GML ENTERPRISE DESK

Acting Prime Minister, Finance Minister Colm Imbert says that The Government wants to enter into an arrangement with the private sector to build houses “to  help stimulate economic activity, create employment and also so that the state does not have to put out billions of dollars to build houses.” 

Speaking to the GML Enterprise Desk, Minister Imbert, who is working from home following minor surgery, said: “The plan is to provide fiscal incentives to private housing developers in such a manner that they would be motivated to finance and construct houses.”

He explained that in thinking the plan through the government was hoping that “the private sector would raise the financing , whether it be bridge or construction financing, construct the houses in accordance with agreed designs, simple designs nothing elaborate  and then those houses would be matched to mortgages being offered by the TTMF and the Home Mortgage Bank.”

He said “the government plans to merge the two institutions (the TTMF and the HMB) and create one large institution.” 

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced the initiative on Tuesday night, telling that country: “We intend to ramp up housing construction as a major driver of the economy, but there will be a comprehensive over haul of the funding arrangements of the programme.”

Imbert explained: “There are already about fifty thousand approved mortgages at the TTMF and the HMB but there are no houses to match them with, so that is where the money would come from. The mortgage institution would provide the funding to take out the construction cost and the government would take up any shortfall or settle any delay in the payment by the mortgage institutions to the private sector. In short we would guarantee the payment.” He said people who purchased the houses would provide the repayment for the construction work and the Government would pick up the slack.

The objective of the initiative according to the Prime Minister was to “stimulate economic growth by selectively using what is available in the most innovative way.”

Minister Imbert said the benefits would be the creation of employment and the stimulation of economic activity,” telling the Enterprise Desk:  “We want to mobilise local resources, construction material utilise primarily local stuff, aggregate and so on. The whole point is to get the private sector involved so that government does not have to put out billions of dollars to build houses.”

He admitted that the concept was in the early stages but he said it would get off the ground in 2016.

The Governemnt’s intention to split and utilise a portion of the multi-billion Heritage and Stabilsation Fund is a cause for concern to the Opposition. 

In a statement yesterday Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar picked apart Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s Tuesday night address to the nation and said that it was evidence that  the Government does not have an economic plan.

“The use of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund creates more anxiety and questions. If Dr Rowley intends to withdraw US$1.5 billion he must immediately explain how he will use this to achieve stabilisation and a balance in expenditure and revenue and how he will meet requirements for utmost transparency and scrutiny,” she said.

She said Rowley needed to give the country the assurance that funds from savings will not be used for consumption, but for investment spending and creating value within the economy. 

The former prime minister said Rowley’s speech did nothing more than “exacerbate anxiety and instability”as he failed to address how he intends to fix the ongoing shortage of foreign exchange.  She said her government was operating in a time of low energy prices and had already outlined several plans to reduce government spending.

Persad-Bissessar said that Rowley demonstrated that he “has no understanding or idea of how to manage the present economic challenges”.

“We were clear and specific that budget adjustments would focus on maintaining a healthy level of investment and protecting jobs, incomes and the vulnerable,” she said.

She said since taking office in September, Rowley and Minister of Finance, Colm Imbert used “every possible opportunity to complain and misinform the public on the nation’s finances” adding that neither seemed “ready or able” to take the reigns. 

Persad-Bissessar sought to make political hay of Rowley’s trip to Miami to attend a private wedding, his fourth abroad since taking office four months ago.

“The Prime Minister must stop the campaigning, and the joy-riding and take responsibility for Trinidad & Tobago... three of these four trips have been for personal business – a PNM fundraiser in London, a wedding and golf in Barbados, and now a wedding in Miami. By the time Dr Rowley returns on 4th January, he would have served 117 days in Government and spent almost an entire month (24 days) travelling abroad to secure his personal interests,” she said.

“He made absolutely no clear and cogent reference to fiscal strategy or policy. The private sector needs to know what the Government’s development agenda and plans are if they are to align their strategic plans to the direction intended by the State,” she said.

She challenged the Prime Minister’s claim that the previous government did not decrease expenditure in the face of the falling energy prices.

“ The 2015 Budget by the People’s Partnership Government had originally projected operating expenditure of $60.1 Billion. The Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure 2016 showed that the revised estimates of expenditure for 2015 was $55.6 Billion, a reduction of almost $5 Billion,” she said.

