As tributes continue to pour in for Congress of the People (COP) stalwart Carol Cuffie-Dowlat, MP for Barataria/San Juan Dr Fuad Khan has also added his voice, describing her as nothing short of great.

Khan said he had the privilege of working with Cuffie-Dowlat since 1995 when he first entered politics.

“Carol was known to all as a politician who stood up for principles and morals within the United National Congress, and even when she joined the Congress of the People, she still attempted to bridge the two parties to work under these ideals.

“In the course of this principled struggle one could not fail to see her determination and dedication, not only to uniting these two factions at the leadership level, but also their members,” Khan said.

He said during the founding of the People’s Partnership, and subsequent to the coalition demiting office, Cuffie-Dowlat

contributed important analytical advice and opinion which had a tremendous influence on the working class, youths and intellectuals.

In recollecting memories with Cuffie-Dowlat Khan said, “I remember so often in our conversations, that she had the ability to blend heart and mind on an issue without losing focus on either element.

“ It is clear from the response of persons from varying fields and political parties that Carol had a profound impact on everyone who met her. I personally consider it a privilege to have known and been able to work with Carol for the past twenty years”

He described her as a mother, friend, politician, radio announcer and a proud Trinbagonian, adding that her legacy would

live on through her loving and decades of public service.

“Carol represented all of what is best in the working class and social movement in our country, and is truly an historic figure who will be recognised by generations to come,” Khan added.

T&T is in a time where there are “crucifixions aplenty” as the murder toll continues to spiral. Murders, even those killed on Holy Thursday, and drive-by shootings seem to be the norm.

But, through Christ’s love, there is hope.

This was the Good Friday sermon delivered by Fr Carl Williams, Interim Rector of the Holy Trinity Cathedral Port-of-Spain.

He said violence pervading the country was also a reflection of what was happening in the wider world including chemical weapons used in Syria, Christians beheaded in Egypt and Middle East.

Saying it was important to remember Good Friday and it’s teachings, Williams added, “Good Friday is not simply about remembering a terrible event long ago, but about actually finding our own place at Calvary, that hill just outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.

“If we fail to see the part we play in our world’s pain and brokenness, we miss the deepest truth of Good Friday—the chance to know an unimaginably forgiving love flowing from the cross.”

He said the prisons and death rows were bursting at the seams with people society had abandoned.

The earth itself, Williams added, was also being “crucified day by day” by a human race which was reckless in its refusal to end the carbon poisoning.

Regarding the tough economic times, he said it has left many just barely surviving while greed, selfishness, unforgiving and unrepentant hearts flourished in many people.

“We need to have a joint select committee of politicians, businessmen and women, trade unions, teachers, farm workers etc everyone to look at unequitable parallel income and how we assist persons in earning a decent wage befitting wealth of T&T.

“But if we let ourselves off too easily, and fail to see the part we play in our world’s pain and brokenness, we miss the deepest truth of Good Friday—the chance to know an unimaginably forgiving love flowing from the cross,” Williams said.

But, he urged, that if people saw God’s bottomless love, it was one that would face every hurt.

“And if they see God still keep loving and forgiving us even into death, then something new will begin. The cross is all God has to bring us home.

“God is not an emperor who will coerce, a great manipulator in the sky who will force this world to change. The only power God has to change us and to heal our world is to win our hearts—to show us perfect, unstoppable love, a love that keeps pouring out moment by moment,” Williams said.

He said Good Friday also paved the way for forgiveness as God slowed the world a love that can forgive and heal all.

“ This love is ready to absorb the worst of our lives and what we do to each other, to smother all of it in its unimaginable depths, to free us and to draw us into real lives,” Williams added.

Two Coast guardsmen are among 99 people held during police exercises over the Easter holiday weekend in the Southern Division.

The coast guardsmen were held in separate exercises, both for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol. A report stated that on Saturday, PC Ramsaran and other officers were carrying out a breathalyser exercise at Cross Crossing, San Fernando. Around 3.15 am, they stopped a vehicle that was playing music loudly. The occupant, a coast guardsman from Chatham, reportedly attacked the officers after being asked to step out of the vehicle. He was subdued and taken to the San Fernando Police Station where he was administered a breathalyser test. He is expected to appear before a San Fernando magistrate today on charges of DUI, disorderly conduct, assault and resisting arrest. During another roadblock, a coast guard officer from Granville was arrested for DUI. The officer is currently on suspension from the coast guard.

In the weekend operation coordinated by Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed and carried out by ASP Ali Mohammed, Insp Don Gajadhar, Sgt Ramroop and others, 23 people were on outstanding warrants, four roadblocks were set up, 104 tickets were issued for traffic offences, 76 people arrested for various offences, 10 people were arrested for DUI, 14 drug blocks were searched and 438 stops and searches were done.

On Friday, officers from the San Fernando CID and Southern Division Task Force searched the King’s Wharf area and found a firearm hidden in an old refrigerator. No one was arrested. Around 2.30 am, Sunday, PC Tika and PC Young were searching hotspot areas. On driving through Lucky Street, La Romaine, they saw a known troublemaker in the area walking with a bag in his hand. On seeing the police, the man dropped a bag and ran off. A Glock 17 pistol loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition and a packet containing six grammes of marijuana was found in the bag.

There is no health without mental health which is just as important as physical and spiritual health.

This means that focus must be placed on depression as a common mental disorder that affects people of all ages, from all walks of life in all countries.

Speaking at a workshop on depression at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope last week - PAHO/WHO Country Representative Dr Bernadette Theodore-Gandi described national discussions as timely as she said, “Considering that close to 50 million people in the region of the Americas are living with depression which is about five per cent of the population.”

As the number of people living with depression in the region increased by nearly 17 per cent between 2005 and 2015, Theodore-Gandi said it was appropriate that this year’s celebrations had been launched among a youthful crowd as, “Adolescents and young adults are among the groups particularly affected by depression, along with women who are pregnant or have recently given birth and older adults.”

She added: “Depression causes mental anguish and can prevent people from working and participating in family life and community life. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide.”

