High Court Judge James Aboud has promised the speedy resolution of former government minister Jack Warner’s application for judicial review challenging his extradition to the United States. 

Aboud gave the assurance yesterday during the first hearing of Warner’s application for leave to pursue the case in the Port-of-Spain High Court.

“I have a huge case load but I want to ensure that this matter is dealt with in a safe and expeditious manner,” Aboud said as he gave attorneys representing Warner and the Office of the Attorney General dates to file their submissions and promised to deliver his decision on the first working day of next year. 

Stating the threshold for approving preliminary leave was low with the majority of applications succeeding, Aboud suggested that attorneys for the AG’s Office not strenuously oppose the application, which might delay the hearing of the substantive case. 

“I always ask myself why defendants in judicial review reserve their rights and do not object to leave being granted and let the matter go straight to trial,” Aboud said. 

However, Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, who is leading the state’s legal team, indicated that his client still wished to raise flaws in Warner’s case. 

Through the judicial review lawsuit, Warner is seeking an order quashing his extradition as well as a temporary injunction stopping his ongoing extradition proceedings before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar until the determination of the case before Aboud. The injunction application is expected to be made after Aboud delivers his decision on the granting of leave. 

Warner is claiming that Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi acted unfairly when he refused to give his lawyers an opportunity to respond to the US extradition request before he signed off on it. He is also complaining of Al-Rawi’s delay in signing the documents. Al-Rawi had initially asked for an extension of the deadline set by Ayers-Caesar for his predecessor Garvin Nicholas. However, he signed them before Ayers-Caesar was given an opportunity to grant or deny the extension. 

Central to Warner’s case are claims that Al-Rawi had a discretion to refuse the US’ request as some of the charges he is accused of in the US are not criminal offences in T&T. 

Michael Quamina appeared alongside Mendes for the State while attorneys Fyard Hosein, SC, Rishi Dass, Anil Maraj and Nyree Alfonso appeared for Warner.

The Medical Professionals Association (MPATT) is reminding Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh that any change to working hours for doctors must be decided across the negotiating table.

The reminder comes in the wake of a directive from Deyalsingh that specialist doctors (consultants) must be on-site at hospitals between 8 am and 4 pm from Monday to Friday. 

This instruction, contained in a report for immediate implementation, was circulated to all public hospitals on November 23 in an effort to prevent the deaths of pregnant women and babies following the death of Candace Santoo and her son baby Nevin. 

Santoo died at the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital two Thursdays ago from excessive bleeding, which led to shock and heart failure. Her baby was stillborn.

In a statement, MPATT said it was cognisant that there were certain areas of medicine, such as obstetrics and gynaecology, where patients were at higher risk.

However, the association said, while it supported the need to review the delivery of medical care in order to reduce these risks, “arriving at best-practice outcomes require discussion, negotiation and concurrence.”

MPATT said that at a meeting with the former Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan, the position of Director—Infant Health Services was discussed, in addition to the working relationships that were required from the medical professionals in this particular area.

“Minister Deyalsingh must be reminded that the employer—the Regional Health Authority (RHA)—has not negotiated for these new arrangements and that he may have been ill-advised and misguided with respect to the recent recommendations which affect terms and conditions of employment. 

“For the avoidance of doubt, the working hours for doctors cannot be unilaterally changed where there is a recognised majority trade union (RMU). MPATT attained RMU status for doctors employed by the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) in August 2009 therefore, any change to working hours for doctors must be decided across the negotiating table,” the statement read.

New T&T ambassadors and high commissioners are to be appointed soon, says Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

Rowley was responding to questions on the issue during a news briefing at the VIP Lounge, Piarco International Airport, on Thursday, after returning home from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta.

The ambassadors and high commissioners had been refusing to resign after the defeat of the People’s Partnership government in the September 7 general election.

T&T has 20 diplomatic missions abroad and appointments of new high commissioners and ambassadors are expected to be made in a few weeks.

Rowley, in response to a question, said it was “not correct to say that we don’t have representation” in missions abroad.

He said even though there was no high commissioner in London, there was someone acting in the post. 

Rowley said, “We are now turning our attention to address that, so in the coming weeks you will see those issues being addressed, where we will put proper leadership in place in these positions.”

Rowley also defended the security checks on people attending a meeting he held for T&T nationals in London after the CHOGM. 

He said because of international terrorist threats in Europe it was necessary to carry out such security checks.

On the looming gas curtailment issue in T&T, Rowley said that was the major talking point with executives of BP, Shell and BG at a meeting in London. He said his energy adviser, UTT Chairman Professor Ken Julien, Petrotrin Chairman Andrew Jupiter and NGC chairman Gerry Brooks were all involved in that meeting.

He said a follow-up meeting was to take place soon.

“There is gas curtailment and there is gas usage and the question now is who gets the gas that is available and the effects of those decisions. That is where we are right now,” he said.

At the meeting, Rowley said, government officials took steps to raise the issue and get the companies “to do all things possible and necessary to bring into production any and all gas that might be available to us in T&T.”

He said that was particularly with respect to small fields and underperforming fields which were close to existing infrastructure.

“So concerned are we to bring as much gas to market as we can because the prospect for a long period of curtailment is of great concern to us at the level of the Government and the country,” Rowley said.

He said the latest Ryder Scott report on the country’s projected oil and gas reserves was before the energy sub-committee of the Cabinet and would be made public “in the not too distant future.” 

Days before the Office of the Attorney General was given the green light to seize the assets of T&T national Kareem Ibrahim who was convicted of terrorism in the United States, a local Muslim leader has disclosed that one of his daughters, a son-in-law and three grandsons had gone to war-torn Syria, where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) terror group operates. 

Imam Nazim Mohammed of the Masjid Umar Ibn Khattab Jamaat was also adamant that he was not an Isis recruiter.

Mohammed, 74, could not say if the five family members had joined Isis as fighters, if they were alive, dead or injured.

The last time, Mohammed said, he spoke to his second daughter, whom he refused to name and whose age he did not know, was earlier this year.

Last month it was reported in the Trinidad Guardian that 89 T&T nationals had gone to Syria to become jihadists.

