Government has sought legal advice to examine whether squatters on private lands and those with buildings on state lands will have to pay the tax, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said yesterday. He said the Attorney General has asked the Solicitor General to examine the matter.

“If someone is squatting on state lands with a building they built, the issue that needs to get legal clarity is if they own the land,” Imbert added.

Speaking to reporters at Government’s weekly press briefing, AG Faris Al-Rawi said it was a very complicated issue, since one had to be very careful that land is not given away unwittingly.

Imbert and Al-Rawi both gave various perspectives on how the situation was being viewed yesterday.

Imbert contended that if a squatter has a building on land they don’t own, they’ll have to pay property tax on the building - not the land. Al-Rawi claimed squatters with certificates of comfort for a property may also have to pay property tax.

Imbert said, “If you don’t own the land and have a building on the land, then property tax is due on the building. If you’ve rented or leased someone else’s land, then you own any building you put on it and will be required to pay tax on that (building).”

He added, “Where the confusion is coming up is whether the land you’re on isn’t your land and whether you have to pay tax on the land.”

Imbert said the Property tax Act stated that property owned by the state is exempted from tax.

“So the question is who is the owner of the land? Once you’ve occupied it, you may have a certificate of comfort, meaning you’re along the way to getting ownership. That’s the point the Prime Minister recently made when he said the aspect concerning squatters is very interesting. He never said squatters have to pay the property tax,” Imbert said.

“The issue is, if as a squatter you claim you own the land by possession if it - and it is that owners have to pay the property tax - but when time comes for you to pay, you say you’re not the owner of the land.”

Imbert said he had to quote former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, who’d once said a person couldn’t be “half pregnant,

Imbert said, “It’s either you’re pregnant or not. So it’s either you’re the owner of the land or not. That’s the question to resolve.

“It’s a very interesting situation the Attorney General’s office has to distil, digest and drill down into to answer that question - if you’re the owner of the land or not.”

One had to examine matters including how long a person was on the land, nature of their claim, and rights, he added.

Complicated task

Al-Rawi said many people apply for a certificate of comfort where the state acknowledges they have squatters’ rights and they move from the certificate-status eventually into a lease granted by the state. In that situation, Al-Rawi said squatters would say they are owners of the property.

“And in those circumstances, the advice given to us is that they’ll be entitled to pay taxes because you can’t claim you’re the owner and be recognised by the state as that and not pay your taxes as land/property owners.”

Al-Rawi explained a person can apply to the courts to acquire state land if they have been in uninterrupted possession of it for 30 years. They can also apply to courts to acquire private land if they’ve had uninterrupted possession for 16 years. People who haven’t had possession for that length of time will have to separately claim for any building they’ve erected on the land.

Al-Rawi said Parliament will be examining legislation for compulsory registration of land to verify titles for all lands. This starts in Tobago with an IDB funded project.

Imbert also said the projected $500 million in property tax revenue couldn’t fund Local Government services since the Local Government sector operated on $2 billion. He said churches and schools were exempted from the tax, but Government had no plans to tinker with the law to include “wealthy churches,” since it simply wanted to implement the law at this point.

The way has been cleared for a Special General meeting of the Law Association of T&T for attorneys to vote in secret ballot on a motion calling for the resignation of Chief Justice Ivor Archie and members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission.

Following a meeting of the Council of the Law Association yesterday, senior counsel Douglas Mendes said the meeting will be held on or before June 5.

The petition expressing a loss of confidence in the CJ and the JLSC was sent out to practising attorneys who are members of the association on Thursday and less than 24 hours later more than 63 attorneys had signed the petition.

The motion raised concern about the appointment of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar to the Supreme Court without completing her part heard matters. Ayers-Caesar subsequently resigned from the High Court and the CJ sent out a media statement saying she would be restored to the Magistracy. However, up to yesterday Ayers-Caesar’s future hung in the balance.

The motion accused the JLSC of not conducting proper due diligence “as part of its robust selection process, especially since some of her outstanding matters were widely reported in the media.” It noted that the Chief Justice, as head of the Judiciary and JLSC chairman, “ought to have had knowledge and access to any information on any part heard matters before the chief magistrate and was under an obligation to provide the same to the JLSC before any appointment was made.”

The lawyers believe that the JLSC “was reckless and or negligent in selecting the chief magistrate for appointment as a pusine judge without first ensuring that she had no part heard matters or had completed any part heard matters pending at the time of her appointment.”

The motion said citizens who have an interest in the “fair, open and impartial administration of justice in Trinidad and Tobago would conclude that the actions and/or omissions of the Chief Justice and the other members of the JLSC have seriously undermined and diminished public confidence in the administration of justice in Trinidad and Tobago in a manner that may be irrepairable.”

The petition also said having regard to the importance and public interest in the matters to be debated, members of the media should allowed to observe and report on the meeting.

MARCIA MESS: TIMELINE OF EVENTS

April 7: Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen is called on Chief Justice Ivor Archie and members of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) to disclose the criteria used for the appointment of High Court judges.

April 12: Marcia Ayers-Caesar, Kevin Ramcharan and Avason Quinlan-Williams take the oath as judges from President Anthony Carmona.

April 12: Chief Justice Ivor Archie defends the process used by the JLSC for the selection and appointment of judges. He said: “It is important as well that the public knows that anyone who is appointed has been through one of the most rigorous selection processes you can find anywhere in the region or Commonwealth.”

