Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday played his cards close to his chest about his impending Cabinet reshuffle. The question about re-aligning his ministers was thrown at Rowley three times while he spoke on i95.5 fm radio, but on each occasion he avoided the topic.

It was the prime minister who first spoke about Cabinet changes during an interview on the anniversary of his administration. He said those changes are expected after the Budget was read. The Budget is expected in the last week of September. Host Natalie Ligoure asked Rowley what was his appraisal of his talent and ministers after one year in Government.

Rowley stated that while people come forward to get selected and elected in the political arena, “the Government has a lot of people in it who are not experienced. But it is a particularly difficult time for the country.” He said while ministries are getting up to speed, not all were up to speed.
Probed by Ligoure which ministry was falling behind, Rowley said “I am not going to get in that conversation with you.”

Towards the end of his 90-minute discussion, Rowley was again asked if he would consider former minister of national security Gary Griffith as part of his Cabinet, Rowley replied “I told you I am not discussing the Cabinet with you.”

However, before Rowley exited the studio, he was asked by talk show host and former government minister Ralph Maraj if there would be any adjustments to the Cabinet, to which he replied, “Why are you so obsessed with that? It doesn’t matter. It is individuals.”

Rowley said what should be concerning people was what the Government was doing to impact on the problem.

An address to the nation, 
by Prime Minister Dr Keith C Rowley 
Delivered at 7.30 pm September 11,2016.

Fellow citizens, 

Good evening

One year ago, when you cast your vote and placed upon the shoulders of the People’s National Movement, the mandate to take responsibility for the affairs of state, the Government—which I have the honour and privilege to lead—willingly and graciously accepted the mantle, fully conscious of having made two very deep-seated commitments to all the people of T&T.

In our election manifesto, which has since been adopted as government policy, we gave you some specific undertakings:

The first was to rebuild our country and our economy, restore confidence, equity and social justice and enhance and improve every area of national life.

We assured you that we had prescribed a broad-based suite of detailed policy initiatives, projects, programmes and measures that will lift us out of the chaos that had been created by the previous administration and put T&T back on the road to growth, development, social peace, economic stability and transformation where all citizens will get their fair share of national resources and receive good, honest, equitable and transparent government.

Secondly, our vision was, and still remains, that of a society where integrity and morality in public life would be of the highest priority; one in which the government serves the public good above all else and where decisions are made and actions taken in the best interest of all concerned, even when the decisions are difficult.

Those were, in summary, our overarching commitment to you. They are commitments which no one can deny us the honour of having so far to set out, diligently and methodically, to discharge.

It is against this background that I address you today to give you a brief account of our stewardship over the past 12 months.

My government took office in September 2015, against the noticeable backdrop of energy revenues collapsing precipitously by as much as 70 per cent or more. This was compounded by a protracted shortage of natural gas, falling oil and gas production, an economy contracting at the rate of two per cent per year and commodity producers slashing exploration investments and downsizing operations worldwide.

For the last 10 years we have been sitting on a crisis in the oil production side and we have allowed it to escape us largely because the situation has been masked by relatively strong revenue stream bolstered largely by favourable prices. 

The situation can no longer escape our attention and sustained lower prices now and into the medium term should be a matter of great concern to all of us. 

These are the production figures:
2006 : 143,000
2010 : 98,000
2015 : 78,000
2016 : 66,000 (July)

We have also been hiding from unfavourable production trends in gas availability at Pt Lisas: bcf
2010 : 4.33
2011: 4.11
2015 : 3.83
2016: 3.21

These developments have serious consequences for our revenue base and, must of necessity, significantly raise caution in our consumption patterns and debt management activities. It also means our challenges today cannot be wished away by simply waiting on the oil God, who is supposed to be a Trini, to step in and save us. 

Stringent measures

Whether we like it or not, we are required to be aware and informed of the country’s situation and know that T&T expects every man and every woman to contribute to our recovery. Whilst there are some activities afoot to raise the 2016 figures going forward the overall trend is downwards and troubling.

In addition, we met an exchequer account that was so recklessly overdrawn to the extent that there was barely enough cash to run the affairs of state for a mere three days. 

Add to this, the more than $5 billion in arrears of salary—unapologetically owed to government employees—the billions of dollars owed to several contractors and sundry creditors, some clandestinely contrived, all in the face of less than one month to prepare and present a national budget and you begin to capture the scale and nature of the task ahead. Many state enterprises are heavily indebted to other state companies.

Add to that, the secret billions of short-term loans which became due for payment six months after the swearing in of the incoming government. Suffice it to say, this is just a miniscule overview of what your new government was confronted with from day one.

As a means of extricating the nation from this near calamitous state of affairs, bold and decisive steps had to be taken to save the day, not the least of which was the directive to all ministries and state corporations to reduce expenditure by seven per cent: the first signal of the call to the nation that belt tightening was inevitable. 

In spite of these stringent measures and in recognition of the social consequence of the economic circumstances, we reduced VAT to 12.5 per cent, increased the personal allowance to $72,000, increased OJT stipends and removed fees paid by our senior citizens for essential services if only to ease their burden of economic adjustment. 

Thanks to fiscal prudence by your current administration, we are steadfastly and meticulously positioning our economy to confront our own revenue shocks and the worsening international economic forecasts. Our treasury has roughly 11 months foreign exchange cover. 

Notwithstanding the issues surrounding the availability and consumption of foreign exchange, we have managed to maintain our reserves at US$10 billion, the same as it was in September 2015. 

As we had indicated in the budget last September and also in mid-year review, contrary to allegations of secrecy as being made by some, we did transparently withdraw US$375 million from the stabilisation fund leaving a balance of US$5.45 billion.

Our commercial banking and insurance sectors have once more sprung to life with foreign exchange issues receding, and a strong, well equipped and progressive private sector developed and grown over years of prudent incentivising, making us capable of not only rising to the challenges ahead but also leaving us poised to take advantage of the significant opportunities which times like these often tend to create.

What this means is: we as a people have a golden opportunity which, if capitalised upon judiciously and intelligently, can restore confidence in our ability to dictate our own future with dignity and assurance and without the harsh and unpalatable structural adjustment impositions which are the hallmarks of IMF rescue programmes. This is not an option which my Government proposes to exercise.

Bold initiatives

Grappling with uncaring, sudden and drastic elimination of essential subsidies on fuel and utilities, heavy suppression of social programmes, massive increments of retrenchment along with precipitous currency devaluation are bitter remedies that we prefer not to be instructed on by external lending agencies because we failed to acknowledge that we are spending much more than we earn. 

We are too gifted, talented, resilient and sensible to succumb to that. We are better off mixing and applying our reduction remedies on our own volition, especially when experience has shown us that these externally imposed structural adjustment programmes have such devastating effects, most often disproportionately on those in our society who are least able to bear the burden. 

The task now is to make the necessary, sometimes painful adjustments; find ways to stimulate growth in the process and, at the same time, protect the weak and vulnerable. It is not an entirely pleasant task, nor is it a hopeless one. It is far from being an easy exercise but we are up to the task of guiding the process to a sustainable landing.

The abiding faith which I repose in the well-meaning citizens of T&T give me every confidence that with dialogue, debate and discourse, balance and reason, consultation and collaboration, augmented by the determination to eliminate waste and eradicate graft and corruption, we have what it takes to bring our spending into balance and work our way back to peace, prosperity and a decent standard of living for all. 

