A 33 year old watchman will appear in court today charged with murdering police constable Russell Ramnarine and UWI student Avery Keshwar.

Mark Chris Christopher of Pundit Street, El Socrro was charged yesterday evening with the double murders. 

He is also charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition. 

The charge comes one day after two men and a woman were released, after being arrested for the same crime. 

Ramnarine and Keshwar were shot and killed early in the morning of December 14 outside a barbeque outlet in Aranguez, San Juan. 

Ramnarine was on duty but in plainclothes at the time and along with a uniformed officer of the St Joseph Police Crime Patrol were said to be following up on a report made by Avery of a stolen cellphone among several other items.

The report said Ramnarine and the other officer had accompanied Avery in an unmarked vehicle to Aranguez to meet a suspect to retrieve the stolen items but both wound up being shot and killed. 

President of the Public Services Association Watson Duke intends to lead a “hunger march” next year in an effort to bring pressure on the Government to pay public servants their back pay.

Duke said he had received information that none of the monies owed will be paid before March 2016. The march is scheduled for next January 11.

He said some 80,000 public servants have been hoodwinked and the State had failed in its responsibility towards them which would result in the workers not receiving their just due. 

Duke said if the Government wanted war it would get war, but if it wanted peace then it must meet with the union and have an honest discussion which included the payment of arrears in a timely manner. 

He said he was not concerned about the state of the economy or falling oil prices, only that his members were paid what they were owed. 

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the government did not have any funds to pay public servants their back pay and intended to borrow the money next year to meet the demands.

Speaking at a press conference at his office at Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Duke said what was of paramount importance was his members having the arrears owed to them paid if and when the country fell apart.

He said: “The PSA has no regard for falling oil prices. We have no regard for the state of the economy. If the country mashes up, let it mash up with our hard earned money in our pockets. 

“That is what we are working for when disaster strike we must have money in our pockets to defend against the things that disaster brings on. 

“We don't want to be in a position where we will be lining up by social services begging for help should the country mash up. All we asking for is what is fair and what is owed to us. 

“Too many public servants are on the brink of poverty having to worry about school fees and other expenses. We want no bonds, we don’t care where they get the money from, they wanted the ‘wuk’ let them do the work. We want we money as soon as possible,” Duke added.

Asked whether he thought the statement to be selfish and may cause the public to turn against him, Duke instead described Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley as a selfish man. 

He added: “Selfish is when a man gets in power runs abroad and buy paintings for $3 million; selfish is when a man is looking to buy puppies to the tune of $10,000. 

“Selfishness is when the country burning down you as a member of government jets off to where the sun is hot to play a season of golf and then put it on your Facebook. 

“Nothing could be more distasteful and selfish than that. Telling the country to buy local, cool the taste buds and love your children while they live it up and we must be giving it up.”

Duke said yesterday’s conference was specifically to address the arrears owed to members of the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC), the Regional Health Authorities (RHA) and the Civil Aviation workers. 

He said no arrears have been paid for all three entities. However, RHA and PTSC workers have received a 14 per cent wage increase. Duke said since the new Government was voted in on September 7, the union had written to Finance Minister Colm Imbert six times and have written to Rowley and Public Administration Minister, Randall Mitchell, and had not received favourable responses. 

With 182 accidents taking place on just four kilometres of the M2 Ring Road between 2013 and 2015, Works and Transport Minister Fitzgerald Hinds says the road will be upgraded to make it safer.

In a media conference at the site between Debe and Golconda where WPC Rashma Sirjudeen, her son, Rahul, and mother, Una Samkarran, died when their car slammed into a truck last June, Hinds said that among the accidents were ten deaths and 36 victims were seriously injured. 

He said Government would continue to erect warning signs and provide safe road surfaces but called on citizens to do their part by obeying the speed limits and driving while sober. 

He said that was especially important during the Christmas season, stressing there were already 144 road deaths for the year.

He added: “We will sanction the milling around the corners to create a system to bring drivers who might be nodding off to alertness and to deal with the slipping problem that some complaints may exist, particular around the curbs.

“Once experts, such as the Brent Batsons, the Arrive Alives, engineers at my ministry, the Transport Commissioner, the police department and traffic wardens, make recommendations, I give the assurance on behalf of the Government that we will find the money and we will find the energy to get them done,” Hinds said.

According to transport engineer, Valini Samaroo, milling will be done around the corners to increase traction as people have complained about their vehicles skidding of the road. 

She said the ministry’s traffic management branch was also looking at installing rumble strips. 

However, she said drivers needed to stay within the 50 km/hr speed limit as the road was designed for that maximum speed.

‘Drivers need to change attitude’

Speaking by telephone yesterday Sirjudeen’s uncle Ricardo Dass said while he was appreciative of the ministry’s plan, he believed motorists would continue to speed along the M2 Ring Road. 

He said although the safety features would minimise accident drivers in T&T possessed the wrong attitude.

“Our attitude as a people is what is causing a lot of these problems. You can put rumble strips, you can put what you want, people are still going down there at 90 km/hr. Accidents will be minimised but you will have accidents because of attitudes,” Dass said.