April 19: The Judiciary issued a statement addressing rumblings about a void left in the system by the promotion of Ayers-Caesar, saying her departure would not negatively affect the lower court. Court and protocol information officer Alicia Carter-Fisher, said what was before Ayers-Caesar were “paper committals”.

April 23: Law Association expresses concern about Ayers-Caesar’s appointment

April 24: Ayers-Caesar is warmly welcomed to the bench by attorneys as she made her debut in the San Fernando Third Criminal Court

April 25: Several inmates, mostly murder accused, had to be removed from the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrate’s Court after they began shouting and cursing after realising their matters could possibly be restarted due to the elevation of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar to the High Court

April 27: Ayers-Caesar resigns as a judge apologising for the effect of her actions on the prisoners

April 27: CJ Archie says Ayers-Caesar will be restored to the Magistracy

May 4: Lawyers asked to sign a petition expressing loss of confidence in CJ and JLSC.

May 5: 11 senior counsels hold historic meeting expressing alarm at the events surrounding Ayers-Caesar’s judicial appointment

May 5: Law association agrees to hold special general meeting to discuss resolution calling on CJ and JLSC to resign.

Some of the country’s top legal minds have advised former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar that it would be “imprudent and unwise” for her to return to the magistrates’ bench until “several unanswered questions” about her appointment and subsequent resignation as a judge and reinstatement are dealt with “expeditiously.”

Eleven of the country’s senior counsels yesterday held an historic meeting under the chairmanship of Alvin Fitzpatrick SC. The meeting was attended by former Attorneys General John Jeremie and Anand Ramlogan. Also attending were SCs Gilbert Petersen, Martin Daly, Pamela Elder, Sophia Chote, Claude Denbow, Seenath Jairam, Israel Khan and Avory Sinanan.

The T&T Guardian understands that the discussion was heated but the consensus was that Ayers-Caesar should not return until the issues surrounding the matter were settled.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the 11 senior counsels said they were “extremely alarmed by the events surrounding the recent judicial appointment of Mrs. Marcia Ayers-Caesar.” They said that “alarm is heightened by the obvious and considerable distress and anxiety being experienced by persons with matters left unfinished at the time of her appointment to the High Court.”

The senior counsels said: “We believe that before any solutions can be proferred, there are several unanswered questions which must be dealt with expeditiously.”

In those circumstances, they said it would be “imprudent and unwise” for Ayers-Caesar to resume duties until such time.

Concerns about the “lack of essential information,” they said, were brought to the attention of the president of the Law Association “in the full expectation that the association will take all necessary steps to vigorously pursue obtaining this information.”

The Senior Counsels said in the event the association does not pursue the quest for information from the relevant parties, “this concerned group of Senior Counsels will reconvene to treat with the matter as appropriate.”

The T&T Guardian was told that the Law Association was asked to take all reasonable steps to get proper information on whether the former chief magistrate made full disclosure of all her part heard matters to the CJ and he did not reveal it to the JLSC, or whether she gave him a partial list which is what he divulged to the JLSC.

The issue of whether a Commission of Inquiry should be convened to get to the heart of the matter was also raised during the meeting, but the senior counsels are reported to have indicated this was not their domain.

Attempts to get Chief Justice Archie on the meeting were unsuccessful.

But in a statement yesterday, Law Association president Douglas Mendes SC expressed concern that there appears not to have been an established mechanism which would ensure that before elevation, a magistrate would complete all part-heard matters, which could not properly be passed on to another magistrate.

Mendes said: “We consider that to be a serious flaw in the system and would urge the Judicial and Legal Service Commission to take immediate steps to preclude a similar occurrence in the future.”

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the council of the Law Association yesterday.

Mendes noted that Ayers-Caesar’s elevation to the High Court “created a real danger that a significant number of her part-heard matters would have to be heard all over again, which would have imposed on an already over-burdened magistracy. He said the further delays which would have been caused and the expense and prejudice which would have been visited upon defendants threatened to bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

The statement described as “right and courageous” the decision taken by Ayers-Caesar to resign her post and make herself available to complete the matters, saying “once lawfully re-appointed she would be empowered at the very least to start her part-heard matters over from the beginning.”

But Mendes acknowledged there is “some doubt as to whether she could lawfully continue the trials from where she left off, even with the defendant’s consent.” Noting that there is precedent both ways, Mendes said the association was “expressing no opinion on the strength or otherwise of either viewpoint.” That, he said, is a matter “which will eventually be resolved in court and it is best not to further rehearse the legal arguments in the public arena.”

Mendes said the council also received the requisition for a Special General Meeting to debate a resolution calling on the Chief Justice and the JLSC to resign. The meeting will be held on or before June 5, he said.

“My situation is well above board.”

That was the declaration from former health minister Dr Fuad Khan yesterday, after present Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh accused him of abusing his past ministerial position.

This, Deyalsingh claimed, involved Khan giving preferential treatment to the St Augustine Private Hospital, where Khan owns 250,000 shares.

The present and past ministers clashed on the issue in Parliament yesterday.

The matter occurred as Deyalsingh was replying to a question on use of the CAT scan and MRI equipment at the Couva Children’s Hospital.

Deyalsingh went on to allude—without calling names—to people who hold 250,000 shares in a private hospital allowing increased access to scans and giving an entity a licence to operate a private hospital.

