The Independent Liberal Party (ILP) has proposed a list of measures to address crime to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, including enforcement of the Education Act to deal with truancy.
The proposal comes one day after Rowley led a team of government officials to engage Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her team in crime reduction talks.
In a release yesterday, ILP chairman Dominic Romain, said the party believed the issues of crime, national security and public safety were serious matters that should not be made the subject of political games and semantics but should lead to workable solutions to national problems.
The party, which was founded by a former government minister Jack Warner, is currently being led by attorney Rekha Ramjit.
The party said based on its observations, research and study, it had identified the  issues which need urgent attention.
Below are the ILP’s proposals.

1. Establish special courts for gun and drug offences and remand courts at the prisons to assist in clearing the backlog of cases that are awaiting trial. This will provide the added benefit of freeing up scarce financial resources that are spent on prison transport but which could be more productively and effectively applied, for example, in offender rehabilitation programmes and addressing other gaps in the social services system.

2. Addressing the problems that are hampering performance of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) must be another high priority. This includes the issue of “Acting” leadership of the TTPS, remuneration and benefits of officers in the protective services, overall lack of resources and the need for modern crime fighting technology.

3. The ILP also believes that legislation to protect Whistle Blowers is an important tool for combating white collar crime and institutionalized, systemic State corruption which facilitates other types of crimes and which simultaneously facilitate criminal activity such as the importation of guns, drugs and other contraband.

4. The full resources of the protective agencies should be immediately deployed to all known drug blocks and brothels. It is an insult to the concept of good governance that dens of iniquity can be identified and spoken about openly by everyone, and yet no action is taken.

5. The review, update and enforcement of Part III of the Education Act which contains provisions for dealing with truancy, offences arising from contributing to truancy and failure to ensure that children who are of compulsory education age (between six and 12 years) are in school when they are supposed to be.
Part III of the Education Act places the jurisdiction for enforcement of compulsory attendance in the hands of School Attendance Officers, and School Supervisors, in conjunction with School Principals. All effort must be made to ensure that this system is in place and functioning.
We further submit that a department should be established within the Ministry of Education to monitor student and teacher attendance and to “flag” incidents that require investigation, enforcement and follow up.

Mr Minister, you have been a teacher for 39 years. How did that experience compare with the almost one year you have so far been in charge of the T&T’s education system, which includes a teaching fraternity, which has a staff of some 25,000 personnel?

A: (Garcia was in a sombre mode. It was around 6 pm and he had just chaired meeting at the ministry’s newly-opened headquarters on lower St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain).

Those years I spent as a teacher and principal were enjoyable and it is difficult to make a comparison but in one word this has been a challenge and it has been made easier as I enjoy my present dispensation without the slightest doubt. My biggest challenge has been ensuring the incidence of violence and indiscipline in our schools is brought to a halt and I have been successful where this has been concerned.

It is a fact that we have not seen any such cases recently in the media. Are you willing to say these incidents are now in the past and are you willing to put your head on the block in this instance?

I am keeping my fingers crossed. At the ministry we have been working closely together to ensure that our objectives and those of the government are met, and our technical staff has been giving us tremendous support. I do not want to put my head on any block because I may (smiling gently, tapping the edge of his desk) get my head chopped off. We are indeed working on school-based programmes ensuring all the stake holders are engaged in having our children taught in a safe environment.

Mr Garcia, I have the perception that you have been receiving your fair share of criticism in the operations of your ministry, particularly from some radio talk show hosts...

In what area?

Generally…

I don’t share your perception that I have been receiving a lot of negative publicity, of course there are those who will criticise whatever you do. The former Minister of Education is one in point, Dr Tim Goopesingh. Anything I say, anything I do, he jumps up to criticise, seeming to forget he is no longer the Minister of Education. In terms of what comes across in the media, I think it has been quite positive.

It is a little late in the game to ask how you set about achieving some of the ministry’s priority objectives but...

In collaboration with Dr Francis Lovell and the ministry’s technocrats we have set out to put several plans consistent with our party’s manifesto which has been made government policy which includes the laptop initiative for example.

Isn’t that one of the areas in which you have been criticised?

I got criticised by a few but the great majority have told me they appreciate and under-stand...complimenting us, because it was a colossal waste of resources, financial and human. It was not used as a support of the schools’ curriculum and in fact one of the policies is that we must infuse ICT technology in our education system. That was not helping us in that direction.

So we had to come up with a five-point ICT plan which includes the use of laptops but in a different way...we are not giving them to school children, they will remain in the schools which was one of the things we set out to achieve.

What were the major findings which militated against the children taking the laptops home?

They were being used by the children for playing games, teachers were not adequately trained in their use and the schools themselves were not fully equipped to facilitate their integration into the schools themselves.

But Mr Garcia there have also been findings that laptops can be valuable tools used in the classrooms.

Yes, when they are used properly.

Getting back to this question of public opinion on which I gather you are placing a more than usual emphasis. Why are you so keen on this matter?

Okay. We value the feedback we receive from the general public and on this issue of the school nutrition programme on which we propose to launch an audit. The original policy of this programme was, and still remains, that the children who are genuinely in need of these meals are the principal beneficiaries. These children will be identified and this information will be sent to the programme administrators and what we have decided in this dispensation is to ensure there is a greater supply of local content.

Has the Ministry found any deficiencies in this programme?

There was some concern about what was fed to students and we want to ensure the meals are healthy. Over the last few years there have been some concerns about wastage...murmurings here and there, about some practices that were not in accordance with the objectives of the programme, value for money and as a result Cabinet has decided on an audit of the school feeding programme.

Gate, Mr Garcia, as you are well aware, this has been the subject of wide public discussion, or controversy or what have you.

Yes...yes. Very well this has been...I can safely say that Gate was subjected to a high degree of wastage.

When you say wastage you know there is a sort of thin line between wastage and fraud?

No I am not saying fraud. The evidence is there of a number of students who had accessed Gate funding and they were not using that opportunity to improve their studies.

Isn’t that a fault with the administering of the programme, Mr Garcia?

Well over the years—and I am not blaming of the previous operators—Gate has been here for several years and some students were not adapting themselves to serious studies. Too many of them were liming, not making full use of the opportunities.

You know Mr Garcia I recently interviewed several UWI lecturers who all said the programme was subjected to abuse.

Well in terms of deficiencies I think the problem was with those persons who did not use it for the purposes intended. Allow me, Clevon, to make this other point. There was the hopping of programmes. In other words, they would sign up for programme X and then jump to programme Y.

Wasn’t that an attempt to defraud the programme?

I do not know what was the mindset that existed among some people who felt there was the need to be perennial students. The longer they spent at the university it appeared to be better for them. I know some of them who were going to the university for the last 12 years.

Mr Minister, I don’t know if you feel you should be politically correct in answering that question but surely you don’t think it was deliberate attempts to abuse the programme?