With close to 65,000 people dying by suicide every year in the Americas, Theodore-Gandi said T&T was ranked third among countries in the region with a high suicide prevalence rate.

Citing the negative consequences of depression such as high work absenteeism, lower productivity, reduced income, decline in quality and standard of living and family life, increased health costs and welfare expenditure, Theodore-Gandi urged persons to understand that depression was both preventable and treatable.

She said international economic data revealed that by investing US $1 into the scaling up treatment of depression and anxiety, it had led to a US $4 return in better health and a person’s ability to work.

With treatment usually involving therapy or medication, or a combination of both Theodore-Gandi said greater collaboration with the education, employment and social sectors were critical as greater awareness was needed about mental health and reducing the associated stigmas.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is asking the public to hold strain while Government searches for a new vessel for the inter-island ferry service. He made the call yesterday as he said Government refused to be blackmailed into negotiating another five-year contract with the owners of the Super Fast Galicia.

Speaking during CNC3’s Morning Brew as the issue of the public’s woes with the ferry service over the Easter weekend were being discussed, Rowley said the “only assurance” he can give to the people of Tobago is that the Government will do all it can to ensure a proper ferry service is restored as soon as possible.

“The owners of the vessel had taken their boat off the service because the terms that they have demanded of the Government cannot be met,” Rowley said.

“The boat has come to the end of its contract term. The Government had properly sought to negotiate, and in fact there was an agreement confirmed by lawyers that there was an 18-month arrangement in place which would have taken us until October 2017.”

The Super fast Galicia is set to end its run in T&T on Friday after Government refused to enter into a new contract arrangements with its local agent Intercontinetal Shipping.

But Rowley said the situation deteriorated because “the owners have determined that they want a three-year (contract) with a two-year extension.” He said that would have effectively given the owners of the vessel a five-year contract. Furthermore, he said the owners indicated that if that demand was not accepted by the Government “they will pull their boat off the service and they then gave us an ultimatum of Good Friday and that is what we are dealing with now.”

Rowley said the Government found that particular arrangement to be unacceptable. He said the Government would not accept the renewal of such a contract, which he said would have “benefited specific people”.

He stressed: “The Government which I lead will not be so blackmailed and will not countenance that, and that is the cause of the problem.”

Rowley, who was in Tobago for the Easter weekend and was speaking via telephone on the Morning Brew programme, said the Government was now looking for alternative vessels to operate the sea bridge.

He said the recently appointed board of the Port Authority of T&T is tasked with this assignment. He added that the tender process ends on April 24 and at that point the Port Authority will open the tenders to determine what alternative vessels are available and the Government will move expeditiously to choose one of those vessels and to get it to Tobago as quickly as possible, including a vessel from Guyana.

Rowley admitted that in the coming days “there will be some disturbance, there will be some inconvenience.” He said Tobagonians were being asked to “understand what the Government is being asked to deal with, but to rely on the fact that the Government is doing everything possible to solve it in the quickest time.”

He stressed: “The Government is responding to an attempt to extract from the Government and people of T&T the terms and conditions which are unbearable and which are in fact the subject of criminal investigations at this point in time.

He said the Office of the Attorney General was currently “examining the conduct of person or persons who have put the country in this situation and the Office of the AG will report to the country at the appropriate point in time as to what these actions are.” 

GETTING IT RIGHT

In a story on Page A5 of Saturday’s T&T Guardian, headlined, “Ex-prisoner gunned down weeks after freedom,” we inaccurately reported that murder victim Quincy Alleyne has recently been released from prison. Mr Alleyne in fact was never incarcerated. We apologise to his family for the embarrassment caused by error.

A 21-year-old Salybia tradesman charged with a sexual offence against a minor was granted $200,000 bail by a Sangre Grande magistrate yesterday.

Sherlon Pierre appeared before Senior Magistrate Debra Quintyne in the Sangre Grande First Court charged with one count of sexual penetration under Section 18 of the Children’s Act.

The charge was laid by Cpl Felix of the Sangre Grande Child Protection Unit.

When the charge was read to Pierre he was not called upon to plead as the charge was laid indictably.

However, the police prosecutor objected to the granting of bail.

Attorney Jerry Boyer, who represented Pierre, pleaded with Quintyne to be lenient on his client, noting that Pierre was in custody since Sunday and the prosecutor had ample time to conduct a proper investigation and acquire tracing. He said his client should not be deprived of his constitutional liberty due to the inefficiency of the State.

Boyer noted that Pierre had no pending matter, no previous conviction and was not a flight risk. He said he was employed as a tradesman and lived with his parents.

Quintyne then granted Pierre $200,000 bail to be approved by a clerk of peace. She then adjourned the matter to May 11.

It is alleged the victim went on a church camp to Salybia over the weekend. She went on a kayak trip down the Salybia river, but at some stage the accused stop the kayak and asked her to come out. It is alleged the accused then had sex with the victim. The victim subsequently reported to her mother what had happened and they both went to Matura Police Station where a report was made. The Matura police then referred the matter to the Sangre Grande Child Protection Unit.

Cpl Felix took the victim to the Sangre Grande Hospital where she was medically examined. A warrant was then issued for the arrest of the accused and he was held on Sunday.

​​RALPH BANWARIE

A solider and his girlfriend, who are accused of attempting to export a quantity of cocaine hidden in scented candles, have been granted a total of $600,000 in bail.

Collin Clarke, 26, of Cunupia, and Charlene Giles, 24, of Savannah Terrace, Diego Martin, were each granted $300,000 bail after they appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday. They were also given a cash alternative of $75,000.

The couple was arrested during a sting operation set up by members of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau (OCNFB) and the Customs and Excise Division at international courier DHL’s office in El Socorro, San Juan, last Thursday.

They are alleged to have had in their possession a box containing 24 packages of scented candles which were found to contain cocaine. The package, inclusive of the drugs and candles, weighed a total of 1.8 kilogrammes.

Clarke was charged under Section 154 of the Customs Act with attempting to export a prohibited item, while Giles was charged with cocaine trafficking. They were not called upon to plead to the charges as they were laid indictably.