National midfielder Keron Cummings underwent a successful surgery yesterday at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and doctors believe he should be able to return to the playing field in ten months.

Cummings, 27, who was shot on the right leg by a masked gunman near his home in Diego Martin on Sunday, had a steel rod placed into the femur to stabilise the fracture. The bullet which was lodged was also removed.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Cummings’ father, Christopher, said he was at the hospital when the surgery was in progress and was hoping and praying to God for a speedy and full recovery. “I left him at 1 pm and he was in good spirits,” Christopher said. Cummings was visited by his three children—Jevon, Naeem and Tianna—yesterday evening.

Asked if he would be transferred to a private hospital as promised, Christopher replied:

“I would firstly want to have a talk with his doctors and then we would take it from there because if he has to be transferred to a private facility it means that we would have to get money for that. “As far as I heard the hospital has a good therapy procedure going. We will still have to pay to get further therapy sessions on the outside but it won’t be as exorbitant.”

TTFA medical consultant Dr Mario John, who is an orthopedic surgeon based in Orlando, Florida, United States, was able to observe yesterday’s procedure. In a statement issued by the TTFA’s director of communications, Shaun Fuentes, Cummings said he was relieved following the surgery.

“Firstly I want to thank the Almighty Lord for bringing me through this. I am relieved at the moment. I would like to thank my family and teammates, the national team management and the TTFA for their support over the last few days.

“This was a very difficult time in my life but I am thankful that with rehab I will be able to make a comeback,” Cummings said.

He was visited by TTFA president David John Williams and other members of the national team at the hospital. T&T head coach Stephen Hart added: “This is very good news for the player and also for us. We have kept him in our prayers and we are thankful for the outcome. 

“He will have our support throughout this and it is important now that the follow-up care and the rehab process go well for him.”

Less than 24 hours after he went missing, the body of Couva pensioner Ramsaran Maharaj was found yesterday dumped in an old canefield road in Phoenix Park, California, battered and sodomised with a piece of wood. 

The gruesome find was made around 10 am by National Gas Company employees who were driving along the company’s Old Office Road on their way to check plant equipment. Maharaj, a retired truck driver of Milton Village, Couva, was lying face down on the lonely road with several wounds to his head. 

Couva police and Region III homicide detectives were contacted. Police said Maharaj was last seen entering a black vehicle by relatives around 11 am Tuesday. Villagers said family members were worried last night when he did not return home and they began looking for him. 

At his home yesterday, a relative declined to speak and said their home was private property. Although investigators have no motive, they said other relatives would be interviewed. Maharaj’s body was taken to the Forensic Science Centre, St James, for an autopsy.

An explosion rocked the PowerGen plant in Port-of-Spain yesterday, knocking out power across northern Trinidad, Chaguanas and environs. Employees at the plant were immediately evacuated. No one was injured during the incident.

In a statement, the T&T Electricity Commission said the explosion took place at the switchboard of the PowerGen “B” Power Station at Flament Street. “This occurred while T&TEC was making the transition in preparation for the decommissioning of the Port-of-Spain “B” Power Station.”

The PowerGen plant is scheduled to cease operations tonight and the switch-over is expected to be completed to the Pt Lisas power supply by then. The release said customers were affected in northern parts of the country and engineers were working on restoring supply to customers.

Last week, parts of Port-of-Spain, Diego Martin and western Trinidad were thrown into darkness after a breaker failed at the same plant. Belmont and Gonzales residents complained it was the fourth blackout that has occurred within the past few months. 

Customers from Morvant to Cocorite, including Maraval and Santa Cruz, claimed they also lost supply. 

Motorists who have grown accustomed using the Priority Bus Route (PBR) as an alternative route to and from Port-of-Spain will no longer have that opportunity in the new year.

The Ministry of Works and Transport in a release stated that the experimental scheme, which allowed private motor vehicles to use the PBR when occupied by three or more people to access the PBR between 4 am and 6 am and 8.30 am and 3 pm, ends today. The fine for the unauthorised use of the PBR is $2,000.

Social activist Phillip Alexander in a post on Facebook said he believed the decision was an attempt by the Government to force a justification for a mass transit system.

