Cabinet has given the green light for the staff of the Public Utilities Ministry to be relocated to the controversial One Alexandra Place building, Port-of-Spain.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young said so at yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference in St Clair.

He said Minister of Public Utilities, Ancel Antoine, and some support staff have already been relocated to the new location. He said when the transfer was completed by the middle of this month, the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs would be relocated from Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, to 2 Elizabeth Street, St Clair, which had been occupied by the Public Utilities Ministry for the past several months.

He confirmed that One Alexandra Place was owned by relatives of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi but said all discussions relating to the new arrangements were done without the involvement of Al-Rawi, who had recused himself from the deliberations. 

But he assured all matters relating to the premises have been dealt with “completely above board with the highest levels of due diligence.”

The building had been rented during the five-year term of the former People’s Partnership government at a cost of an estimated $45 million but remained unoccupied for the entire period.

Yesterday, Young confirmed the non-occupation of the building was an issue but said the new Government, since September last year, had established a sub-committee of the Cabinet to take a look at the matter to determine its suitability for use. 

He said it was found that the building continued to be suitable for occupation. However, he said there were still outstanding matters to be addressed, including questions about the procurement and outfitting of the building under the former PP administration, adding this aspect may be subject to legal proceedings. 

He said Cabinet felt the building was unoccupied for far too long to the disadvantage of taxpayers. He added after several ministries bid for the premises it was found Public Utilities was best suited for it.

He said a new rental arrangement was also negotiated. He was not prepared to give details but said it would not be as high as what obtained under the former government. 

“There is not going to be an increase in the cost of rental,” he said.

He said the building would be leased to the ministry for the next three years, while the Sport Ministry would complete its relocation by the end of next month.

For most of his adult life, Alexander Baksh had been caring for his ailing father, Jaglal Rampersad. 

But there was nothing he could do to save the elderly man’s life when their wooden two-bedroom home went up in flames in the early hours of yesterday. 

Baksh, 24, and his girlfriend, Shantel Huggins, 18, escaped with their own lives by jumping out a second storey bedroom window to the ground below.

But Rampersad, 73, was burnt to death in the fire, which Baksh believes his father may have set himself.

“I feel he was trying to light a candle for himself in the night and it catch up.

“We didn’t have current so we used candles all the time. But I don’t let him light any for himself to prevent anything from happening to him. I used to hide the matches from him so I don’t know where he got matches from,” Baksh told the T&T Guardian yesterday.

He said he prepared his father for bed as usual on Sunday night before he and Huggins retired to his bedroom on the second floor. 

“We went to bed like normal and we fell asleep. When I woke up the heat was stifling me and I realised the room was filling up with smoke and the house was on fire. I woke up my girlfriend and I jumped out of the window first and made her jump second so I could catch her,” he said, adding he suffered bruises and cuts about the body but Huggins was unhurt. 

Baksh then tried to get into his father’s room from the outside.

“The entire house was burning and I tried to get into his room but there was too much fire... I didn’t hear him call out or anything,” he added.

Officers from the Princes Town Fire Station responded but by the time they arrived the house was engulfed in flames.

Rampersad’s remains were taken to the San Fernando mortuary and then to a funeral home. 

His former wife, Narisha Baksh, said yesterday she was unsure where the family would have his funeral service. 

Although Narisha was separated from Rampersad, she said she brought him meals as he had been suffering from diabetes and hypertension for many years. 

Baksh, who is a construction worker, said for the past two years he had been renovating the house.

“We lost everything. Even the clothes I am wearing right now are not mine. It will be very hard to start over after the money I spent fixing the house,” he added.

The Police Service is urging parents to speak to their children about playing the popular Pokemon Go on their mobile devices while walking, noting yesterday that some of them end up in traffic while engaging in the activity.

Speaking at the weekly police press briefing yesterday, road safety co-ordinator, PC Brent Batson, asked that parents must be vigilant and ensure their children are safe while playing the game, which encourages users to hunt for Pokemon characters in various places across T&T. 

The game was officially launched in T&T early last month and since then Southern Division officers have warned people about venturing into parks late at night playing the game as they could become targets for bandits.

While neither Batson nor Supt Mathura Singh, head of the Highways and Traffic Patrol, could say whether people had been physically injured by recklessly wandering into oncoming traffic while playing the game, Batson said they had noticed a trend with game users.

Yesterday, Batson said: “During some of our enforcement programmes, we noticed this almost addictive approach by pedestrians using this Pokemon Go Application with the phone. Sometimes they will run into parking lot spaces in front of vehicles, so we are hoping that parents could have that serious conversation with their children.” 