I don’t know about deliberate attempts but I do know it was subject to abuse. There were many deficiencies in the programme and it was being referred to...I am trying to remember the way it was described ...but a number of persons who could have afforded to pay for their tertiary education. Everybody was able to access Gate.

Would you say then, Mr Minister, it was a free for all?

(Ironic smile ) It was a free for all, yes, and that is a nice term to use, free for all. If the Government is about to provide assistance to students, especially in a time when our finances are not as they used to be, obviously we have to look at it more closely.

Do you agree that if the money was as bountiful as it used to be there wouldn’t be this kind of concern about the operation of Gate at this time?

Clevon as a responsible government even if we had the money we would still have put it to good use.

Tricia Carribon has given life to her son Mikkel Wilson twice. The first time was some 17 years ago when he was born. The second was in January last year when Carribon gave one of her kidneys to Wilson after he suffered renal failure.

“To say thank you to her for what she did would almost be like not enough because I mean she gave me life and then saved it. 

“So being able to put it in words which someone else could understand is kind of hard, so it is almost like if you watching a movie and a character says ‘I am eternally grateful.’ Well it is something like that,” Mikkel said.

Last Sunday, Guardian Media launched Gift of Life, a campaign to promote public awareness about organ donation and transplant with the aim of encouraging citizens to augment this country’s donor pool. 

This week the T&T Sunday Guardian focuses on two mothers who gave their kidneys to save the lives of their children.

Like Carribon, Nalini Narine also stepped up when her son needed her most. 

She donated her kidney to her son, Aaron, who suffered from renal failure when he was only 17 days old. On June 29 Aaron celebrated his 17th birthday due in large part to the donation of his mother’s kidney.

While the paths of Mikkel and Aaron, who are both aged 17 have been different, one constant in both their lives is the unconditional love of their mothers. 

A mother’s love

In September 2013, Mikkel, who was described as a “relatively normal 14-year-old schoolboy” by his mother, had just started Form Four at Trinity College in Moka, Maraval, when he started to complain about cramps in his hand and lost his appetite. Tricia carried him to the family’s doctor and blood tests were done.

That was when Wilson’s life changed.

“When my mom got the results back she was on work and they just came and picked me up from school in the middle of the day and she told me about the results while we were in the car. 

“I was not sure what it meant at the time and I only understood what was going on when we were by the doctor and he was talking and he referred me to (the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex) Mt Hope because he said with results like this, it was beyond his field,” Wilson said.

After he was admitted to hospital it was determined that he had end stage renal failure and both of his kidneys were not functioning. 

Tricia said it was a “confusing” time for them.

“It did not have a major lead up. We went from home to living in the hospital for four or five days. I was confused and I said I needed somebody to explain this to me properly. I started research, I even wrote a doctor in Jamaica because I was just looking for answers and trying to understand what was going on,” she said.

“During that period we found out about the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU) downstairs and when I went to find out about it I thought, well you put your name on the list and something would happen and you would get a kidney but then I found out it does not work like that. 

“There are hundreds of people on the list and you have to be extremely lucky to get a donor that matches you,” she said.

Tricia said NOTU staff informed her that the family were a likely match. Her mind was made up.

“That is when I started the process of getting tested to see if I was compatible and it worked out that I was,” she said.

She decided to transfer Wilson out of the Moka school to one closer to family. She went to a popular Port-of-Spain college but was not seen by anyone there, so on the advice of a friend she went to St George’s College in Barataria to see if she could get Wilson transferred there.

The school’s principal James Sammy “saw me without hesitation”, she recalled.

“He told me, ‘You know what, I don’t have any more room in my school but I will make room for this child. Life has dealt you a real negative blow and I’m not going to turn him down’. That was a mind blowing experience,” she said.

Wilson started school there in January 2014. He had started dialysis the month before and did for just over a year.

“For the whole year he did dialysis he had to leave school twice a week. I had to take him up on a Wednesday around 1 pm, do dialysis, finish dialysis around 7 pm, and then on Saturday we would do the routine again. That particular year was real rough. He missed classes, he got schoolwork from friends,” she said.

In January 2015 Wilson got the kidney transplant.

“When he got my kidney he was away from school for that entire term, so he missed school from January to March. He went back after the Easter term and he tried to catch up with his school work,” she added.

Wilson got seven passes in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exam this year and will be starting Sixth Form at St George’s College tomorrow. He will be doing Chemistry, Biology and Food and Nutrition. 

“I was just happy that I was a match, that we were compatible. Of course he is getting an older person’s kidney so from reading literature and stuff kidney transplants most likely don’t last forever. 

“They have a life span of 12 to 15 years,” she said. 

“You can have multiple kidney transplants in your lifetime. It is something I don’t like to think about as a parent. I don’t have any more to give to him. Who will be down the road? I always try to think positive and try to promote positive eating habits because it is one kidney we both have.”

Not only does Wilson have a new lease on life he also has plans for the future.

“I want to go into genetic engineering. I am not sure if I want to get into the food and crops aspect or the medicine aspect but there are pathways to do both because I really like the aspect to helping people and that is where the genetic engineering comes in,” he said.

“To me being a doctor is helping people but the type of help I want to do is on a grand scale. With genetic engineering there is the creation of new drugs and making them cheaper for persons who cannot afford the expensive drugs.”

Against all odds

When Aaron Narine was 17 days old he suffered renal failure. Because his mother donated a kidney, Aaron was able to celebrate his 17th birthday on June 29.

“When we actually found out he had a problem with his kidneys he was just 17 days old. That is how long he has been battling it,” she said. Narine said she realised something was wrong with Aaron when he started to get extremely high fever.

“At that moment we took him to the emergency department and they ran their tests but they did not know it was actually his kidneys. They thought it was just an infection,” she said.

“When they found out he became really critical and he spent a few days in the Intensive Care Unit and they ran a lot of tests,” she said.

“Over the years he was on medication, in and out of hospital, sometimes two weeks, sometimes a month,” she said.

In September 2010 Aaron got his kidney transplant. He was only 10-years-old at the time and was one of the country’s youngest transplant recipients.

Narine said even though doctors wrote off her son’s survival she never stopped believing. Aaron was in primary school when he had the transplant done. Physically he recovered quickly.

“It affected his school life. Being that young he was in and out, he missed a lot of school and that caused him to write the Secondary Entrance Assessment examination really late, two years ago. He was like 15-year-old when he wrote SEA,” Narine said.

Aaron will enter form three of the Tunapuna Government Secondary School tomorrow. 

He is expected to choose CSEC subjects this year.

“In his school life he has had a lot of setbacks so it is slow but we still have him going with the pace and trying to do whatever he could do,” Narine said.

NOTHING TO LOSE

Former health minister John Rahael said deceased organ donors have nothing to lose.