In this regard your Government has decidedly taken the lead. We are leading by example. We started out with a much smaller Cabinet, 23 members down from 30 odd. We took a five per cent pay-cut by donating that much to charity. 

We limited public expense travel and partying in favour of other essentials. Even though Parliament has been up for review, there will be no salary increases until the situation improves, except of course if part-time members become available full time to the House, in order to bring about greater accountability through the workings of the committee system.

The Government’s approach to the restructuring of GATE has been largely acclaimed among the citizenry who, thankfully, are prepared to accept that things are not what they used to be and that we just can’t go on this way. 

The phased approach towards gradually reducing the fuel subsidy has been no less understood and widely sanctioned. There will be other managed, phased reductions of government expenditure in some areas of individual responsibility coupled with increased expenditure on infrastructure and investments to grow the economy since it is through a return to economic growth that we will all be able to enjoy opportunities for stability and prosperity for ourselves and our families.

No economic growth equals steady reduction of the middle class and perpetual poverty at the base of the economic pyramid.

Since assuming office a mere 12 months ago, the Government has been making steady progress. We have been doing so objectively, systematically and without the excesses of expensive fanfare. 

Step by step we have been putting the modalities in place to steer the nation’s ship of state towards recovery and restoration following that traumatic and painful period of five years of reckless, irresponsible and woefully corrupt governance. 

It is testimony to our responsible, sane and sober approach to governance that there has been no widespread mass layoffs nor economic and social instability in these trying times. 

Even as we confront our challenges we do so with quiet confidence that there is a bright future ahead for T&T.

The special entities which we have set up and the series of bold initiatives which we have taken in our quest for a much improved quality of life for all are quietly taking root.

Our newly appointed boards comprising eminently and legitimately qualified professionals have been settling down and now oversee the successful functioning of our public utilities, statutory boards and state corporations.

A thorough review and analysis to effect overall upgrade in the quality of our healthcare delivery services is well advanced. Today, the Winston Welch committee—tasked to review our healthcare delivery—will present its first report to the Cabinet.

Our National Economic Advisory Board (EAB) has begun to deliver as has been evidenced by a number of individual and sectoral reports which have already been received by the Office of the Prime Minister. Some of these reports will be available soon for public discussion.

 And now we await the details of the 2017 Budget.

The Theodore Lewis committee on history and the school curriculum is hard at work and the Minister of Education has laid a firm hand on school violence and indiscipline. 

The restored Standing Committee on Energy now guides us professionally and meticulously as we seek to navigate the turbulent international waters in monetising our natural indigenous energy resources, given the prevailing adverse global economic conditions. 

We have been and continue to be in a very precarious position with respect to the natural gas supply which has seen persistent shortages at Pt Lisas, resulting in sustained losses to some of the businesses there and significant curtailment in revenues to the Government. We have focused on this very troubling development and are also now poised to enter the negotiations which are becoming due as the original long-term gas contracts begin to come to an end.

We have also been engaging the worrisome issue of Petrotrin’s $20 billion debt which becomes due shortly and which it will not be able to service unless the Government intervenes in ways as we are doing now to restructure the debt and reorganise the company. The Government intends to sit down with the OWTU to engage in deep and far-reaching discussions on the way forward for Petrotrin and Trinmar. 

Oil production which has been sliding steadily over the last few years is now down to below 70,000 barrels per day, the lowest in 65 years, well below where it should be if we are to rely on it as heavily as we are do now. 

Simultaneously with all this, and spurred on by the gas supply concerns, T&T has been engaged in discussions and negotiations with the Government of Venezuela with a view to partnering with them and the international private sector in monetising, through Pt Lisas, Venezuela’s gas rich Dragon fields, which lie off our north western border with Venezuela. 

Following upon the visit of President (Nicolas) Maduro, Minister (Stuart) Young, our Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Energy, ministers, and technicians have ceaselessly engaged in numerous contacts here and in Caracas, working towards the completion of these far-reaching negotiations which we anticipate could see a signing of the commercial project before the end of the year. 

A specialised sub-committee of the Standing Committee on Energy has completed its assessment and analysis of the Gas Master Plan and it is expected that in the coming weeks ahead it will present its work. Thereafter, the Cabinet will consider it before it is made available to the Energy Committee of the Parliament for further refining of our national effort.

Under the guidance of the energy sub committee we have successfully re-negotiated the terms of the Massy/Mitsubishi, Caribbean Gas Chemical Ltd Natural Gas to Petrochemical project with Massy/ Mitsubishi and the Government of Japan thereby permitting the billion-dollar investment project to proceed without exposing T&T in the manner that the original documentation had. La Brea’s long darkness is about to see a new dawn.

As we talk diversity and look for ways to expand our earning potential we look outside for opportunities to leverage and apply our national skills and experience, particularly in the hydrocarbon industry. We travelled to Africa to re-engage the Ghanaians with a view to rekindle the lost flames of opportunity in their fledgling gas industry.

Following upon a memorandum of understanding signed earlier in the year in Accra, between our two countries, a high level delegation from Ghana—with the blessings of President (John Dramani) Mahama—recently visited T&T to begin serious negotiations and calculations with NGC professionals in furtherance of our intention to invest and supply technical expertise if the numbers pan out. 

Our interest in gas, power supply and generation in Ghana could also have a serious knock-on effect back here in T&T since the potential exists for their state-owned aluminium company VALCO to expand production so that a supply of aluminium ingots could be made available to the electricity industry in Trinidad for the growth of high-value downstream production here. 

In anticipation of these developments, Cabinet has re-established the Board of ALUTECH and designated it as the counterpart to carry out the discussions and negotiations with VALCO.

 We have to find new ways to diversify our industrial efforts and find alternative options to expand our earning potential if we are to sustain our standard of living going forward. These and similar opportunities will be subjected to the most robust analyses and once there is a reasonably risked potential for the people of T&T we will think big and move fast so as not to lose out as we did with the gas processing business which the Koreans now enjoy, instead of T&T, in Ghana where we were once poised to be the gas processor of choice. 

Consultations on local government reform, to give these bodies greater autonomy and jurisdiction over the provision of services to their respective burgesses, have been concluded in all 14 local government entities. The relevant legislation to give effect to the reform measures is in an advanced state of preparation. This, too, will be subject to some further consultations before enactment into law which will herald a new system of governance in the country.

Umbrella legislation is soon to be laid in Parliament to bring to justice those who have accumulated sudden wealth and are unable to provide reasonable accounts of the sources from which they were derived.

We have inaugurated the National Tripartite Advisory Council, the main focus of which is that of providing sound and informed multi-sectorial advice to the Government not only on matters which fall under their specific terms of reference but on such other matters which may warrant their invaluable attention.

Our sustained determination in ridding the system of waste, corruption and mismanagement across all ministries and state corporations continues unabated but, I must tell you, it is frustrating. Nonetheless, we persevere, undaunted. You would be surprised to know the level of endemic corruption which has become a way of life and, I dare say, an entitlement in some aspects and spheres of our society. In many instances, it manifests itself in some of the killings which we see from day to day.