Singh added that of the 83 people killed as a result of accidents, 23 were pedestrians. While none of these victims were killed playing the game, he warned that some of those who have been enjoying the game could become a statistic if they were not careful. 

He added that apart from playing the game, pedestrians should not use headphones and other distracting devices when crossing roads.

Cancer patients can expect some relief soon as the first batch of fresh oncology drugs arrived in T&T yesterday.

Confirmation came from Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

Although the Ministry of Health in a press release on Tuesday had promised a shipment of cancer medication would arrive in the first week of this month for immediate distribution, Deyalsingh said the delivery process had been fast tracked and the medication was now in T&T.

“I have been working with our procurement partner, Nipdec, to try to get the drugs in earlier. I have been doing this over the past three weeks.

“Nipdec has assured me that the first major shipment of oncology drugs, including other pharmaceuticals, will start to arrive in the country from September 1 through the first week in September,” Deyalsingh added.

Once the drugs were cleared and sent to the warehouse, Deyalsingh said it would be distributed expeditiously to all the public health institutions that treated oncology patients.

These institutions include the St James Radiotherapy Centre, Port-of-Spain General Hospital, Sangre Grande Hospital, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and San Fernando General Hospital.

However, Deyalsingh said the drugs would not be available at private pharmacies.

“These oncology drugs are for the public sector,” he said.

In the midst of a critical shortage of medi­cation at the nation’s hospitals and health centres, which had left some cancer patients fearful that they may die, Finance Minister Colm Imbert last month disclosed that $245 million had been approved to bring relief. 

Yesterday, Deyalsingh assured a second batch of oncology drugs would arrive in the third and fourth weeks of this month and, in one month’s time, the country would have its full supply of oncology drugs.

He noted part of the problem for issues like the shortage was that the ministry had neglected its role to oversee its contract partners, like Nipdec and GMRTT. However, he said it had since established a monitoring and evaluation division which would hold to account partners who it relied on to provide goods and services.

“It is my intention and responsibility that once drugs are available internationally and once our chain management systems are working that these perennial and annual shortages of critical drugs, like oncology drugs, should be a thing of the past,” Deyalsingh promised.

As Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar meet to discuss spiralling crime today, divisional police commanders say they are unfazed by impending challenges but with no additional resources being allotted to the T&T Police Service, the commanders say other law enforcement agencies can be better utilised to assist them in the fight against crime.

In an interview yesterday, head of the South Western Division, Inraj Balram, said his troops were very willing to make the best use of whatever resources were available to them.

Asked whether a stoppage of additional resources would pose a setback to ongoing crime initiatives, Balram said: “Not necessarily. I intend to maximise whatever resources we have and focus on specific areas which pose a problem.”

Asked to elaborate, Balram said he wanted to have 24/7 monitoring of coastal areas where drugs and guns were smuggled in. 

“We do not manufacture guns but the availability of weapons here is cause for concern. As a leader, I want to help the Coast Guard to monitor this but with limited resources only certain areas can be monitored at certain times. Based on the intelligence we gather, we will move accordingly,” he said.

He said he would not necessarily need to call out officers from vacation to do that.

“We are going to restrategise and use our resources wisely,” he added.

He agreed that the Coast Guard and Regiment could be used to boost patrols and assist in roadblocks, sting operations and community problems, adding: “All help is welcome but if we are to get the soldiers to have a permanent presence the minister will have to look at it.” 

He was hesitant, however, to say whether the private sector should be allowed to contribute to providing resources for the TTPS.

“We have to do a study for this because we do not want to undermine the independence of the Police Service as we do our duties,” he added. 

Balram also said crime and the fear of crime were affecting the economy as it impacted negatively on investor confidence. Saying national security should always get the largest chunk of the fiscal pie, he said he would continue to ensure his division maintained the best crime detection rate in the country.

Head of the Southern Division, Adeline St Louis-Pesnell, said she too was undaunted by news that the TTPS would get no additional resources to fight crime.

“I have always felt empowered as the commander but I am mandated to use whatever initiatives necessary to reduce the crime in my division. Despite what the Prime Minister said we will not refuse additional resources because we will be further empowered to implement more patrols, more exercises, more community projects, sting operations, community activities, community patrol officers and so on if we have additional resources,” she said.

However, St Louis-Pesnell said she had been calling out staff on leave.

“People have been coming off their rest days to assist with the initiatives. We have had some success and we are prepared to persevere and increase our success despite our challenges,” she said. 

She said while there was no new crime plan they would continue to address criminal migration, deportation and the influx of illegal immigrants in T&T.

