Calypso legend Winston Bailey, better known at The Mighty Shadow, will have all reason to “dingolay” this October, as three weeks after he celebrates his 77th birthday, he will be awarded an honorary doctorate from The University of the West Indies’ St Augustine campus.

Bailey is one of five people that the St Augustine campus has listed to be honoured during its annual graduation ceremony celebration.

Bailey, a former Calypso Monarch and Road March winner, will celebrate his 77th birthday on October 4.

He is scheduled to receive his Honorary Doctor of Letters during the campus’ three days of graduation ceremonies scheduled to begin on October 25.

The announcement was made The UWI yesterday.

Apart from Bailey, Paula Lucie-Smith, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA), will also receive an honorary doctorate.

ALTA is a non-profit organisation in existence in T&T since 1982 which addresses the issue of adult literacy and has helped hundreds of people since its inception.

Lucie-Smith is listed to be awarded an Honorary Doctors of Law.

Guyanese cricket legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a former captain of the West Indies team, will also be given the Honorary Doctors of Law. Chanderpaul is still actively playing professional cricket although he is now 43.

Former prime minister of Bahamas Hubert Ingraham will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws. Ingraham was the prime minister of Bahamas from August 1992 to May 2002 and again from May 2007 to May 2012.

Prof Dermott Kelleher, the dean of the faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Canada, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science.

Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein has expressed faith in newly-appointed Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, saying his ideas and crime-fighting strategies must be respected and supported.

Speaking at the Municipal Police Induction Training Programme at the Marabella South Secondary School yesterday, Hosein said he had also been meeting with various stakeholders and planned to provide recommendations to Griffith about how municipal police could assist in the crime fight.

He said: “I believe Griffith is the right man for this job. I welcome him to this position and look forward to meeting with him when he assumes office so we can discuss how the Municipal Police Service will deepen its cooperation with the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to take a sustained and cohesive stand against crime in this country.”

Hosein told those gathered that law-abiding citizens were now afraid of criminals and an increased police presence in communities would go a long way in making people feel safe.

“I want you to recognise that addressing the crime problem is not just about making arrests. It is about going into communities that have been forgotten for too long and becoming youth mentors, treating the single parents with compassion and approaching elders with respect, empathy and consideration,” he said.

He also urged the officers to stand up to corruption.

“As employees within the municipal corporations, we want you to be beacons of good, to stand up against corruption that prevents people from benefitting from the services of local government. You all will have heard reports in the news about fraudulent activities and impropriety in Sangre Grande, Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Chaguanas and San Juan/Laventille. We must take a stand against these activities and we expect that you as new Municipal Police constables will safeguard the public,” he said.

He also warned that misappropriation of public funds at any level prevented development that could benefit the people.

“We cannot fight the scourge of crime with just the TTPS, or just the Municipal Police; it takes all of us standing up for what is right. It takes inter-agency cooperation and intra-community involvement,” he said.

“So I urge you as you begin your training to keep that in mind. Remember that you must work with the community and for the community. Only together can we improve citizen safety and security across this country.”

He also told the recruits that once they became a police officer they would be called upon to do unimaginable feats.

“Though you might never believe so or think of yourselves in such a light, you will be heroes in your own right. This is a noble calling that you have chosen, to become the guardians of our communities and the purveyors of citizen safety.

“Do not approach this undertaking lightly. Serve your community with the pride, humanity and professionalism becoming of an officer of the law,” he added.

The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) is accusing the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) of discriminating against it in its handling of a controversy over an alleged hijab ban at the Lakshmi Girls’ High School several months ago.

In a letter sent to EOC chairman Lynette Seebaran-Suite yesterday, SDMS lawyer Kiel Taklalsingh accused the organisation of being biased in a press release issued in June whilst the controversy involving On-The-Job-Trainee (OJT) Nafisah Nakhid was still brewing.

Taklalsingh said: “Given the potential for reputational harm and/or other consequential damage, it would be incumbent upon an entity such as yours, in conducting its statutory investigations, to act fairly, consonant with the principles of natural justice/fairness and avoid transgressing my client’s constitutional rights and privileges,” Taklalsingh said.

He also questioned the EOC’s justification for the press release, which was given after an initial complaint by the SDMS.

The EOC had denied any wrongdoing as it claimed the release was part of its mandate to educate the public on its functions.

“Disconcertingly, it seems that the commission has utilised this public education function to target our client and actively engage in discriminatory behaviour on its own,” Taklalsingh said in the letter, as he noted that the EOC sent out such releases infrequently and had also remained silent on other issues in the public domain.

