It has been almost three years since the La Ruffin Fish Landing Site was commissioned by the People’s Partnership government and while many fishermen remain thankful for the facility, it is not fully functional and is causing them great financial losses.

Some complained that they’ve been forking out as much as $3,000 a month to get gas for their pirogues since the tank on the compound, installed to provide them with gas, is not operational.

La Ruffin is a village in Moruga where fishing is the livelihood of the majority of villagers.

When the Sunday Guardian visited recently, fishermen were at the facility repairing their nets.

Father of former West Indies Women’s captain Merissa Aguilleira, Michael Aguilleira, was in the company of fishermen Terry Nandlal and Reynold George.

Aguilleira said the facility once had a watchman and caretaker but not anymore.

He said, “We have no gas here. Fishermen more or less have to go elsewhere.The closest gas station is at Gran Chemin but that finishes very fast.”

They said they were forced to go to other locations such as St Mary’s, Princes Town, Barrackpore and Penal.

Aguilleira said all the fishermen needed was an operator to manage the gas facility.

They also complained bitterly about a poor water supply; a common cry by many in the area.

“The water (provided by WASA) is like mud. You have to wait for it to settle,” he added.

The men said just before the 2015 general election there was a watchman and a caretaker on the compound.

George also had similar complaints. “We need someone to take charge, to run it. They need a steady person to run it and fill it and receive the cash,” he said. He added that the cesspit was clogged.

The building is equipped with an air-conditioned meeting room, toilet and bath and lockers.

“We use this facility but something needs to be done to fix the problems,” he said.

The village falls under the Princes Town Regional Corporation. Lovell Francis is the MP for Moruga/Tableland.

The men said the councillor for the area, Joseph Lorant, visited them in April and listened to the concerns but “he doesn’t have any kind of say”. Lorant won his seat under a United National Congress ticket but the corporation is controlled by the People’s National Movement.

They said there were about 100 boats “doing all types of fishing”.

A grave concern for them, however, is the distance and cost to get gas elsewhere.

Aguilliera said, “One owner alone might have two or three boats, he will carry about nine or ten pans (for gas). One pan costs $40. So work it out. Plus you have to pay someone for transport.”

They explained that an average fisherman who fills three pans daily at roughly $120 plus transportation costs can find himself spending up to $3,000 a month. “And that is the least, so it is really tough.”

Nandlal said “Fishing here is our only livelihood,”the cost was too high and if the facility was operational it would be more economical.

“When you have to pay that money, children to mind, wife to mind...”

Rambharath: I will speak with NP

Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Clarence Rambharat said he was unaware of their concerns but will speak to National Petroleum about it.

The rumbling and disgruntlement began on Wednesday at the Port of Port-of-Spain as daylight broke and the men and women waiting to go to Tobago realized the sole passenger transport vessel servicing the sea bridge between T&T was not visible.

A phone call to a friend later informed that the vessel was still in Tobago and would likely get to Trinidad close to noon, despite the dark ink on tickets indicating a 6.30 pm departure from Trinidad.

The bad news was later confirmed by a port security guard, who told passengers that the port had advertised the sailing would be delayed as there was only one vessel in use.

The T&T spirit, the country’s second passenger vessel, was berthed at the port awaiting repairs.

After months of inconsistent sailings many of the prospective passengers were just grateful there would be a sailing at all.

Since earlier this year, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan has been bombarded with questions on the inter-island transport system and has provided answers ranging from sabotage on the vessels to the announcement that both passenger vessels needed repairs and another vessel had been sourced to replace them for a six-month period.

The message to Tobago residents with plans to visit Trinidad, and to Trinidad residents intending to holiday in Tobago, and to business people who have complained of losses has been to wait.

The wait, however, has hit Tobago harder than it has Trinidad.

And while the island appears far from a crisis, residents and business owners said the issue brings a host of challenges for Tobago.

On Wednesday, Richard Boyer, an entrepreneur who lives in east Trinidad but operates a business in Crown Point, said he has lost thousands of dollars in recent months due to the issues with the fast ferry.

“I go to Tobago every week for my fried chicken and chips business, Mountain View Fried Chicken in Crown Point. I carry supplies every week. Chicken and fries and oil and things the place needs,” said Boyer.

On the days he has to travel to the island, Boyer brings over crates of iced freshly processed chicken in a white panel van, along with processed French fries, boxes and other items.

Last month Boyer had to toss thousands of dollars in chicken when the ferry never came and the ice around the chicken melted.

“We went through this before but not regular like this. We lost money coming down here with chicken spoiling and we lost thousands of dollars. We had to stay closed a few times because I wasn’t able to get the supplies across.”

The ferry is Boyer’s only option to get his supplies from Trinidad to his restaurant.

One of his biggest source of frustration is the slowness of the Port Authority in spreading information.

It’s a frustration shared by businessman Khaleel Nabbie, who travels to Tobago by boat and plane several times each month to deliver stock to his computer store.

“I try to sail once a week on the ferry but because of what is going on I take the plane. We need to have vehicles leaving once a week for Tobago to deliver stock for our customers,” Nabbie told the Sunday Guardian.

“When you have a ticket, you come here and get no notification and you hear the boat is leaving Tobago and you won’t leave till 12 noon. That is time and money wasting and it has been going on too long.”

Nabbie usually receives text alerts on his mobile phone regarding changes in the sailing time but received none on Wednesday.

It is small business owners like Nabbie and Boyer who feel the burden caused by the delays in the ferry. It is the caterers, florists, market vendors, food salesmen, boat crew, guest house owners and restaurant owners that see a depletion in people coming to Tobago due to the ferry issues and a corresponding depletion in sales. The bigger companies have a bigger cash flow to buy more stock. While it is hard on them as well, the smaller companies that rely on the day-to-day sales feel it the most.

On the popular Store Bay and Pigeon Point beaches, the numbers of beachgoers remained low between Wednesday and Friday.

Vendors at food huts complained that residents from Trinidad had stopped coming over on weekends.

On Friday there was no sailing from Tobago to Trinidad, trapping passengers, including this reporter on the island an extra day, adding to expenses of an additional night on the island.

The other side of the near-disaster stems from the cargo ferries—the Atlantic Provider and the Trinity Transporter—which are being used to transport goods.

In April the cargo vessel which was previously used by the Port Authority of T&T returned to Spain and was subsequently replaced.