Amid much Opposition protest against Deyalsingh’s claims, Khan immediately told MPs it was an attack on him. He assured Parliament that his situation was “all above board.” He asked Deyalsingh if there was any sign he’d given increased access of a CT scan to the St Augustine Private Hospital.

Deyalsingh said he was aware that no health minister “who owns shares in a private facility can sign a certificate under the Public Hospitals Act to issue a licence for a facility of which they’re a shareholder.”

Deyalsingh said Khan should ask who authorised—over 2011 to 2015—“every single licence to a public hospital and dialysis center...under whose hand?” He added that the Public Hospitals Act states it is the minister who issues a licence.

“And how could a minister holding 250,000 shares in a private facility be doing operations in that facility and issuing a licence to the same facility he has shares in? Under Integrity legislation there should be an investigation.”

After the issue, Khan and Deyalsingh met briefly behind the Speaker’s chair.

Khan later told reporters he’d declared his situation to the Integrity Commission. He said he’d been a shareholder at the St Augustine Hospital since 1995 holding five per cent - 250,000 share .

But Khan said he never gave that institute increased access to scans and never signed anything pertaining to that hospital when he was minister.

“I divorced myself from matters regarding that hospital when I was minister—I recused myself. The Chief Medical Officer had handled matters regarding that hospital when anything arose,” he said.

Khan said the CMO can act for the minister. He said it had been well publicised that two weeks after he became minister he’d done surgeries at the hospital, since he had to complete cases he had there.

“But this is a silent attack on me and I don’t believe it’s coming from the PNM. I have my suspicions. Somebody gave me information. This was an unnecessary attack on my character and I wonder who stands to benefit from it?”Khan added.

After a night of revelry at the Point Fortin borough festivities Mexican engineer, Sookooroo Sorano, met his death after being shot in a botched robbery yesterday morning.

Sorano, 37, a tech form engineer with PACE Construction Services Ltd, died at the Point Fortin Area Hospital. He was shot four times in the back.

A report stated that Sorano and a colleague, Camacho Hernandez, a Colombian national, were returning to their accommodation at the company’s worksite at the Lake View housing estate around 3.30 am, when the incident happened. While walking along Church Avenue, they heard someone shouted “Amigos.” When they looked around, they saw a man with his face covered by a bandanna.

Suspecting that the man was a bandit, Sorano and Hernandez ran off but the suspect fired several shots behind them. As they turned as to St Anthony’s Road, Sorano fell to the ground bleeding. The gunman ran off.

A resident, who requested anonymity, said he heard the gunshots and when he looked out he saw Hernandez holding up Sorano who was bleeding from the chest. Within 15 minutes police arrived and took him away. Sorano died while being treated at hospital.

Police searched the area for the suspect, but no one was held up to yesterday. Camacho spent the most of the day at the Point Fortin Police Station as homicide detectives used a translator to interview him. Investigators said initial reports suggest that robbery might be the motive but they are still examining other causes.

At his job site yesterday, a colleague told the T&T Guardian that the staff was left saddened by the senseless murder. The colleague said Sorano had been living in Trinidad for the past 10 years and had found a wife. He was described as a hard worker, who was vital to completing the company’s project of building HDC houses at the Lake View Estate.

“He was a very hard working man. Nowhere in this earth we will get a person as hardworking as him again. Everyone here this morning is in shock as they never knew him to lime a lot. Usually he would just go out there, buy whatever he wanted and return to the base.”

This year’s Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) exam was tailor-made for the 18,240 students who wrote the exam in T&T, so the irregularities detected during the exam would not have occurred in exam scripts distributed to other islands.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said it was done in this manner to ensure the exam was “transparent and above reproach.”

Hours after the exam concluded on Thursday, Garcia revealed that three questions worth a total of four marks had been flagged as irregularities in the Maths and Language Arts components.

Ministry of Education officials said although the questions will be removed from the marking scheme, students will still be able to score maximum marks.

The exams were prepared by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and administered by the Ministry of Education.

President of the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) Zena Ramatali, who described the irregularities as simple mistakes, is calling for an investigation into how the errors were made to ensure those responsible are made to account.

A similar call was made by president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Lynsley Doodhai who said: “These mistakes are inexcusable and should never have happened.”

Ramatali and Doodhai agreed that CXC should be held responsible as they prepared the exam scripts.

Speaking outside the Ministry of Education in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Doodhai said: “As far as TTUTA is concerned, due diligence was not followed and there was no proper oversight with respect to proof reading and editing of the exam paper.

“Some children may have spent more time on these questions, which meant less time to answer other questions and this would have had an emotional effect on children who may have become distraught and upset over not being able to answer them.”

Meanwhile, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said his ministry wasn’t at fault in the issue of the three errors— but the ministry will be meeting the Caribbean Examination Council to review the process of exams.

Replying to Opposition queries on the error in Parliament yesterday, Garcia said the ministry doesn’t handle construction of the SEA papers, but the CXC does.

Garcia, who said he wasn’t aware of pupils being traumatised by the issue , however, added that the ministry needed to look at the final papers to prevent recurrence of errors .

Garcia clashed with former education minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh who argued that the ministry’s chief education officer has major input into the exams. Garcia said the CEO attended meetings of the CXC to look at all exams.

