Relatives and neighbors of carpenter Taranpersad Balkaran remained baffled yesterday as to how his house burnt flat in the dead of the night, with him still inside it.

Balkaran’s charred remains were found by fire officers who responded to a report of a house fire in Sundrees Road, Penal, around 12.25 am yesterday. 

Balkaran, 53, was affectionately known as ‘Kosh.’ 

In an interview with the Sunday Guardian, Balkaran’s sister-in-law, Indra Ramgewan described him as loving and hardworking and said the family was in shock over his death.

However, she said his two vices, alcohol and cigarettes, may have caused the fire that took his life.

“I know he took a few drinks yesterday evening and he used to smoke,” she said. “We’re not sure but it could be that he was smoking and fell asleep and that caused the fire to start.”

“I don’t know how or why he didn’t try to come out of the house or run or anything though.”

She said although Balkaran had no children of his own, he would spend his Christmas and other holidays with her five grandchildren. 

“They might be the ones to miss him the most, he would always come and look for them. Every Christmas, birthday, everything, he made sure to get them something.”

She could not say when the funeral service would be held for Balkaran. 

His body was taken to the Forensic Science Centre for an autopsy tomorrow.

Eyewitness account

Balkaran’s neighbour, Alisha Hosein said she awoke shortly after 12 am and heard a loud ‘swooshing’ noise.

“It sounded like how the wind sounds during a hurricane,” she said. “Then I heard something fall and shatter and I looked out my window and saw our truck on fire.

“By the time I called out to my father and we ran downstairs, his house was well engulfed in flames. The fire officers only found him after the fire was put out.”

She explained that Balkaran, 53, lived next to her family’s home as her grandfather had given him the piece of land 23 years ago to build a house. 

One of her father’s trucks which was parked close to Balkaran’s 15 x 20 wooden home was completely destroyed by the fire. Another truck and a hilux van were also damaged, and the galvanise covering a shed next to Balkaran’s home was also damaged. 

Hosein estimated the family’s losses to be over $.7 million.

The voluminous Sir Anthony Colman report into the collapse of the Colonial Life Insurance Company has been sent to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard for his attention and action. The report, according to well-placed sources, was passed to the DPP’s office soon after it was received by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

However, over the past five years the DPP’s office has been conducting criminal investigations into the collapse of Clico, and had gone before the Colman Commission expressing concerns that the inquiry could have prejudiced the ongoing criminal investigation.

Former AG and legal counsel for the United Policyholders Group, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, recalled that notwithstanding the concerns of the DPP’s office, the inquiry proceeded. Maharaj said “it may be the COE obstructed the investigation.” Attempts to contact Gaspard were unsuccessful.

The Colman report, a well-placed source said, “focused on criminal conduct in a specific way,” and “this is why Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has not made the report public.” The source said the Government was being very careful what it said about the report “because we do not want to make statements which may be tantamount to pre‐trial publicity. We want to ensure at the end of the day there is a conviction.”

The Government, the source said, does not intend to let the findings and recommendations of the inquiry go to waste. 

A legal source pointing to the 2014 report on the collapse of the Hindu Credit Union said that report was sent to the then Kamla Persad Bissessar government and was laid in Parliament. That, the source said, may have constituted pre-trial publicity and impacted the matter, but “that is not going to happen with the Colman findings.”

The document was also forwarded to the DPP but there had been little follow through on the recommendations contained in that report, which included that 18 criminal charges could have been brought against former HCU president Harry Harnarine. 

In June of this year, Colman had written to the President raising concerns that “of the three local attorneys two proved to be so incompetent, inexperienced and lacking in any sense of professional responsibility that they became unavailable or only partially available.”

The commission's legal team included counsel to the commission Peter Carter, QC, Celeste Jules, Gerald Ramdeen, Varun Debideen, Wayne Sturge, Israel Khan and Shankar Bidaisee. While Debideen had acknowledged that Colman’s criticism was directed at himself and Ramdeen, Ramdeen told the GML Enterprise Desk that he came to the commission after people were appointed and left, and he was not aware that the criticism was directed at him.

Reports indicate that the inquiry cost the country over $100 million, of which attorneys were paid close to $80 million in legal fees. While published figures indicate that Ramdeen was paid $5.8 million and Debideen $4.9 million, sources said another attorney “hand‐picked” by the last administration was paid over $8 million.

The office of the attorney general is currently calculating the number of appearances made by each attorney, the billable hours, and the rate of payment. This will be done in conjunction with the secretary of the commission Judith Gonzalves who presented the report to the President last week.

The total cost of the Colman Commission of Enquiry is still being calculated, a source said.

“There is missing paperwork, we still have to calculate who paid for what. There were expenses from the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, state enterprises, what has been spent so far on investigations by the DPP office.” Well-placed sources said “everything arising out of the inquiry including costs will be made public in due course.”

According to sources, because the inquiry was financed through the Office of the Prime Minister, it is “the OPM which will be dealing with matters of incompetence included in the report.”

The inquiry followed a probe done into the collapse of Clico by Canadian Forensic expert Bob Lindquist. The cost of the Lindquist probe was $105 million.

In November 2011, then attorney general Anand Ramlogan told the Parliament in response to a question from then opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley that the Clico probe done by Linquist cost the country $105 million. He said then, “the Clico matter did not in fact result in any case of any kind, but $105 million was spent on the Clico probe through the Central Bank.”

Ramlogan gave the breakdown: “$56 million to Mr Bob Linquist;$31.5 million for legal fees and; $17 million for specialist fraud experts. So that is $105 million spent on the Clico probe,” he told the Parliament.

Lindquist got the Clico brief under the then PNM administration led by Patrick Manning who wanted answers on who were responsible for the disappearance of billions of dollars from Clico, the Clico Investment Bank and CL Financial, once the Caribbean’s largest business conglomerate.

At the time of its collapse, the commercial entity was reported to have assets in a portfolio of more than 60 companies operating in the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including banking and financial services, insurance, energy, real estate, forestry, insurance, medical services and retail.

Investigations conducted by Lindquist unearthed forensic evidence which led to a civil suit being filed in June 2011 by the Central Bank and Colonial Life Insurance Company Ltd (Clico) against Duprey and the CL Financial’s former financial director, Andre Monteil. Files coming out of that probe were forwarded later to the DPP to determine if criminal charges should be laid against the two men.

Attorney Gerald Ramdeen is lashing out at Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi’s decision to refer him to the disciplinary committee of the Law Association. Ramdeen said the AG himself may have breached the Legal Profession Act and may himself be taken before the disciplinary committee “for continuing to retain lawyers who he claims to have known to have breached the Legal Professions Act.”