“A lot of these persons who have died from gunshots, some of them are young and their organs are still very good organs. Obviously if they die they have nothing to lose, but to help their other fellow man to live, so it is really saving a life. When you give an organ to someone else you are saving that person’s life and it is at no cost to you and it does not affect the organ donor,” Rahael said.

Rahael praised Dr Lesley-Ann Roberts and NOTU staff for the work they have been doing in this country.

He said when he was health minister he signed up to become an organ donor. He is urging others to do the same.

Rahael said once the population is educated about organ donation he is certain people would sign up.

To date 155 transplants have been done through the NOTU, with some 26 from deceased donors. There are 101 people who do not have donors and are hoping to benefit from a deceased donor. 

According to the NOTU, approximately 500 nationals are in need of kidney transplants and that number grows by approximately 40 every year with a “very large number” of them dying annually while waiting.

Wednesday will make it one year since the People’s National Movement (PNM) led by Dr Keith Rowley won the general election and took over the governing of the country from the People’s Partnership coalition. 

Here political analysts grade the Government’s performance in seven key areas and comment on how they have managed the country over the last 12 months.

Dr 

Maukesh Basdeo: 

In addition to setting up a joint border protection agency and strengthening the police service, better handling of the economy and crime would have assisted the Government’s performance. 

Adoption of an intelligence-led national security model and immediately developing a policy on prison management upon assuming power would have also made a difference. 

Engage criminal justice stakeholders to re-engineer the structure to provide an efficient and legitimate system as the foundation for crime prevention, law enforcement and protection of human rights is another area that could have improved the Government’s rating.

RATINGS

Crime/Security 4/10

Education 5/10

Health 4/10

Economy 5/10

Sports 5/10

Accountability 5/10

Transparency 5/10 

Professor John La Guerre:

The process of adjustment by the population will be the most challenging problem facing the Government in the future. People got accustomed to a particular method of governance over the years and will have to adjust to the changes of the current environment. One such expectation is free education which is very rare in the world. 

So far, there have been some reassuring statements and initiatives but I think we need a clearer vision of what kind of challenges we are expected to face in the coming years and how we are going to address them. It is important to have a clear economic policy in moving the country forward which is also crucial for investment. There has not been any clear statement on what the investment plans of the Government were but felt it was an area which government should try to clear the air as much as possible. 

RATINGS

Crime/Security 6/10

Education 7/10

Health 6/10

Economy 6/10

Sports No rating

Accountability 6/10

Transparency 7/10 

Dr Winford James:

No movement with crime. The old problems remain despite increased allocations to the Ministry of National Security. In fact, the levels of unchecked criminality seem to be rising.

In education there are no big ideas yet, though recently established committees seem to be preparing some. 

Focus on removing violence and violent students from schools, making schools ready, healthy and comfortable for students and teachers. 

In health the old problems of bed and drug shortage remain. Many persons are buying their own drugs and are looking to private institutions for relief and comfort.

Government was able to focus on managing falling revenue and income to mostly keep inherited levels of employment and sourcing loans for development. Caution and conservativeness are the names of the game.

Pretty good on accountability. The attitude is right and transparency is inspiring.

Holding more consultations with various communities on their plans and programmes and starting a high stakes demonstration development project would have made a difference on the Government’s scorecard. Govern with the people in their various communities constantly and hold regular consultations and accounting sessions.

RATINGS

Crime/Security 5/10

Education 6/10 

Healthcare 6/10

Economy 7/10

Accountability 9/10

Transparency 9/10

Rosemarie Sant

“It’s been a rough ride, but thankfully we on an even keel now,” says PNM chairman Franklin Khan of his party’s first year in government.

Khan, who holds the ministerial portfolios of Local Government and Rural Development did not want to rate the performance of the Keith Rowley administration. Instead he said they entered office facing the “major challenge” of balancing the fiscal account and attempting to “bring in line the obscene fiscal borrowing which the former Government undertook.” 

In his view, they have done a good job so far.

“The fact that there have been no major retrenchments or cutbacks is testimony to the measures adopted by the Minister of Finance who has performed extremely well,” he said.

According to Khan, the Government was “constrained by access to capital in the first half of the fiscal year.” 

He said: “We dealt with cost overruns of the PP Government, over invoicing, inflated invoicing. We have a lot of investigations on going into some of what we found. They almost brought the overdraft to the limit. There was a time when we had a cash flow of only three days.

He said the Government had “performed reasonably well” with good leadership from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Finance Minister Colm Imbert.

Khan, who recently had the controversial Community Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (Cepep) placed under his ministry, has met chairman Trevor Lynch and the board but is “still being briefed” as he seek answers on why the programme has become “so unproductive.”

“Cepep has 265 contractors, runs a bill of $50 million and employs a grand total of 12,000 people but the country is still overrun with bush,” he said.

“It was not like that before. I plan to bring sanity back to the programme. We are not getting value for money. Cepep has lost its way and I intend to bring it back on track.”

The minister said he was not blaming contractors for problems with the programme. 

“Management failed to give the country value for money and this must be addressed,” he said.

However, he assured: “There will be no major retrenchment. I am reviewing the programme and I will put my own stamp on Cepep.”

On the issue of Local Government reform, Khan said 14 consultations were held and a draft policy paper is now before the Cabinet. He expects legislation to go before Parliament by the first quarter of 2017. The next local Government election will be held under the existing legislation.

Improving rural communities

Commenting on one of the PNM’s key manifesto promises, Khan said over the last year Government had been crafting the structure for rural development. He said he had requested an increase in his ministry’s budgetary allocation “to facilitate projects to improve rural development infrastructure.” 

He said there was no budgetary allocation for rural development in the 2015/2016 budget because when they came into office after the general election the budget template had already been set. 

However, development projects are in the pipeline, with tenders are out for the design of the Moruga Road Fishing Facility and Port, a “$250 million dollar project which will be awarded in October. Other contracts are for the “route alignment and preliminary design for the Valencia to Toco Road and the Toco Port to Scarborough. 

“These will cater for the development of east Trinidad,” Khan said.

The aim, he explained, was “not to urbanise rural communities but to keep the rural lifestyle and bring the communities up to the standard of the urban areas.” 

“If there has been any discrimination in this country it is urban versus rural. Rural people suffer because they don’t have the same services and facilities that urban people get. The devolution of authority through local government reform will also help in this regard.”

Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre describes her first year in government as “a mixture of challenges and exciting new developments with far reaching implications for the local industry.”

“My biggest challenge has been meeting the expectations of my constituents,” said Olivierre, the MP for La Brea.

In the past few months constituents have protested over lack of jobs and poor infrastructure. Olivierre admitted the constituency “has been neglected for so many years and there was a level of expectation where jobs and services are concerned.”

She also admitted that taking over the Energy Minister at a time of declining oil and gas production has been difficult because of the requirement to manage the gas supply to industries to ensure an equitable distribution of available volumes.

“There is the added concern about the integrity of the aging infrastructure and the significant investment that will be required to replace old assets,” she said

However, Olivierre is confident about the energy sector because of what she see as a major positive—continuation of exploration activity by BP and BHP.

