Mikeal “Short Buck” Lancaster was shot three times in the head and four times in the chest at close range, an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, revealed yesterday.

Lancaster’s mother, Susan Sealey, yesterday called on the authorities to launch a full investigation into the incident, saying her son was unarmed and did not resist the officers.

“It had two big wounds to the back of his head and one to the temple and it had to be close range because they shot him in his room. They pushed him back into his room and killed him. There was no shootout. He did not have any gun on him,” Sealey told the T&T Guardian after the autopsy, which was conducted by Dr Hughvon des Vignes.

Initially, it was reported that on Saturday morning Lancaster was shot and killed during an alleged shootout with police while at his Dan Kelly, Picton Road, Laventille home.

However, his 52-year-old mother said yesterday she was at home when about seven police stormed into her house.

“They told me they had a warrant but they never presented anything to me. The evidence could show I have nothing to lie about. When he come out his room they pushed him back. I thought they would have been handcuffing him, next thing I see a police woman run back because she saw when they were going to shoot him and she ran back because she didn’t want to pick up any bullets.”

Sealey said she only heard two loud gunshots, noting they must have covered up the other ones.

“When they done shoot him they bring him out in a sheet and placed him on a platform to breeze out. I saw blood spraying out and I asked them why they had to shoot my son like that, so many times. The police try to run me but I did not move.”

Sealey said she remembered seeing a lot of police in and around her home and believed they had come there that morning after 5 am with only one motive, which she said was to kill her son.

Sealey said her son had his good ways and bad ways, but still didn’t deserve to die like that. She admitted he was a suspect in a murder investigation, but added that he was never charged and never had any run-ins with the law in previous years.

“Nobody, not even the biggest gangster, deserves a death like that. They could have handcuff him and take him away and lock him up. They did not have to shoot him up like that,” Sealey said.

Residents staged a fiery protest at the John John traffic lights following the shooting, forcing motorists attempting to enter and exit the capital city through the Beetham flyover, Eastern Main Road and the Priority Bus Route to come to a standstill. Laventille MP Fitzgerald Hinds also had to intervene to calm the situation.

Lancaster was one of three men shot by police over the weekend.

Yesterday, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) said it had started investigations into Lancaster’s shooting and that of two other men in Ste Madeleine and La Romaine.

It urged any witnesses to the respective incidents to come to its Level 24 Tower D, International Waterfront Centre offices to lodge a formal complaint or statement to facilitate the investigation of the incidents.

Asked if she was going to do as requested by the PCA, Sealey said: “I already spoke to an investigator, who assured me that they are looking into it. I am afraid that I will be victimised and I think that other people would be afraid to come forward too.

“I really don’t like the idea of police investigating police, because I am very doubtful because I feel that the police will cover up for the police but I have nothing to lie about.”

Later this evening, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams and Hinds are expected to meet with residents.

Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams says air rifles are now becoming just as big a threat as illegal firearms on this country’s streets.

He made the comment before yesterday’s Joint Select Committee meeting in Parliament, as he said air rifles, which are just as dangerous due to their sophistication, were also being purchased in high numbers because one does not require a firearm licence to operate them.

The meeting focused on the processes relating to the procurement, registration, retrieval and shortage of firearms.

Expressing his concern regarding air rifles, Williams said all one needed was a certificate of character and an application to obtain an air rifle and called for legislation to be reviewed. He said such weapons had the capability “way beyond” that of a pellet gun.

“There are numerous shops selling air rifles and you would be shocked by the level of sophistication of those air rifles ... the shape will challenge you. You will believe it is definitely not an air rifle.

“The air rifles of today are just as deadly as pistols and those air rifles are being purchased at a rapid rate,” Williams said.

Senior Supt Leroy Brebnor, of the Firearms Management Unit, told the meeting air rifles could be redesigned to look like an AK47 weapon and with a high velocity muzzle.

Williams said in 2014, police seized 585 illegal firearms, 691 were seized a year later and last year 765 illegal firearms were taken off the streets. However, he admitted that these figures represented just an estimation of the number of illegal firearms circulating in the country.

Noting that firearms were used in 80 per cent of the murders in T&T, Williams said, “What we are seeing is a consistency of an increase and a substantial increase. As we seize more, there is an indication that there is even more.”

Asked whether a gun amnesty would assist, Williams said research has shown this was not effective.

“What we require is the stoppage of the flow of firearms. The Police Service has actually gotten to a record high each year in seizing firearms,” he said.

On firearms applications, Williams said there were thousands pending and as a result the approval process could take up to a year.

Asked how many guns were lost by the police in the last five years, no statistics could be provided to the committee.

Regarding the 40 missing firearms from the Forensic Science Centre, St James, Williams said this matter was still under investigation as the last two investigators assigned to the case had gone on pre-retirement leave. But he said within a month or two it should be completed.

Williams also said he was concerned whether security firms were in fact using employees who had valid firearm licences to handle weapons. He said this was troubling, especially given the growing number of security firms. But he said the responsibility for security firms fell under the purview of the Ministry of National Security.

Shervonne Rodney, of Arima Central Government Secondary, is the 2017 National Junior Calypso Monarch champ.

The 19-year-old, who went against her mother’s advice and entered the competition even in the midst of preparing for the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exam later this year, said yesterday she was happy to have won the prestigious title.

Struggling to keep her tears in check as she spoke with reporters minutes after she was announced the winner at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Rodney strongly believed her winning composition titled “Misconception” was made for her.

Explaining this, she revealed the rash of arguments with her mother over the last couple months, who strongly advised against her competing this year and urged her to focus on her exam preparations.

Having placed third in the competition two times before, Rodney said yesterday’s win might just be an act of fate.

Revealing that Brian London composed the song, Rodney said her mother has been pushing her to pursue a degree in medicine but that she has heart on entering the coast-guard.

The song which she had no input in, calls on parents to step back and let children decide their own future while also delivering 100 per cent support.

Performing in a doctor’s coat which she discarded during her performance, Rodney said during the after-interview, “Even the costume was an issue with mummy.”

Arriving at the competition midway through, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said he was heartened by the calibre and quality of the compositions rendered, adding that calypso was alive and well and in good hands.

Garcia said there were plans to use the calypso art form as a tool in schools to impart the nation’s rich and diverse heritage to students, which was in keeping with the thrust by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to ensure a greater appreciation of local culture.

This was echoed by President Anthony Carmona who spent the day at the QPS, listening intently to the compositions and often nodding his head in time to the music and applauding the performers.

