In the midst of excitement over Divali, a seven-year-old girl perished in a fire at her relatives’ home in Marabella yesterday.

The charred remains of Anisha Mohipath, a Standard One pupil of Carapichaima RC School, were found in the back area of the wooden house after the fire fighters extinguished the blaze.

Investigators said fire spread from an adjacent abandoned house to the house where Mohipath and her relatives, including a two-year-old baby, were asleep. 

Residents suspect a man from the area may have set fire to the abandoned house which was mere feet away from Mohipath’s relatives’ home.

Mohipath, her brother Brandon, ten, and Alisha, 12, left their Freeport home to spend the weekend at the home of their sister Jizell Lochan at East Bayshore. Lochan lived there with her two-year-old son.

Lochan, a URP worker/fisherwoman who received superficial burns to her right shoulder, said her siblings would usually spend weekends with her, but they were especially excited this weekend because of Divali.

They already had the fireworks and had planned to burst them last night.

Recalling the incident, she said they were asleep when her brother-in-law woke them up shortly after midnight.

“He say fire. He wrap up my two-year-old son. I came off the bed. I did not see her in the bedroom. I thought she got out. Maybe she fell asleep on the couch watching TV. I prefer if I burn or my house burn than my sister.”

Lochan said there was a lot of smoke and the place was dark. She said they could not go back into the house to search for her sister because the house was already engulfed in flames. Lochan said her stepmother Alicia Harry (Mohipath’s mother) was in a state of shock. “She don’t believe she is dead. She believe she playing with us and hiding.”

Lochan who would be staying with relatives would appreciate any assistance in rebuilding her home. 

San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein who visited the area promised to assist the family.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has been given a budgetary allocation of $21 million for the 2016 Local Government election but the commission may have to seek an increase in the allocation from the Minister of Finance.

EBC communications manager Dominic Hinds told the T&T Sunday Guardian: “The commission is in the process of doing an audit of election expenses for the Local Government elections, 2016, and if there is need for additional expenditure the chief election officer will then make the relevant request to the Ministry of Finance.”

The EBC’s budgetary allocation for 2013 was $55.8 million. That was the year of the last Local Government elections. 

The budgetary breakdown for election expenses according to the 2017 Draft Estimates of Expenditure includes $10 million for short-term employment of staff and an additional $2 million for training; a sum of $1 million for postage, and $2.5 million for promotions and publicity.

EBC sources told the T&T Sunday Guardian that “elections are expensive events and we may well have to go back to the Minister of Finance for additional resources,” but Hinds refused to speculate telling us to “wait until the audit is completed.”

Hinds said the commission will be hiring 13,000 people as it gets ready for the November 28, Local Government elections. This includes returning officers who, he said,“have already been trained and who received their writs of elections last Tuesday October 25.”

Hinds said additional staff to be retained include “Election clerks and administrative support staff as well as a number of persons who will work in the various polling stations on polling day such as roving officers, presiding officers, officers in charge of ballot boxes, poll clerks, information officers and messengers.” Hinds said, “Training for these workers will begin shortly.”

In the 2003 Local Government election, 855,919 people were registered to vote; by 2013 the number of eligible voters had risen to 1,051,115. Asked how many people were registered to vote in the 2016 election Hinds said: “The revised list of electors would be released in the coming days and it is only when that is posted then the EBC would be in a position to give an update on the number of eligible electors for the 2016 Local Government elections.”

The EBC reported that 452,031 or 43 per cent of the voter population cast their ballots in 2013, the highest voter turnout in a Local Government election. Asked whether the EBC expected a similar voter turnout in this election, Hinds said, “That’s not up to the EBC but the electorate to decide. It is only after the exercise is completed then we will be in a position to ascertain the voter turnout population/percentage. 

“Historically, the voter turnout for Local Government elections is generally low when compared to parliamentary elections, so it will be safe to say based on the historical data that the trend is likely to continue.”

Hinds said the electoral ink is “normally manufactured locally.” He did not say whether the ink had already been acquired.

The 2013 election was historic in that it was the first time proportional representation was used to determine the number of aldermen for Local Government bodies. 

The legislation allowing for proportional representation had been passed in the Parliament prior to the election. For the first time the number of aldermen for each party was selected on the basis of the quantum of votes won by a particular party. 

Hinds said the law had not been changed and the same would apply for the 2016 election. 

​EBC EXPENSES

$ AMOUNT ALLOCATED 

(draft estimates of expenditure 2017)

Travelling and subsistence $1.4m

Electricity $100,000

Rental of office accommodation $800,000

Rental of vehicles & equipment $500,000

Materials and supplies $1.5m

Repairs/equipment maintenance $200,000

Training $2m

Repairs/maintenance of buildings $100,000

Short-term employment $10m

Other contractual services $400,000

Security services $200,000

Postage $1m

Promotion, publicity & printing $2.5m

TOTAL $21.1m

​It is T&T’s cultural strength, tolerance, and mutual respect that will allow citizens to go forward with confidence as a country.

These were the words Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley shared with members of the Hindu community and other patrons in his address at the closing night of the Divali Nagar on Friday.

Rowley, who walked into the Nagar serenaded by vibrant tassa players around 8.40 pm, spent most of his speech praising the cultural strength of the country, touching briefly on the state of the economy. Despite a lukewarm response from the crowd, Rowley said the night was a special one for him, being his fifth visit to the Nagar as a public official, but first as the Prime Minister.

Rowley received less applause than several performers and when guests were invited to stand to welcome the Prime Minister, a woman could be seen tugging her young relative and telling her to sit. While some patrons seemed hesitant to appear supportive, several people applauded exuberantly throughout Rowley’s speech.

Earlier in the night, National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) president Deokinanan Sharma thanked the Government for supporting the Nagar even in harsh economic times. Rowley said hearing the “thank you” was pleasing. 

Actor and community activist Hal Greaves worked right up to the end doing what he loved best—giving back to his adopted community of Laventille.