The Imam believes that whatever decision the family made was the “will of the Creator. That is just part of life. They choose to go so...I wish them well,” Mohammed said.

On Tuesday, Mohammed broke his silence about the family’s sudden departure while speaking at his Ecclesville Road, Rio Claro, mosque.

In relating the chain of events, Mohammed showed no hurt, pain, sadness or grief for his daughter whom he has not heard from in months.

Only on Wednesday it was reported internationally that couple Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27, who had links to Islamist militants were gunned down by police after they killed 14 people at a holiday party in California.

Mohammed came under the radar in 2009 when he was interviewed by FBI agents prior to the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain.

The agents wanted to know if Mohammed was a threat to US President Barack Obama during his visit to Trinidad.

Thereafter, his 28-year-old mosque became a target by police.

He confessed that several times police searched the masjid for arms and ammunition, but came up empty-handed.

Though the police would regularly pass in front of his place of worship, Mohammed said they would not harass him.

Mohammed, however, feels his movements were being closely monitored by law enforcement officers.

“Our programme is not what these people (police) think. Maybe this is why they would watch around and pass here whole night. We have nothing to tell them. They are doing their job. I have no guns here. You think I would keep guns in this masjid and in my house to involve my family,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed: I would never encourage 

criminals in the jamaat

Mohammed said he did not condone wrongdoing and would never encourage criminals elements in the jamaat although a few have passed through.

Last year, Mohammed was identified by national security as a possible local recruiter on behalf of extremist group Isis, a claim which he has vehemently denied.

“I am hearing that I am a recruiter. But I am not sending anyone there. That is not true,” Mohammed insisted.

He said it was unislamic to kill innocent people and he did not support the actions of Isis.

Mohammed’s denial came even though Shane Crawford, 29, and Milton John Algernon, 38, also known as Fareed Mustapha, who prayed at the mosque went to fight for Isis in 2013.

In 2011, Crawford was detained with 15 others during the state of emergency for being part of a plot to kill then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Pressing his index and middle fingers against his head, Mohammed recounted the last conversation he had with his daughter.

He said when he answered his phone, he heard his daughter’s voice.

“She told me she was in Syria with her husband and three grown sons. They went through Turkey. That was news to me,” he said.

Mohammed said he had no inkling that she would have done something like that because she frequented the mosque with her children to pray.

“She was a member of this masjid. She never told anyone in the mosque she was going there...not even me or her mother.”

Asked if he tried to encourage her to return home, Mohammed said no.

“If somebody chooses to go there and they choose not to tell you what can I say again? That’s the reason why they did not tell me. That is what I conclude. I have no problem with that. It does not worry me either,” the Imam said.

Mohammed said he did not ask his daughter why she left, where the family was staying and what they were doing there.

“They have their reasons why they went. I can’t answer for them.”

Lost all contact with his daughter

Since then, Mohammed said, his daughter has never contacted him again.

“I personally don’t have any links with her.”

Questioned if his daughter’s sudden departure was paining and grieving him or her mother, Mohammed responded, “No, this is a belief we share. This may sound strange to you, but this is not bothering us. Everything happens by the will of God. Whatever happened is what He has already willed. This makes an ease in your life. You don’t have to worry and stress. I don’t suffer from stress...nothing stresses me out. If the whole world falls on you just thank God.”

Mohammed said the life we were living was just a test.

“This life is not the real life...it is nothing. The real life is the life hereafter which is either paradise or hell. We have been given a time here to live and within that time frame you are given a choice to live good or not. On the day of judgement each person has to account to God for their deeds.”

Mohammed revealed that he married two women who produced seven children between them.

One wife has five offspring, while the other, two.

Two months ago, Mohammed lost one of his wives who had been ailing for some time.

Mohammed described the operations of Isis as “serious” since many nations have been joining forces to destroy them.

“They classified them (those who join Isis) as terrorists. And they have concluded that anyone who links up with them...that it is.”

Independent Senator and economist Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir says that a recession means different things in different countries. 

Speaking after the rededication of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, on Independence Square, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Mahabir said, “It is known that this economy has been in a slowdown for quite a while.

“How you define a recession is subjective, it changes from country to country.

“Some people use two quarters, some people use three. I see our Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran is using four.”

He said in any event when you find income falling, you find a recession. 

Mahabir said the problem before the country was how to solve it. 

He said that solutions have to be found and he would be coming up with solutions in Parliament.

Mahabir said he hoped that the Executive and the Government would implement some of them. 

Businessman Derek Chin said that from a businessperson’s point of view a recession was something that everyone had to be concerned about. 

He said sometimes matters were beyond the country’s control, seeing the levels oil prices had fallen to, which would obviously affect revenue into the future.

Chin said like every other government official, Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran had to sensitise the population to the fact that this was a realistic problem and citizens had to tighten their belts and hopefully, as a nation, we had the discipline and could come together to ride it out. 

He said foreign exchange issues and the ability to purchase products to sell, layoffs and job cuts were challenges.

Chin said that the country needed the necessary discipline, having been spoilt for many years, and it now needed to be a little more thrifty in terms of spending.

When asked about Rambarran’s statement that the early signs of a recession would be businesses cutting back on investment, Chin said that would result in a reduction of disposable income and would affect everyone. 

Chin said that he had investments in the works right now, and he had to decide whether to move forward with them or hold back a while which affected the vibrancy of the economy. 

When asked if he foresaw more layoffs and wage freezes in the new year, he said he believed they were coming. 

Chin said that the country was still very highly dependent on the energy sector, which was starting to see a lot of layoffs because revenue was not there anymore. 

He said hopefully things could change dramatically. 

There was a lot of turmoil in the Middle East and all it took was a little spark to ignite there for the oil prices to move back up again. (CKS)

The T&T Medical Association has raised concerns about an alleged violation of the regulations of the Medical Board of T&T (MBTT) by former health minister Dr Fuad Khan. 

They have written to MBTT querying whether a full-page newspaper advertisement with the former health minister Dr Fuad Khan’s name advertising medical services at two private hospitals constituted a breach of the board’s code of ethics.