With reporting by Gail Alexander

Senior Counsel Israel Khan has written to President Anthony Carmona indicating that “a grave constitutional crisis” exists in the country becaus the composition of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, as outlined in Section 110 of the Constitution, is “unconstitutional” and therefore all appointments made by the commission are illegal.

In a new issue cropping up in the legal profession yesterday, Khan sent a letter to the President telling him the JLSC “is unconstitutional and thus all purported judicial appointments under the commission are void and thus illegal.”

The current members of the commission are Chief Justice Ivor Archie (chairman), Public Service Commission chair Maureen Manchouk and retired Justices Roger Hamel Smith and Humphrey Stollmeyer.

But Khan said section 110 of the Constitution makes it clear that “the Judicial and Legal Service Commission must be comprised of five members and at present there are only four.”

According to the Constitution , the JLSC should comprise the Chief Justice as chairman, the Public Service Commission chairman, other members to be appointed by the President after consultation with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, one from among persons who hold or have held office as a judge of a court and two from among persons with legal qualifications, at least one of whom is not in active practice.

In light of this, Khan told the President, “If I am correct, in my legal opinion vis a vis the illegality of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, a grave constitutional crisis exists in the Republic and I respectfully urge you to bring this to the attention of the Honourable Prime Minister under the purview of section 81 of the Constitution.”

This section states: “The Prime Minister shall keep the President fully informed concerning the general conduct of the government of T&T and shall furnish the President with such information as he may request with respect to any particular matter relating to the government of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Khan told Carmona that given the doctrine of the separation of powers, “the onus falls upon you to initiate such discussion immediately, as it is the President acting under section 102 of the Constitution who appoints the Chief Justice of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Judicial and Legal Service Commission under section 110 of the Constitution.”

Efforts to get a response from President’s House on the legal opinion offered by Khan were unsuccessful yesterday.

But a former Chief Justice told the T&T Guardian that although the Constitution details the requirements for the composition of the commission, as long as there is a quorum the commission can operate. Asked what is the quantum of the quorum required, the Guardian was told four.

Seven months after the Government launched the School Improvement Programme (SIP) in 25 schools in Morvant and Laventille, Education Minister Anthony Garcia has hailed its positive impact on students in these communities as he said the rate of school drop-outs had declined.

Attributing this to the efforts being made through the SIP to reach students, Garcia said people were more eager to learn as their numeracy and literacy skills had improved.

Declaring the early success of the SIP as he addressed students at the launch of the STEM Lab at Queen’s Royal College, in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Garcia said he was further excited as Shell T&T Limited had pledged to get involved in the initiative.

The SIP is a three-year pilot project in which 20 primary schools and five secondary schools will examine the holistic development of the child and bring together key stakeholders including the ministry, principals, teachers, parents, students, community and corporate partners.

It will focus on four core areas namely, improving student performance; improving physical infrastructure and recreational amenities; encouraging greater parenting and community involvement; and reducing indiscipline and violence in schools.

Heartened by the positive outcomes thus far, Garcia admitted they still had a long way to go.

Acknowledging Shell T&T’s commitment to national development through social performance programmes, Garcia said their sponsorship in the refurbishment of labs at several schools was yet another testament of their willingness to ensure students had the necessary facilities and supplies they required to learn.

Garcia said while the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) labs would go a long way to ensure the ministry’s goals were advanced and achieved, it was also one way to provide students with an opportunity to gain quality education and assure inclusion for all.

Excited that the establishment of such labs would also assist in developing critical thinking skills, Garcia said he often found that this important aspect was lacking in many persons applying for jobs both in the private and public sectors.

He said if the nation was to move forward, this was one area which needed to be developed.

Shell T&T Limited’s vice president, Derek Hudson, reaffirmed his company’s commitment to developing T&T as he said they had realised positive results in the Beetham and Laventille areas via its public safety initiative, in which they had partnered with the ministries of National Security and Education in 2011.

He said their investment in a homework centre at the Beetham Government Primary School along with student-centred programmes in six primary schools in East Port-of-Spain has resulted in significant improvements in the reading levels; greater parental involvement; improved behaviours among students; greater student interest in school activities; and enhanced teacher motivation and participation.

Commending officers of the Inter Agency Task Force who assisted by providing transport for students on evenings, Hudson said they were currently exploring options to extend these programmes within the Morvant/Laventille community.

Thirty three workers of the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Committee have lost their lawsuit to recoup three months salary they were denied while protesting health and safety conditions at the Couva offices in 2014.

Delivering a 64-page judgment in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Margaret Mohammed ruled that the workers failed to properly invoke Section 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, which provides for workers to be paid for failing to work in facilities with poor health and safety standards.

“In particular in circumstances where it was not warranted and where some of the claimants knew that they could not substantiate the allegations,”Mohammed said.

Mohammed also ruled that workers had mistakenly sucked into their union the Public Services Association (PSA)’s campaign to close down Government offices that year.

“The claimants’ action were hasty since it was clear that the claimants engaged in the work stoppage under the guise of actual health and safety concerns when admittedly, they knew that such action was all part of the PSA’s action in the wider public service to close down government offices at the time,” Mohammed said.

According to the lawsuit, the workers began the work stoppage on June 24, 2014 as they complained that the building at Dove and Baliser Avenues in Couva unsafe and dilapidated.