“It is noted with great interest that the EOC has remained silent and refrained from publishing any releases on other prominent issues which arose in the public domain where a medical doctor working in the public health sector expressed malicious comments with respect to citizens of East Indian descent.”

In the letter, Taklalsingh also criticised the EOC for its analysis over its role versus that of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (EOT). Under the Equal Opportunity Act, the EOC receives and investigates discrimination complaints and then refers them to the EOT for adjudication.

Stating that the EOC serves an important role in impartially investigating complaints, Taklalsingh questioned its conduct in his client’s case.

“What the EOC has done, quite inappropriately, is to preempt this process by expressing a view without the benefit of my client’s input, representations and opinion. By your premature publication you have, in effect, undermined the very purpose of the EOC,” Taklalsingh said.

Taklalsingh also noted his client was considering making official complaints against members of the EOC responsible for the release.

The T&T Guardian attempted to contact Seebaran-Suite for a response, but she did not answer calls to her cell phone up to late yesterday evening.

ABOUT THE ISSUE

The controversy over the use of the hijab at the Lakshmi Girls’ High School arose in May as OJT Nafisah Nakhid claimed she barred from entering the school compound for a placement interview unless she was willing to remove her hijab.

Her posts on social media caused a massive furore and led to intervention by the Government. The issue also caused friction between the SDMS and Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who had called on the school to reverse its position.

The SDMS denied Nakhid was blocked from entering the compound but claimed she was informed of the school’s dress code policy towards the hijab during the interview. It claimed the policy did not infringe the constitutional rights of citizens and that the school does not discriminate against Muslims.

It also alleged the Government’s intended lawsuit is discriminatory, as other religious bodies impose similar rules at their educational institutions.

The Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprises Development eventually reassigned Nakhid, a qualified mechanical engineer, to the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government. Nakhid is also said to be considering her legal options

New National Security Minister Stuart Young took up duty at the ministry yesterday meeting with several executives of that ministry.

A statement from the ministry said he was first briefed by permanent Secretary Vel Lewis on the current business in the ministry.

It said he then got straight to business by meeting with heads of divisions and units. In that forum, he urged the importance of engagement, focus and prioritisation as well as the pursuit of solution-oriented strategies to confront issues of crime and criminality.

Subsequently, he was briefed on current matters at a security operations meeting with heads of the Defence and Protective
Services.

It said he received an update on the strategies currently being pursued by the various National Security agencies in the fight against crime.

The meeting also served to clarify the support and resources needed by the agencies from the Ministry of National Security.

Young said he was looking forward to full commitment and support from all heads and staff as he intends to strongly lead the ministry forward in the fight against crime and in improving the safety and security of citizens.

One of the men who allegedly robbed Massy Supercentre in La Romaine of $250,000 two months ago was yesterday granted $.45 million bail.

Lary Fraser, 25, of Trou Macaque, Laventille, was not called to plead to the charges when he appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court.

Fraser, who was staying at Hector Street, La Romaine, was arrested during an anti-crime exercise by officers of the Southern Division over the weekend.

The robbery took place on June 27 around 5.55 am as employees began arriving at the supercentre located at Gulf View, La Romaine.

The bandits, who were armed with guns, tied up the workers during the robbery. Fraser was charged by Cpl Burke with two counts of robbery which alleged that together with other persons and armed with a firearm he robbed the supervisor and another worker.

The charges alleged that he used personal violence on the victims. The supervisor was robbed of $250,070, a wallet, an identification card, drivers permit and bank card while the other employee was robbed a $7,000 cellular phone, $500, a wallet, drivers permit, an identification card and two bank cards.

Fraser told Magistrate Alicia Chankar he worked at a construction company as a driver, has three children and a common-law wife.

Court prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said Fraser had no criminal record. The magistrate granted him $450,000 bail with clerk of the peace approval and ordered him to report the police station twice a week. The matter was adjourned to September 4.

Police are investigating how an alleged robber ended up dead inside a house at Pleasantville on Monday evening.

Investigators have seized his gun and are doing forensic ballistic tests to determine whether it was used in other criminal activity.

Up to late yesterday, the deceased remained unidentified.

The home-owner, who is now in police custody, told police he was inside his home at Pleasantville when he was approached by a man.

He said the man pulled out a revolver and attempted to rob him but he retaliated. Three shots rang out during the scuffle, hitting the intruder in the chest, head, and back. He died on the scene. The 29-year-old home-owner then called the police saying he killed a robber inside his house.