Clarke, who had been enlisted in the T&T Regiment for the past five years, was hit with two additional charges over illegal items found at his home during a routine search after his arrest. He was charged with possession of 50 rounds of ammunition and harbouring a package containing uncustomed goods (items for which no duties were paid) under Section 213 (c) of the Customs Act.

Clarke could not immediately access his bail yesterday, as it did not cover the two charges for possession of the items that were allegedly recovered at his home. He was remanded into custody and ordered to reappear in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court this morning to answer those charges.

Clarke was represented by Collin Partap and Irshard Ali, while Richard Clarke-Wills represented Giles.

The couple will reappear before Forde-John on May 11.

Coast Guard officer David Elton Clement will have to return to court on May 18 to be sentenced, after he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on Good Friday.

Clement, who yesterday appeared before Magistrate Natalie Diop in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court, was also charged with resisting police officer Surjeet Ramcharan in the course of his duties, behaving in a disorderly manner and driving while playing loud music.

He was arrested around 2.55 am on Friday at Lady Hailes, Cross Crossing, San Fernando. He pleaded guilty yesterday to driving under the influence but not guilty to the three other charges.

Clement was represented by attorney Adele Acosta, who told the court her client is very disciplined and was commended in 2016 for his outstanding dedication to his job. She said he was deeply remorseful and embarrassed and he was not one who regularly partakes in consuming alcohol. She said on the night he was arrested, Clement was drinking light beers and was under the mistaken belief that he was not over the prescribed limit based on the type of beverage he consumed.

Acosta said when he was arrested he had gone to the Cross Crossing in San Fernando with his wife to buy gyros to eat, as he thought the food would have lessened the possible effects the light beers had on his system.

She said this was Clement’s first offence before the courts and there was a Chief Petty Office present in court who was willing to speak on his character.

The lawyer said he stood to be penalised by the Coast Guard if he is convicted of this offence and it would affect his promotions within the service. A part of his job, Acosta said, is driving frequently as he liaises with officers of the army and the police service.

Asking that Clement be spared jail time, Acosta said he is willing to consent to community service or a chance to further mitigate. She said he was also willing to attend Arrive Alive sessions so he could be better informed on drinking and its effects.

Police prosecutor Sgt Kassiram Lutchman said tracing was unavailable and asked that the prosecution be granted time to have Clement traced.

Diop granted the request and allowed Clement to remain on the bail he was granted at the police station. She advised him to register with the probation officer’s office in San Fernando yesterday and deferred sentencing for the DUI until a probation officer’s report could be made available.

When Clement returns to court on May 18, a date will set for trial for the other three charges arising out of the same matter.

A Marabella man who said he drank alcohol as a way of coping with the two-year-anniversary of his son’s death was fined $15,000 and had his driver’s permit taken away yesterday, after he was convicted for a third consecutive time for drinking and driving.

Wazir Ramjohn, 52, pleaded guilty to the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and his attorney, Sharmilla Rampaul, told Magistrate Natalie Diop he needed help instead of a custodial sentence.

Ramjohn has two previous convictions for driving under the influence, one in 2010 and one in 2014.

He was arrested when police responded to a road traffic accident along Union Road Marabella around 6 pm on Sunday. When he was interviewed by officers on the scene, Ramjohn admitted he was drinking alcohol. When a breathalyser test was done on him, it showed he had exceeded the 35 microgramme legal limit by 42 microgrammes. He was arrested and charged by WPC Sylvester.

In her mitigation to the court yesterday, Rampaul said her client’s son died on April 13, 2015 and the date he was arrested was close to the two-year anniversary of the death. She said he had been drinking again because of the anniversary.

Asking for a non-custodial sentence, Rampaul said Ramjohn needs rehabilitation and not jail time. She said he needed counselling as his drinking and depression were inter-related. At the age of 52, she said Rampaul had still not been able to deal with his son’s death and would drink alcohol to block off the pain he was feeling.

Rampaul said her client was willing to participate in any programmes, such as Arrive Alive, as he had not done so in the past because his family did not know about such programmes.

Diop said Ramjohn’s court record showed he had two pending matters from 2010 and 2014 and the police had a duty to update their records. After she stood down the matter for prosecutor Sgt Kassiram Lutchman to check the records, she said in the past Ramjohn’s driver’s permit had been taken away by the court and then reinstated sometime later. She told him that no matter how he felt about his personal circumstances, if drinking brings him relief and he opts to drink he must not be on the road.

She said there was minor damage reported from the accident and Ramjohn should know the law as he has been through the system time and time again. She said with his two past convictions, the court needs to send a clear message that his conduct would not be tolerated. She then fined him $15,000 and ordered him to pay $3,000 forthwith, with two months to pay the balance. In default, he will serve two years hard labour.

Diop also ordered that his driver’s permit be taken away permanently and that he be disqualified from holding a permit for life.

Caribbean Airlines (CAL) had to put on seven additional flights on Easter Monday to deal with 952 unexpected standby passengers travelling the domestic route for the long weekend.

On Friday, the airline also had to accommodate 562 standby passengers who showed up at the Piarco International Airport without confirmed tickets to Tobago - for a total of 1514 standby passengers for the weekend.

This was in addition to the 17,500 booked seats the airline had serviced between the two islands from Good Friday to Easter Monday. The inundation is believed to have stemmed from the ongoing woes on the sea bridge.

Confirmation of CAL’s busy weekend came yesterday from head of corporate communication Dionne Ligoure. She said for the weekend the carrier had 17,500 confirmed seats to and from Tobago. However, on Friday she said the airline had to service 562 standby passengers.

“Monday we put on eight extra sectors (four flights), while Monday night we put on three additional flights. In all it was seven flights. If you count... I am just giving you context... that will put it at 952 seats.”

Each flight accommodated 68 passengers.

For the period April 7 to 24, the airline had made 55,196 seats available on the domestic air bridge, she said.

Yesterday, Ligoure said the airline had supplied additional service to deal with the influx of passengers.