She said, “Globally, oil companies are reducing exploration expenditure. However the continuation of activity shows the confidence of the multi-nationals in our energy sector.”

In January, T&T’s natural gas production was less than the required 4.2 billion cubic feet per day, while production last year averaged 3.8 billion cubic feet per day. The expection is that the Juniper project, scheduled to come on stream in 2017, will bring production capacity up to a maximum of 590 million cubic feet per day. 

Another major development is the Loran-Manatee cross-border field. For more than a decade, T&T and Venezuela have been in discussions on field which has an estimated 10.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. More than 70 per cent belongs to Venezuela and the remaining 26 per cent to T&T. 

A unitization and unit operating agreement for the development and production of the Loran Manatee cross-border natural gas fields was signed in 2007, but it was only in May that a memorandum was signed which allows the two countries to direct operating companies on cross-border initiatives. Under the agreement, a consortium company has been established to operate the fields.

Oliviere said she is the two countries are moving closer to finalisation of agreements required for the fields to be produced.

“The operating companies have committed to submitting a unitisation and unit operating agreement by the end of September, which would be followed by a conceptual development plan by the end of November.”

Achievements in first year

Minister Olivierre said there were several achievements in the first year in office.

• MOU signed with Ghana for co-operation in energy.

• Commenced discussions with Guyana “towards execution of a MOU for co-operation in the development of their energy sector.”

• Issuance of the first retail marketing licence in more than five years.

• Completed drilling of the first deep water well.

• Start of construction of the CGCL methanol plant jointly owned by the Mitsuibishi Corporation and Neal and Massy in La Brea following the re-negotiation of key agreements.

• Completed phase five of the Melejo Forest survey for mineral reserves.

• Completed the national facilities audit of oil and gas infrastructure.

Tobago hoteliers say if Government is serious about developing tourism, the island’s aiport must be upgraded, airline agreements signed and there must be better marketing of the country.

They said so after Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism Vidiah Ramkhelawan announced implementation of a structured certification programme to build profitability in the sector.

Ramkhelawan, who spoke at a stakeholder forum at Cara Suites Hotel, Claxton Bay, said tourism has potential to become a major income generator for T&T and Government plans to focus on visitor safety and security, environmental conservation and assistance to small tourist operators. 

She added that tourism is being put on the front burner.

“We are under no illusions about the highly competitive nature of the local and international tourism market but we are convinced that T&T can become a major tourism player,” she said.

However, she warned: “If the quality of our service and infrastructure is not up to par with what is expected internationally, visitors will go internationally.” 

Several hoteliers agreed that more needed to be done to upgrade the local tourism industry.

Kenneth Patino, who owns Enchanted Waters in Tobago, said Government must first try to remove negative travel advisories. 

“The word has to get out that it is no longer negative to travel to Tobago as a destination,” he said. 

Patino added that Government must sign agreements with airlines for direct flights into Tobago.

“We are doing our best to market ourselves internationally on Tripadvisor, booking.com and Facebook but when people see us online, they cannot get here because there is no proper flight,” he said. 

Patino said there is need a good marketing strategy to bring more tourists to the islands. He said in years gone by, 85 per cent of his guests were foreigners but now he was getting 90 per cent locals. He added that Crown Point Airport is in a dire need of an upgrade.

Alcohol was prohibited during the World Cup qualifying football match between T&T and Guatemala on Friday night because the T&T Football Association (TTFA) felt it did not make any sense to pay $100,000 for a bar licence. So said acting general secretary of the TTFA, Azaad Khan.

Without a bar licence, no alcohol could be legally brought to the venue. Khan also apologised to patrons who had to endure the “torture” of trying to enter the Hasely Crawford stadium for the game.

The estimated crowd at the football match was around 17,000 and there were six people at the gates scanning tickets for the game. This left thousands of ticket holders still packed in a crowd outside of the gate while the game was already in progress.

“We have not sat down and looked at that yet but yes, there was a serious problem. I saw what happened I mean that was torture,” Khan said.

“I think we have to apologise for what happened and try to make sure that that does not happen again because if I was a fan out there...that was too much,” he said.

There were two assigned entrances for ticket holders. Those for uncovered stands had to enter through the St John’s Gate while ticket holders for the covered stands had to enter through the Lion’s Gate.

Security adviser to the TTFA Gary Griffith said someone decided to override the operational policy he had put in place for the last World Cup qualifying game at the Hasely Crawford Stadium against St Vincent and the Grenadines in March.

“It was inappropriate, it was ill-advised. You do not scan tickets at one entrance point. You cannot scan 20,000 tickets at one area. The plan will be at future games the ticket scanning will obviously take place at the 12 entrance points around the stadium so people will have the assurance that that will never take place again. 

“Whoever made that decision to override what I had done, it was inappropriate and unfortunate but it will not reoccur,” Griffith said.

There was a good turnout for the game with the stadium being packed with the majority of patrons wearing red.

Griffith said while the ban of alcohol at football events is not new he does not feel that this country requires such a stringent measure.

“My personal view of it as a security consultant for the TTFA is that based on our threat assessment for here there really is not a need for us to go to that extreme, it is not to say that we have spectators who are unruly,” he said.

“I believe this will not take place in the future and there will not be a situation like that so that alcohol would most likely will be sold in the future.”

The restrictions however did not stop some beers being sold illegally at the venue.

Contacted for comment, TTFA president David John Williams said he would have to look into the issue of the prohibition of alcohol at the game with the Local Organising Committee.

Austin Lewis, 73, known in the calypso world as King Austin, died yesterday morning at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Austin’s son, Marvin King, said his father had been battling with Alzheimers for many years.

“I was taking care of him but then it became too difficult for me to do so, so I put him in a home. He fell ill there and was warded at hospital.”

King Austin, who sang Winsford “Joker” Devine’s Progress in 1980, was regarded as an icon in calypso. He placed second to Relator in that year’s National Calypso Monarch final. 

A modest and unassuming man, in one interview King Austin said: “I love every human being very much. It doesn’t matter where you are from. I love all the people.” 

He subsequently sang Who Guarding the Guards, a calypso which also enjoyed much critical acclaim.

King Austin actually began in the calypso arena in 1976, singing with the CDC calypso tent. He subsequently performed at other tents rubbing shoulders on the casts with bards like Mighty Sparrow, Lord Melody, Lord Nelson, Bro Superior and Chalkdust.

Highly-acclaimed songwriter Winsford “Joker” Devine said he is saddened by King Austin’s passing as he was unable to see him before he died. 

“I had been meaning to pass and check and check Austin where he used to lime on the Promenade. I met Austin through Keith Smith from the Express. I had written Progress for Sparrow but he didn’t sing it. Keith Smith introduced me to Austin and, from the time Austin heard Progress he loved it. I sent him to Semp Recording Studio where it was recorded. From the start, Progress was an instant hit, winning six encores the first night Austin sang it in the tent.