Dawn Henry, better known as Gloria, who paired with Greaves to form the stage duo Roy and Gloria, said Greaves was planning a Christmas children’s party for Laventille when he succumbed to his illness. 

Speaking to the T&T Sunday Guardian from Greaves’ Rushworth Street, San Fernando, home, yesterday, Henry said: “Hal never allowed any illness to prevent him from doing what he had to do.

“I remember in October 2015, I was driving him to Port-of-Spain for a meeting when he stopped breathing on the highway and I had to take him to Mt Hope Hospital.

“Even while he was in hospital he continued working there doing paper work and making calls.

“He continued to work up to Friday at his home; we talked for hours, planning community projects. One of them was a big children’s party on December 10 at Sogren Trace, Laventille, and he invited a pastor and his team from South.”

She said when activities came up, Greaves was a gentleman, so that if he couldn’t go physically, he would work by phone. 

Henry said Greaves was the kind of man that even when he was not feeling well, he would get up and do what he had to do. 

She said when people asked him how he was, he would reply he was good. 

Henry said Greaves held persons in the community very close and dear to his heart.

She said they were very close partners and she thanked God for his life.

Henry said she talked to Greaves’ mother yesterday about the need to celebrate his life.

She said he had done so much and given of himself to the community.

Henry said Greaves always said something to make someone laugh. When they went to the supermarket, people would stop him and seek a response from him to make them laugh. 

Greaves worked extensively with youths in the nation’s so-called hotspots. 

He headed Project REASON (Resolve Enmity Articulate Solutions Organised Neighbourhoods) to help youths to stay away from crime and violence and to implement classes in literacy, life skills, civics, religious instruction and sustainable development .

On February 23, 2012, at the 29th edition of Talk Tent at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s, before beginning their performance as Roy and Gloria, Henry informed the audience that Greaves had suffered a heart attack in November 2011 and the piece they were about to do was aimed at encouraging people to take better care of their health. 

The duo managed to drive home the very serious, thought-provoking message in their own inimitable, funny style.

The road surface in Fishing Pond could only be described as deplorable. 

In Fishing Pond, one of the eight electoral districts that make up the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, the standard complaint by several residents was the poor road conditions. With the Local Government elections due on November 28, it is likely that roads could be hastily repaired or repaved to woo some residents.

On Thursday, workmen from the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and contractors were carrying out road works along the Fishing Pond main road. An excavator was digging a portion of the road while traffic came to a halt. Cars parked in driveways were covered with dust and for miles, the roadway was in a state of disrepair.

Apart from not having proper roads, residents complained of being neglected by their councillors for the last three years. Some of them were also unaware of the new candidates. 

At the corporation’s last statutory meeting, PNM general secretary, Ashton Ford, introduced and congratulated Rajkumar Bhagaloo, a former UNC councillor for Cumuto/Tamana as the PNM candidate for the area.

Ford said: “He came in as UNC and leaving as PNM.” Bhagaloo was one of four councillors to switch allegiance. Ford said he was happy to welcome Bhagaloo in the PNM family and was confident that he would win. A T&T Sunday Guardian team visited several of the districts on Thursday and spoke with residents. While some people said they would be exercising their franchise, many were not prepared to do the same.

‘Have you seen my councillor?’

Babsie, a female vendor from Manzanilla, who was peeling chataigne, told the T&T Sunday Guardian she would not be voting because no one had done anything for her.

“I don’t get nothing, so me eh interested. Everybody does full their pockets. If you see the condition of North Manzanilla Road. We have a petition. The road is in a mess. There is a bridge after the pre-school coming up the road and it falling down years now. They just pass last month and patch up a few holes. Me eh voting for nobody.”

A 73-year-old pensioner, who gave her name as Mary, from Ojoe Road, said she did not know who her councillor was for the past three years and she was not interested.

She said: “You could see them? They not coming to fix nothing. You will vote if you are getting thing. When is a month or three weeks before voting you will see they reach in front of your door.”

But 65-year-old Doodnath of Railway Road, Guaico, said: “I must vote! Kamla must get back inside.”

Cobbler Glen Charles from Oropouche Road, was annoyed that he had not seen his councillor but said he would still vote. 

The 57 year old, who has been plying his trade for over 30 years, called for a space for vendors.

“It is on the pavement and sidewalk we doing our thing. The councillor them don’t come around here. It come like we have nobody. They should come around and talk to we.”

His other concerns were overgrown grass on both sides of the road and clogged drains.

Ms Seemungal and her daughter, Kashie, from Smithland, Wallerfield, complained that their councillor was last seen three years ago while she was campaigning.

Ms Seemungal said: “I hope I will be voting once my name is on the list. Our councillor passed in the area when she was going up the last time, which was three years ago and she said she will fix our roads and she never came back.” 

Her daughter, meanwhile, said the roads were in a poor state and emphasised it was a farming area.

A die-hard supporter of the UNC, Theodore Charles vowed that the party would return to full governance. Charles criticised the current council saying it had not performed at all.

Charles, from Foster Road, said: “Of course, I will be voting to get these people out of here. Watch the condition of the place! Watch the road. Two drops of rain and Sangre Grande flood.”

He claimed there was a lack of management “by whosoever in authority, they will know who they are.” Charles said there was too much unemployment and killings.

“We will deteriorate and collapse and then we will cannot get up,” he added.

Basdeo Persad, of Genda Road in Fishing Pond, complained of bad roads. He said he was still waiting to see who was his councillor.

Persad, 71, said he wanted better roads and explained that if there was an emergency and a sick person needed to get to the hospital in a rush, the road was a setback. He said they had paved up to a quarter mile of the road.

Manzanilla resident, Elias Remy said while he knew his councillor, his concern was roads.

A step backward

Owner of the popular First and Last bar in Manzanilla, Loy Henry, said there was no real development in the area. His family has operated from that spot since 1947.

While he will vote and knew his councillor, Henry said: “We need sidewalks, the roads need to be fixed but first of all, WASA needs to be fixed. WASA is the main contributing factor to the destruction of the roads.”