“One is left to assume that the only reason for cancelling this initiative is to worsen the peak time highway traffic nightmare for commuters so as to force a justification for a mass transit system, as otherwise the announcement without explanation makes little sense,” Alexander said.

He added that the programme was built on encouraging car pooling which is one of the best ways to lower carbon footprint and reduce traffic by extension. He added that the Minister of Works and Transport, Fitzgerald Hinds, owed the nation an explanation “beyond this high-handed and almost contemptuous release.”

Frequent PBR user, Terrence Narine, of Arouca, said he had welcomed the use of the PBR, which was introduced by former works minister Jack Warner in 2010. 

“It did me and my co-workers great. It brought us relief because travelling on morning and evening in traffic every day, five times a week is not easy from the east all the way to the west. 

“This is the worst thing that can be done right now. Come Monday when school reopens and new year with everyone coming back out from holidays, I dread this,” he added.

In the past month three bars in the Rio Claro area were robbed. Police said in each case patrons and proprietors were beaten. This string of crimes has triggered the police to issue a warning to bar owners, who agree to rent their bars out to Chinese nationals roulette machines, to be aware of the risks.

A police source told the T&T Guardian an increased number of bars with the electronic gambling machines were being targeted by bandits who knew large sums of cash were kept in-house. Each roulette machine can be configured to make its own maximum payout depending on its popularity. The limit of this differs from bar to bar.

While the machines do not pay out the cash, bartenders are provided with a pool of money called a “float”, from which they dispense to winners. It was for that reason more and more bars with the gambling device were targeted by bandits, police said.

All three bars robbed in Rio Claro had roulette machines installed and were targeted by bandits as they were about to close. An officer said bars that were normally slow and would not have previously been targeted have now become vulnerable and prime targets because of the machines.

Although police could not confirm a link between the robberies, they said a group of four men, with at least one carrying a gun, was responsible. The Rio Claro CID is currently reviewing CCTV footage from all three establishments in the hope of catching the robbers.

Parents are being told to keep their children away from school come Monday when the new school term reopens, once they display cold and flu symptoms or any other form of discomfort.

This is a major precaution undertaken by the Ministry of Education following a request by the Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh in  bid to prevent the spread of the H1N1 influenza (swine flu).

During a press conference yesterday, which was held at the Ministry of Education head office in St Clair, Minister Anthony Garcia made the call to parents and added that both ministries (Health and Education) were currently still engaged in discussions.

"We are doing everything that is necessary to ensure the safety of our children in the schools. There are certain basic health protocols that were given to schools by the Ministry of Health. This goes back years. We are calling on all members to please take a minute to ensure that those protocols are observed and enforced in all our schools regarding teachers and students," Garcia said.

When contacted for comment yesterday, Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh said that despite that there are 42 lab-confirmed cases of the H1N1 influenza in T&T, he maintained that there was no need to organize the vaccination in the schools.

"I would only reiterate what the Minister of Education said which is to keep your children away from school only if they display cold and flu symptoms and also for reiterate my plea that I made two months ago to parents, which is to have their child/children, once they are five years and under to get them vaccinated because it is the children who are under five years that are susceptible," Deyalsingh said.

He disclosed that there are 42 lab-confirmed cases in T&T and added that there are also confirmed cases throughout the Caribbean.

It was previously reported that the Ministry of Health had placed an order with the Pan American Health Organisation for 20,000 additional vaccines.

In October, former health minister Dr Fuad Khan called on citizens to be cautious as there was a resurgence of the virus in India and parts of South Asia, which share close ties with T&T. 

He noted the 2009 pandemic in which 14,286 confirmed deaths were reported and called on local authorities to put the proper measures in place.

Khan’s call followed the death of a Siparia woman, Cherrie Ryce, that same month as a result of H1N1 at the San Fernando General Hospital.

The death was brought to the attention of the media by concerned relatives.

In October, the Caribbean Public Health Agency said it had received 284 samples for influenza virus testing, of which 47 tested positive while 14 were typed as Influenza-A H1N1.

Schools To close for exams

Several schools throughout T&T will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday, while some, only the Form One and Form Two students will be affected. This, according, to the Minister of Education, Anthony Garcia, is to accommodate students writing the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations.