Responding to an announcement by the AG in Parliament on Friday that he intended to refer Ramdeen and former AG Anand Ramlogan to the disciplinary committee of the Law Association, Ramdeen told the GML Enterprise Desk that “the AG must mind that the hole he digs for others less he falls into it himself.”

He said it was interesting that it took a motion of no confidence for the AG “to realise that he had a desire to refer lawyers acting against Malcolm Jones to the disciplinary committee.”

He said “it is amusing to note that every problem that Al Rawi discovers he is quick to report to the Law Association.” He went on to make reference to the President of the association Reginald Armour being a former business partner of the AG and the former attorney for Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

In fighting form, Ramdeen described the vice president of the association Gerry Brooks as “the new Calder Hart of the PNM,” since he has been appointed to serve on several state boards and is being paid a stipend for each appointment. The Government said the stipend earned by Brooks is actually in the region of $69,000.

Ramdeen said it had become apparent that when the AG “cannot match the legal acumen of another he resorts to personal attacks.” 

The AG, in making the announcement of the matter to the Law Association, told the Parliament that Ramdeen was paid $32 million in legal fees for the Petrotrin and other matters, but Ramdeen told the GML Enterprise Desk “the AG has a penchant for quoting ridiculous legal fees and I merely wish to state these figures are inaccurate and incorrect.”

Ramdeen said he does not have an exact figure on what he has earned from state briefs, but he said “the figures are far less than what is being quoted by the Attorney General.”

He said “the last time that the figures were totalled they double counted my fees and arrived at a figure of $15 million. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Attorney General had to write and apologise to me.”

Sunita Webb, wife of Lawrence Webb, a member of the minority United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP), is a native of T&T, an immigrant to the United Kingdom, and is in full support of the UK leaving the European Union (EU).

The main reason Webb was in support of the move was surprisingly her stance against the inadequate regulation of immigrants to the UK.

Webb, originally from Chaguanas, migrated to the United Kingdom in 1990 in order to complete her training as a nurse.

In 1994, training complete, she returned home to Trinidad.

Less than a year later, she was on a plane headed back to the UK, and although she would travel back and forth between the two countries for several years, she permanently settled in the UK in 1999.

She met her husband in 2001 and got married and started a family shortly after.

Still a nurse, Webb was very supportive of Britain leaving the EU and was pleased to see the results of the referendum on the subject which saw 52 per cent of Britain choose to leave.

“The jobs for nurses were a lot better than in Trinidad. Financially it was a better move and I had a family (parents) in Trinidad to support, so I did what was best at the time.

As an immigrant to the UK in the 90s, Webb didn’t have an easy time.

“We couldn’t claim any help from government and received no benefits or handouts.

“I applied for my work permit, followed the regulations set by the permit and if it expired, I reapplied,” she recalled.

“If you were starving, that was your problem, not theirs.”

She said today’s arrangement, specifically with the European Union, is a lot different.

“I’ve noted that migrants now, some of them don’t work. They don’t contribute and don’t pay taxes. I think that’s unfair.

“They get free healthcare and contribute nothing toward it. You can have the most expensive surgery or the most expensive medication for free.”

As an immigrant herself, she acknowledged that part of the desire to leave the EU stemmed from anti-immigrant sentiments.

“There are still a lot of Brits who are anti-immigrant.

“Yesterday my sister was walking down the street and a young white British boy on his bicycle heckled her as she walked by.

“He shouted ‘When are you leaving? When are you leaving?’ ”

Still, Webb said, she sees daily how immigrants drain the resources of her new home.

The other reason she was supportive was due to what she called an independence of character bred in T&T.

“The British was really being dictated by the EU.

“Trinis are very independent and so when I wanted to buy a new more powerful vacuum and was told we can’t get them in the stores because of rules made by the EU, or a certain type of hair dryer or lightbulbs, it went against the independence that I believe in.

“The EU has limited things we can buy. It’s simple things, but how is it their concern?

“You’ve worked hard for what you want in life but what happened to independence and democracy.”

Caribbean countries should not expect special deals or preferences from the European Union (EU) if Britain is not there to argue on their behalf, says Prof W Andy Knight.

According to Knight, professor of International Relations at the University of Alberta, Canada, and former director of the Institute of International Relations, UWI, St Augustine, now that the majority of British voters have decided that their country should “leave” the EU, it is likely to impact negatively on the Economic Partnership Agreement between Cariforum (Caricom plus the Dominican Republic) and the EU? 

In an interview with journalist TONY FRASER, Knight said he sees fallouts in trade and tourism. He said Caricom, representing the interests of its member states, will have to be bold and proactive in recalibrating the relationship between the Caribbean and the UK. 

Now that the majority of British voters have decided that their country should “leave” the European Union, is that likely to impact negatively on the Economic Partnership Agreement between Cariforum and the EU?

Yes, that can negatively erode the EPA. So one can expect that the preferential deals with respect to trade and commercial interests which the UK was able to negotiate for the Caribbean within the EU will now have to be reexamined by the EU. This is not to say that the EU will necessarily eliminate those preferential treatments. But, let’s be realistic, the 27-member countries of the EU have very little in the way of a relationship with the English-speaking Caribbean. So without Britain present to argue on their behalf, Caribbean countries should not expect special deals or preferences coming to them from the EU minus Britain.

How does Caricom seek to reorganise its relationship with a Britain not being part of the EU?

It seems to me that Caricom, representing the interests of its Caribbean member states, will have to be bold and proactive in recalibration of the relationship between the Caribbean and the UK. The UK, on the other hand, may very well have to engage in a series of difficult bilateral trade negotiations with the countries of the Caribbean. 

But, the reality is that trade negotiators in the Caribbean are not always well trained in the art of negotiations. The region should ensure that their chief trade negotiators are well trained for the task. This elevates the relevance of the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean. Do you anticipate an immediate negative impact on the Caribbean because of Brexit?

I see potential problems for tourism in the Caribbean, especially in Barbados. One of the first signs that the Brexit result has revealed is the downward slide of the sterling. On Black Friday, the pound fell to its lowest level in 30 years. A weak pound will have an impact on the ability of Brits to take holidays in the Caribbean and to invest in vacation properties in the region. In 2015 there were about 1.5 million UK visitors to the Caribbean. In Barbados, in particular, British nationals are important source of real estate foreign direct investment. If these Brits are faced with a weak sterling, then they may not take vacations in Barbados and other Caribbean countries. 

What of the fate of Caribbean immigrants in Britain and those who may want to go to Britain in the future, will they benefit or suffer because of the Brexit vote?

My big concern with the Leave campaign was how their leadership (Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, and Nigel Farage) utilised fear of immigrants to convince Brits to say no to the EU. 

This bigoted and xenophobic rhetoric could have implications for how Caribbean people are treated if they want to go to Britain or reunite with family members in that country. 