I am one of the old school cricket lovers. I also believe that it is not cricket for players to be whinging about being unceremoniously laid off when the obvious reasons may be age and diminished performance. 

There are enough problems within the WICB to have Shivnarine Chanderpaul of Guyana bellyaching about being dropped from the West Indies team. Shiv needs to move on. 

While a good and reliable player for many years, Chanderpaul was no Garfield Sobers, no Vivian Richards, no Clive Lloyd. Many times Chanderpaul played crucial and well appreciated innings. So he may have played while injured. Sob! sob! So what? He would have been paid. 

Why diminish your contribution to the sport by trying to hold on batting long after the umpire named Age has left the grounds for his cup of tea?

Age 42 in office administration is considered borderline “young.” In competitive sport, especially in cricket, 42 is recognised as retirement time unless one is still miraculously scoring effortless centuries. 

Chanderpaul’s cricketing style does not suit the moneymaking IPL or he could have fitted in there. Even there, I am yet to observe players who are long in the tooth. Chris Gayle is in his late 30’s but Gayle is highly adapted to fast and furious scoring.

What is Shiv going to do? Is he going to sue for wrongful dismissal? In any event Shiv has a young son who is moving up in the rankings. Maybe Fazeer Mohammed could have a gentle word in his ear.

Lynette Joseph

Diego Martin

The Media Association of T&T (MATT) has responded to the decision by local television station CNC3 to sever ties with Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne.

The decision was announced by the station in a press release on Thursday after several meetings with the television host.

MATT's response also follows a video published by Alleyne, in which he expressed gratitude to CNC3 and called on his viewers to continue supporting Guardian Media Limited.

Below is MATT's full release.

"Yesterday CNC3 became the third successive media house to sever business relations with the Crime Watch programme and its host/producer, Ian Alleyne.

The breakdown of this relationship illustrates again that without serious commitment to sound journalistic principles and conventions by media owners and individual producers, investigative programming and reporting content inevitably succumb under ethical, legal and public scrutiny.

After spending several days criticising his former bosses at CNC3, Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne has changed tactics, yesterday saying CNC3 had been "really good to him."

"Over the last few days I got emotional. Things were said that should never have been said," Alleyne said, adding that his conscience had guided him to speak out.

Below is the full video:

Video courtesy Ian Alleyne.

The Government and Opposition yesterday agreed that the attack on crime has to be to dealt with at the Parliament level through 16 pieces of legislation.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at a news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, following a 90-minute meeting, with Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who headed a delegation comprising MPs Dr Roodal Moonilal, Ramona Ramdial and Opposition Senators Wade Mark and Gerald Hadeed.

The PM had Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, Minister in the Office of the PM Stuart Young, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene Mc Donald on his team.

Among the five items Government took to the table were legislative support, collaborative partnership in Parliament and administrative issues. The Opposition threw out legislative matters, administrative issues, civil society and public stakeholder relations, non-partisan parliamentary partnerships and a framework for continued co-operation.

But the PM warned afterwards that until both sides have a collaborative approach in Parliament, their meeting yesterday would come to nought and the criminals would continue with their rampage.

The PM said both sides also “agreed that the Parliamentary Committee, which currently exists with the Government, Opposition and Independents, meet in treating with legislation that can be used and must be used to prepare the ground for a common purpose before we get to the Parliament floor.”

He said this Parliamentary Committee, which comes in the form of a national security Joint Select Committee (JSC), will be now chaired by an independent senator to avoid any political acrimony to help move more effectively towards legislation. 

“That committee is a place where the fight against crime, where the Opposition and the Government, can meet... and have meetings on what the country needs to do ... what legislation needs to be addressed, to be created and amended, where there are disagreements, and do that, behind closed doors before we come to the Parliament.”

Rowley said 16 pieces of legislation will now make their way to and through the Parliament, which may require 16 separate debates.

“What we are committing to is sharing more of that information with the Opposition and the country. So that this feeling that nothing is going on can really be addressed effectively,” he said.

“We agreed that the Government and Opposition sees eye-to-eye in carrying out certain aspects of the law, but that has not been done because there were one or two points of differences.”

The idea behind yesterday’s meeting, Rowley said, was to set the stage for future effective cooperation in responding to the protracted crime scourge which has been affecting the country for some time.

He said tackling and amending legislation that deals with gang warfare, gang activity and criminality through gangs was critical.

