Marissa Nelson was remembered yesterday for three things—her infectious smile, love for helping others and touching the lives of many locally and internationally.

This was how she was described by family and friends at her funeral service at Allen’s Funeral Home, Arima, as scores of mourners turned up to pay their final respects to Nelson, the 600-pound woman from Valencia whose battle to lose weight ended tragically when she bled to death on Sunday at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) from a ruptured ulcer.

Nelson had been at the High Dependency Ward at the EWSMC for the past six months undergoing supervised weight loss treatment.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh was moved to assist Nelson, 32, after the T&T Guardian highlighted her plight last September and arranged for her to be treated by a special team of doctors.

For four years Nelson was confined to a bed in a tiny quarters at Johnson Street, Valencia.

Nelson also got assistance from Toco/Sangre Grande MP Glenda Jennings-Smith who arranged with the Regiment for her bedroom to be remodelled while she was being treated at the EWMSC.

Two weeks ago, Nelson who suffered from lymphoedema which caused her limbs to become enormously swollen before her hospitalisation, begged her mother Sylvia Nelson, to take her home.

However, hospital staff told her if she discharged herself the weight loss programme would be cut.

Delivering the eulogy, Nelson’s niece, Cheryl Maraj, described her aunt as a fighter, stating that from the age of 17 she had been battling a hormone imbalance problem, which led to her obesity.

Having packed on the pounds, Maraj said Nelson wanted the doctors to help her, so she could live a normal life, but this never happened.

Maraj said despite facing an upward struggle, Nelson had hoped to become a nurse.

Though she never fulfilled that dream, Maraj said Nelson took care of her family when they became ill and administered insulin injections to members of the community who were diabetic.

“Marissa was always smiling in spite of her pain. So let us remember her as a happy and pleasant person because she touched so many lives all over the world, including Africa, America and Trinidad,” Maraj said.

In paying tribute to Nelson, an emotional Jennings-Smith whose birthday was yesterday, admitted that God took her away from us prematurely.

“Today is a sad day because we lost our battle to bring Marissa back to our home in order to enjoy what we were working towards.”

She said Nelson was a happy person who fought her illness against great odds.

“Many people intervened to help Marissa. But the Lord giveth and he taketh.”

Jennings-Smith said when she heard about Nelson’s death she knew she suffered to the very end.

“We knew the autopsy result. We knew what happened before she passed on. Today, we can take solace that she is in the arms of the Lord. She has gone to rest with the angels.”

“I know you are crying inside. We all are. We all had big hopes and dreams. But you know what, God has the master plan for us all. He alone knows.”

In thanking Deyalsingh, Social Development and Family Services Minister Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn, Fire Services, army, doctors and staff at the EWMSC who came to Nelson’s assistance, Jennings-Smith said everyone impacted on her life.

“The Government was grateful to have served her,” Jennings-Smith said.

Through sobs, Nelson’s sister, Diane Ramlal, said Nelson’s journey was difficult and many people stood behind her for the past 10 years when her health started to deteriorate.

Seated in the front row of the chapel in a wheelchair, Marissa’s mother, Sylvia, wept inches away from her daughter’s coffin, which was decorated in purple and pink ribbons.

Pastor Kurt Tomas who delivered the sermon said one thing he would never forget about Nelson was her infectious laugh. “She enjoyed a good laugh and had a beautiful smile,” Tomas said.

Nelson was cremated.

Five men from Claxton Bay, who kidnapped and murdered a San Juan businesswoman in 2006 but were convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter, were yesterday each sentenced to 28 years in prison.

However, Phillip “The Boss” Boodram, Roger Mootoo, Ricky Singh, Kervin Williams and Aaron “Arc Eye” Grappie will be released in a little over 17 years as the time they spent on remand awaiting trial was deducted from their sentence.

In passing sentence on the group at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain yesterday, High Court Judge Norton Jack said that the mitigating factors in favour of the prisoners were not enough to warrant a further reduction in their sentence.

“The horrific amalgam of aggravating factors related to the offence is quite sufficient to overshadow the effect of both the aggravating and mitigating factors related to the offenders,” Jack said.

Samdaye Rampersad was kidnapped by masked men while standing in front of her home in Petit Bourg, San Juan on November 25, 2005. Her body was found 41 days later in a shallow grave in a cashew field in Springvale, Claxton Bay. The prisoners were eventually convicted in March.

Rampersad’s brother, Mervyn, was contacted several times after his sister’s kidnapping by a man who demanded a $2 million ransom for her safe release She was already dead when the ransom demands were being made.

One of the State’s witnesses, forensic pathologist Hughvon des Vignes, testified that an autopsy of Rampersad’s body showed she died of asphyxia and suffocation consistent with being buried alive.

However, he suggested that the men may not have known that Rampersad was still alive when they buried her.

During the trial, it was revealed that the State’s main witness, Nigel “Cat” Roderique, was at the remand awaiting trial for murder. Roderique’s confession implicated the prisoners in the matter while he was in police custody for his alleged involvement in another murder. In April, last year, He was allowed to plead guilty to the felony murder of Nigel Allen, of Cocoyea Village, San Fernando. Allen was kidnapped, straggled and stabbed with a digging fork before being buried in a canefield in Claxton Bay in 2005.

He was sentenced to 18 years in prison but will be released in seven as he spent 11 years on remand before his guilty plea.

Roderique claimed he was present at a meeting at which Rampersad’s kidnapping was planned, and at her eventual death. He also alleged that Rampersad was kidnapped as the men wrongly believed that she was the mother of a man who had owed them money for drugs.

During yesterday’s sentencing, Jack rejected submissions from the men’s attorneys that they should be given different sentences to reflect their roles in the crime.

“Given the evidence as a whole no fine distinctions can be made to justify a differentiation between the roles of each offender,” Jack said.

Nine men were initially charged for Rampersad’s murder, with three — Vivian Clarke, Steven McGilvery and Pernell Martin — being convicted on manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years in prison in the first trial in 2009.

Another accused, Bobby Sankar, was acquitted during that trial. The five remaining accused were put on trial again in 2012 as the jury could not agree on a verdict on their role.

The group of men were represented by Evans Welch, Wayne Sturge, Kelston Pope, Danielle Rampersad and Delicia Helwig.