The vessels are being contracted for a one-month period with the option to renew, but this has not solved the problems at the port.

In the Jesus Christ makes the Difference supermarket in Calder Hall, customers passed empty produce isles, while Sonya Browne, a member of the family who owns the business said it was difficult for her 72-year-old father to ship stock to Tobago.

“Daddy used to go down every Tuesday night and come back every Thursday. Now he goes on Sunday and we don’t know when exactly he comes back, maybe Tuesday, maybe Thursday. We get a lot of better deals from Trinidad on things like ginger, melongene...

“Most of what we run out of is vegetable produce, cassava, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pineapples, paw paw and water is a problem for us.”

Browne said due to the process at the port for cargo shipments, sometimes produce sat on the port for days and had to be thrown away by the time it made its way to Tobago.

“When daddy comes he is grey with the stress of the port. He doesn’t let it deter him from doing it but it is still difficult for him.”

David Wong, businessman and secretary of the Tobago Chamber said in order for the T&T inter-island transport system to be fixed, there needed to have two passenger ferries and two cargo ferries, which needed to be properly maintained.

According to him, the problem of inter-island transport had existed for decades, dating back to the 1930s, receiving a temporary fix in the past three years.

“We as a chamber of commerce saw the ideal situation become a reality in early 2014, four vessels were operating throughout. It was reliable. People could easily come Tobago for a day and return home via the sea bridge. They would just come up by the boat and take the plane to go back home. Once the sea bridge and the air bridge were working properly, the connections were working properly,” Wong said.

He said under present conditions the goods that come over on the cargo ferry are now limited in accessibility and shelf life.

“Things like margarines and cold storage butters, which used to be exposed only for a short time, it is not happening, you are not sure the containers are going to sail.

“They might make it on the boat, it might not. It’s not a four-hour vessel, it’s an eight-hour vessel exposed to more heat.”

He said his business used to ship around six containers per week, but now received two.

“We had a stock before the Galicia left but because we are bringing in less, stock levels could eventually deplete to zero.

“The Tobagonian business person depends on the ferry.”

No response from the chief secretary

So far, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles has addressed the issue by only saying the problems would be resolved soon.

Several phone calls and text messages to Charles were ignored. Attempts to reach him via the THA proved futile. An email was sent to the THA requesting an interview with him.

Sinanan to public: Please be patient

Meanwhile, Sinanan yesterday appealed to the public to be patient just a little while longer as he is promising to resolve issues with the ferry and cargo boat within the next two weeks. Sinanan said efforts were made to alleviate the woes of passengers travelling between Trinidad and Tobago on Friday after the ferry broke down.

Passengers on board the T&T Express en route to Trinidad earlier today were thrown into a temporary state of panic after smoke emitting from the ferry's turbochargers made its way on deck.

According to passengers, who first assumed the ferry was on fire, cabin crew immediately began taking emergency measures and removing those closest to the smoke to the other side of the vessel.

The vessel then reportedly stalled in the open water off Tobago for nearly an hour before the situation was rectified. A T&T Coast Guard vessel then arrived and began escorting the Express to Port-of-Spain.

The ferry, one of two operating the inter-island route, has been  experiencing several problems of late and is in urgent need of maintenance.

President of the Couva/Point Lisas Chamber Liaquat Ali says he took in the man who stabbed him when he was down and out and invested heavily in him because he saw the man’s potential.

However, Ali says his near death experience will not deter him from helping others in future, although he admits he will be exercising a bit more caution.

Speaking from his Couva home by telephone yesterday, Ali, 55, who was stabbed once under the left back shoulder, said he is living a second life and will use this opportunity to live life differently.

He recalled that he took in the suspect shortly after he left school some 15 years ago. The young man, now 32, came from one of the drug havens in Couva and was left to his own devices by his parents, who more or less abandoned him, Ali said.

He said he first employed him to do odd jobs around his Old Mac Company and provided accommodation on the compound for him to live. Because he saw potential in the young man, Ali said he invested in training him to become a senior machine operator. He has also given a company cell phone and car as he moved out on his own about one year ago.

However, he admitted the man had trouble with the law over the years. Asked why he continued to support the man, Ali said he felt sorry for him. However, he said within the past weeks he had noticed a change in the attitude of the suspect. He said he refused to attend a meeting last Wednesday and on Thursday when he reported to work, he cursed a co-worker so Ali sent to ask him to see him in his office.

Ali said the suspect finally responded to a second request to go to come to his office, but when he got there he was abusive and started using obscene language towards his boss. “I had to ask him if he was working for me or I him,” Ali said.

He said when the man continued with his disrespectful behaviour he asked him to leave.

“I tried to put him out and in trying to put him out he stabbed me in my back with the knife operators use. The knife is usually left in the packaging room, but he had it in his pocket,” Ali said.

“When I saw my blood start to pitch, I ran out of the office for help. I was in shock, I could not believe he had stabbed me.”

The suspect then fled in the company car. Ali was rushed to the Couva District Health Facility and later transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital by ambulance, treated and discharged. He commended staff at both institutions for their care. A senior officer at the Couva Police Station said the suspect, 32, of Mc Bean, was still on the run yesterday. Police also confirmed that the vehicle was returned on Friday.

PC Gomes is continuing enquiries.

The head of this country’s Defence Force and his immediate predecessor are now in a war of words over Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi’s children use of the shooting range at Camp Cumuto, where they were eventually photographed holding what appeared to be high-powered weapons.

Former chief of defence staff Kenrick Maharaj yesterday denied having anything to do with the situation, despite a letter from current Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Rodney Smart saying he (Maharaj) “acting on his own volition” authorised the visit.

Maharaj said the letter from the T&T Defence Force signed by Smart claiming he authorised the visit, was written with “an underlying intent to cause mischief” and is “disturbingly misleading.” He is now calling on Smart to “retract and amend” the statements made.

Photographs of Al-Rawi’s children holding what appeared to be high-powered weapons were brought to the national spotlight by Opposition Member of Parliament Dr Roodal Moonilal during the budget debate last October.

This prompted Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to slam the TTDF about the situation, saying the leak of the photographs was a serious breach of security. Rowley and the TTDF have said Al-Rawi’s children were the ones who were photographed, but to date Al-Rawi has neither confirmed nor denied this.