“What for me was most interesting and important, is that we have agreed to cooperate more effectively in the Parliament, because it is in the Parliament that the Opposition’s contributions to the Government’s effort can be best demonstrated. Until we get to the Parliament and sees what happens in the Parliament ...that behaviours in the Parliament, only then, we will know if we have made progress today. 

“What happened here this morning is not a solution to anything. It is a commitment to go down a certain pathway. So the taste of the pudding will be the eating in the Parliament.”

CoP appointment 

Rowley also spoke about the Police Service Commission’s attempts to appoint a new Commissioner of Police (CoP), but stated that there were obstacles in the way, which have been multiplying and frustrating the Government.

He said the whole question of the police’s ability to gather information has to become effective, while resources were required in Parliament and the office of the Leader of Opposition to ensure that legislation is brought quickly to Parliament.

“We have to ensure that the Parliamentary committees are properly staffed and available and that time is alloted both from the Parliament and Government’s point of view. That will require getting more technical people involved,” Rowley said.

The PM said both sides also concurred that the relationship among Parliamentarians must improve on mutual respect and responsibility.

“There is an agreement that we need to improve in that area. And all of this might be talk. The visit today might only be a sham. It’s only when we get to the Parliament and we effect the turning of the page that we will know if today has borne fruits.”

The PM also insisted that divisional police commanders and the office of the Commissioner of Police must become more communicative with the population, “otherwise cynicism will take root and probably become the order of the day.”

In appointing a new CoP, Rowley said one matter that came to the Cabinet from the Public Service was a reluctance to move forward “until the Government provides $6 million to allow a local firm to commit to evaluate the applications.”

He said only the Public Service department would justify why $6 million was needed “to apply for a job and have somebody evaluate the applications.”

Corporal punishment was one of the issues both the Opposition and Government saw eye-to-eye in discussing yesterday during their crime talks, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said.

“The Opposition raised the question of hanging. We had a short discussion as to where we are on this issue,” Rowley told reporters.

In short, Rowley said both parties held the view that capital punishment should remain on our books “and should be the effective response to particular crimes. That being the case, we are divergent in our views, where this Government when in Opposition and is still of the view, as advised by thorough legal research, that we are only allowed to carry out capital punishment in Trinidad and Tobago, as reaffirmed by the Privy Council because of the savings law which took place at Independence.”

The PM said if we were to interfere and create new conditions to this law, T&T “will open the door for the Privy Council to permanently and effectively abolish capital punishment in Trinidad and Tobago.”

He said, however, that the Privy Council has indicated that capital punishment is lawful and can be carried out.

“The Privy Council has outlined the conditions under which it can be done. And that is, that all the proceedings must be concluded and upon conviction...that the capital punishment must be carried out within a five-year period.”

Rowley said it was for the State to be able to meet the Privy Council conditions.

“Where we have a divergence with the Opposition, is that they were proposing new arrangements for capital punishment and we are saying that the minute you do that... it means that the Privy Council will then permanently abolish it. The reason why they have not abolished it so far is because of the old law, which is beyond the reach of the Privy Council.”

Rowley said both parties have agreed to meet and discuss this issue further so that some hopeful agreement will be arrived at and take place.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says one of the major recommendations they submitted at yesterday’s crime meeting with Government was for more law enforcement officers to take to the streets. 

“More boots on the ground. I think that can happen very quickly,” Persad-Bissessar said during a news conference at the Office of the Opposition Leader, Charles Street, Port-of-Spain, hours after the 90-minute meeting with the Government, saying she was “hopeful” the discussions will produce positive results in the fight against crime. 

“We went there in good faith to put our ideas. There were many who felt this thing was political ramajay and we were going there (to the meeting) to score points,” the former prime minister said

But she quickly dismissed that claim, saying she “didn’t want to score points, because I cannot live in this country and see children being gunned down on the streets and feel comfortable and happy.”

Persad-Bissessar admitted, however, that she had received many texts and email messages asking her “why you going and meet that man (PM) for?”

But she said that was not the issue, as the Opposition was committed to a good working relationship with the Government to deal with the issue of crime. 

She said it was not impossible for there to be a good working relationship between the Government and the Opposition in the future. 

Persad-Bissessar also dismissed claims that cooperating with the Government would not help the UNC regain power, noting she was confident her party could return to government again.

“We can win an election without battering or trying to kill each other. 

“I honestly believe that,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar also insisted the opposition will continue to stand up against breaches to citizens’ constitutional rights and measures that were not in the best public interest.

On positives achieved at the meeting, Persad-Bissessar said the proposed change to the parliamentary committee on National Security could assist in creating a better working relationship between the two sides. 

The chairman of that committee, Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, is to be removed and replaced by an Independent Senator. 

