Enterprise, a Chaguanas community now heavily associated with criminality, would not have such a stigma if more men like Adam Boney, who was killed on Monday night, lived in the area. 

This is the view of one neighbour of Boney who said the 25-year-old was a “church boy” who would try to speak with his peers about the life they lived in the hopes of encouraging them to turn from criminality.

Speaking yesterday near the box drain where Boney collapsed after being shot, the woman, who asked not to be identified, said she knew the young man for most of his life and “he was not in nothing.”

She added that he would mostly be seen liming with the men in the Chris Trace, Enterprise, area where he lived, telling them about their ill choices and how not to continue in a criminal lifestyle. 

Police said around 7.40 pm, Boney was with Kendall Trim, 26, of Enterprise, and Odingo Smith, 21, of Longdenville, when a silver Nissan Tiida pulled up and a man opened fire on them.

The car sped off and was found abandoned at Penn Street, Enterprise. The three men were taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility . Boney was pronounced dead on arrival. 

The other men were transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Centre where they remained warded in a serious but stable condition. 

Boney’s mother, Joan Haynes, said her son was waiting to be paid by a contractor when he was shot. She added that the $1,500 he was waiting on when he was shot would have been given to him in a heart’s beat had she known the trouble it would have caused. 

Boney’s murder took place one day after businessman Joshua Huggins was murdered at his Enterprise home. 

With Boney’s killing and that of a Point Fortin man, the country’s murder toll is now 348 for the year compared to 332 for the same period last year. (JLV)

A week after a very pregnant Arlene Laban-Ammon and her husband were stopped, ticketed and ordered off the Priority Bus Route while she was in labour, she is now calling on the authorities for clearer guidelines on the use of the PBR. 

Noting that an emergency C-section saved her child’s life after they got to the hospital two hours after being put off the PBR, Laban-Ammon is now calling for a clear policy on the use of the PBR.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Laban-Ammon, 36, said around 6 am last Monday she and her husband, Donny Ammon, left their Arima home to go to the St Augustine Private Hospital as she was having contractions. 

On their way to the hospital, Laban-Ammon said she begged Donny to get there quickly as her contractions became increasingly painful. 

“I started to get more and more pain and the traffic was not moving at all. 

“I remembered seeing Inspector (Roger) Alexander saying you can use the PBR in the case of an emergency so I asked Donny to go onto the bus route,” she said. 

She said her husband drove onto the bus route where they intended to flag down any police officer they might seen for an escort to the hospital. However, after several minutes, the couple saw a police officer who ordered them to pull over. 

“They were pulling aside all vehicles without passes and when the officer came up to the car, he asked Donny what he was doing on the bus route. 

“Donny told him I was in labour and we were trying to get to the hospital and he asked why we didn’t call an ambulance. Donny then told him we have a car, so we drove instead. 

“He said, ‘Yuh playing brave?’ and ordered a younger female officer to write us a ticket. I could see she didn’t want to do it because she was watching us the whole time but she wrote it anyway.” 

The Ammons were given a ticket for $2,000 and ordered to turn around and leave the PBR. They subsequently spent two additional hours in traffic before getting to the hospital, where Dr Sherene Kalloo quickly began assessing the baby’s condition. 

“The scans showed the baby’s heartbeat was erratically high and it was not regulating. We were told we had to do an emergency C-section or risk having a stillborn,” Laban-Ammon said.

Thankfully, her son Armani was eventually delivered healthy but the mother of two said her husband now intended to contest the ticket in court. 

“Why didn’t the police have some compassion or sympathy? My baby could have died because of the stress and the long wait to get to the hospital and the officer treated us so badly,” she added. She said she and her husband had not planned a C-section. 

“We were not catering for that cost. We had saved up money to have a natural birth but this procedure is like three times the cost that we now have to come up with,” she said.

She is also adamant that the C-section could have been avoided if the officer had allowed them to use the PBR. 

“If he had a little bit of understanding, me and my baby would not have had to go through all of this. I had a healthy pregnancy with no complications at that point,” she said. 

Cop can use discretion 
In an immediate response to queries yesterday, Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said a police officer in uniform did have the discretion to allow a person who did not have a PBR pass to use it in the case of an emergency. 

However, Hinds said it was still up to the officer at that time to make that decision. He added: “The policy is that only authorised vehicles, largely those used for public transport and a few others, are permitted to use the bus route. 

“That permission is conveyed with the allocation of a PBR pass. In the absence of that pass, no one is allowed to use the bus route, regardless of the circumstances.  

“But a police officer in uniform acting under the rule of general law has the lawful authority to direct a motorist to use any roadway in any manner at any time. 

“So if a police officer instructs you to drive up a one-way street, you are duty-bound to comply. And therefore if a police officer authorises you to use the PBR, then the user has reasonable excuse for using it.” 

While he said he could not comment on the specifics of this case, Hinds said the officer may not have been satisfied that the case was a genuine emergency. 

“It may very well be that the police officer was not so satisfied that her condition was genuine. It seems from the reports so far that the officer was not persuaded that her report was valid,”  he said.

He said while he did not have the competency to judge this matter, he felt it was necessary to bring clarity to the issue as it could arise again in other situations.

Also contacted on the matter, public information officer of the TTPS, Michael Pierre, confirmed that in circumstances such as last Monday’s, police could use their discretion to allow people to drive on the PBR. 

But he said having heard only one side of the story, he could not say whether the officer should have dealt with the situation differently.