The full-page newspaper advertisement appeared in the Guardian’s October 31, 2015, edition. Khan’s services as a surgeon, listing an email address for him and the telephone numbers for St Augustine Private Hospital and St Clair Medical Centre for kidney stone treatment, were advertised.

Dr Austin Trinidade, public relations officer of the Medical Association, was contacted on Thursday by the Sunday Guardian for his comment on the matter. 

Trinidade said: “It’s just a query. We haven’t made a complaint at the moment.”

“We’re asking whether it breached any of our anti-advertising laws. As doctors we’re not allowed to advertise. 

“We’re bound by a code of ethics and it was kind of upsetting to see a big, full-page spread advertising his services that was brought to our attention by some of our members. 

“I think it’s distasteful as far as I’m concerned.” 

He said the association had asked the MBTT for advice and clarification on whether there was a contravention of the board’s code of ethics. 

Trinidade said there were some differing views among association members on whether it was acceptable for doctors to advertise.

He said Khan was out of practice for a whole five years and he was actually informing his patients that he was back in practice.

Trinidade said there had been “quite a few cases” of doctors advertising their services. 

Prior to Khan’s case, a citizen Horace Grant had written a letter to President Anthony Carmona in 2013 calling on him to revoke the appointment of former member of the Integrity Commission, ophthalmologist and surgeon Dr Shelly-Anne Lalchan, because of an alleged breach of the regulations of the medical board by her advertising her private practice.

He said doctors were allowed to put a small notice in the newspapers if they were changing the address of their practice to inform their patients.

Trinidade said there was the perception and feeling sometimes that if the doctors didn’t do that, it would appear as if they were abandoning the care of their patients. 

He said doctors weren’t allowed to advertise a particular specialty or skill and it was frowned upon. 

Trinidade said doctors could advertise openly in the US, but T&T followed the British medical system which did not allow any kind of advertising.

He said a doctor could not even put a very large sign by his office, since it must conform to a certain size.

Trinidade said the rules governing doctors in T&T were so strict that at one point in time they were not even allowed to put their names in the yellow pages, but that has since been relaxed. 

He said a very good doctor with an established reputation didn’t need to advertise his name, it would be known by people and become a household name.

He said if the medical board believed that there is a case, it would pursue it. However, there was no medical board in place at the moment.

Deyalsingh: Board will investigate

When Dr Varma Deyalsingh, treasurer of the Medical Board of T&T, was contacted on Thursday, he said that he could not comment on the individual case involving Khan.

He said, however, if other doctors voiced a complaint that a breach had occurred, the board was duty bound to investigate.

Deyalsingh said if a breach was committed by a doctor, the medical board had the power to censure or reprimand, suspend or strike the individual off the registrar. 

He said if there were any breaches in the code of ethics by Khan, he would be surprised because besides being an excellent surgeon, he was a seasoned politician as well.

Deyalsingh said Khan’s wife, Dr Carol Bhagan-Khan, was also a knowledgeable attorney, and he was sure that Khan was guided well on his rights, code of conduct and behaviour, and any sort of action he took would be well measured and thought out.

He said if there was a case to be answered by Khan, he wanted to assure other members of the medical profession who were concerned about this that the board would investigate the matter fully. Deyalsingh said the board was above politics or any partisan behaviour.

Khan: The MBTT has a 

personal agenda against me

When Khan was contacted on Friday by the Sunday Guardian, he said he hadn’t received any letter of notification from the medical association of its action. He said he had heard talk, however, that the association said he should not be advertising his lithotripter, kidney stone-shattering machine.

Khan said that the medical association’s stance was nonsense because everyone else advertised their services and the association was not taking action against them and he believed that some members of the medical board had a personal agenda against him.

He said he intended to continue to advertise his less invasive and cost-effective kidney stone treatment and HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) which was the best treatment for prostate cancer and the only one in the Caribbean.

A defiant Khan said he was willing to take the medical board and medical association to court as far as the Privy Council if necessary to prove discrimination and victimisation and he was going full swing at them.

The former vice-president of the medical board said he tried to change the advertising practices because people were supposed to know what new, low-cost cutting-edge techniques were available to them but the board wanted to stay in the dark ages of medicine.

Khan also said the association was also an archaic body that hadn’t done anything for the advancement of doctors over the years and it was almost targeting him specifically.

He said that when he was health minister, the medical board had to produce a specialist register based on the law because he indicated to the board that it was not business as usual for it. 

Khan explained that specialists were doctors who had proper qualifications and specialist qualifications by different colleges.

He said some of the members on the medical board did not want to give the young opthalmologists specialist recognition because they wanted to protect their turf, and that was the reason they became angry with him.

Code of ethics

According to the Medical Board’s Code of Ethics in relation to advertising: “Any practitioner resorting to any such practice is guilty of professional misconduct and liable to erasure.”

Advertisements in the Lay Press

The use of advertising columns of the lay press to publicise the professional activities of individual medical practitioners, even in the absence of a name (eg by using a box number) is unethical. 

A particularly reprehensible form of advertising of this type is the submission to the press directly or through an agent of information concerning the personal movements, vacation or new appointments of a medical practitioner, for publication in the social columns. 

Holding of Public Office

It is the recognised duty of a physician to take his share as a citizen in public life and to hold public office, should he so desire. But it is essential that the holding of public office is not used as a means of advertising himself as a doctor. 

Publicity is necessary in carrying out the duties of Medical Officers of Health and other posts in the public health services. Provided that this is not used for the individual advancement in his profession, it may rightly be allowed.

The Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust is celebrating its 50th anniversary and is marking this significant achievement with a series of events scheduled to begin this week and ending November 2016.

To help mark this momentous occasion, Dominica-born Baroness Patricia Janet Scotland of Asthal, PC, QC, who was recently elected secretary-general of the Commonwealth, on November 27 in Malta, and the first woman to hold this post in the 66 years of the Commonwealth’s history, will be the trust’s feature speaker at Petrea Place, Petrotrin Complex, Pointe-a-Pierre, on Tuesday. 

The event starts at 4 pm.