With relatives still grieving at the lost of his niece, great nephew and sister, he said the bureaucracy in T&T was too great as others have died before something could be done to the road.

He said T&T needed to be proactive rather than reactive and there should be experts looking at solutions in other accident-prone areas.

Speedy repairs by WASA

Hinds said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between his ministry and the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) would be signed soon to have roads repaired quickly after the utility completed repairs or installation works. 

He said last week there were discussions with WASA and the MOU would seek to allow the ministry to have the utility inform it of works so there could be authorisation.

“This is not new, it has simply not been enforced and I have promised my Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and now promises the people of T&T, that I will exert best efforts to ensure all of us work sensibly to maintain proper roads in this country and the management of their use.”

Hinds added that T&T had a poor record of law enforcement with regards to contractors leaving debris behind on the roads. He said that also led to accidents and he intended to ensure that taxpayers got value for their dollars.

On November 25, life changed for Mala Agostini, her sister, Sheila Balgobin, and their 86-year-old mother, Basdaye Roopchand, who suffers with diabetes and high blood pressure, after they woke up and saw their home on the brink of collapse to a landslip.

Agostini and her family live at Indian Trail, Couva. Her mother has lived there for the past 60 years. Two years ago they rebuilt the house and according to her “everything was fine.” 

She said: “We have done our drainage and we have ensured that our water does not run to the back of the house as it is a slope. However, there is no drainage in the area and all the water from the homes in that area and the rain water flow to the bottom of that hill as there is nowhere else for it to go.”

Agostini told the Enterprise Desk that nothing was happening before to indicate what they would have awoken to on November 25. 

“When they got up that morning and saw the slippage,” she said, “I immediately started to make calls to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation and the Disaster Management Unit.”

She said she went to the regional corporation on November 26 to see the engineer who sent someone to see what she wanted. She said it was only on the intervention of the chairman of the corporation, Henry Awong, whom she called, that the engineer visited to see what was happening. 

When the road engineer at the regional corporation visited the site he was shocked and reportedly told them it was a national disaster. 

Agostini is now appealing to the Ministry of Works to help fix the problem before something worse happens. She said: “We need the Ministry of Works to get involved, the regional corporation says it is bigger than they can handle.”

She said the house was now on the brink of collapse and her mother who once had a small home garden was afraid to walk outside.

The land is slipping and they have used blue tarpaulin as a shield but a private engineer retained by the family told them the entire hill was collapsing. 

He told them that a retaining wall could be built to save their home but the bigger issue, according to Agostini, was the lack of proper drainage in the area which the Ministry of Works needed to fix. She added: “Nobody in the area ever lobbied the ministry for drains and they themselves never saw it as a problem because nobody complained.”

Agostini said Roopchan Seenath, a Works Supervisor 3 from the Ministry of Works, visited the site on December 18. He told them he had to prepare a report and send it back to the engineer for his action.

However, he could give no indication as to when the engineer would come to see for himself what was happening and what remedial work was required. 

Roopchan has assured that a plan was being done for the area but he could give no details of the plan. Agostini is hoping that something is done quickly.

Agostini: “We have been having sleepless nights, especially when it rains. This is very nerve-wrecking” and the recent heavy rains have made them even more fearful of what could happen. The landslip threatens the homes of five other families.”

A Penal man who admitted to having a drug and alcohol abuse problem was ordered to pay $25,000 to his sister-in-law yesterday for chopping her in October, 2007.

Errol McIntyre, 52, of Penal Rock Road, Penal, pleaded guilty to the charge of wounding with intent on August 13 when the matter came before the San Fernando High Court.

The victim was his brother’s wife, Elsie McIntyre.

The matter was heard before Justice Gillian Lucky in the San Fernando Third Assizes Court.

Attorney Subhas Panday represented McIntyre while state attorney Anju Bhola prosecuted. 

After McIntyre was arrested, he spent two years, seven months in jail before being granted bail. 

Lucky said the probation officer’s report on the prisoner showed he was highly regarded by many but had a serious problem of drug and alcohol abuse.

She said McIntyre went to anger management classes on his own after being granted bail.

She said despite not sending McIntyre straight to jail, lawlessness in T&T would no longer be tolerated and drug and alcohol abuse should not be used as an excuse for lawlessness. 

Firstly, Lucky ordered McIntyre, who works as a salesman at Tool House Limited, to pay his sister-in-law $500 a month beginning next January until the $25,000 is paid in full. 

McIntyre, who has a medical history of bipolar and acute psychosis as a result of cocaine use, was also ordered to enroll in and attend a narcotics anonymous programme for a two-year period from next January. .

He was ordered to enroll in and attend an Alcoholics Anonymous programme also from next January for a two-year period.

Lucky ordered him to submit himself for monthly drug testing at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Finally, he was placed on a $10,000 bond to keep the peace for five years.

If McIntyre fails to adhere to any of the five orders, he will face 12 months hard labour.

In handing down the sentence, Lucky said the 12-month jail term was applied separately to each order and will have to be served separately for any violations. 