Clyde Wells, a retiree from Upper Sangre Grande, said he will exercise his franchise, but while he expressed his concerns over issues, he said many people “talk and do not take action.” He said they did not try to get matters addressed through the proper authorities.

Former chairman of the corporation Keshwar Maharaj, who operates a pharmacy in the heart of Sangre Grande, said he had left several unfinished projects which were in advanced stages.

Maharaj said under his chairmanship over 500 street lights were installed. 

He said many recreation grounds and public cemeteries needed to be upgraded.

Maharaj said people still came to him for assistance with passport forms, NIS and old age pension.

Asked if the quality of life and conditions have improved, Maharaj said no. 

“It has taken a step back.”

About the SGRC

The corporation covers an area of 898 square kilometres and according to its website, makes it the largest municipality by geographic area. 

The municipality of Sangre Grande is subdivided into the following districts—Cumuto/Tamana, Manzanilla, Sangre Grande North East, Sangre Grande North West, Sangre Grande South, Toco/Fishing Pond, Valencia and Vega de Oropouche. 

It also comprises 41 communities.

In the 2010 Local Government elections, the People’s Partnership won seven of the eight districts. 

Terry Rondon, who is now the chairman of the corporation, was the lone representative for the People’s National Movement (PNM).

In 2013, however, the PNM regained control, winning five out of the eight. The United National Congress held on to three seats. 

There were two PNM aldermen, one UNC alderman, and one Independent Liberal Party alderman.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission reported that in the 2013 Local Government elections, the PNM received 188,393 votes; the UNC 122,346, and the ILP 102,918. The Congress of the People (COP) received 32,496 votes. 

Overall, the PNM won 85 of the 136 seats, the UNC-44, the ILP-three, and the COP-four.

FUNCTIONS

Some of the functions of municipal corporations include the construction and maintenance of all drains and water courses, except main water courses and highway water courses; the provision, maintenance, and control of parks, recreation grounds, beaches and other public spaces; the maintenance, control and enhancement of the physical environment including–monitoring water courses, beaches and water front areas, swamps, forests, game sanctuaries, savannahs, parks and other open spaces. 

Corporations are also responsible for the disposal of garbage and the distribution of truck-borne water.

Kevin Baldeosingh

A draft policy document on the Vision 2030 programme touted by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has linked URP and Cepep to crime and corruption. The document, meanwhile, reveals that the Vision 2020 programme under the Patrick Manning administration failed to achieve most of its goals.

Titled “National Development Strategy 2016‒2030,” the Vision 2030 draft prepared by the Ministry of Planning and Development is one of several key policy documents now before Cabinet which have not yet been released to the public. 

In respect to crime, the draft notes, “Historically the response of public policy to the inadequate pace of private sector job creation has been to institute ‘make-work’ programmes to provide temporary employment.” The negative effects of these programmes, the draft says, include dependency, entitlement, and labour shortages. “In addition to these effects, these programmes have also been attended by corrupt practices and have been a source of income for persons engaged in criminal activity,” the document admits.

The draft says, “For the last two decades, Trinidad and Tobago has been afflicted by unacceptably high rates of serious crimes, particularly murders. While some of the murders are linked to domestic violence, the majority are related to gang violence which is in turn linked to the movement of drugs and the associated acquisition of firearms.” 

Table One shows the murder totals from 1995 to 2015, which began surging upwards in the third year of the Manning regime. In that same year, the budget allocation for URP was increased more than threefold to $300 million. The Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (Cepep) was established by Cabinet in 2002 with an initial allocation of over $378 million.

The draft says, “The crime detection rate showed little change with 16.8 per cent in 2010 and 16 per cent in 2014, but improved slightly to 22 per cent in 2015. However, in spite of the increased detection, less than a quarter of reported crimes were being solved.”

The draft also identified child abuse and domestic violence as key areas of concern. “In terms of the family, the latest available data revealed that the number of child abuse cases declined slightly but remained high at above 4,000 cases, from 4,760 cases during 2007‒2012, to 4,158 cases during 2015‒2016,” the document says. “However, the data on the number of Domestic Violence cases were of greatest concern, as the statistic increased by an alarming 57 per cent from 70,769 cases during 2006-2007 to 125,166 cases during 2013-2014.”

As part of a crime reduction package, the draft proposes new legislation to tackle corruption, including asset forfeiture, whistle blower protection, and Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Amendment Bill 2015, as well as increased powers for the Police Complaints Authority. There are also plans to build a state-of-the-art Forensic Science Centre, merge the Anti-Corruption Investigations Bureau and the Financial Investigations Bureau to tackle white-collar crime, and make the Professional Standards Bureau of the T&T Police Service (TTPS) into a semi-autonomous agency.

The draft has not been released to the public. “The document remains in draft form since further national consultations on the recommendations and on the proposed priorities, strategies and key shifts must be discussed and debated. A National Vision 2030 Communications Strategy will be developed to solicit the views of citizens and stakeholder groups,” says the Planning Ministry.

How Vision 2020 failed

In the Foreword to the National Strategic Development Plan document, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis states: “Through the adoption of a comprehensive national development planning framework, the National Development Strategy, Vision 2030, will lay the foundation and pathway for attaining developed country status by the year 2030.”

According to a survey carried out by Market Opinion and Research International (MORI) in 2007, half of the people surveyed felt Vision 2020 would be successful. But, even by that year, the programme had already failed to achieve most of its benchmarks, as shown in Box One. This despite the fact that the Government was already claiming significant progress. And, nine years later, the PNM administration continues to assert that Vision 2020 is a resounding success and only the timeline has to be extended, even though its own statistics belie this claim.