Tricia Hudlin-Cooper and Shivani Sharma prosecuted.

State attorneys are seeking permission to attend a special general meeting of the Law Association where a motion calling for the resignation of the Chief Justice and members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) over the appointment and subsequent resignation of Marcia Ayers-Caesar as a high court judge will be heard.

The request was made in a letter sent to the association’s president Douglas Mendes, SC, by Sharmaine Williams, the secretary of the Association of Law Officers of T&T, on Wednesday.

Williams referred to a statutory interpretation lawsuit filed by her organisation in 2012, in which it was decided that attorneys employed permanently by the State could not vote in Law Association elections and on resolutions as they are considered non-financial members because they are not required to pay annual renewal fees to practice.

Williams referred to the opinion of Appellate Judge Rajendra Narine, who wrote the judgment and said that the attorneys were still allowed to attend meetings and make contributions despite not having the right to vote.

While Williams did not explicitly say so in her correspondence, the T&T Guardian understands that the members of the group are seeking to voice their opinions at the meeting as they, like judges and magistrates, are appointed and promoted by the JLSC.

“In accordance with the guidance of the Court of Appeal’s decision as noted above, we have advised our members to attend the scheduled special general meeting. We would therefore appreciate that all courtesies be extended accordingly,” Williams said in a letter.

Contacted for a response to the letter, Law Association vice president Rajiv Persad said that the organisation had received the letter but had not made a decision as Mendes was overseas.

The meeting scheduled for June 1, at the Convocation Hall at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain was set by the association after a petition expressing a loss of confidence in the CJ and the JLSC over the Ayers-Caesar situation was signed by over 60 practitioners. Ayers-Caesar was appointed to the post in April 12, but resigned two weeks later after their was protest by accused persons whose cases before her were left incomplete upon her elevation.

Several senior attorneys have spoken out on the issue and called on the CJ and the JLSC members to resign. A lawsuit has also been threatened questioning the composition of the JLSC.

On Thursday, the Judiciary announced that all 53 cases left by Ayers-Caesar would have to be restarted.

Local Government reform is one step closer as the Government has a policy paper and is in discussions with the Chief Parliamentary Council to bring forward legislation.

This was one of the issues discussed at the People’s National Movement (PNM) general council meeting yesterday.

At a media briefing shortly after, PNM MP Stuart Young said the party expected to bring legislation to Parliament between September and December of this year.

“At government level we completed our consultation process. The Government now has a policy coming out of those 14 public consultations on local government reform.”

Young said the party’s general council also discussed the rebuilding of Balisier House. They are still raising funds for construction. The project will include constructing a new building in the parking lot of the property and refurbishing the current structure.

He noted that party members had used yesterday’s meeting to pay respects to the late Rennie Dumas, thanking his family and friends.

Additionally, the party discussed the PNM’s Sports and Family Day which will take place on June 11.

Please do not panic. This is the plea from executive director of the National Insurance Board (NIB) Niala Persad-Poliah as she tried to allay the fears of citizens following recent revelations that if changes are not made to this country’s national insurance system, funds will be completely depleted by 2030.

The Ninth Actuarial Review of the National Insurance System was published in June 2015.

It covered the three-year period up to June 30, 2013, and presented a projection of the financial situation of this country’s national insurance system for the next 50 years.

“From 2019-2020, assets will rapidly decrease and the NIS funds will be completely depleted in 2029-2030 if nothing is modified in terms of contributions or benefits,” the actuarial reviews warned.

Workers contributing to NIS have been expressing concerns about their monthly contributions.

However, Persad-Poliah sought to assure the public that this was not cause for concern as this country’s national insurance system is “strong”. Reform of the system is, however, needed.

“There is no need for fear and panic in the minds of citizens at this time. The NIS is strong but reform is needed. Contributors who are paying into the system, those who are yet to receive benefits and even those who are in receipt of benefits should not be concerned. But we must all recognise that reforms are needed to the system so as to preserve the fund for generations to come.”

The actuaries have sounded warnings that urgent action is required to update the system and ensure it is relevant to the income security needs of the country.

They projected that the number of people at pensionable age in the country will grow to over 400,000 by 2063, up from the current figure of 200,000.

The working population between 16 to 59 who supports the retirees through their contributions will decrease by almost 25 per cent over the same period.

To address these issues among the recommendations made in the review is that the country’s retirement age be increased to 65 and an increase in the contributions made by citizens.

The three short-term changes recommended by the actuaries are an increase of the maximum insurable earnings (MIE) which is the band of income of an insured person that is currently insured from $12,000 to $13,600, an increase in the contribution rate from 12 per cent to 13.2 per cent, and a freeze in the $3,000 minimum pension.

The MIE has already been increased and a gradual increase of the contribution rate already began last year, Persad-Poliah said.

These two short-term measures have pushed back the date of the system being completely depleted by six years to 2036, she said.

The long-term changes recommended by the actuaries are an increase in the retirement age gradually from 60 to 65 over the period 2025 to 2060, a further increase in the contribution rate to 22.8 per cent by 2061, and the implementation of a mechanism to automatically adjust system parameters namely the minimum pension, the earned pension, the MIE and the contribution rates.

NIB will have to reform or sell off assets

Persad-Poliah said the time for reform was now. If not, the NIB may need to start selling off its assets to foot the bill, she said. The NIB’s assets up to 2012 was $22 billion.

“The time for reform is now. The system projects that we will need to start selling assets by 2020 in order to meet shortfalls between income and benefit payments.

“Although we have assets to meet shortfalls until 2030, any sizeable sale of assets has the potential to disrupt our fledgling securities markets and we wish to avoid this.

“We therefore recommend that further contribution rate increases be considered in the near future, the minimum pension continue to be frozen, and the retirement age be increased over time,” Persad-Poliah said.

According to the conclusion of the actuarial review, the $3,000 minimum pension from national insurance is “too generous”.

Persad-Poliah said no recommendation has been made to reduce this amount.

“The minimum pension of $3,000 represents 115 per cent of the minimum wage. Internationally, the norm for minimum pensions range between 40 per cent-80 per cent of minimum wage.

“No recommendation has been made to reduce this amount but it is recommended that it be ‘frozen’ over time to ensure that it reverts to its original intent of protecting the most vulnerable retirees.