President Anthony Carmona is also scheduled to give an address and presentation at the trust’s 50th anniversary first-day cover. Also carded to give remarks at the event is Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

Maria Rivera, senior adviser—Americas, Ramsar secretariat, which oversees international cooperation on wetlands conservation, will give greetings at the celebration.

Petrotrin president Fitzroy Harewood will give greetings and remarks, and the trust’s president, Molly Gaskin, will give the welcome and remarks. 

For further information contact Molly Gaskin at 678-3515/321-0565.

Wildfowl Trust: A haven 

of beauty and diversity

The Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust was founded in 1966. 

It is a national, not-for-profit environmental organisation dedicated to environmental education, public awareness and the research, breeding and re-introduction into the wild of locally endangered waterfowl species and other wetland birds.

As an inland, freshwater habitat encompassing approximately 32 hectares and two lakes, the trust is uniquely situated within a major petro-chemical and oil-refining complex, making it the only one in the world. 

It is also the second oldest, following the founding of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge, UK.

In 1979, the trust pioneered environmental education with both outreach and in-house programmes with schools in T&T, which continue up to today.

The trust promotes and lobbies for the protection of the country’s biodiversity, the judicious use of its natural assets and improved environmental policies which integrate issues of T&T’s health and socio-economic well-being. 

The trust has through the years made its mark on every aspect of the environment.

Over 86 species are recorded within the trust, breeding naturally in the forested and lake areas there. 

It is a peaceful haven where members and visitors can relax and learn. 

It is a perfect place for birders, botanists, photographers and researchers. Several natural walks and interpretive trails cross the domain of the trust, including Faerie Woods, Forest Walk, and Devil’s Ear Trail, and here it is possible to learn about some of the species that exist in our forests and wetlands and about the linkages between them, our wildlife and ourselves.

A boardwalk for the disabled surrounds part of the trust’s main breeding lake.

The trust’s aviculture programmes cover the breeding of five locally-endangered species of waterfowl (wild ducks) as well as T&T’s national bird, the Scarlet Ibis, and the blue and gold macaw. 

Over the years, the trust has bred and released a few thousand birds.

The main building, the Learning Centre, houses information dealing with living organisms and their habitats, a unique shell collection and a small but comprehensive Amerindian museum.

Petrea Place, the trust’s nature retreat and full-service guesthouse opened in 2004, provides a scenic and harmonious environment for retreats, corporate workshops and seminars. 

It is a serene place for visitors to enjoy breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh on Friday expressed shock that a “broken crank” of a delivery table at the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital was being held together by masking tape.

Deyalsingh said this was what he inherited from the former People’s Partnership government who built three new hospitals during its five-year term at a cost of $5 billion, and yet the country had little or nothing to show for it.

The St Joseph MP made the comment during his contribution on the Increase of Loan Ceiling Under the Development Loans Act motion in the House of Representatives.

Deyalsingh said he had no issue with hospitals being built, but felt that citizens had not gotten value for money.

Since being appointed minister, Deyalsingh said he had the opportunity to tour the Mt Hope Women’s Hospital.

He said the things he saw in the health sector shocked him, particularly the broken crank.

“The crank to adjust the head and foot rest of the bed had been broken and was being held together by masking tape. Could you imagine that? 

“This is what they left for me after five years and $5 billion spent,” Deyalsingh said.

Deyalsingh said, under the PNM they would cut out waste and corruption.

“We are not going to spin a wheel and hope our fortune improves. 

“We will give prudent management and procurement practices.”

Former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has defended his newspaper’s claims over a purported letter from United States (US) Democratic presidential candidate Bernard “Bernie” Sanders, allegedly calling for a US corruption investigation into former prime minister and current Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. 

Speaking with reporters outside the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, on Friday, Warner questioned claims from Sanders’ deputy communications director Josh Miller-Lewis that the controversial letter, published by Warner’s weekly Sunshine Newspapers last week, was a fake. 

Calling for evidence from Miller-Lewis, who was quoted in a daily newspaper denying the claim, a defiant Warner said: “Where is the text? Where is the email? Where is the letter? I mean you can’t show one, in this day of technology. If you can’t show one of those things, give me a break nah guys.”

In an email response to CNC 3 last week, Sanders’ spokesperson Michael Briggs also claimed that the letter was a fake. “We don’t think this letter is from Sen Sanders,” Briggs said as he noted that the spacing in the alleged letter was off and that it was not dated. 

Briggs also claimed that no one in Sanders’ office remembered sending it.  The undated letter, which was the subject of the paper’s article, was allegedly sent by Sanders, the current US Senator for Vermont, to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking an investigation into Persad-Bissessar. 

The letter quoted an eight-month long investigation by journalists from the New York Times, which allegedly embroiled Persad-Bissessar in the current FIFA corruption scandal through former Concacaf president Jeff Webb. 

Both Webb and Warner are among a group of former FIFA executive who have been indicted in the US on fraud and money laundering charges related to their work in football’s world governing body. On November 23, Webb pleaded guilty to racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering and agreed to forfeit more than US$6.7 million. Warner is currently contesting his extradition to the US to face trial. 

Persad-Bissessar has denied any wrongdoing and has indicted her intention to sue Warner and the newspaper for defamation. 

Asked to comment on claims from US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who last week also revealed that Warner’s sons Darryl and Daryan were indicted as part of the US investigation into FIFA and have since pleaded guilty to the charges, Warner refused. 

“I would not want to comment on that at this time. As foolish and ridiculous at it may sound, I would not want to comment on that,” Warner said. 

“Let them (the US) take over FIFA and let them run the World Cup in Russia and in Qatar.” 

Defeated leadership candidate Dr Roodal Moonilal is challenging the fairness of Saturday’s United National Congress (UNC) internal election, saying it was riddled with fraud and irregularities. 

His claim came after over a dozen blank ballot papers were found on the bank of the Katwaroo Dam in Penal yesterday. 