Murders 1995-2015 (TABLE 1)

Year Murders

1995 122

1996 107

1997 101

1998 97

1999 93

2000 120

2001 151

2002 171

2003 229

2004 261

2005 386

2006 371

2007 391

2008 547

2009 506

2010 473

2011 343

2012 383

2013 407

2014 403

2015 420

Source: TTPS

Vision 2020 success rate

Success rate of sample of Vision 2020 projects

AREA TOTAL GOALS ONGOING/PENDING DEADLINE ATTAINED SUCCESS RATE

National Security 87 78 9 10%

Governance 30 26 4 13%

Infrastructure 77 66 11 14%

Health 32 29 3 9%

Source: Draft National Strategic Plan, 2007

This sample indicates that, contrary to Government claims in 2007, the overall success rate of Vision 2020 was a dismal 11 per cent.

Vision 2020 performance

In 2016, the Draft Vision 2030 document states that Vision 2020 had “an implementation rate of approximately 70 per cent in four years”. But the draft’s own statistics show that only 18 per cent of objectives were achieved, and 30 per cent showed no significant progress. In respect to goals like “Effective government,” the achievement rate was a dismal three per cent; for competitive business, 17 per cent; and for developing innovative people, four per cent. (See Box Two.)

Goal Ongoing % Achieved % Failed %

Innovation 54% 4% 42%

Caring Society 48% 31% 21%

Competitive Business 59% 29% 12%

Effective Government 59% 3% 38%

Total 51% 18% 30%

Source: Ministry of Planning

“Since my son went missing, to date, the police haven’t done anything to show that they really care or are concerned about the persons who are missing in this country. I know many other people who feel this way too.” 

Those were the sentiments of Eric Knights, who is frustrated with police, claiming they have a “don’t-care-a-damn” attitude and put forth little effort to locate his son Michael, who has been missing for more than two years. 

Knights wants new Ag Commissioner of Police Harold Phillip to investigate the matter and not let it become a cold case file and be forgotten. The family is perplexed how the police have not been able to make a breakthrough with Michael’s disappearance as a suspect was allegedly held with the missing man’s bank card.

“I would appreciate it if the new Ag Commissioner of Police Harold Phillip can investigate this matter because there was a young man outside who was allegedly found with my son’s bank card and was taking money from my son’s bank account. 

“How did he get my son’s bank card?”

The recently retired 60-year-old National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd (MTS) sergeant said the man with his son’s bank card was held and released.

Knights is at a loss why his son has gone missing. But he claimed that a man in the community had threatened multiple times in 2010 to kill him and his family. They had had a simple misunderstanding.

He also said just weeks after Michael disappeared, a message was sent to him that he would never see his son again. He said he notified the police but nothing came out of it.

Michael, 25, the nephew of calypsonian Luta (Morell Peters), from Third Street, San Fabien Road, Springland, Gasparillo, was last seen on August 5, 2014, at the Marabella Secondary School where he worked as a stores attendant with MTS.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian from his Gasparillo, home on Wednesday, Knights, who is still grieving, said, “Three months after, then Ag Police Commissioner Stephen Williams at a police town meeting at the Gasparillo Secondary School on November 4, 2014, stated that was the first time he was hearing that my son was missing. He got that information from a civilian and not from his police officers who are working with him, so something has to be totally wrong with the Police Service.”

He said he had been searching for his son along with officers of the Southern Division. Not satisfied with the response from these officers, Knights has also reported his son’s disappearance at the Marabella Police Station and homicide division in Port-of-Spain. He said he handed out flyers at these police divisions and even a police officer on a television crime show, but to no avail. No one called him back on any headway into his missing son. 

Knights said Michael was supposed to join the T&T Regiment, he had passed the examinations, physical and medical evaluations in 2013 with flying colours, and was waiting to be enlisted.

He said his son loved the army and developed a passion for the military when he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Knights said Michael “was a bit anxious” expecting the call from the T&T Regiment and was scheduled to visit with their representatives on August 4, 2014, about his status but for some reason, he did not go and he never saw Michael again after the fateful day of August 5.

Knights said since then, there had been no phone calls or new leads. 

On the morning Knights dropped Michael off under the overpass in Gasparillo, as he made his way to work, all he had with him was a Bible and his wallet. 

When asked if he knew if his son had any hobbies, a girlfriend, if he was planning to start a family, gambling, liming with the wrong crowd, drugs, drinking or had a police record, he replied Michael was not involved in any illegal activities and that in order to join the army a person must be “clean” of drugs. 

Knights said he did not know his son to have a girlfriend, however they talked about young ladies. The family were devout Christians and when in church Michael professed his love to the Lord, graduated from Bible school, and was a very responsible young man. 

Mom: We will never 

give up searching 

The pain and sorrow only a mother could feel over her missing first-born son was visible on Michiel Knights’ face and it was palpable. 

Pictures of Michael, the eldest of her five children were still in his room. 

Her voice was tinged with sadness and she said it was difficult not to miss him as he was part of her. Whenever she was cooking, she was reminded of her son because he had a huge appetite.

She said when she made roti, Michael helped her in the kitchen and complimented her on her “sweet hand.”

Michael’s mom, a church minister, said he was born again and baptised in the Holy Spirit.

She said the absence of his physical body meant he was in the presence of God. 

When asked how she remained so composed, Knights attributed it to her faith in God (the family attended the Word Of Faith Gospel Tabernacle in Gasparillo) and her family’s support which strengthened them. 

Knights said she would like to see the police do their job in general, to uphold their oath to protect and serve the country’s citizens.

She said they will never give up searching for Michael.

Luta: Parang song to raise awareness of missing nephew 

Luta, Michael’s uncle, said he was re-releasing his 2015 parang song Michael for Christmas in an effort to see if it could catch the ear of anyone who knew something about his nephew’s disappearance for them to come forward.

He said he hoped the song can send a message to people to do something, it was a cry for help from the family, it was not easy for them, there was no closure as the case seemed to be in limbo. 

Peters said there was a bout of calls that emanated from the prisons from people trying to extort money but since then, nothing has happened. 

n Anyone with 

information on Michael Knights can contact the Marabella police station at 

652-6777, TTPS Anti-Kidnapping Squad at 623-6793 or relatives at 684-2246. 