He was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries to the head. Police said they have taken statements from the victim and are now in the process of questioning neighbours and relatives. The area where the incident occurred was searched by the police recently and a man wanted for murder was arrested there.

Photos of the deceased circulated on social media yesterday but police said they were yet to get a confirmed identity of the suspect. San Fernando Homicide police are continuing investigations

The EMA plans to take action against alleged illegal quarrying activities in North- East Trinidad.

In a statement yesterday, the EMA stated, ‘The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) recently conducted a surveillance of several areas in the north-eastern part of Trinidad reported as being destroyed by squatting and illegal quarrying activities.

Officers from the EMA’s Environmental Police Unit (EPU) conducted assessments of areas within the Melajo Forest Reserve and along the Toco Old Road.

There was evidence of excavation works conducted and in progress at sites along the Toco Old Road. The EMA is continuing its investigations with respect to those areas which appear to be subjected to illegal squatting.

And in under two weeks, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) will meet with several State agencies to initiate steps to tackle squatting and illegal quarrying activities.

Chairman of the EMA Nadra Nathai-Gyan said following Saturday’s visit to the Melajo Forest Reserve and along the Toco Old Road- two areas were reported as being destroyed by illegal squatting and quarrying.

Nathai-Gyan could not say when the EMA will move with other State agencies to clamp down illegal quarrying.

“It’s not an easy situation because of the multi-pronged approach that would be required. So what the EMA is attempting to do at this point in time is to bring together the relevant parties to decide how we will approach it.”

The agencies that are required to work together with the EMA, Nathai-Gyan said are the Forestry Division, Land Settlement Agency and Ministry of Energy.

Nathai-Gyan said where the illegal quarrying was concerned, the intent was to act in unison in enforcing the laws.

Following the site visit Nathai-Gyan said the EMA’s legal officers have been in discussions on the issue.

“If it does not happen this week as early as next week that joint approach. There are many things to put in place... there are different acts and pieces of legislation that will be relevant. So it cannot be like one agency acting on its own.”

The EMA is a participating agency member of the Minerals Advisory Committee and intends to coordinate a joint agency investigation to address the issue of quarrying activities along the Toco Old Road.

Further updates will be provided as the investigation proceeds.

The EMA gives the assurance that it will initiate enforcement action pursuant to the Environmental Management Act, Chapter 35:05 and subsidiary legislation to address any illegal activity in the Melajo Forest Reserve.

The public is asked to provide any information that may assist the EMA and the other Agencies with regard to these investigations by sending text messages to its emergency response mobile 680-9588 or via email at complaints@ema.co.tt.

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) president general Ancel Roget has summoned his blue shirt army to the Prime Minister’s official residence in St Ann’s on August 26 where they will kneel and pray for Petrotrin and T&T.

Warning that Petrotrin was on the brink of disaster, Roget called on all workers of the State-owned oil and gas company to mobilise while addressing them in front the company’s Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery on Monday evening.

“A Sunday, or an evening, we going to kneel down and pray in La Fantasie. We are going to pray for Petrotrin, for the jobs of the workers. We are going to pray for Trinidad and Tobago. We going to pray for God to give the correct people to run Petrotrin. We are going to pray for the right thing to happen. Sunday, August 26 put your house in order, not a working day, nobody could discipline you. You have the power in your hands use it. All Petrotrin workers, Sunday, August 26, at 3 pm, travel to Port-of-Spain, maxi, taxi, bicycle, scooter, bus, CRV, donkey, horse whatever transport you use, find yourself at La Fantasie at the residence of the Prime Minister.”

Roget said if Petrotrin’s chairman Wilfred Espinet is not removed he will be making an announcement on the way forward.

“It is time for us to enjoy the fruits of our labour. Stand up and fight because nobody will fight for you. Come out in your blue. Roget said Petrotrin’s Board was focused on sending workers home and has no plan to rescue the company which is in crisis.

“We hear they are starving the (the company’s) hospital of basic supplies, no food, no milk, no basic necessity to run the kitchen and there are a significant number of vacancies so the hospital is sick, it needs a hospital right now.”

He said the company and union had signed an agreement to divide the company into four sections within an 18-month period.

“Four divisions, hospital, refinery, land operations, Trinmar. Each one under separate management but accountable to the board of directors. Out of that, you can then charge the various management for the responsibility for all of those divisions, we agreed on that.”

However, he said five months from that 18-month period have gone and nothing has been done.