“I want to commend the hard working teams at Caribbean Airline for the tireless effort they put out this weekend to ensure that our customers had a positive service experience. What I can say is that the airline has placed priority on the air bridge to ensure that it is carefully and closely managed.”

She said by today she would have a precise figure on how many passengers the airline serviced between Friday and Tuesday.

Ligoure admitted, however, that the carrier had to consolidate flights on the weekend because their loads were low.

“Everybody land up at the airport Friday morning. We put on flights and clear the standbys. So by Friday afternoon we were consolidating flights because the loads were low because everybody had gone already. “

Ligoure said what CAL did on Friday had to be repeated on Monday and yesterday “because you still have a flow of people coming back. Some people would have gone up by boat and decided to return by plane and so on.”

Communications manager of the Inter-Island ferry Service, Vilma Lewis-Cockburn, meanwhile said the port faced no problems with its sailing on Easter Monday, as its operations were back to normal.

“There were no delays or interruptions.”

On Monday there were round trips with the Water Taxi, T&T Express and T&T Spirit, while the Super Fast Galicia sailed from Tobago at 11 pm, which accommodated 100 passengers and trucks with cargo.

Last Thursday, there was frustration for truck drivers as their cargo was turned away, while passengers endured long lines at the Ferry Terminal in Port-of-Spain following a series of cancellation of sailings for the past fortnight.

Yesterday, Lewis-Cockburn said there were two round trips on the sea bridge with far less passengers sailing to Tobago. But she was unable to say how many passengers using the ferries had returned to Trinidad on Easter Monday.

“The thing is, people would go as standby and sometimes it is so many it looks almost chaotic. People would feel we cannot accommodate the volume of passengers.”

She said the T&T Express and T&T Spirit ferries have been operational but not working at their optimum.

“Which suggests that there is still some work to be done on these vessels,” she said.

The Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) has dismissed claims by the Ministry of Education that there has been a marked reduction in violence and indiscipline among secondary school students within recent months.

Responding yesterday, president of TTUTA, Lynsley Doodhai, said he did not believe the data collected by the ministry truly reflected what was happening with students at both the primary and secondary levels.

Doodhai’s comments followed claims by ministry officials that efforts had led to a reduction in the number of incidents of school violence and indiscipline, thus resulting in a decline in the number of suspensions and extended suspensions being sought by principals.

Instead, Doodhai said TTUTA intended to carry out their own investigations to determine the truth, after they were informed by members that the ministry had instructed school principals some time ago, to cut down on the number of suspensions being handed out.

Discounting the data being used by the ministry, Doodhai said, “The teachers who are in schools have been telling us there is no reduction with respect to violence and indiscipline as they point out situations in which students are engaged in deviant behaviour.”

He added, “Some matters are not being dealt with in a forthright manner as some students are not being suspended or penalised as they should for infractions.”

Alluding to a “cover up” by some administrators, he was uncertain if it was a move to protect the respective school’s image or an unwillingness to complete the requisite paper-work - hence, his claim that the data was not representative of what was happening in schools today.

Regarding efforts to rehabilitate students, Doodhai commended the ministry for introducing the Learning Enhancement Centre (LEC) initiative which he described as, “An improvement from the past.”

However, he said much more still needed to be done to reform students.

Doodhai said although the Student Support Services Division was tasked with counselling these students, other efforts were also needed such as curriculum reform.

President of the National Parent Teacher Association, Zena Ramatali, declined to comment as she said their executive was due to meet today and therefore would be unable to say anything until after it was discussed.

The ministry said suspensions were reduced from 5,257 in 2015, to 3,940 in 2016.

Former Senator and attorney Carol Cuffy-Dowlat was described as a one who demonstrated the true meaning of patriotism.

This description was given by Cuffy-Dowlat’s sister-in-law Kimlin Foncette-Edmond during her brief speech during the private funeral service held yesterday at Oasis Greens, Egypt Trace, Endeavour, in Chaguanas. The service was done under Hindu rites and officiated by Pundit Karmesh Sharma.

“For many years Carol gave of her time and resources selflessly to enhance the lives of others. She fought to defend the rights of our citizens based on the principles of democracy, freedom and equality,” Foncette-Edmond said.

Pundit Sharma said he knew Cuffy-Dowlat very well over the years and described her as a loving soul.

During his message, Sharma urged mourners to keep high on their agenda the importance of family and to uphold the magic words of “Love, Forgiveness and Please and Thank you.”

“There is a family and social breakdown but it is up to us to be men to our families, spend quality time with the family. Train our children to be kind and courteous, practice values of saying please, thank you, I love you, please forgive me,” Sharma said.

Cuffy-Dowlat, 60, died on Good Friday (April 14) at 11 pm while warded at the Hibiscus Suite at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mount Hope. She was the mother of Dr Israel Kevin Dowlat and Anderson and grandmother of five.

She took in ill on April 10 and was taken to the Accident and Emergency Department of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex . She was then warded in the Hibiscus Suite until her passing.

Cuffy-Dowlat suffered from a number of medical conditions.

Cuffy-Dowlat began her political career in the early 1980’s with the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) led by Arthur N R Robinson (the Late).

When the NAR party fell apart, she continued with the United National Congress (UNC) with then political leader and founder, Basdeo Panday. At that time, the UNC, which was formed as the result of the split in the ruling NAR in 1988, was also known as Club 88.

During the ruling UNC administration (1995-2000), Cuffy-Dowlat was appointed a Government Senator and served as the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Settlements.

She was also the talk show host of Guardian Media Ltd 106.5 Aakash Vani.

Cuffy-Dowlat also acted in several ministerial positions including: Attorney General, Minister of Legal Affairs and Minister of Housing and Settlements.

In 2002, Cuffy-Dowlat contested against then Prime Minister Patrick Manning (the Late) in the general elections in the San Fernando East constituency.

The following year, 2003, she contested the Les Efforts/La Romaine districts where she served for two Local Government terms.

When the UNC split in 2006, the Congress of the People (COP) was formed by Winston Dookeran.