The far-right voices of intolerance and racism trumped the middle of the road voices of tolerance and the embrace of the “other”. Unless these potential leaders tone down their rhetoric the less tolerant members of British society might harass Caribbean individuals in the country, or block those Caribbean people who are trying to migrate to the UK. 

Can the drop out from the EU have a domino effect in Caricom and can be a blow to regionalisation and globalisation. For instance, can one of the big Caricom member states follow the example of the majority of British voters?

Of course, now that the Leave campaign in Britain has been successful, one has to be concerned about copycat forces not only in Europe but also in the Caribbean. This result on Black Friday set back the integration projects around the globe. We know how difficult it has been to have a truly integrated Caribbean. Well, this Brexit result may inspire countries like T&T to leave the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME). However, if the consequences for Britain’s exit from EU are noticeably severe, then countries might be less willing to withdraw from large trade blocs. Regional integration is not a foregone conclusion. I think that Brexit will cause countries that have more or less succumbed to the conclusion that “there is no alternative” to the globalisation to begin to question that premise. If individuals cannot see the benefits of integration, then they will begin to think about ways of getting out of integrated arrangements.

Can the Republican presumptive candidate, the seemingly irrepressible Donald Trump, whose campaign has been about separation, draw energy and inspiration from Brexit with him possibly gaining traction in the US presidential campaign?

Already Trump is saying that he sees parallels between what happened in Britain on Thursday/Friday and what is going on in the US. He seems to believe that Brexit will somehow help him gain momentum in his campaign to be President of the United States. But if Americans consider the serious fallout that the results of the British referendum will bring, then they might be more reluctant to support the xenophobic and bigoted candidate in November. 

There is no question that some of the anti-establishment sentiments in both Britain and the US are similar. The older generation, and the white individuals from rural areas who are afraid of change and afraid of “foreigners” might be tempted to support Trump. But they should pay heed to the many people now coming forward in the UK to express buyers remorse. 

I think that many Brits just wanted to send a message to the British Government (and to the EU) that they were fed up in being taken for granted; they could not see the benefits of globalisation and European integration. 

All they could see was that they were falling further and further behind financially while immigrants seem to be benefitting from the social, political and economic benefits that accrued for globalisation. Those Americans that think that way will most likely support Trump, unless Hillary Clinton can convince them of the uncertainty that will come with a Trump presidency and of the damage that he can do not only domestically but also globally.

Hidden away in the Valencia forest is the most obvious illustration of the war between development and nature. Amidst rocky paths, and towering trees, breadfruits, avocadoes, Vert, Long, Doux Doux and Julie Mango, is scarred mountainsides, brown, jagged rock, violently facing roads, recently widened by quarry activity. Few houses are rooted at the sides of a road so unpolished, a trail of dust is left behind from cars and footsteps.

The eight-mile stretch, dust-covered village of Cumaca is filled with noises from the quarry, from the songbirds flying constantly overhead, and if one listens hard enough at some areas, the slow trickling sound of a weary river. The noises Cumaca has lost is that of a vibrant community, rich in agricultural affinity and religious and cultural customs. While in parts of Cumaca houses still stand a cautious distance from neighbours, in deep Cumaca, an area with a rich cultural heritage, the village is slowly disappearing.

Since October 2013, Valencia native Simone Gill has been the local government representative for Cumaca, and in three years, she has noticed more and more families leave the green sanctuary in the forest because of a sustained lack of development.

The registered voting list for Cumaca shows a population of around 70 people. The reality shows the numbers are much less. On the Thursday which the Sunday Guardian visited, only seven people were seen in the area.

“It’s sad because it was such a strong community,” Gill said.

“It’s understandable though. A lot of people have since moved out and the school has since closed down. There are no amenities and they want better opportunities for their children.

“It’s hard to walk eight miles of very bad road every day. The people who have stayed there, stayed because of love for the area.”

In an interview with the Sunday Guardian last week, Gill said the area was perfect for people looking for adventure or seeking out a community with a rich heritage, but presented challenges for families in need of basic amenities.

“We have oilbirds and the caves, which people brave the bad road conditions to visit, and it’s an area great for research but the road is so bad, how can you ask a tourist to spend hours navigating it?” Gill asked.

Gill has made several attempts to engage the Ministry of Works in road repairs since 2013, but none of her attempts have yielded results.

The few residents in the area feel the Government ignores them because their community is a small one.

As the roads continue to disintegrate, the population deep in Cumaca, where the river is clean and flows powerfully through the forest, decreases.

The population is so small, residents don’t refer to it as a village.

In fact, when the Sunday Guardian team attempted to get directions to the village near the Cumaca Primary School, people along the way expressed confusion.

“It don’t really have no village there,” said one farmer. “The only village is further up,” said another.

When the road ended, only a dirt and grass footpath snaked through the hillside. One resident, Timothy Brathwaite said what was left of the village was a handful of families, some of whom only came on weekends.

Brathwaite is a weekend visitor who owns land in the area and grew up with his aunt in a wooden house in the hillside.

“It’s a whole month I ain’t come up here. I love to come up here every week. I come up, spend a few days, and then go Valencia.

“As I cross 67, I don’t have to worry too much about running around. I go home and spend time with my family then come back up here,” Brathwaithe says.

The pensioner recalled moving to the community when he was 12 years old, and being taken into the dense forest on a Bedford truck owned by the Pamponette family.

“Those days were nice. If the neighbour had bananas, everybody had. In those days people would come up here to buy bananas for six cents a pound,” says Brathwaithe, smiling at the memory.

The roads weren’t much different, Brathwaithe recalled, though he added that they are much better than they were in the past.

The quarries in the area, Harrypersad’s and St Alban’s, routinely patch the roads.

Even so, it’s a stretch to describe the dusty roads as good. Up until the last quarry, St Alban’s, the road is rough but easy to navigate.

St Alban’s quarry was penalized in 2014 for widening the road in the area without permission of the relevant authorities. Villagers see it as a good thing.

“Things have changed, but not a lot,” Brathwaithe says.

When Brathwaithe was first introduced to Cumaca, it was through stories of douens, soucouyants and la diablesse, local folklore which spoke of monsters stealing young children.

Today, he is still wary of douens, but even more dangerous is the snakes in the area.

“My aunt didn’t have any kids so my grandmother sent me up here, but I didn’t like it. When she first sent me from Valencia, I saw how it was and tell my aunt I didn’t want to stay. When I went back my grandmother cut my tail and send me back,” Brathwaithe says.

Today, he hates to leave the idyllic atmosphere.

“Up here, I was afraid to go to school. This jungle was scary. There were girls in the school and they would run for six miles and fast and leave me behind. I was scared and I was small. I would walk a mile, then cross the river twice to reach my estate.