Members of the Inter-island Ferry Committee of the Tobago Chamber of Commerce say they are disappointed with the treatment meted out to them by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago and the Trinidad and Tobago Inter-Island Transport Company Ltd, after they were informed that sailings for the lone cargo vessel, the Superfast Galicia, will be cancelled for four days next week.

Speaking at a news conference in Tobago yesterday, chairman of the Inter-island Ferry Committee, Dianne Hadad, said they were told the ferry would not sail from October 9-12 to accommodate the 12th Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas which is being held at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, during the period. 

She said members stand to lose millions and the occurrence was a backward move.

“Four days is a lot of days to miss cargo coming into the island. As well as it’s going to have other issues,” Hadad said.

“We are already without the Warrior Spirit, which was sent back at the end of August, so we are back to one cargo vessel, there’s no makeup vessel in this. We are already having problems with the containerised goods,because the facility does not accommodate the containerised goods very well, so I am not sure we have moved forward and this is really a backward move.”

Chairman of the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Demi John Cruikshank, said the lack of communication to them was also was unacceptable, noting businesses had no time to try to stockpile goods to cater to the missed days. He also called on the authorities to utilise other ports during the period.

“The Port Authority erred in this matter, not inviting us to a meeting and even discussing it. There are alternative ports in Trinidad, Point Lisas, anywhere else, you can dock the vessel there and we will take our trucks there and load the boat. But without any consultation, arbitrarily you send a press release and say that you are taking the boat off the route for four days, that is not good enough,” Cruickshank said.

In response to the claims, Inter-island Transport Company Ltd PRO Velma Lewis Cockburn denied there was little or no consultation with the group. She said acting Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority, Leon Grant, has been communicating with members of the Tobago Chamber. She said the port provided an alternative of October 8 and October 15 for the sailing of the Superfast Galicia, which she expects will accommodate lighter goods and vehicles.

Port officials are scheduled to meet with members of the chamber today.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia is committed to providing quality classroom environments conducive to teaching and learning. He says this will be highlighted during the upcoming budget debate over the next few days as part of Government’s long-term mandate to ensure quality education is delivered across the nation.

Delivering the feature address during yesterday’s church service to celebrate World Teachers’ Day at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Port-of-Spain, Garcia praised teachers for their commitment, dedication and invaluable service in molding the young minds of tomorrow.

Beaming as he addressed the primary school students at the function, hosted by the Anglican Board of Education, Garcia reminded the students that once they could read, they should thank their teachers who were responsible for ensuring the development of that crucial factor which was necessary to traverse life.

The minister urged the students to consider how they would cope if they were unable to read. Admitting that teachers are sometimes under-appreciated, Garcia who was himself a teacher for 39 years, reaffirmed Government’s commitment to “ensure teachers are taken care off.”

Referring to the sub-standard physical conditions in which some teachers have to operate daily, Garcia acknowledged that quality teaching and learning could not effectively take place in such an environment.

Revealing his intention to visit the New Grant Anglican Primary School soon, Garcia said the recently repaired institution could be used as a model to guide relevant people in the industry as to the standards that were required for the repair and refurbishment of schools.

Claiming it was now the envy of other schools, Garcia said it would be used as a benchmark for all schools to ensure their physical conditions were up to mark.

Briefly highlighting the hard work of dedicated teachers, Garcia said there were one or two persons who continued to present human resource challenges.

However, he assured that efforts would be made to provide a safe, comfortable and conducive environment for teachers and students.

Secretary of the Anglican Board of Education, Merle Braithwaite, echoed the minister’s praise of teachers as she reaffirmed their commitment to the development of teachers, principals and administrative professionals.

Revealing the Anglican Board had introduced a Code of Ethics for teachers, students and parents, Braithwaite said the recent controversy surrounding the dress code for teachers was not a non-issue as claimed by some.

She added that aspect was covered in the document which also spoke to the deliverance of the tenets of the Anglican faith by the 1,000 teachers they employed throughout their schools.

Pressed to provide information on the file produced by the Teaching Service Commission which contained the names of teachers who were consistently absent and unpunctual, Garcia said they were liaising with the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) to address the matter.

The minister said: “Our role is not be to punitive but develop teachers. If there are problems and difficulties being experienced by some of our teachers, we will want to do whatever we can to ensure they comply with the regulations. 

“If there are consistently unpunctual and absent, there are regulations to take care of that.”

Garcia said one teacher’s absenteeism would affect between 25 and 30 students daily. Acknowledging the right of each child to an education, he underscored Government’s commitment to ensuring all schools were functional.

Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier Rodney Smart said yesterday’s attempt by two discharged Special Forces soldiers to allegedly burn a house in Princes Town was part of yet another attempt by the criminal element to destabilise the country.

The two—Cpl Steve Douglas and Lance Cpl Devon Edwards—were arrested by police hours later at Munroe Road, Charlieville, Chaguanas.

Smart was speaking during a special news conference hosted with acting Commissioner of Police Harold Phillip at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. He said it was called to clarify information on the incident, adding that the weekly meeting of the National Security Council was also held yesterday.

Smart said the incident was “an attempt by those criminal elements who would want to place our society in a destabilising condition.” He said the Defence Force would assist the T&T Police  Service with its investigations.

Smart said Douglas and Edwards “were discharged because they were not displaying the behaviour we felt that junior leaders should display.” He said they were soldiers for 18 and 14 years respectively and were both discharged in 2014.  