Calling on workers fight back, he said, “On social media, they paying people to blog, to put misinformation and target Petrotrin workers. For far too long we remained quiet and took all the nonsense, for far too long, we have the capacity to respond but we remained silent.”

He said a comprehensive financial audit report for last year’s financial year, put Petrotrin’s total operating cost at $20.8 billion while the salary and benefits cost was at $2.3 billion which worked out to 11 per cent of the operating cost.

A magistrate has been ordered to reconsider her decision to refuse to withdraw an arrest warrant for a man who missed a court hearing last year.

Delivering a nine-page judgment in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that Magistrate Adia Mohammed’s decision not to withdraw the warrant against Winston Sutton when he turned up two days after it was granted was fundamentally flawed.

Seepersad also ruled that Mohammed failed to take into account relevant considerations over the reason for Sutton’s non-appearance and did not sufficiently regard the overriding objectives of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2016.

Seepersad said: “The magistrate should have considered that the recall of a warrant, once satisfied that there was no deliberate default in relation to court attendance, would be consistent with the obligation to deal with the matter efficiently, as the court would be able to retain its control over the matter rather than wait for the warrant to be executed.”

Mohammed issued the arrest warrant for Sutton after he failed to attend a hearing of his sexual offence case in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court in November, last year.

Two days later, Sutton and his attorney appeared before Mohammed and applied for the warrant to be discharged as they claimed that they both mixed up the adjourn date for the case.

Sutton’s subsequent lawsuit before Seepersad dealt with a magistrate’s power under the rules to withdraw an arrest warrant.

In his judgment, Seepersad noted that before the rules were introduced, last year, there was no direct policy allowing for such action.

Mohammed claimed that such an application could only be entertained if Sutton or his attorney had turned up on the day the warrant was granted. Sutton’s lawyers suggested that it could be done within a reasonable time.

“Ultimately, the magistrate erred in law when she failed to recognise that the rule enabled her to consider the recall of a warrant where the accused appeared on a date subsequent to the date on which the warrant was issued,” Seepersad said as he described Mohammed’s approach to the issue as myopic and restrictive.

Seepersad also called on the Judiciary to issue a practice direction over the issue to avoid confusion for other judicial officers.

“Clarity is always preferred,” Seepersad said.

Sutton was represented by Joseph Sookoo and Delicia Helwig-Robertson while Rajeev Persad and Brent James represented Mohammed.

The Ministry of Health will this month go on a recruiting drive for 250 specialised doctors from Cuba to service the public health care system.

This was revealed yesterday by Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh at a press conference at his ministry’s Port-of-Spain headquarters.

Deyalsingh went to great lengths to explain that the Regional Health Authorities (RHA) have been experiencing problems with recruiting local doctors to fill 11 specialty areas for the past year, adding every doctor wants to work in what he called the “Cathedral of Medicine”, either the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC), San Fernando General Hospital or Port-of-Spain General Hospital rather than the rural communities. However, he could not say if this “demand” was as a result of the prestige of working at these facilities.

“I have a need, therefore I would go to Cuba. That is why we have to employ foreigners because our locals do not have the skill set or don’t take advantage of the opportunity to work in the public sector for whatever reason,” Deyalsingh said.

He said even primary healthcare doctors have been resisting work in rural areas, which led to the ministry engaging the United Nations to get UN doctors to come here to work.

“So if every House Officer wants to work in A&E, but you need House Officers in oncology what are we to do? And that is the position we are faced with.”

In a bid to serve the public’s needs, Deyalsingh said this month the ministry will be sending a team to Cuba to recruit healthcare professionals in these 11 specialised areas that the RHAs cannot source locally.

Among them are paediatricians, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, haematologists, nephrologists, specialists in internal medicine, orthopaedic surgeons, paediatric cardiologists, maxillofacial surgeons, ophthalmologists and specialists in Accident and Emergency.

The contract for the Cuban doctors will be three years with an option to renew for a fourth, he said.

But Deyalsingh still also invited unemployed local specialists to join the RHAs, stating that the country needed them urgently.

Questioned how many speciality doctors will be sourced from Cuba, Deyalsingh said “about 250.”

Of the speciality areas, Deyalsingh said haematology, paediatric cardiology, orthopaedic surgeons and maxillofacial surgeons are in highest demand.

At the EWMSC, he said there is currently just one paediatric cardiologist while there are only two Cuban maxillofacial surgeons in the public sector.

Pressed on if specialists can be compelled to work in the public sector, Deyalsingh said this can only be applied if they obtain their specialist qualification via the Government, noting that to force them to work in the public sector would be a violation of their constitutional rights.