The TTDF convened a board of inquiry (BOI) to investigate the situation and report was presented to Smart “as a Top Secret document.”

On March 27, exercising his rights under the Freedom of Information Act, Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge wrote the TTDF asking that the inquiry findings be made public. Sturge also posed six questions to the TTDF on the situation.

In response, Smart wrote a letter to Sturge, dated April 25, stating that the report could not be made public because of security reasons, but answered the other questions posed to the TTDF.

In the letter, Smart said Maharaj “acting on his own volition” authorised Al-Rawi’s children to use the shooting range at Camp Cumuto on October 31, 2015, when the photographs were taken.

Yesterday, Maharaj said this was the furthest thing from the truth as he was not even there.

“I did not authorise the range practice that was conducted at Cumuto Barracks on October 31, 2015 and which was attended by the Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and members of his family,” Maharaj said.

“I did not invite the Attorney General to any military base to attend any range firing activity on October 31, 2015, or at any other time during my tour of duty as Chief of Defence Staff.”

Maharaj said he in fact never had any “communications with the Attorney General on this matter at any time.”

“I was not at Cumuto Barracks on October 31, 2015 and I am not aware who would have received the Attorney General and his family at that military installation on that day and what protocols were observed accordingly,” he said.

Maharaj said he was also never requested to testify before the BOI on this matter, nor was he contacted by Smart “in order to offer information or advice on this matter.”

On April 27, two days after Smart wrote to Sturge, Maharaj said he called Smart to talk about the “erroneous contents” of the letter.

“I communicated with Brigadier General Smart Chief of Defence Staff via telephone on April 27, 2017, voicing my concerns about the erroneous contents of the TTDF response and the damaging effects it would have should this document enter the public domain,” Maharaj said.

“I trusted that Brigadier General Smart would have taken the corrective action.”

But this did not happen.

Maharaj said he was “gravely concerned” by the letter.

“I am gravely concerned, from a position of absolute denial in granting such authorisation, that I was not informed of testimony to that effect in the BOI and therefore a fundamental requirement for me to attend the BOI to confirm or deny such an allegation/accusation,” Maharaj said.

“Notwithstanding this, it is noted that the statement ‘acting on his own volition’ is language commonly associated with the criminal law environment and therefore has negative connotations in that regard. It is highly unusual to ascribe such language to the decision making process of a Chief of Defence Staff, and so leaves one to wonder in this circumstance, if there was an underlying intent to cause mischief by the person who drafted the TTDF response to Senator Sturge.”

Maharaj added: “Even if a Chief of Defence Staff exercises his ‘initiative’ in any given instance, his ultimate decision is usually based on staff advice (feasibility, suitability etc) and the subsequent execution by personnel down the chain of command.”

Maharaj said he is “deeply concerned that the disturbingly misleading statements made in the TTDF response carry the potential to do serious harm” to his “character and reputation.”

Most importantly, Maharaj said the TTDF letter still has not addressed the issue of whether there was a breach of the Military (Prohibitions) Act 14 of 1996 by allowing minors to handle TTDF weapons.

Although Al-Rawi’s children were photographed holding what appeared to be weapons, the letter to Sturge stated that “the BOI deduced that the Attorney General’s children were not allowed to have high-powered weapons belonging to the Defence Force in the presence of the Attorney General and members of the TTDF.”

Maharaj called on Smart to have “all the statements in the TTDF’s response to the FOIA request retracted and an amended document prepared and re-submitted” to Sturge. He also called for “an official public statement, guided by the pursuit of truth and based on the facts, be made by the Defence Force to undo the hurt caused” to him and his family “in light of this painful and unfortunate but avoidable faux pas.”

While the “buck was passed” to former Defence Force chief Kenrick Maharaj in the matter of pictures of the Attorney General’s children holding weapons, the AG isn’t “off the hook” says United National Congress MP Barry Padarath.

“In view of Mr Maharaj’s denial of the Defence Force report on the issue, there are now questions on the matter and suspicions have been raised on the integrity of the report and about those who are involved in the investigation of this issue,” Padarath said yesterday.

Padarath made the comment in the wake of Maharaj’s denial of claims current Defence Force Chief of Staff that he (Maharaj), “acting on his own volition,” had authorised Al-Rawi’s children to use the Camp Cumuto shooting range. Photos of the situation were brought to Parliament’s attention by the Opposition last October. A Defence Force report, however, stated the incident didn’t take place in the AG’s presence.

But Maharaj yesterday denied he played any role in the incident.

Addressing this, Padarath said: “Mr Maharaj’s comments clearly put him at a distance from the scenario with the children. Therefore, where did the Defence Force get all of the information they have issued and is this a conspiracy between the Defence Force leadership and the Attorney General?

“We will be pursuing this further because the head of the Defence Force must explain.”

However, Padarath also added, “Even if the buck was passed to ex-CDF Maharaj, the AG has finally confirmed it was his children and he refused to do that before.

“In public life you put the public interest before your own. But as an officer with the duty to uphold the law particularly, he never admitted it was his children involved. It appears the whole legal and justice system is in crisis, from AG to the CJ.”

Meanwhile, UNC MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh yesterday called on the remaining members of the Education Facilities Company Limited (EFCL) board to follow chairman Arnold Piggott’s example and resign.

Gopeesingh said Piggott’s resignation followed serious allegations of corruption, bid rigging, abuse of office, “squander-mania” and worker victimisation at EFCL.

“The directors therefore have no moral authority to continue clinging to public office following these extensive shocking revelations. To preserve the integrity of the audits and EFCL’s viability, the directors must immediately step down or be fired.”

Gopeesingh said audit findings must be sent to the Fraud Squad for independent enquiry. He added that Education Ministers Anthony Garcia and Lovell Francis, to whom EFCL’s Board reports, must also be held responsible for alleged wrongdoing under their watch.

Well known businessman Rabindranath Maharaj has been freed on four charges of extortion and demanding money by menace.

Two years after the charges were laid against Maharaj, San Fernando Senior Magistrate Cherril-Ann Antoine discharged him after hearing submissions from the defence and state attorneys.

The charges alleged that Maharaj, owner of R&J Cell Tech Ltd, demanded over $200,000 from contractor Rajkumar Ramkissoon during a seven-year period. The charges included that on December 23, 2008, with menace, he demanded $59,000 with intent to steal; on June 19, 2013, he demanded $29,000 with intent to steal; on October 10, 2006, he demanded with intent to extort or gain $59,000 and on October 23, 2008, with menace he demanded $59,000.