According to Moonilal, who led the Loyalists team, there were also reports of people seen with ballot papers outside polling stations in Central Trinidad, poor quality ink which could be wiped off, members’ names appearing several times on one list and in some cases the same names appearing in several constituencies. He said there were also instances where members were allowed to vote although their names were not on the voters’ list, while in some stations members whose names were not on the list but had a party card were not allowed to vote. Moonilal said his team also had a photograph of someone removing a ballot box from a polling station around 1 pm on Saturday, claiming that it was full and needed to be replaced. He said spoilt ballots were counted in Fyzabad.

“The overall assessment is that it was not fair and it was not free. The list was terribly inappropriate and that may have led to mass fraud,” Moonilal told the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview yesterday.

“I am not arguing that if all of the defects were taken that we would have been successful. Maybe the results would have been the same, but what this does is undermine the integrity and credibility of the system, and regrettably the persons who have won by this flawed process.”

During an interview last month, Moonilal had also raised concerns about the freeness and fairness of the election, saying that a member of the election committee had participated in a strategy meeting for re-elected political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Although the member subsequently resigned, he charged that several of Persad-Bissessar’s team members were presiding officers at the election.

Yesterday, he added, “We had very serious concerns at a time, particularly about the list. We were complaining for weeks about the lists, with several people’s names appearing three and four times. 

“On election day, when you connect the dots and the vanishing ink, from ever since we have been involved in elections in this country, we have used a red ink that stays on your finger for days, sometimes weeks.” Although he was undecided on whether court action would follow, he said his attorneys were taking statements from witnesses. 

He acknowledged Persad-Bissessar’s victory with over 15,000 votes, but questioned whether the result would have been the same if not for the irregularities.

“At this stage I cannot say whether or not we will embark on any court action, but certainly the party needs to take stock. We have to look at some of the statements we have from persons. You can only take court action if you have the requisite statements properly done,” he said.

“Court action cannot be on the basis of hearsay, it must be done in the basis of information that is presented by those persons who have witnessed wrong doing.”

Moonilal also questioned election committee chairman Rampersad Parasam’s claim that the ink used in the election was the same used by the Elections and Boundaries Commission. On Saturday, Moonilal demonstrated how easily the ink was removed from his finger using a “Wet Wipe.”

Calls to Persad-Bissessar’s phone yesterday went unanswered and she did not return calls or messages left.

Future uncertain

As to his future relationship with Persad-Bissessar, Moonilal said he had worked with her during her time as prime minister and Opposition Leader so nothing would change. He said he was also careful not to attack her during his campaign.

“I have worked with the Opposition Leader before as prime minister and shortly as Opposition Leader. Nothing will change and I was careful on the platform not to be attacking her. I have never raised issues of personality, that is not my kind of politics,” he said. 

“We gave a vision and a programme for the party. In a sense, the Opposition leader, not withstanding how unfair the process was, has to continue to provide the leadership and I wish her the best with her new team.”

Although he expressed little confidence in the new executive, he said he would give his support. As for his role in the party, now that he is no longer an executive member but continues as the Oropouche East MP, he said, “I continue to represent my constituency in Parliament. I continue my parliamentary work. I have been in the party for many years as an officer, so that type of work will cease but I continue to hold on as a UNC member and supporter as much as I can.

“You have to give the new members of the executive, however unfair the process was to put them there, the space and the latitude to contribute as best they can. We don't have confidence in this new executive, but they have gone through a lot to be there and they must be given the latitude to make a contribution if that can.”

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says defeated leadership candidate Dr Roodal Moonilal is free to take his concerns over the partys internal election to the election committee and wherever else he sees fit.

She made the comment in response to claims of irregularities in Saturday’s voting, which handed her Team UNC slate total victory over their competitors. Speaking at her Siparia Constituency Office in Penal on Saturday night after being declared the winner, she said the margin of her victory was too great for there to be any doubt.

“I will say to him that those matters are to be raised with the election committee, but it is very hard to see that a resounding victory like this is being questioned. If the results were close in the numbers, then there would be cause for concern but I believe they’re really landslide numbers. It really doesn’t give cause but they are free to raise it with the election committee and where else as they see fit,” Persad-Bissessar said.

Although her leadership of the party was criticised during the election campaign, she called on all members to come together again, saying that the real enemy was not within the party but the People’s National Movement. 

“I thank all the supporters who came out and helped us to attain this victory and I say we are still one UNC family. To all my opponents, we belong to the same UNC family, we need to ban together and work together to fight our real enemy and that enemy is the PNM. I invite everyone for us to work together as a strengthened UNC following this election as we go forward in the future.”

Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh, whose Loyalist slate also suffered defeat, said the party would continue as a united team in the Parliament. In an interview at Moonilal’s Oropouche East Constituency Office in Debe on Saturday night, Gopeesingh, who contested position of chairman, said good leaders forget the past quickly.

“This is the Westminster System, the first-past-the-post, and leaders know exactly what to do. A good leader will continue to build a strong team, that is what leadership is about. You have to almost forget the past,” he said.

“We are a unified team. There is no question when it comes to Parliament, we are a Government in waiting. When it comes to Parliament, we are very strong and powerful. They will not beat the United National Congress in terms of its ability to raise issues, to discuss issues, to debate issues, bring the party to the forefront and bring the Government to answer the questions.”  

He likened the fractures in the UNC to past rifts in the PNM between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, former prime minister Patrick Manning and former deputy speaker Penelope Beckles-Robinson. However, when told that those rifts were never healed, he said there will always be winners and losers in politics. As for his criticism of Persad-Bissessar’s leadership, he said, “One knows the weaknesses and the strengths of what went on and therefore that is something that has gone on.”

Quite disappointed. This was how Vasant Bharath, one of the three candidates vying for the post of political leader of the United National Congress, described his lost yesterday. But in the face of defeat, Bharath vowed to work with everyone, including its reelected political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, for the greater good of the party.

Persad-Bissessar secured a landslide victory on Saturday, although serious questions are being raised due to irregularities highlighted. In an interview yesterday, Bharath said his slate and the members of his team who worked hard on the campaign trail were also particularly disappointed. “Clearly, I feel obviously disappointed not just for myself but for the party.

A lot of work would have gone into the election campaign, because we brought a different and fresh approach to the organisation that was sorely needed if the organisation was to get out of the crisis which I still think it is in. “I feel very disappointed not just for myself but more so to my young team.