Copping second place was defending champion Sharissa Camejo, 15, of Holy Name Convent, Port-of-Spain - whose brothers last week created history when they captured both the Junior and Secondary National School’s Soca Monarch titles.

Providing back-up vocals for his sister yesterday was Stefan Camejo, 12, of Sacred Heart Boys’ RC School, who copped the 2017 title for the fourth consecutive time with his song Back On De Road.

Their elder sibling Sergio, 17, placed first in the senior category with his hit Daz Yuh Business.

Third place went to Deslie Julien, 17, of St Mary’s College, with his song The Writers of Tomorrow.

The youngest competitor this year was Jalan Maughn, eight of St Patrick’s Boys’ RC, who performed the Power of Prayer and succeeded in copping sixth place.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE WINNERS

1. Shervonne Rodney (19) - Arima Central Government - Misconception

2. Sharissa Camejo (15) - Holy Name Convent, Port-of-Spain - Progress Again

3. Deslie Julien (17) - St Mary’s College - The Writers of Tomorrow

4. Caryn Mc Carthy (18) - Arima Central Secondary - Just A Name

5. Nicholas Lucas (18) - Moruga Secondary - The Crisis

6. Jalan Maughn (8) - St Patrick Boys’ RC - Power of Prayer

7. Christian Mendez (12) - Fatima College - Take Pan to the World

8. Catherine K Chandlier (16) - Holy Faith Convent, Penal - Real Man

9. Rivaldo London (15) - Iere High - Trinbago Youths Rise

10. Duane Ta’Zyah O’Connor (14) - St. Mary’s College - This Is My Home

11. Kevan Calliste (17) - St Benedict’s College - Thank You

12. Naomi Sinnette (13) - Bishop Centenary College - School Days are for Studies

13. Adana Dardaine (14) - Sangre Grande Educational Institute - For A Worthy Cause

14. A’janae King Fraser (10) - Arima Girls’ RC - A Royal Miss Out

15. Kurlise Jada Bentham (11) - Sacred Heart Girls’ - The Family Unit

16. Renaldo Alleyne Noreiga (17) - St Mary’s College - The U Turn of a Man

Transport Commissioner Wayne Richards says the Ministry of Transport was not behind the recent spate of social media messages warning motorists of impending vehicle inspections for stickers and certificates.

Richards was responding to queries about several messages that have been circulating via WhatsApp since late last week warning about a Licensing Division crackdown on vehicles that have not been inspected and cleared for the nation’s roads.

The message warned members of the public that from yesterday, the police and Licensing officers would be out in full force checking for vehicle inspection stickers and certificates.

In a brief interview yesterday, however, Richards said they have always been cracking down on delinquent motorists and such drives were nothing new.

“The officers do their work and they do a complete check, which includes inspection of vehicles,” he said.

He said the division would not usually “warn motorists” because it was normal for officers to do checks on vehicles.

“This (messaging) was not done by the division. It’s something they (officers) always do, it is the law,” he added.

“We do it on a daily basis, last week and last year. They check for everything. We don’t make an announcement. Somebody decided to make that and we don’t need to do that, that is our job.”

The warning prompted motorist to swarm authorised inspection facilities across the country yesterday. Some of those stations were out of the inspection stickers, prompting panicking motorists to call media houses to complain about the issue.

But Richards said he was not aware that there was a surge in motorists visiting testing stations because they were island-wide.

Also contacted yesterday, Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said the inspections were part of the normal process of business and was ongoing, but referred all other questions to Richards. However, president of T&T Automotive Dealers Association Visham Babwah said he fully supported the inspections made.

“I fully supported the Licensing Office and police to do the inspections. Little is being done sometimes, or too late, with these roadblocks and checks,” he said.

Babwah said there were too many uninsured vehicles, vehicles with fraudulent insurances and vehicles with fraudulent numbers driven in T&T.

“Maybe the ministry needs to look at getting more officers out on a regular basis,” he said.

According to the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act chapter 48:50, Part V, section 27 (11) A registered owner of a private motor vehicle or motorcycle, public service motor vehicle, rental car, goods vehicle, omnibus or trailer who fails to produce the vehicle for inspection or drives the vehicle without obtaining an inspection sticker and certificate in accordance with these Regulations commits an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of five thousand dollars.

Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams has defended his decision to hold inter-faith services for officers in the service’s bid to reduce violent crimes across the country.

Speaking at a press conference at the Police Administration Building, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Williams dismissed criticism of the initiative, which he said was aimed at lifting the spiritual well-being of his officers and boosting their morale.

“This has nothing to do with the TTPS putting up its hands. This is more than an annual inter-faith service, it is engagement across the entire organisation, embracing all the citizens and religious groups, so we can call on that supreme being to be part of this effort to make T&T a safer place,” Williams said.

The initiative, in which all divisional commanders were mandated to hold the services in their areas, has already been implemented in seven of nine divisions.

While he assured the TTPS was working hard to ensure the level of service provided to citizens improves, Williams again urged citizens to assist police in their efforts.

“Be part of it, because standing at the side is not enough for us to make a difference. Every single citizen has a contribution to make.

“If everyone can do something good, don’t matter how small, it will contribute in a collective way to a big good for the nation,” he said.

Although Williams admitted that the TTPS would not be able to notice tangible results from the initiative until crime statistics are analysed at year’s end, he expressed optimism over its immediate impact.

“I am saying we are focusing on the police officers so we can lift them.

“If we are able to do so, I’m sure the police officers can function consistent with their oath of office and in a professional manner and everything else negative with the TTPS will change,” he said.

In addition to the initiative, Williams claimed the TTPS had a new mandate to focus on the prosecution of firearm cases, as 80 per cent of murders are committed using illegal guns.

Noting that they seized a record 765 illegal firearms last year, Williams said: “It is not about seizing, it’s about prosecuting. We are prioritising the prosecution of firearm offenders and see if that will see a drop in the violence.”

He also announced that the TTPS was the first police service in the world to pioneer the use of hemostatic bandages by officers responding to shootings. The bandages are used by first responders to reduce bleeding to shooting and stabbing victims.

While he said details of the results of that initiative will be announced at a later date, he said preliminary figures were encouraging.

“We will see when the data is tabulated and published.

“But we have been seeing a positive correlation between the usage of hemostatic bandages in locations where persons have been shot, in aiding in saving the lives of individuals,” he said.