When Maharaj first appeared in court charged with the four offences in February 2015, his attorney Keith Beckles submitted that he was innocent and rather instead a victim of fraud. Beckles also claimed it was ironic his client was charged, as he was a victim of a dishonest cheque allegedly issued by the victim.

Maharaj was granted $150,000 bail on the conditions that he report to the police station three times a week and surrendered his passport. Beckles subsequently applied to a judge in chambers and all Maharaj’s reporting conditions were removed and his passport returned to him.

The matter was set for trial for the last time on May 25. However, after hearing submissions by state attorney Anselm Leander and responses by Beckles, the magistrate discharged Maharaj.

Following this, Maharaj said he was traumatised by the entire incident. He expressed his gratitude to God and his attorney, whom he thanked for doing an excellent job in restoring his life.

One of the nieces of Wendell Kevon Pierre held on to her head and screamed “No, no, no,” in disbelief as she viewed his body on the ground at 107 Tarodale Gardens, San Fernando, shortly after 2.30 am yesterday.

As a male relative lifted her bodily and removed her from the scene, she continued to question why someone would want to kill her uncle.

“He was a decent man. He was not involved in any crime, he never had no conviction. We can only assume he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said in an interview around midday, as she tried to come to terms with his death.

It was a sentiment shared by Pierre’s fiancé, Melinda, to whom he was expected to married later this year.

Pierre, a father of two, was one of two people killed by unknown gunmen while playing a game of cards with a group of men. The other victim was 16-year old Jabarie Etienne, who died at the San Fernando General Hospital around 4 am from gunshot wounds to his chest.

Police believe the teenager may have been the real target, as the assailants ran behind him as he tried to escape. No one was at Etienne’s home when the T&T Guardian visited yesterday.

One of Pierre’s brothers explained the circumstances leading to the shooting.

“My nephew called and told me to come up the road, Kevon now got shoot and he feel he dead. We heard he was playing cards when two fellers came up from the street behind and just start to open shots. He was one of two fellers who picked up shots. He died right here. The other youth man who pick up shots, he died at the hospital.”

The relative, who did not want to be identified, said they had no motive or reason for the killing.

“We don’t know the real reason. It’s not like they take anything from them, not like no robbery, no revenge or nothing,” he said.

He said while his brother collapsed and died shortly after running a short distance away, the assailants ran behind young Etienne and pumped bullets into him before they escaped. He further explained that Pierre, 34, a construction worker, did not live in Tarodale but in Chaguanas.

“My big brother got a small job in Marabella to do and he called Kevon to come down this weekend and help him. If wasn’t for that he would not have been here and this would not be the outcome. It is not the easiest thing to deal with,” he said.

Melinda said the last worlds Pierre said to her as he was leaving their home on Saturday morning were, “Melinda ah leaving. I will see you when I come back.”

She said she never anticipated that she would get a call saying he was dead.

“I bawled and cried, I was in shock. He was a good man. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Melinda said.

Their killings took the toll for the year to 223 up to last evening. Investigations are continuing.

Government has applied to have the court declare yet another national, Milton John Algernon, as a “listed entity” — terrorist—and have his funds frozen under anti-terrorism laws.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi confirmed this after the state filed documents concerning Algernon in court last Friday. A date for the matter, already assigned to a judge, is pending.

Algernon was among persons described on an intelligence list as having gone to Syria in 2013 to join the Islamic State terror network. He was 38 then.

The list–obtained by the T&T Guardian in April 2016–stated that Algernon was “killed in battle in the second week of July 2015.”

Al-Rawi spoke about T&T’s anti-terrorism efforts as he issued sympathies to the British people following Saturday night’s third terrorist attack in Britain in as many months.

Communication Minister Maxie Cuffie has said there were so far no reports of T&T nationals killed or injured in the London attack.

Al-Rawi added yesterday: “Our full, continued support is committed to the people of England. We continue to join them in the war against terrorism and will do everything in our small but important part to stand frontline in the issue.”

Among T&T’s own latest developments, he said, is the move to have Algernon declared a “listed entity.” This follows work among a number of local and foreign security and intelligence agencies.

Algernon was a former director of the T&T Agricultural Society and vice president of the Sheep and Goat Farmers’ Association. His address was listed as Rio Claro, but he was also listed as living at Cunupia. The latter address was also given for onetime Enterprise resident Shane “Asadullah” Crawford, with whom Algernon was charged in 2010 for possession of a large cache of arms and ammunition. Algernon, a father of six was reported to have two wives who were pregnant at the time.

Crawford was listed by intelligence agencies as departing for ISIS in 2013. He was sanctioned by the United States in March for alleged ISIS involvement. The US reported he was killed in air strikes against ISIS last October. Government subsequently obtained a court order deeming Crawford aka “Abu Sa’d al-Trinidadi” a “listed entity” and freezing his assets.

Crawford was the 341st individual or entity listed by T&T under anti-terrorism law.

Algernon and Crawford were among five alleged to have been assassins in an alleged plot by 13 people to kill former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bisssessar in 2011.

Al-Rawi said further proposed anti-terrorism amendments will tackle some aspects which British Prime Minister Theresa May advocated following Saturday’s London attack. May said Britain has been too tolerant of extremism and advocated stronger measures, including for Internet giants to stop providing a “safe space” for extremism. • See Editorial on Page A16

Al-Rawi said, “Our anti-terrorism amendments now before Parliament target persons receiving training or giving training (for terrorist activities) via the Internet in various ways. It includes taking action against parties hosting the offending material.

“We can, as a result of the crime, get the Internet ‘giants’ to remove/monitor the material. The matter is also tackled in the Cyber-crime Bill coming up soon.”

Al-Rawi said the anti-terrorism amendments will definitely be done this year. Whether it’ll be before Parliament recesses in the first week of July or after it resumes in September, he couldn’t immediately say.

“Several other pieces of legislation are on Parliament’s agenda also,” he added.

A second part of the anti-terrorism amendments regarding those who seek to return home from ISIS involvement is still being finalised.

“We’re diligent - and vigilant - on this (terrorism) matter,” he added.