Asked how Government will bridge the gap, given that hundreds of medical students are graduating from UWI in areas where they cannot fill the public sector vacancies, Deyalsingh said UWI has started a DM (Doctorate in Medicine) programme in speciality fields.

“You are not going to get the output immediately. It takes time to train them and then they have to work under supervision…there is a lag time.”

He said as soon as graduates exit the DM programme, positions will be offered to them.

In May, Cabinet also agreed to employ 75 interns at public hospitals. Deyalsingh said the 75 interns will be employed at the nation’s hospitals “because UWI was producing all these interns. Now, it’s not that we needed these 75. I want to make that abundantly clear.”

He said these positions will “soak up” the supply coming out of UWI.

Although the Cuban recruitment drive will begin shortly, Deyalsingh also could not say when the positions will be filled and how soon the doctors are expected to arrive here to serve the public.

“We are trying to do it as soon as humanly possible. I am treating it with urgency.”

Asked if the ministry will pay more to attract the Cubans’ services, Deyalsingh said, “No, not necessarily, but we do pay for the board and so on here. So it is not really more.”

The Ministry of Health will embark on a $6.8 million training programme for managers of its five Regional Health Authority (RHAs) this month.

The training is targeted to help managers and their teams improve on the delivery of services and efficiency in the public healthcare sector.

The announcement was made by Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh at a press conference yesterday.

Deyalsingh said the training programme was prompted after he had to intervene to a resolve an issue at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital last year, where kitchen staff protested over the lack of proper equipment.

“That is not my job. And what I identified was weak executive management,” he said.

Noting it was the job of the hospital’s facility’s manager to attend to such a problem, Deyalsingh said this showed up the fact that T&T lacked professionals with qualifications and training as well as “with exposure to hospital management.”

Too often, Deyalsingh said he gets calls from the public about non-functioning equipment when there were managers at each RHA to deal with such issues.

To address this shortcoming, he said they have engaged the United Nations Development Programme to undertake a US$1 million (TT $6.8 million) training programme to strengthen its RHA management capacity.

“That is what has been lacking in our healthcare system, managing capacity to manage workflow,” he said.

Those who will be targeted for training are the RHA management teams and hospital managers, he said. The training programme will be launched in Tobago in two weeks’ time, he added.

Deyalsingh said his ministry was also aiming for an “uptime of about 98 per cent” for its medical equipment.

“I have mandated each RHA to engage in preventative maintenance contracts with suppliers,” Deyalsingh said in the presence of four of the five RHA CEOs who attended the press conference.

The Police Service is appealing to members of the public to be aware of predators who lure foreign nationals to T&T under the guise of assisting with employment, work permits and the offer of other forms of support.

The police gave the advice in a statement in which it reported that a Mayaro man appeared in court charged with human trafficking of a female minor.

The release said Jemmel Baptiste, aka “Beak”, “Andy Williams”, “Darko”, and “Darkman” was arrested by police during an anti-crime exercise conducted in the district on July 22.

Baptiste, 31, a farmer of Grand Lagoon Village, Mayaro, was charged with ‘receiving a child into Trinidad and Tobago for the purpose of exploitation and appeared before Magistrate Gillian Scotland in the Sangre Grande Magistrates’ Court the following day.

He was not called upon to plead and advised to apply to a judge in chambers for bail. The matter was then transferred to the Mayaro Magistrates’ Court for hearing on July 30.

At this hearing, before Magistrate Brambhanan Dubay, Baptiste was granted bail with surety in the sum of $80,000 and the matter adjourned to August 27.

The statement from the Police Service said as a condition of bail Baptiste was ordered to report to the Mayaro Police Station every Monday between 6 am and 6 pm and make no contact with the victim.

The police said on November 18, 2017, officers of the Sangre Grande Police Station responded to a wireless transmission of a report of kidnapping in the district and subsequently intercepted a vehicle with four occupants, plus the victim, at Adventist Street, Sangre Grande.

After the child was found to be a Venezuelan national, and her parents still in Venezuela, the matter was referred to the Counter Trafficking Unit of the Ministry of National Security.

The statement said Baptiste and the other suspects were subsequently released pending further investigations.

Following the conclusion of investigations supervised by Sgt Leith Jones, of the CTU, a warrant was issued for Baptiste’s arrest and he was subsequently held at his Mayaro home on July 22. He following day he was charged by Cpl Dirk John also of the CTU.

The police are appealing to anyone with information on human trafficking to call the Counter Trafficking Unit hotline at 800-4288 (4CTU). All calls are toll free and anonymous.