A 31-year-old woman police constable and her four-year-old child had a lucky escape after they were abducted during a home invasion at her family’s Tamana home on Sunday night.

The cop and her child walked away from the ordeal when her abductors abandoned her and their getaway vehicle after it crashed into a motorcyclist and ran off the road.

The mother and child were said to be still traumatised last night after being treated and discharged from the Sangre Grande Hospital.

According to police reports, around 9.30 pm Sunday, three armed men entered the cop’s home, where they beat the family, which included the victim’s brother, father and mother. Her brother was also stabbed during the attack.

The bandits then bundled the officer and her child into the back seat of the vehicle and drove off with them. However, a short while later the bandit at the wheel crashed into a motorcycle rider, lost control of the car and ran off the road. The bandits immediately abandoned the vehicle and hostages and escaped on foot into the Tamana Forest.

The barefooted officer and her baby were rescued by residents and taken back home to relatives, after which they were carried to the hospital. The victim’s brother, father and mother also received medical treatment and they too were said to be traumatised.

Cpl de La Rosa and PC Cielto, of the Sangre Grande CID, were the first responders and were later joined by Cumuto police and Northern Division officers.

Villagers told police the bandits were taken to the village by a PH driver. He was detained while making his way out of Tamana on foot and was being interrogated up to last night.

Angry villagers are now calling on acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams to increase patrol in this rural village, as criminals are now targeting them.

Investigators said they had no motive for the attempted kidnapping.

​RALPH BANWARIE

T&T Defence Force member, Lance Cpl Ian Carter, was fighting for his life at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, last night, after he was shot by bandits in Maloney Sunday night.

According to a police report, at about 4.30 pm a gunman approached a group of men, including Carter, who were liming near Building 10 and announced a hold up. The men, police said, retaliated, causing the gunman to open fire.

Carter was hit in the neck, chest and groin. Another unidentified man was also grazed by a bullet.

Carter was taken to the Arima District Hospital and transferred to the EWMSC.

In a release yesterday, the TTDF said Acting Commanding Officer, Col Dexter Francis, had pledged to commit “the necessary resources in support of the TTPS to bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice.”

Members of the public who may have credible information are asked to call 800-TIPS (8477), or the 555 or 999 lines or lodge a report at any police station or military camp.

Investigations are continuing.

A political analyst says the call US President Donald Trump made to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Sunday reflects the importance of T&T in the region. However, a former prime minister says more details on what the two leaders spoke about should be made public.

Prime Minister Rowley is the first Caribbean leader to have received a direct call from President Trump but the Office of the Prime Minister is remaining mum on whether the two leaders discussed the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and immigration issues.

US media had hinted hours before the call was made that the President intended to call Dr Rowley and Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela. According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the call to Dr Rowley was made at about 4.40 pm on Sunday. The White House said the leaders discussed shared priorities, while the Prime Minister’s office said in a brief statement that the two leaders acknowledged the close working relationship between T&T and the US and committed to strengthening that relationship. They also committed to working together on security, trade and other matters

There was no indication from either the White House or the Office of the Prime Minister that FATCA or immigration was part of the discussion.

The White House said President Trump invited Dr Rowley to visit Washington in the coming months but there was no mention of that invitation in the release from the Office of the Prime Minister.

“Why did President Trump call? Was it just a courtesy call? Is there a special relationship between Trinidad and Tobago as opposed to say Jamaica?” he asked.

“The Prime Minister’s Office should say something, so that the country could be better informed.”

Panday said it was curious that Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has had no response to her letter to Trump. He described the letter as “a stupid, senseless act, done for pure political purposes.”

Head of the Political Science Department at UWI Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said the call by Trump to Dr Rowley was a reflection of the importance of T&T in the Caribbean.

“It is simply because of our significance in the region,” he said.

Ragoonath agreed that more details of the discussion should be made public about the immigration issue and especially on deportation.

Efforts by the T&T Guardian to get more information from the Office of the Prime Minister were unsuccessful. In an emailed response the Office of the Prime Minister said: “No additional information on the conversation between the two leaders is forthcoming.”

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, who also got a call from President Trump on Sunday, has been tweeting about the phone call and confirmed that they discussed their “excellent bilateral relationship on economic, security and regional matters.”

Varela said they have agreed to hold talks between high-level officials ahead of his trip to Washington but gave no details of the visit.

Trump’s calls to Rowley and the Panamanian leader came on a busy day when he also interviewed candidates for the post of national security adviser.

He has been calling world leaders since he was sworn in to office on January 20 and in the past month has spoken with 28 world leaders, including the Presidents of Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.

Rowley is the first leader from the Caribbean Trump has called. However, after the Republican victory in November then Vice President elect Mike Pence called Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The White House said Pence and Holness had a productive conversation about the close economic co-operation between Jamaica and the US. Pence expressed appreciation for the many contributions of Jamaican-Americans to the US and indicated an interest in visiting Jamaica citing his “love” of the people.

When President Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, the first foreign leader he met was former Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga. That meeting underscored the region’s importance to Reagan who strived to boost Caribbean exports through the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Successive US presidents have supported exports from the Caribbean.

Soon after taking office in 2008, President Barack Obama met with Caribbean leaders in T&T at the Summit of the Americas, assuring them of positive diplomatic and trade relations with the US. He reiterated this policy in another meeting with Caribbean leaders in Jamaica in 2015.

There has been no clear policy from Trump on relations with the Caribbean. On the campaign trail he was vocal on the issue of protectionism—protecting US companies from foreign imports by imposing stiff trade tariffs.

Jeromy Rodriguez’s war on school bullies began at age 11 when he would see his elder sister coming home nearly every day from Moruga Secondary with a black eye and no money.

“My mom went to the school to deal with the situation but got no help there and nowhere with the bully’s parents either.

“It was then I decided to find some way to deal with bullying and after doing research formed the Anti-Bullying Association of T&T (ABATT).”

Rodriguez is 15 now and a Form Four student at Cowen Hamilton High School in St Mary’s, Moruga. Originally from Basseterre in the area, he moved with his mom, Yvonne Joseph and dad, music producer, Junior Ibo Joseph, and four siblings to Union Hall, San Fernando.

Rodriquez, a former two-time Junior Soca Monarch (2013 and 2014), said he used his prize money to fund his organisation.

“I wanted to go to Disneyland but I know a lot of people who go through stress everyday meeting bullies.

“They hide from school and it reflects on their grades. When I thought about it, I felt really sad and decided to leave out my enjoyment for a while and do something to help my country.”