Double murder accused Mark Christopher appeared in court this morning charged with killing constable Russell Ramnarine and UWI student Avery Keshwar.

It is alleged that the 33-year-old El Socorro watchman murdered the duo on December 14 at Aranguez Main Road, Aranguez. 

Christopher appeared calm when he stood before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar. 

Christopher is also charged with being in possession of an illegal gun and ammunition.

He was represented by attorneys Larry Williams, Christine Sahadeo and Jason Jackson.

He will return to court on January 20, next year.

The board of commissioners for the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has ordered a forensic audit into Wasa’s operations. 

A release from WASA today stated, “The Board of Commissioners has observed certain irregularities in the operations of the Authority and in order to properly discharge its fiduciary obligations has deemed it necessary to order a forensic audit into the operations of the Authority. 

“Upon receipt of the forensic audit the Board will consider the findings before considering what further action is necessary (if any).”

The Board has also made certain changes to the executive management with immediate effect:

Dion Abdool, general counsel and corporate secretary, will act as chief executive officer until further advised;

Gerard Yorke will act as director, Corporate Services;

Paula Maria Fortunѐ, head legal services, will act as general counsel and corporate secretary;

Raffie David, head, Tobago region, will act as director, operations;

Rachelle Wilkie, head, financial planning and management, will act as director, Ffinance; and

May Ann Diaz, head, workforce planning and organization development, will act as director, human resources.

Ministry of Health confirms that Anastasia “Stacy” Ramkissoon died of H1N1. This is the fourth death attributed to the H1N1 influenza virus for the year to date. 

Ramkisson, 28, died at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope, on Saturday night after being confirmed as having the H1N1 virus. That was more than two weeks after being admitted to the hospital for pains related to her pregnancy. Her baby died a day after she gave birth.

The post-mortem examination determined her cause of death to be viral associated pneumonia. 

The Health Ministry is once again urging the public to receive a vaccination to protect themselves from the virus. 

A release from the ministry said, “vaccination is a safe and effective way to prevent influenza or reduce its severity in persons at high risk of complications. 

Groups urged to get the vaccine are:

• Health care workers

• Children aged six months to five years

• Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy

• People who are 65-years and older

• Persons with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, heart, lung and kidney disease.

As well, the ministry urged the public to practice good personal hygiene to prevent the spread of respiratory viral infections. 

Simple measures such as covering the mouth when coughing and sneezing, disposing of used tissue paper, and frequent hand-washing are very effective in limiting the transmission of influenza and other viral illnesses,” the release said.

T&T Guardian understands that there is another paitent being treated for H1N1 in Mount Hope. 

Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran has been fired. The T&T Guardian confirmed that Rambarran was dismissed by the Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert yesterday.

Word of this unprecedented dismissal came late last night, but only one day after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said that a Government “ought to have confidence” in any Central Bank Governor. That comment and his refusal to give any ground to Rambarran made clear that he did not have any confidence in the Governor.

Rambarran’s dismissal comes after a series of actions that left him in an “untenable” situation, according to Rowley. Just two weeks ago, Rowley said that Rambarran was effectively creating problems for himself by his actions during his time as governor. In a stinging statement to the media, Rowley had then described Rambarran actions as reckless and illegal.

Rowley’s harsh critique came after a series of missteps by Rambarran, which brought him into conflict with Imbert. Earlier in December, Imbert criticised Rambarran for announcing that the country was in a recession without first consulting with him. One week later, Rambarran was again chastised for publicly revealing the names of the biggest foreign exchange users in the country.

Adding to the sense of a Governor embattled and under sever pressure to keep his job, was Massy conglomerate’s signalling its intention to take legal action against him for that alleged breach of confidentiality.

While Rambarran enjoyed support from the Opposition and even gained support in the form of an online petition to keep him in office, his continued clashes with the Government made his position irretrievable. Rambarran did not immediately return calls to his mobile phone.

The T&T Guardian was informed that deputy Central Bank Governor, Alvin Hilaire will replace him for a five year term.

“Irregularities” at the state-run Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) have triggered a board-level call for a forensic audit into the operations at the company. Board chairman Bromley Thomas issued a simple press statement about the ongoing audit into WASA. Thomas said that “in order to properly discharge its fiduciary obligations” the board decided to order that forensic audit into the organisation.

In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Thomas would not give much away. “I want to protect the integrity of the audit, so I would prefer not to say anything about it at this time,” Thomas said.

The press statement indicated that former chief executive officer, Gerard Yorke, had been demoted to act as a director, corporate services, while four other senior level staff who held acting positions reverted to their previous substantive posts. Dion Abdool has been put in to act as interim CEO, but according to WASA insiders, he has already received a letter informing him that another choice for temporary CEO would be selected shortly.

Thomas did reveal though that two WASA executives have been sent on leave. “The director of operations, Steve Joseph, and the human resources director Ken Mahabir have been sent on leave,” Thomas said.