Cuffy-Dowlat was one of the many politicians that went with Dookeran and in 2010, in the General Election, now on a Congress of the People (COP) ticket, Cuffy-Dowlat sought another attempt to unseat Manning (the Late).

Also present at the funeral was Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein, COP’s Political Leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir, former Political Leader of the COP, Winston Dookeran, former Government Ministers: Chandresh Sharma, Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Bhoe Tewarie and Ramona Ramdial (Couva North MP) and Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan.

Cremation took place at the Waterloo Cremation Site.

T&T is well on its way to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the Draft National Development Strategy 2016-2030.

According to Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis, the report which is expected to be laid in Parliament on Friday, represents hundreds of hours of consultation and collaboration with stakeholders regarding the country’s progress and development.

Delivering the feature address at the start of a seven-day workshop on Sustainable Development Goals Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support (MAPS) Mission at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre yesterday, Robinson-Regis said the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report of 2014 indicated that T&T had achieved and in certain cases, surpassed most of the MDGs set out previously.

Among the benefits listed was the fact that the percentage of persons living below the poverty line of US $1 per day had declined from 24 per cent to 14.8 per cent; extreme hunger was almost eradicated with only 1.2 per cent of the population falling below the minimum level of dietary energy consumption; the achievement of universal primary and secondary education, as well as universal Early Childhood Education had become a reality for all; and tertiary level participation increased from 15 per cent in 2004 to 60 per cent at the time of the country’s report - thereby meeting the set targets.

Robinson-Regis said gender parity at both the primary and secondary level had been achieved, with women surpassing men at the level of tertiary participation.

Acknowledging T&T’s efforts to successfully meet the targets relating to the Consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances which declined from a high of 220 tonnes in 1998 to 34.34 tonnes in 2011, the minister said notwithstanding these accomplishments, T&T remained part of a global community that continues to face an array of challenges including rising inequalities, persistent and entrenched poverty, stubborn conflicts, contagious diseases, climate change and rapid environmental degradation.

She said, “Though these threats increase the vulnerability of all communities, the effects are more deleterious on those with fewer resources and capabilities, those most dependent on ecosystems and least able to exercise their rights to human security, to development, the right for their voices to be heard and the right to dignity.”

Grateful for the continued support of the United Nations team, Robinson-Regis said the immediate goal was a mission report and a summary of the mission including an assessment of the mission’s objectives, roll out, outcomes, next steps and a SDGs Roadmap for T&T, identifying the areas for national development acceleration.

In January, the ministry also initiated the Global Services Promotion Programme geared towards the development of skills via information technology enabled services (ITeS).

A call for proposals was launched via a Skills for Global Services Initiative, inviting businesses to partner with educational institutions and training providers to present proposals, develop skills, create jobs and ensure adequate investment in the pipeline of talent our country needs to transform the economy.

T&T’s National Vision and Strategy aspires that by 2030, the nation will be able to sustain its own development and provide a high quality of life for all citizens and for generations to come.

The Draft National Development Strategy (Vision 2030) provides the framework within which strategies and implementation plans can be developed; presents the broad priorities and the target time periods to achieve them; and provides for an orderly long term development process which is inclusive of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Five themes and outcomes for T&T towards 2030 have been identified including putting people first: delivering good governance and service excellence: partnering with stakeholders; and enhancing the environment.

Revealing that the ministry was currently in talks with stakeholders in the Styrofoam industry to discuss the possible elimination of this product in the food and beverage sector, Robinson-Regis said a State of the Marine Environment Report with an Action Plan has been approved by Cabinet and will be presented to the public soon.

Cabinet approval has also been granted for T&T to participate in the Nagoya Protocol which will allow for the exploration of flora and fauna as natural medicines.

Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat says game wardens have been monitoring social media as several hunters continue to post photographs of dead animals after the closure of the hunting season.

Despite the closure of the hunting season on February 28, several hunters still take to social media to show off their latest catch of wildlife.

The latest photograph that caused a stir on social media was what seemed to be a dead ocelot posted for sale.

Many have also posted photographs of dead iguanas and manicou on various sites.

This act has caused concern among other members on social media who have either caution the hunters about posting the pictures or warn them of possible jail time.

In a brief interview, Rambharat said: “We had a significant increase in the number of warnings and charges laid this hunting season.”

The minister said there were game wardens and 134 honorary game wardens who continued to work. Rambharat said that some photographs which appeared on social media could be from the hunting seasons while others may be illegal hunting.

“Social media is monitored and our wildlife division check questionable situations,”he said.

Rambharat said during the past few weeks, several individuals were charged with having carcasses of animals in their possession after the closure of the hunting season.

Rambharat said three people were charged in the Biche area for having several iguanas in their possession and in a separated incident 15 macaws and an Amazon parrot were seized. Several hunters and other individuals were warned on social media about conducting illegal activities by men who identified themselves as wardens.

According to the ministry, during the period between March 1 and March 31, all persons must dispose of all wild meat in their possession.

WHAT THE LAW STATES

​Under the Laws of T&T, Chap. 67:01 the Conservation of Wild Life

(2) Any person who—a) contravenes subsection (1); or

(b) has in his possession the whole or any part of a

protected animal, is liable to a fine of one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for three months

Tobago Chamber of Commerce chairman Demi John Cruikshank says Tobago stakeholders are still against the idea of the barge operating on the sea bridge.

However, he says the chamber will reserve comment on the MV Provider until the members discuss it officially at meeting today, after which an official statement will be made.

His comment came yesterday, hours after Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan’s announcement that the cargo ship MV Provider and a barge, named the Transporter, would service the sea bridge after the Super Fast Galicia leaves Trinidad and Tobago’s shores tomorrow.

But while Cruikshank was reserving his body’s comment, Tobago House of Assembly Minority Leader and Public Services Association president and Watson Duke is totally against the idea of using both vessels.