He said with the support of his family, he launched ABATT at the same school his sister attended and today, four years later, she is going to school peacefully.

“It must have had some impact on them. I hardly hear of any violence in Moruga Secondary.”

Rodriguez’ war on bullies involves giving lectures at schools and institutions on bullying and how to deal with it.

The basic message is usually simple and straightforward; “stop the bulling and love one another”, he said.

“Our slogan is, be your brother’s keeper, uplift and support each other, love and respect one another, lean on his or her or my shoulder and, yes, we can do it together. This is the acronym for bully. The response from students is usually positive.”

ABATT has also started a kindergarten anti-bullying programme to help preschoolers deal with anger and understand what bullying is about.

Through its Facebook page, ABATT also gives advice to victims of bullying and refer them to psychologists and mediators, if needed.

The group is also producing an anti-bullying documentary with the stories of victims and their parents and highlighting deficiencies in the education system on dealing with this growing problem.

Dr Alicia Martin, one of the directors of ABATT, said it was Rodriquez’ passion that inspired her to volunteer her support.

She said ABATT was invited to a Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Parliament where they spoke about the need for teachers and principals to be trained on how to deal with bullying in schools.

“Students and parents are telling us they are getting no redress through the system. When victims don’t get redress they may take matters into their own hands and violence increases.”

Martin said school bullying is related closely to the widespread violence in the society at large. “It is not separate. The two are very much connected. Children are reflecting what’s happening in the larger society.”

Earlier this month, nine-year-old Tristan Khan’s hand was badly damaged after a savage attack by a classmate at the Mayaro Government Primary School.

The principal, the Education Minister and the T&T Unified Teachers Association said they were playing and ended the matter there.

Last Tuesday, a 14-year-old Form Two student of San Fernando West Secondary was knocked unconscious and lost his memory during a fight with a classmate.

Crying out for justice, his family said the school was downplaying the incident.

Beyond individuals leaving to participate in terrorist activities overseas, no clear trend or organised movement of people —including from any particular mosque—has been noted, say local authorities.

The position was made clear by Government after National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said 130 people are involved in such activities overseas. He indicated that 72 adults and 58 family members had gone overseas on terrorist missions.

Considering the challenges, including T&T’s heavy Muslim population with a small radical minority—and exploitation of the religion largely by fringe criminal elements—surveillance has increased and legislative curbs are upcoming.

UK sociologist Simon Cottee, who believes T&T tops the list of Western countries with the highest rates of foreign-fighter radicalisation, may have confirmed why Dillon’s announcement has now attracted attention from US media, Al Jazeera, the Atlantic and other organisations.

“As a proportion of the total number of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, the figure 130 isn’t a lot. According to New York security intelligence firm, Soufan, 27,000 to 31,000 people have travelled to Syria/Iraq to join Isis and other extremist groups from at least 86 countries.

“But if T&T’s population is only 1.3 million, including 104,000 Muslims, then T&T tops the list of Western countries with the highest rates of foreign-fighter (FTF) radicalisation,” Cottee said.

“Experts credit Belgium as one of the top five countries with the highest rates of FTF radicalisation. It has a population of 11.5 million to 650,000 Muslims with 470 FTFs.

“Compare T&T: out of 104,000 Muslims, 130, left—remember, this is the official figure which I think is on the conservative side. This means T&T has a higher FTF radicalisation rate than Belgium.

Cottee said: “Tunisia and Saudi Arabia top the FTF list, with totals of 7,000 and 2,500 respectively. In Europe, where more than 5,000 have travelled to Syria, late 2015 figures are France (1,800), Britain (760,) Germany, (760) Belgium, (470).

Cottee didn’t respond to queries about why he described the 130 figure from T&T as conservative, nor did he have comparison figures for Suriname or Guyana, two other regional territories with high Muslim populations.

He said terrorism experts have largely ignored T&T, but Belgium, France, Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon have the highest rates of foreign fighter radicalisation.

Next is what happens to the 130 when the Syria/Iraq “caliphate” falls, as expected over the next year, Cottee added.

“Many died, many will undoubtedly. But some will return. T&T needs a sensible, open conversation about what to do with returnees, especially women and children.”

Dillon has said agencies are monitoring how outflows may contribute to local crime. His predecessor Gary Griffith agrees.

“In my tenure, we confirmed 35 terrorist fighters left, but didn’t lump wives/children with fighters. Intel reports showed links between the 35 and people involved in serious crimes and gangs.

“A Special Branch report warned of the assassination plot against the (then) Prime Minister—the reason the 2011 State of Emergency was called. Interestingly, people alleged to be involved were among those who later left T&T.”

Griffith believes those who went to Syria were more mercenaries than Muslim.

“It may have been more about money and being misguided than religion,” he said.

Jamaat al Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr, whose organisation attempted the failed 1990 coup, said he has always condemned people going to Syria.

He cites poverty “which brings in drugs and guns. Thousands are living on $900 (a month). Numbers are dwindling (with gang wars). I conducted at least one funeral weekly in 2016.”

— Part III of a T&T Guardian investigation

SCAPEGOATS FOR RISING CRIME

When former US President Barack Obama was due here for the 2009 Americas Summit the FBI vetted Imam Nazim Mohammed of Rio Claro, an area where the largest number of deportees on an 2013-2015 Intel list was noted. He has always denied FTF recruitment or Middle East travel facilitation, even when his daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren left for Syria in 2015. His replies on this focused less on them and more about Islam and the US.

Doesn’t Mohammed want to see his grandchildren?

“They’re fine . . . but we don’t believe in this life, the life hereafter is our belief,” he said.

Some south Trinidad imams say deportees may have been financially broke, or felt alienated.

“You’ll hear about persons ‘going’ from Rio Claro, Princes Town, Gasparillo, central — even UWI, and the East-West Corridor from one particular community,” one said.

Nur-e-Islam imam Sheraz Ali confirmed that five from his mosque went overseas. One was killed.

Dominic Pitilal is also concerned about Islamphobia. He was among five nationals detained in Venezuela in 2014 on terrorism suspicion, then convicted of espionage. He was also one of 15 held in connection with an the alleged 2011 assassination plot against the former PM.

Pitilal said: “How many Muslim ‘terrorists’ were arrested for the year’s 72 murders? Making Muslims scapegoats could well make people leave here.”

Princes Town Islamic scholar Ashmead Choate, also among the 15 held for the 2011 plot, was among those listed in 2013/2015 intel, which stated that he departed for Syria via Brazil in August 2015. Unconfirmed reports state that he was killed.