“Today it is nice, I’d take a nice bath and relax. This is the life. Up here nice. It real nice. I pack my goods and stay for a little while and then go back to see my family.”

Brathwaithe is an example of the type of villager easily found in Cumaca, ageing and enjoying retirement.

“It’s an ageing community as well,” Gill says.

“The people who remained are those without children, who are used to life without pipe-born water and electricity.”

There is no cell phone penetration in the forest and communication with the outside community requires an almost two-hour drive, or an even longer walk.

Yet the area is rich in natural treasures, a major river, caves and biodiversity. Iguanas and Maps sit lazily, sunning in the road. Long-ago street signs have fallen on mountainsides, covered in vine and mosss. There is unique fruits and vegetation and a school, long closed with no children to attend.

Even after his death by hanging 17 years ago, fear still lurks within the rural village of Piparo and where notorious kingpin Dole Chadee once owned several properties and conducted many illegal operations. 

June 4 marked 17 years since Chadee, who was born Nankissoon Boodram, was hanged for the murder of the Baboolal family in Williamsville. 

But even though he has been six feet under for almost two decades in a prison cemetery, villagers, young and old, were cautious about what they said about him. 

Apart from their fear to speak freely, one common sentiment was that the drug trade never stopped. Villagers said a gang of youths has been selling illegal rum, guns and drugs. None of those whom we spoke to wanted their names published or their photographs taken. 

A sense of eeriness pervaded the mid-morning air throughout the village and hardly anyone was seen walking the road when the Sunday Guardian visited on Friday. 

At the start of Pascal Road is an abandoned, majestic-looking temple with towering walls. It looked dull, dirty and weathered. The multi-million dollar temple was abandoned after Chadee was arrested in 1994. He also had a house on the temple’s compound where he spent most of his nights. Today, a nearby hardware rents the compound from one of Chadee’s sons to store material. 

Chadee, who would have been 64 this year, was well known for his drug links in the underworld but was never convicted for drug offences. Instead, he and eight other men in his gang were convicted for the 1994 murders of Deo, Rookmin, Hamilton and Monica Baboolal of Pooran Street, Williamsville. 

Chadee was married to Ann Marie Boodram with whom he had two sons—Shiva and Sharma—who live Piparo. Shiva operates his father’s farm rearing goat and sheep and was not at home or at the farm.

One villager said Ann Marie died two years ago in England. Chadee also had two other children with common-law wife, Chandra, who all live abroad. Rumour is that Chadee also fathered children with a cousin and a maid. 

Nothing changed...

it’s a continuation

One man, who spoke for close to ten minutes about life in the village 20 years ago said, “Please don’t put my name because they can come and burn down my house.”

The elderly man was picking mangoes on Friday morning. He said: “To be frank, nothing has changed with the drug business. “It is still going on on a moderate scale. It’s just a continuation from that time.”

The elderly resident added that while he never had any interaction with Chadee, his understanding was that people were not fearful not of him. He said Chadee used to talk to everyone and was “a good guy to everyone.” A couple who moved to Piparo about a year ago said they did not know much. The man and woman said there was talk about drugs being sold by a group but they tried “not to deal up.”

The man said, “A couple of times there were some house robberies but we feel safe here.”

More Info

​The Piparo Empowerment Centre on Dindial Road was opened in 2001 after the State seized the acres of land which Chadee had been squatting on for over ten years. He built two buildings on the sprawling piece of land. 

One man said while it was never a dwelling place for Chadee, “it was where the work used to take place.”

He said: “You think here used to look this way years ago with road and lights? It was more quiet and anything and everything used to happen inside there.”

The State has since built dormitories, kitchens, a multi-purpose area, and dining area for those who go there to be rehabilitated from drugs or other social issues.

Instead of wasting millions of tax dollars in commissions of enquiry this country would be better served if we establish “task forces” incorporating officials from the Director of Public Prosecution’s office and police to help in prosecuting matters, former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has said.

Maharaj said if the $100 million Commission of Enquiry into CL Financial was not held then criminal prosecution could have already been brought against the key players involved in the collapse of the conglomerate.

According to the Commissions of Enquiry Act a commission of enquiry does not have the power to institute any criminal prosecution.

“So what you have is you have a situation in which if for example there is a matter in which the Government believes there can be criminal prosecution out of an inquiry the Commission of Enquiry is the wrong route to go,” he said.

“What you need really is that you need a sort of task force with police officers, with a special counsel and probably with some forensic help as it was done with the Picaro Airport matter in which you can then have the evidence and you would have the prosecution, the DPP’s office involved with police in instituting the prosecution,” Maharaj said.

He said a commission of enquiry was used as a ruse to give the impression that something was being done.

“A commission of enquiry is the wrong vehicle to use, and a government which uses a commission of enquiry with the intention of initiating criminal prosecutions can be accused of not really genuinely wanting to do that... What happens at a commission of enquiry is that if you want to institute criminal prosecutions after the evidence is published you can have a situation where any accused persons can allege that a fair trial is not possible, and that is why in the Clico commission of enquiry the DPP took the position that the commission of enquiry should not proceed because he already had a forensic report from Mr Lindquist,” he said.

“So I think that the issue which arises here really is was the Government at the time acting in the public interest to really appoint a commission of enquiry into the Clico matter having regard to the fact that you already had a forensic report.”

Maharaj said in his opinion it does not make sense to amend the Commissions of Enquiry Act.

“The fact now is you cannot really use a commission of enquiry because a commission of enquiry does not have the power to prosecute. It makes no sense changing the law because if you change the law to permit that, you would have to change the role of the DPP. 

Any government should have known that if you wanted to get a criminal prosecution out of the Clico matter that you had to go the route of a task force with police, a special counsel possible, and a team of lawyers and representatives of the DPP’s office to get the prosecution going,” he said.

In September 2012, Gaspard wrote then attorney general Anand Ramlogan stating that he was satisfied that a criminal investigation should be conducted into whether “those who constituted the controlling mind of Clico committed breaches of the Insurance Act and similar related breaches of the Companies Act”. 

Gaspard said criminal charges of a conspiracy to defraud and conceal millions of dollars would be brought against former CL Financial officials for questionable transactions taking place at the conglomerate from as far back as 1992.

Gaspard eventually wrote Colman the chairman of the enquiry into CL Financial calling on him to reconsider a decision to continue the inquiry in public.

Gaspard's six-page letter sent to Colman maintained that the public inquiry had the potential to jeopardise “a potentially strong and credible prosecution” of former CL Financial business executives on the basis of adverse pre-trial publicity.

The letter was in response to Colman's refusal to accede to a request to conduct the “potentially damaging” aspects of the inquiry in private and the “grave inaction” of Ramlogan to advise then president George Maxwell Richards to suspend the inquiry or at least vary the terms of reference of the enquiry.