“This must also be viewed in the context of cost. The contribution rate now required to cover expenditure is 13.2 per cent versus approximately 8.5 per cent if only earned pensions were paid,” Persad-Poliah said.

Persad-Poliah said the recommendation to increase the pensionable age over time to 65 would have a negligible impact in the short term.

“Increasing the retirement age still allows persons the option of retiring at age 60 with a reduction in their earned pension. This reduced pension will still be subject to the minimum of $3,000,” she said.

“The only persons who will be immediately impacted are those who qualify for pensions above the minimum.” This currently stands at three per cent of all retirees.

“Given this negligible impact in the short term, we can even consider a more aggressive timeline for increasing the retirement age,” Persad-Poliah said.

Seeking citizens’ support

The NIB is seeking the support of all citizens to ensure that the recommendations are implemented and she assured that everything will be done above board and in a transparent manner.

“Please do not panic. We need the support of all citizens, all stakeholders—Government, business and labour to make the changes. We wish to also assure the public that the NIB is well-managed, well-governed, transparent and accountable. We have shared with the public all the recommendations before us for consideration and will continue to do so,” she said.

“Any changes being made to your NIS will involve you and will be done with your knowledge and with advanced notice,” Persad-Poliah said.

Over the last financial period, the NIB collected $4.2 billion in contribution income and paid out $4.5 billion in benefits.

“We must continue to place emphasis on our compliance efforts aimed at maximizing our collections and ensuring that what we collect is wisely invested. We are also looking toward technology to reduce operating costs, while at the same time, enhancing our efforts at service and ease of doing business with the NIB,” she said.

The NIB’s financial statements for the last three years have not been laid in Parliament as yet and therefore are not available to the public.

“The annual reports for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 were all completed on time and submitted to the Minister of Finance to be laid in Parliament within two months of his receipt in accordance with the National Insurance Act. All our statutory commitments of reporting to the Minister of Finance have consistently been met over the years,” Persad-Poliah said.

“These documents can, however, only be made public when they are laid in Parliament. We recognise the need for these reports to be made public and for the all citizens to have access to these reports, and will continue to work with the Minister of Finance for these to be laid in Parliament,” she said.

ABOUT THE NIS

•This country’s national insurance system was introduced in April 1972.

•The system is financed by contributions from employers and employees and is designed to cover employees against events of age, invalidity, death, sickness, maternity, occupational accidents and injury.

•The number of contributors to the system in 2016 was estimated at over 516,000 people, representing 80 per cent of this country’s labour force.

•The NIS pension is currently $3,000 and there are currently 155,000 beneficiaries, including survivors.

The Judiciary and the administration of justice in this country are currently under the greatest threat in this nation’s history, attorney Gerald Ramdeen has said.

Ramdeen yesterday chastised Chief Justice Ivor Archie, three unnamed Appeal Court judges and three unnamed High Court judges for participating in an “entirely unlawful” meeting to decide the fate of 53 people affected by the unresolved matters left by former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.

Ayers-Caesar was appointed as a High Court Judge on April 12.

On April 27 Ayers-Caesar tendered her resignation as a judge after it was realised that she had left 53 matters part heard.

Ramdeen said Ayers-Caesar needs to tell her side of the story in the matter.

This country’s Judiciary has time and time again been able to withstand controversies throughout our nation’s history, Ramdeen said. This may not be the case this time around, he added.

“We have managed to do very well in surviving all of those instances in our history but one wonders whether we will survive this one which has transpired over the past two months because when one looks back at what has taken place over the last two months, I can say the Judiciary and the administration of justice is under a greater threat than ever before and we are clearly in very dangerous and very perilous times, and those who are to steer us out of this are disappointing us with every step that they take,” Ramdeen said.

In an attempt to address the backlog left by Ayers-Caesar the Chief Justice convened a meeting with key stakeholders on Wednesday.

Following that meeting, the Judiciary issued a release which stated that the 53 matters be restarted “de novo”.

Ramdeen said three Appeal Court judges, three High Court judges, Archie as well as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard attended Wednesday’s meeting along with others. He claimed that “the letter sent from the CJ’s office to the people requested to attend the meeting was misleading”.

The 53 people affect by the situation were not heard at that meeting, Ramdeen said.

Ramdeen questioned what gave Archie the power to convene that meeting.

“This has never been done before, where does the Chief Justice get power to do this, where does this body of persons get this power to do this?” he questioned.

Archie and no one else is above the law of this land, Ramdeen said.

He asked what would stop Archie from convening another meeting behind closed doors outside of the court to determine others matters that should be handled in the courtroom.

Ramdeen said the sad state of this country’s judiciary is evident as a Special General Meeting of the Law Association is to be held on Thursday to vote on whether a motion of no confidence will be brought against Archie.

On Friday the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) is to appear before the High Court because of its refusal to comply with the law to answer requests for information pertaining to recent judicial appointments.

Ramdeen is the attorney for Akili Charles, who is one of the 53 whose matters are now left in abeyance by Ayers-Caesar. Ramdeen has written Archie calling on him to withdraw the decision for the matters to be restarted.

If Archie does not respond by tomorrow, Ramdeen has signalled his intention to take the matter to the High Court.

Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon has dismissed calls for him to resign over the current crime situation. The murder rate up to yesterday was 212 for the year.

He told reporters yesterday that anyone in a leadership position will always be subject to criticism.

“The decisions that you make will never always be pleasing to everyone but nevertheless, you have to make decisions.

“So those who criticise, that’s fine. Nothing is wrong with that. Be open to criticism. You can use criticism to build you, as a matter of fact.”

He was speaking at the T&T Prison Service Sports and Family Day at the Prison Service Sports Complex, Golden Grove Road in Arouca.

Dillon said he has spent 36 years in the Defence Force and has treated criticisms the same way he has treated compliments.

A Cunupia woman was chopped to death yesterday. Her identity was not revealed up to late yesterday.

It is alleged that a relative went to check on the woman who lived on Madras Road and made the gruesome discovery. It is believed she was killed overnight. Police are investigating

On Thursday, 65-year-old business woman Raziah Sieuchand was found dead at her Lange Park, Chaguanas, home.

Meanwhile, police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a body found floating close to Crew’s Inn, Chaguaramas.