A labourer has appeared before a Sangre Grande magistrate charged with the murder of Kerron Marshall.

Zion Pedro, 19, a labourer, of Freeman Road, St Augustine, is also charged with possession of firearm and possession of ammunition.

Pedro appeared before Magistrate Cheron Raphael in the Sangre Grande Magistrates’ Court yesterday to answer charges of murdering Marshall on May 27, 2018.

Marshall, also known as “Mandela”, 33, a fisherman, of Rampanalgas Village, Balandra, was at a house in the district when three masked men entered and fired several shots at him, before escaping into some nearby bushes.

The victim sustained gunshot wounds about the body and died at the scene.

Pedro was subsequently arrested on July 31.

Investigations were supervised by Inspectors Shaun Craig and Andrea Lawrence of Homicide Bureau of Investigations (HBI) Region 2, while Pedro was charged by PC Ronnie Gonzales, also of HBI Region 2 yesterday following advice received from Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul on Tuesday.

Pedro was remanded to reappear in court on September 5.

A Maraval man has appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate charged with two counts of uttering of a forged valuable security, namely, two Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) cheques in the sum of US$1,614,240 and US$1,520,700, respectively.

Rohit Persad, aka “Dennis Persad”, 34, of Fairways, Maraval, appeared before Magistrate Kerri Honore-Narine on Monday to answer to the charges, a statement from the Police Service said yesterday.

He was not called upon to plead and was granted bail with surety in the sum of $2,000,000 to appear in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

There he appeared before Magistrate Christine Charles, who granted him granted bail in the sum of $1,500,000.

As a condition of bail, he was ordered to surrender his passport and report to the Fraud Squad Office once per week.

The offences are alleged to have taken place on July 27, 2018. The matter was adjourned to September 4.

The National Carnival Commission (NCC) has begun monitoring all Government subventions handed to Pan Trinbago, the Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) and the National Carnival Bandleaders’ Association (NCBA) to run their affairs.

This was revealed by NCC chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters yesterday, as he responded to rumours that the NCC had taken over Pan Trinbago’s operations.

As he denied the rumours, which surfaced on social media, Peters said while it was NCC’s responsibility to monitor subventions of the three organisations to ensure accountability and transparency it was never previously done.

In going forward, Peters said the NCC will ensure Government’s subventions are well spent and bring returns to taxpayers.

“Those are the things we are working on and is now the remit of the NCC. NCC has always been in charge of the subventions but in some ways we may have lapsed in the way we have administered it,” Peters said.

“Those lapses would have to be looked at in a different light. We will call for more string accountability.”

But the move, which came even as Pan Trinbago signed off on a Memorandum of Understanding with Government, was not done haphazardly, as Peters said it was prompted following an audit by the Ministry of Culture into Pan Trinbago, TUCO and NCBA for the periods 2013 to 2016, where certain observations were made.

“Things prompted a lot of decisions being made now,” he said.

While concerns were raised about allegations of financial impropriety at Pan Trinabgo, Peters said where there were funds unaccounted for “somebody will be culpable for it. And whatever has to be done in terms of whatever actions that have to be taken will be taken.”

“We are asking for the accountability of it and searching for where it went wrong. We are going to deal with all aspects of Pan Trinbago in terms of its subventions or any money that the Government will be spending on Pan Trinbago.”

In a press release yesterday, Pan Trinbago said president Keith Diaz and treasurer Andrew Salvador were signatories to a memorandum of agreement which deals with funding of its operations, events and development programme.

“The NCC, apart from funding artistes, has the right to insist on accountability for funds advanced and more than that, to have random audits done,” the release stated.

The steelpan body added that they recognise the usefulness of accountability and transparency.

Police rescued a 48-year-old casino manager from kidnappers after a high-speed chase in St James early Tuesday morning.

The woman had been grabbed shortly after leaving her Diego Martin home around 4.10 am. She told police she was driving her vehicle along the Deigo Martin Main Road after leaving home for work when a white panel van blocked her path and three men entered her car.

The woman told police the men threatened to kill her unless she handed over the keys and security code to the casino in Woodbrook where she worked. Fearful for her life, she said she complied but the men then covered her face and drove off with her.

But a report was made to police by an anonymous caller and an all-points bulletin was put out. PCs McIntosh and Williams, of the Four Roads Police Station, subsequently spotted the hijacked vehicle in St James around 6 am. The officers engaged in a high-speed chase of the vehicle and intercepted it near Coronation Street. One of the suspects jumped out of the vehicle and escaped but his two cohorts were held and the relieved woman was rescued.