Speaking to the media in Tobago at the Scarborough Port yesterday, moments after it was announced the Provider would sail from Sunday, Duke said the specifications of the vessel were not suited for this country

“We are saying no to the MV Atlantic Provider, which is this Guyanese boat, should this boat come to Tobago or to Trinidad, the same port that they now do not want to dredge will have to dredge, because the hull of that ship is about 5.5metres, so therefore that will require the harbour in Port-of-Spain they are avoiding to dredge, they must dredge that harbour, also the harbour in Scarborough would need to be dredged,” Duke said

“That boat is an old boat, 1997. That boat has stability problems. That boat cannot carry passengers, only cargo, that boat has a chequered past, it was arrested in 2015. I could go on about that boat. We do not want that boat here.”

He added, “The capacity of goods that boat can carry is half the amount of the Galicia, where are you going with that? The barge could only carry about 80 cars, where are you going with that? No passengers?”

Duke also said the idea of the use of barge was a slap in the face of Tobagonians, as several stakeholders, including the Tobago Chamber, had rejected the idea during a meeting with Sinanan and even called on the intervention of Prime Minster Dr. Keith Rowley to mediate in the impasse.

“The barge that must be pulled by a tug boat, that will take about 10 to 14 hours to reach Tobago, which gravely diminishes the truckers and pace in which cargo moves between Trinidad and Tobago. It is something we rely on heavily, this barge doesn’t offer the ability for truckers to roll on and to roll off,” Duke said.

Duke visited the Scarborough Port yesterday for a planned protest, but the event never came off as the support he was hoping for never materialised. He instead took the opportunity to interact with stranded passengers who had been at the port for more than 12 hours. This after the scheduled 12 pm sailing of the T&T Spirit was rescheduled to 4.30pm, but never left Tobago until 7.30 pm.

Duke called on Rowley to apologise to Tobago for telling the nation to “hold strain” while the Government sorted out the inter-island ferry issue, noting sea bridge transportation should be more reliable

“We are calling on the Prime Minister to make the air bridge and the sea bridge safe and reliable again. Freedom of movement is a constitutional right to be enjoyed by all of us, even the little child among us,” he said.

Efforts to reach THA Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles were unsuccessful as he did not answer calls to his cellphone.

Joint Select Committee chairman Wade Mark says they are preparing to make recommendations to impose sanctions on entities which do not comply with recommendations and requests from the JSC.

Speaking at a press conference in Parliament after the JSC meet the National Gas Company executive yesterday, Mark said at present all the JSC could do was “name and shame” those culpable.

“We may have to come to a point where we will have to recommend that the State Enterprise Performance Manual become a legal document because right now it is only a set of guidelines,” Mark said.

He said at a committee meeting on September 7, 2016, the Sport Company of T&T, Community Improvement Services Ltd, Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), PLIPDECO, Solid Waste Management Company Ltd and NGC were examined by the committee.

Among the significant issues were lack of approved strategic plans for the current period, absence of internal audit units and late submission of audited financial statements to Parliament.

Mark said under the committee’s standing orders there was a provision that gave the State enterprises 60 days to respond in writing to the committee’s recommendations and how this would be implemented.

“So far we have been able to get positive responses,” Mark added.

Asked if the committee’s recommendations were rejected, Mark said this was not the case thus far. He said despite staff challenges, the committee monitored the entities to determine if recommendations were implemented.

Pressed on what penalties could be imposed on entities that do not adhere to Parliament requests, he said decisive action would be taken, adding, “At the end of the day, a line minister is responsible for those entities. So if any entity has defied us we go to our superiors and seek their guidance. This is the only way we can move forward.”

This is why he said it was critical to get the idea of real sanctions implemented.

Asked about making those who previously appeared before the JSC and were no longer members of a State company responsible for their negligent actions, member Jennifer Baptiste-Primus said all State enterprises must adhere to Parliament’s guidelines otherwise Cabinet would have to take decisive action.

“When we sit here as a committee, one of the most irritating factors is that we are in 2017 and we have to look at reports from 2009 to 2008 to 2006, ... therefore it is historical information we are dealing with,” she said. 

“As we go forward, we have to ensure that the present persons who sit on State enterprises understand their roles and adhere to those guidelines and they are going to be held to those guidelines.”

The T&T Electricity Commission owes the National Gas Company US$516 million (TT$3.5 billion), another $15.9 billion was paid out through multiple dividends in one year and millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money was mismanaged via unnecessary community projects from 2012 to 2015.

These issues have significantly weakened NGC’s financial structure and put it in a state from which it is still trying to recover, the company’s president, Mark loquan, told a Public Accounts  (Enterprises) Committee meeting yesterday.

During the meeting in Parliament, Loquan told the committee, chaired by Wade Mark, that there has been no revised agreement between T&TEC and NGC since 1994. The bill still to be paid by the energy supplier was equivalent to TT$3.5 billion, he said. He said T&TEC has not been making payments on a regular basis, hence the reason for the hefty arrears.

But Loquan said solutions for a new contract agreement were now being explored, but final prices were yet to be determined.

“The T&TEC contract has not been in place since 1994, so this is an area where NGC continues to supply gas for power and has not been able to receive payments on a regular basis and has led to arrears and underpayment back to the NGC for gas,” Loquan said.

Regarding exorbitant dividend payments which were made when Indar Maharaj was president, chairman Gerry Brooks told the committee dividends were paid 11 times in some cases during one year.

“The company paid in 2012 $1.2 billion, in 2013 $4.2 billion, in 2014 $ 3.79 billion and in 2015 $6.8 billion,” Brooks said.

“The profit in 2012 was $4.42 billion after tax and the dividends paid $4.2 billion. In 2013, $3.7 billion in dividends was paid...the profitable tax is $3.8 billion. That is a clear violation of the State Enterprises’ Manual by the then directors.”  

Brooks said in 2013 there were 11 dividend payments, eight in 2014 and a “significant “ number of payments in 2015. In comparison, for the period 2009 to 2011, $1.17 billion was paid in dividends.

The committee also heard that $90 million was spent on a strategic plan for 2016 to 2020 under the pervious administration. When asked to identify the company which was awarded the contract for the plan, Brooks said he preferred to put this in writing.

Brooks and the new board members took up positions in late September 2015. Yesterday, he said his new executive was finalising a strategic plan for 2017 to 2020.