Every dollar saved is one that could be spent on pharmaceuticals, repairing and refurbishing schools, paving roads, controlling mosquitoes and building bridges. 

The food card verification process has sent the undeserving running for cover as perpetrators and illegal recipients seek to erase their tracks. My Government is committed to restoring the necessary social programmes like, URP, CEPEP etc to their original intent and respectable moorings, to come to the aid of citizens and families who legitimately and truly are in need. 

But times like these are never only about belt tightening and curtailments of spending. It is also about seizing opportunities and creating a more acceptable and sustained standard of living for all as we seek to recover, in the shortest possible time frame. 

 As good and responsible neighbours, we have successfully operationalised a US$50 million trade mechanism set up by Venezuela which allow for our local manufacturers to supply essential goods to that country. From all reports the measure has been very successful and this new line of trade is flowing very smoothly with interesting potential for future growth.

These are just a few of the initiatives that we have taken to treat with our gas supply and to explore opportunities in the energy sector. You would hear much more about these during the upcoming budget debate.

As we focus on making our way in the world amidst much that we have little control over, we wake up each day to the numbing news of the depressing actions of a proportionately small number of our citizens; non-stop killings; from the revenge murders among the organised criminal gangs to the ever-too-frequent tragedies of domestic violence; to the inexplicable mindless acts of wantonness which defy logic, causing us to believe that amongst us there are warped minds which place no value on human life.

This Government is resolute in its commitment to confront those who choose crime as a way of life and undertake to work tirelessly to rebuild a sense of safety through meaningful reduction of crime and removal of the fear of crime in our communities. In order to accomplish this, the Government will sustain its resourcing of the police and other security agencies to allow them to better engage in crime prevention and detection. 

To this end, recently the National Security Council had Cabinet authorise a US$17.5 million major equipment purchase to upgrade the intelligence gathering efforts of the police. This is expected to significantly boost evidence gathering and greatly assist the law enforcement capabilities of the security agencies.  

We have spent $25 billion on national security over the last five years. Our officers have been trained and retrained, and facilities have been updated and technologically modernised. It is not unreasonable for us to expect to reap the rewards of this mammoth investment and, quite frankly, hold our police officers more responsible and accountable.

The Government believes that with proper management systems and a “can do” attitude, they have it within them to get the job done. Respect and support your policemen and women. It is they who stand between you and those who may wish to harm you.

In the not too distant future we look forward to you identifying with your local municipal community constabulary and their volunteers, all part of the local government reform deliverables which we have been working on for the last 12 months.

 We eagerly await the appointment of a police commissioner and live in hope to bear fruit from the new spirit of collaboration and cooperation between the Government and the Opposition. Only time will tell.

Steps have been taken to initiate the still cumbersome process with the intention of having a substantive commissioner of police appointed. It is the intention of the Government to invite the Opposition to cooperate with us to abolish the current failed process and replace it with some new arrangement such as an accountable Police Service Commission cloaked with the responsibility and authority to supervise an effective modern Police Service. 

The Government has been encouraging the police to decentralise its efforts by concentrating its manpower and leadership over an aggressive, regional substructure bringing greater accountability alongside more actionable information and boots on the pavement over more hours of the day. Programmes to build public trust, including rooting out corrupt and otherwise unsuitable  individuals from the service, is a major part of the plan. 

The abuse of the taxpayer and the treasury under the previous government has brought understandable public scepticism and gross mistrust of the public procurement process to abysmal lows. As your Prime Minister, I give you the assurance it will never be allowed to re-occur. To that end, I have issued instructions to take immediate steps to operationalise the Procurement Act in the shortest possible time, so that you, the disadvantaged taxpayer can enjoy the protection you truly deserve. 

Also, we have actively pursued the promise of the construction of the Valencia /Toco first class road. To this end, we have procured a consulting firm which is on the job setting about to select the route and carry out the engineering designs. It is anticipated that contractors should be breaking ground sometime in mid-2017. Tenders have been invited for the Cumuto to Sangre Grande highway.

We have terminated the stalled OAS contract and are currently engaged in calling in the bonds and assessing what’s there in preparation to continue the project of getting a highway to Point Fortin. New contracts will be issued for this purpose as soon as the review is done and the funding is settled. Work on this particular project will form a major part of the development programme for 2017. 

Tobago development

In Tobago, we are in talks with Sandals to construct one of the largest hotels in the southern Caribbean, a development which will greatly assist in enhancing our tourism product and lead us toward the forefront of the sector in the Caribbean region. These projects will not only stimulate the economy, create jobs and put idle construction equipment back to work but it will also reinvigorate commercial activity and improve domestic travel between our twin island states. 

A public presentation of this project will be made in Tobago within the next two weeks.

In furtherance of the improvement of the electricity supply in Tobago, T&TEC has already commenced the procurement process to obtain additional installed power at Cove Power station in Tobago. WASA should not be too far behind with their programme for improved water supply through a suitably sized desalination unit.

I invite you to pay keen attention to the up-coming budget presentation when you will be exposed to a more comprehensive account covering all sectors. 

In closing, let me leave you with some thoughts to ponder upon.

When the price of oil is down it is the opportunity for our potential as a people to rise to higher heights. It is precisely in times like these that there is room for an abundance of creativity and the birth of new and imaginative ideas. It is in times like these that efficiency and productivity must abound, so when we return to prosperity, as we will, we will all be blessed with a wiser, more resilient, enriched and emboldened society. 

T&T, thank you for your patience over the past year.

May Almighty God bless each and every one of you and may He continue to bless the nation of T&T.

Together we aspire. Together we achieve.

Ralph Banwarie

A Pinto Road, Arima teen has been arrested for the brazen armed robbery at a supermarket along the Eastern Main Road, Maturita Village, on Saturday night which left the guard dead and three injured. Four unmasked bandits walked into Cantonese Superstore shortly after 8.15 pm and pretended to be customers just before closing time. 

After walking through the store they approached the cashier and other workers and customers and whipped out guns. Police said a mini-machine gun and pistols were used by the killers.

Police said before the men began to rob the grocery, one remaining customer noticed what was about to happen and attempted to run. He was shot in the leg. 

The other bandits on hearing the gunshot came to the front of the store and opened fire hitting 15-year-old Mark Leequay, an employee, in his hip, and a female cashier, Xiao Zhen, 26, was shot in the buttocks as she tried to run. 

Vijay Maharaj, 29, who was unarmed, was shot three times to the chest and abdomen as he sat near the exit of the grocery. His murder takes the growing toll to 319 for the year.

Customer 39-year-old Keith Thomas of D’Abadie was shot in the left foot. The three injured were taken to Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope where they remain warded in a stable condition.

After the shooting the four bandits ran from the grocery without taking anything. Police said they have useful CCTV footage from the business which can help them solve the crime.

Speaking in an interview at the family’s Gordon Miller Road, North Oropouche, Sangre Grande home, Maharaj’s sister Cindy Maharaj, said the family heard of his death while at a prayer meeting at a temple in Sangre Grande. She said that Maharaj was a single man who adopted his nephew and four nieces as his own. 

One niece, Sulena Maharaj, nine, said her uncle was a “very loving and kind hearted person.” Neighbours also said Maharaj was a kind man who was always respectful towards them. Some of Maharaj’s co-workers also gathered at the family’s home.