The following Secondary Schools that will remain closed and will re-open for the new term on Wednesday are:

Diego Martin North

Bon Air 

Diego Martin Central

La Romaine 

Malabar

Marabella North

Marabella South

San Juan North

Siparia West

South Eastern Port-of-Spain

St Augustine 

Woodbrook

The following Secondary Schools that will only affect Forms One and Two students are:

Barataria South

Point Fortin East

Barataria North

Mount Hope

North Eastern College 

Rio Claro East

El Dorado East

Waterloo 

Chaguanas North

Chaguanas South

Princes Town West

El Dorado West

Tranquility 

Mucurapo West

The Ministry of Education is to cut scholarships by 15% in 2016. Education Minister, Anthony Garcia says there’s need for more discussion. "The (scholarship) cap will reside in the area of about 400 but again we would need to discuss with all stakeholders," Garcia said. The number of scholarships issued over the last five years was 1600 —over 470 in 2015. It means 70 scholarships will go.

The ministry is also to cut spending by more than $118 million, that represents 1 percent of a budget that the Guardian was told $9.8 Billion. 

Garcia was speaking during a media conference yesterday at the St Clair offices of the Ministry of Education, called mainly to clarify the issue of textbooks in the school.

Garcia explained that the replenishing of textbooks, its three-year cycle which came to an end has been extended to one year.

"If we had gone the way of full replenishment that would have amounted to $138 million. The decision that we have taking now, which is only to replenish the books that have been destroyed, lost and stolen will allow only an expenditure of not more than $20 million. So, this is a step in the right direction," Garcia said.

"I want reassure that there is no shortage of textbooks, they are still in the system and available to all. The only difference this year is that some of the, might be as old as three years but we do not see this as a major problem," he added.

President of the T&T Unified Teacher's Association (TTUTA), Devanand Sinanan and President of the National Parent Teachers Association, Zeena Ramatali were also present at the media conference. 

 Bother said they hadn’t been properly consulted initially, but were now satisfied with the proper explanation given by the minister surrounding the textbooks issue.

However, Ramatali raised concerns about the storage and the quality of the textbooks in the system.

Both Sinanan and Ramatali welcomed Garcia's move to reinstate the Learning Material Evaluation Committee.

"The life of that came to an end in 2009 and since then we have had no committee performing that function and we were very concerned of the committee not being in existence or no alternative arrangement was put in place. We were satisfied with the minister listening carefully to our suggestion. We also indicated that the committee must include representatives of TTUTA and the NPTA as well as other stakeholders," Sinanan said.

Prime Minister Keith Rowley told the country on Tuesday that all ministries and state entities would need to find 7 percent in budget savings. He said those would come mainly from inefficiencies, and that jobs would not be threatened.

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Allocations Manager Lauren Legall has referred a matter regarding Housing Minister Marlene Mc Donald to the Integrity Commission and the Commissioner of Police.

Yesterday, Legall, who was earlier this month placed on administrative leave by the board of the HDC, claimed to have received a letter from the Human Resources Department of the Corporation.

The letter, which was obtained by the Guardian, contains a request for Legall to return the allocation file of Michael Carew.

Opposition Wayne Sturge, in a letter to the integrity Commission this week, described Carew as Mc Donald’s partner.

Earlier this week, Sturge requested that the commission investigate whether Mc Donald used her influence as Minister in 2008 to secure the allocation of an HDC house to Mr Carew.

Mc Donald was Minister of Community Development at the time.

Emily Gaynor Dick Forde was the then Housing Minister.

Sturge presented documents written from then advisor to Dick Forde, Odette Alexander to the HDC requesting the allocation.

Alexander refused to comment on the matter.

Dick Forde has not answered calls to her mobile phone.

In a three-page response to the HDC’s letter, Legall raised concerns about what she described as unusual inquiries from Mc Donald.

She claimed that sometime in November, Mc Donald made enquiries as to the status of the deed for Mr Michael Carew.

She claimed McDonald had informed her that Carew had paid in full for a unit at the Fidelis Heights Housing Development since 2008 and had not received the deed for the property.

“I am not accustomed to a Minister making inquiries of a particular applicant and as such I considered this request unusual but it being a request from the Honorable Minister I proceeded to make inquiries to ascertain the status of the deed of Mr Carew,” Legall wrote.

She claimed to have located the file and brought it to the attention of the minister.