Early yesterday morning, fishermen found the body of the male Caucasian who is said to be five feet and seven inches in height. He was clad in a three-quarter pants and a white jersey and appeared to be in his late 60s.

It is not uncommon to see people on social media complaining about banking in this country, whether it be long lines, bank fees or some other perceived shortcoming with respect to customer service.

Trevor Hosten, 66, however, wants people to get off social media and put their money where their mouths are.

“People get the banks that they deserve and the reason our banking sector is the way it is is because Trinidadians are too complacent and the banks are taking their complacency for acceptance. When people vent their frustrations on social media that is just a temporary hype,” Hosten said.

“If they were to protest, if they were to voice their opposition, if they were to withdraw their pivotal deposits from the banks they would see changes coming about.

“How long would you sit and let the big banks unfairly take money from your pocket to put into theirs to promote their hubris and their arrogance. How long will you do that for? Wake up, do something, protest it, withdraw your money, put a run on the bank that is the only way.”

Hosten is not all talk.

He is the head of a consumer advocacy organisation named the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), the local branch of an United States’ group that seeks to right wrongs done against clients of banks.

PIRG was established locally in 2001 and Hosten virtually waged a one-man battle against banks in this country for at least a decade after its formation.

‘Local banks

do more hurt’

Hosten said local banks do more to hurt rather than promote this country’s economy as highlighted in an article in TIME Magazine entitled “Predators in Paradise” which focused on banks in the Caribbean.

So Hosten started a media blitz to warn people about banks.

“It personally costed me around $1.3 million to wage war against the banks with placing advertisements in the newspaper and paying for billboards around the country,” he said.

PIRG went silent for a while with respect to its advertising, but Hosten said the group is making a comeback as it is “very necessary right now”.

It is in the “national interest” Hosten believes and he is willing to sell a property to help fund the battle.

PIRG has already devised an advertising campaign to get their message across, he said.

“I am ready to lead the charge. I am selling one of my properties just to finance PIRG and bring it back because the time is necessary. This now is in the national interest.”

Hosten, however, hopes that other citizens will join him.

“We are coming back with a solid advertising campaign. I think it is necessary now to do some demonstrations in front the bank. We need to do that, but I’m not sure if people will come out and take up a placard and say what they need to say about the banks ,” he said.

‘Nobody listened to us’

Hosten said some of the things that PIRG predicted are now sadly coming to pass.

“Everything we have predicted nobody listened to us and now we have seen it come to pass and much worse because the banks’ profits are outrageous, the lines are excessively long and quite frankly, they don’t business,” he said.

“It kind of hurts that people have not really listened to us. I think there are Trinidadians who are more reactive than proactive.”

Hosten’s battle with this country’s banks started when he and one of the commercial banks had a falling out over the way they handled one of his accounts. He was the owner of Trevor Hosten Interior Designs.

“I had some problems with the bank. I wrote them and told them what I thought about them and within a couple of hours my account was shut down,” he said.

“That was a very humiliating and embarrassing process for me. I was a normal person going about my normal business in the business world and I had a problem but unlike most people when the bank screws them, I did something about it. I gave them an unprecedented run for their money by making the public aware. I formed a consumer group called PIRG and we went on an education drive that has changed the course of things,” Hosten said.

He said banks locally seem not to care about the regular customers.

“In the United States I could walk into the bank and talk to the manager right there, the manger is not locked behind closed doors, with security guards and secretary, those are colonial trappings, we don’t need that, that gives them the power to feel that they are more than they are and, therefore, based on that they are not focusing on the customer,” he said.

Hosten said banks could do more in this country to help address the major issues affecting us.

“There is no community banking where a bank will open up in a place like Maloney and develop the individuals and the community and help them become independent, help keep them away from crime because they have a banker who will understand them and give them guidance,” Hosten said.

While Hosten has gauged that the public are upset with banks and their fees, managing director of Republic Bank Ltd (RBL) Nigel Baptiste told a Joint Select Committee of Parliament that he was unaware of any anger or animosity harboured by the public as a result of banking fees.

Baptiste said bank fees do not contribute significantly to the bank’s profits.

Baptiste said based on bi-annual surveys conducted by RBL the customer-?satisfaction rating of the bank was more than five out of six.

Turning the sod for a $40 m Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in Moruga yesterday, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell has promised to shift HDC’s focus back to providing affordable rental units to citizens.

He said although the HDC will not discontinue the construction of units for sale, this type of construction has led the ministry away from its original mandate.

Mitchell and Moruga MP Dr Lovell Francis turned the sod for the project, which is expected to provide 77 single-unit houses for the people of Moruga. Construction of this project will be done in two phases—36 units in phase one and 41 units in phase two.

“The majority of citizens seeking affordable housing earn between minimum wage and $6,000 per month and find it very difficult in qualifying for the affordable mortgages or even the affordable rent-to-own programme offered by the T&T Mortgage Finance Company (TTMF) and the HDC,” Mitchell said.

“So in light of our reduced funding, we have to now focused our efforts to satisfy those applicants who are most in need.”

He said because the HDC constructed so many housing units in the $500,000 to $1 million price range, the private sector also suffered.

“The HDC in building so many housing units for sale in the $500,000 to $1 m range had virtually eliminated private sector developers and private sector investment from that space. The private sector could not compete with a state agency pumping billions in the housing market for middle-income earners.”

He said homes in this price range also attracted a different audience than the one the corporation was mandated to assist.

“The HDC has become increasingly attractive to house seekers such as doctors, lawyers and other professionals who would not ordinarily pursue an application to the HDC...To me, this conflicted with our original mandate.”

Mitchell said future projects of units in this price range will be done through private/public partnership and will rely more on private sector investments.

He said the Gomez Trace development is his fourth sod-turning ceremony since assuming office. The HDC has started developments in River Runs Through in Arima, Bon Air South in Arouca, and Mahogany Court in Mt Hope.

The National Insurance Board (NIB) needs to focus on its investment portfolio which has the potential to generate higher rates of return. This is one way it can prevent the pension fund from going broke in the next 13 years.

Lecturer in banking and finance Prakash Ramlakhan said the basic premise is that the fund is not properly managed and the response to the global economic environment is very slow.