Prime Minister and Political leader of the People's National Movement Dr Keith Rowley will update the population today on proposals for Local Government reform as he launches the party’s campaign for the November 28 polls at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

The PNM holds its 46th convention one month before the Local Government elections and will be presenting the party’s 137 candidates. This will be broadcasted live on television and radio.

Local Government Minister Franklin Khan confirmed that legislation for reform of the Local Government system is now being drafted by Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young.

Khan said: “Everything is in place and we are mobilised for the convention.”

He refused to divulge what would be the party’s selling point for this year’s campaign given that the reform which was promised before the polls did not happen but added, “all that is part of a policy document, just wait and listen to what the political leader has to say.”

The Guardian has been informed that the policy document which has already been approved by the Cabinet details the way forward for Local Government and will form the basis for the legislation. The reform will be “in keeping with the manifesto promises but will also take into account the view gleaned from the consultations which were held across the country on Local Government reform,” Khan said.

In May, Khan told the Parliament that even ahead of the legislative agenda in preparing the 2017 Budget the Cabinet approved the policy recommendation to beef up the municipal police forces to 100 officers per corporation. This means an additional 1,400 municipal police officers would be retained. 

An allocation of $13.7 million has been made for the officers in the 2017 Budget.

Three posts being contested in today’s election

When the party meets today it would be the second time they are using the one-man-one-vote system which was introduced by Dr Rowley. Three posts are being contested in this election: 

• Education Officer—there are three candidates Sigler Jack, Neil Parsanlal, a former information minister who is now chairman of Nalis, and John Paul Alexander.

• Youth Officer—Darryl Smith, Stephen Mathieson, and Chinua Alleyne are contesting this post.

• Party Welfare Officer—Joycelyn Bodden, a long-time party activist and Carolyn Washinton-Aigle are vying for this post.

Voting starts at 9 and ends at 2 pm.

Local Elections manifesto not ready

Meanwhile, Khan confirmed that the party’s manifesto for the upcoming Local Government elections is not yet ready. He said: “The manifesto is being prepared and will be made available in the coming weeks.”

Two men in their early 20s have been arrested for killing Mohandass Ramasir during a robbery at Tajudeen’s Bar on Cipero Road, last Friday. The suspects, who live close to the bar, spent the weekend being interrogated by officers of the Region Three Homicide Bureau.

Police said Ramasir, 62, of Balisier Avenue, Pleasantville, was liming at the bar at around 4.24 pm when three robbers entered the premises. They forced patrons to lie on the ground and robbed them of an undisclosed sum of cash, cell phones and jewelry. 

Police said before leaving one of the gunmen fired a shot hitting Ramasir in the hip. He was taken to the San Fernando General hospital where he died. Police said the robbers were unmasked and they have obtained video surveillance footage from the scene. 

Once investigations are completed, a senior officer is expected to make recommendations to the Director of Public Prosecutions for charges to be laid. 

An autopsy is due to be done on Ramasir’s body at the Forensic Science Centre today.

• Anyone with information on the murder can contact the San Fernando Homicide Bureau. 

As sure as night follows day, the PNM government is going to reform local government to bring power to the people. The party is ready to deliver, chairman and Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Franklin Khan declared yesterday afternoon, at the official launch of the PNM’s local government campaign at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

“It is real and it will happen. Just as night follows day, local government reform is going to happen this time,” he said.

Khan said although local government reform has been bandied around for decades, it is different this time because Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has given his personal commitment to the cause. The new legislation will empower local regional corporations to govern their own regions, like regional governments.

The PNM’s campaign for the November 28 local government elections will focus on local government reform, he said.

“The PNM is in election mode once again and we are red and ready,” he said.

At yesterday’s convention and campaign launch, the party presented 137 candidates to contest in 14 regional corporations.  Khan said surveys commissioned by the PNM showed that almost 100 per cent of those questioned believe local government reform is required.

Between December 2015 and April 2016, the party held 14 local government reform consultations in each region. Khan said legislation to reform local government has already been drafted by Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young and within the first half of 2017 it will be tabled in Parliament, then put before a Joint Select Committee for discussion.

He said whether it is a PNM-controlled corporation, like Diego Martin, or a UNC-controlled one like Siparia, all will be given the same power to govern their specific geographical areas. He said there will be no need for a local government minister, making him probably the only minister determined to work himself out of a job.

Local government bodies will be given a new structure, additional financing and increased manpower to handle their new responsibilities.

They will have a relationship with the Ministry of Finance similar to that of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) and develop their own plans and policies for their respective regions, the minister said.

“That’s what you call devolution of power,” Khan said.

Corporations will be allowed to retain certain taxes collected within their boundaries and councillors will be employed full time.

Khan said as promised in its 2015 general election manifesto, the PNM plans to remove all the red tape and bureaucracy that prevents regional corporations from doing their work in an efficient manner.

Regional corporations will be given statutory authority to handle a broad range of new responsibilities, including:
• Social services delivery
• School maintenance
• Maintenance of recreation grounds 
• Local tourism

People within each corporation will be contracted to do small projects in their areas.

Khan said a total of 1,400 new municipal police officers will be employed to do community policing. That breaks down to 100 new municipal police officers in each corporation, with the recruits coming from their own areas.

Regional corporations will also be given more power to handle disasters in their areas and will be mandated to engage non-governmental and community-based organisations in the decision making process.

Khan said corporations are, at present, undersourced and understaffed and a new organisational structure will be put in place to implement the added responsibilities. 

This will result in job creation as young engineers, quantity surveyors and other graduates will be absorbed into the new local government structure, he said.

Police have detained two people in connection with reports of breaking and entering and illegal occupancy of units at the Housing Development Corporation’s (HDC) Oasis Gardens.

The suspects were reportedly found with keys to several townhouses and single units where the locks had been changed. However, they claim they are victims of a scam, not the perpetrators. 

They had been illegally occupying side by side units and had allegedly “rented” units to other illegal occupants, even providing rental agreements in some instances.