The committee was also told that wages and salaries moved from $338 million to $623 million between 2014 to 2015. Total staff cost was also increased from $433 million in 2014 to $ $750 million in 2015. The NGC has 1047 employees.

VP, Finance and Information Management Narinejit Pariag said salaries and compensation costs increased during that period, as there was a lag of market adjustment.

The company also received $4.5 billion in claims directly related to gas curtailment in the 2010 to 2015 period, which NGC is currently challenging in court. Regarding penalty provisions so that NGC could also sue conglomerates for shortfalls, Brooks said “a root to branch” review of such agreements was needed.

The committee also heard that company’s general budget for community expenditure was $22 million in 2011 but in 2012 rose to $40 million, $53 million in 2013, $81 million in 2014 and $73 million a year later. This represented $247 million over a four-year time span. On top of this, the committee was told the company spent $370 million on roadworks and upgrade of recreational facilities, which had nothing to do with NGC’s core business.

A solider accused of attempting to export a quantity of cocaine hidden in scented candles was yesterday granted bail on charges of ammunition possession and possession of uncustomed goods.

Collin Clarke, 26, of Cunupia, who was granted $300,000 bail after appearing in court on Tuesday charged under the Customs Act with attempting to export a prohibited substance, made a second court appearance in the Chaguanas Magistrate’s Court yesterday to answer separate charges over illegal items allegedly found at his home last week.

He was charged with possession of 50 rounds of ammunition and harbouring a package containing uncustomed goods (items for which no duties were paid) under Section 213 (c) of the Customs Act.

Senior Magistrate Joanne Connor granted Clarke $100,000 bail to cover the charges.

Clarke and his girlfriend Charlene Giles, 24, of Savannah Terrace, Diego Martin, were arrested during a sting operation set up by members of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau (OCNFB) and the Customs and Excise Division at international courier DHL’s office in El Socorro, San Juan, last Thursday.

They are alleged to have had in their possession a box containing 24 packages of scented candles which were found to contain cocaine. The package, inclusive of the drugs and candles, weighed a total of 1.8 kilogrammes.

Clarke was charged under Section 154 of the Customs Act with attempting to export a prohibited item, while Giles was charged with cocaine trafficking. They were not called upon to plead to the charges as they were laid indictably.

Clarke, who had been enlisted in the T&T Regiment for the past five years, was hit with two additional charges over illegal items found at his home during a routine search after his arrest.

The couple will be tried for the drugs charges in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court while Clarke will face the other charges in Chaguanas. Clarke is being represented by Collin Partap and Irshard Ali.

Hugging each other and weeping uncontrollably as they held on to their crying children, retrenched Caroni Green Ltd (CGL) workers yesterday left their workplace for the last time facing an uncertain future.

With the return of property tax fast approaching, the workers, many of them women, said they were fearful about how they would feed their families.

With a tough job market now existing, many of the 77 employees who received their retrenchment letters at the company’s Brechin Castle, Couva office yesterday said they were unsure they would find new jobs.

Many of them are single mothers and men from rural communities in Waterloo and Cunupia, who live where the CGL farms are located.

For Darsan Nanan, however, it was the third time he had to go through the pain of being severed from employment. The former Caroni (1975) Ltd worker was forced out of a job when government closed the company in 2003. After finding employment at ArcelorMittal, where he toiled in the furnace, he was once again sent on a job hunt when the steel plant closed in 2016. It was only six months ago that Nanan found hope as a harvester in CGL, only to be sent home yesterday with $5,853 to take care of his bedridden wife and children.

“They gave us a letter of termination which stated that Caroni Green Ltd will be closing down and this is what they paid me. I used to harvest sweet peppers, fill crates, cutlass and plant in the Union farm. God alone knows right now,” a distraught Nanan told the T&T Guardian.

He added: “I used to work ArcelorMittal and I got retrenchment there too after 12 years’ service. When they gave me my retrenchment letter, I heard about Caroni Green and I ended up getting a work here.

“It is hard now because my madame is sick at home and our children are going to school. I have two girls, seven and 12 and I have no source of income. I am 54 years old and people don’t want to give you work.”

Mother of five Nikita Sankar cried as she noted her husband did not have a permanent job and all their children were in school. Sankar said the retrenchment had left her angry, sad, frustrated and disappointed, as it is hard to get a job these days.

She said after learning of the impending closure, she tried looking for another job but got nothing. Sankar and her family now face an uncertainty.

With her voice crackling with emotion, Deokie Budhoo said she did not think she would be able to fulfil her son’s book list when the new school year arrived.

“I used to pick eight crates of peppers a day. This is very sad and I just have to go home. Where can we go from here?” Budhoo said.

Anil Saran meanwhile said Government should have sought other options besides closing down CGL. He said if there was bad management that should have been dealt with so that the workers would not have suffered.

Chairman: $2m payout

CGL chairman Jerry Hospedales says 77 workers (63 farm workers and 14 monthly paid) were terminated in yesterday’s exercise, with workers with tenures of six months and up receiving ex gratia payments.

He said payments totalling close to $2 million comprised of a cash alternative to their vacation leave, 45 days service in lieu of their notice and a fortnightly pay based on the calculations under the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act.

Hospedales said many of the employees had worked in the company for less than a year. However, three employees are being kept to assist in the liquidation and finalising the closure.

Employees said CGL was left with almost a year’s supply of hot peppers and paw paw for export. But Hospedales said in order to ensure that the existing crops were not lost, they had kept 19 employees to man the Mon Jaloux and Union East estates from April 20 until the Ministry of Agriculture provided further instructions.

CGL CEO Sharma Lalla meanwhile maintained there was no basis for Government to close the 30-month-old company. He said the improvements that had been made in this time were unparalleled in the agriculture sector.

He said CGL had made a profit in 2016 and audit reports which are due soon will prove him right.

Last month, Government announced the closure of CGL, which was formed three years ago under the People’s Partnership administration.