Islamic front’s Umar Abdullah claims Choate wanted to “steer extremists away from violence.”

Local 2011 news reports described Choate as the mastermind behind the 2011 assassination plot against former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other Peoples Partnership ministers. Police claimed there was insufficient evidence to lay charges. Some associates said Choate encountered financial difficulties after that, and left.

In 2011, Choate’s attorney, reported to be Faris Al-Rawi, sought the identity of a Special Branch officer and informant on whose evidence Choate was arrested. Al-Rawi—who has never hidden the fact his father is Iraqi and that he has relatives in Iraq , Syria and Lebanon—is now Attorney General and is the one who announced Government’s anti-terrorism amendments.

THOSE LEAVING OVER 2013-2015

The 2013-2015 intelligence document indicated 105—men, women and approximately 43 children— were listed as leaving T&T for Syria.

• Mainly men leaving since 2013; more family groups, over 2014/2015.

• The men were in their early 20s to 50s and women in their teens to 50s.

• The 32 boys outnumbered girls. They were ages three to 16.

• The majority of the adults were from Rio Claro, central Trinidad, areas along the East-West Corridor areas.

• Families and groups: Cunupia (two), Rio Claro (nine), Enterprise (four) Edinburgh 500 (one), San Juan (six), Santa Cruz (one), Longdenville (one), Trincity/Gonzales(one), Maloney/D’Abadie (one), Morvant (one), Claxton Bay (two).

• Routes—Trinidad /Tobago/ Frankfurt/Turkey; Trinidad/Venezuela via Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, Panama, London and Egypt; Curacao/Amsterdam/London; London/Dubai/Manila; T&T/Brazil; T&T/Venezuela/Africa/Turkey

• Approximately 12 T&T nationals were reportedly killed.

• Returnees include a mother and two daughters originally connected to mosques in Rio Claro and Enterprise, who left in 2014 with an older male and two boys. The females sought PP government help to return on the basis of alleged trafficking of the girls. The males proceeded to Syria and two reportedly were killed subsequently. Two males in their 30s from north and east Trinidad were sent back from Turkey in early 2016.

Band leaders whose masqueraders deface people’s private properties during this year’s Carnival celebrations will now face stiff penalties.

This was disclosed yesterday by National Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman Kenny De Silva, who urged residents and business owners to carefully document the alleged damage caused as mas bands pass their respective locations so they can face the penalty.

Speaking during a stakeholder press conference at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, de Silva assured the public the authorities were serious about addressing concerns regarding the damage cause by the mas bands.

He said while there would be ample security along the designated parade route to ensure bands did not go off route, “there will be a penalty imposed on the band leader when that person registers. We have had meetings with the residents and asked them to take pictures of the band and he/she will be dealt with.”

Pressed to say how much the fine would be, he said, “A couple thousand dollars.”

Admitting it was “small,” de Silva said the NCC was hoping to increase it.

Residents of St Clair, Woodbrook and environs in particular have been complaining for years about the damage caused by bands as the pass through their communities, but this is the first time the authorities will be moving to address the issue with some sort of action.

De Silva also warned music truck operators to adhere to the regulations. He said the agencies responsible for monitoring decibel levels would be at strategic locations to ensure compliance, as they are equally concerned about preserving the peace for the elderly and those people not participating in the Carnival celebrations.

Despite the current economic climate in T&T, de Silva also said more people, including children, are playing mas this year. This, he said, was supported by the increase in the number of bands registered in both the junior and senior categories - with the number of junior bands growing from 80 last year to 100 and senior bands from 45 to 62.

He said despite the killing of Japanese pannist Asami Nagakiya at the QPS on Ash Wednesday last year, this country had again proven its resilience and ability to forgive by emerging bigger and better. To date, her murder remains unresolved.

With the increase in the number of bands registered this year, de Silva said he does not anticipate any lull or major delays in the parade of the bands, nor does he believe the presence of the Socadrome at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, will detract from the spectacle of Carnival on the streets for the viewing public.

Community Development, Culture and the Arts Minister, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, also said this year was more memorable by the achievements of veteran calypsonian Calypso Rose, who won World Album of the Year at the Victoire de la Musique awards in France.

She too urged masqueraders not to enjoy this season “to the detriment of someone else,” adding that once everyone observed the law and complied with instructions from the authorities, the season would be a happy and safe one.

Alternate Gold Commander in charge of security for 2017, ACP John Richardson, assured the TTPS was working with all relevant agencies to ensure the safety of citizens and visitors alike. He said the air and sea ports were all being monitored and that collaboration was also taking place with fete promoters.

Richardson also advised the public to look out for traffic restrictions which would soon be announced in the media.

Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Development Company, Arveon Mills, said they were expecting just over 40,000 visitors via cruise ships beginning today in Port-of-Spain.

St Vincent-born calypsonian Lornette “Fya Empress” Nedd-Reid was yesterday disqualified from participating in Sunday’s Calypso Monarch competition due to her nationality.

The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) made the decision late yesterday, hours after it received a pre-action protocol letter from attorneys representing Lynette “Lady Gypsy” Steele, who narrowly missed out on a place in the final after placing 16th in last Sunday’s semis with her rendition of Plight of my People. She was listed as first reserve and will now compete due to the disqualification of Nedd-Reid, who placed eighth in the semifinal.

In the letter to TUCO, Steele’s lawyer, Gerald Ramdeen, noted Rule 2.7 of TUCO’s adjudication handbook, which states only T&T citizens over age of 16 are allowed to participate in the competition.

“The nationality criteria for a competition such as the National Calypso Monarch Competition is a requirement that is grounded in logic and reasonableness, having regard to the status and nationalistic persona of the person holding that title,” Ramdeen said in the letter.

Steele, whose brother is former government minister and fellow calypsonian Winston “Gypsy” Peters, was threatening to sue TUCO and seek an injunction preventing Nedd-Reid’s participation if TUCO had failed to rectify the situation within 24 hours.

A couple of hours after the letter was issued, Ramdeen confirmed he was contacted by TUCO’s lawyer and told his client’s request had been complied with, negating the need to continue to pursue the claim.

In a brief telephone interview yesterday, before the decision was taken, Nedd-Reid, who is married to a man from Tobago, confirmed that while she has been residing in T&T for over 15 years and has applied for citizenship, she is yet to complete the process.

“Yes, we went through that process and as a matter of fact it is wrapping up right now,” she said.