Thomas’ statement seemed designed to steer clear of the kind of criticism levelled at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) board, which sent its managing director Jearlean John and several others on administrative leave. One of the things John challenged in a legal letter two days ago was the sequence of the actions which, in her reading, showed a board that had already made up its mind about her culpability.

In the WASA action, Thomas made clear that that leave was not linked to the audit. “It is not that they have been sent on leave pending the outcome of the audit, one is not tied to the other,” Thomas said. The WASA board met for the first time on Tuesday before taking the decision to suspend members of staff and call for an audit. 

A markedly similar approach has already been taken at four other state organisations where the first board meeting triggered suspensions and demands for a financial review. The same thing has happened at the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL), National Gas Company (NGC), HDC, and Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott).

Financial investigations at the EFCL are now in police hands and despite several attempts to get an update on that investigation, the T&T Guardian has not received a response from the T&T Police Service.

The NGC suspended company president Indar Maharaj after its first board meeting. He was subsequently fired weeks later. At HDC, the new board awaits the outcome of a three-month audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers. At Udecott, new chairman Noel Garcia brought in a new CEO, Margaret Chow, bypassing senior Udecott staff.

Specific contracts probed
While Thomas did not want to say more on the audit, the T&T Guardian has since learned its focus is the award of million-dollar contracts to specific contractors. The financial investigations are examining the award of contracts between 2010 and 2015 and the T&T Guardian has learned that the accounting personnel have only just gotten to the 2012 financial books.

The T&T Guardian understands that the names of two contractors, favoured by the former People's Partnership government, have already been red-flagged by the auditors. These two companies also featured significantly in the investigations into EFCL, where a secret back room that allegedly doctored and backdated contracts at EFCL was found to be operating.

This audit comes at a time of near crisis for WASA as the company is prepping for a predicted drop in rainfall in the coming months and into next year.

Ganga Singh: I am not concerned

Former WASA CEO, former minister of water resources, Opposition Chief Whip Ganga Singh, yesterday said he was not concerned about the audit. In a telephone interview yesterday, Singh described the removal of senior executives as “vindictive.”

“This is the approach after the first board meeting? It seems that the board has embarked on a series of malicious and vindictive acts against people, with no regard to careers and reputation,” Singh said.

Singh said his only concern was how this action by the board would increase the supply of water to WASA customers.

WASA restructured
· Dion Abdool, general counsel and corporate secretary will act as CEO until further advised;
 
· Gerard Yorke, will act as director, Corporate Services;
 
· Paula Maria Fortuné, head, Legal Services, will act as general counsel and corporate secretary;
 
· Raffie David, head, Tobago Region, will act as director, Operations;
 
· Rachelle Wilkie, head, Financial Planning and Management, will act as director, Finance;
 
· May Ann Diaz, head, Workforce Planning and Organisation Development, will act as director, Human Resources.

The watchman for the barbeque joint where a police officer and a university student were shot and killed outside of ten days ago appeared in court yesterday charged with their murder.

Mark Christopher appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar around mid-morning, charged with murdering Constable Russell Ramnarine and Avery Keshwar. Christoper, 33, of Pundit Street, El Socorro, is also charged with possession of a gun and ammunition.

When the matter was called, Christopher appeared calm as he stood listening to the charges read against him. 

One of his three attorneys, Larry Williams, asked only that the State speed up the appointment of an attorney to prosecute the matter. After learning that the case had been adjourned to January 20, Christopher blew kisses to his relatives seated in the public gallery.  

Two men and a woman had previously been arrested for the crime but were released. Ramnarine, 24, and Keshwar, 22, were shot and killed early in the morning of December 14 outside Halal barbeque shop, Aranguez, San Juan. 

Ramnarine, in plainclothes, and a uniformed officer of the St Joseph Police Crime Patrol were following up a report made by Avery of a stolen cellphone and other items. 

Ramnarine and the other officer had accompanied Avery in an unmarked vehicle to Aranguez to meet a suspect to retrieve the stolen items but both wound up being shot and killed. The cellphone thief managed to escape. 

Ramnarine who started off his career as a Special Reserve Police officer about two years ago, was absorbed into the Police Service over a year ago.

Ramnarine, ironically, had an involvement in another court matter. He was the main witness in a case involving 12 police officers, including seniors, who are currently before the courts charged with crimes. 

The Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed that Anastasia “Stacy” Ramkissoon died of the H1N1 virus.

Anastasia, 28, died at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, on Saturday night after being confirmed as having the H1N1 virus. That was more than two weeks after being admitted to the hospital for pains related to her pregnancy. Her baby died a day after she gave birth.

Her father, Kelvin Ramkissoon, said yesterday her death was “sadly similar” to her mother’s death almost 20 years ago. The post-mortem examination determined her cause of death to be viral-associated pneumonia. 

This is the fourth death attributed to the H1N1 influenza virus for the year to date. Twenty-five other cases were treated and the patients discharged. The Health Ministry is once again urging the public to receive a vaccination to protect themselves from the virus. 

The treatment can be had at health centres acrosss the country. T&T Guardian spoke to Ramkissoon yesterday after his daughter’s funeral, which was held in Tunapuna. His daughter was later cremated at the Caroni cremation site.