While they claimed that the company’s management had failed to address long standing issues of poor ventilation, limited toilets, water shortages and a rat and cockroach infestation. They eventually returned on September 2014, after repairs works were performed. Mohammed ruled that these issues were exaggerated by the employees, whose evidence was implausible and disingenuous.

She pointed to the evidence and records of the company which showed regular maintenance and pest control.

Mohammed also took issue with the fact that the workers merely came to work and signed and left by 10 am for the period, as the legislation requires workers to be present to be assigned work outside the disputed facilities.

“The reasons they gave for leaving the premises was not legitimate. They could have stayed in part of the premises where the 12 workers who continued working were using,” Mohammed said.

As part of her judgment, Mohammed ordered the workers to pay the company’s legal costs for the claim.

The workers were represented by Rajiv Persad and Kiel Tacklalsingh, while Russell Martineau, SC, Rishi Dass and Alisa Khan represented the company.

Responding to public concerns about high banking fees, president of the Bankers’ Association of T&T (BATT) Anya Schnoor yesterday gave the assurance that there is no price collusion among banks.

Speaking before Parliament’s Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Finance and Legal Affairs, she said fees and service charges have been adjusted only three times in the last ten years and took place independently of each other.

“Charges and bank fees are determined by individual pricing considerations which includes operating costs, competitive product placement, influencing customer behaviour, alternate channels available and investment in technology.

“Banks are not price fixing and fees and charges are reflective of the cost for providing the services,” she said.

Schnoor said in some fee categories there were no increases in the last ten years since online and mobile services are free.

She added that fees and charges represent seven to 11 per cent of total revenue for banks.

“The sector’s profitability per customer and per account has declined over the last ten years and there are many reasons for this, the primary being the tremendous operating costs in all banks over the same period.

“Net interest margins in the banking industry are at their lowest level in over a decade. In all major loan categories interest rates today are lower than they were a decade ago,” she said.

In addition to the eight commercial banks operating in T&T, there are other entities which provide financial services, including credit unions and insurance companies, she said, so competition is fierce among all players.

She said commercial banks have kept their fees at relatively competitive levels compared to other regional banks.

Schnoor added that the banking industry played a critical role in the economic development of T&T and over the past decade had provided more than $4.6 billion in taxes to Government and more than $11.8 billion in dividends to shareholders, the vast majority of whom are residents of T&T.

“When we look at the GDP of Trinidad and Tobago, financial services is perhaps the second largest contributor to GDP and consequently provides significant tax returns for the country,” she said.

“The health of the financial services sector is therefore critical.”

Schnoor assured depositors that their money is safe and said stakeholders also need not worry as banks are “well-managed and adequately capitalised” to meet any unforeseen shocks which could impact on the viability of the industry.

Concerns were raised by committee member Clarence Rambharat about the efficiency of customer service.

Schnoor said while the banks may not be able to get everything right all the time, the industry pumped some $900 million into technology to meet the requirements of customers, especially those who preferred online banking.

She said despite tremendous economic challenges, banks collectively increased spending by 20 per cent on corporate social responsibility measures in the past three years.

Commenting on job losses in the industry, she said aggregate data showed that over the last 10 years staff had increased from 6,500 to 7,400.

Two criminal offences of using obscene language and resisting arrest against a woman were thrown out yesterday because of the non-appearance of the police officer who filed the charges.

Seema Badree, 28, a housewife was told by San Fernando Fifth Court Magistrate Kerianne Byer she was free to go after upholding an application by defence attorney Ainsley Lucky to have the matters dismissed.

The matter which was set for trial for the last time yesterday was called around 9.10 am. It was stood down after prosecutor Ian Sylvon informed the magistrate that the charging officer, PC Sookram, was on his way from the Erin Police Station.

When the matter was recalled shortly after 11 am, the officer was still not there. Asking for the matter to be dismissed, Lucky said his client was charged seven years ago and has been partially punished as it has had a deleterious effect on her.

The magistrate reminded Lucky that his client first appeared in court in this matter in June 2016 after she was arrested on a warrant.

Upon Badree’s arrest in 2010 she was granted bail at the station, but did not appear in court to answer the charge and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Perusing the record from Badree’s first appearance to now, the magistrate noted that the matter was called nine times and on each occasion the charging officer had not “bothered to come to this court.”

The magistrate again stood down the matter after she was told the officer “will be here any minute now,” while she dealt with a related to Badree failure to attend court after being charged.

Badree said when she was granted bail she did not know she was suppose to appear in court to answer the charge because no one told her she had to. Badree, who could “read and write a little” said she could not remember signing the bail document which stated when and where she would have to appear in court.

Taking into her account her age, her unfamiliarity with the court system and the fact she has appeared each time her matter was called after her arrest and her limited reading and writing skills, the magistrate dismissed the matter.

Following this, the name of PC Sookram was called again but there was no response.

The magistrate also dismissed the charges against Badree for want of prosecution.

Three days after being released from prison, a Rio Claro man was shot dead in his home on Saturday evening.

Police said Anderson Nicholas, 28, of Lazzari Road, was inside his house around 5 pm when a gunman shot him twice.

A relative told police the gunman asked for Nicholas by name before committing the act. The attacker walked through the house, went up to Nicholas and fired at his head and chest at point blank range. He then calmly walked out and escaped.