Officers from the Western Division Task Force, led by ASP Dhanrajh Ramesar and officers from the St James CID, assisted in the apprehending the suspects.

The suspects, aged 23 and 25 and both from Never Dirty, Morvant, were subsequently taken to the Four Roads station where they are expected to go on an identification parade before being charged.

Investigations are continuing.

In an unrelated incident, police officers arrested a Trinidad Express employee after a gun and ammunition were allegedly found in his vehicle.

According to reports, around 3.25 pm on Tuesday officers from the La Horquetta Police Station were on mobile patrol in the Carapo district when they intercepted a Kia Cerato. A .38mm revolver and seven rounds of ammunition were allegedly found inside the vehicle and its driver was arrested and taken to the station.

The suspect, who police subsequently realised worked at the media house, will be placed on an identification parade before going before an Arima magistrate later this week.

The National Security Ministry is still negotiating terms and conditions with incoming Police Commissioner Gary Griffith.

However, in a release yesterday the ministry said such negotiations will be settled before the new CoP assumes office.

The ministry, which is tasked with the responsibility of negotiating the contractual terms and conditions with Griffith, said the process was being treated as a priority.

“The Commissioner of Police’s terms and conditions will be settled before he assumes office. Mr Stephen Williams continues to be the acting Commissioner of Police and is expected to go on vacation leave from August 17 to 30.”

The ministry promised to apprise the public of any new development.

Former lecturers from the University of T&T met with officials of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) yesterday to discuss alleged discrimination after being fired during a restructuring exercise at the cash-strapped university last May.

The lecturers led by Dr Kumar Mahabir are also in the process of taking legal action claiming they were wrongfully and arbitrarily fired from the Centre for Education Programmes (CEP) as part of the University’s stated “restructuring exercise.”

The meeting took place at the EOC’s headquarters . Each of the lecturers were interviewed and presented a case claiming due process was not followed.

In an interview yesterday, Dr Mahabir said as the only qualified anthropologist with a doctoral degree from the University of Florida, he could have been relocated to the Academy for Arts, Letters, Culture and Public Affairs, instead of being fired.

“The dismissal was too abrupt. Done without consultation, and any prior oral or written notice. My attorney, Roshni Balkaran, described this sudden dismissal as “an ambush. As part of the due process procedure, the UTT also failed to provide evidence that we could not have been redeployed in another programme in the same university before dismissal,” Mahabir said.

He also added that UTT breached its own human resources policy outlined in its official published Handbook.

“In Policy Ref. No. HR 17, Clause v, the Separation Policy states: ‘Where it is determined that the university is overstaffed in any area of its operations and the surplus staff cannot be reasonably employed in another area, the university will consider retrenchment as a final option,’” Mahabir said.

He said universal industrial relations procedures dictate that dismissals should be done only after consultation with the affected employee, prior notice of dismissal, presentation of evidence by the employer, an opportunity for the employee to respond, representation of the employee by an attorney, notice of dismissal, a right to appeal, and a right to judicial review.”

“To deny due process to a dismissed employee is to violate and deprive him of his procedural, substantive and constitutional rights especially from a public institution like the UTT,” Mahabir said.

He also added that the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act No. 32 of 1985 of T&T stipulates that “prior to the giving of formal notice in writing of retrenchment,” (the employer) is expected “to enter into consultation” with the affected employees or their representative union “with a view to exploring the possibility of averting, reducing or mitigating the effects of the proposed retrenchment.”

Mahabir said they hoped that the EOC will bring redress to them adding that they also planned to initiate a civil lawsuit against UTT in the near future.

Contacted for comment, deputy chairman of the UTT’s Board of Governors Professor Clement Imbert said the dismissed workers got 45 days notice.

He also said the UTT had no money and could not absorb any of the workers into any other programme.

“We had no money to keep them. We started with the academics classes . We had to rationalise and we just could not absorb anybody because the university just does not have money,” Imbert said.

Executive manager of Crime Stoppers Garland Samuel is reassuring the public that the international crime-stopping organisation operates anonymously and will never ask callers to identify themselves.

His comments came after a tipster claimed she received a follow-up call from a man purporting to be a police officer from Crime Stoppers who requested that she divulge confidential information about herself.

But in an interview, Samuel said Crime Stoppers does not operate that way and will never ask callers to reveal their identity. He said callers are given a tip number and if the tip leads to arrests, the caller will get a reward.

He said there are no police officers working at Crime Stoppers.