Both Colman and Ramlogan insisted it was contrary to the public's interest to conduct the inquiry in private.

Kelvin Charles, the presiding officer of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), was out front in voting last night in the election for the position of political leader of the People’s National Movement’s Tobago Council.

At the newspaper’s press time, the T&T Guardian’s Tobago correspondent, Casandra Thompson-Forbes, said that Charles was leading with 931 votes, or 36.3 per cent of those who voted, after nine electoral districts had been counted at 9 pm. 

Charles was ahead of Tracy Davidson-Celestine, who had received 652 votes, or 25.4 per cent of the voters, with Rene Dumas and Denise Tsoiafatt-Angus also receiving electoral support.

The constitution of the PNM states that, in the event that no candidate receives 50 per cent of the voters plus 1 vote, there would need to be a run-off election for the position.

If it occurs, the run-off election will be held on July 3, according to Ashton Ford, the party’s general secretary. It is estimated that some 4,185 PNM members voted at yesterday’s election out of 8,077 registered voters. That means that 52 of the party’s members voted in the leadership race.

The election was held yesterday because THA Chief Secretary Orville London, who is 70, indicated earlier this year that he did not wish to contest the next THA election, which is due by January 2017. London has been THA chief secretary since he was elected in 2001 and is currently serving his fourth term. 

In the 2001 elections the PNM gained control of the THA, winning five seats to the NAR’s four. The PNM consolidated its hold on the THA in the January 2005 elections, winning 11 seats while the Democratic Action Congress (DAC) gained a single seat.

The PNM won eight of the 12 electoral districts in the 2009 poll, and in the 2013 elections the party won a landslide, capturing all 12 districts. 

Before London became political leader of the PNM in Tobago, the party had lost five THA elections to groups led by former Prime Minister and President Arthur NR Robinson or to his close proxies.

The election was conducted for the first time under the new one-man, one-vote system as opposed to the delegate system in which candidates were previously selected by party groups.

Seven candidates were in the running for the leadership spot, one of whom will succeed  London as leader of the Tobago Council.

The seven contenders for leader in the race included three sitting representatives in the THA, Secretary for Tourism and Transportation Davidson-Celestine, Secretary for Community Development and Culture, Tsoiafatt Angus and Assistant Secretary in the Division of Infrastructure and Public Utilities Handel Beckles.

Government and Opposition will meet Wednesday to discuss the  Bail Amendment Bill which the Government wants to extend unchanged due to matters in the courts.

The Opposition confirmed the meeting last Friday. Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said  yesterday he’s grateful for it since he wrote the Opposition leader since June 2 seeking a meeting.

The bill lapses in August. Parliament takes its mid-year recess next month. The bill’s passage requires a special majority vote and needs Opposition support for its passage.

When the Government brought the bill several weeks ago, the Opposition had said it was examining the matter. On the eve of debate over a week ago, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar wrote Prime Minister Keith Rowley seeking a meeting to discuss it. Debate started in the Parliament the day after, but this was shelved for the Opposition meeting.

Rowley last Wednesday—speaking on the bill—protested: “We have nothing to negotiate with those people.” That same day Government House leader Camille Robinson-Regis wrote Persad-Bissessar agreeing to meet the Opposition with a Government team on June 23—the next day.

The Opposition however said Robinson-Regis’ date was given at short notice and suggested meeting this Wednesday instead. The Government agreed, Opposition whip Ganga Singh said.

Yesterday Al-Rawi said: “I wrote the Opposition since June 2. We’re now at the end of June. This is a serious matter for T&T. None of the work required to be measured and analysed in the five years when the Bail amendments were operationalised—and on the Anti Gang bill also—were done by either of the previous attorneys general, Anand Ramlogan or Garvin Nicholas. I’ve done that work.”

Al-Rawi said the bail amendment was being returned (unchanged) and had to be, due to the extent of litigation ongoing regarding that law and the anti-Gang law in the courts. 

“We’re still in the course of measuring efficiency and impact of the anti-gang amendments and awaiting information from the Director of Public Prosecutions. In those circumstances we required a two-year extension of the law.”

He said “public odium” should be focused on former AG Ramlogan (now practicing) and attorney Gerald Ramdeen who are challenging the constitutionality of the bail bill. 

“This translates to a direct challenge by Ramlogan on the very law he brought and passed (as AG),” said Al-Rawi, adding: “Unfortunately morality cannot be legislated.  It’s a wholly intolerable position where  you’re approbating and reprobating an issue.

“And nobody is saying a word about this scandalous position including the Opposition leader who appointed Ramlogan and recently-appointed Ramdeen as an Opposition senator.” (GA)

A gunman sprayed bullets into a crowd of limers at a birthday party in Carapichaima on Saturday night, killing a father of two and wounding three other people, including a Form Three student. 

Kendall “Kit” Boyce, 32, was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Couva Health Facility on Saturday night.

Another victim, Derron Richards is fighting for his life in the intensive care unit at the San Fernando General Hospital. Richards was shot twice in the abdomen and once in each leg. Andrew “Boyo” Anderson, 27, was shot once in each kneecap and in the left eye. He lost his eye as a result. 

Anderson’s younger brother, Antonio, 16, was shot once in the left thigh. Antonio is a Form Three student at the Carapichaima West Secondary School. 

According to reports, the four were part of a group celebrating the birthday of another of the Anderson brothers at a house along Wyaby Road, Carapichaima, around 9.45 pm on Saturday. Several partygoers were liming in the roadway and Boyce, Richards and others were sitting on the trunk of a parked car.

A silver AD wagon, registration PDG 48, drove into the street, turned and came back towards the crowd. The driver of the wagon passed the group, stopped and one of the back doors of the car opened. A gunman then leaned out and began spraying bullets into the crowd.

While many were able to scamper to safety, when the shooting stopped, Boyce, Richards and the elder Anderson were all found on the ground. Despite his injury, young Antonio was still standing.

The T&T Guardian visited the area yesterday and spoke to Boyce’s common-law wife, Nekeisha Jeremiah, who said her husband was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“He went out the road to get something and the next thing I heard is that he had got shot,” a distraught Jeremiah said. “He was a very hardworking person and never involved in any kind of crime with anyone.” She and Boyce have two daughters, ages six and four. 

“Ask anyone, he lived for his two girls. He was a great father and a kind and loving person.” She said she knew of no reason why anyone would want to hurt him.

“He worked as an all-rounder, laying tiles, building things, everything really and he was well known in the area and always chatting with someone. I think it was just the wrong place, wrong time.”

At the Anderson home a short distance away, Annalisa Anderson said her family is confused as to why they were targeted. 

“We don’t interfere with anyone. We still trying to figure out why someone would do this,” she said. 