Police have since obtained a description of the suspect. An autopsy will be done on Nicholas’s body today. Investigations are continuing. 

Displaced Port-of-Spain Market vendors blocked off vehicular access to the facility and caused a massive traffic gridlock during a protest yesterday.

The protest occurred after vendors were told a large chunk of their vending space was to be used to house equipment for the construction of a nearby walkover for the Sea Lots community.

Around 8 am, about 100 vendors gathered at the entrance of the market demanding a meeting with Mayor Joel Martinez.

Shivan Baboolal, proprietor of Yum Yum Foods, said it was only on Saturday that they got notice they were to be removed from a section of the market.

“There was no discussion and consultation with us. When we came here to vend this morning (yesterday), a large section of the market where we usually sell was blocked off. This is unfair to us because it is poor people who come to the market to sell,” Baboolal said.

He said vendors who paid $200 a month were allotted a new space, but some daily paid vendors who paid $29 a day to sell were not.

“They are making another portion of the market available but there are no car park facilities and it is unsafe for us to sell there,” Baboolal said.

He added that robberies were frequent at the market and there was no proper security.

“Who going to come in that area with $20,000 to buy goods? We cannot go to vend in that section,” Baboolal added.

He said the market was a free market unlike Macoya which was already full.

“We have about 400 poor people vending in the Port-of-Spain Market and not having a space to sell is going to affect dozens of families,” he said.

Sham Harrilal, who has been selling in the market for about 40 years, said he was also concerned about security.

“There are many vendors who get robbed here and if we have to relocate to that other section we will be at risk,” he said.

Mawalal Sookdeo added that the new arrangements were very unfair.

“They have not given us a location as yet. They want to block off the area. We have no problem with the walkover, but why are they housing the equipment on our space? They will block off plenty of our sales,” Sookdeo noted.

Saying farmers and vendors were facing too much stress, Sookdeo said corporation officials should immediately meet with them to discuss alternative accommodation for the equipment.

“There is a big empty piece of lot where TSTT used to house their poles. Why don’t put it there? With all of that, why use the big area?”

Contacted yesterday, Martinez said he met with the vendors yesterday and advised the wholesalers that another section of the market would be made available to them. He also made a commitment to increase security.

Asked why the vendors only received notice of the move on Saturday, Martinez said: “I am not in charge of that project. It is Project Pride, which is being done through the Ministry of Works.”

He said the walkover s a single stand unit which runs from one side to the other to offer protection for the people of Sea Lots.

“The footing falls within the market precincts so they have to construct it in the market,” Martinez said.

Saying progress always brought disruption, Martinez said he was committed to making a secure alternative accommodation for the displaced vendors.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh is moving to ensure one curriculum is taught at the four nursing schools across T&T.

He made the comment yesterday as he said while different curriculum are taught at each school there is one exam set for all of them.

Speaking at a commemorative service in celebration of International Nurses’ Day at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-of-Spain, Deyalsingh said it made sense for one universal curriculum across the board.

“We are going to put in place a mechanism to rationalise nursing education in T&T,” Deyalsingh said, noting the education of nurses must be advanced in this country.

“What I found is there are four schools in nursing and you all write the same exam. But are you trained in preparing for the same exam in the same way...the answer is no.”

He said the ministry will meet with the Education Ministry this week to “bring some sanity” to the nursing exam “so that when people from the four different schools go to write the exam they are all writing one exam based on one curriculum.”

Deyalsingh, who described nurses as the unsung heroes, said their value could not be measured in a pay cheque.

“Expect no thanks. Your thanks will come from another place and the reward you will get then will be much greater than any reward you will get here, because what you do will live on,” Deyalsingh said.

Immediate past president of the T&T Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA), Gwendolyn Lobbie-Snaggs, commended Deyalsingh’s proposal, saying one curriculum was long overdue.

“These four schools all write the same exam, which is the Regional Nursing Examination, but one school teaches at an associate degree level. The other schools all do the degree, so when you finish you have a degree in nursing,” Lobbie-Snaggs said.

“So the students are being examined on something they are not taught so they are at a disadvantage. It is good that the minister has recognised that we need to have a level playing field in education.”

She said what ought to be recognised was a first degree as the entry qualification into nursing, as this was recently recommended at a Caricom meeting.

“We need to get better results from the schools across the board and that will only come when we have one curriculum,” Lobbie-Snaggs urged.

The four schools that teach nursing are the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (Costaatt), University of the Southern Caribbean, University of the West Indies School of Nursing and Health Ministry, which offers the diploma.

Family, friends, dignitaries and close business associates will pay their last respects and say their last goodbye to ANSA McAL’s Chairman Emeritus Dr Anthony Norman Sabga, ORTT today.

His funeral mass will be held at the Church of the Assumption, Long Circular Road, Maraval, from 10 am followed by a private internment.

Tributes have been continuously pouring in since Sabga, 94, passed away peacefully at his home with family at his bedside last Wednesday.

Hours after his passing, Sabga’s son, A Norman Sabga, ANSA McAL’s chairman and chief executive, said he will always be remembered as a devoted family man, colleague, leader, visionary and one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the 20th century.

Chairman Sabga added that his father followed his own words “Find a job that you like and you never have to work one day in your life.”

In a release, he added: “We hope that the lessons of his life, of persistence, hard work, generosity, care for the less fortunate, honour and respect for all persons will live on in each of us.”

