udecott.

About the enquiry

This Commission of Enquiry was set up to determine if the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) and the Ministry of Housing were at fault while constructing the Las Alturas Towers located in Lady Young Gardens, Morvant. Two multi-storey units of the Las Alturas housing project were severly damaged after construction. The towers, valued at $26 million, had to be demolished. 

According to the terms of reference which sets out the areas of enquiry the three-member commission is expected to conduct into the project, the commission is expected to enquire into “the entire process which led to the construction of the Las Alturas towers at Lady Young Gardens, Morvant, and all other acts, matters or decisions done or undertaken incidental to and including the construction” of the project.

In September, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced a commission of enquiry into the construction of Las Alturas housing project, after raising concerns about the two towers valued $26 million, which had to be demolished. Persad-Bissessar said Dr Keith Rowley, who was a former housing minister under the PNM, as well as Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde, who succeeded him, have distanced themselves from blame.

Rowley has welcomed the probe, but said it would be another waste of millions of taxpayers’ dollars

On January 17, a quiet battle took place among the members of the T&T Defence Force, as soldiers, coast guard and air guard officers pitted against each other to try to impress a 10-year-old boy. The boy, Kamron Hinds, a Sangre Grande resident, is a patient at the Wendy Fitzwilliam paediatric hospital in Mt Hope and is fighting his own battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a form of cancer.

Kamron, who is one of over 50 children being supported in the Just Because Foundation’s “Courageous Kids” programme was diagnosed with the cancer last year. He has experienced intermittent hospital stays, and will most likely miss school until the new term in September as he is treated for his illness. In an interview last week, Kamron’s mother Michelle described her son as a driven young man, who has wanted to be a soldier for as far as she can remember.

Asked why he wanted to be a soldier, she said it was very likely because of the video game Call of Duty.

Realising dreams
The Just Because Foundation, headed by Chevaughn and Noel Joseph, began a “Wishing Well” initiative last year. In an interview at her home in Diego Martin, Chevaughn said the wishing well initiative was about making sure the children had positive thoughts which would contribute to their wellness. “We interviewed the kids last year and one of the  questions was if you had one wish, what would it be,” Chevaughn said.

“We realised that a lot of the things the children wished for, was simple things that we could do. “All the kids have a different dream, a different wish and we will do things one step at a time to make sure we can make their wishes come true.” The programme, which attempts to grant wishes in support of wellness, is a process where children are interviewed and the foundation, through the support of citizens, community members and sponsors, contribute to make a child’s wish come true.

Kamron, isn’t the first child to receive a wish in the programme. Last year, three-year-old Kaelon said all he wanted to do when he grew up was “eat cake.” This wish was granted in the form of a huge birthday cake sponsored by an employee of the Kiss baking company, while 17-year-old Stephon, who always dreamed of travelling to another country, was gifted with a trip to Barbados with his mother. The tickets were donated by Caribbean airlines.

Kamron’s day wish was slightly different to accomplish, but turned into a strategically fun day which he and his brother Keagon still describe as the “best day ever.”

Soldier at heart
Civil Military Affairs Officer of the T&T Defence Force, Major Al Alexander, said the entire Defence Force was more than happy to get involved to grant Kamron’s wish. He said when correspondence was passed on to Chief of Defence Staff Brig Gen Kenrick Maharaj, his only instruction was to go all out to ensure Kamron had a memorable and enjoyable day. “Although we were told Kamron intended to become a soldier, we took the opportunity to show him the entire community,” Alexander said.

“The different arms of the Defence Force got involved, and there was a bit of competition to see who could impress him the most.” Kamron’s day, which he shared with his brother and parents, began with a surprise visit at the hospital, from where he was given a military escort to the Western peninsula to visit the Coast Guard base, at Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas.

He was allowed on to two vessels and witnessed the tail end of an operation. Kamron was then taken to the regiment base at Teteron, Chaguaramas where he had target practice, shooting blanks, before going on a helicopter ride to Piarco to meet the Air Guard. “We are looking at different ways to continue our relationship with Kamron. He is really a soldier to his heart.”

He said the military’s experience with Kamron was a “real feel good moment” for the organisation and was an example of the different ways the organisation could serve the public.

One of every seven men in T&T say it is acceptable to beat their wives if they are unfaithful. This was revealed by a 2013 public opinion survey commissioned by the joint United Nations programme on HIV and Aids (UNAIDS) Caribbean Regional Support Team. The survey found that almost all people consider domestic violence to be an issue in T&T.

In a release last week, UNAIDS presented results which showed relatively high levels of knowledge about recent cases of domestic violence and that a significant proportion of people think wife-beating is justified in certain circumstances. The study was done by Caribbean Development Research Services (Cadres). The survey showed that 92 per cent of Trinidadians think domestic violence is a problem and three-quarters said it was a “major problem.” 