Investigations are continuing into the matter.

An HDC team led by managing director Brent Lyons and head of security Lorne Alexander are leading an audit and removal of illegal occupants from the units which are soon to be allocated.

Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial is calling on the ministries of Local Government and Works to do major clearing of drains in  her constituency. The opposition MP made the call yesterday after she visited residents of Chase Village, Chaguanas, whose homes were flooded following heavy rains, yesterday.   

Ramdial said most drains in the area are clogged and filled with debris. She warned there could more flooding unless urgent action is taken. She said the flooding at Chase Village was caused by  a collapsed  underground drain. 

The central division of the Ministry of Works is waiting for approval from Works Minister Fitzgerald Hinds for infrastructural work in the area. One of the affected residents, Harrynarine Persad, said it takes about 12 hours for the water to drain from his property which is located on the Southern Main Road. 

He said flooding has damaged walls in his property which are on the verge of collapsing. 

Ramdial said  the Fire Service and staff from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) assisted with pumping water out of flooded homes. 

When gunfire erupted during a baby dedication ceremony yesterday, a member of the congregation at the Calvary Temple in Marabella tried to protect fellow worshippers by drawing his own gun. By the time the smoke cleared, Jessie De Larosa, 21, of Marabella, lay bleeding on the roadway.

Police said the incident occurred at around 9 am during the regular Sunday morning service at the Theresa Street church. A baby was about to be dedicated when loud gunshots were heard outside, sending members of the congregation and nearby residents scampering for safety.

“It sounded like firecrackers. We did not know what was going on but someone said they were shooting up in the air outside,” an eyewitness said. 

“We all felt concerned but we kept on praying because everything is possible with prayer.” 

An off-duty policeman who was at the church went to investigate. Neighbours said De Larosa, who was shot by the gunmen, remained on the road bleeding from his shoulder while church members called the police. 

Officers retrieved a .38 revolver from the scene and De Larosa was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was warded in a stable condition yesterday. The baby dedication eventually took place around midday after police took statements.

Residents are calling for more police patrols in the area.

“It getting real bad here. 

“We want the police to patrol because I am sure some people will be too afraid to come to church here now,” one resident said.

PC Harrigin of the Marabella police station is continuing investigations.

Valdeen Shears-Neptune

Saturday made it five years since the disappearance of disc jockey Claude “Choko” Hospedales, who went missing after completing a gig at a bar in Santa Flora on October 29, 2011. His mother Maureen still clings to the hope that something concrete will come out of the ongoing search for human remains at a pond at Oilfield Road, Santa Flora.

She said the family is still praying for closure although police involved in the search exercise, which started in mid-September, are yet to visit her home.

She said just a few days ago she had to console Hospedales’ youngest daughter, now 16, who heard rumours that have been circulating in their village.

“She called me, she asked, ‘Mammy is it true, they find daddy bones?’ I had to tell her stop listening to village gossip, we have to wait to hear what the police saying,” she said.

Hospedales said she has not heard from the police although they began dredging the pond some weeks ago, so she sent a relative to visit the site last week, after taxi drivers and other neighbours asked her about reports that her son’s remains had been found.

“People real talking and we just decided to not wait any longer. I sent her there. She said she was stopped by an officer. When she told him who she was and the family’s concern with all the rumours circulating about clothes and maybe even bones being found at the pond, the officer told her that was not true. She said he told her the talk about the bones was false, pieces of clothing had been found, though, but had to be processed. He assured her that we will be the first to know if he is found there,”  she said. 

Hospedales said ever since her son, a father of three, went missing,  the family has been hearing all kinds of rumours about his disappearance. Relatives said they have been told the police are looking for two people in connection with the case

“We have not been told anything concrete. We do know they are looking for one or two people in relation to him. We can only wait and hope,” a relative, who spoke anonymously, told the T&T Guardian.

The relative said evidence is being collected from the pond, as excavators have been deployed to dig up the slush and mud.

Investigations are continuing.

Teenagers from several schools in San Fernando are being trained to identify and deal with mental health disorders. The Mental Health First Aid programme is being conducted by officials of the  South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA).

Students from Presentation College, Naparima College, St Benedict’s College, Iere High School, St Joseph Convent and Asja Girls College, who recently took part in a training session at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, were told by SWRHA CEO Anil Gosine that 75 per cent of all lifetime mental health disorders appear before age 24. He also said the college years are a crucial period as nearly half of mental disorders occur before age 15 when teenagers are moving from adolescence to adulthood.

Gosine said an annual average of 400 children and adolescents access mental health services at the Child Guidance Clinic. 

“According to a significant report by the World Health Organization (WHO), somebody dies by taking their own life every 40 seconds. The young are disproportionately affected. Providing more people with basic psychological and mental health first aid skills will help to decrease the current rate of suicide in T&T which is 13 to 100,000,” he said.

“Psychological and mental distress can happen anywhere. In our homes, in our schools, in the workplace, in the supermarkets and in public spaces. Psychological and mental health first aid is a potentially life-saving skill that we all need to have. We can make the world a better place.”

Psychiatric social worker Joanna Maharaj, who provided guidelines on how to assist children and teenagers suffering from trauma, told the students it was important that they protect themselves. 

Maharaj said children who suffer physical and emotional abuse can display anger, instability, shock, denial and other symptoms. Therefore, a young person approaching someone showing these signs should ensure there are safe exits and no weapons around. 

Stressing that it was important to detect trauma, she outlined several signs based on age groups:
• Under 5: Thumb sucking, fear, bed wetting.
• Ages 6-11: Loss of interest in friends and fun activities, nightmares, unfounded fears and easily irritated
• Ages 12-17: Flashback of traumatic events, nightmares, sleeplessness, avoidance of places where past traumas occurred, drug and/or alcohol use and disruptive and rude behaviours.

Many women who are diagnosed with breast cancer and made to undergo surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy do not need treatment at all. In such cases, they can actually live with the disease, says Dr George Laquis, former head of the T&T Cancer Society, who has been at the forefront of the cancer battle in T&T for more than four decades.