The Movement for Social Justice, (MSJ) is lending support to the Law Association’s call for Chief Justice Ivor Archie and members of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) to step down.

Yesterday, MSJ leader David Abdulah said the CJ and the body he heads, which legal luminaries say has brought the profession into odium over the treatment of the appointment and subsequent resignation of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar to the bench, must step down.

“In our view, the time has come for CJ Archie and members of the JLSC to resign in order to ensure that the credibility and legitimacy of the judiciary and our legal process can retain some of its very significantly tarnished reputation. We are calling for them to resign,” Abdulah told a media conference at the party’s St Joseph Village, San Fernando headquarters yesterday.

“Quite clearly, this is another indication of the collapse of our institutions of state.”

As the situation worsens with accused people whose matters were part- heard by Ayers-Caesar now standing in limbo, calls have been made for Government to intervene.

Last week, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard raised concerns over the legality of restarting some of these 53 part-heard matters.

There was also another near riot of some of the affected prisoners in the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court when acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby -Earle Caddle told them their matters would have to be restarted.

In spite of the vote of no confidence in the CJ and some members of the JLSC, both Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary does not permit Government’s involvement at this time.

So said leaders of independent and traditional arms of the local Muslim community, Islamic Front’s Umar Abdullah and Muslim Roundtable’s Hafeez Khan respectively.

Both commented on the issue yesterday following Saturday’s third terrorist attack in London.

The UK Telegraph reported that following London’s second attack recently in Manchester, ISIS had repeated its 2016 call for “all out war on western infidels” during the month of Ramadan. The fasting period began over a week ago. When the call was made in 2016, attacks followed globally.

ISIS is reported to have urged “Muslim brothers in Europe who can’t reach ISIS lands” to attack people in their homes, markets, roads and forums. The group reportedly said it “loved” the targeting of innocents and civilians.

Yesterday, however, Abdullah said he wasn’t taking the reported call as credible, since a lot of propaganda was “being circulated to attack the Muslim community and could assist the US’ bid to ban people from Muslim countries or aid retaliatory strikes in the Middle East.”

Khan added: “That sort of (ISIS) call would only take root in deranged minds and wouldn’t reach those of sound mind. Anyone responding to this wouldn’t be involved in true Islamic teachings.”

Khan, however, stressed that Government must be “on top” of the terrorism threat issue. Government meets with community members at mid-month to discuss ways of handling people who return from ISIS involvement.

Also contacted yesterday, former National Operation Centre head Garvin Heerah meanwhile said counter-terrorism focus is needed concerning fears that returnees might engage in terrorism on home ground.

“Rather than broad policy seeking to criminalise/restrict extremist opinions, a better approach is to focus on individuals reasonably suspected of intending to engage in a terrorist plot, finance terrorism or incite it. Professor Arun Dundani says the best way of preventing terrorist violence is to widen the range of opinions that can be freely expressed—not restrict it,” he said.

“There must also be a strategic intent from all factions of the national security grid for collaborative effort in preventing terrorist attacks. This needs to be generated from a centre for counter terrorism. This global threat far outweighs the responsibilities of a desk or sub-unit.”

He urged analysis of political, economic, social and psychological forces underpinning terrorism.

“Does T&T have a counter terrorism strategy? This goes way beyond utterances that returnees will be ‘monitored’. Another challenge is to understand the process by which extremist ideology takes hold among youths.”

He got what he asked for.

Delayed sailing: check.

Engine troubles: check.

Slower than expected journey: check.

Frustrated truckers in Tobago: check

In recent times, passengers hoping to travel between the two islands using the ferries that service the sea bridge have been experiencing various travel woes, including cancelled sailings.

The T&T Spirit is berthed at the port awaiting repairs while the T&T Express takes passengers to and fro despite repeated mechanical issues.

Rowley yesterday went to the Port of Port-of-Spain to take the 3 pm sailing to Tobago to see exactly what passengers are faced with. His visit was not disclosed to the media and he arrived without fanfare.At 4 pm Rowley and the other passengers were supposed to have already been on their way to Tobago.

But this was not the case as the sailing was delayed by an hour.

The T&T Express had experienced technical difficulties on its trip to Trinidad earlier in the day and the 3 pm sailing had to be delayed.

During the earlier sailing to Trinidad smoke emitting from the vessel’s turbochargers made its way on deck, causing some panic among passengers. The vessel then reportedly stalled in the open water off Tobago for nearly an hour before the situation was rectified.

A T&T Coast Guard vessel then arrived and began escorting the Express to Port-of-Spain.

During the delay for the sailing to Tobago, the T&T Guardian understands Rowley was able to talk to some passengers. He also had discussions with the chairman of the Port Authority Alison Lewis and general manager Charmaine Lewis and other employees.

The T&T Express started it journey with three engines.Then in transit it blew an engine. This slowed down the journey.

The Express finally docked in Tobago just around nine pm.

On Saturday, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan again made an appeal to the public to be patient over the ferry woes, promising to resolve issues with the ferry and cargo boat in the next two weeks.

Bay Ferries, the company which had the contract to service the inter-island passenger ferries for the last 11 years, left the country on September 30, 2016, when its management contract with the Port Authority ended. Since then the port has been experiencing difficulties with the maintenance of the vessels servicing the sea bridge.

The ongoing controversy over the Judicial and Legal Service Commission’s (JLSC) handling of judicial appointments took another turn yesterday, as attorneys representing a former government minister Devant Maharaj sought a last-minute injunction to stop the swearing-in of two new judges this morning.

Mere hours after President Anthony Carmona’s office announced the ceremony for 11.30 am today, attorneys representing Maharaj wrote to him suggesting he defer the appointments as they may be affected by his lawsuit challenging the JLSC’s composition.

The T&T Guardian understands the two candidates, who were not named in the release, are Jacqueline Wilson and Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchu. Wilson is the former solicitor general of the Cayman Islands, while Waterman-Latchu is a former deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and last served as a judge in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

After receiving no response by a deadline given, Maharaj’s lawyers filed the application and sought an emergency hearing. The application was initially randomly assigned to Justice Margaret Mohammed but she refused, instead suggesting it be heard by Justice Frank Seepersad, who was assigned to Maharaj’s substantive case.

A hearing was convened around 8 pm at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain last night to facilitate Seepersad, who had to preside via video conferencing as he was in Tobago for an unrelated case yesterday.