“It was a family lime with a few friends who just passed in. There were little children outside too and this person just shoot up the place with no regard for anybody.” She added, “This community is a very close one. Everyone gathers on the evenings to play cricket and football. We would never expect anything like this to happen and now all of that has to change.”

Her youngest brother, Antonio, who was treated at hospital and discharged, told the T&T Guardian of the heart-stopping moments before he was shot. 

“I saw the car pass us and then stop and all of sudden gunshots just start to ring out,” he said. 

“Everybody was screaming and trying to run.I felt something burning on my leg and realised I had been shot.”

Another eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous, said the shooter was wearing a black “Marvin Gaye” cap.

“From where I was standing, I saw the guy leaning out of the car and just spraying bullets. All I could hear was screaming and the ‘rup-rup-rup’ of a semi-automatic gun.”

Another of the Anderson brothers, Larry, called for police patrols in the area to be beefed up as he said he no longer feels safe in his home. 

“We are fearful for our lives now. Anything could happen, anytime,” he said. 

“If a man could do that and hurt so many people, what is stopping him from doing it again?”

The T&T Guardian tried contacting officers of the Freeport Police Station to confirm whether the weapon used was semi-automatic but was told no information could be given on the shooting. Calls to the office of Sen Sup Jason Ford also went unanswered. 

Boyce was one of two men killed between Saturday night and yesterday morning, taking the 2016 murder toll to 218. 

The introduction of a special praedial larceny court, proper training for cocoa farmers and a ready supply of labour for cocoa estates are some of the factors needed to promote the success of cocoa in T&T.

This according to President Anthony Carmona, who addressed cocoa farmers at the awards presentation and cocktail reception in celebration of T&T Cocoa Excellency last week Tuesday at the Southern Academy for Performing Arts (Sapa) in San Fernando.  

Carmona said the cocoa industry can ease T&T out of tough economic times and also mentioned that both he and his wife, Reema Carmona, are registered farmers.

Recalling his childhood days growing up and going to school on cocoa estates, Carmona said the casting aside of the cocoa industry in favour of the oil industry has now come back to haunt T&T.

“The history of our cocoa and coffee is a bittersweet one. One town, among many, that exemplifies that history is Fyzabad. In the early 20th century, Fyzabad experienced a type of degenerative growth ignited by a movement from cocoa estates to oil wells. And oil grew to the detriment of cocoa...it all changed and has now come full circle to haunt us all.”

“Fyzabad radically morphed into an oil drum, where black gold took ascendancy over brown gold and invariably that majestic Godineau River that used to carry cocoa on plantations from Avocat to the Old St John’s Estate, lost it economic relevance.”

However, he urged farmers not to wallow in the past but to look at strategies to sell T&T’s cocoa on the international markets. 

“Today we can correct that era of blind vision, where they refused to have cocoa and oil walk hand in hand. We have the Trinitario cocoa, a hybrid form and a unique blend and the noble Criollo. High-quality cocoa such as this must be strategically sold in the world market to gain maximum profitably.

“That means, as some suggest, low volumes sold at a high price to select chocolatiers to secure a reputation and a select market for our cocoa beans. At this stage in our nation’s history, cocoa production can compete significantly with oil, as a premium revenue earner.”

In addition to proper training for farmers by the Ministry of Agriculture to maintain international benchmark standards in cocoa farming, Carmona said the introduction of a praedial larceny court could also serve as an incentive to farmers to invest in cocoa farming. 

“In T&T, productive agriculture lands have suffered from the ravages of praedial larceny and, as such, there is a risk that cocoa and coffee can be at a risk from those with a thirst for brown gold. Praedial larceny can diffuse passion and destroy the dreams of the farmer.”

“There is a need to expand, equip and properly train praedial larceny squads and have them deployed to farming districts. There may also be a need for a special praedial larceny court to handle this disincentive to productive farming because such culprits need to be investigated, apprehended, charged and prosecuted expeditiously to have the desired deterrent effect.”

Carmona also called for the protection of prime agricultural lands, saying houses should not be built on these lands. 

The Awardees
The awardees were recognised after their cocoa bean samples were selected by the Cocoa of Excellence (CoEx) Programme in 2015. 
The programme is an entry point to the International Cocoa Awards and recognises diversity in cocoa flavours around the world.
List of awardees:

• Harryman and Christine Chattergoon of the Tabaquite Fermentary in Mamoral/ Flanagin Town;
• Charles Merry of the Stollmeyer Estate in Santa Cruz;
• Christine Chattergoon of the Tabaquite Fermentary in Mamoral/Flanagin Town;
• Dr Audine Mootoo of the La Reunion Estate;
• Kailash Winklaar, Quincy Winklaar and Kampta Persaud of the San Juan Estate in Gran Couva.

Companies that operate in the oil and gas industry must put better measures in place to safeguard their workers and the residents of the communities surrounding their operations in the event of a disaster.

This was the call put out on Saturday by leader of the La Brea community group, People for Progress, Victor Roberts in the wake of a fire at Lease Operators Limited in Palo Seco, which caused panic among residents on Friday.

According to reports, around 5.30 pm, the company’s production manager, Desmond Deokie, called the Siparia Fire Station to report an explosion on the company’s compound. The company is located along the Los Charos Road in Palo Seco.

Deokie told officers he heard one explosion, then he saw flames around several of the oil tanks on the compound and then heard several more explosions. 

A source told the Guardian that operators were filling a vacuum trunk (an oil tanker) when there was an apparent pressure build-up and the tanker exploded.

Two vehicles parked in an external carpark were also destroyed as the fire travelled along a drain and engulfed them. 

“Residents went into panic mode. When we came, we saw a tanker and some vehicles were on fire and some storage tanks were on fire,” Roberts said. 

“We were in dread. We thought of threats of terrorism and, of course, people panicked. They had to scamper because no one knew what was taking place.”

He called on the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (Osha), Lease Operators and Petrotrin to meet with residents to discuss proper evacuation methods in the event of similar situations. 

“Most of the time when we see Osha, it is because something of this magnitude has already happened. We want Osha to put preventative measures in place and we want to meet with the officials from Lease Operators and Petrotrin, concerning fire drills.”

There were reports that one man received minor injuries in the incident. 

With Tobago Council elections results yet to be announced, the People’s National Movement (PNM) has said it will make its call for the nomination of candidates for local government elections in Trinidad today. PNM chairman Franklin Khan announced this on Saturday at a news conference following the party’s 17th regular meeting of the General Council yesterday.

The meeting covered the years 2014 to 2016. Khan, who spoke to media after the meeting, said Prime Minister Keith Rowley had instructed the general secretary to call for nominations of local government candidates on Monday. Local government elections are due by October 21.