“This is like her mother’s death all over again. They both went to the hospital for a different reason, and then left in a box,” Ramkissoon said. His wife died at 29, and his daughter’s 29th birthday would have been next month; both spent 19 days in the hospital, he said.

Ramkissoon said that Anastasia even thought she was going to die since she was giving him instructions for her funeral. “She knew what was going to happen. She was telling us to put everything in place.”

Ramkissoon said since his daughter’s death, their entire family has taken the H1N1 vaccine. He and some other relatives got the vaccine free at the Macoya Health Centre, while some other relatives went to a private doctor and paid $300 for the shot.

At risk group

A release from the ministry said the “vaccination is a safe and effective way to prevent influenza or reduce its severity in people at high risk of complications.” 

The groups urged to get the vaccine include healthcare workers, children aged six months to five years, pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy, people who are 65 years and older, and people with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, heart, lung and kidney disease.

As well, the ministry urged the public to practice good personal hygiene to prevent the spread of respiratory viral infections. 

Simple measures such as covering the mouth when coughing and sneezing, disposing of used tissue paper, and frequent hand washing are effective in limiting the transmission of influenza and other viral illnesses, the release said.

T&T Guardian understands that there is another patient, a woman, being treated for H1N1 at Mt Hope. However, officials from the North Central Regional Health Authority said they have not received any confirmation on another case of swine flu.

Kumar Boodram, CEO of the NCRHA, said that lab tests on the patients would have had to be completed before notice of another swine flu case was given. At the moment, he does not know of another case.

All Christmas plans for the family of Kyle Montano, who was shot dead while returning home from his girlfriend’s birthday party on Tuesday night, have gone out the window. The Montanos of Coora Road, Siparia, usually celebrated the holiday with a dinner shared with relatives and friends. However, his family said everything would be scrapped. 

“No Christmas, this just spoiled everything,” his grandmother, Brenda Montano-Baptiste, said at her home yesterday.

Reports stated that Montano, 17, an electrical student of the Metal Industries Company Ltd (MIC) went to the party at George Street, Siparia. While walking along the same street around 9.50 pm, two men walked up to him and shot him. He was taken to the Siparia District Health Facility where he died.

While robbery seems to be the motive as his two gold chains were stolen, Baptiste-Montano believes his killing was most likely linked to a pending court case. She said two men held him up several months ago, stealing his gold chain and ring. During the robbery, he recognised one of the robbers. 

She said during the robbery one of the bandits told the other to shoot her grandson because he could identify them but Montano escaped and made a report to the Siparia Police Station. 

Police eventually held one the bandits and charged him. The case was scheduled to come up for hearing next month.

It was a sombre mood at the house where furniture were packed aside to make way for Christmas cleaning. His cousins and aunt described him as a helpful and kind person who they fondly referred to as Kylie. 

“We usually have a family dinner every Christmas and we invite a few friends but we are not having any this year. Kyle was my hands and feet because I have a bank card here I never used. He would go take out money for me and bring back the slip to show me how much he took out,” Montano-Baptiste said.

It was also the second murder in the family in some years as she said another grandson was beaten and burnt by bandits who robbed him of cash he had collected for his employers.

Body found at the end of blood trail
Police are probing the death of a Princes Town landlord who was discovered by his tenant after following a blood trail. However, Kumar Boodan’s death is yet to be classified as investigators are awaiting autopsy results.

Police said Boodan, 52, a landlord of Circular Street, Princes Town, was last seen alive around 9 pm by his neighbour who said they were both drinking alcohol. He left minutes later and it was when the tenant returned home and was about to open the gate he saw blood on it. 

The tenant followed the blood trail, which led to a room inside Boodan’s apartment. He found Boodan lying on his back, unresponsive, on the floor. Police and ambulance were called in but Boodan was already dead. 

District Medical Officer Dr Bachan viewed the body and reported that there were no marks of violence.

Cabinet has approved an allocation of $290,000 to assist 183 steelbands participating in next year’s national Panorama competition. This is according to Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie, during yesterday’s six-minute post-cabinet news conference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s.

Cuffie said the conventional steelbands would receive $20,000 each while the single pan sides would get $10,000 each. Cuffie also announced that the National Action Cultural Committee would be allocated $1.2 million for its carnival events next year.

In response to a question, Cuffie defended a decision by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to visit Barbados last weekend on a personal trip. Rowley went to Barbados to attend a wedding and also played golf with former West Indies Test batsman Sir Garfield Sobers and cricket legend Brian Lara.

Cuffie said the Prime Minister had “down time” and made the trip during that period. Cuffie said one could not expect a prime minister to work 24 hours each day of the week. Cuffie said Rowley used his personal time to visit the Caribbean island and he was entitled to do that.

Cuffie also said the Prime Minister has confirmed next week Tuesday as the day for his address to the nation on the state of the economy and the way forward. He said the specific time was not yet confirmed.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $1 million cash reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the shooting death of Amalgamated Estate Corporal Anthony Joseph.