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley lauded Sabga as one of the country’s top entrepreneurs, a business visionary and philanthropist, while Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar reflected on his “honesty, integrity and determination to succeed.”

The accolades also came from Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, who described Sabga as a patriarch who did a lot of work in the region, invested heavily and provided hundreds of job for the people of the entire Caribbean region.

The T&T Chamber of Commerce meanwhile recognised Sabga for being proactive in combating the economic downturn in the deep recession of the 1980s.

“Dr Sabga’s response to economic and structural adjustment challenges of the 1980s was to expand and invest in local enterprise. Through the acquisition of the McEnearney Alston’s Group, ANSA McAL was birthed and today stands as one of the strongest publicly traded companies on the local stock exchange, with a wide regional presence,” the chamber said.

Born in 1923, Sabga emigrated from Syria to Trinidad in 1930 and began his business career in his father’s business—NS Sabga and Sons—and from those humble beginnings became one of the most innovative and successful businessmen in T&T and the region.

Sabga was the beloved son of the late Norman and Sarah Sabga and leaves to mourn his devoted wife Minerva, children Linda Hadeed, Norman Sabga, JoAnn Moses, David Sabga, Donna Hadeed and Andrew Sabga, 29 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.

Additional parking for today’s mass will be facilitated at The Trinidad Country Club, Maraval.

Chronic.

That’s how truckers yesterday described the extent of the problem of transporting goods between the two islands although the MV Transporter barge and the MV Provider vessel have replaced the Super Fast Galicia.

They are now seeking a meeting with Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to discuss what has become a “logistical nightmare.”

President of the Inter-island Trailers and Truckers’ Association Horace Amede said yesterday that the barge was not a passenger vessel and therefore could only accommodate goods. This means the truckers now have to either spend money on a plane ticket to reach to Tobago to take their trucks off the barge or use the fast ferry, which sometimes issues tickets which are standby.

In other words, he said, doing business between the islands was a “hit and miss” affair.

Amede spoke to the media during the break in a meeting between truck drivers, Seamen and Waterfront Workers Union president general Michael Annisette and the T&T Chamber’s Tobago division executive Diane Hadad at the SWWTU headquarters on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

The problems with the sea bridge have been dominating the headlines since the Super Fast Galicia left T&T on April 21.

Amede explained that the truckers sometimes have to overnight in Tobago because of the uncertainty of the sea bridge now, which is another expense.

“Yesterday (Saturday), because of the delayed sailing of the fast ferry some trucks came back down with goods because the drivers were unable to get up there to take their vehicles off the vessel,” Amede said.

“Once this continues happening you have trucks in Tobago four days who can’t get back. You have trucks in T&T since Tuesday that couldn’t go until today (yesterday). The expenses are just growing on a daily basis.”

He added: “Last night (Saturday) the T&T Spirit had some steering problems. It left about 7 pm instead of leaving at 4 pm. Some members had their truck on the Provider, which left at 12 noon on Saturday, but the fast ferry had mechanical problems and didn’t leave until after seven. When the drivers got to Tobago, the Atlantic Provider was on its way back to T&T so some trucks came back to T&T because the drivers were on the fast ferry (going to Tobago).”

Expenses can amount to as much as $5000 every other day depending on how many trucks the particular company has to get off the vessel, Amede said.

The losses come not only in expenses but are also ripping through their bottom lines. For instance, if a truck driver shows up for work to drive a truck with goods onto the barge, the company must pay the driver whether or not the driver was able to get the truck on the barge. They also complained about the Port-of-Spain jetty being structurally unsafe.

The truckers said if they continue to have problems they may consider stopping the trucking of goods between the two islands.

Contacted for comment on the issue yesterday, Sinanan said he did not want to comment as he had not heard what said by the truckers about the issue.

Archbishop Joseph Harris yesterday called on citizens to do some self introspection when things do not go as planned, saying too often people throw blame on the government for this.

He made the comment during the Feast Day mass at the La Divina Pastora RC Church in Siparia.

Delivering the homily, Harris said citizens should choose to become good leaders.

“Our geo-politics shows us there are three types of leaders. There are those who make outlandish promises. Then there are those who govern using fear, if you oppose them or challenge them you can lose your life. Then there are those who inspire us, but we have to be careful because leaders such as (Adolf) Hitler managed to inspire others,” Harris said.

He called on citizens to look at the Gospel and select leaders who live with integrity.

“We have to look at the Gospel, which presents us with a model of leadership. The Gospel uses two images which help us to recognise good leaders. The Good Shepherd Jesus Christ knows the flock well. He knows everyone’s name and people follow him because they know he will lead them to something good,” Harris said.

“The second image, which is the gate, also represents Christ. The gate protects us. When the gate is open, it opens up new possibilities. So if we are looking for a leader we have to look for those who lead by integrity. Only those types of leaders will open up new possibilities for our people.”

He noted that everyone had the potential to become good leaders.

“You can be a leader even if you are an adult or a youth. Adults can be leaders and the youth can be potential leaders, but you must walk with integrity. This is the key,” he said.

“We have to follow those leaders who know the flock. Don’t follow leaders because they can make outlandish promises but look at whether they have integrity in their lives. As Christians our leadership style is based on the values of the Good Shepherd.”

Harris added: “Many times we blame each other or we blame the government if things are not going well, but nobody bothers to do self introspection. If we want a kinder and more gentle nation then we must also become more kind and gentle as a people.”