Janelle John, a resident of Maturita, who lives near the supermarket, described Maharaj as a “nice man.” She said that had it not been for the tardiness of her friend, identified only as “Mud” she would have been in the grocery during the robbery. 

“Why shoot the man, he just have a baton? They shoot helter skelter. I will be hesitant to shop there after it re-open,” John said.

John said since the beginning of the year, Maturita became “hot” with criminals targeting bars and groceries in the area. 

John said despite the escalating crime, there is nothing anyone can do as “these is perilous times and no government can’t stop these things because God is coming just now”.

After a long and unsuccessful night searching for his 14-year-old daughter, Rio Claro father Vishnu Persad was shot dead at his home yesterday. While investigators said they have no suspects as yet, Persad’s family blamed his murder on a former family friend, who they believe has the teenager.

Persad, 36, his wife Rehana Singh, 39 and two daughters had just returned to their Mahabalsingh Trace, Navet Village home around midnight before tragedy struck. 

Singh said they left Persad in a hammock and were in the house when they heard an explosion. On checking, she found him slumped over a bench, bleeding from his nose and mouth. It appeared that the suspect hid behind a shed and shot Persad.

Rio Claro police led by Insp Doodnath Jankee responded, but on arrival, they found Singh embracing Persad’s body. She said in an interview  yesterday that they went to Mayaro on Saturday night to search of their daughter Shivani Persad. She said they dropped all three children to school on Wednesday, but when they returned in that afternoon, Shivani could not be found. 

A report was filed with police and people have reported seeing the child with a 25-year-old man in several places in Mayaro, even buying groceries.

However, she said checks at his relatives’ home were unsuccessful.

“A few months ago, he (the family friend) approached us, and said that he liked her. We said she is a young girl, she is going to school so she cannot study any boys right now. We told him if he wanted, he could wait or he could move on,” Singh said.

Last July, she said Shivani left school to spend the day with the man and they reprimanded her. She said the man never showed any resentment and reported to work up to last week. 

A check on Facebook showed that Shivani changed her profile name to match the surname of the man and there was a picture of the two hugging each other. Bricks and bags of cement laid in the shed where Persad was killed.

Singh said Persad was planning to upgrade their home. Now a single housewife, she does not know how she was going to provide for her family. It was the second tragedy she suffered as her former husband was stabbed to death 16 years ago. 

Last December, Persad’s brother Bhimraj was murdered and his decomposing body was found in a forested area off Oudan Trace, Ecclesville. No one was held for that crime.

Even though Sumiyya Davis lived a life of poverty she was willing to give her last dollar to those who needed it more. Davis, 16, a student of ASJA Girls’ College, in Charlieville, was killed by a bullet which pierced the weather-beaten plyboard of her home on Saturday.

She was helping her friend, Anya, with Spanish, while lying on her bed when she was shot shortly after noon at her Mandela Drive, Orange Field Road, Carapichaima. The bullet ripped through her hip and exited at her neck.

The gunshot startled her father, Herdis Taylor, and three of her siblings who were watching television. Police believe the gunshot came from criminal gangs in the community and was not intended for Sumiyya.  Anya said yesterday she became frantic when she saw blood and assisted her friend who later died at the hospital. 

 Anya said Sumiyya displayed a spirit of philanthropy.

“Sumiyya is a person who would help anyone. She almost get bounce crossing the road to give a vagrant a dollar,” Anya said.  She said Sumiyya also assisted a single mother by giving the woman all of her travelling money and had to be picked up by a relative. Anya said she would like to get justice for her friend.

She said Sumiyya wanted to be a pediatrician and to open an orphanage when she got older. Investigators from Homicide Bureau, Southern Division were at the crime scene yesterday where they examined the house for bullet holes and removed a blood stained mattress.

Sumiyya’s grandmother, Carol Devenish, described her granddaughter as a very bright student.

“I find the good ones die and the bad one continue to live,” Devenish said.

—Adrian Boodan (CNC3)

Tobago fisherman Rennie Richardson drifted for two days in the mighty Atlantic Ocean, travelling over 145 kilometres over two days, ending up in Grenada. Richardson, 31, of Plymouth, a tiny fishing village, said he survived on raw fish and rain water. 

He was rescued by Grenadian fishermen on Tuesday after pastor George Alexander, a Grenadian national living in Tobago, contacted his relatives to help search for Richardson.

On Friday, scores of Plymouth fisherman, villagers and family members welcomed Richardson with cheers and applause on the very shore where he left on September 4. His journey back home was made on his pirogue aptly named Stamina.

“It was bad weather conditions, so when I was trying to come back home, I couldn't make it as smooth, because I wasn’t seeing land and then I come and run out of gas. I feel happy to come back home safe and I want to thank the Grenadian people and especially pastor George for helping me.

They helped me out a lot. I want to thank the President of the fishing organisation, Dougie, and Mr Quashie,” he said.

Brimming with emotions, Richardson said he never lost hope that he would be found and used all the survival techniques he knew during the 48 hours lost at sea.

“I had to eat raw fish to survive and I drank rain water. At a time I say to myself, ‘I had to do what the best is, to save my life’ because there wasn’t nothing I could do again, but is God. I thank God too. I feel proud as a seaman that I made it back safe,” he said.

Richardson left the Plymouth beach last Sunday around 6 am on a fishing expedition but when he failed to return around 6 pm that same day a search party went looking for him.

He was found by Grenadian fishermen two days later, floating in Grenadian waters. He was treated at hospital and processed by Grenadian authorities and escorted back home by two Tobago boats led by the All Tobago Fisherfolk Association.

Richardson has been fishing since he was 14 years old and has been described as a competent fisherman.

Ten-month-old Aliyah Allard cried of hunger yesterday, but there was little her mother Afesha Noel could offer to her and her 11-year-old sister Aliesha Joseph after fire destroyed their home on Saturday night.

Their home was one of four destroyed along the Old Train Line, King’s Wharf, San Fernando which left 12 people with nothing but the clothes they wore. 

At about noon yesterday, Noel said in an interview they had not eaten and although the Disaster Management Unit provided food hampers, there was nowhere to cook.

She and her children camped a neighbour’s home last night, but will have to find a new home soon. Aliesha, who is expected to write the Secondary Entrance Assessment next year, lost all her books and uniforms.

The fire was believed to have started at Alexander Gibbs’ home where he stored rice, flour, oil, sugar and toilet paper for Venezuelan fishermen to take back to their country. Gibbs, 49, a watchman, said he left home around 7.30 pm to lime at a nearby bar. 

Within nine minutes, a boy alerted him to the fire at his home. Unable to say whether it was deliberately set, he said his house had no electricity and he lit no candles. Jacob Mohammed, Lee Francis and their families also lost their homes.

San Fernando West MP Faris Al-Rawi said constituency representatives have already met with the residents and everything is being done to bring relief.

Police are hunting for man who managed to escape during what has been described as the largest seizure of illegal firearms by the South Western Division police on Saturday.

Police said they went to the man’s premises, located at Southern Main Road, Claxton Bay, around 10 am. During a search they found two shotguns, five AK-47s assault rifles, one rifle, one .9mm pistol, 18 firearm magazines, one scope and in excess of 1,000 rounds of assorted ammunition.