The T&T Guardian understands submissions on the injunction were expected to take several hours, as the Law Association, Office of the Attorney General, attorneys for Carmona and the JLSC were to respond to the application. The decision on the injunction was expected to be delivered after midnight.

In his lawsuit, Maharaj is claiming the JLSC is performing its duties without its full complement of five members. Ramlogan has noted that shortly after the lawsuit was filed last month the JLSC admitted it was operating without its full complement, leading to the appointment of Ernest Koylass, SC, on May 17.

The other members of the JLSC are Chief Justice Ivor Archie, retired Judges Roger Hamel-Smith and Humphrey Stollmeyer and head of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Maureen Manchouck.

Maharaj is also challenging Stollmeyer’s position, as the Constitution states the JLSC members should be the Chief Justice, head of the PSC, a sitting or retired judge and two “persons with legal qualification...not in active practice as such”. His lawyers claim a retired judge does not fall in the last category.

The latest debacle over the JLSC’s selection of judges comes while it is still reeling from the controversy over the appointment and subsequent resignation of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.

Last Thursday, the Law Association passed five motions of no confidence in Archie and the JLSC for its handling of this matter and called on Archie and the JLSC to resign. A defiant Archie has rebuked the suggestion.

Commenting on the issue during a UNC Monday Forum in San Juan last night, Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar slammed the decision to appoint new judges given the ongoing fiasco over Ayers-Caesar’s appointment.

“Can you believe that after the fiasco that just happened, with the JLSC now under the court for being wrongfully constituted, the composition and the members of the JLSC, the ones who recommend judges for appointment, the fiasco just witnessed that has brought the judiciary into disrepute, they going to recommend again?” Persad-Bissessar said.

“Shameless, totally shameless and untenable…that is a slap in the face of the people of our country.”

—With reporting by Rhondor Dowlat

Former Chief of Defence Staff Kenrick Maharaj says he has received no response from incumbent CDF, Brigadier General Rodney Smart, on his calls for a retraction to the claim he (Maharaj) acted on “his own volition” in authorising the visit of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and his family to Camp Cumuto in March last year.

Smart’s response was contained in a letter to Opposition senator Wayne Sturge.

Smart is currently on pre-retirement leave and is due to return in early August for his retirement ceremony. The T&T Guardian was unable to contact Smart or the Acting CDF Captain Hayden Pritchard yesterday.

But Maharaj reiterated yesterday that he had nothing to do with the visit. He said “correct protocol required that if he was inviting the AG to the Camp I would have written a letter of invitation and the AG would have responded with an acknowledgement that the date suggested was okay. Protocol required that on the day of the visit I would have presented myself to receive the AG and his family.

But I had no idea that they were coming. I was not informed and I was nowhere around.”

He said it appeared to him that what transpired on March 27, 2016 “appeared to be something informal, and I am not sure what the protocol arrangements were.”

Maharaj said he was saddened this has turned into “a war of words” between himself as former CDF and Smart. He said from a military standpoint “there is nothing wrong with training for a VIP from a military or procedural standpoint, but in this case there were compromises, children with weapons, that is just not done.”

He said his pain is that “up to this time, no one has addressed the critical issue. I do not share the view about placing children in the same manner we place adults. Children are children and those responsible for the protection of children are the protective forces, it is okay to familiarise an adult, but children are not mentally prepared for those issues. I don’t agree with that.”

Maharaj reiterated that he is “deeply concerned that the disturbingly misleading statements made in the TTDF response carry the potential to do serious harm” to his “character and reputation.”

He said the letter also did not address the issue of whether there was a breach of the Military (Prohibitions) Act 14 of 1996 by allowing minors to handle TTDF weapons.

Maharaj said acting CDF Pritchard would have received his letter sent last week in which he asked for, among other things: a retraction of the statement issued by Smart in which his name is mentioned, “an official public statement be made by the Defence Force to undo the hurt caused to Maj Gen Kenrick Maharaj and members of his family,” and that consideration be given to a comprehensive review of the board of inquiry conducted in the matter with specific focus on the terms of reference required to guide its deliberations, including the central issue of who was responsible for the handing over of the military weapons to unauthorised children during a range firing practice.

Also contacted on the issue yesterday, columnist Raffique Shah, a former lieutenant in the army, said the confusion may have been created by Smart’s wording in his letter to Sturge. He said the Board of Inquiry Report “may not have pointed a finger, we don’t know.

It could have said these were standing operating procedures as approved by the CDF who at the time was Maharaj.

I think they owe Maharaj an apology at the very least to clear his name, as being the person who by inference in the letter is deemed to have been responsible.”

Shah said “Maharaj was right to come out and defend himself.” He said while as the CDF at the time Maharaj may not have actually been aware the AG and his family were invited to the camp. He is of the view that “the officer who is culpable is the officer who was in charge of the range that day, the senior person.” But he said the BOI Report should have “apportioned blame where it belonged and recommended what should be done.”

In his letter to Sturge, Smart stated that “the BOI deduced that the Attorney General’s children were not allowed to have high-powered weapons belonging to the Defence Force in the presence of the Attorney General and members of the TTDF.”

Independent Senator David Small yesterday read the Riot Act to directors of the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL) who failed to show up for a Joint Select Committee (JSC) meeting in Parliament, accusing them of absconding and threatening to have them summoned to the next sitting.

“The EFCL board members seem to have gone into hiding. But they can run but they can’t hide,” Small, the JSC chairman, warned.

The JSC had called EFCL and other government officials to explore the efficiency and effectiveness of the State-owned company, which is responsible for construction, maintenance, repair, outfitting and furnishing of schools and for the textbook rental programme.

The board was installed by the People’s National Movement (PNM) after it came into Government in September 2015. The old board was fired following allegations of corruption. But the new board has also been under fire for similar allegations, including the awarding of multiple contracts to various entities under one parent company and having a board director award tenders to a company he has links with.

Small minced no words as he chastised the absent board members, saying their no show was gross disrespect and will not be tolerated. They thumbed their noses at the people of T&T, he said.

He said the committee was left extremely dissatisfied, disappointed and in despair. He said board members wanted to be in charge of State companies but did not want to be accountable to the public, but those in charge of State resources must be accountable.