He said every individual had the capability to change T&T to a better nation.

“You and I must change. We have to recognise good leaders and we have to become the type of leader that we want others to be,” Harris said.

He said there were many good leaders whom citizens can emulate like Pope Francis, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr.

“Pope Francis is preaching an uncompromising doctrine of mercy. We expect others to show mercy to us but we are unwilling to show mercy to others.

“If we become leaders of integrity it will open up new possibilities for our people and T&T will become a better place,” Harris said.

Following the church service, parishioners participated in a procession through the streets of Siparia. The statue of La Divina, adorned in a white flowing dress and laden with jewels, was transported through the streets while worshippers sang the recessional hymn River of Grace.

The statue represents the Virgin Mary to Catholics, but is regarded as the Goddess Durga and Lakshmi by Hindus. Every year hundreds of people flock to the church to pay homage to the statue, which they believe brings them health, wealth, prosperity and reverses infertility.

On the heels of the property tax comes a new type of tax to be imposed on students from August and it will have a devastating impact on tertiary education, says Chaguanas East MP Fazal Karim.

He was referring to Government’s planned changes to the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme, which will no longer be free for all students. Under the new system, students will have to undergo a means test to determine how much funding the Government will offer from the start of the 2017/2018 academic year.

Speaking at a United National Congress (UNC) rally in Couva on Saturday, Karim said he had was calling the impending GATE changes the “education tax.”

Karim, who headed the Tertiary Education Ministry under the People’s Partnership government, said the move will erode all the inroads his government had made in education during their term in office.

“They are killing tertiary education in this country. There is a new tax coming in August for all of us. I am going to title it the education tax because those of us who go to community colleges, universities or any tertiary institution will now have to pay for tertiary education,” Karim said.

He noted that under PP administration, 55,000 people had free tertiary education. Saying students will be in distress having to pay for lodging, food, books and other materials in addition to tuition fees, Karim predicted that the numbers of people enrolled in tertiary education institutions will dwindle.

“University is not only about tuition fees, it is about travelling, rent, food and where will you get the money? The gate is closing on tertiary education. We had the gate wide open, but it closing and come August the education tax will come into play,” he said to loud applause.

With regard to the Property Tax, Karim said it was an arbitrary tax.

“We do not want Property Tax. This is a punishment government and now is not the right time for this tax,” he said.

He also called for an investigation into why the Couva District Health facility was shut down last week.

Also addressing the gathering, Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said many of the social programmes which the Partnership had in place had been dismantled by the People’s National Movement.

“This is an uncaring Government. They moved $86 million from the Food Support Programme. In these hard times with job losses and rising food prices, they have shut down these support programmes,” Persad-Bissessar said.

She claimed the PNM also planned to spend money building a golf course in Ste Madeleine because Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley loved to play golf.

“Who plays golf? Only a few people. We have food shortages, water shortages, you saying we have no money but you want to build a golf course in Ste Madeleine. That making sense? “Persad-Bissessar asked.

She also accused the PNM of making corrupt deals and suppressing the progress of the lower and middle classes.

The Prime Minister’s Charity Golf Classic (PMCGC) at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Gold Resort in Tobago raised close to $.4 million over the weekend.

In presenting the cheques to the winners afterwards, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, who is the event’s patron, congratulated the organisers and described their work as a very worthy endeavour.

“Volunteerism is an important practice and the board members of this charity are volunteers. We want to thank them for all their efforts. They have given us an opportunity as citizens to reach out to those who are in need,” Rowley said.

“I am happy that the tournament was held in Tobago and I believe we can use golf as part of our tourism plan to attract visitors in the way we attracted them this weekend. This is another way we can realise the full potential of the economy.”

Rowley also presented cheques to several charity bodies in Tobago, including the Tobago School for the Deaf Speech and Language Impaired and Healing with Horses, who received $55,000 in funding.

The tournament, which is in its 21st year, featured more than 70 teams and attracted participants from within the region, North America and Europe. Local sporting heroes Brian Lara and Dwight Yorke also played.

It was first launched in 1997 and has since donated just under $6 million to various children’s homes, NGOs and individuals. Beneficiaries include the T&T Cancer Society, Autistic Society and the Tobago AIDS Society.

The theme of this year’s tournament was “Golfing for CP Mobility” and highlighted the needs of those who are affected by cerebral palsy.

The charity has a long history of support for this cause and was instrumental in helping to establish the Cerebral Palsy Society 15 years ago. It has, for many years, provided financial assistance for children seeking treatment abroad. The charity has also hosted several workshops facilitated by Miami-based, cerebral palsy specialist, Dr. Martin Carillo.

Officers of the Inter Agency Task Force believe they may have prevented a murder from happening, after they arrested a well known member of the Unruly Isis gang on Friday night.

According to a police report, at about 11 pm the officers, acting on information received, intercepted a vehicle travelling along Pierre Road in Charlieville, Chaguanas. Its occupant, said to be in his 30s, was arrested after officers found a Glock 22 pistol with an extended magazine, 26 rounds of ammunition and a ski mask in his possession.

The man was taken to the Chaguanas Police Station and was still there last night assisting police in their investigations.

The T&T Guardian was told that the man is also wanted in connection with several other gun-related offences.

Investigations are continuing.