But obviously that is the democratic will of the people. “Clearly the membership weren’t convinced by our message of change and so therefore they would have fit in with the status quo,” Bharath said Wishing the new national executive well, the former food production minister said he remained undaunted by his defeat, adding that because he had been in politics for many years he understood that sometimes many of these things were out of one's control.

A surprising factor, he said, was the massive turnout on Saturday, especially given the party's recent defeat at the general election. He said ultimately, T&T deserved to have a strong Opposition given the fact that the country was facing many challenges, in particular the low oil and gas prices and other issues that would now flow from that.

Regarding plans to work with Persad- Bissessar to move the UNC forward, Bharath said this appeared uncertain as Persad- Bissessar had said she was not prepared to work with either himself, Dr Roodal Moonilal or Dr Tim Gopeesingh. “I myself had said openly and I am prepared to work with anyone and I think all leaders should work with anyone that they have to in the interest of the organisation,” he said.

“I am prepared to work with Mrs Persad- Bissessar but I need some time to myself to make some personal decisions.” On reported discrepancies during the election process, Bharath, while expressing his concerns, said he had conceded to defeat and had no intention of contesting the results.

“The concerns are those I have shared throughout the period and it is either a lack of competence on the part of the party itself or it is deliberate. Which ever the case, it is clearly not acceptable... people who were actual card-carrying members ,their names were not on the list.

“People were also actively campaigning in the polling stations and we also had the issue of the ink coming off very quickly. There was no doubt in my mind that this was clearly an issue, but whether or not that allowed people to have multiple votes I don’'t know. But these are things which causes doubt in people's mind,” Bharath said.

He said given the fact that the UNC also had a matter before the High Court, where the transparency surrounding the general election was brought into question, the party must also display a similar level of integrity. Bharath said he had also congratulated Persad-Bissessar, via text message, on her win, to which she had replied with the word ‘thanks.’

What was supposed to be a Saturday of fun for a Barrackpore family turned into a nightmare when teenage brothers Raphael and Ricardo Rambaran drowned at the scenic Balandra Beach on Saturday.

Up to late yesterday, T&T Coast Guard divers were still searching for the body of Raphael, 16, a student of the Barrackpore West Secondary School. Police said the body of Ricardo, 15, who attended the St Stephen’s College, Princes Town, resurfaced minutes after he drowned.

The boys’ cousin, Amanda Rambaran, told the T&T Guardian yesterday that the boys left their Cunjal Road home with their mother and father Jacqueline and Premchan Rambaran on Saturday morning for the outing. She said the family went to Balandra to join relatives from Arima and Gasparillo who were spending the weekend at a guest house in the area.

Police said the brothers and a relative, Quin Garcia, were bathing around 4 pm when the water became rough and they began struggling to stay afloat. Garcia was able to get to a rock where he held on until he was rescued. However the brothers, who could not swim, were pulled under. Garcia was taken to the Arima Hospital where he was treated and discharged.

At the boys' home yesterday, Rambaran said their mother and father had gone back to the beach to continue the search for Raphael’s body. She described Raphael as an ambitious person with the ability to expand his skills. She said he was learning about electrical technology and recently went on a trip to a company where they had promised him a job when he completed school. She said Ricardo was the same, as both of them were very close. 

Friends and relatives poured into the home yesterday, everyone trying to hold back their tears. The search for Raphael is expected to resume this morning.

An emergency medical technician and his driver were severely injured when the ambulance they were in crashed into a concrete culvert near the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba yesterday.

Police said Kerwin Dick, an employee of Global Medical Response of T&T Ltd (GMRTT), was driving south along the Solomon Hochoy Highway with his colleague Ian Chote around 5.15 am when the vehicle reportedly veered off the road and crashed into the culvert. Passersby immediately contacted police. 

Cpl Heeralal and a party of officers from the Mon Repos station responded with an ambulance and the men were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where they underwent emergency treatment. There was no patient in the ambulance at the time.

According to a report, Dick received injuries to his chest while Chote suffered two broken legs, a fractured spine and neck. He was said to be in a critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit up to late yesterday.

Contacted yesterday, GMRTT CEO Paul Anderson said no members of the public were involved and the company would not release any information on their employees and would deal with the matter privately.

RALPH BANWARIE

A Venezuelan national was among nine people arrested by members of the Eastern Division Task Force during anti-crime exercises in Toco and Sangre Grande over the weekend Police seized three guns, several rounds of ammunition and narcotics with a street value of $632,000 during the exercises.

The suspects will appear before a Sangre Grande magistrate today to answer charges ranging from possession of arms and ammunition and possession of cocaine and marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Police reported that around 4 am on Saturday, EDTF officers were on roadblock duty along Depot Road, Cumana Village, Toco, when they stopped a blue Honda CRV with three male occupants, including a Venezuelan national.

The vehicle was searched and one Walther pistol with two magazines and four rounds of 9mm ammunition was found. The three men were arrested and taken to Sangre Grande Police Station. PC St Clair later charged the men with possession of firearm and possession of ammunition. Around 8.35 pm, officers went to Valencia Old Road where they stopped a white pickup van.

While searching the vehicle the allegedly found 10.4 kilograms of marijuana and 4.12 kilos of cocaine. The driver, a 65-year-old Cumana Village, Toco resident, was arrested and taken to the Sangre Grande station, where he being questioned up to last night. He is to be charged with the possession of cocaine mand marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Police estimated the cocaine and marijuana to carry a street value of $632,000.

The party of officers, led by Insp Lutchman, then went to Picton Road, Sangre Grande, where they searched a house and found one .38 Smith and Wessen Springfield revolver with four rounds of .38 ammo.

Four people were arrested, including a 15-year-old boy, an 18-year-old and a 37-year-old woman, all of Cane Farm Road, Trincity, and a 34-year-old man of San Pablo Trace, Valencia. The four were taken to Sangre Grande station where they were charged by PC Cortez with the possession of firearm and ammunition.

Around 1 pm, police went to North Eastern Settlement, Ojoe Road, Sangre Grande, where they searched some men at the roadside. A .38 revolver with two rounds of ammunition was found tucked in the waist of a 20-year old man, who was arrested. 