National Calypso Monarch multiple title-holder Dr Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool said: “Blakie brought him (King Austin) to The Regal Tent and we accepted him. I remember King Austin to be a very humble, quiet and respectable human being. I remember him always smiling with his gold teeth shining. 

“King Austin really loved Laventille and always used to boast about Laventille and its people. He was committed to Laventille and would let everyone know that he was from there. Austin had a unique voice, one that will be missed in calypso.”

After the popularity of Progress and Who Guarding the Guards, other calypsoes recorded by King Austin included The World Today is a Ball of Confusion, Special Loving, The World Today, Time is Not Easy in the City, Soca Taking Over, Changes of Man, You Can’t Please The People and Keep It Coming. 

Of his father, King said: “My father was a born and bred son of Laventille. 

“His mother was one of the oldest citizens of Laventille and died at the age of 104 years, about four months ago.

“Daddy’s only friend is Rawle ‘Pele’ Thompson and he was in the process of doing a tribute to King Austin on September 17 to assist with his medical expenses. 

“We are still going ahead with the tribute and it will be held at SWWTU Hall in Port-of-Spain.”

King said funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.

Kevan Sinanan walked onto the set of Planting Seeds anxiously clenching an invention he had engineered in his garage, a gadget made to match keys to their respective locks faster. 

He stood in position, took a breath, and calmly made his pitch. Not only was he bravely sharing his vision with a panel of investors, but he also knew in the back of his mind that very soon the entire Caribbean region would be watching his pitch on television. 

Even so, fear of failure didn’t hold him back as he confidently explained his product and its functionalities. 

During Sinanan’s pitch, Joseph Rahael, director of Amera Caribbean Development Limited, sat on the Planting Seeds panel of investors, watching and listening intently. 

Given Rahael’s background in real estate and land development, the gadget did not instantly pique his interest. 

However, as Sinanan continued to speak, Rahael began thinking about the potential of the young engineer, and wondered to himself: “If he can create such a product, what else is he capable of?” 

After the pitch, the investors on the panel grilled Sinanan, and as each question was served, Sinanan was able to return a solid answer with ease and confidence, signalling to the investors that he knew exactly was he was talking about. 

Then it was crunch time, and Rahael, inspired by the young engineer’s passion and drive, made an offer. 

Sinanan was interested but wanted to wait and see if any other offers were on the table. 

However, being the shrewd businessman that he is, Rahael indicated that he was making a one-time offer only, warning Sinanan that if he went elsewhere there would be no deal. 

Sinanan took a minute to think, looked up, smiled, and said, “I accept.”

Right here in T&T, two people with two completely different backgrounds were able to cross paths and discover overlapping business interests—all thanks to the platform provided by the Planting Seeds TV programme.

Rahael’s enthusiasm for “passionate people” and Sinanan’s passion for inventing came together to create a new business partnership, with each person feeding on the other’s drive and potential. 

Was it by chance? Or was it fate that brought these two together? And what’s next for this newly- founded business relationship? 

Sinanan explained that after the show, he realised securing financing for his dream was not the most valuable thing he received from his experience on Planting Seeds. 

The UWI graduate said having Rahael as a mentor and business partner taught him more than he could ever imagine about business and strategy. 

“Learning happens everyday, everywhere and from everyone,” Sinanan said.

The two have moved full-speed ahead and are now finalising the prototype of Sinanan’s invention in order to mass-produce and export it to the US market. 

They are also looking into multiple applications for the product, so that the venture can diversify and evolve, as there are still a plethora of opportunities yet to be explored. Planting Seeds was made possible thanks to the collaborative effort of Planting Seeds producers Ernst & Young, and JD Sellier, as well as sponsors JMMB, Caribbeanjobs.com, Beacon Insurance, Blink l Bmobile, and Very Exciting Things. 

Be sure to tune in every Tuesday at 8 pm on CNC3, and watch as T&T’s very own up-and-coming entrepreneurs vie to turn their business dreams into reality. 

The Plastikeep Recovery Programme, aimed at generating public participation in recycling, has received financial support from the Massy Group. Through Massy’s contribution, collection bins will be returned to all Plastikeep collection centres across the country, for recyclable waste to be collected regularly.

“We have a role to play, along with our valued customers, to take some responsibility for disposing of our waste in an environmentally sensitive manner. 

“Our support is meant to maintain regular collection of the waste, which is a core activity to keep the practise of recycling alive and growing in Trinidad and Tobago,” said Derek Winford, CEO, Massy Stores (Trinidad).

“The entire Massy Group is behind this initiative, not just Massy Stores, because we understand that our contribution today is an investment in a cleaner, more sustainable country for our children.”

In June, Plastikeep’s operations were halted due to the pending appointment of a board for the Green Fund. Plastikeep’s project director, Rosanna Farmer, had earlier this year lamented the fact that the NGO did not receive any funding for the year from Government, which threatened the continuance of its operation. 

Massy has pledged to offset the funding of collection services and is optimistic that Government will shortly resume its funding of the project.

“I am so grateful to Massy for coming to our rescue and ensuring that we are able to keep the collection effort going. 

“The success of this programme is based on changing human behaviour and getting our citizens in the habit of recycling. 

“Without bins and a collection service, we are hindering behavioural change so Massy’s commitment to facilitating this activity is immeasurable,” said Farmer.

Facing the possibility of missing out on his first week of school, Josiah Gay spent the last hours of his school vacation praying for a miracle.

His parents, Alpha Ramdass and father Lyndon Gay, a fisherman, had been struggling to find money to acquire everything he needed to go to his first choice school, St Benedict’s College, after the fishing industry was thrown into chaos because of oil spills and fish kill scare last month.

With the new term fast approaching, Josiah was worried that despite working hard and scoring excellent marks in the SEA exams, he would be unable to attend school. As they looked at their son’s sad face, Josiah’s parents begged friends and relatives for support. 

Josiah’s grandmother, Younis Gay, used her pension money to buy school uniforms for him and his two siblings Joleen, six and Joleena, three, while his aunt, Renata Dookie, bought them notebooks, a few textbooks and stationary. However, the family still had no money to pay Josiah’s passage to get to San Fernando or to buy him a new book bag or shoes.

It was only yesterday, after the president of the St Benedict’s College Past Pupil Association Moriba Baker and community activist Shankar Teeluchsingh contacted the family pledging support, that Josiah breathed a sigh of relief.

“Finally, I am on my way to school,” Josiah told the T&T Guardian.

The young boy, who is respected as one of the top academic performers in his village, Fullerton, said he was thankful for the assistance given to him. 

“My mother had told me that she won’t be able to send me to school for the first week because the bus does not pick up the Form Ones from the first week,” Josiah said. 

Expressing eagerness to start classes, Josiah said he was relieved when  told that he would finally get a chance to go to school. Lyndon said while he was proud of his son, he was still worried about financing his son’s education. 