“We felt that given the level of leadership that we had entrusted in them, they were not demonstrating the (required) qualities. As a consequence they were discharged,” Smart said. He expressed “severe disappointment” about yesterday’s incident, noting they were “once trusted” and expressing concern that the two “could allow themselves to be used in such a way by the criminal element.”

In response to questions, he said Douglas “committed certain disciplinary misdemeanors that should not be committed at the level he was at,” while Edwards “had been involved in an altercation with another member of the Defence Force (and) he was discharged.”

Smart said the Defence Force “continuously looks at its people in terms of their professionalism. If at any time we ascertain there are people who should not be in our ranks we discharge them, so it is a continuous process.”

He said based on the training process for soldiers “we always hope that the civilians we bring will inculcate the behaviour of the Defence Force, (but) unfortunately some will prefer to go the other side.” He said consequently, “we are very swift in getting rid of those persons.” 

Smart said after officers have been discharged “we try to assist them in terms of their employment afterwards to secure gainful employment.” He said neither of the discharged officers were bomb experts but “as a member of the Special Forces one would have received training in explosive devices.”

This is not the first time that soldiers attached to the Special Forces Unit of the army have been accused on involvement in criminal activity. 

Former soldiers Ricardo de Four and Leon Nurse were also among a group of men who were convicted in the United States for the kidnapping and murder of US war veteran Balram “Balo” Maharaj, 62, while he was vacationing here in Trinidad in 2005. Nurse was a member of the army’s Special Forces Unit and reached the level of sergeant.

According to police reports, around 6.40 am yesterday officers from the Highway Patrol Unit intercepted a silver Qashqai Nissan SUV with the men along the north-bound lane of the Uriah Butler Highway near the Munroe Road Flyover, Chaguanas. 

During a search of the vehicle, police discovered an undisclosed quantity of ammunition, four guns, including a Mack 10 submachine gun with an extended magazine and a quantity of cash. 

The men were also linked to an earlier incident in south Trinidad, in which a family’s home was firebombed and shot up.

After cowering in her bed from the rattling sound of bullets striking her home and the smell of gasoline at her front door, New Grant mother Odessa Constance is now afraid to sleep. 

At 3 pm yesterday, Constance, 70, a diabetic patient, was yet to eat a meal for the day as she was traumatised after gunmen attempted to set her Hindustan home on fire with her daughter Rene Dorner, 32, and boyfriend Judah Jackson, 32, of Laventille, asleep inside.

Sitting on her front porch, Constance told the T&T Guardian she was uncomfortable sleeping in her own home, especially since she did not know much about Jackson, a deportee from the United States.

It was around 4.45 am, not too long after Constance awoke, that she saw the shadow of someone on the front porch, then smelt gas.

“I called out to Rene and said ‘Like it have somebody in the gallery’ and I asked ‘Where Ras (Jackson)? I thought it was Ras opening the door but then she said Ras was in bed. So I said ‘Girl, like somebody come to burn down the house,” Constance said.

Afraid to go outside, she said she remained in her room while Jackson went down the back steps and saw a fire. But Jackson was shot in the foot and quickly retreated to the kitchen where he fell.

“He called out to Rene so she came and raised his foot and put pressure on it. I called the police, who told me to call the ambulance when I was done. 

“I was in my room the whole time because I hearing the rattling like rain falling on galvanise. She said they came inside the house, I don’t know but like when they (gunmen) heard me calling the police, they ran and left.”

A neighbour rushed across and was taking Jackson to the hospital before they met the ambulance along the way. The neighbour also put out a “channa bomb” which the attackers were planning to throw at the house.

By the time Tableland police arrived, the suspects had already driven off in a Nissan Qashqai SUV, which was later intercepted along the Uriah Butler Highway near the Monroe Road Flyover, Chaguanas.

Although two recently discharged officers from the Special Forces Unit of the T&T Defence Force were held for the shooting within two hours of the incident, Constance remains traumatised.

She said Jackson stayed with them sometimes and used to live in the US but she never saw him interfere with anyone. She said two weeks ago, someone attempted to steal her daughter’s car. Her daughter was at the San Fernando General Hospital with Jackson yesterday evening but she (Rene) was afraid to return home, Constance said.

Several families of officers who were killed but not in the line of duty will not be recipients of the $1 million compensation grant for victims. 

Relatives of members of the protective services who were killed in the line of duty would benefit from the $1 million compensative package from the Government after Cabinet approved the payout.

However, yesterday, senior public affairs officer of the Defence Force, Major Al Alexander, said the slain individuals were categorised and some of the men who were killed were not eligible for the money.

“Some were killed and there are certain categories. He (names) was not on duty when he was killed. They were not on duty and some of the persons are not considered in the line of duty. This gives the impression that they qualify,” he said.

Director, Corporate Communications Unit in the Ministry of National Security, Marcia Hope, said based on the Cabinet minutes the officer’s families would be compensated if they were on the job or in the line of duty.

Attempts to contact National Security Minister Edmund Dillon proved futile.

Meanwhile, family members and colleagues still wept at the mention of the names of their slain loved ones who were employed with the protective services.

Former Central crime-fighter Johnny Abraham’s nephew, PC Sherman Maynard, was killed during the prison break at the Port-of-Spain Prison last year.

Maynard, 27, died in the line of duty when three prisoners escaped from the prison during a daring escape. 

Abraham said: “That might be the next two years, the way they drag certain things. It could take two years before they get the money.

“Who wouldn't be happy? The money wouldn't really be of use. It will help when they got kill unexpectedly and they may have debts and who they were owing.” 