Persad-Bissessar said a lot of the acrimony can be dealt with in this committee so that when the crime fighting legislation is brought to the Parliament for debate there can be agreement. —Richard Lord

Corporal punishment was one of the issues both the Opposition and Government saw eye-to-eye in discussing yesterday during their crime talks, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said.

“The Opposition raised the question of hanging. We had a short discussion as to where we are on this issue,” Rowley told reporters.

In short, Rowley said both parties held the view that capital punishment should remain on our books “and should be the effective response to particular crimes. That being the case, we are divergent in our views, where this Government when in Opposition and is still of the view, as advised by thorough legal research, that we are only allowed to carry out capital punishment in Trinidad and Tobago, as reaffirmed by the Privy Council because of the savings law which took place at Independence.”

The PM said if we were to interfere and create new conditions to this law, T&T “will open the door for the Privy Council to permanently and effectively abolish capital punishment in Trinidad and Tobago.”

He said, however, that the Privy Council has indicated that capital punishment is lawful and can be carried out.

“The Privy Council has outlined the conditions under which it can be done. And that is, that all the proceedings must be concluded and upon conviction...that the capital punishment must be carried out within a five-year period.”

Rowley said it was for the State to be able to meet the Privy Council conditions.

“Where we have a divergence with the Opposition, is that they were proposing new arrangements for capital punishment and we are saying that the minute you do that... it means that the Privy Council will then permanently abolish it. The reason why they have not abolished it so far is because of the old law, which is beyond the reach of the Privy Council.”

Rowley said both parties have agreed to meet and discuss this issue further so that some hopeful agreement will be arrived at and take place.

The Government and Opposition yesterday agreed that the attack on crime has to be to dealt with at the Parliament level through 16 pieces of legislation.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at a news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, following a 90-minute meeting, with Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who headed a delegation comprising MPs Dr Roodal Moonilal, Ramona Ramdial and Opposition Senators Wade Mark and Gerald Hadeed.

The PM had Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, Minister in the Office of the PM Stuart Young, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene Mc Donald on his team.

Among the five items Government took to the table were legislative support, collaborative partnership in Parliament and administrative issues. The Opposition threw out legislative matters, administrative issues, civil society and public stakeholder relations, non-partisan parliamentary partnerships and a framework for continued co-operation.

But the PM warned afterwards that until both sides have a collaborative approach in Parliament, their meeting yesterday would come to nought and the criminals would continue with their rampage.

The PM said both sides also “agreed that the Parliamentary Committee, which currently exists with the Government, Opposition and Independents, meet in treating with legislation that can be used and must be used to prepare the ground for a common purpose before we get to the Parliament floor.”

He said this Parliamentary Committee, which comes in the form of a national security Joint Select Committee (JSC), will be now chaired by an independent senator to avoid any political acrimony to help move more effectively towards legislation. 

“That committee is a place where the fight against crime, where the Opposition and the Government, can meet... and have meetings on what the country needs to do ... what legislation needs to be addressed, to be created and amended, where there are disagreements, and do that, behind closed doors before we come to the Parliament.”

Rowley said 16 pieces of legislation will now make their way to and through the Parliament, which may require 16 separate debates.

“What we are committing to is sharing more of that information with the Opposition and the country. So that this feeling that nothing is going on can really be addressed effectively,” he said.

“We agreed that the Government and Opposition sees eye-to-eye in carrying out certain aspects of the law, but that has not been done because there were one or two points of differences.”

The idea behind yesterday’s meeting, Rowley said, was to set the stage for future effective cooperation in responding to the protracted crime scourge which has been affecting the country for some time.

He said tackling and amending legislation that deals with gang warfare, gang activity and criminality through gangs was critical.

“What for me was most interesting and important, is that we have agreed to cooperate more effectively in the Parliament, because it is in the Parliament that the Opposition’s contributions to the Government’s effort can be best demonstrated. Until we get to the Parliament and sees what happens in the Parliament ...that behaviours in the Parliament, only then, we will know if we have made progress today. 

“What happened here this morning is not a solution to anything. It is a commitment to go down a certain pathway. So the taste of the pudding will be the eating in the Parliament.”

CoP appointment 

Rowley also spoke about the Police Service Commission’s attempts to appoint a new Commissioner of Police (CoP), but stated that there were obstacles in the way, which have been multiplying and frustrating the Government.

He said the whole question of the police’s ability to gather information has to become effective, while resources were required in Parliament and the office of the Leader of Opposition to ensure that legislation is brought quickly to Parliament.