Joseph, a father of five, was killed on Sunday night by gunmen as he and another guard responded to an alarm triggered at the Berger Paints warehouse compound, Sea Lots. 

A security guard with the company for the past 36 years, Joseph was paid glowing tributes by his colleagues who said he went above and beyond the call of duty. He is expected to buried on Monday at the Malabar RC Church. His former wife, Arlene Joseph, 49, said she and her children would attend the funeral as they too had a right to pay their final respects.

On Monday, there was a dispute at the Forensic Centre, St James, between the dead man’s sister and his current wife, Joan Cook, over custody of the body. Arlene said she was not involved in the fight but tried to be a mediator. 

"But I feel very hurt we did not get the body because we never had any animosity. We got divorced under mutual grounds. We just could not live together any more and we said let us part our separate ways.

"If I call him to do anything he is always there for us. I cannot say a bad word about him. My children are also devastated by all of this," Arlene added.

Cook was eventually allowed to claim the body. Arlene said she and Joseph divorced nine years ago but had always maintained a very cordial relationship.

"We got married and we have three children. Up to Sunday morning before his death we spoke on the phone. Anything happen he would call my phone... all hours of the morning he would be calling my phone when he had any problems," Arlene said.

She said Joseph also shared a very close relationship with his children as he kept in touch with them daily. Regarding the divorce she said there was a cloud of skepticism over the matter.

"The magistrate said we were divorced but we never went back to collect the documents so I am not even sure the divorce even went through," Arlene, who was married to Joseph for 14 years, said.

Crime Stoppers hopeful

For the year to date $160,000 has been paid by Crime Stoppers for tips which have led to arrests and successful convictions, said Garland Samuel, executive manager of Crime Stoppers T&T. He said as a "thank you" to tipsters the organisation, from now until Carnival, would be doubling money that would be paid for any particular offence.

"For example if somebody gets $1,000 for a particular offence from now until the end of Carnival, Crime Stoppers would be paying $2,000," Samuel said. Asked how a particular reward was determined, Samuel said it was up to the board to decide.

He added: "In some instances, as well, some people will ask us to assist them so in some cases we will place rewards based on requests that have been made but the board will sit and decide generally where the rewards will fall.

"Normally the reward is $10,000. If a request comes in and the board feels there is a need to highlight a specific offence the board of directors will then make that determination." 

He said calls regarding Samuel's murder would be directed to Crime Stoppers' call centre and that information would then be passed on to the police immediately. He hoped the public would share information so that Joseph's killers would face swift justice.

On the 2013 murder of estate superintendent Bert Clarke and the million-dollar robbery which occurred along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway when a Sentinel Security Service cash delivery van was ambushed while en-route from Port-of-Spain to Piarco Airport, Samuel said tips were received and that information was also passed on to the police. 

A 31-year-old gang leader who was held in connection with the murder was subsequently released.

"Our role is to get the information and provide it in a way that is anonymous so that we will never know who is calling. This is as far as Crime Stoppers goes," Samuel said.

He said in Clarke's case to date there was no conviction so no reward had been paid.

Owner of 868 Music, Vychalle Singh, has found himself in hot water after High Court judge Frank Seepersad approved an application for a breach of confidentially brought against him by Trini Scene presenter Ornella Boodhoo for leaking nude photos of her via the Internet.

On Tuesday, Seepersad scheduled the first hearing for January 8 and granted an injunction prohibiting Singh, also the chief engineer at Studio Express, from disseminating the photographs and video of Boodhoo.

There was also an injunction against him harming, interfering with or intimidating Boodhoo, his former girlfriend of three years. Boodhoo contended that she shared the photographs with Singh during their relationship and never gave consent for him to disseminate them. Had she known this would have transpired, she would not have shared the photographs with him.

The 24-year-old of San Juan is also the social media manager at the media company. 

She is seeking to have Singh, 31, deliver or destroy all nude and semi nude photographs of her and pay damages for misuse of private information, aggravated damages, cost and other reliefs the court sees fit.

Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran has been fired.

The T&T Guardian confirmed that Rambarran was dismissed by the Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert yesterday.

Word of this unprecedented dismissal came late last night, but only one day after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said that a Government "ought to have confidence" in any Central Bank Governor. That comment sparked speculation that he did not repose any confidence in Rambarran.

Rambarran's dismissal comes after a series of actions that left him in an "untenable" situation, according to Rowley.

Just two weeks ago, Rowley said that Rambarran was effectively creating problems for himself by his actions during his time as governor. In a stinging statement to the media, Rowley had then described Rambarran actions as reckless and illegal.

Rowley's harsch critique came after a series of missteps by Rambarran, which pit him against Imbert. Earlier in December, Imbert criticised Rambarran for announcing that the country was in a recession without first consulting with him. One week later, Rambarran was again chastised for publicly revealing the names of the biggest foreign exchange users in the country. The Massy conglomerate signaled its intention to take legal action against Rambarran for that alleged breach of confidentiality.

While Rambarran enjoyed support from the Opposition and even gained a modicum of support in the form of an online petition to keep him in office, his continued clashes with the Government proved to be his undoing.