Abraham said that some of the victims might have children that were going to school.

“When you dead in the Police Service they remember you for the first ten days then nobody don't study you,” he said. 

Former Senior Supt of Homicide, Zamsheed Mohammed, said he was a very close friend of Sgt Hayden Manwaring who was shot dead during a robbery attempt three years ago.

Mohammed who is now on vacation said he was more than “just friends” with Manwaring. He said Manwaring had young children but it could not bring him back to life. 

“There is no price on him. At least the family can have some financial assistance. Every day I think of him and not a day don’t pass and I don’t think of him. We were good friends,” he said.

Mohammed said he received counselling after Manwaring’s death. 

“We were always in the same division or section and we both had matters in court. When he died I was his direct supervisor in CID," he added.

When contacted, Kim Manwaring, his wife, said she was busy at the moment and did not answer further calls to her phone. Magaret Sampson-Browne, former head of the Victims and Witness Support Unit, said she spent some 46 years dealing with the victims of crime. 

She hopes families will take the money and do something productive that will remind them of the person.

“Don't apportion to something that will give them pain. Don’t use it on like some house or car that don't have longevity. A charity that can blossom and they can know they were part of the community, humankind and you. It is up to them.” 

Sampson-Browne said they would be reminded of the wonderful things when they were on the earth. 

“it is grief all over again and authorities have to revisit that grief and offer them sessions where they could address that," she added. She said money could not turn back time but could have value if apportioned properly.

“Like I was able to do something in his or her memory. History shows millionaires become paupers. Money comes into your hands, invest it,” she added.

A handwritten letter penned by 11-year-old Zakariya Pitilal, of Cocorite, addressed to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley begged him as head of the nation to have his father returned to him, his younger brothers and his mother. Zakariya’s brothers are Idris, nine, and Muhammed, three.

The letter was hand delivered on Tuesday to the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

Zakariya’s father, Dominic Pitilal, is one of five Trinidadians detained in Venezuela since 2014 on suspicion of terrorism. The other detainees are Wade Charles, Asim Luqman, Andre Battersby and Leslie Daisely.

The letter, dated October 2, 2016, starts of by saying: “Good day Mr Keith Rowley, the Honourable Prime Minister of T&T. My name is Zakariya Pitilal. I am the eldest son of Dominic Pitilal.

“My father and his friends have been locked up in Venezuela for two years and six months. Can you please help them?”

Zakariya told Rowley his father was very sick and was in need of medical attention. He also took the opportunity to relay the last conversation he had with his father, who he said told him that he was now going to engage in a hunger strike.

“The last time I spoke to him he told me that he was going on a hunger strike and that I may never see him again because he will not stop until he is freed,” Zakariya said in the letter. He added that despite him being only 11 years old he believed that he had a duty to help his father.

“I don’t want my father and his friends to suffer anymore. Mr Rowley, please, I am kind of begging you to help my father, please,” Zakariya pleaded.

“My father has been everything to me. Now I feel like I don’t have anything,” he added.

Zakariya pleaded with the Prime Minister not to ignore his letter:

“Can you please don’t ignore my letter and my pain and the pain of my father. No one can even imagine what effect this has on my brothers and mother. Can you please help put my family and the other families back together? I know you can do it.”

The little boy’s ended: “Thank You,” along with his full name. Two months ago, on July 11, 2016, Zakariya’s mother, Saadiqua Mohammed, also sent a letter to Rowley seeking a meeting with him.

Her letter stated: “We are aware of the meeting that took place on May 23, 2016 with President Nicholas Maduro and yourself. 

“You made a public announcement of the repatriation of prisoners. It has been two months now and we are left in the dark as to what is the next move by the two governments. I am seeking this meeting with you so you can update and give us some sort of answers.”

When contacted yesterday, Mohammed said she had not received any response from Rowley about her letter.

Asked about her son’s letter, Mohammed said she was moved in her heart by his intention. She admitted she did help him pen it but said that most of it came from his heart.

“In the beginning we tried to shield the kids from what was happening but we couldn’t after a while and Zakariya is always asking for updates as to what is going on,” Mohammed said. She added she really hoped Rowley’s heart would give in to her son’s letter.

“I know there is a protocol to go through before the Prime Minister gets his letter but I hope that when he does that this brings hope by the grace of God,” she added.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Umar Abdullah, Islamic Front leader, said there needed to be a definite answer on where the situation had reached especially given that all charges of terrorism and espionage had been dropped against the five detainees. He said he strongly believed that there was no due process in the judiciary system in Venezuela.

“There are delays in giving a verdict on the matter right now but we have vowed to keep the pressure on. We will rally support from the entire nation behind us on this. 

“Our nationals are just important as the ones who are feeling the effects of Hurricane Matthew right now,” Abdullah said. He also gave an ultimatum to Rowley based on Zakariya’s letter. He said Rowley should give a response to the boy’s letter by today or the situation would be made known to the International media.

At recent talks in May between T&T and Venezuelan leaders, Government officials asked that the matter be expedited during discussions on repatriation of people detained in each others country on immigration issues.

Government officials later stressed the issue of the five men was in Venezuela’s hands and subject to its judicial system.

Citizens who are paying mortgages on Housing Development Corporation (HDC) houses will have to pay their own property taxes and will see it manifested in an increase in their monthly installments. This from T&T Mortgage Finance Company (TTMF) Chief Operating Officer, Robert Green.

“The customer comes up with the money for property tax and we pay it on their behalf.”