Giving an example, Dr Laquis said women diagnosed with breast carcinoma in situ (BCIS) will die with the cancer but not from it. 

“I am not sure we should be treating those kinds of cancer. We can leave it alone,” he said, also making the point in reference to the shortage of cancer drugs and the high cost of treatment.

Speaking on the topic of cancer misdiagnoses, Dr Laquis said from the time a type of cancer is detected, the usual reaction is to start a process of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He said such a misdiagnosis creates physical and psychological distress.

Then, there’s the case of making a diagnosis when you don’t need to. For instance, if a 75-year-old man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, it may be best not to tell him, Laquis said.

“In all probability, he is going to die anyway in ten years or less.”

Laquis said if an elderly patient comes to him saying he wants to see if he has cancer, he tells him: “I don’t want to see if you have cancer. Physicians are trained to interfere. There comes a time when it’s best to put your hands behind your back.”

He said 30 per cent of all geriatric hospital admissions in the United States are because of doctor and medical error, which is the third leading cause of death.

Cervical cancer
In its series on cancer for Cancer Awareness Month, the T&T Guardian spoke to Marina Hilaire-Bartlett, executive director of the public health agency, Population Services International (PSI) Caribbean, on the rise in cervical cancer in T&T. Hilaire-Bartlett preferred not to describe it as an increase. 

“I would say the prevalence is higher than it should be,” she said,

Washington-based PSI, according to its website, has been for four decades a game changer in contraceptive product marketing and distribution. In 2013, the agency distributed more than a billion condoms worldwide and more than 100 million tubes of lubricant.

Hilaire-Bartlett said PSI Caribbean,  is also involved in an HIV programme. She said 210 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed every year in T&T and there is a strong link between cervical cancer and the sexually transmitted disease, Human papillomavirus (HPV), as 99 per cent of the causes of cervical cancer is HPV.

HPV is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases and, in T&T, cervical cancer is the second most common form of cancer among women.

“It’s a preventable cancer,” Hilaire-Bartlett said.

She said there is a need for a greater investment in women’s health by the State and other health agencies. Noting that PSI Caribbean works with the Health Ministry and the Family Planning Association, Hilaire-Bartlett said they focus on prevention of cervical cancer by prevention and early treatment of HPV.

She said the HPV vaccine, one of the main ways to prevent cervical cancer, is administered freely at public health institutions. The best way to administer the vaccine is to give it to boys and girls over 11 and 12 years of age before they are sexually active. However, this has been met with resistance from parents, she said.

“Parents feel this would encourage them to become sexually active.”
 
State of cancer treatment centres
Medical personnel at the cancer treatment centre at the St James Infirmary and at the cancer clinic at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) are devoted and are doing a remarkable job under the circumstances, the T&T Guardian was told.

Dr Anand Chatoorgoon, former SFGH medical director, said patients get chemotherapy treatment at the hospital but no radiotherapy. The hospital also does cancer surgeries and provides cancer drugs free of charge.

The Southern Medical Clinic, a private facility, has an arrangement with the Government to administer radiotherapy to cancer patients there.

“The Government picks up the tab. All the processes are quite expensive. At San Fernando, patients have to go on a six-week course with the drugs and sometimes more than one course.”

Asked about the condition of facilities at the SFGH, Chatoorgoon said: “Yes, it’s good. It’s okay.”

Conditions at the St James Infirmary are also the “best they can be,” Laquis said.

“Staff work hard. The facilities are not perfect but they try their best with what they have. They are a very devoted group doing very good work. Considering the circumstances, they are doing a remarkable job.”

Last week, in a T&T Guardian interview, Laquis suggested that the Couva Children’s Hospital, built under the former Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration for sick children, should be converted into a centre for a national cancer programme. He said the Government should set up a committee to look for a suitable academic partner to come up with the programme.

The building was completed just before the end of the last administration’s term in September last year but to date remains unopened and unused by the new government.

Changes to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will be announced after lunch on Monday.

Well-placed sources told Guardian Media that shake ups are coming in the Ministries of the Attorney General, National Security, Health, Foreign Affairs, Public Utilities, Sports and Energy.

In January, Prime Minister Rowley added Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses and former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Toco/Sangre Grande MP Glenda Jennings Smith to the crime fighting arsenal at the Ministry of National Security. 

But by Rowley’s own admission the fight against crime has been failing so much so that the PM told the PNM Convention on Sunday that “I propose to take a direct interest in overseeing a comprehensive review of the way in which community policing functions are introduced within the Police Service.”

Rowley lamented that billions of dollars were spent in the last two decades but yet still it was a “small deadly minority” who continue to act with impunity in the country.

The Prime Minister has been unhappy with the way Dillon has been handling the crime situation and may well do what Basdeo Panday did when he was Prime Minister and assume the National Security portfolio himself.

Sources say the Prime Minister also intends to move the Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre whose performance has been deemed as “lacklustere.”  

Gerry Brooks is the man hinted to take the job he will be given a senatorial appointment. Brooks is currently the Chairman of the National Gas Company.

The Cabinet shake-up will also see changes in the Ministry of Health. 

Minister Terrence Deyalsingh we are told will be shifted to another portfolio and the country may well see the return of Marlene Mc Donald, who on Sunday was retained as a deputy political leader of the PNM. McDonald is under probe by the Integrity Commission over allegations of hiring her spouse to work at her constituency office.

Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon may return as Foreign Affairs Minister,  a portfolio which she held under the former Patrick Manning administration and Stuart Young may be given the job as Attorney General. 

Our sources say if the change is not made to the Office of the Attorney General Young may be brought in to the National Security Ministry where the Prime Minister feels he needs the strongest talent at this time.

Cabinet sources told the Guardian that the decision as to who stays and who goes rests solely with the Prime Minister.

The PNM’s campaign manager for the 2015 general election Rohan Sinanan has been appointed Minister of Works and Transport, and former works minister Fitzgerald Hinds is the new Public Utilities Minister, in a reshuffle announced today by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley via a media release.