The gun find brings to 74 the number of illegal firearms seized by South Western Division, surpassing by 20 the amount discovered for the comparative period in 2015, a release stated.

The exercise was spearheaded by Acting Snr Supt Inraj Balram and included Insp Brian Ramphal, Sgt Terrence Victor, Sgt Shahid Ali and officers of the South Western Division Task Force, CID.

Seven months after the Ministry of Health announced increased fines for property owners who refuse to comply with regulations to ensure properties and vacant lots are kept clean, no one has yet been charged.

According to officials, although several tickets have been issued to errant owners, there is a clause in the relevant legislation which allows the homeowner to write to the Health Minister requesting him to exercise leniency along with a stipulated period in which to ensure clean-up operations are effected.

Officials yesterday said that this had been done in the instances where the tickets were issued.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh announced the increase in fines from $500 to $3,500 on February 12, as he warned owners of abandoned and overgrown properties that the ministry had stepped up its public campaign in the fight against the Zika virus.

Public health inspectors from the Ministry of Health as well as the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government have been mandated to carry out inspections and issue fines against delinquent property owners.

Zika cases now at 376

The Health Ministry also said yesterday the latest confirmed number of Zika cases was now 376.

Of this number, 11 cases have been recorded in Tobago; while the number of Zika-positive pregnancies now stands at 200.

It advised citizens to remain vigilant as four out of five infected people would not exhibit any symptoms of the Zika virus.

The public is urged to remember that only high-risk cases will be confirmed by CARPHA, with high risk being defined as categories inclusive of pregnant women; children under five years; people over 60 years; and hospitalized cases.

The ministry has given the assurance that efforts continue to be carried out to monitor and manage Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. 

The elimination of breeding sites is the best way to reduce the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases, the ministry said. 

Citizens have been encouraged to dispose of all unwanted containers/items in the yard or environs which can collect water and become mosquito-breeding grounds; to cover water containers such as barrels, drums or buckets with a mosquito-proof covering; ensure that drains and guttering allow for the free flow of water; empty and scrub the sides of water vases or use dirt or sand instead to support flowers; cover extremities when out in the evenings; use bed nets that are tightly tucked under the mattress for protection at night; and use insect repellent that contains DEET as an active ingredient.

The Police Service Social and Welfare Association yesterday welcomed Government’s $119 million (US$17.5 million) investment to improve equipment and technology in the Police Service but called for greater collaboration between the two bodies.

During his 37-minute address to the nation on Sunday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said Government would sustain its resourcing of police and other security agencies to allow them to better engage in crime prevention and detection.

There have been a growing calls for the Government to do more to get a handle on crime and recently divisional commanders of the Police Service were summoned before the National Security Council and urged to be more proactive in the fight against criminals.

The association’s president, Insp Michael Seales, said intelligence gathering was an area which needed to be strengthened as that would improve the general overall performance of the service.

But he said there were several troubling issues which have not been addressed, including the substantive appointment of a police commissioner and outstanding back pay to police officers.

Police officers have received half of their back pay and were yet to receive the rest.

“We do not want the thrust of the Government in terms of increasing the performance of the Police Service to ignore the human capital of the Police Service... who are the people to really drive the service and really improve it and sustain it over time,” Seales said.

On the lack of a substantive police commissioner, Seales said, that was part of a breakdown of the system, adding that it also impeded performance. Stephen Williams has been acting for the past three years and now Harold Phillip is holding on for him while he is on vacation.

“So you cannot strategically move forward with any performance model in order for the Police Service to yield some better results which is affecting us in relation to our detection rate,” Seales said.

Rowley had also said the Government believed that with proper management systems and a “can do” attitude that police officers had it within them to get the job done. 

T&T’s murder rate has reached 319, with the majority of crimes unsolved.

Describing the association as a “major stakeholder”, he said, it also understood the culture of the service and that of its members.

“Everybody talks about the Police Service as having bad eggs and corruption but we need to get a solution and part of that solution is the appointment of a commissioner and that person must be able to utilise the legislative package available to treat with issues like that.

“When you do not have a commissioner how do you utilise that framework?” Seales asked.

Watchdog group Fixin’ T&T wants Prime Minister Keith Rowley to remove Noel Garcia as chairman of one of the largest State enterprises over allegations of misconduct.

The group’s leader, Kirk Waithe, told CNC3 News last night that the findings of the commission of enquiry report into Las Alturas were scathing of Garcia, then managing director of the Housing Development Corporation.

The report found that Garcia should be held accountable and liable for the losses sustained by HDC when he was its managing director for the problems that arose in two of the multi-storey apartment buildings which are now earmarked for demolition. Garcia now sits as chairman of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott) and Waithe said he was unfit to serve.

Waithe said he was concerned that Rowley seemed to defend Garcia just last week. He said it was the same way he defended former housing minister Marlene Mc Donald in the face of serious allegations about her conduct. “The only responsible action for Dr Rowley to treat with, with respect to Noel Garcia is to immediately remove him as the chairman of Udecott,” Waithe said.

Garcia has already indicated his intention to challenge the findings of the commission because he said the findings were flawed. Yesterday, Garcia told CNC3 he was still deliberating with his lawyer, but no decision has yet been taken. 

On December 2, 2014, retired justice Mustapha Ibrahim was appointed chairman of the enquiry with Dr Myron Wing-Sang Chin and Anthony Farrell appointed as members.

Meanwhile, head of the T&T Transparency Institute, Deryck Murray. wants the recommendations of the report implemented. Murray did not address the specific issue of Garcia’s suitability to lead the billion dollar State enterprise in light of the recommendations. However, he said they should not be ignored.

“We have instances where these reports tend to be filed away and recommendations not being put into effect. There is really a lack of learning from previous experiences and from the Transparency Institute perspective we want to see it given priority consideration,” Murray said.

On Friday the report on the commission of enquiry into the construction of the Las Alturas housing project at Lady Young Gardens, Morvant, was laid in Parliament.

The report stated: “There is no ground from which we can advise that criminal proceedings ought to be brought against anyone.”

However, the commission recommended that civil liability action be taken against Udecott, its former executive chairman Calder Hart, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and Garcia.

Hours after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley expressed concern over T&T’s declining oil production and the $20 billion unserviceable debt to Petrotrin, barrels of the precious commodity have once again leaked into the Gulf of Paria.

La Brea Fisherfolk Association president Alvin La Borde said since Sunday, oil was seen emanating from Well ABM 37 located in the Brighton Marine field. 

Last July, Petrotrin commenced the plugging and abandonment of the well. In his address to the nation on Sunday, Rowley said that for the last ten years, T&T has been sitting on an oil production crisis with output dropping from 143,000 barrels a day in 2006 to 78,000 in 2015 — the lowest in 65 years.

He said low production was masked by favourable prices but with sharp decline in the past two years, the situation can no longer escape the country’s attention. When La Brea residents woke up to the pungent smell of oil yesterday, it immediately triggered the horrors of the devastating 2013 oil spill. 

For days they were unable to cook and those living closest the shore had to vacate their homes.

Scores gathered yesterday along Coffee Beach yesterday as Petrotrin officials assessed the damage while clean-up crews loaded bags of blackened sand onto trucks.

They said many people were still suffering from acid reflux, respiratory diseases and muscle weakness as a result of the 2013 disaster.