Green said once the Government has calculated how much property homeowners will have to pay under the new format the TTMF would adjust the customer’s mortgage installment to accommodate the increase. 

The TTMF had been previously paying land and building taxes for HDC customers at Board of Inland Revenue offices. The HDC has said it will pay property taxes on its houses which are on rental and rent to own plans. Those who can afford to pay mortgages are transferred to the TTMF.

Other financial institutions which give housing loans had a similar policy as the TTMF. Lisa Oudith, of the Eastern Credit Union’s call centre, said their housing loan customers would pay their own property taxes.

“The home is yours. The name on the deed is yours. We are just holding the deed as collateral until the load is paid off, she added.

Banks did not have a very different policy. A loan officer with Republic Bank told the T&T Guardian the customer would have to pay his own property tax.

“The house is his. The bank will be just holding the deed until he’s done paying,” he said.

The bank would not include the property tax in the customer’s premium since that would have been previously worked out, the officer added. The customer would have to go the relevant office and pay the new tax, he said.

An estimated $85 million has been allocated in 2017 budget funding for a Port-of-Spain/East-West Corridor transportation project. The figure is listed under the Infrastructure Development (ID) Fund in the Estimates of Development Programme 2017, one of the budget documents.

An initial 2016 estimate for this item was $155 million. This was revised downward to $13 million in 2016. The figure was, however, increased for 2017. 

Works officials said yesterday it was not a “rapid rail” project but given traffic gridlock issues and commuters’ woes, some ease with transport was necessary. They said details would be given in the 2017 Budget debate which begins this afternoon in Parliament.

Also listed is funding for a feasibility study for a proposed Toco ferry port. The port was among the ruling PNM general election manifesto promises.  

Earlier this year Government announced plans for construction of the Valencia Highway which is expected to expand access to eastern areas in preparation for the port. Construction of the highway to Toco Road received a $15 million allocation in the ID Fund.

Continued funding for several prison development projects extend to construction of a new Remand Prison at Golden Grove and construction of video conferencing facilities at the Remand Yard Prison at the same venue. The latter is part of the thrust towards in-house court sessions projected by authorities.

A  pedestrian entrance will also be constructed at the Port-of-Spain prison. Also listed is $20 million for restoration of President’s House. A new project, construction of a Tobago residence for the Prime Minister,  was allocated $500,000 start-up funding.

Under the Social Development/Family Services Ministry, $4 million is allocated for the Street Dwellers Rehabilitation and Reintegration Project. This is an increase from the initial 2016 estimate of $1.5 million which was revised downward to $612,000 in 2016.

However, social worker/businessman Anthony Salloum expressed concern the $4 million would go towards further concretising the Riverside Plaza as a centre for the homeless. 

“I’m not sure where the $4 million is going but hopefully it will go towards a proper Homeless Assistance Centre once and for all. The only thing close to it is Riverside Plaza which is an abomination since there are 125 jammed in what is essentially a car park.

“That is inadequate to house such people. My concern is each year funding is sunk into that car park even though it isn’t appropriate for the homeless. Human rights come into play with the homeless and this car park has been condemned several times,” he said.

Expressing satisfaction with T&T’s diverse culture, Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, says Government remains committed to preserving T&T’s rich traditions. She was speaking at the launch of Ramleela 2016, at the Brian Lara Promenade, Port-of-Spain, on Monday.

Gadsby-Dolly commended T&T’s 26 Ramleela groups for upkeeping their heritage, saying that the Ramleela Council of T&T Inc was celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

“I am happy to see this part of our culture being preserved. In T&T we are so diverse and have so many traditions. The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts is interested and involved in preserving all aspects of these traditions,” she added.

President of the council Rodney Ramjit said: “Ramleela traditions in T&T are known as one of the largest and most splendid in the region.

“It takes place in the month of November. This year we have 26 groups of the National Ramleela Council performing Ramleela across the country. While the council itself is 25 years old, Ramleela has been part of our national culture for the past 136 years,” Ramjit said.

Despite intermittent rainfall, all the Ramleela groups marched along the promenade. Shalini Juteram and Karan Rampersad, of the Swaha Tulsi Maya Shakti Dance Group, performed classical dances while onlookers were given snippets of the Ramleela scene.

Kamalwattie Ramsubeik, secretary and long-standing member of the council said: “Ramleela has been declared a world living heritage by UNESCO in 2005. Our country is one of few countries that has preserved an abundance of groups and each year we have more and more groups participating.” 

Police are investigating a double murder which took place in Las Lomas, Cunupia on Wednesday night.

Around 9 pm, Ricardo James, a one-handed man, also known by the moniker Oney, and Isiah Gulliame known as Watchy were shot by unknown assailants.

Both men were 22 years old and lived in Las Lomas.

Police say the men were standing on the roadway approximately 200 metres from Mahaica Junction, when a silver grey Nissan Cube stopped near the men.

The occupants of the vehicle, exited and opened fire, hitting both victims. 

Guillame ran about 150 meters and into a yard on the southern side of the road where he collapsed. James collapsed and died on the road.

The assailants escaped silver in the Cube.

Nearby residents heard the loud explosions and called the police.  

The bodies have been sent for a post mortem at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

David “Sugars” Gittens lengthy run from the law ended in death on Wednesday when he was killed in a shootout with police in Point Fortin.
Gittens, who had outstanding warrants dating back to 2008 for firearm-related offences, was suspected in at least five murders between Point Fortin and Cedros.