A Syrian chef is warded in a serious condition at hospital after he was shot during a robbery in San Fernando early yesterday. Police said Joseph Louison, 40, of Couva, and his wife were operating their Big B’s burger cart at the popular vending area at Cross Crossing when they were attacked. 

Around 3.45 am, a man wearing a bandana over his face, blue shirt and three quarter pants walked up to the cart and announced a hold up. Despite Louison saying that he would surrender the money if the bandit would not harm anyone, including customers, the gunman shot him in the abdomen. On seeing the shooting customers scampered for cover while the gunman walked behind the cart, snatched an undisclosed sum of money and ran off.  

Louison, a father of five, was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he remained up to last evening. San Fernando CID responded and searched for the area for the suspect but he was not found.

Meanwhile, Southern Division police arrested 102 people between Wednesday and Saturday in San Fernando, Marabella, La Romaine, Pleasantville and Cocoyea. Of those arrests, several people were held for loitering, 48 on outstanding warrants, 33 for possession of narcotics, eight for drunk driving and six for robberies. 

Also, a team of officers led by Cpl Ramsingh received information and searched an area in St Mary's Village, Moruga and found a new shotgun hidden in a tree trunk. The operation was co-ordinated by Snr Supt Irwin Hackshaw and carried out by Supt Rajkumar, ASP Ramdeo, Insp Gajadhar, Insp Yearwood, Sgt Teeluck, Sgt Ramroop and Cpl Khan.

Christmas initiative 

Southern Division police said yesterday they have implemented a strategic crime plan to protect banks, businesses and customers during the Christmas season. This includes the stationing of a mobile unit on the compound of Gulf City Mall, where there have been many reports of vehicle theft and robberies.

This, they said, will make it easy for victims of crime in the communities of La Romain, Bamboo Village, Cross Crossing and environs to report incidents to the police, as traffic is usually congested in the city around this time.

Police are asking people not to leave handbags, laptop computers and other items on the seats of their parked vehicles as this attracts bandits. They advised that all items should be placed in trunks. They are also cautioning owners of Nissan models B12, B13, B14 and Tiidas to be careful, as these cars have been targeted for robberies in the past two weeks. Owners can protect their vehicles by disconnecting the battery after parking or installing security or GPS devices.

Homicide detectives are investigating the murder of a 33-year-old firefighter from Chaguanas. According to reports, Alcole Charles, of Flemming Street, Longdenville, was found by his younger brother Tekle at a liming spot near their home hours after he had been killed. 

Tekle told police that he returned home from work around 10 am on Saturday and noticed his brother was not at home. He said he went searching near a neighbour’s auto garage, where Charles would often lime with friends, and found his bloodied body next to a car at the side of the road. Charles had a large wound on the right side of his head and his left hand was partially severed. 

Charles was pronounced dead on the scene by District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Ravi Kawal. 

Police could say what caused the fatal head wound, but believe the wound to the hand was a defensive injury sustained attempting to evade an attacker. Charles is believed to have been killed at least six hours before his body was found, police said. An autopsy will be performed on his body at the Forensic Science Centre in St James today. 

Police had not determined a motive for Charles’ killing up to late yesterday. Detectives of the Region Three Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.  

In an unrelated matter, Central Division police seized three illegal guns during an anti-crime exercise between Friday night and Saturday morning. The exercise, which was coordinated by Senior Supt Jayson Forde and Supt Kenny Mc Intyre, focused on drug blocks and the homes of gang members in Couva, Carapichaima and Enterprise.

Police seized a Luger 9 mm pistol, a Maverick 12-gauge shotgun, a Taurus .357 Magnum revolver and 15 rounds of ammunition after carrying out searches at three homes in Enterprise, with three suspected gang members being arrested. 

Three others from Carapichaima were also arrested in connection with recent shootings in the division and nine others were arrested at various locations for outstanding warrants and marijuana possession. Those who were arrested will appear in the Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court today.   

My name is Marcus Campo and I run a liquor shop in Tobago.

I’m from Arima but I’m living in Tobago for the past four years. I go back to Arima to visit but I’m in Tobago to stay. I love it! I was welcomed by Tobagonians from the time I first came.

Boy days for me was Calvary Hill, Arima. Bush. I know ‘bout ‘gouti and lappe. I had my little hunting days, back in my teenaged years, catching the little iguana, the little manicou and stuff like that. But hunting with slingshot. And pellet guns. Not them big guns.

You could buy pellet guns over-the-counter in sports stores in Trinidad. But I went to the real home of guns: I spent 11 years in Austin, Texas. I managed an automotive shop there.

I went to Austin’s famous Sixth Street. The South by Southwest Festival was huge. I would go to blues bars in Austin and love the blues, the instrumentation. But when I got home after work, I played Trinidad radio stations on the computer. Good soca and calypso always gets to me.

I come from a big family and have a small family myself: my wife, Sapphire Lopez, my son, Caden, and daughter, Caelan. My son was two years last month and my daughter is a little over three months old. We have the set now and I’m good with that: I’m set with that set.

Right through, right through, customers always asking for all sorts of stuff. We stock plenty beers, plenty liquor, but sometimes we just don’t have it. One guy came in asking for something he knew we don’t stock because he came in the day before and the day before that asking for it. He comes in almost every day asking for it. We never have it. He still asks. Some customers like to make life hard for me but it’s all in good fun. He’s a regular. He loves the store and my personality. And he loves the service. So he’ll come and ask for something we don’t have. He’s just one of quite a few on a long list.

Our liquor shop is on the Crown Point strip, one of the busiest places at night in Tobago. The music is always very loud. Too loud. But I don’t get bothered by it at all. It keeps business flowing in! In fact, the louder, the better!

When you have a liquor store, you get a lot of drunk customers. Plenty. Men, women, young, old. I have had quite a few threatening people, but I’ve never felt personally threatened. There are customers who come in with attitude but, how I deal with customers, it always resolves at the counter.