In an interview yesterday evening, after they got word of the boy’s plight from the T&T Guardian, Baker said the association will pay Josiah’s transportation fees until he gets a place on the free school bus. He said the books, shoes and bag which Josiah needs will also be purchased.

“During orientation we told parents that anyone who is in need we will assist,” Baker said.

Josiah’s mother expressed gratitude for the support when contacted yesterday.

“I haven’t heard this kind of thing happening in a long time. It feels good that people could care enough to do this for my son,” she said.

More students in need
In an interview, Teeluchsingh said a 25-seater bus operates from Cedros to Granville transporting students to St Benedict’s, ASJA Boys and Girls, Presentation College and Naparima. However he said this was not sufficient.

“There are more than 25 students going to these schools and we have a lot of poor people in these areas. A private bus charges $200 a week and it is very hard for some parents even when the students excel,” Teeluchsingh said. 

He also questioned why fishermen from the south western peninsula were sidelined in Government’s financial aid programme. Saying more than 1,000 fishermen were affected by the dip in fish sales caused by the recent oilspills and fish kills, Teeluchsingh called on the Government to assist the fishing communities of Granville, Fullerton, Icacos, St Marie, Bonasse, Bamboo and St Mary’s. 

He explained that while Josiah was able to get assistance in time for the new term, dozens of other children in the peninsula will have no choice but to stay at home because their parents could not afford to send them to school.

While a pot of chicken pelau simmered nearby, villagers of New Grant came out in their numbers to help contractors complete infrastructural works at the New Grant Anglican school yesterday.

Although it seemed like an impossible task, the cheerful volunteers worked alongside Junior Sammy contractors and Temperature General Supplies personnel as they helped to prepare the new pre-fabricated school for today’s new school term.

Principal Lester Haynes was seen rubbing down old school desks while parent Winston Mc Intosh packed them inside the classroom when the T&T Guardian visited the compound yesterday. Grandmother Cecilia Ignacio and parent Kathleen Wade meanwhile dragged heavy blackboards into the classrooms before giving the floors a rigorous sweep. 

As workmen from Junior Sammy prepared the gypsum walls and painted the classrooms, other parents mopped the floors of the main administrative section.

Wade said for two months before the last school term ended, students were out of school. The old school structure had been condemned by the Ministry of Works and hope was dim that students would attend classes today. Wade said what transpired recently was amazing.

“Within three weeks, they started to work around the clock and now I am certain that our children will have school tomorrow,” Wade said.  She said her daughter, Mariah Richards, was excited to start classes. 

Charlie Jagdeo, the owner of Temperature Supplies, said he started air conditioning the rooms only two days ago.

“We will be finished by today (yesterday). There will be AC in the classrooms,” Jagdeo said. 

Director of the Educational Facilities Company Limited Anthony Bisnath said the contractor operated three shifts in a 24-hour period.

“It means he was able to do nine weeks of work in three weeks,” Bisnath said. 

As to the integrity of the structure, Bisnath said the pre-fabricated school could last between 15 to 30 years depending on weather conditions. He also said that similar structures were being used at the Barrackpore Vedic and the Granville RC Schools. Asked what was the cost of the school, Bisnath said “somewhere between $3.2 to $3.5 million.” 

“This is far less than it would take to build a brand new school,” Bisnath said.

The school has a population of 159 pupils. Meanwhile, works also continued at the Granville RC School yesterday. President of the Granville Community Council Alderman Shankar Teeluchsingh said he was “95 per cent” that school will be opened today.

“Based on what I am seeing, work is going on at 100 per cent pace and they are doing the final touches,” Teeluchsingh said. He added that members of the school’s PTA were also assisting the contractors with completing the works.

65 projects completed
Sixty five projects done in 197 schools across the country have been completed ahead of the start of today’s new school year.

In an interview yesterday, director of the Educational Facilities Company Limited, Anthony Bisnath, said there were 201 projects in 197 schools identified by the Ministry of Education and handed over to the EFCL to complete. However, he said many of the projects would have taken longer than two months to complete.

Although only 65 projects were fully executed, Bisnath said this did not mean that schools could not necessarily reopen.

“What we did was subdivide all the works according to county. Project managers were assigned to counties. We allocated resources from within the office and it was a total team effort,” he said.

“There were 201 projects identified by the Ministry of Education and sent across to EFCL for works to be done. We have completed 65 out of that.” 

Bisnath added, “For the rest of the projects we have already identified the works that were required and we will allow the schools to be opened.” He noted that works will continue after the new school term opens. 

Concerned citizens are appealing to San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein to clean up a derelict service station in Marabella which has become an eyesore and a health hazard.

A citizen who requested anonymity complained that the property along Southern Main Road, which is surrounded by other businesses, was a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which could spread the virus to residents.

Noting that the fine for unkept properties was increased from $500 to $3,500 recently, the woman said it made no sense if the law was not being enforced. The service station is located opposite Union Road and is fenced but has been shut down for some time now, she said last Friday.

“I have observed this situation for the past months and weeks and recently it has gotten worse. In observing it I would like to bring it to the attention of the Mayor Haji Kazim Hosein of San Fernando,” the woman told the T&T Guardian, noting that Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and the mayor have been on several Zika drives across the country and in the south.

Other passersby and workers in the area also complained about the state of the property. 

“The country is on Zika alert and nobody seems to care about taking care of the property where mosquitoes are being bred, garbage is being dumped and scattered in it,” one passerby complained.

“I was standing here near the traffic light and I was feeling mosquito biting me and when I look around I happen to observe this pool of water and pile of garbage, which is a health hazard.” 

When contacted on the matter, Hosein said he would immediately investigate the situation. 

“If I can’t get the owners, whether it is government or private, we will go in and clean it up,” Hosein said.

Marabella West councillor La-Verne Smith also confirmed the situation. She said sometime ago the corporation had sprayed the compound and spoken to the owner. However, she said further attempts to contact the owner have been unsuccessful. However, she promised to take immediate steps to rectify the problem.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was able to keep his cool and still manage the country in such a way that there were no scandals every day, general secretary of the People's National Movement (PNM), Ashton Ford, said yesterday.

He made the comment in response to a poll in yesterday’s Sunday Guardian which showed a majority of voters were dissatisfied with the Government’s performance in its first year.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian, Ford questioned what the people expected when the PNM came into Government meeting the price of oil down to US$26 a barrel as compared to US$120 a barrel when the last administration went into office in 2010.

“We had difficulty in managing the affairs of the county and had to make some adjustments, which entailed holding back on a number of things we would have liked to do as stated in our manifesto,” Ford said.

He also commended Rowley for being able to bring back the economy to a certain level where T&T survived, “and still we were able to introduce 12.5 per cent value added taxes, start the housing programme, move into buildings that remained unoccupied during the five years the last administration was in office for public servants, we were still able to pay out to the Caroni workers and make adjustments to GATE in cutting out the wastage, attend to the much abused food card system and much more.”