“They are operating the fund using a dinosaur policy in a fast-paced environment. You cannot manage the fund using a 2000 approach. You need to be current and give the investment committee a lot more resources and authority to make the changes.”

Ramlakhan was responding to last week’s revelation that by 2030 funds will be “completely depleted” if the NIB does not implement reform.

He said “the pension problem” was identified a long time ago and in five years’ time, if nothing is done, we are going to reach “crisis proportion”.

“In five years if nothing is done, that is eight years before it goes broke...are we going to wait until we reach crisis for it to hit home?

“It is already at our door step. We need to embrace it.”

NIB depends on political direction from Govt

He said the NIB needed to address the percentage it can invest offshore. It is currently allowed to invest up to 20 per cent of its total assets outside of the country, he told the Sunday Guardian.

He said about three years ago, under former minister Larry Howai, it was at ten per cent but increased to 20 per cent. Increasing it to 30 per cent should be done, he suggested.

He said, “I think they may need to increase it by another ten per cent to 30 per cent because if you have so much TT dollars sitting in bank accounts and they cannot get attractive investments in Trinidad, then they should look at investment opportunities outside of Trinidad.”

He said the NIB was prohibited from investing “a lot” outside and so funds were kept at home to develop the country.

However, he said if there are not any development projects, why should money sit at banks generating no rates of returns when it can get at least six per cent elsewhere.

Ramlakhan said pension funds in general were facing significant challenges, however the NIB was slow to respond to the environment and economic changes relative to private pension funds simply because of the bureaucracy and political will to make the change.

“That has been the problem with NIB; it has been very slow to respond. Another issue is that the board that is responsible for it doesn’t have the capacity and competence to really drive the process. The management of the NIB depends on the political direction from the Government...apart from just the financial leadership, we have not been getting that for over ten years.”

People losing jobs, less will contribute

Ramlakhan said the NIB (pension fund) has two streams of revenue—contributions and the return on investment.

He suggested that NIB needed to look at ways of getting more to the fund by having more people contribute. However, with people losing their jobs, less people will contribute to the fund.

Another issue was that companies were not replacing workers very quickly as a result of automation, mechanisation and computerisation.

Ramlakhan said those who are under 50 are at risk of “getting nothing” from the fund when they retire.

“By the time you retire, you have about three years before the fund goes broke. So the fund is at high risk to people in the mid-career stage or mid-profession...those in upper 30s and mid-40s.”

He said the life span has increased. For example, someone retiring tomorrow is expected to live another 13 years up top 73 to 75 years.

Ramlakhan said, “As people retire, you have to pay out and as they live longer you have to pay out for a longer time. The plan is significantly under strain.”

Internationally, he said interest rates were at an all-time low and investments portfolios were not performing as well as they did eight to ten years ago.

“NIB probably has billions of dollars in banks earning very little interest rates, perhaps one per cent or less a year. So the funds are not generating enough money to provide the cash to pay out the benefits so what they are doing is starting to sell off some of the assets to get cash to pay the beneficiaries. That is what they have been doing and if they don’t generate sufficient revenue in the form of additional or higher contributions from the stock and bond market, then they will be forced to sell assets to pay benefits, which means the plan will begin to shrink even at a faster rate.”

Ramlakhan said a look at the global financial market was not promising at this time.

“We expect interest rates to remain low for the medium term which means that pension funds will continue to face investment challenges in getting high returns.”

As police prepare to put several vigilante Claxton Bay residents on ID parade tomorrow for the beating of a man whom they had mistaken for a thief, an investigating officer is warning citizens to be cautious when purchasing vehicles.

Cpl Brian Singh said the entire situation could have been prevented if the proper checks were made by the Claxton Bay man who had bought a truck almost a year ago.

“A lot of people are duplicating and creating false documents, then stealing vehicles and selling them to unsuspecting buyers,” Singh told the Sunday Guardian yesterday.

“We are advising the public to visit the Licensing office and make every effort to ensure that the seller is the owner of the vehicle. People also need to ensure that the vehicle is transferred to them within seven days of the purchase.”

He said buyers should also check and compare the vehicle’s chassis number with the chassis number on the documents are produced.

Decima Nottingham, 28, went with a friend to collect the dump truck in Claxton Bay on Thursday and ended up being severely beaten by the residents.

According to reports, the original owner of the vehicle sold it to two different men—The truck was first sold to a man from Barrackpore. The truck was then stolen from the Barrackpore man. He had reported the matter to the police, but they were unable to find the truck. The stolen truck was then sold to a Claxton Bay man.

The Barrackpore man, however, recently saw the same truck being advertised for sale, and Nottingham and a friend went to collect it. Nottingham said he was just doing his friend a favour. The friend was able to drive off with the truck and return it to the Barrackpore owner but Nottingham was captured and beaten by Claxton Bay residents.

Singh said the residents will be put on ID parade and once the suspects are identified, they are expected to be charged with assault by beating.

It happens every year as we celebrate Indian Arrival Day. I get phone calls and emails, and it comes up in conversation with friends, colleagues and family. And it always centres on one question: Why celebrate Indian arrival when it has had so many negatives?

My answer has always been the same: we celebrate the resilience of our ancestors. We celebrate their courage to survive and thrive in spite of the myriad colonial obstacles that sought to keep them relegated to subsistence workers.

I recently read a passionate commentary by Guyanese-American writer Rajiv Mohabir (http://aaww.org/indian-arrival-day/), who offered his answer to the perennial question.

“Why the hell should I celebrate colonization?” he asked, adding: “To celebrate Indian Arrival Day is to celebrate the beginning of our slavery sentences...To celebrate Indian Arrival Day is to celebrate the cause of each ill: diabetes, racism, alcoholism, homophobia, and domestic violence. To celebrate Indian Arrival Day is to celebrate death.”

In the same commentary, Canadian-based Indo-Trinidadian Dr Andil Gosine is quoted as saying that when we celebrate Indian arrival, “We are implicitly erasing the history and actual experiences of indentures.” His view is that Indians were “merely the cargo of the system of Indentureship, and it is ridiculous that we would celebrate the beginning of bondage”.

Everything about Indentureship was wrong. We need to continue to question why Britain freed one race and almost immediately after emancipation subjected another to what some British officials characterised as “a new system of slavery”.