He is also suspected in Monday’s savage killing of PH taxi driver Keston Jeffrey. Police said Gittens had no fixed address as he had been hiding in the forest between Chatham and Cap-de-Ville for years and despite several searches, he could not be found.

A report stated that around 3.30 pm Wednesday, South Western Division Task Force, including Sgt Khan, Cpl Andrews and Cpl George were on an anti-crime exercise when they got word of Gittens' location at a house under construction along the Guapo/Cap-de-Ville Road.
When the officers arrived, Gittens was seen running down a flight of stairs with a pistol in hand.

Police said despite several warnings to drop it, Gittens continued to approach the officers who opened fire, hitting him several times. The officers took him to the Point Fortin Area Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. A pistol with eight rounds of ammunition was recovered from the scene.

Investigators said they were probing whether Gittens was involved in Jeffrey’s murder because of proximity of his hideout to where Jeffrey was last seen aliveon Monday.

On Monday afternoon, someone called police, saying that they saw three assailants beating a man along North Trace, Cap-de-Ville.
When they arrived, they found Jeffrey’s white Nissan Sunny B-14 in a river. A hacksaw blade and a sharp instrument were found along the roadside. About16 hours later,  Jeffrey, 23, of Egypt Village, Point Fortin, was found dead. His body was hidden under a culvert, his foot sawed off and he had several stab wounds.

His mother, Theresa Liverpool, told the Guardian that on Monday, Jeffrey left home with $7,000 to purchase a new engine.
The money and Jeffrey’s gold chain are also missing.

Four firemen are being treated at the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex in Mt. Hope after they were injured while assisting citizens distressed by flood waters in Barataria.

They were injured after coming in contact with a high tension line.

The men were trying to rescue occupants from a maxi taxi stranded in flood waters in Barataria.

Earlier, the T&T Met Office released the following update: 

"Sunny periods will be interrupted by light to moderate showers in varying localities. There is a 60% chance that one or two of these showers could become heavy and/or thundery in a few confined areas. Tonight there will be patchy cloudiness at times with the odd shower. GUSTY WINDS AND STREET/FLASH FLOODING MAY BE EXPECTED IN HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND/OR THUNDERSHOWERS". 

The T&T Police Service (TTPS) says it was a officer assigned to the Transit Police Unit who issued a ticket to a man, who was taking his pregnant wife to hospital for emergency treatment, for using the Priority Bus Route illegally.

Manager of Corporate Communications at the TTPS Ellen Lewis, said on Thursday it was not an officer of the TTPS who issued a citation.

"Just a note of correction where applicable -I'm sure members of the media are aware that it was not an officer of the TTPS who issued a citation to the pregnant young lady on the PBR but rather a transit officer falling under the Ministry of National Security," Lewis noted.

The PBR is policed by the Ministry of Transport and not the TTPS.

The police, however, from time to time conduct exercises on the PBR.

Officers of the TTPS as a norm have escorted/accompanied /rendered assistance to people in different forms of medical distress to hospital.

There is also a Priority Bus Route Unit was established in an attempt to regulate and maintain the use of the PBR . The unit has its origins in the Traffic Management Branch of the Ministr of Works and Transport.

It has since developed into an independent unit which falls under the purview of the Permanent Secretary of the ministry.

​T&T citizen Shinelle Medina, today captured the moment a firefighter in Barataria is shocked by electrical wires after assisting citizens trapped in flood water. 

Probe it, Prime Minister! With that demand yesterday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar called on Government to halt the sale of assets of Trinidad and Tobago NGL and First Citizens Holdings Ltd — proposed in the 2017 budget — following concerns about alleged conflict of interest in the issue.

“This appears to be a financial transaction designed by a few to benefit a few at the expense of honest, law-abiding tax-paying citizens... I challenge the PM to directly treat with this matter, publicly and transparently and not allow it to go the way of the Malcolm Jones write-off,” Persad-Bissessar said in her budget reply.

“The case threatens to be bigger, involving billions of State assets and what appears to be a network of wheeling and dealing that goes on in the boardrooms of high rolling friends and financiers and seems to reach right into the Cabinet...I  expect this matter will be developed further in legal action which I am researching.”

Persad-Bissessar built her case, naming TTNGL shareholders, and attempting to link some with National Gas Company chairman Gerry Brooks in his former business world incarnation prior to his Government post. 

She also raised questions on the issue about Dr Terrence Farrell, Government’s Economic Advisory Board chairman.

Immediately after she concluded, Finance Minister Colm Imbert came over to the media section and denied her claims, saying they were a figment of her imagination and a “straw man.” (See other story)

Persad-Bissessar said the budget was a “colossal failure, an exercise in superficiality, vagueness and even deliberate obtuseness... riddled with miscalculations and misrepresentations... clearly designed to bamboozle a population still waiting to hear the minister present any tangible measure that will adequately address T&T’s security, safety social and economic challenges.” 

In the centrepiece of her statement, Persad-Bissessar targeted Imbert’s budget announcement of the planned sale of TTNGL and FirstCitizens Holdings (FCHL) shares, taking issue with the timing and manner of sale. She said Imbert had said he’d put “special arrangements in place for existing shareholders” to access the initial public offering (IPO).

Persad-Bissessar said that involved a “rights” issue — when a company offers existing shareholders a right to buy additional new company shares in the company — and the usual approach was to offer shareholders a specific number of shares at a specific price.

She asked: “Is he (imbert) offering a discount in the price of the shares in relation to the value at which they are currently being traded? Offering the shares at lower value to these shareholders? If so, why?