Ford also praised the Government for not firing people when it first got into office, making reference to the 3,000 people who were fired within three months when the last administration took up office.

“We have not fired anybody from CEPEP, all the contractors are still there. We maintain the employment in the public sector. We have all the CEOs at all the regional health authorities intact and we still have the director at Education there,” Ford said.

In a media report yesterday, Rowley suggested adjustments were coming to his Cabinet after the upcoming national budget, including bringing in new faces via the Senate.

Asked about the upcoming adjustments that Rowley spoke of and any hints to what those adjustments may be, Ford said that was the call of the prime minister. He added that he remains in full support of his leader.

“The adjustments Rowley would be making would be in terms of governance. He is the only one who can judge performance,” Ford said.

Asked what the public could expect in the upcoming national budget, Ford only said that the Government would be in a better position now to present the budget as compared to having just mere weeks, as it did when it came into office for its presentation of the 2015/2016 budget.

Poll a signal to Govt
Political analyst Winford James said yesterday that the Government ought to be concerned and make the relevant adjustments for the better to keep people's goodwill in the coming second year.

James was commenting on a Sunday Guardian poll where the majority of some 961 people polled said they were dissatisfied with its performance in its first term. The results for being very dissatisfied represented 65.66 per cent of voters—631 people.

Although admitting he was doubtful about whether the result of the Guardian poll was truly representative of public opinion, as it did not seem to be a scientific poll, James said if he was the Government and got such a result he would be concerned that people were calling on him and his government to make relevant adjustments where the economy and diversification were concerned.

“It’s a signal to Government that the people are not happy in the way it’s going and therefore the Government should pay attention and make the relevant adjustments," James said.

Asked what he thought about Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s announcement in a media report that adjustments in the Cabinet would be made after the presentation of the national budget, James, noting the PM’s cautiousness in the way he signalled changes are coming, said he believes that his (Rowley’s) aim is to “make governance better than how it is going and that he wants to have greater efficiency.”

Efforts to contact Rowley yesterday were unsuccessful as he did not answer his cellphone, but in an interview with I95.5 FM yesterday, Rowley said the upcoming adjustments were not about performance but about “the Government keeping its shape in certain ways and maximising strengths and minimising weaknesses.”

He added that he tried as hard as he could to give some sense of stability in the Government’s structure in the first year, admitting that there was one adjustment he had to make and that was when former housing minister Marlene Mc Donald exited from Cabinet.

“I had to make a decision because of that and I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I am not required to give out portfolios to people to pacify them in any political structure, which was the shape of the last government. I don’t have that problem.”

The T&T Guardian continues its performance review of the Dr Keith Rowley-led Government as it marks one year in office on Wednesday. Today, political analyst Indera Sagewan-Alli gives her assessment. 

Low performance 
Indera Sagewan-Alli was blunt. She said the Government had not performed “very well” and attributed that to the “sense of fear and uncertainty” which characterised the economy. 

Although she did not rate the Government out of ten for its overall performance and in the key areas, Sagewan-Alli instead gave her candid opinion. Her summary of their performance was that the Government had failed. 

Her analysis was that there is a sense of stagnation in the country and reports of job cuts, rising prices, increased mortgage and utility rates were the new expectations. 

The 2016/2017 budget of $63 billion, she said, was revised this year to $59 billion, yet the evidence of the expenditure was not apparent in the economy. 

Crime/security: “Poorly”
In the area of crime/security, she rated Government “poorly,” saying the runaway crime statistics was frightening.

“Given that the security of the nation is a function of the Government, it must take responsibility. This situation is affecting an already fledgling tourism industry. Only last week the government of Canada upgraded its travel advisory to its citizens against coming to Trinidad and Tobago because of the continued upsurge in criminal activity,” she said. 

She added the large sum allocated to the Ministry of National Security in the budget was not translating into lower crime. 

Education: “Bare pass”
While the Government found “the will” to adjust the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate) programme and the laptop programme, she said these adjustments were made primarily to save on expenditure instead of focusing on “deeper and more structural problems.” 

Sagewan-Alli said: “Now while it’s a start, there is so much more thinking through that is needed to ensure that these programmes are truly working in the best interest of the country’s growth agenda.”

Healthcare: “Fail”
She gave an outright failing grade in this area, saying the Government has maintained the status quo.

“And while the sector did not suffer in the national budget allocation, this has been a year characterised by serious shortages in medicines, particularly those available through the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme. 

“Chief amongst these is the shortage of cancer treatment medicine. This is a matter of life and death to the recipients and the current shortages can negatively impact people’s chances of recovery,” she said. 

She said this was due to the lack of procurement planning.

Economy: “Very poor” 
She said there were no signs that Government had any proper plans in place to address the worsening economic situation. She said every sector had contracted this year, unemployment increased, cost of living increased, public debt accelerated and revenue contracted. 

Accountability and transparency: “Business as usual” 
On these two issues, Sagewan-Alli said: “It is business as usual. We are no more presented with information than before. This feeds the sense of uncertainly and fear.”

Make economic diversification a priority 
Asked what the Government could have done differently in the last year to improve on its performance, she said it could have made economic diversification its number one priority. 

Even as it managed and minimised the social fallout from a declining purse, which it has done, Sagewan-Alli said it needed to be setting up parallel mechanisms to derive new growth and revenue sources for the economy. 

“Now this is not a short-term goal, but it needs to be put into the public domain as the way forward so that the people can all rally around a pathway to innovative growth,” she said.

“Maybe this is happening behind the scenes, but from where I sit I am not sensitised to its development.”

As for advice to the Government as it moves into its second year, she said it should establish and resource a full-time institution focused on economic diversification; on analysing industry by industry to determine where we should develop based on robust market analysis, value chain analysis, cluster mapping and development. 

From today, members of the public will have to pay increased national insurance contributions.

However, the National Insurance Board (NIB) says it is justified in increasing its contribution rates because benefits payments, which include the $3,000 a month minimum pension, were being partly funded by the scheme’s investment earnings instead of from contributions.

According to the NIB’s website, effective today, national insurance contributions will be increased from 12 per cent of insurable earnings to 13.2 per cent of insurable earnings. The maximum insurable earnings covered will also be increased from $12,000 to $13,600 per month.

In a statement to the T&T Guardian yesterday, NIB said: “The NIB’s decision to increase the contribution rates and the maximum insurable earnings was in keeping with the conclusions of the 9th Actuarial Review, which recommended a robust mix of short-term and long-term reform measures to fortify the strength of the national insurance fund in coming decades. It was also one of the best short-term measures to adopt to ensure fund sustainability.”

An actuarial review, according to the NIB, is conducted in five-year intervals or less and combined with projections, it assesses the ratio of benefits to contribution income and pronounces on the long-term financial condition of the fund.