“We have to ensure that the Parliamentary committees are properly staffed and available and that time is alloted both from the Parliament and Government’s point of view. That will require getting more technical people involved,” Rowley said.

The PM said both sides also concurred that the relationship among Parliamentarians must improve on mutual respect and responsibility.

“There is an agreement that we need to improve in that area. And all of this might be talk. The visit today might only be a sham. It’s only when we get to the Parliament and we effect the turning of the page that we will know if today has borne fruits.”

The PM also insisted that divisional police commanders and the office of the Commissioner of Police must become more communicative with the population, “otherwise cynicism will take root and probably become the order of the day.”

In appointing a new CoP, Rowley said one matter that came to the Cabinet from the Public Service was a reluctance to move forward “until the Government provides $6 million to allow a local firm to commit to evaluate the applications.”

He said only the Public Service department would justify why $6 million was needed “to apply for a job and have somebody evaluate the applications.”

The Opposition yesterday expressed a willingness to bring back to Parliament the controversial Section 34 act (Administration of Justice) bill to help the Government accelerate cases through the court.

This was revealed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley following crime talks with the Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her delegation.

Rowley said while Persad-Bissessar threw her support behind the abolition of trials by jury, she also showed a willingness for the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act.

“The occurrence of the infamous Section 34 would have prevented us from going down the road of treating with the Indictable Offences bill. 

“The Opposition expressed a willingness for us to start over and get done what that bill had intended to help us with, which is to accelerate cases through the court system. So that came up and we have some commitment to work with that with some dispatch,” Rowley said.

In December 2011, the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act was enacted by both Houses of Parliament and received the assent of then President George Maxwell Richards on December 16, 2011.

Included in the act, however, was Section 34, which prescribed a limitation period of ten years in respect of certain offences, excluding treason, murder, kidnapping, rape, assault, drug trafficking and arms and ammunition possession. 

Both UNC subsequently had to repeal the law after it was learnt UNC financiers Ish Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson, along with 37 others, stood to walk free of charges arising of the Piarco Airport case with the passage of the legislation. 

In January 2016, the Privy Council in London ruled for the State in the Section 34 appeal brought by Ferguson, Ameer Edoo & Maritime Life (Caribbean) Limited.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said Persad-Bissessar also called for improvements in the criminal justice system, as it related to preliminary inquiries and the speed at which trials moved.

“We were able to provide the Opposition with a list of 16 items (bills), which is just a snippet of some of the matters which are urgent priority matters,” Al-Rawi said.

These bills, Al-Rawi said, will take the profits out of crime and reform the criminal justice system.

“We are convinced that many of the laws stand on the books of Trinidad and Tobago and don’t have the kind of impact into crime. We feel it is very critical, as a country, that we go behind the money...because it is the money that fuels crime.”

Al-Rawi said they were pleased to discuss the foreign terrorist fighters bill, the bail amendments, the improvements of the FIU Act, Motor Vehicle legislation and the Income Tax act, as well as bills on gaming and betting and civil asset forfeiture.

On the criminal justice side, Al-Rawi said they were happy to include the indictable offences preliminary enquiry, the abolition of criminal enquiries, the finalisation of whistleblower protection and the unmasking of owners behind companies.

“This is opening the doors to sharing more information and certainly soliciting the views, so that we know early in the equation what will or will not be objectionable and improving that process of communication,” he said.

The AG said the Government will also report to the country about its operational improvements that have already been effected.

President of the Unified Teacher's Association, Devanand Sinanan, is hoping that the new school term will open without a hitch next week.

In a brief interview yesterday, Sinanan said they were quietly confident that all schools will be opened on Monday, after they received promises from the Ministry of Education that work on them will be completed.

“We will go by the assurances from the ministry and we are optimistic that all will be ready for the new term. There were some schools that were under repair the minister assured all will be ready on Monday and work was going on around the clock,” Sinanan said.

Sinanan said there were key repairs being done at the Siparia Union Presbyterian Primary School and Rousillac Hindu School. However, he expressed concerns about whether San Juan South Secondary School would be ready, since it was in a dilapidated state and there were a number of OSH violations. He said the building was termite infested, had a leaking roof, gas leakages and outdated electrical wiring.

“The school has been producing excellent results. Unfortunately, no one was paying attention. The science block is condemned since June. An official letter was sent to the permanent secretary and the block is cordoned off,” he said.

Sinanan said there were some 500 students at the school and there were no alternatives for them to take classes in science, chemistry, biology, physics and integrated science. 