You can’t be bad-tempered with customers in the service industry. I learned that in Texas. There’re lots of personalities: crazy; cool; and even threatening. And, dealing with all those personalities, I always stayed true to myself: calm; cool; and collected. My boss in Austin installed that into me. I had to build that wall, to deal with him; otherwise, I’d have been long gone from that job. And I kept it for 11 years. But, at the end of the day, I’m in the position I’m in today because of him.

Young people love Hennessy but they could afford it right through. Most people under 30 not wasting time with beer. They love their Hennessy. 
The tourists love their red wine and the dry white wine. Those are big movers when tourists are here.

The best thing about the job is meeting people. I love communicating and giving information. I always have wise words for people who have concerns. I’m like a bartender! Must be selling all the alcohol. In the slow periods, there’s less people to meet, but that’s all I could call a “bad” part.

Being a Trini is having fun, enjoying yourself, working hard and also being responsible. Some people lack in that last part so, for them, falling down when drunk is part of being a Trini.

Trinidad & Tobago means a whole lot to me. I want all the best for Trinidad. To see Trinidad as big as it can be on the map through sports and the economy is all I want. And the same goes for Tobago.

Read a longer version of this feature at www.BCRaw.com

With 17 days before Christmas, ArcelorMittal has sent home 600 workers with immediate effect. 

However, Christopher Henry, president of the Steel Workers Union of T&T which represents the workers said the matter would be placed in the hands of its lawyers and may be heading to court for a final outcome.

Henry addressed workers at the union’s California headquarters yesterday hours after the workers were sent home and recalled only weeks ago the Minister of Finance Colm Imbert was saying there would be no blue Christmas. 

He said ArcelorMittal not only laid off 800 contract workers earlier this year but sent home 600-plus permanent workers weeks before Christmas.

In confirming the lay-offs, the company, in a statement yesterday said it had no option, blaming the economic conditions in the global steel industry and its inability to reach an agreement with the union for its decision.

Last Friday, the company met with the union and said it was impossible for the company to keep workers on the plant over a protracted period without having work for them to perform.

A couple of weeks ago, ArcelorMittal, Point Lisas, announced that because of over-supply of steel in the international market and the drying up of orders for its Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and steel products, it had to scale down its operations. The union claims a Canadian firm has been contracted by the company.

“The global steel industry is experiencing its worst recession in ten years, comparable to that experienced in the early ‘90s. Every steel company in the world is facing this difficult reality and ArcelorMittal Point Lisas has had no choice but to react to these changes in the industry,” it said.

The workers are being sent home with $2,000 each as compensation for December 7 to January 15, next year. The steel company said the over-supply of steel in the international market and the drying up of orders for its DRI and steel products produced at its Point Lisas plant has led to this temporary shut down of its operations.

However, Timothy Bailey, chief labour relations officer of union said while it was undeniable there was a global depression in the world market, he said he was saddened that the multinational company which made millions and billions in the 30-odd years it has been operating in T&T, as soon as they were going through a rough patch the workers, who were paid the least, were the one who got severed.

The company has been in limbo for months, saying it could not produce steel at a profitable price, even as it negotiated unsuccessfully to renew its expired contract for electricity and natural gas. 

The company was put in an idle mode and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the company and the union to have workers do alternative jobs, which were once done by contract workers and which were outside of their job description. The MOU was expected to be reviewed.

However, Bailey said that mid-stream before the scope of work and schedule of jobs outlined for the workers were exhausted, “the company moved the goal post and came to the union to draw up new proposals for the union to agree with to send workers on forced vacation for the period December to mid-January.

“We said to the company legally we did not have the powers to send any worker on forced vacation, “ Bailey added.

He said according to a clause in their collective agreement, there were certain workers who would have accumulated vacation over two periods who could have been sent on leave. 

“The company said they needed to go and check their statistics and come back to the union but this morning (yesterday) while the union was engrossed in its statutory executive meeting, the meeting was interrupted by the company which requested an emergency meeting.”

Bailey said the union members broke its meeting and immediately went across to the company where the company’s CEO, Robert Bellisle, placed two proposals on the table: One for the company to send the workers home for the month of December or the other option to lay off workers and give them $2,000 for the period December 7 to January 15.”

He said the meeting ended with no concensus but shortly after they left, workers started calling the union to inform them that the company was issuing letters effectively sending them home.

The union is calling for Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus to intervene.

Another family is today calling on Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh to address the slow response of the country’s ambulance service.

Kevin Pinchilia, 29, made the call yesterday after his wife of eight years, Lydia Mohammed-Pinchilia, also 29, died after waiting for over half-an-hour for an ambulance to arrive to take her for urgent medical attention. 

Ambulance officials, he said, warned him not to move his wife when he said he feared she was in trouble. He complied with the medical advice but the ambulance never came and he still had to take her to the health facility in his vehicle as he had initially proposed to.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian at the Couva Health Facility around 6 pm yesterday, moments after his wife had died, a distraught Pinchilia said around 3 pm he had just returned to his home at Post Office Street, Balmain, Couva, when Lydia complained of feeling unwell.

“As I got home she said she wanted to go to the doctor, any doctor. We were leaving home when she collapsed,” he recalled.

He said he called the local ambulance service and was told an ambulance would be at his home shortly.

“We live three minutes from here (Couva Health Facility) and they said not to move her, that the ambulance would come,” he said.

After waiting an unbearable 30 minutes, he said he was told the ambulance was not coming from the Couva Health Facility. He said he eventually took her to the hospital himself.

What made Pinchilia even more distraught was the presence of three ambulances parked at the facility when he arrived there.

“I begged them on the phone for me to move her, they kept saying ‘no don’t move her.’ And when I realised she was not responding at all I put her in the car and we came here. There were three ambulances parked up here.”

An autopsy is expected to be done this morning at the San Fernando Mortuary to determine the cause of death.

Chief executive officer of Global Medical Response T&T, Paul Anderson, the company contracted to provide ambulance services in this country, said all of its ambulances were tied up at the time of the call.

Anderson said he was not disputing the time of the call or the lack of response.

“Unfortunately as is a very common occurrence all of our ambulances that would be in the area were tied up... being delayed at hospitals... dropping off patients that were there before,” Anderson said.