Just last month, a damaged offshore line leaked a significant amount of oil into the Gulf of Paria, which washed ashore at Mosquito Creek, South Oropouche, La Brea, Point Fortin and Cedros.

It coincided with several weeks of fish kills, which left fishermen and vendors still reeling from poor sales.

Catherine John said she was standing in the road around 4 am when she noticed oil washing ashore. She said her daughter usually walked her dog along the beach and when they returned, there was oil on their feet.

“It is not coming in as strong as before, that we have to leave our houses. But with the breeze, by tomorrow more can come up. The smell is bothering me right now because look at where I am living, so close to the beach,” John said.

For some residents, they hope the spill brings work to the repressed community where many adults spend their days at home. During previous spills, some were employed to clean the beaches.

La Borde said yesterday he had warned Petrotrin’s security and Corporate Communications Department about oil seeping into the Gulf of Paria.

He said he pleaded with the company to take extra precaution since the well had been out of order for sometime and had collapsed under the surface. He suggested that a boon be placed around the area to contain the seepage but nothing was done.

With the national fishing community already affected by low sales, he said that did nothing to help to restore their livelihood.

More info

Source of spill not yet identified—Petrotrin

In a release yesterday, Petrotrin said following the heavy rainfall over the weekend, oil was seen along the shoreline of Carat Shed Beach and Coffee Beach. However, they were yet to identify the source.

“While Petrotrin continues in its efforts to determine the source of the oil, all efforts are being made to ensure the clean-up is done within the shortest possible time frame,” the release added.

Calls to Energy and Energy Affairs Minister and La Brea MP Nicole Olivierre were unanswered yesterday.

The mother of a 14-year-old girl from Rio Claro, who ran away from home last week, is pleading with her to return home to attend her murdered father’s funeral. 

Rehana Singh, the mother of Shivani Persad, made the emotional plea at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday after an autopsy was done on her husband’s body.

Vishnu Persad was shot dead at the family’s home at Mahabalsingh Trace, Navet Village, Rio Claro, on Saturday. 

“I am not sure if she even knows what happened. I just want her to see him before he goes and for her to come home because she and her sisters are all I have now,” Singh said. 

The 39-year-old mother of three said her daughter, a student of the Rio Claro East Secondary School, went missing after leaving home to go to school last Wednesday. She has two other daughters aged 11 and nine.

Singh said that after the teenager did not return home, she and her husband went in search of her in Mayaro after they got information that she left school in the company of a 25-year-old man, who had worked with her father in the past. 

Shortly after she disappeared, Shivani’s profile name on social media site Facebook was changed to match the man’s surname and a photograph of the two embracing was posted. 

“We just want him to bring her back home because we not concerned about him only that she come back home now,” Singh said. 

The mother said that the man had approached the family in the past seeking permission to begin a relationship with the teenager but they refused. 

“He talked to me and asked to be her friend but I told him that she is only 14 and needs to concentrate on her education and not boys. I also told him that she was underage and he was too old for her,” Singh said. 

Singh said she and her husband reported the incident to the police, but decided to continue searching on their own after investigators had no success in locating the teen or the man by Friday night. 

Singh said that 30 minutes after they returned home following an unsuccessful search at the home of the man’s parents on Saturday, her husband was murdered. 

“I left him in the hammock upstairs and went to look after the other children when I heard the gunshot,” Singh said.

She said she did not see her husband’s attacker when she rushed outside to his assistance. 

Asked if she could think of a reason for her husband’s murder, Singh said she believed it was connected to her daughter’s disappearance. 

“We never had a problem with anybody,” Singh said. 

Contacted yesterday homicide detectives said they were investigating the theory that the crime was linked to the missing girl but refused to confirm whether the man had been deemed a suspect. 

Investigators said they did not want to reveal too many details as their investigation was at a sensitive stage. 

T&T Guardian understands that police received reports that the man and the teen were spotted in Mayaro. Up to late yesterday neither was found.

The Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the address to the nation by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley confirmed what many have been speculating for quite some time now, that his administration is not working, has stalled our economy and is ill-equipped to lead the nation forward.

In a statement yesterday she said: (On Sunday) we listened in vain as the Prime Minister attempted to explain away his Government’s first year of failure and their lacklustre performance. 

Instead of recognising the stark reality that his Government has failed to deliver, we heard excuses, we heard shameless propaganda, we heard repeated complaints about the impact of low energy prices and the effect it has on the Rowley administration’s cash flow and we heard continued blame on the Opposition.

We did not hear any vision or plan to improve the lives of our citizens, to deal with debts owed to public servants, to meaningfully diversify our economy or to boost low morale in the country. The address to the nation confirmed what many have been speculating for quite some time now, that the Rowley administration is not working, has stalled our economy and is ill-equipped to lead the nation forward.

Let us look at where my Government found ourselves when we took office in 2010. 

We faced the collapse of Clico which resulted in a $22 billion problem. We had similar problems with debts owed to contractors and unpaid VAT refunds that the Rowley administration points to. The debt we inherited was almost three times the amount Keith Rowley says he inherited.

If the revised figures quoted by the Minister of Finance in his mid-year review are to be believed, then between September 7, 2015, and today, the Rowley administration has collected more than $60 billion.

Why then is PM Rowley complaining? Why hasn’t more been done to turn the economy around? 

Our reserves are strong with US$5.3 billion in the HSF (after they withdrew US$400 million of the money we left) and US$10 billion in foreign exchange reserves.

When I took over Government, I did not sit and blame the previous Government. I rolled up my sleeves on the first day and started the process of turning this country around. 

Within our first year we accomplished many things, including establishment of the Ministry of the People, establishment of the Children’s Life Fund and began providing funds for life-saving surgeries, delivery of laptops to all Form One students, re-introduction of the Land for the Landless Programme and raising of the minimum wage and pension benefit and much more. 

We also began the long process of settling wage disputes, some of which were more than three years old at the time.

Many of our initiatives were undertaken to improve the lives of the working poor and to establish a proper social safety net but the Rowley administration appears intent on ending many of these programmes. 

We agree there is a natural gas shortage that is impacting the economy. However, in response to the volatility in the energy sector, we took action to increase natural gas production by changing the related laws 14 times to provide incentives to companies to invest and drill. 

That strategy worked. That is why today we can anticipate a 30 per cent increase in natural gas supply in 2017 which will come from BP and EOG. The massive Juniper project has its origin under our Government. 

Last night there was a deafening silence from PM Rowley with respect to his failure to deliver manifesto promises upon which he was elected.

He has failed to justify why he has taken food off tables, robbed children of educational opportunities, deprived families of a means of livelihood.

What was his message to the army of unemployed?

What was his message to parents who have to take loans to buy books for their children?

What was his message for the poor and the less privileged who no longer have food cards and milk money for their babies?

What is his message on the commission of enquiry report into Las Alturas which indicates that high-ranking officials of his Government, Noel Garcia and Faris Al-Rawi, were culpable?

What is his message on the return of Marlene Mc Donald who is still under investigation by the Integrity Commission? Why did PM Rowley not explain that the $20 billion debt facing Petrotrin is a result of decisions made by former chairman Malcolm Jones and former board member Andrew Jupiter? 