Samuel said Crime Stoppers does not track calls but passes on tips to the police for investigation.

“We want to remind people that we are not the police and we are an independent non-government organisation that is part of the international body of Crime Stoppers. There is no call tracing and no facility to take a message or to call back people once a tip is received. The system is totally anonymous and we have operated that way since we commenced operations since 1999. People should trust us and remember that Crime Stoppers upholds the anonymity of our callers.

The integrity of our system has never been compromised,” Samuel said.

Because Crime Stoppers doesn’t keep track of a caller’s record, Samuel said there was no way that anyone could pass information about any caller. He noted that over the years the number of tips received by Crime Stoppers has increased. Statistics show that up to April 2018, Crime Stoppers received 586,493 calls of which 19,586 were tips. Since its inception, information supplied by Crime Stoppers has led to the recovery of over $20 million in stolen property.

Samuel urged citizens to call 800-TIPS to report any wrongdoing.

“Honestly, I thought he was going to pull the trigger.”

So said CNC3 news anchor Khamal Georges yesterday, as he recalled an early morning robbery outside his St James apartment where a gun was pointed to his chest by a bandit.

Luckily, the bandit did not pull the trigger. Instead, the man and an accomplice stole Georges’ Kia Sportage, his phone and other valuables, including the keys to his apartment. It was when Georges asked for the apartment keys the bandit shoved the gun in his chest.

“In my mind, I was saying you are going to get killed for asking for your house keys,” Georges recalled.

Officers of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) recovered Georges’ vehicle around 10 am at the Bath Street Plannings in Port-of-Spain.

Georges was one of the thousands of people who attended the opening Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 match at the Queen’s Park Oval on Wednesday night. He left the venue around 2 am after staying back to lime with friends.

Georges, who was parked on Serpentine Road, was dropped to his vehicle by friends. He drove home by himself.

“As soon as I pulled up in front of my apartment two guys came from behind and at first I thought it was some of my neighbours,” he explained.

“When I looked at the guys, one’s face was covered and I noticed the other had a pistol in his hand,” he said.

The gunman told Georges, “Don’t make a scene.”

“He took the phone from my hand, he took the car keys as well and he allowed me to get out of the vehicle,” Georges said.

“He took my wallet and I was able to ask for my identification cards at least.”

The bandit took out the cash, bank cards and handed Georges back his wallet. Then Georges asked them for the keys to his apartment, which were still in the vehicle.

This seemed to aggravate the gunman.

“I asked them for my house keys and that is when the guy put the gun to my chest and he became aggressive at that point and honestly I thought like he was just going to pull the trigger,” Georges said.

The bandits instead jumped in Georges’ vehicle and sped off.

“I was disoriented for a bit trying to figure out what the hell happened,” he said.

Georges ran to the nearby St James Police Station to report the situation. He said the officers on duty were extremely helpful.

Georges posted about his ordeal on Facebook around 4.30 am. It quickly received spread online and garnered more than 3,000 shares, with people trying to help locate his vehicle.

The police found the vehicle around 10 am and took it to the Besson Street Police Street and dusted for fingerprints.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian afterwards, Georges said he was very traumatised by the ordeal.

“I’m still trying to come to terms with it because it shakes you up,” he said.

“We, as journalists, understand how easily loss of life can happen in situations like this. We have reported on several robberies where guys have gotten all they wanted and still pull that trigger, so you are kind of wondering where is the value that you attach to life and in that moment so many things run through your mind.

“Is this going to be it? Am I going to die? I have never had a gun pointed at me before, I didn’t know what their motive was, I didn’t know why they came, I didn’t know if they were marking me or following me for a long time or if this was just a random case where they followed me from the Oval after CPL.”

Georges said he was especially glad his mother, who was vacationing in T&T recently, had returned to Dominica.

“I’m happy to be alive. My mom was here she left on Sunday and wanted to stay to go to the CPL,” Georges said.

“All those things run through your mind, what if she was here. Honestly, it could have been so much worse and I am just very thankful to be alive.”

Georges said he was grateful to the police for their action in the matter and also all the people who tried to reach out to him.

National Security Minister Stuart Young also said he reached out to Georges yesterday and told him how sorry he was in the first instance that he had to fall victim to crime.

“Every law-abiding citizen of T&T who has a frontal…personal confrontation with crime, I feel for them as a human being and a citizen,” Young said at yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing.

“There is nothing pretty about crime…there is nothing good about crime. There is nothing this Government will condone about crime. It’s quite unfortunate whenever someone we know personally is affected by crime.”