“Rights issues tend to be invoked when markets are rising. This doesn’t describe present market conditions. To the contrary, market conditions have changed dramatically and in particular the excess liquidity in the system that existed at the time of the earlier IPOs has long since evaporated. So why is Government proposing to pursue this initiative in this way now?”

She said TTNGL’s 2015 annual report stated the company’s main shareholders were the National Gas Company, National Insurance Board, Unit Trust Corporation, National Enterprises Limited, TATIL Life Assurance A/C CC, TATIL Life Assurance Limited, Deposit Insurance Corporation, Republic Bank Limited, Michael and Helen Moses and Anthony N Sabga. She noted four of the five TTNGL directors held nominal amounts of shares as well. 

“They are Mr Gerry Brooks, Andrew Jupiter, Anand Ragbir and Ashmeer Mohamed...  very interesting revelations emerge when you search the directors of those companies listed as shareholders and cross reference them,” she said.

“Here’s just one example. Soon after last year’s election, Mr Brooks retired as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the largest conglomerate in T&T. At time of retirement, he was a member of the board of the parent company of the said conglomerate. He’s also previously served as a TATIL director, i.e, one of the companies listed as a TTNGL shareholder.

“In fact, TTNGL’s 2015 annual report reveals that five of the ten shareholders of TTNGL are companies or individuals that are part of the conglomerate that Mr Brooks was CEO of. Those entities as per the 2015 annual report hold 5.64 per cent of the shares of the TTNGL. The NGC at all material times was and is the single largest shareholder of TTNGL.”

Persad-Bissessar added: “So now, instead of controlling 5.6 per cent of this lucrative corporate asset, as a direct result of his appointment by this Government to the State-owned companies NGC and TTNGL), Mr Brooks and his associates now control 57.64 per cent of TTNGL... honourable Prime Minister, please investigate this matter.

“The plan is to divest the 51 per cent shareholding of TTNGL and place it in the hands of existing shareholders and I have already told you that five of the ten main shareholders and Mr Brooks himself are associated with the same conglomerate. What does it tell you about the supra-elitists? And (Government is) suffering the average citizen with taxes!”

Editor's note 

The statement by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar that five of the top ten shareholders of TTNGL are associated with the ANSA McAL group is plainly incorrect.

Seven of the top ten shareholders of the company are not associated with ANSA McAL. They are: National Gas Company, National Insurance Board, the Unit Trust Corporation, National Enterprises Ltd, Republic Bank, Deposit Insurance Corporation and Michael and Helen Moses.

The three TTNGL shareholders that are associated with ANSA McAL are Tatil Life A/CC, Tatil Life and Anthony N Sabga, the group’s chairman emeritus.

The information on the top ten TTNGL shareholders is disclosed in the company’s 2015 annual report, which is a public document.

Mrs Persad-Bissessar is also incorrect that Mr Brooks retired as the chief operating officer and manufacturing sector head at ANSA McAL after last year’s general election. According to a T&T Stock Exchange filing on April 2, 2015, Mr Brooks retired from the group effective April 30, 2015, more than four months before the general election.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert yesterday dismissed claims by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar that the proposed sale of shares at Trinidad and Tobago Natural Gas Liquids Ltd (TTNGL) was intended to benefit National Gas Company (NGC) chairman Gerry Brooks.

Persad-Bissessar made the claim during her response to the budget presentation yesterday. She said the NGC was one of the shareholders of TTNGL and Brooks was also a director at that company.

But during the tea break Imbert told reporters Persad-Bissessar got it wrong and her allegations were just a “figment of her imagination” and “all nonsense.”

Imbert said the offer for sale would result in a certain percentage of the respective companies’ shares being offered for “various groups and individuals, companies and pension funds, etc.”

Asked if Persad-Bissessar’s claim that the shares were to be offered to existing shareholders only, Imbert responded: “That is a figment of her imagination.”

Imbert said in his budget presentation last week, he said “arrangements will be made for them (existing shareholders) to get access to the public offering.” He said existing shareholders might get about ten per cent.

He also dismissed claims that there was a conflict of interest in the proposed share issue. 

“There is none. It is a complete figment of her imagination. There is nothing in my (budget) speech that will give any indication that shares are going to be given (only) to existing shareholders. It is only a small percentage (and) the general public will be able to access the balance. It is a complete figment of her imagination.”

Imbert also dismissed another claim by Persad-Bissessar that the proposed sale of shares was part of an “interlocking directorate.”

He denied a similar claim for the proposed sale of shares at First Citizens Holdings Ltd (FCHL), adding that it was “scandalous” for Persad-Bissessar to make allegations about corruption in the proposed IPO after what happened when she was prime minister with an FCB IPO. 

He noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions was now looking “o see whether there should be criminal charges laid against (former) directors at FCB, appointed by the (former) UNC (government)” following that IPO.

He said Persad-Bissessar’s allegations were “politically hypocritical and shocking. I am shocked.”

Imbert said the shares to existing shareholders would also be limited.

Imbert also said Persad-Bissessar’s claim that local yacht owners were to be exempt from VAT in the 2017 national budget was “an absurdity.” He insisted the measure was for foreign yacht owners for yacht repairs done in this country.

“It is not for locals,” he insisted.

Imbert said because of the country’s location, “we are (in a) very favourable location for yachts during the hurricane season.”

He said the decision to propose the tax break was made after the industry complained that an earlier decision to impose VAT on the repairs of the yachts resulted in a decrease in the number of vessels coming to T&T and the number of people employed in the sector had reduced. 