But we should not let the horrors of indentureship blur our view of what it is we are really celebrating as Indian Arrival Day.

We can continue to highlight the negatives to justify our objection to the celebration or we can see a different, more positive picture in which Indians have overcome the degradation, moved away from the sub-human plantation experience and have risen above it all to become responsible citizens.

We celebrate not leaders and professionals but the unnamed and forgotten thousands who kept people and culture alive in spite of the adversities they faced.

To appreciate today we have to go back to the beginning.

The export of Indians to Trinidad that started in 1845 resulted in the movement of more than 147,000 Indians to Trinidad by the time indentureship ended in 1917.

In 1945—100 years after the first Indians landed in Trinidad—the Indian population was 35 per cent of the national population (195,747) comprising the descendants of indentured Indians and former contract workers.

During the first 100 years, many Indians had migrated from the periphery to occupy influential spaces in the national community and they were contributing to the state in every facet of life.

They put education at the forefront of family life, and helped their children rise out of the ashes of the plantations.

Many achieved success in business and a few had entered politics.

It was a landmark year and the community staged the first Indian Arrival Day, at which the acting governor, Sir Bede Edmund, congratulated the community on its achievements. And Mahatma Gandhi sent a telegram stating, “Domicile Indians prove worthy of Motherland”.

Fifty years later in 1995, Prime Minister Patrick Manning declared May 30 a public holiday and it has remained a grand annual event.

What we celebrate today—and what we did in 1945 and the intervening years before the day became a national holiday—is the Indian spirit of survival.

Indians were abused. They faced adversities like depression, malnutrition, disease and social stress leading to alcoholism and domestic violence, demons we continue to confront.

But they refused to let those negatives impede their will to survive in order to create a better life for future generations. Had it not been for their strength, and their conviction that they could do better, their story would have had a tragic ending.

But it didn’t. Theirs is a story of survival through a determination to stand firm and defeat a system of bondage and servitude so future generations could be free in the new land they embraced as home.

They preserved their rich and diverse cultural and religious traditions and adopted the best of their new environment to move forward and conquer the system through education and cultural persistence.

In the end, we the people won—all of us, Indians and non-Indians alike. We won because THEY won and together all of us have contributed to building a diverse state that is still evolving.

They created opportunity out of misery. That is the legacy of a people who defied colonialism, bigotry, ignorance and persecution through their strong spirit of survival.

They created new communities dedicated to preserving the richness and glory of the motherland while embracing and enhancing their new home.

That is what we celebrate.

Jai Parasram is a journalist, communication and media specialist and author. His forthcoming book Beyond Survival is a photographic narrative celebrating Indians in T&T 1845-2017.

A physical attack on several senior citizens, a nurse and a visitor at a home for the elderly in Woodbrook on Saturday is now engaging the attention of the police.

Investigating officers are now looking for the attacker, who is said to be a close male relative of one of the home’s officials. Police believe that the man is in hiding.

According to a police report, at about 5.10 pm, a 49-year-old woman, whose identity was not given, went to the home at Petra Street to visit her 83-year-old mother when she was attacked by the man.

The woman was slammed head first into a wall, dragged and bodily slammed twice on an iron gate before being thrown out into the street.

A 55-year-old nurse was struck on the right side of her head near her ear with a stone by the attacker. The visitor’s mother, who suffers from Alzheimers, was also attacked.

Currently at the home there are said to be seven residents—three elderly men and four women.

When the T&T Guardian contacted one of the victims yesterday, she said that she and the other victims remained very much traumatised over the entire incident and are hoping for speedy justice.

An investigating officer told the T&T Guardian that they received information that the man frequents the place and is sometimes seen doing chores at the home.

When contacted yesterday, the visitor who was attacked spoke with strict anonymity and described the incident as “appalling” especially given the fact that it happened on the first day of her fast for the Holy month of Ramadan.

The woman said she arrived at the home for the visiting hours, between 5 pm to 7 pm. She said usually they would have her mother waiting for her in the porch but when she got there her mother was seated in the living room area.

“I went upstairs and saw the gentleman (the attacker) sleeping on the couch, his back turned to me. I saw that his pants were off and on the ground and the nurse was trying to wake him up. I went to my mum and hugged and kissed her and asked how she was doing. All that time the nurse continued talking to the man telling him to get up. He began to twist and turn on the couch. She told him that I was there to see my mother and that he should get up and organise himself because she had to leave as her shift has ended,” the woman said.

“With that the man got up in a rage and started to curse the nurse and told her to get out. I quickly asked the nurse to help me move my mother to the porch. The nurse told the man to leave her alone and he left and went outside. I thought he had left but when I looked outside again I saw him running up the stairs with a concrete slab in his hand,” she added.

The woman said that as the man entered the room an elderly man attempted to block him but he slapped the man and pushed him out of his way.

“The man then started to walk up to the nurse and the nurse tried to run but he chased after her and hit her with the concrete slab to the head. She fell and all I could see was blood. I started to scream and tried to get my mother away from there but then he walked up to me in my face. I told him I was fasting and to move. That was when he choked me and slammed me to the ground,” the woman added.

The woman said she told the nurse to stay with her mother while she go to the police for help.

All victims were taken to the St James Medical Centre where they were treated and discharged.

Investigating officers have already retrieved their medical reports and are said to be continuing investigations.

University of the West Indies history professor, Dr Brinsley Samaroo, great-grandson of indentured Indians, in a moving search for his roots in India, found his relatives in the village of Baraich in Uttar Pradesh and keeps a close connection with them.

A graduate of Delhi University and descended from the Somaroos from Bahraich in Northern India, Samaroo said he has been travelling frequently to India after his studies there to do research and bond with his relatives.

“I can go back at will to my village and I am treated well.” He said they actually had a piece of land that was left for his great-grandfather which they offered him. “They joked, do you want that or can we take it.”

Samaroo, a Presbyterian, said he is valued by his Hindu Indian relatives because he fills a void in their lives created when his great-grandparents left India.

He said to this day Indians in Baraich and different villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where the majority of Indian immigrants came from, yearn to know where brothers, uncles, other relatives went, if they were killed or suffered.

“It pleases me that I am able to go to their villages and fill that void, give them some kind of closure. I tell them about the villages the Indian created here and they are happy to know they did not come here and were killed.”