EFCL chairman Arnold Piggott, who resigned last Friday to protect his reputation and family’s name, he said, was absent.

“The chairman decided to move on,” Small said, apparently forgiving his absence.

But Small had a major problem with the no show of EFCL vice-chairman, Ricardo Vasquez, and members Indu Sharma, Christopher Braithwaite, Anthony Bisnath, Jeffrey Julien-Francis, Dean Burgen and Steven Samlalsingh. He repeated their names at the start and end of the meeting.

“The vice-chairman decided not to be present for personal reasons. It seems he has more pressing things to attend to than account to the people. The committee takes serious umbrage to that.”

Small praised lone director Clyde Permell for turning up, saying his mother had taught him manners.

To compound the situation, the JSC heard board members were summoned to a mandatory meeting with Education Minister Anthony Garcia at 2 pm yesterday.

EFCL directors, if they had attended, would have had to rush from the JSC, which usually ends at 12.30 pm, to the 2 pm meeting with Garcia.

Small said the JSC is not judge and jury, but any attempt to stymie its work will be met with the stiffest resistance.

Addressing EFCL directors who may have been watching the JSC sitting via its live stream, he drew their attention to Standing Orders of Parliament that give the committee power to issue summons to make people attend meetings. He said his committee was giving this option “active consideration,” since they plan to call the EFCL to a second hearing and this time there will be no “wiggle room.

“They have to understand that when they are summoned they have to appear. The marshal of Parliament can summon them but I don’t want to go that way.”

Small said JSC members had many questions to ask the EFCL about the allegations swirling around it but its directors were not there to answer them.

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, Natasha Barrow, says the decision to construct a temporary roof at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Tobago, is one of the immediate benefits of the $92,000 weekend trip to the island by 12 officials from the ministry, including Minister Darryl Smith, last month.

Barrow, alongside officials of her ministry and Sportt officials, appeared yesterday before the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAC) chaired by House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George to answer questions about the trip and other matters.

The officials went to Tobago for a site visit at the stadium, which is in need of major repairs and attend the Tobago House of Assembly Sports Awards ceremony.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley requested a report from Smith about the trip after its cost was reported, but retained Smith in his cabinet despite calls for him to be fired over what was seen as exorbitant spending on the trip.

Yesterday, while admitting it could have been done a little differently, Barrow insisted the trip was value for money, adding that the value could only be determined by the achievements of the exercise.

Annisette-George asked if the only benefits of the trip were for the delegation to see the dilapidated condition of the stadium and determine if there was a need to construct a temporary roof at the facility.

Barrow said other repairs were identified and they should be completed before the end of the fiscal year. She said the National Youth Policy, Caricom Youth Organisation registration, youth policies for Tobago and Trinidad were among the projects advanced by the visit.

Barrow said in the future, alternative transport and accommodation would be considered with a view to reducing the cost of such trips.

Barrow, who has been acting since January, said it had been a traumatic ordeal due to the fallout from the controversial shelved Life Sport programme. She insisted there is a need to seek external professional support to change certain behaviour patterns at the ministry.

She said there was need for healing at the ministry following the controversial Life Sport programme.

There are big changes ahead for Education Facilities Company Limited (EFCL) management.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia yesterday read the Riot Act to board members as he announced vice chairman Ricardo Vasquez would act as chairman following the resignation of former chairman Arnold Piggott.

Garcia hinted that “significant changes” will be made to the board and senior management at the company, which “may involve additions to the board and some members of management having to revert to their substantive positions.”

Garcia signalled his intention as he met with the board yesterday, according to an Education Ministry statement.

Piggott resigned last Friday following allegations of corruption, nepotism and mismanagement levelled against the EFCL in recent weeks. The Attorney General’s office and Finance Ministry are now conducting audits on EFCL. Piggott resigned citing family commitments and “the protection of my reputation and family name.

During yesterday’s meeting with the EFCL board, where a revamping mandate was issued, Garcia told directors that he was disappointed over several issues. This included the board’s operations, reporting lines not being adhered to, retrenchment exercises, the slow pace of construction works being carried out and the process to be undertaken when emergency repairs are to be undertaken when schools are forced to close.

Garcia stressed his ministry should be notified in writing of any changes to upper management in the company. He also expressed dismay over the lack of confidentiality amongst EFCL staff members.

The press statement didn’t detail what “significant changes” will be made to the board and senior management. But it did say other board members may be brought in and some management officials will have to return to posts they held before.

Vasquez, the statement noted, promised to revamp the entire reporting process and liaise directly with the ministry’s executive team on any staff changes. He said all infrastructural works will be dealt with expeditiously, in particular the Morvant/Laventille Secondary School, which has been closed for the last month because of a pigeon infestation.

Vasquez also said the 10 schools under the New School Construction programme will be treated with urgency. On the issue of lack of confidentiality in the company, he said he would be employing “strict measures to prevent this from occurring.”

A 28-year-old woman charged with importing 19 illegal firearms in a shipping barrel containing dog food has been granted $350,000 in bail.

Hafeisha Dillon, a geriatric nurse from Globe Theatre Lane, San Juan, was granted bail after she appeared before Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court charged under the Customs Act with importing prohibited items into T&T.

Dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and her head tied in a wrap, Dillon stood silently in the prisoner enclosure and was not called upon to plead to the charge, which was laid indictably.

Attorney Harricharan Cassie, who prosecutes on behalf of the Customs and Excise Division, did not object to bail for Dillon, but asked Forde-John to apply strict conditions to her bail considering the quantity of weapons she is alleged to have imported.

Forde-John agreed and ordered Dillon to surrender her passport and report to police three times weekly for the duration of her case.

The T&T Guardian understands that Dillon was unable to access her bail up to late yesterday and was remanded into custody.

During yesterday’s hearing, Cassie and two officers from division unpacked the plastic shipping barrel which was brought to court on a trolley to be tendered into evidence.

The barrel, bearing Dillon’s name, address and telephone number on the side, contained the illegal weapons, a large bag of dog food, two large bags of flour, two pairs of shoes and a quantity of nutritional supplement drinks.

The weapons included two AK47 assault rifles, two shotguns and 15 handguns, as well as quantity of assorted ammunition.

Dillon, who is employed at a home for the elderly in Santa Cruz, was arrested last Wednesday as she allegedly went to clear the barrel at Piarco Air Services’ bonded warehouse in El Socorro, San Juan.