Nedd-Reid also questioned the timing of the lawsuit, noting she had been a financial member of TUCO since 2007 and was never banned from participating in competitions.

“If this is the case, why was I allowed to be a financial member of TUCO and was allowed to perform in various competitions over the years? I even won the T&T Calypso Queen competition in 2012,” she added.

Nedd-Reid, who sang Guilty to earn a place in the final, said she heard about the lawsuit yesterday evening but reserved further comment until she actually saw the letter.

“I am just waiting to see what they are really saying and see what is going on,” she said.

Ramdeen had also noted that after his client raised the issue with TUCO officials on Monday, she was told to provide evidence of Nedd-Reid’s nationality to support her claim.

He noted that his client made the allegation after consulting the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC), which confirmed that Nedd-Reid was not registered on the electoral list. Steele was also seeking a declaration that TUCO’s decision to allow Nedd-Reid to compete in the semifinals was unreasonable and procedurally unfair.

Contacted yesterday moments after the lawsuit was served, TUCO president Lutalo “Brother Resistance” Masimba declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“I have not seen it yet, so I would not like to comment,” he said.

Laventille Imam Abdul Haaq says he expects intimidatory tactics and boasting from the police in the wake of last Saturday’s shooting death of 27-year-old Mikeal “Short Buck” Lancaster by officers.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian following Lancaster’s Janaazah (Islamic funeral last rite prayer) at the Masjid Ul Furqan (behind WASA’s twin tanks), Picton Road, Laventille, yesterday, Haaq said for years they have been facing “bragging” officers.

“For years it keep happening and it is the same batch of police officers that shot and killed someone recently and they did the same thing. They boasting and bragging about who they kill, telling us ‘aye we kill allyuh brethren,’ like if it is some big accomplishment for them,” Haaq claimed.

“These officers have taken a life, it is not like they shoot someone in their foot. They took someone’s life who had now arrant, no case pending, no matter, nothing. He (referring to Lancaster) was not known as any pest. They just come and kill the man.”

The young Muslim leader said the residents do not feel safe from “the rogue officers.”

“How can we feel safe when they come here and boast after like if it’s a game? How the community will feel safe from the same people (police officers) who are supposed to be protecting us?” Haaq added.

Haaq said he will be supporting Lancaster’s family in their search for justice, “as I know they are very serious about going the full distance because it is unjust and they kill a man in front of his mother and she seeing where he surrendered himself. “

Haaq said it was time for the police to deal with people as humans and not animals because it may just lead to retaliation.

“If they want to talk to me they will come and arrest me and detain me for three or four days just to talk to me, but that is not the right way. When you dealing with people in a particular way or any animal, there is something called natural defense, meaning that if you back somebody in a corner or an animal in a corner, what will it do? It would not lie down and play dead, eventually it will bite back and this is what they don’t want,” Haaq said.

Addressing the scores of youths who turned up for Lancaster’s last rites, Haaq pleaded with them to unite in Islam and to refrain from things that would stereotype them.

“John public believe that there is a level of gangsterism and all these other things that we don’t accept here as the functioning members of the Masjid and as members of the Muslim community. But if we display otherwise by partaking in the activities, the parties and so on then we will always be stereotyped. We have to establish what is right and forbid what is wrong. This is what Muslims do,” Haaq said.

Lancaster was shot three times in the head and four times in the chest at close range, according to an autopsy conducted at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Monday.

Initially, it was reported that on Saturday morning Lancaster was shot and killed during an alleged shootout with police while at his Dan Kelly, Picton Road, Laventille home. However, his 52-year-old mother said she was at home when about seven police stormed into her house. She said her son was unarmed and did not resist the officers before he was shot.

Residents staged a fiery protest at the John John traffic lights following the shooting and Laventille MP Fitzgerald Hinds had to intervene to calm the situation.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) has started investigations into Lancaster’s shooting and that of two other men in Ste Madeleine and La Romaine and has asked any witnesses to the respective incidents to come forward.

TROUBLING CLAIM

Head of Corporate Communications at the T&T Police Service, Ellen Lewis, says it is troubling for anyone to assert or claim police officers derive any form of enjoyment “when death may result from any unfortunate interaction with the police.”

She made the comment in response to a claim Imam Abdul Haaq that a group of police officers boast and brag whenever they kill members of the Laventille community.

She said the police operate within what they refer to as a “force continuum,” which is dependent on the degree of the threat to which an officer/s may be confronted.

“The officer is authorised to act in a particular manner in the preservation of his own life or that of another attended by the requisite fear. In the event of a “police-involved homicide” an investigation is commenced to determine whether the use of deadly force was warranted/justifiable/lawful,” Lewis said

A 34-year-old Arima man was killed in a drive-by shooting near his home yesterday morning.

Police said around 10.50 am, Kevin Griffith, of Subero Street, Malabar, was walking with a male friend near his home when a car pulled alongside them. The occupants began shooting at the two men, who tried to run away.

By the time Griffith’s relatives and neighbours rushed outside to check on the disturbance, the gunmen had already driven away. They found the two men lying at the side of the road with gunshot wounds.

Griffith was pronounced dead at the scene by a district medical officer (DMO), while his friend, who had not been identified by police up to late yesterday, was taken to the Arima District Hospital for treatment.

He was in critical condition up to late yesterday.

The murder toll for the year now stands at 79.

Detectives from the Region Two Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.

RALPH BANWARIE

Police have arrested a suspect in the attempted kidnapping of woman police officer and her four-year-old child in Tamana on Sunday. He was assisting police with their investigation last night, as his two accomplices were still on the run.

A senior police officer told T&T Guardian that the arrest of the other two suspects was imminent. The 31-year-old officer and her child were said to be still traumatised yesterday. The officer reportedly stayed locked in her room with her child all day and refused to speak to anyone except her mother. Not even colleagues who called to check up on her were successful and friends who visited were also turned away.

Police have confirmed that the officer and her family will be provided with counselling and added protection, as instructions have been given for regular police visits to her home.

On Sunday, the officer and her child were able to walk away after their abductors crashed their getaway vehicle and fled the scene without them.

According to police reports, around 9.30 pm three armed men entered the cop’s home where they beat the family, which included the victim’s brother, father and mother.

Her brother was also stabbed during the attack. The bandits then bundled the officer and her child into the back seat of her brother’s vehicle and drove off with them.

However a short while later, the bandit at the wheel crashed into a motorcycle rider, lost control of the car and ran off the road. The bandits abandoned the vehicle and hostages and escaped on foot into the Tamana Forest.