He said Baraich was a village when his great-grandparents left it but is now a thriving agricultural town cultivated with pomegranate, mango, pineapple, guava, rice, lentils and even sugar cane.

“It’s quite big now and it was with great difficulty I was able to find the particular region from where my great-grandparents came.”

Samaroo said he meets people in these villages looking just like Trinidadian Indians who eat the same kind of food prepared in exactly the same way.

“When you go to these villages you get food your mother used to make, sada roti, dhalpuri, talkari made with exactly the same ingredients. You see the Indian from whence you came still very much alive.”

He said India has started doing research into Indian indentureship and has actually begun to celebrate Indian Arrival Day and it is becoming quite popular there.

Samaroo, who did specific research on the humble jahaji bundle Indians brought here with them, spoke to the T&T Guardian on the eve of Indian Arrival Day on his Indian roots and how 143,939 Indians who arrived here between 1845 and 1917 not only changed the economic and social landscape of T&T but its physical space, as well.

He has been going to schools in different areas, like Penal/Debe, giving students lectures on the jahaji bundles brought to T&T by Indians, modest pieces of cloth tied to long sticks, which carried the seeds of new fruit trees and vegetables which were to later change the literal geography of the island.

Given swamplands by the colonial authorities after their indentureship was over, they also transformed wet, marshy areas, like Felicity, into thriving villages.

Samaroo said Indians who came poor, bedraggled and as semi-slaves have today transformed themselves and the geography of the Caribbean islands where they settled.

“In their jahaji bundle, which was like a very large three cornered handkerchief tied to the top of a large stick, they brought a remarkable range of seeds of fruit, vegetables and herbs we didn’t have in the Caribbean.

“Like mango, pomegranate, guava, downs, cowa, karaille, bodi, mustard, different varieties of dhal and rice, a whole range of bhaji, cinnamon, clove, cumin.”

The Indians brought ganga (marijuana) to the Caribbean because it was not illegal and prohibited and used it very sparingly as a form of relaxation in the evening, he said.

Samaroo said Indians were given the worst lands after their indentureship, the swamplands of Caroni, Oropouche and Nariva.

“If you go and look at these swamplands now, you see remarkable transformation. Indians had thousands of years of experience in India in converting swamplands to profitable lands.

“In places like Felicity, Barrackpore, Plum Mitan, they changed the physical geography by draining and cultivating these areas and making them profitable.

“Indians created villages where there were no villages before out of swamp and jungle and gave them ancestral Indian names, like Chandanagore, which means place where the moon shines, Calcutta Settlement Number One and Two, Madras Settlement, Coromandel, Malabar, Barrackpore, Fyzabad and Eli Road.”

Samaroo will lecture on Indian indentureship at the Sangre Grande Civic Centre at 11 am today.

"When you go to these villages you get food your mother used to make, sada roti, dhalpuri, talkari made with exactly the same ingredients. You see the Indian from whence you came still very much alive."

Hassel Thom, president of the Trinidad Hotels, Restaurants & Tourism Association (THRTA) says the $92,000 bill chalked up by Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Darryl Smith, for a three-night stay at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort in Tobago for a delegation of 12 officials, including himself, were “not really exorbitant” and “realistic”.

That is, compared with the cost of staying at five-star hotels like the Hyatt Regency and Trinidad Hilton in Port-of-Spain, he said.

Putting aside what he called the “politics and other issues” surrounding Smith’s Tobago visit, Thom gave his view on what it actually costs for 12 people to stay at a five star hotel for three nights.

Although the Magdalena Grand’s website gives the hotel a 4.1 star rating, Thom felt it was more between “3.5 to 4”.

He said the going rate for staying at a hotel like the Hyatt can be anywhere between $US150 to over $US200 per night or between $TT12,000 and TT$15,000.

“You multiply that by 12 rooms for three nights and if you have breakfast, it comes up to around TT$54,000 for three nights. And that’s not even a suite you are calculating for.”

“If you add the 20 per cent hotel tax for accommodation and service, it comes up to TT$64,000. Add to that the cost of the flight and four car rentals for three days.”

Thom concluded the overall $92,000 for Smith’s stay at the Magdalena Grand was not really exorbitant. “If that was the cost for a government entourage of 12 for three nights, then it’s not such an exorbitant cost. It’s realistic.”

He said it would have come across high because of the “timing”.

He said it came immediately after the disclosure of a $59,000 roaming fee by Minister of Tourism, Shamfa Cudjoe, and amidst calls by the Government for citizens to be conservative in spending.

He said the concerns around Smith’s trip were not based only on the cost itself but on the three additional people who went with him at the last minute, referring to the newspaper photograph of Smith and an employee of his ministry, Kate Balthazar, one of 11 employees who accompanied him on the Tobago trip.

“That’s what you have to weigh,” Thom said.

He described that aspect of the report as a “political game,” saying he does not get involved in politics.

Smith and his entourage went to Tobago two weekends ago to attend the Tobago House of Assembly awards on the Saturday night, among other events.

Government is moving ahead with revisions to the country’s labour laws to improve and clarify redundancy and workers’ retrenchment severance benefits, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus has confirmed.

She said government currently has in hand draft policy positions for revision of the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act (88:13) which prescribes procedures to be followed concerning redundancy and provides for payments of severance benefits to retrenched workers.

Baptiste-Primus disclosed this during Thursday’s Senate debate on amendments to allow payment of pensions and gratuity to fire officers who acted in posts for three years prior to retirement.

That matter was in the works since 2003 when Baptiste-Primus, as Public Services Association president at the time, negotiated the terms, which were approved by the Peoples Partnership administration in 2012.

Baptiste-Primus said T&T’s labour legislation requires amendment as many pieces of legislation have passed their time, no longer affect the rights and privileges of employees and employers and need to be modernised to ensure the rights of both parties are upheld.

She said T&T has an estimated 580,000 workers and there are 22 pieces of legislation under the Ministry’s purview. A ministry committee is reviewing the labour legislation and has prioritised ten laws that are due to be updated in the near future.

These include amendments to the Industrial Relations Act, Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act (88-13), Workers’ Compensation Act (88:05), Occupational Health and Safety Act (88:08) as well as laws governing Cirpriani Labour College, as well as friendly societies and co-operatives.