Support from the Opposition and an online petition may not be enough to keep Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran in office.

Rambarran did not immediately return calls to his mobile phone.

The T&T Guardian was informed that deputy Central Bank Governor, Alvin Hilaire will replace him for a five year term.

Dismissed Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran allegedly breached several financial laws in the past four months and could now face the possibility of criminal charges—which carry a $10,000 fine or one year in jail if he is convicted, according to a reliable Government source.

The T&T Guardian was informed that a case is being built against Rambarran accusing him of breaching sections of three specific pieces of legislation: the Central Bank Act, the Financial Institution Act and the Exchange Control Act. All of these breaches were reportedly played out in the public domain by Rambarran himself, the top Government source said.

On Wednesday, acting President Christine Kangaloo, acting on the advice of Cabinet, terminated Rambarran’s appointment and appointed long-standing Central Banker Alvin Hilaire to the post.

Cabinet acted on the advice of Finance Minister Colm Imbert who had previously been critical of Rambarran over his decision to name this country’s top foreign exchange users and announce that the country was in recession without data from the Central Statistical Office.

Government sources said the case against Rambarran alleges breaches of the Exchange Control Act and its strict provisions on disclosure of information that carries stiff consequences. Rambarran’s missteps began when on December 4, he announced to the public that the country was in a recession. 

Government insiders told the T&T Guardian that the announcement came before information relating to the third financial quarter was completed and before informing the Minister of Finance.

This means that Rambarran may have breached the Central Bank Act, specifically sections 49 and 50 on issues of policy and policy directives. According to the Act, the Central Bank Governor “shall keep the Minister informed of the monetary and banking policy pursued or intended to be pursued by the Bank”.

Section 50 of that Act also stipulates that the Minister of Finance, after consultation with the Governor, can issue to the Bank “written directives of a general nature as may be necessary to give effect to the monetary and fiscal policies of the Government”.

Another major misstep allegedly occurred when Rambarran revealed the names of the largest foreign exchange users in the country recently. Rambarran faced widespread condemnation from financial and business sectors of society as many believed that he had not only set a dangerous precedent but had actually committed a criminal offence.

One of those affronted conglomerates, the Massy group consulted with its legal team and found evidence that in revealing the names of the companies accessing the most forex, Rambarran had allegedly breached Section 8 (1) and (7) of the Financial Institution Act of 2008, which makes provisions to prohibit disclosure.

According to Section 8 (1), states: “No director, officer or employee of the Central Bank or person acting under the direction of the Central Bank shall disclose any information regarding the business or affairs of a licensee or any of its affiliates or information regarding a depositor, customer or other person dealing with a licensee, that is obtained in the course of affiliate duties.

Section 8 (7) states that nothing in Section 8 of the Financial Institution Act authorises the Central Bank or “any person acting under the directive of the Central Bank to disclose information about a particular depositor or creditor of a licensee except where required by written law or ordered by the Court”.

Rambarran’s disclosure on the users of forex has further ramifications under the Exchange Control Act. Section 44 (2) of that Act is specific about the consequences of disclosure. “Anyone who contravenes the provisions of this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $10,000 to imprisonment for one year,” the Act states.

Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday said she was “shocked but not surprised” by the Government’s move to axe Central Bank Governor, Jwala Rambarran.

In a media statement yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said Rambarran’s removal had “all the hallmarks” of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government and likened his dismissal to the former PNM regimes action against the former Speaker of the House of Representatives Occah Seapaul and a former Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert took a note to Cabinet regarding Rambarran’s continuation as Central Bank Governor. On Wednesday, the Cabinet took the decision to terminate Rambarran and made that recommendation to acting President Christine Kangaloo. He was immediately replaced by deputy governor Alvin Hilaire, who will now serve for five years.

Persad-Bissessar cited Rowley’s clarification in the media that Rambarran was not being hounded out of office by his Government but if he was fired, it would be by his own actions.

She said that Rambarran’s decision to announce that the country was in a recession and revealing the names of the largest consumers of foreign exchange “offended the Government”.

“Rambarran’s made the disclosure only after Finance Minister Colm Imbert asked the Central Bank to provide information on how the recent release of foreign exchange (US$500m) was distributed and indicated that such information would be made public,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar is now accusing the Government of entrapment, saying that the Government tied to “set up” the Governor, even as he was providing the information as they requested.

“The Opposition is of the view that the Central Bank must remain independent in the same way that Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions must have more than an arm’s length association with the administration,” she said.

“It is a continuation of the victimisation that has been taking place against citizens since the present (Prime Minister Dr Keith) Rowley PNM administration took office,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“Only this week the Prime Minister stated that a Government “ought to have confidence” in any Central Bank Governor, raising speculation that his government intended to act against the government,” she said.

Rambarran’s crime, it seems, has nothing to do with his competence but with statements that have offended the governing elite and its friends, said the Opposition Leader.

“The PNM has tried to demonise and belittle Rambarran for political purposes from the day of his appointment. The argument that Rambarran’s disclosure amounts to a breach of rules is not valid,” she said.