Some 50 per cent of staff members from the On-the-Job Training Programme (OJT) are on the breadline as the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development plans to restructure the programme.

Yesterday, OJT staff members and representatives from the Ministry of Labour held a close door meeting at the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies in Valsayn.

A total of 60 employees were told that their last day will be May 31.

In a brief interview yesterday, Rukmin Sonny, one of the staff members from the accounts department in Chaguanas said her entire department was sent home.

Sonny, a mother of one and cancer patient, of Esperanza Village, said members of staff were informed at the beginning of February that they will be terminated.

Sonny said she was employed with the organisation since 2014.

“There were a lot of angry people, I won’t say I am angry. I am hurt, you working for a company and giving it your all,” she said.

Sonny said they were informed that the decision was based on “the economy and policy.”

“With my medical condition I will not feel comfortable working at a new organisation. Others might be younger than me and more resilient,” she said.

She said during the meeting there was a “man” available for counselling and motivation “but we really didn’t’ want to hear that.”

Sonny said staff were told they could reapply for the position but other citizens could also as the post would be publicised.

Another staff member who (refused to be named) and was a field officer in excess of five years.

“I am back on the job market and right now it is very difficult. In terms of the structure they are proposing cannot facilitate the current size of the programme,” he said.

Nonetheless, the officer said he was financially secure and a lot of his co-workers would be having it hard.

“I was there just to help out and everyone else is different,” he said.

Audit, Audit assistants, clerk I, clerk II and Human Resource personnel were laid off.

A media release yesterday from the Ministry of Labour said there was a Cabinet decision to restructure the On-the-Job Training Programme (OJT).

“The decision was made to facilitate the most efficient and effective integration of the OJT Programme as a division of the Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development, with a view to developing an appropriate organizational structure for the OJTP.”

The OJTP under the existing structure will end on May 31 and the programme, under the new structure will commence on June 1. A Transitioning Team has been put in place and is working steadfastly to ensure a seamless transition and that all bases are covered in this critical transitioning process, the release said.

Thousands of trainees since its inception in 2002 and provided many with an introduction into the professional world of work.

However, the integration of this programme as a Division of Ministry of Labour and Small Enterprise Development presented duplication in several Support Unit areas. At this juncture in the process, a decision was made to obtain the official advice of the Public Management Consulting Division (PMCD).

A meeting with the staff of the programme was held yesterday to address the issues and questions posed as a result of this restructuring.

The Ministry advises that there will be neither disruption of employment nor payment of stipends to the trainees enrolled in the programme.

UNC MP Rudy Indarsingh said he warned public servants that job cuts would occur in state enterprises.

Indarsingh said prior to the budget announcement there were loses at the Ministry of Tobago Development, the Office of the Prime Minister, TTEC and Social Development.

“No job is safe under the Government of Dr Keith Rowley. This government don’t care whether workers are employed. Thousand of workers have gone home in both the private and public sector and the minster continues to talk of a 10-point plan,” he said.

Indarsingh said unemployment continues to rise and the Government denies this.

Several attempts made to contact Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus proved futile yesterday.

Members of staff said that Baptiste-Primus is out of the country.

This country’s agricultural sector continues to dwindle as young people are becoming less interested coupled with the fact that those who want to become farmers face challenges in acquiring land and loans.

This was heard before yesterday’s Joint Select Committee meeting held in Parliament in which officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Caroni Green and National Agricultural Marketing and Development Corporation (Namdevco) appeared before the committee.

Chief executive officer of Caroni Green, Sharma Lalla, who said the entity was just over three years in existence, painted a worrying picture of T&T’s agricultural production and it’s contribution to the GDP.

“When you look at statistics is the lowest among all Caricom counties. We are less that .8 per cent where as you have Jamaica about seven per cent and Guyana about 26 per cent.

“Another important statistic is what has happened to the sector from 1990 coming forward and again we are rated as the worst performing country among Caricom in that we have had the highest reduction in contribution of agriculture to GDP,” Lalla said.

He added that this country has decreased by some 76 per cent in its agricultural contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“A significant portion of that is attributed to the decline of the sugar industry. By comparison if we look at Jamaica their decline has been a mere 2.5 per cent.

“What that tells us is we really have a long way to go in terms of trying to capture some kind of comparative status even among our Caricom members,” Lalla said.

He said while Caroni GREEN has been making its own strides primarily in exporting hot peppers the company, however, continued to work with an outdated policy.

“We have tried with very limited resources to make a contribution to the sector,” Lalla said adding that the company had not received any financial support from the Government since 2014.

The committee also heard that while agro-processing was viable there were no support mechanisms for this as production needed to be greatly increased.

“You would have sporadic shipments by farmers and if they get a higher price at Macoya market they forget the export market. So it is not done in a way as a sustainable industry,” Lalla added.

The Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM)’s trial over the controversial Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Point Fortin Highway continued yesterday with the testimony of retired Chief of Defence Staff Major General Kenrick Maharaj.

During his cross examination before Justice James Aboud in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Maharaj was questioned about an incident on June 27, 2012, in which members of the Defence Force and the police dismantled the HRM’s protest camp and arrested its leader Wayne Kublalsingh.

In addition to claiming that the Government contravened their rights to “life, security, enjoyment of property, to freedom of expression and freedom of association” by building the highway without consulting them properly, they are also alleging that the destruction of the their camp was illegal.

As he was questioned by Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, Maharaj (no relation) admitted that it was former government minister Jack Warner, who requested the presence of soldiers on the day of the incident.

“Did you consider you had a duty when the minister gave you the directions to get legal advice whether those directions was lawful or not?” Maharaj asked. The retired soldier said no.

Asked whether Warner had also given instructions to forcibly remove Kublalsingh from the site, Maharaj could not say as he was merely present but not in command of the soldiers on the scene.

“Because I was not in charge of the operation there are likely to be orders issued by the officer in charge to his subordinates on the conduct of the operation,” he said. Maharaj also said he could not recall details of Kublalsingh’s eventual arrest.

Next to testify was police constable Daniel Gerald, the police officer who arrested and detained Kublalsingh for six hours before his release without any criminal charges.

Gerald admitted that when he arrived at the camp he was greeted by a group of soldiers, two of whom, were restraining Kublalsingh. Gerald said the environmental activist was handed over to him. He said he placed him in handcuffs and put him in the back of a police vehicle.