During a post-Cabinet media briefing, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said CGL was spending $6 million to produce 700,000 peppers and faced private sector competition. He said Government should instead support farmers to grow peppers.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said CGL had a broken business model and had poor performances over the last three years. He said for the 2015 financial year, CGL reported revenues of just $700,000 while administrative expenses, including salaries, cost taxpayers $6.7 million.

A recommendation has been made to the Ministry of Education (MOE) by the National Primary School Principals Association (NAPSPA) for a change in the school hours for primary school pupils as one way to further reduce injury and indiscipline among students in schools.

Although Education Minister Anthony Garcia has described the idea “one which merits great consideration,” he agreed that it requires extensive consultations with major stakeholders such as the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) and the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) before any permanent changes can be effected.

Admitting it would be a change in policy at the ministerial level, Garcia yesterday urged persons not to rule it out as the Ministry of Education continued to explore various ways and means of minimising the incidents of violence and indiscipline among students.

Speaking with reporters following a mid-morning meeting with the NAPSPA executive at the ministry in Port-of-Spain, Garcia insisted, “There has been a decrease in the incidents of violence and indiscipline in our schools, but we do not want to stop there.”

“We want to ensure that we continue to do everything so that our schools will be safe places where our principals, our teachers and our students can operate,” Garcia went on.

Articulating their support was NAPSPA president, Cogland Griffith, who sought to explain how the suggestion was conceptualised.

He said, “As regards indiscipline, we can adjust the lunch hour. The lunch period is the teachers’ time and we want to respect that, but we feel that if we have a shortened lunch period, we can reduce the incidents of indiscipline and violence at the school.”

Revealing that information had been taken from some private schools in Trinidad where the lunch hour had been reduced to just 30 minutes, Griffith said, “They have seen a reduction in the violence and some of the primary schools on pilot project who have done that successfully have seen a reduction.”

He said the 30 minute break would facilitate students having lunch in the classroom, before going out to use the washroom and returning to class.

Griffith said changes to the school hours would also allow teachers to leave school earlier, “They are getting home earlier and have time to prepare.”

He said this would also facilitate a more integrated approach where after-school programmes and home-work centres could be introduced and run by persons from within the community, thereby increasing the vested interests of those in and around the area.

Pressed to say if the idea had been proposed to teachers, Griffith replied, “I could see most teachers welcoming that, especially if they live far away from the school.”

Assuring parents that students would continue to have two 15-minute breaks during which they could socialise with each other, Griffith asked, “Do you prefer their hands are broken if that is the socialising they do? They have time to play. There are programmes in the school itself that allows for all of that such as physical education, character development and a host of other things that is for them.”

Pointing out that times had changed, Griffith said, “We need to give things time to develop,” adding that after-school programmes would cater to persons who remain after school is dismissed.

“People are willing to partner with schools to come in and do things voluntarily. Whether we believe T&T to be a bad place, there are people and agencies just waiting to come in. Drama, cricket and cub-scouts are free and for persons in certain communities who do not want to be there after a certain time, they can be out of there by 4 o’clock, but we have to give it some time.”

Garcia is set to meet with all school principals very early during the next term and Griffith is hopeful that other issues such as funding, the curriculum, and student/teacher support will also be discussed.

Discussions yesterday also centred around the 2018 National Test which was currently under review; the format of the Secondary Entrance Assessment; the move by the Ministry of Health to completely ban soft drinks and other beverages high in sugar from schools; the role of sports and its impact in the classroom; and the standardisation of school reports in order to facilitate the easy transfer of students throughout the system.

On the topic of reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, Griffith proposed, “We have an alternative. We feel that it shouldn’t just be removing it directly but incrementally.”

In January, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh announced a ban on soft drinks at all government and government assisted schools as part of their attempt to reduce childhood obesity and tackle the early onset of non-communicable diseases.

Bans were also introduced on sport and energy drinks, tea, coffee and milk-based drinks with added sugars and artificial sweeteners.

Commending primary school principals for the yeoman service they provide in addition to ensuring the smooth operation of their respective institutions, Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr. Lovell Francis said they had witnessed some innovative measures being introduced at schools in Tobago, which they were eager to replicate in Trinidad as strong leadership was a critical component needed to successfully run a school.

Francis said they had begun experiencing success with the Morvant/Laventille Improvement Project, evident by the fact that the Port-of-Spain and Environs school district had begun recording lower level of violence and indiscipline among students within the past year.

He attributed this to strengthened relationships with parents and community personnel working together to tackle the roost causes of juvenile delinquency, adding that it would be impossible to keep increasing the numbers of guidance counsellors and social workers.

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Principal Association not happy

Unhappy with the continued suspension of the principal of the Mayaro Government Primary School, Andy Paul - NAPSPA is calling for a speedy resolution in the matter which is still under investigation by the Ministry of Education.

Paul was suspended earlier this month, following an incident at the school in which a student’s arm was broken.

Providing an update following yesterday’s meeting, Griffith said they were “comforted” by the discussions relating to the matter.

However, he admitted, “We still feel that there has been a breach in process and we are looking forward to a speedy resolution of the matter.”

Paul was reportedly instructed by the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to cease reporting for duty while an investigation was conducted into the circumstances surrounding the injury suffered by a student on February 1.

The suspension was allegedly done in accordance with provisions of Regulation 88 of the Public Service Commission Regulations Chapter 1:01.

School security working

Satisfied with the current level of safety and security in primary schools, Garcia said, “They evidence shows that what we have in place is in fact working, in spite of what is being said otherwise. We have been able to secure a reduction in the incidents of indiscipline among our students both the primary and secondary level and the data supports that.”

Garcia blasted naysayers who criticised claims by the ministry that suspensions were down as a result of stricter measures when he said, “It isn’t statements we are making just as we pull them out of a hat.”

On Tuesday, TTUTA officials dismissed the ministry statistics as they said it was not a true reflection of what was happening with students in the system, as they claimed school principals had been told to reduce the number of suspensions being handed out.

Griffith said there continued to be isolated cases being highlighted in the media, which had served to create a public perception that students were out of control and that violence and indiscipline was not being properly addressed.