Under the Rowley administration Andrew Jupiter is chairman and a Chaconia Medal Gold recipient and the Rowley administration, through manoeuvring by its Attorney General, dropped a civil suit to hold Malcolm Jones accountable.

PM Rowley did not justify spending $100 million for a stadium that is structurally flawed and why paintings are more important than salaries for the public servants and compensation for families of fallen protective services in these trying economic times.

The PM did not explain why his Government has a policy of bringing half-baked, hurriedly prepared, poorly understood and not well-thought out legislation to Parliament and why they consistently refuse to work with the Opposition on matters of substance to improve legislation.

Unlike the Rowley adminstration, my Government had a plan which we outlined in our manifesto during the 2015 election campaign. 

We recognised that we faced challenges and we recognised that we had to be innovative in dealing with these challenges.

We recognise that there are places where adjustments have to be made but we must protect the working poor and provide opportunities to diversify and build our economy. 

However, the Rowley administration has no plan, no vision and no ability to get things done.

I want to warn PM Rowley that all the money in the world won’t solve problems if you have no plan, initiative or imagination.

We have experienced a year of broken promises and the Prime Minister offered no hope that anything would change. 

If the Government is not working for you, then they are working against you.

A four-member team of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) will meet Finance Minister Colm Imbert and other senior officers of his ministry tomorrow to have pre-Budget discussions on Tobago’s 2017 budget requests.

The meeting takes place at the Ministry of Finance starting at 1 pm.

The assembly’s team will be led by chief secretary Orville London and includes Finance Secretary Joel Jack, chief administrator Raye Sandy and administrator in the Division of Finance Claire Davidson-Williams.

London told reporters at last Wednesday’s weekly post-Executive Council media briefing at the Administrative Complex, Calder Hall that he expects there will be a discussion during which the THA team will be brought up to date on the present financial situation in the country. 

In addition, he expected the meeting would deal with the assembly’s request for a “piece of the pie” that would be available to T&T.

He added: “I am not aware of what the results would be but we would make the strongest case possible for the people of Tobago bearing in mind that we are living in straightened circumstances and there will have to be sacrifices and we in Tobago will not be immune to the kind of challenges which the country would face in fiscal 2017.”

Jack presented a 2017 budget for Tobago of $5.3 billion to the assembly legislature on June 21, 2016. 

He said of this sum, $3.209 billion would be for recurrent expenditure, $2.03 billion for the development programme, $80.3 million for URP and $54 million for CEPEP.

Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat, says his ministry, based on dialogue with and recommendations by the local livestock farmers and industry experts, plan to implement an embryo transfer programme to assist with the improvement of the local breeding stock. 

He said so yesterday while celebrating Eid-Al-Adha with members of the Muslim community at the livestock farm of Shiraz Khan in Carlsen Field. 

Rambharat added: “Government should reduce its involvement in terms of maintaining its own assets in livestock. What we should be doing is increasing our technical support, the number of veterinarians we have available to the sector and our research.”

The minister said there was a lot of work to be done in livestock industry. He said his visit to Carlsen Field was based on him wanting to see for himself the operations of local livestock farmers

“This is an operation that has a good future in the hands of private farmers, with young people involved, and that is the direction that we need to see,” the minister added.

Khan and other Muslim devotees also expressed appreciation for the minister’s visit yesterday.

Eid-Al-Adha is one of the holiest celebrations on the Islamic calendar. It is known as the Feast of Sacrifice. 

Muslims celebrate this day as a reminder of the time in which Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son but was told by God to sacrifice an animal instead. The celebration symbolises Ibrahim’s devotion to Allah. Devotees start out the day with a morning prayer and then exchange gifts and food among family and friends.

Electrical work has begun at the Newtown Boys’ RC School, Port-of-Spain. 

Contacted yesterday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said work began over the weekend, adding there was no need for the facility to be closed or for classes to be cut short.

Last week, parents who dropped off their children at school expressed concern that the pupils were sitting on a time bomb due to an electrical problem.

It was reported that a member of the school’s PTA said that during routine servicing of air-conditioning units and replacement of light fixtures over the July/August vacation, burnt out parts and wiring were found, four refrigerators were non-functional, parts of the school lost electrical supply and three of six air-conditioning units were damaged, possibly due to an electrical fire. Most of the fans were also not working.

The member said in 2011 the school was reported to have been in need of electrical upgrade.

Garcia said he was informed by general manger of the T&T Electricity Commission (T&TEC) that a pole was erected over the weekend to facilitate the three-phase connection.

He said the internal rewiring was also expected to be done as the contractor also worked over the weekend.

On the cost the minister said he could not provide one as he did not have that information.

He reiterated that the situation did not warrant the closing of the school as work would not impede teaching.

The problem arose after the circuits were overloaded by additional computers and equipment used in the science and computer areas. 

The school was not wired originally to sustain that increased demand and a three-phase connection was required.

It has a population of 518 students, 24 teachers, four cleaners, three café attendants and two security guards.

One day after her mother begged a 14-year-old girl to return home to attend her father's funeral,  police found the teenager near a shopping mall in Chaguanas.

The girl was accompanied by a 25-year-old man.

Her mother, Rehana SIngh, who made the plea for the girl to return while speaking to reporters yesterday, told the Guardian she was happy and that it was the first good news she had heard in days.

The past week for the mother has been a traumatic one, first with the disappearance of her daughter, closely followed by the murder of her husband, Vishnu Persad.

 Persad was shot dead at the family’s home at Mahabalsingh Trace, Navet Village, Rio Claro, on Saturday. 

The 39-year-old mother of three said her daughter, a student of the Rio Claro East Secondary School, went missing after leaving home to go to school last Wednesday. She has two other daughters aged 11 and nine.

Singh said that after the teenager did not return home, she and her husband went in search of her in Mayaro after they got information that she left school in the company of a 25-year-old man, who had worked with her father in the past. 

Shortly after she disappeared, Shivani’s profile name on social media site Facebook was changed to match the man’s surname and a photograph of the two embracing was posted. 

The mother said that the man had approached the family in the past seeking permission to begin a relationship with the teenager but they refused.  

Singh said she and her husband reported the incident to the police, but decided to continue searching on their own after investigators had no success in locating the teen or the man by Friday night. 

Singh said that 30 minutes after they returned home following an unsuccessful search at the home of the man’s parents on Saturday, her husband was murdered. 

Scores of citizens who were moved yesterday after reading of the plight of 600-pound Marissa Nelson in the T&T Guardian have offered to lend a helping hand.

Among those were DEHIX, an international charitable body; the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC); CEO of Pillars of Harmony; and members of the public.

Within hours of Nelson’s highlighting her battles with a condition known as lymphoedema, which has left her confined to a bed for the past four years at her Valencia home, help from as far as America started pouring in.

Her condition also generated a tsunami of sympathetic and disparaging comments on social media.

Nelson’s heart-wrenching story was published on the front page of Tuesday’s T&T Guardian, where she called on the Government to intervene and provide her with specialist medical care, urgent medication and a 24-hour caregiver.

Touched by the outpouring of support, Nelson thanked the Guardian yesterday for publishing her story. The story was also aired on sister station CNC3 and reached over 295,000 readers on Facebook and was shared 1,169 times by 4.30 pm.

Calling from Chicago was Trinidadian-born Dennis Hicks, founder of DEHIX, who said after reading Nelson’s touching story he felt compelled to intervene.