However, Khan said the Municipal Corporations Act allows the elections to take place within 90 days following that date, leaving a back-end date of January 31.

“I can say that elections will not be held in 2017 so obviously it will be at the end of 2016. I have said it will not be postponed,” Khan said. He said the deadline for nominations for the party would be on July 31 and the party would begin screening in early August.

Khan’s promise of local government elections before the end of the year coincides with his promise of legislation to reform local government going to Parliament.

Khan, who is also the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said the Government planned to introduce the legislation in Parliament before 2017. He said the Government has held 14 consultations on the reform of local government and that the Government is in the process of producing a policy paper which should be ready in three weeks.

The policy paper would then go to Cabinet for approval, followed by two more public consultations, and a draft of legislative changes. 

The changes would be applied to two pieces of legislation, the Municipal Corporations Act and the Exchequer and Audit Act, as the corporations would be given greater financial autonomy. He added, however, that the next election would be held under the old system.

“There will be no major changes in terms of candidate profile. When somebody seeks public office, the only criteria they need to meet is that they are 18 years or over, a citizen of T&T, no criminal record and of sound mind. In a democracy that is the only criteria.”

Asked whether the party would follow the example set in the last general election, by introducing new faces, Khan said the screening committee would determine who were the best candidates.

“As a party we cannot set criteria, a degree or eight subjects or what have you. As a party we do not set hurdles for people. If we did, we would never have had Kamaluddin Mohammed, but in the screening exercise we will obviously choose the best candidate.

“We are cognisant of the fact that people can come from humble beginnings,” he said. He said he would like to see integrity, love for people and a passion for public office, but added that professional skills and educational background did play a part.

INTERIM PRO

Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Port-of-Spain South, St Ann’s MP Stuart Young was yesterday appointed interim public relations officer of the PNM. He replaces Ronald Huggins, who resigned with immediate effect due to personal obligations.

The decision was made yesterday at the party’s general council meeting. The party will vote in a new PRO in its September convention. Khan, who announced the change, said from now until September, the general council had taken the advice of Dr Rowley to appoint Young as interim PRO.

A San Fernando councillor is expected to appear in court later this week on alleged matters stemming from a November 2015 vehicular incident in Palmiste, San Fernando.

A private complaint was filed by a female complainant against the councillor following an alleged “fender bender” on November 18, 2015, in Palmiste. Both live in the Palmiste area.

The private suit, according to the documents on the issue, involves allegations about the use of obscene language against the complainant, throwing paint on the complainant, unlawful twisting of the complainant’s arm, malicious throwing of paint on the complainant’s vehicle and maliciously damaging the complainant’s blouse and jeans.

The matter is due to be heard on June 29 in the San Fernando Magistrates’ court. The councillor is also expected to face charges of driving a vehicle “without due care and attention,” contrary to section 72 of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act in November 2015.

The councillor is also charged with allegedly failing to provide a certificate of insurance while driving a vehicle after being required to do so by a police officer at Harris Promenade, San Fernando.

Failing to provide a certificate of insurance was also stated as being in violation of the Section 20 of the Motor Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act.

Close to 60 people showed up on Saturday for a discussion on the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (Gate) programme at the Learning Resource Centre, University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus.

The majority of them were students attending the tertiary institution who raised a wide range of concerns. The UWI has a student population of about 18,000. The public discussion, Future of Gate, was hosted by the UWI Guild of Students.

In March, Education Minister Anthony Garcia announced a 15-member task force to review the policy guidelines of Gate, make recommendations to cut costs and set a criteria for eligibility of programmes and institutions. The task force is expected to submit a report next month.

Guild president Makesi Peters is on the task force. One female student said: “I want to know what they plan to do in order to improve these programmes to encourage people to be innovative and creative in their job solutions.”

But another female student from one of the islands said she felt that Trinidadians were too dependent on their government. She said the university was there to help educate students in their relevant disciplines.

“An individual needs to not put the onus on the government or the university towards your specialisation. No offence, but I think Trinidad individuals look towards the government for a lot of things, too many things,” she said. She said it was time to stop the blame game.

Another student questioned why she had to repay the government if she started a programme at one institution, left without graduating and started at another institution.

She was told by a Gate representative that practice was considered wastage, something that was prevalent and that government was trying to stop.

Another student said ten years ago the UWI was not accepting 18,000-plus students and that with the “sprouting” of many other institutions. She added, “Perhaps consideration should be given to regularising the number of students at tertiary level to avoid costs.”

She said many students were starting tertiary programmes right after getting five subjects and that some were unsure about what they really wanted to do and would end up leaving their first programme.

Peters said when Gate started in 2004, it was geared towards ensuring that T&T developed a knowledge-based economy. He said the policy was geared to serve all the people of the country and to offer them an opportunity to receive a tertiary education.

“When we talk about wastage and people using the system, everyone gives an insight into that, but we need to look at other aspects as well,” said Peters. He said the Gate programme now needed to identify who were the most vulnerable people in the society who really needed funding to pursue tertiary-level studies.

TTPost has had to hire security for postal workers, after some of them were attacked last month while delivering mail in Beetham, Barataria, Laventille and Morvant, Public Utilities Minister Ancil Antoine has confirmed. He did so in Parliament on Friday in reply to a question from Opposition MP Ganga Singh.

Antoine said following the attacks, TTPost employed additional security to accompany its workers when they go to these areas and mail to those communities “continues uninterrupted.”

Finance Minister Colm Imbert, also replying to Singh, declined to say when the report of the Colman Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into Clico and the Hindu Credit Union—submitted last week to the Government—will be laid in Parliament.

Imbert said: “The report wil be dealt with in a responsible manner by a responsible Government at the appropriate time.” He repeated that when Singh asked the date that he would give the document to the responsible institution—Parliament—Singh then asked what time would be appropriate. 

Imbert said in any CoE there are issues to consider and the Government would “consider all relevant factors” concerning the report and “it will be dealt with in an appropriate time by a responsible government.” 

Replying to Opposition MP David Lee, Imbert said the issue of Central Bank’s deficient regulatory control of insurance companies (cited in the report by sole commissioner Sir Anthony Colman) was known before 2010 and a draft Insurance Bill had been completed.

Imbert accused the People’s Partnership government of “fooling around with it” and allowing it to lapse. He said notwithstanding the fact that the bill has a few weaknesses, the Government would bring it to Parliament unchanged on Friday, to strengthen the insurance industry.

Works Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, replying to Opposition MP Suruj Rambachan, said Construtora OAS had abandoned the Point Fortin Highway project site and its contract is being reviewed. Nidco will conduct an open tender process for other contractors  to complete the remaining work necessary, he said.