“That is madness. The ministry has to take immediate steps to repair the problems and bring it up to OSH standards and should have done that during the holidays. The whole school needs reconstruction and the school was built in 1962,” he said.

He said the students needed a new school in the shortest possible time.

Attempts to reach Education Minister Anthony Garcia were unsuccessful yesterday.

Shark advocate and environmental activist Marc de Verteuil is making another appeal to the authorities to get serious about protecting local sharks.

He made the appeal after a photo of a Tiger Shark, also known as the “Sea Tiger,” which was reportedly caught off Tobago waters, was posted on 104FM’s Facebook page on August 21. In one photo, the shark appeared dead and was lying across a table on a beachfront. In another photo, two fishermen were getting ready to cut it open. On a video posted on Facebook, a comment noted that the shark was caught of Pigeon Point.

The photo generated several Facebook comments, with some people expressing their outrage that the creature was captured, while others were alarmed that the shark was caught in Tobago waters.

According to the National Geographic website: “The tiger shark’s reputation as an indiscriminate eater that will swallow anything it finds, including garbage, has earned it the nickname wastebasket of the sea. They are listed as near threatened throughout their range.”

The T&T Guardian could not confirm exactly where the shark was caught, but Tobago craftsman Alan Marcelle said the information reaching him was that it was caught by a tourist who was fishing.

Yesterday, de Verteuil, who had led a campaign to stop the slaying and eating of shark, noting that eco-tourists flock to various islands to view such creatures in their natural habitat and their existence in our waters could boost tourism.

“This is the tragedy of the commons. That Tiger Shark could have been worth millions to Tobago tourism, but instead of protecting it, we ate it. We fail as a nation each time we eat a shark.”

He added, “At Jupiter, Florida, scuba divers pay US$100 to spend a day diving with these sharks. There are companies that do dive charters each day of the week, taking out 10-20 divers at a time. Communities there earn millions of dollars from shark dive tourism. 

“This stands in sharp contrast with T&T, where for decades we have struggled to develop a tourism product and identity. Instead of sustainable use of sharks, we have developed a destructive and unsustainable shark fishery.”

He pointed out that in T&T a shark is worth no more than the market value of its meat. 

“For argument's sake, let’s say that Tiger Shark is worth TT$1000 to the fisherman who caught and sold it. That is not even the revenue that a Florida dive operator will earn from selling two dive spots to see Tiger Sharks at Jupiter. 

“A 2011 study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science found that in Palau, a tourism dependent island in the Pacific, each live shark is worth nearly US$2 million to the economy. This is mostly due to the revenue earned from divers who travel from all over the world to dive in the shark sanctuary that was established there in 2009. The study also found that a dead shark is worth US$108 when sold for meat.’

Apart from tourism, he said sharks keep the oceans productive and healthy. 

“Removing this apex predator from the ocean has reduced productivity for Tobago's fishery sector. Fishermen need sharks to sustain their livelihood,” he said.

Noting that global attitudes towards sharks have changed, he said many Caribbean islands have recently declared shark sanctuaries. 

“Sharks are worth more alive than dead,” he said, adding, “T&T needs to get serious about protecting its natural resources if we want to develop tourism. If the Minister of Tourism and Minister of Agriculture got together and did a cost/benefit analysis using scientific data they will conclude that sharks are too valuable to be eaten.”

They came with eager faces yesterday, hoping to get a pittance to send their children to school next week. But many fisherfolk left dejected when they were told it would be three weeks before they receive any of the promised funds from Government.

Over 200 fishermen, fish mongers, crab catchers and oyster vendors turned up at the South Oropouche Community Complex to apply for part of a $1 million financial assistance promised by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last week. 

Fisherman Kumar Cyril and his wife Lutchmie said since fish sales slumped because of the recent oil spill and fish kill, they have not been able to afford to buy milk for their 11-month-old baby Cameron.

“Luckily, I still breast feed him but he is still underweight. Right now we struggling to buy uniforms and books for the other children (Kamal, eight and Kareem, four),” she said. 

Kumar said even though fishermen were going out to catch they were not selling their hauls.

“People are scared to buy. When we put out our goods people stopping and asking if we trying to poison them. The fishes wasting and its been more than six weeks that we have no income,” he said.

Christopher Mahatoo said he was grateful for any assistance that the Government gives. However, he said it would have been better if the monies were distributed before the start of the new school term.

President of the Otaheite Vendors’ Association, Clement Charles, said people have been waiting for financial aid for the past two months. 

“So what if we wait a few more weeks? It makes no difference except that people will be on a little more strain because the school term is opening next week,” he said.