However, under cross examination, Gerald admitted that during the incident, a restrained Kublalsingh fell to the ground and had to be lifted into the police vehicle.

Gerald admitted to seeing Warner at the site but said he did not interact with him or hear him giving orders to the soldiers.

While testifying at a previous hearing last month, Kublalsingh claimed to have gotten permission from NAMDEVCO to build the camp near its market in Debe. He also admitted to resisting the soldiers as he felt that they were acting illegally in evicting him and his supporters and destroying their makeshift camp.

Additional State witnesses are expected to be cross-examined when the trial resumes on March 29.

The lawsuit arose as a result of the group’s long standing battle with the Government over the segment of the project.

Kublalsingh embarked on two hunger strikes in protest of the construction-the first in 2012, which lasted 21 days and a second in 2014 which lasted 288 days.

While the group continues its legal battle, work on the project came to a halt last year after its main contractor, Brazilian firm Construtora OAS, was fired from the $7 billion project. Government is currently seeking a new contractor for the project as well as financing.

The State is being represented by Russell Martineau, SC, Deborah Peake, SC, as well as Kelvin Ramkissoon and Shastri Roberts.

Attorneys Fyard Hosein, SC, Anil Maraj and Rishi Dass are also representing Kublalsingh and the HRM.

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says he continues to be very concerned and uncomfortable about last Friday’s disruption of traffic leaving and entering Port-of- Spain, which was caused by a broken eight-inch Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) underground main on Beetham Highway, metres from the Port-of-Spain lighthouse.

It caused traffic gridlock for several hours extending as far as St Augustine in the east.

Sinanan told the T&T Guardian yesterday that leak was “happening too often and someone at WASA must be held accountable for it.”

He said the leak, which occurred three times since November last year, effectively “shut down Port-of-Spain and I was really not comfortable in the way it was handled and the way the whole traffic situation was dealt with.”

Sinanan said he has established a team from his ministry to formulate a new “communication strategy so that if this happens again we will be a lot more efficient.”

He said the major problem was the lack of proper communication among the stakeholders to ensure the evacuation plan was effectively executed last Friday.

Sinanan stressed he was “not happy with how it was dealt with. We must have a better communication system and we must have the key stakeholders coming to the forefront immediately.”

Sinanan said last Friday’s development “clearly states that there is the need for a better communication strategy and not necessarily an evacuation plan.” He said he gave “WASA a lot of blame for what happened on Friday and I think somebody in WASA has to be held accountable for what happened there, because what happened on Friday is not acceptable.”

The Priority Bus Route was opened to all motorists while the leak was being repaired on the nearby highway. He said: “We opened the bus route the communication went out but everybody left the highway and went on the bus route without a proper strategy in place as to who should go on the bus route and who shouldn’t go and how we should manage the bus route.”

According to the minister that was “not an evacuation problem, it was a communication problem and we need to address that, which we are doing at this time.” Sinanan said the new communication strategy will ensure “that we could get the stakeholders, including the police, the army and everybody on spot whenever there is an emergency like that,” adding that “we just don’t want just open the bus route because that doesn’t solve the problem, it actually moves the problem from one place to the next.”

The minister said WASA must come up with a more permanent solution to that frequent problem. He said there was a leak in close proximity to Friday’s two years ago. “Since I became minister that was the third time, not in the same spot, there is a leak on that line.

I think WASA has to find a more permanent solution because whenever that happens it disrupts the entire flow of traffic.”

He said he asked WASA “to let us relook at the situation and come up with a more permanent solution because from November last year to now that is the third time that has happened.”

Sinanan said the authority should even consider “re-routing that line so if it (the leak) continues it doesn’t disrupt the traffic. It is happening too often and bringing too much discomfort to the travelling population.”

He said Government major plan for dealing with traffic congestion in the nation- a rapid rail system - has been shelved because of economic conditions. He said there was no “overnight solution” to the traffic problem, adding that in all major cities there are traffic problems.

Sinanan said the Government cannot build enough roads to accommodate the amount of vehicles in the country. He said the PTSC’s fleet was being brought to the required standard to improve the mass transit system.

More than two dozen comments have been received by Parliament from members of the public on the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Agreement (Fatca).

A well-placed source told the T&T Guardian most of the comments were sent via Facebook and their authenticity is being checked before they are passed on to the Joint Select Committee (JSC) reviewing the legislation —the Tax Information Exchange Agreement Bill.

The JSC met last Friday and chair of the JSC, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, was very accommodating and understanding.

“That actually surprised us given that the vote could not be taken in the Parliament on the date which he set,” the source said.

Parliament is scheduled to meet tomorrow (Thursday) and the Government is optimistic it will get the support of the Opposition on the legislation which is critical for the country’s financial sector.

Opposition sources said they would be hard-pressed not to vote for the legislation since Government has responded positively to everything they asked for.

Several amendments proposed by the Opposition have been included in the legislation and at the JSC the suggestion that the bill be sent for public comment was also agreed to.

However, there are reports that the United National Congress (UNC) is still divided on the issue.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar could not be reached for comment on a Facebook message that has been circulating, which calls on her and UNC MPs to withdraw their support for the legislation because of the Government’s failure to fight crime and to address issues of discrimination.

UNC officials told the T&T Guardian they did not know from where the message originated.

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has been warning citizens about the severe financial consequences for T&T if the proposed legislation is not passed, chief among them a 30 per cent withholding tax which could increase the cost of living.

The OPM’s Facebook page states: “The severity of this penalty becomes clearer when we examine how dependent our day-to-day transactions are on access to the US financial system. Our ability to import food and raw materials for our manufacturing sector, make purchases with credit cards, do money transfers and buy online are all reliant on our banks maintaining a relationship with the US financial sector.”

Persad-Bissessar wrote to US President Donald Trump last month asking whether his government planned to repeal the legislation which was opposed by Republicans when it was brought to the US Congress by former president Barack Obama. Trump is yet to respond.

Reports are that director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, one of the co-sponsors of HR 5935 which sought to repeal Fatca, has indicated that repeal of the legislation is not on the cards anytime soon.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of financial consulting firm deVere Group, teamed up with Jim Jatras of the Global Strategic Communications Group last week to start a new lobbying campaign to repeal the act.

In a statement the two said: “Trump must show his mettle and reverse a fatally flawed, misguided law.”

Obama signed Fatca into law as part of a massive jobs bill in 2010. The law requires foreign banks and financial institutions to report to the IRS on the financial activities of Americans living abroad.