“My eyes became filled with tears. When I saw this lady’s photograph in the paper I became lost for words. Marissa is sitting on a bed and she really needs assistance.

“I am going to send Nelson some cash tomorrow,” 73-year-old Hicks said.

Asked if he could assist Nelson in getting gastric bypass overseas, Hicks said he did not see it as a problem.

“I am going to get in contact with all the hospitals I work with and explain her ailment and we are going to get it done. This is what I have been doing for years. We help needy and vulnerable people like Nelson. But first she has to lose some weight to make all this possible to travel abroad.”

Yesterday, Hicks contacted Nelson and he gave her the assurance that help was on the way.

To his shock, Hicks said, he found out that Nelson started doing on-line courses in human and social biology, maths and English three months ago.

“She says she needs a laptop which I will ship to her to help her with her studies. She wants to go back into nursing. I kept telling her that a new day has started and not to give up hope. I even offered her a job at DEHIX to motivate her and she was quite excited.”

Nelson said after she spoke to Hicks she felt as if a load was lifted off her shoulders.

“I was a bit angry this morning after reading on Facebook the comments of a few people which were very insensitive. But my spirits were lifted after my discussion with Mr Hicks. I am praying that things will work out. A lot of people called to offer their kind words and whatever little assistance they can. I am feeling so much better now. All is not lost.” 

Medical history

In 2008, Nelson who was diagnosed with the incurable disease was prescribed medication which had powerful steroids and within a short space of time she started to pack on the pounds.

By 2012, Nelson lost mobility in both legs, which are now covered in mammoth growths. These growths, the size of basketballs, sometimes erupt and ooze fluids.

Nelson has no one to attend to her needs. She lives alone and depends on the generosity of her neighbour and 

68-year-old mother, Sylvia, who is

an amputee.

Although she receives $1,800 monthly disability grant and is a recipient of a $410 monthly food card, Nelson said the money was not enough to buy her pampers, bedliners, antiseptic soaps, 25 packs of baby wipes, bandages and gauze, which total about $5,000 monthly.

Gastric by-pass specialist

Dr Dilip Dan, who specialises in bariatric, laparoscopic and metabolic surgery, said Nelson can avail herself of medical attention at public hospitals.

There might be a problem getting gastric bypass done outside of T&T, Dan said, since Nelson would have difficulty getting and fitting in a plane.

Dan, who is regarded as the top expert in this field, said for Nelson to have gastric bypass she must be “medically able to tolerate surgery and the anaesthetic. Secondly, on a physical note whether the operating table will have the appropriate size to manage her condition.”

He said the hospitals’ beds also have a specific size and so too would the wheelchairs.

Dan said these were some of the issues Nelson would have to face.

“She will not be one of those patients who can have gastric bypass today and go home within 24 hours.”

In Nelson’s case, Dan said she would require after-surgery care, which was unpredictable.

For a person to have gastric bypass, Dan said the patient must be between 80 and 100 pounds over his or her ideal weight.

“Your ideal weight is determined by your height.”

Is there hope for Nelson?

Dan said there was always hope.

MORE INFO

Healthy eating key

Karen Deonarine, CEO of Pillars of Harmony, which supports individuals living healthier lifestyles, said her heart went out to Nelson and she felt she had to render a helping hand.

“I will offer my services as a wellness coach to her right away. My mission is to go to Marissa and find out what she is eating and then I will put together a programme of proteins by using protein products.”

She plans to help Nelson with a team from her Port-of-Spain-based organisation.

Deonarine said Nelson would have to consume protein supplements along with small portions of healthy foods, while daily exercise will be required.

The supplement will be nutritional shakes which will be given twice daily to help her reduce the weight.

“What we would do is calculate Marissa’s calorie intake daily.”

Deonarine could not say how long the programme would last, stating that it was all up to Nelson’s determination and will-power.

“But I am willing to go the full distance with Marissa until she sees progress. She must have the strength of mind to do this. We have to build her confidence and self-esteem as well.”

Doctors willing to step in

Dr Andy Bhagwandass, Chief of Staff at the EWMSC, said the hospital was also willing to do an assessment of Nelson’s medical needs.

“Lymphoedema is an incurable disease. It is something you live with. But then her weight and so on needs to be addressed. She has to have medical care. I don’t think we would have a problem seeing the patient.”

Questioned if the hospital can help Nelson, Bhagwandass said, “I don’t want to say yes and then my doctors say it can’t. I would have to speak to my doctors first. We need first to test the patient.”

Bhagwandass said once Nelson visits the hospital “we are willing to assess her and make a decision. No hospital will refuse her. We are certainly willing to help. I don’t think we will refuse a challenge like that.” 

Asked whether a medical team can be sent to examine Nelson, the medical chief said no.

If a team of doctors is willing to help Nelson bring down her weight, the hospital staff will make itself available. 

Bhagwandass said gastric bypass was also available in T&T and once Nelson qualifies as a candidate it can take between six months to a year to sort the patient out.

About DEHIX

DEHIX focuses on needy and vulnerable people in a bid to help them become self-sufficient and reach their potential.

The organisation is affiliated with various corporations, not-for-profit organizations, universities, social services, religious entities, and governments nationally and internationally.

For a second consecutive day, cancer patients seeking chemotherapy at the San Fernando General Hospital’s Oncology Centre were turned away yesterday because there was no water to facilitate treatment.

Dozens of terminally ill patients who came from across the country seeking treatment were told the facility had no water and treatments could not be carried out. 

It took the intervention of the spouse of one of the patients to call in a favour at the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) yesterday, before a small truckload of water was delivered to aid in treating some of the patients. 

A patient who requested anonymity said that he was turned away on Monday and returned yesterday to find that the situation had not changed. He was able to get his blood test around 1.20 pm yesterday.

“I came here from around 6.15 am on Monday and I saw a sign on the door stating there was no water. I spoke to someone who said they would not be able to do any treatments if there was no water. I waited until after 11 (am) to see if they would get water, but nothing happened,” he said

He said he returned yesterday around 5.30 am, “because I know there would be all the people who get turned away on Monday plus the people who had Tuesday appointments.” 

After waiting several hours, the man said a patient’s husband decided to call in a favour to WASA. 

“We were talking among ourselves and trying to decide who we could call for help. We thought about calling the Fire Services but then this woman’s husband said he has a friend who works at WASA and they made the arrangements from there.” 

A truckload of water was pumped into the tanks at the centre around 9.20 am and doctors began attending to patients at approximately 10 am. But patients are now concerned that the water problem will continue. 

“The water will not last long and when that is finished, where will they get water to operate? What if they can’t see everyone who is here today because that water runs out?” 

In addition to chemo treatment, for which water is required, patients also undergo urine tests and blood tests, as well as use the bathroom facilities. 

“I am very worried about what is going to happen with my treatments and I can’t afford to miss any chemo. This is very hard to have to play the waiting game,” another patient said.

Hospital’s response

Contacted for comment yesterday, CEO of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA), Anil Gosine, said a leaking main on Lord Street, San Fernando, affected the water supply. 

He confirmed a truckborne supply was delivered to the hospital, but denied chemotherapy operations were affected. 

“Everything is continuing to operate as normal,” he said.