Additionally, about three in 10 respondents say they know of a family member or close friend who experienced domestic violence in the last 12 months (29 per cent). “This is about crime. In most cases it is women who are victims of violence, beatings, rape and murder by their partners,” said UNAIDS Caribbean Support Team Director, Dr Ernest Massiah.  “Too many women suffer this abuse in silence and fear.”

Representative for the UN Women Multi-Country Office—Caribbean, Christine Arab, said gender-based violence was one of the most pervasive forms of violence in the Caribbean and is a threat to citizen security. “Violence in the home is as destructive as street or “public” crime to the individual, the family and the community. There must be recognition and promotion of the critical role of prevention as a systemic response to eliminating violence at all levels of society,” Arab said.

Violence endemic
The release said other findings gave insight into the nature of T&T’s challenges surrounding gender, relationships and abuse. Respondents were asked whether wife-beating is justified in six scenarios. 

“Although the majority of people said ‘no’, a minority thought domestic violence was reasonable in all instances. Significantly, one in seven people (14 per cent) think wife-beating is an appropriate response if a woman sleeps with another man. Another telling statistic is that half of the respondents think that a woman who dresses provocatively could encourage a man to rape her (51 per cent).

“The results of the study demonstrate the perplexing parallel whereby most people generally regard domestic or intimate partner violence as a crime and yet when confronted with it in their communities, believe there is some justification when it occurs. UN Women continues to stress that violence against women and girls is endemic and gender based. As such, violence against women and girls because they are women and girls is unacceptable.”

About the poll
The poll findings were based on a sample of 1,176 face to face interviews conducted in T&T in October 2013 with randomly-selected adults across 29 locations. The sample was nationally representative and the study has a +/- 5 per cent margin of error.

A family of squatters, who blocked the completion of the Southern Main Road upgrade for three months, have finally been removed making way for the roadworks to be completed this week, says Works Minister Surujrattan Rambachan.  In an interview yesterday Rambachan said work on phase 2 of the project would resume today. 

Over the weekend, excavators broke down the wooden structure on Saturday leaving a pile of debris at the site, which fell smack in the middle of the east-bound lanes of the new roadway, near Railway Bar. The move to relocate the squatters came after lengthy negotiations between the Works Ministry and four families who have been living on the land.

The upgrade was done in three phases but while phase one and three were completed since last year, phase two came to an abrupt halt when four squatting families refused to leave their houses. “We were trying to be very co-operative and they were holding back development,” Rambachan said. “We have reconstructed houses for them and some still refused to move,” the minister said.

Rambachan said the ministry had been focused on projects to alleviate traffic and recently completed the Valencia bypass, the Preysal roundabout and the expansion of the Diego Martin highway. He said the next step would be to upgrade the road between the Caroni South Bank Road and St Helena to further alleviate traffic.

The second phase of the main road in Caroni, which was being constructed by Coosals construction company, came to an abrupt halt last year when a group of families situated on the path of the highway refused to move. Most of them had been living on the land for over 10 years. Lynette Ragbirsingh, lived on the land for the past 11 years. “We were illegal on the land. We were squatting on the land. We didn’t have a choice,” Ragbirsingh said.

Ragbirsingh and her children moved off the site before Christmas. Coosals built temporary houses less than 100 feet away from the roadway. The houses are located between the Southern Main Road and the new roadway. Ragbirsingh, though accepting that the move was necessary, said she was disappointed that the ministry had not ensured that her family had electricity and water.

Her sister Kamla Rampersad, who also lived on the land, refused to move until Saturday because she didn’t have electricity.

About the project
The upgrade cost $100 million and was expected to be completed by the end of February. Three contractors— Junior Sammy Construction Company (Jusamco), Coosal’s Construction Company, and Super Industrial Services (SIS)—worked on the project, which was divided into three phases. The development coincides with the construction of the new Motor Vehicle Authority, which was constructed at the old Caroni Rum Distillery, near the Caroni Police Station.

The project created a parallel road to the existing Old Southern Main Road, from the Caroni Bridge to Washington Junction. Two roundabouts were built near the MVA and at Washington Junction. In December last year, Chaguanas West MP  Jack Warner supported residents in a protest over several issues related to the new road. 

He said then there was no easy access for residents to get into and out their villages, like Frederick Settlement, to the road, which looked like a highway and divided by a concrete median. He also said there was no pedestrian crossings, no traffic lights, no walkovers. Since then, a series of traffic lights have been installed, crossing paths and T&TEC are now installing street lights. Pavements and merging lanes have also been constructed at Frederick Settlement.