Section 8(6) of the legislation allows the Central Bank “to make public disclosure by any means considered appropriate by the bank where such disclosure would be in the best interests of: (a) T&T’s financial system, or (b) the depositors, other customers, creditors or shareholders of such licencee.”

And Section 56 provides that “the preservation of secrecy is subject to what is necessary for the due performance of its objects.”

More than 2,000 people have died on the nation’s roadways in the past ten years. 

An examination of the statistics recorded over the past decade show that between 2005 and 2015, fatal road traffic accidents accounted for 2,170 deaths, of which 2,040 were adults and 130 were children. 

For the year to date, 143 people have been killed. The figure includes drivers, passengers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists.

To be even more specific, 112 men, 21 women and ten children lost their lives as a result of road carnage in 2015.

This reflected an eight per cent decrease statistically, when compared to 2014 and as it stands right now (data as at December 16), that figure is the lowest it has been for at least the past ten years.

This decline according to Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mobile, Deodat Dulalchan, is a result of strategic efforts executed by the Traffic and Highway Patrol Branch of the T&T Police Service. 

“Most of our accidents used to take place on our highways, but two years ago we would have done some research trying to identify hot days and hot locations. As a consequence of that, we would have identified about nine areas on the highways…What we would have done was target those areas, times, locations and so on,” said Dulalchan. 

Hot days and hot locations refer to days of the week and specific places respectively, at which road accidents occur.

Dulalchan told the GML Enterprise Desk that “of all of the accidents we would have had this year, 67 per cent did not take place on the highways. That is tremendous.”

Contributing to this, he said, may be the fact that more and more motorists are using secondary routes frequently. A lot of these alternate routes Dulalchan said, were not built for intense traffic like that experienced along the M2 Ring Road, in Debe, where six people died this year.

Dulalchan said he was concerned with the speed at which drivers accelerate on both primary and secondary routes, which have a speed limit of 50 km/ph. 

“Speed to my mind is very critical, the impact that an accident can have with speed is tremendous. Do we not understand how fragile we are on our roadway and whether we are paying the kind of interest we should be paying as it relates to our own personal safety,” he said.

He said that the poor engineering of a road now heavily traversed could partially account for the collisions there.

Engineer with the Traffic Management Branch of the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure Nalini Samaroo, said  they would be doing some milling round the corners of the M2 Ring Road in particular to help with the friction problem experienced.

Speaking to the media at a press conference along the M2 Ring Road on Tuesday she confirmed that the Ministry was also considering the installation of rumble strips along the M2 Ring Road, but did not reveal more on that safety device.

Rumble strips have already been installed along parts of the Lady Young Road, Morvant and the Mosquito Creek, La Romaine. They are meant to jolt drivers who may be falling asleep on themselves, but primarily they are meant to alert drivers of the need to slow down.

Despite the common perception that drivers usually survive fatal collisions while passengers die, the statistics paint a completely different reality. 

Over the past ten years more than 800 drivers were killed behind the wheel while just over 600 passengers lost their lives. 

Dulalchan called on passengers in private vehicle and taxis to speak up if they do not feel safe with the way someone is driving.  

He said employers also have a responsibility to ensure employees are fit to drive.

 “What role are we playing as an employer if you have workers who are working shift and probably doubling up the shift, whether you might be willing to encourage them that they probably need to take a little rest before they try to hurriedly reach home.”

Dulalchan said more and more breadwinners, in some cases a sole provider, are killed. Not only does this affect the emotional, social and financial circumstances of a family but the various systems of the country as well, including the health sector, with people warded and left nursing injuries for months following an accident. 

The head of the Traffic Branch said everyone should get on board to spread the message of road safety, repeating that one life lost is one too many.

He said if basic rules are followed then many accidents could be prevented, he called these the ABC rules: Don’t drive on the shoulder of the highways, don’t use handheld devices while driving and make sure you fasten your seatbelts. 

He said motorists are regularly in breach of those offences when caught by Highway Patrol officers. In addition, driving under the influence of alcohol or other impairing drugs contribute to accidents, he said.

“Try to trim off all distractions when you are driving. We want you to drive today so that you will be able to drive tomorrow. Better you reach your location late than you try to beat the clock and you ain’t reach at all.”

Tomorrow we look at those left behind following the deaths of loved ones on the nation’s roads.

More info:

More drivers than passengers killed between n 2005-2015

n 2,040- adults

n 130 – minors

n 812- drivers

n 608- passengers

n 610- pedestrians

n 89- motorcyclists

n 51- cyclists

Disturbing pattern:

The pattern shows five areas which account for more than a third of the total fatalities this year: 11 people were killed at various spots along the Priority Bus Route (which runs from Arima to Port-of-Spain), 12 people died along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway (which runs from Cumuto to Port-of-Spain), 15 people lost their lives along the Solomon Hochoy Highway (which runs from Chaguanas to San Fernando), 7 along the Uriah Butler Highway (which runs from Grand Bazaar to Chaguanas) and 6 people were killed along the M2 Ring Road (which connects Golconda to Debe).