She was allegedly the second consignee to attempt to clear a barrel containing dog food that day. The other consignee was eventually arrested and his shipment seized after Dillon was detained.

The other suspect remained in police custody up to late yesterday but had not been charged. He is expected to be taken to court later this week.

Dillon was represented by Devvon Williams and Kelston Pope and will reappear in court on July 3.

Attorneys representing Finance Minister Colm Imbert and former agriculture minister Devant Maharaj are expected to square off at the Hall of Justice this morning at hearing of an appeal against two injunctions stopping collection and processing of valuation return forms for the property tax.

The hearing comes less than a week after High Court Judge Frank Seepersad granted a second injunction to Maharaj, who claimed the State was in breach of the original order when it invited property owners to voluntarily submit their forms to the Commissioner of Valuations.

Maharaj sued the Ministry of Finance after it issued a press release calling on property owners to complete and submit valuations forms along with relevant documents by May 22. Even as Imbert extended the deadline due to long lines of property owners at Valuation Division offices, Maharaj applied for the injunction on May 19.

In granting the first injunction Seepersad had said: “The balance of convenience and the interest of justice is not weighted in favour of the respondents (AG and Commissioner) and a greater risk of prejudice lies in the continuation of a process which on the face of the existing law, may have been undertaken without measured consideration and without proper regard to the provisions of the Act.”

Imbert and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi immediately signalled Government’s intention to appeal the injunction. However, there was some controversy as Al-Rawi said the appeal would come up for hearing two days later even before it was filed in the court’s registry.

At the first hearing of the appeal on May 22, Appellate Judges Peter Jamadar, Gregory Smith and Judith Jones adjourned the case as they said they had not had time to read the documents and the appeal was not urgent.

Following the adjournment, Imbert issued a second release in which he claimed he had legal advice on the issue and voluntary submission of forms would not be in breach of Seepersad’s injunction. Imbert’s claims were raised by Maharaj’s lawyer Anand Ramlogan, SC, when the original injunction came up for review last Wednesday.

Ramlogan then applied and obtained the secondary injunction blocking the Commissioner of Valuations from receiving and processing the forms. State attorneys have since appealed the second injunction and both appeals are expected to be heard simultaneously this morning.

Maharaj’s substantive case against the State challenging the legality of Government’s enforcement of property tax is set to go on trial in September.

The property tax valuation exercise is not merely to ensure those taxes are paid but is also a mechanism for rooting out fraud. Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said as much yesterday in his address at the opening of Global Forensic Institute’s (GFI) Caribbean Fraud Conference 2017: FATCA, Trafficking and Risk at the Radisson Hotel in Port-of-Spain.

“I want to point out something the country has missed. How do you establish ownership of properties in this country? Doesn’t it require the State identifying all ownership in the country?” he asked.

“How do you identify all ownership of land? By a mechanism of compulsory registration for land which is why in the Parliament there are four bits of legislation which require the State to go to every inch of T&T, identify the owner and compulsory register.

“I don’t want to offend any injunctions in court but I want you to think a little bit deeper about how you double check the ownership of land. It requires the State to go out and bring its records to date. If we are serious about dealing with corruption the first thing is to step back and look at the system.”

Al-Rawi said.Government is also working on a “completely renovated system” for land registration which is expected to go before Parliament in September.

“Right now people abuse, hiding proceeds of crime under beneficial ownership arrangements or deeds of trust. We are proposing that all trusts must be done by deed and all documents must be registered including agreement for sale. If you can’t register you tell the registry and that becomes public record,” hei said.

The AG said although there are several robust laws to tackle fraud, the gap between an allegation and conviction is still “impossibly too large,” making it difficult to bring perpetrators to justice. He said this is taking place against a backdrop of 53 police prosecutors, of which only eight are lawyers, handling 95 per cent of magisterial matters.

“Every magisterial matter is a preliminary inquiry and you have 29,000 of them in arrears. You’ve got 100,000 cases occupying judicial time for traffic offences. You have 2,100 cases in backlog over 15 years in the High Court ,” he said.

The AG warned that Government’s approach to stamping out corruption is targeted, adding that this had repercussions.

“It is not by mistake that people attack certain members of Government. I have been accused of being a tactical Attorney General by the Opposition,” he said.

He pledged to deal with the “eat ah food” syndrome.

Noting that most in this country gave a “collective steups” on law enforcement, Al-Rawi added: “The real problem in our country is the distance between an allegation of corruption or fraud or criminality and the conviction is just impossibly large. Our largest case of alleged corruption in our jurisdiction is the Piarco Airport Inquiry.

The AG said that case is in its seventeenth year in the magistrate’s court following which it will proceed to the High Court from which there is the possibility of it going to the Court of Appeal and Privy Counsel.

On the Proceeds of Crime Act, the AG said the Police Service can demonstrate only $250,000 in cash forfeitures because the Act requires there be a crime with a conviction in court before going after behind the proceeds of the crime.

“So if your pre-trial stage is 17 years and yet to go to Court of Appeal . . . when you eventually get to a conviction, you’re 30 years past and then you go for the conviction and forfeiture of assets,” he said.

Al-Rawi said the root cause of criminality in T&T is fraud. Using the car industry as an example, he said roughly 10,000 cars are licensed per month.

“The allegation is the Licensing Authority would ask for $500 to accelerate licensing for your car. That is a small request but take that and multiply it by $10,000 and multiply it by 12 and somebody in the Licensing Department has a $60 million enterprise based on fraud,” je said.

The AG said over the past 26 years there have been several discussions about regularising the credit union system with “nothing to show.”

“So your credit union regulations are coming,” he said, adding that owners of companies must also disclose the “true owners” of shares.

Dealing with tax evasion

Al-Rawi said the secrecy provision in the Income Tax Act has to be opened up to allow for certain prescribed entities to access information for law enforcement purposes and to ensure “somebody is guarding the guards.”

He said the proposal requires a special majority and there is a Miscellaneous Bill before Parliament tfor prosecution of tax evasion matters in a reciprocal arrangement.

“We will extradite persons who are deemed to be wanted in a foreign jurisdiction for tax evasion. Currently the law as it stands is that the Government could say no if an extradition request is made for tax evasion purposes,” he said, adding that this discretion is currently being reviewed.