Trawler captain Pooran Balkissoon said he hopes that the public could resume fish consumption so that the fishermen, crab catchers and conch vendors could continue to earn a livelihood. 

Another fisherman, Ashook Lalman, said although he could not afford to buy all his children’s books, he still planned to send them out to school.

“I sell only one batch of crabs for the week, but books or no books, my children will go out to school next week. I still sending them,” he said.

Deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Claudelle Mc Kellar, said yesterday that it may be more than three weeks before any funds are distributed. He said the Ministry of Fisheries will provide the names of bonafide fishermen, along with officials from the various fishing associations. He also said the Ministry of Social Development will provide counselling to some of the applicants. But Mc Kellar said only fisherfolk from the Otaheite, La Brea and Vessigny will be registered in the initial phase.

Manager of the Main People's Issues Resolution Coordinating Unit (M PIRCU), Asauph Ghany, also said that a needs assessment will be done on applicants who are deserving of assistance. Asked whether any temporary foodcards were distributed yesterday, Ghany said no.

We were left out!

Meanwhile, fishermen from the fishing communities of St Marie, Bonasse, Granville and Bamboo, Icacos and Fullarton questioned why they were left out from the assistance programme.

President of the Cedros Fishing Association, Esook Ali, said La Brea and Vessigny only had a few fishermen compared to the hundreds who fished for a living in the Icacos/Cedros region.

“We should have gotten first priority. We don’t know if we were exempted from the financial assistance programme or if more money will be allocated to us,” Ali said.

He added, “Our fishing grounds have been taken away from us by Petrotrin and now Government is sidelining us. We are facing a really difficult time now and we deserve equal treatment.”

In an interview yesterday, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said the ongoing exercise was a registration process that targets areas directly impacted by the recent fish kill.

He added that the current exercise was to identify fisherfolk who require urgent assistance with back to school and household expenses.

Six days after being released from a four-year prison stay, a 22-year-old cook and his accomplice were caught with high-powered pistols as they were robbing a La Romain supermarket on Thursday night.

With police patrols ramped up in the crime-riddled community, San Fernando CID’s Cpl Emrith and PC Blackman were on the scene within minutes of the gunmen storming into the Bamboo Supermarket along the Southern Main Road. 

Two Glock 17 pistols equipped with extended magazines for automatic firing were recovered, bringing the total firearms seizure in the Southern Division to 118 for 2016. Last year’s total was 93.

Reports stated that the gunmen entered the supermarket around 8.20 pm as the owner, Chuanhan Chen, 40, was tending to customers. Aiming their guns at Chen, they ordered him to hand over the $862 in the cash register and four packets of cigarettes worth $120.

Emrith and Blackman, who were on patrol, were alerted to the robbery by a passerby. 

After calling for back-up, the officers cautiously entered the supermarket and snuck up on the suspects, who dropped their pistols and ran. 

But with nowhere to go and reinforcements from the Southern Division Task Force, Rapid Response Unit and the San Fernando Hotspot Unit outside, the suspects quickly surrendered. The cash and cigarettes were recovered along with the pistol, which was loaded with 34 rounds of ammunition. 

Criminal traces of the suspects found that the cook had been remanded for the last four years at the Golden Grove Prison, Arouca, and was just released on bail. He was charged with three counts of armed robbery in 2012. His accomplice, also 22 and from La Romain, is before the court on firearms charges.

Noting that Emrith and Blackman faced a similar situation to the one that claimed the life of their colleague, PC Anson Benjamin, they were praised by ASP Rawle Ramdeo and Insp Don Gajadhar for going fearlessly to the aid of citizens. 

Last April, Benjamin, 42, who was attached to the Ste Madeleine Police Station, was responding to a possible robbery at Chao Yong Supermarket in Cocoyea when he was shot. The owners reported seeing two men lurking at the back the building and Benjamin was shot in the head as he and a colleague entered the compound. The gunmen escaped into bushes and were never found. Benjamin died a few days later at hospital.

“This is the danger police face while on patrol daily and really, you have to put your mind in another zone when you’re dealing with a situation like this: two men, heavily armed in a supermarket. They were putting their lives at risk because they did not know what lane the gunmen were on and if they were watching as the officers opened the door of the supermarket,” Gajadhar said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In what area?

Generally…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, when they are used properly.

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

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

Has the Ministry found any deficiencies in this programme?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wasn’t that an attempt to defraud the programme?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A mother’s love

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

That was when Wilson’s life changed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In January 2015 Wilson got the kidney transplant.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Against all odds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He is expected to choose CSEC subjects this year.

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

NOTHING TO LOSE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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