President Anthony Carmona and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley sat just feet apart from each other yesterday in the front pews of the St Charles RC Church, Tunapuna. The men, holders of the two highest offices in the country, whose recent exchanges suggest some tensions between them, were among the hundreds of mourners at the funeral of Allan Alexander SC.

Also in attendance were Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young, House Speaker Brigid Annisette-George, Senate President Christine Kangaloo, former Attorney General John Jeremie, Industrial Court Judge Melvin Daniel, along with scores of attorneys and leading members of the trade union movement.

The former independent senator, who died on October 1 at age 88, was remembered yesterday as a man of faith and courage, a champion of the people and a legal luminary who always strove to elevate the profession's standards

Among those paying tribute was Law Association president Reginald Armour, SC, who described Alexander as "more than a unique and exceptional lawyer” who had left indelible footprints,

"His life’s work was to promote, maintain and support the administration of justice and the rule of law," Armour said

He highlighted Alexander’s considerable work in T&T and the wider Caribbean as a constitutional and labour lawyers and saluted him for his “perennial and exacting search for justice and the improvement of the human condition of the ordinary man and woman."

Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah, a close friend and confidante of Alexander, described him as generous, warm and supportive.

Declaring that "law was his weapon," Abdulah said Alexander used his professional acumen for the benefit of the society and country.

Tributes by Antigua Opposition Leader Baldwin Spencer and former T&T Defence Force lieutenant Rex La Salle, who is in Finland, were read Alexander's son David. In their brief statements, both men noted Alexander's exceptional contribution to the legal and trade union movements, locally and regionally.

Caleb Frederick, the late attorney’s grandson, spoke of his deep commitment to family, work and country. He said Alexander was always willing to lend an ear or offer advice when needed.

Close family friend Fr Clyde Harvey, who officiated at funeral, echoed many of the sentiments expressed as he warned that a divided household would fall without close family ties like those fostered in the Alexander family. He said while Alexander never lost his humanity throughout his career, he was never afraid to confront his inner struggles.

Even as they stacked water-soaked appliances, broken furniture and slushy rolls of carpet outside their homes, La Romaine residents yesterday braced for more flooding as the Meteorological Office warned citizens of more rainfall.

At George and Gail Streets, La Romaine, a CEPEP crew from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation was busy helping residents power wash their homes and remove bulk waste which was piled high on the sidewalks.

Ramnarine Singh, who lost all his furniture and appliances, power tools, welding plants and groceries, said it was the first time he ever had four feet of water inside his house. Singh said the main drains on the opposite side of his home were blocked up and “a useless box drain” was built in front of his premises.

“I told them this would happen because they raise the new drain and blocked the old drain. The project manager said he is an engineer and he knows what he is doing,” Singh said. 

His wife, Dhanrajie, was trapped inside a room by the floods and had to be rescued by her son Vishal Singh.

Another resident, Brent Phillip, said the new drainage project was not responsible for the flooding. He said a resident at the end of the street had narrowed the drain and the water could not flow properly so it entered people’s homes.

Tricia Chapman-Baboolal, who recently moved into her new home, said she also lost everything. Her mother, Monica Chapman, said when the floods came, she and her son, Nigel, braced the front doors and tried to keep the waters from entering but the force of the water tore open the doors, throwing them aside.

“It was very scary. Look at these doors how the water damaged them,” she said. 

At Papourie Road, Tricia John Mc Lean was also struggling to clean up her home. 

“I have no clothes and no mattresses to sleep on tonight. This kind of flooding is not normal. It is the first time this ever happened,” she said.

Dhanraj Ramkissoon, a foreman at Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, said a team of nine people started working form 6 am yesterday assisting residents to clean up their homes.

“We bailed out water from people’s homes. We are cleaning the drains and using the tractors to carry away the waste. Poor drainage didn’t cause this. It was a flash flood. The big main drain taking away the small drain water but everything flow above the drain,” Ramkissoon said. 

The workers cut down overgrown bushes from the roadside and cleared away piles of debris.

Councillor Sheldon Lall said part of the drainage works was not complete and that contributed to the flooding.

Evacuation plan ready for hurricane—ODPM

Despite extensive flooding following 45 minutes of torrential rainfall, CEO of the Office for Disaster Preparedness, Dr Stephen Ramroop, said an evacuation plan remained in place in the event that T&T was faced with a major storm or hurricane.

With more bad weather expected, Ramroop denied that Thursday’s flooding after a short period of rain meant that T&T was not ready for a major hurricane.

“If there is an earthquake we will have problems because of the absence of a national building code but if a storm or hurricane is approaching we will have time to evacuate,” Ramroop said.

He said everyone had a part to play in flood mitigation.

“If you live in an area that is low-lying and seeing neighbours throwing things in the rivers and if your drains are not cleared then floods will come into your property,” Ramroop said.

He said the ODPM and WASA had maps showing flood-prone areas.

“We will come together before the storm occurs and make an indication for evacuation. Once an area is showing signs of flooding, the storm will give us time and so we will advise people to proceed with voluntary evacuation. We have already told people to have their disaster bags packed and know their shelter area,” he said.

He said the Ministry of Social Services would do assessments later. 

“The Met Office said 50 mm of rainfall fell in 45 minutes and that was a significant amount of rainfall. The other reason for the floods is poor infrastructural preparations and lack of the understanding that litter clogs drains,” he said. 

Ramroop said people must take their own precautions, adding global climate changes would result in more natural disasters.