Also under review is legislation governing the private security sector, laws to eliminate child labour and to set terms for citizens entering the labour market.

Draft policy positions concerning the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act, Co-operatives Act and the Industrial Relations Act are before Cabinet, she added.

By 2020, all such legislation will be revised, said Baptiste-Primus, adding” “It’s not a promise, but a commitment to deliver,” noting that consultations were held on several of the laws, including the IRA and Retrenchment/Severance Benefits act.

Also in the Senate

Energy Minister Franklin Khan defended Government’s hiring of retired Energy Permanent Secretary Selwyn Lashley in the same post of PS for a year.

Replying to Opposition queries on a one-year contract for Lashley, Khan detailed several areas where he said Lashley’s expertise and input is needed including preparation of a strategic plan 2017-2021, energy policy consultations, renegotiation of key contracts and initiatives with Venezuela.

“It was important (Lashley’s) services be retained to ensure seamless continuation of the Ministry’s daily operations and provide expert advice and support to the Minister in on-going stakeholder discussions,” Khan added.

He said Lashley has specialised skills and government couldn’t always pay highly skilled people. The Ministry is now recruiting, however. Khan acknowledged the contract could be extended to as much as five years but said succession planning was in the works. He didn’t forsee extension beyond one year.

But when Opposition Senator Wade Mark asked for commitment that Lashley would only serve a year, Khan said he couldn’t give an “absolute guarantee” but the Ministry would do its best to ensure succession planning is done. 

Ex-CEO of Caroni Green Ltd, Sharma Lalla is suing the state-owned company and Government for $1.5 million, claiming that his three-year contract of employment was breached as it pertains to monies owed to him.

Documents to this effect were filed in the Hall of Justice last Thursday by attorneys Ragiv Chaitoo and Larry Lalla. The action was filed against CGL and the Attorney General.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, during the post-Cabinet news conference on March 16, said that Caroni Green and the Government Human Resource Service Ltd would be among the small state enterprises to be shut down.

He said Government has been assessing the performance of state enterprises and had received reports that some of them had passed the point of usefulness, some were “losing their way” and others were grossly under-performing. One or two were absorbing money and not contributing much. The government announced the closure of the Tourism Development Corporation in February.

Lalla is claiming CGL operated as a state agency and the state is jointly liable for damages due to him for alleged breach of contract.

Lalla claimed he had a three-year contract from August 17, 2015 at a gross salary of $45,000 per month, including vehicle bonus. He claimed CGL was entitled to terminate the contract at any time and for any reason without notice upon the payment of 12 months’ gross salary and benefits plus gratuity.

After statements by Government officials on CGL’s closure, Lalla claimed the new board chairman told CGL monthly-paid staff in April, all provisions of their employment contracts will be honoured.

However despite assurances, Lalla received an April 19, 2017 letter from the new chairman stating CGL would cease operations that day and he would be paid $196,566.67. On April 19, 77 employees of Caroni Green, comprising 63 farm workers and 14 monthly paid staff, received retrenchment letters at the company’s Brechin Castle, Couva office.

Lalla claimed he was also advised his salary and ex-gratia payments would be paid by April 20, 2017.

But Lalla claimed the offer of $196,566.67 was in breach of his contract which required CGL to pay him $1.5m for various matters - including salary from April 2017, vacation leave and other aspects - on termination of contract.

He maintains CGL is liable to pay him this under the contract. Lalla sent CGL a pre-action protocol letter on April 24. He received responses in May, denying the claim, but is pursuing it legally now.

In an interview with the Guardian on April 19, Caroni Green chairman, Jerry Hospedales, said payments totalling close to $2 million would be made to the retrenched workers, comprising a cash alternative to their vacation leave, 45 days service in lieu of their notice and a fortnightly pay based on the calculations under the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act.

Hospedales also told the Guardian in April that 22 employees would be kept on staff—three employees to assist in the liquidation and finalising the closure and 19 employees to man the Mon Jaloux and Union East estates from April 20 until the Ministry of Agriculture provided further instructions.

The 19 farm employees were being kept on to ensure that the existing crops were not lost, amid reports from employees that the company has close to a year’s supply of hot peppers and papaya for export.

Enterprise Businessman Joey Basdeo, owner of Joey and Laura Wholesalers of Enterprise Street, was fatally shot yesterday while exiting Reuben Lane in the community.

Reports state that around 2.30 pm, Basdeo, who was in the company of his wife and daughter, was driving out of Reuben Lane when a man on a bicycle approached the vehicle firing several shots at its occupants.

Basdeo’s four-year-old daughter was grazed by a bullet during the attack.

Basdeo was rushed to the Chaguanas Health Facility where he later succumbed to his injuries.

The murder was the first in the Enterprise area since a peace initiative took place last month led by members of the Unruly Isis Gang (now known as the Masjid of Peace) and the Islamic Front.

RALPH BANWARIE

Tragedy struck when three friends went for swim at Frontier Beach Guayaguayare in the early hours of Sunday morning. One man disappeared under the water and is yet to be discovered, while his two friends were able to save themselves by swimming to shore.

Thirty-four-year-old Denish Mahabir of Marabella is missing and his body is yet to be discovered, while his two friends Laura Shantoo 24, of Narinesingh Court, La Romain and Nicholas Maundy of Chadee Avenue, Claxton Bay survived the choppy waters at Frontier Bay and were able to swim to shore safely. They were reported to be traumatized.

Police reports indicate that Mahabir, Shantoo and Maundy were staying at a beach house at Frontier Road, Guayaguayare. At around 5:30am the trio decided to go for a swim at the nearby Frontier Beach at Guayaguayare. While reports indicate they all got into difficulties, Mahabir disappeared under water and never resurfaced, while Shantoo and Maundy swam to shore safely.

Lifeguards, villagers and members of the coast guard and air guard have teamed up to search for the missing man believed to be drowned, but all searches proved futile up to late yesterday.

The search is continuing, while relatives and friends, on hearing the news went to Frontier Bay to give support in the search for Mahabir’s body.

Family members were praying that the body of Mahabir would be washed ashore before nightfall.

Visiting the scene were Supt Phillip, Cpl James and PC Ramsaran of Mayaro Police Station.

Cpl James is continuing investigation.