Dated June 2015, but with information as at June 2013, the 9th Actuarial Review, which the NIB is using to justify increasing contribution rates, states: “From 2019-20, assets will rapidly decrease and the NIS funds will be completely depleted in 2029-30, if nothing is modified in terms of contributions or benefits.”

However, NIB assured yesterday that “increasing the contribution rate and the maximum insurable earnings will safeguard the National Insurance System, improve fund stability and preserve the NIS fund, as the NIB continues to put measures in place to ensure that the organisation remains solvent and viable now and in the future. The increased maximum insurable earnings will also result in greater protection for employees  in the long-term, since a greater proportion of their income will be insured.”

On the issue of the premium contribution, NIB said the current 12 per cent cannot stay. In the 9th Actuarial Review, NIB said: “The general average premium of the system (the constant contribution rate necessary to finance all NIS benefits over the next 50 years) is 23.8  per cent.

“What is clear, is that the financial situation of the scheme ‘has significantly deteriorated’ since the last report was done, due to the recession and therefore, 'action must be taken' to restore its financial health.”

It added, “The present contribution rate of 12.0 per cent is not sufficient to support the present level of benefits in the long run. It is not even sufficient to meet current benefit expenditures, which represent 13.8 per cent of the payroll in 2013-14. Investment earnings have to be used presently to support the expenditures of the system.”

Two men were murdered in separate shootings in Arouca and Chaguanas early yesterday morning. In the first incident, Kamau Charles, 31, of Windy Hill, Arouca, was liming at the La Luna Bar along the Eastern Main Road, Arouca, when he walked outside around 2.30 am. 

Police said as he was urinating on the wall of a nearby business, a gunman walked up behind him and shot him in his head. The gunman then ran away. Charles, who police said had a lengthy criminal record, was pronounced dead on the scene by a District Medical Officer (DMO). 

Investigators believe that Charles’ killer was also liming in the bar and followed him outside. In fact, they said other patrons confirmed their theory, saying believed his killer was also inside the establishment, where several such incidents have taken place in the past decade. Police had not arrested any suspects up to late yesterday. 

Almost three hours after Charles’ murder, police responded to a report of a shooting outside Mid Centre Mall in Chaguanas. When they arrived on the scene they found a wounded man lying unconscious along the road at the right side of the shopping mall. The victim was later pronounced dead on the scene. 

The victim remained unidentified by police up to late yesterday, as he did not have any identification documents on him. Anyone with information that may help identify the victim is asked to contact the Chaguanas Police Station at 665-5271/0200. 

Post-mortems will be performed on both men’s bodies at the Forensic Science Centre in St James today. Their murders raised the murder toll for the year to 312. 

Meanwhile, Homicide detectives are investigating the possibility that one of the two men who were found shot dead in Belmont on Thursday night was in fact the other’s attacker. 

According to reports, around 11.25 pm, residents of Roget Place, Belmont, reported hearing a volley of gunshots. When police arrived, William Louis, 34 and Rahim Marshall, 23, were found shot dead. 

Although police initially classified the case as a double murder, Louis’ relatives on Friday claimed that Marshall had attempted to rob him before he (Louis) wrestled the gun from Marshall and shot him with it. They claimed that Louis was then shot by Marshall’s accomplices. 

Police sources said they heard of the family’s claims but would wait until tests for gunpowder residue on Marshall are done during his post-mortem. They said no gun was found on the scene but noted it could have been removed before they arrived.

Three drug smugglers will appear in court this morning following the seizure of almost $100,000 in marijuana by the T&T Coast Guard yesterday. 

In a press release yesterday, Coast Guard public relations officer Lieutenant Sherron Manswell said the suspects, two men and a woman, were detained by a team of officers three miles off the coast of Chacachacare Island. According to Manswell, the officers were on patrol around 1.17 am when they stopped a pirogue named “Kelsea” after its occupants started behaving suspiciously upon seeing them. 

The officers found a parcel of marijuana wrapped in plastic aboard the vessel and recovered a crocus bag containing 24 similar parcels, which was found floating near to the boat. Investigators believe the smugglers dumped their drugs overboard upon seeing the Coast Guard interceptor patrol boat. 

The suspects were arrested and the boat was towed to the Coast Guard’s Staubles Bay base. 

The suspects were later handed over to detectives from the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau (OCNFB). The drugs weighed a total of 7.2 kilos and has an estimated street value of $93,600.

RALPH BANWARIE

Fishermen and Friends of the Sea secretary Gary Aboud may have been lured to the Manzanilla beach yesterday in an apparent fish kill hoax.

In a message to the media on Saturday evening, Aboud said they were reliably informed by their members that dead fish had washed ashore and were rotting at Manzanilla. The message also warned the public to avoid Manzanilla and not expose themselves to the possible health risk until it is known what had caused the fish kill.

“We are attempting to contact the EMA through their emergency hotline, and trust they will investigate the matter with urgency and if necessary determine any responsible parties and see that they are brought to justice,” the media statement said.
But when Aboud turned up yesterday, there was no sign of any fish kill.

The T&T Guardian met Aboud and a female companion looking for the dead fish themselves and expressing surprise that there was no sign of any. Asked who gave him the message that prompted the media release and subsequent visit yesterday, Aboud said a reliable friend of the FFOS from Manzanilla and said he was confident that it was no hoax.

However, fishermen, lifeguards, villagers and watchmen said they had seen no sign of any fish kill along the beach.

Lifeguard and part time fisherman Alvin Persad looked at T&T Guardian in shock when asked if he knew of any fish kill sighting recently. Noting the recent fish kill controversy affecting fisherfolk in the Gulf Paria, he urged those spreading to rumour get their facts correct.

“I have patrolled the beach and not one dead fish was seen on the shore. Look, the tide is low and one can see that there are no dead fishes. If there were dead fishes, corbeaux will be seen. Are you seeing any corbeaux?” He pointed out that the report may have been the reason why the nearby resort was sparsely populated yesterday.

At the nearby Manzanilla fishing depot, the fishermen said they too had not seen any fish kill.

“Our waters are free from any toxic chemicals and I only hope that no one is trying anything on us to prevent our sale of fish, which has increased over the weeks,” one fisherman said

Manager of the Cocal Estate resort, who only gave his name as Yankee, said after hearing the news he walked the entire beach from the resort to Mitan Bridge and saw no dead fish. He said he also did not hear anyone complain of this either.  

At Ortoire, fishermen told T&T Guardian that their fish sales had gone up since reports of fish kill in the Gulf of Paria. They said they were hoping someone was not trying to cause panic.

“The fact is that there are no dead fish, no health risk and all are welcome to the beaches of Manzanilla,” one said, adding they also caught lots of crabs in their traps on Saturday night.

“We live by fishing and we will ensure that our daily livelihood is not hampered by illegal activities. We want to fish and sell our fish, so we can have bread on our table for our family.”