Sinanan, deputy political leader of the PNM, is expected to take the oath of office at President's House this afternoon.

Former Public Utilities Minister retired Brigadier Ancil Antoine has been axed along with former energy minister Nicole Olivierre who has been replaced by former Rural Development and Local Government minister Franklin Khan.

This means Olivierre and Antoine will be an MPs without portfolio.

Khan has been replaced in the ministry of Local Government and Rural Development by former San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein.
Hosein’s term as mayor ended just last week.

In making the announcements the Prime Minister’s office said the Office of the President had been advised to Revoke the appointments of Sarah Budhu as a Senator, revoke the appointment of Olivierre as Minister of Energy and Energy Industries; and to revoke the appointment of Antoine as Minister of Public Utilities.

President Anthony Carmona was also advised to:
·         Reassign Franklin Khan from Minister of Rural Development and Local Government to Minister of Energy and Energy Industries;

·         Appoint  Kazim Hosein as Senator and Minister of Rural Development and Local Government;

·         Reassign Fitzgerald Ethelbert Hinds from Minister of Works and Transport to Minister of Public Utilities;

·         Appoint  Rohan Sinanan, a Senator, as Minister of Works and Transport;

Stuart Young Minister will now be Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Rosemarie Sant

Newly-appointed Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says he is humbled by the confidence placed in him by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley “to run one of the largest ministries at a time when the country needs the Ministry of Works to get going.” 

He is promising to “work in the interest of the country and the people.”

Sinanan, who ran the People’s National Movement’s successful 2015 general election campaign, replaces Fitzgerald Hinds as Works and Transport Minister. Hinds has been reassigned to the Public Utilities Ministry following the dismissal of retired Brigadier Ancil Antoine.

Also getting the axe in yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle was Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre, who has been replaced by former Rural Development and Local Government Minister Franklin Khan. The new Minister of Rural Development and Local Government is former San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein.

Sinanan, a deputy political leader of the People’s National Movement (PNM), admitted his new ministerial responsibilities would be a challenge, “especially with the economic circumstances because the Ministry of Works is where you need a heavy bud

He said he planned to give it his all and would “scrutinise the award of contracts” given questions raised under the former administration.

Sinanan said he intended to meet with the permanent secretary and senior ministry staff to chart the way forward. 

“My job is to make sure Government policy is implemented within the framework of a detailed plan,” he said.

Among the projects on the table are the Valencia to Toco Highway, the Wallerfield to Manzanilla Highway, continuation of the Point Fortin Highway and the Chaguaramas causeway. 

He said he intended to make sure that he lived up to his oath of office and not disappoint people who put their trust in him. He said his objective was to “serve the people and the country to the best of my ability.”

Curiously, following the official announcement of Sinanan’s appointment a story published in December last year started circulating on social media about a 50th birthday party at his Valsayn home which was attended by Prime Minister Rowley.

Among the guests were Jack Warner and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh, both of whom are currently challenging extradition request by US authorities.

Reports also surfaced that Sinanan bought land once occupied by the Kay Donna Drive-in Cinema which is earmarked to be acquired for the Curepe Interchange. 

He told the T&T Guardian: “While it is true I do have an interest in the land which was once occupied by the Kay Donna Cinema along with other shareholders, what has been circulating is very untrue. Now they will see the truth.”

Sinanan said he also owned property in Valsayn and Sangre Grande but denied he owned land in Toco. He also dismissed as “garbage” claims that he was paid money by the Government.

In the case of Khan, while this is the first time he has been appointed Energy Minister, he is no stranger to the sector. 

“I am a petroleum geologist and I worked for over two decades in the industry, so that is my professional training. I intend to bring my expertise to bear on the Ministry of Energy,” he said.

Khan, the chairman of the PNM, has served on the Cabinet Standing Committee on Energy in both the Patrick Manning and Keith Rowley administrations and said he is “reasonably familiar with some of the issues.” 

Asked whether there would be any conflict of interest in his new portfolio given his involvement in the sector in a previous incarnation, Khan said: “I have no interest in any energy sector companies as we speak.”

More info

In the Cabinet reshuffle announced via a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister, the former San Fernando Mayor replaces Sarah Budhu in the Senate and now holds the Rural Development and Local Government portfolio previously held by Khan. Budhu contested the seat for Caroni East for the PNM in the last general election but was unsuccessful.

Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young is now Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister. 

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday questioned why the Attorney General and the Ministers of Health, Education and National Security were not changed in yesterday’s reshuffle.

“They have been colossal failures in their respective portfolios and have yet escaped being removed. A cloud remains over the head of Attorney General (Faris) Al-Rawi for his handling of the Malcolm Jones and other fiascos,” Persad-Bissessar said in a release.

“This is a classic case of reshuffling bush cards. It is now apparent that Dr Rowley does not have a team of competent, knowledgeable and experienced professionals from whom to select Cabinet Ministers. Suitably qualified professionals clearly do not want to be a part of the failing Rowley regime,” she added.

“The country has previously seen Franklin Khan at work and has not been impressed by his performance. His promotion to the critical Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs does not provide any comfort of visionary leadership to improve the activities in this vital sector,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“The removal of Fitzgerald Hinds as Minister of Works was anticipated in light of the absence of any infrastructural works in the first 13 months of the Rowley regime. His replacement, Rohan Sinanan, has been handed a major ministerial plum without any proper experience in public service,” she said.

During a live telephone interview during the CNC3’s newscast, anchor Golda Lee-Bruce asked Persad-Bissessar about criticisms that would seem to make her statement hypocritical because when she was in government she reshuffled her Cabinet about nine times.

Persad-Bissessar responded saying: “I did reshuffle several times and every single time it was Dr Rowley who bashed the party for the changes that were made. I saw it as a Government issue at that time but given that Dr Rowley is in charge he has all the answers. He has failed miserably in bringing the changes promised on the campaign platform.”