Hinds said OAS, up to the end of 2015, had settled some US$47 million (TT$305 million) of its local commitments with workers receiving outstanding amounts of US$4.9 million, small creditors, US$5.11 million and larger providers US$37 million. In May, a US$17 million (TT$113 million) debt to 40 local contractors was settled via use of equipment.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, replying to MP Singh, said the Finance Ministry and the judiciary will also meet soon to discuss funding for the Chaguanas court and a timeframe for resolution on the accommodation matter will then be had.

Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre also told Singh no move has been made to restart the Alutech aluminium project. She said the standing energy committee had decided that its three members on the Alutech board would review the project.

Sports Minister Darryl Smith told Parliament that all remaining work on the Brian Lara Stadium will be completed by December 31, 2016. The total spent on this since September 8, 2015, is $5.5 million.

Taking the long trip over to Barbados to view the Ballr Tri-series, English cricket fan Peter Bowden says that he is here to see West Indies play great cricket.

The businessman, who also sings opera, says that the World of cricket has not been the same since the West Indies stopped winning. 

He said: “I am hoping that the West Indies can go on and win this Tri-series against top sides like Australia and South Africa. I am supporting them to defeat South Africa and get into the finals. You see the world needs a winning West Indies cricket team. Your players have the spice, they spice up the game, or else it will be very ordinary. I like to see the flair they play with and let me tell you when they are on top of their game, it is an absolute pleasure to watch them.”

Bowden was at Kensington Oval this weekend cheering on the men in maroon. 

“I am a big English supporter and English people see two really big battles in world cricket. When they play the Ashes against the Australians and when they play against the West Indies. 

“The others are okay but they will never generate the interest that the West Indies and Australia can, when they tour the UK. England likes to go across to South Africa and beat them there but when the Proteas tour England, it is never as keen for the people as when West Indies and Australia play.”

He said one of the reasons the English people have taken to West Indies is because of the personal battles and friendship between marquee players over the years. “Fans still remember Ian Botham and Vivian Richards. They were the best of friends at Somerset but when they crossed onto the field they were at each other with all they had. This is what led to great battles and it’s what made cricket.”

Bowden said that the West Indies cricket team has to help Test cricket survive. 

“The team has been doing quite well in the shorter forms of the game but the West Indies must improve in five-day cricket. They are the players who are attractive and the ones who can made the longer format attractive again. You seem to have lost a lot of players to American sports like basketball, running and football and this has affected the development of the cricket.

“The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) needs to go to the islands and find the men who can bowl fast and allow them to play cricket and let the world see. 

“Test cricket does not only need men poking all day, they need men to make the game attractive again and who better than a winning West Indies team.”

The Book Industry Organisation of T&T (BIOTT) says it is ready and willing to meet with Education Minister Anthony Garcia to explore ways of improving the ministry’s textbook rental programme as they move forward.

The request for a meeting follows last week’s announcement by Garcia that textbooks bearing school stamps were being sold via second-hand booksellers on the streets of Port-of-Spain.

Garcia later said the information had been brought to his attention from concerned teachers and parents.

Up to last Friday, Garcia said they had not been in receipt of any of the books which had allegedly been purchased from second-hand booksellers.

However, he urged people in possession of these texts to come forward and assist the police with their investigation.

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon has confirmed the matter would be placed in the hands of acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams.

Unwilling to ascribe blame to any particular person or entity, Garcia said the ministry was exploring several options as to how the books ended up in the hands of the second-hand booksellers which included errant students and parents; the offer of excess books by school officials; and collusion on the part of the publishers responsible for printing and distributing the textbooks.

BIOTT president, Rico Charran, last week defended his members as he said the numbers of published textbooks were dependent on information stated on invoice orders from the Ministry of Education and that delivery was done according to the ministry’s instructions.

He said yesterday any textbooks bearing a school stamp was a clear indication that the books had been delivered to the respective school and that it was up to the ministry to examine their internal accounting processes.

Charran said claims by Garcia that textbooks bearing school stamps was clear confirmation that, “the school can only have stamped books that were delivered.”

He said: “This incontrovertible evidence supports the fact that all textbooks were delivered to schools,” and that any such speculation that publishers were involved in any sort of plan to sell textbooks belonging to the ministry was “completely and wholly unfounded.”

Charran said: “In light of the above, BIOTT finds the minister’s accusatory statement unfortunate and regrettable.”

Referring to the excess textbooks in the system, Charran said Garcia should seek clarification on the matter from the Chief Education Officer who has oversight in the preparation of textbook orders.

As a High Court judge sentenced two men to seven years and eight months in prison for killing mechanic Nigel Allen, she suggested the authorities take up the prisoners’ offer to assist in bringing the people who hired them to justice.

Allen’s relatives, who left the San Fernando High Court disappointed as they wanted prisoners Nigel “Cat” Roderique, 41, and Wendell “Piper” Simmons, 34, to get life sentences, also expressed a desire to see the other people involved in Allen’s abduction and murder brought to justice.

After sentencing both men who pleaded guilty in April to murder based on the murder felony rule, Justice Maria Wilson said: “I would hope that the authorities will take up the offer of both prisoners to further the investigation into this matter to find out who else was involved in this matter. Both are willing to assist and I think the offer should be taken up by the Director of Public Prosecutions office and the police.”

Roderique, a father of five, who is a state witness in another capital offence, and Simmons told the judge at the last court hearing they were willing to turn state witnesses and help the police arrest the “stars” and the “real perpetrators” in this matter to justice.

Allen, 32, of Simpson Brown Terrace, Cocoyea Village, San Fernando, went missing on December 7, 2005. Police found Allen’s car abandoned in Claxton Bay the following day while his decomposing body was discovered by police in a shallow grave in Diamond Village, Claxton Bay, 12 days later. 

The prisoners, in a confession statement, claimed another man referred to as “S” had locked Allen’s neck and placed a handkerchief in his mouth. The prisoners said they thought Allen, who had been struggling, was dead because he went silent. Roderique admitted he then stabbed Allen in the abdomen with a fork to prevent his body from expanding during decomposition.

The men then buried Allen. The judge said an appropriate sentence was 29 years, but after considering the aggravating and mitigating factors she reduced the starting point to 27 years. She then deducted one third of the sentence for their guilty pleas, reducing the term to 18 years. The judge further reduced the sentence after subtracting the ten years, three months and 19 days they were in custody awaiting trial.

Allen’s eldest brother Gerard Allen, said time: “We are not pleased, we wanted life because they took life. My grandmother, who is 94 years old, said the law is an ass and I believe she is correct.”

Agreeing with the judge’s remarks about the DPP and the police taking up the prisoners’ office, Allen also questioned who was the person referred to as S and why he was never brought to justice. “I want to know if Cat can still see himself stabbing him (Nigel Allen) with the fork because I could see him lying on the slate (at the Forensic Science Centre).”