According to the document, Legall claimed to have informed Mc Donald that the relevant correspondence had been sent to the attorneys responsible for preparing the deeds for the Fidelis Heights Development, advising that payment had be prepared and Mr Carew be contacted. .to

She claimed Mc Donald handed her a receipt from law firm Gopeesingh, Martineau, Edwards and company which indicated that Carew had paid the necessary attorneys fees for preparation of the deed.

She said the document Mc Donald gave to her had not been in the file earlier that day.

She said she collected the deed from the attorneys office and presented the copy to Mc Donald and another copy was placed in the customer’s file.

Legall denied knowledge of the file’s whereabouts.

“The file remained in my office up to when I proceeded on vacation on the evening of December 10, 2015.

Mc Donald did not respond to phone calls or a text message this evening, but she had previously told the Guardian that she was not the owner of the house.

The Minister is currently on vacation and expected to return next week.

Asked whether Government had discussed the allegations made against Mc Donald, Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie  said he was not aware that there had been any discussions on that matter.

Newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank, Alvin Hilaire, yesterday signalled that he intends to keep faith with the interest rate policies instituted by the previous governor, Jwala Rambarran, even as he said that his predecessor’s decision to announce that T&T was in recession formed part of the Bank’s official record.  

“I don’t consider monetary policy to be governor-dependant. Monetary policy is continuous. It is one Central Bank and we work together as a team with one philosophy,” said Hilaire, in response to questions from journalists. He said the Central Bank monitors conditions on a daily basis and adjusts its policies as necessary. 

Hilaire met the media at the Central Bank on his fifth working day on the job, following his appointment to the top job on December 23, hours after the termination of the appointment of the previous governor.

Rambarran, who is T&T’s only Governor to have been fired, restricted his personal interactions with the local media to comments made following his presentations at the five monetary policy forums.

On the issue of whether T&T is in a recession, Hilaire said: “We had a statement from the Central Bank a few weeks ago. I will not distance myself from that and I would advocate more concentrating on where we are at and what to do about it.

“The situation is serious. It needs immediate attention. It started from the external sector and spilled over to the domestic sector. We have some buffers to address the situation, which we did not have before and the Central Bank has the technical capability to deal with the situation.”

At the controversial fifth monetary policy forum on December 4, Rambarran announced that T&T was in a recession, based on three quarters of declining out and an initial read on the fourth quarter. His comments were disputed by Finance Minister Colm Imbert and Prime Minister Rowley, who challenged Rambarran to produce the data or facts to corroborate the finds of a recession.

Hilaire said the decision to separate the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund and to access US$1 billion from it in the 2016 fiscal year was an indication that the Government wanted to draw down some of its savings rather than rely totally on borrowing.

Asked if he subscribed to Rambarran’s view that capital flight can be controlled by higher interest rates and not by other adjustments, including the exchange rate, Hilaire said the difference between T&T and US interest rates mattered as did the confidence of investors in the system.

He said countries like Barbados and Greece, controlled demand for foreign exchange, with a fixed exchange rate, by reducing aggregate demand.

“There are two ways of dealing with a balance of payments imbalance: one is on the price side, the exchange rate, and the other is on the income side, by compressing aggregate demand.

“In the case of a floating exchange rate regime, you could allow your currency to move, which could help equilibrate the demand and supply of foreign exchange. But it is important that exchange rate policy be consistent...and it needs to minimise volatility. Ultimately, exchange rates do find their right value. The question is whether they do so with volatility or smoothly.”

Hilaire said he did not have a preference between fixed and floating rates as he believed that the right choice was the policy that worked. He said countries that opt for fixed exchange rates, in the context of high demand for foreign exchange, must introduce policies that will reduce incomes. 

While many families rang in the 2016 together, Victor Corrio “Dan” Welch’s children were left to mourn his death after he was shot dead while liming on Wednesday night.

His children spent yesterday in the care of relatives while his common-law wife tended to his autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre, his father Glenford Reid said.

According to police, Welch, 33, of New City Avenue, Fyzabad was at John Jules Extension when around 11 pm, residents heard loud explosions. On checking, they found him lying at the side of the road with gunshot wounds.

On visiting the murder scene yesterday, shop owner Kathy-Ann Abraham said it was around 10 pm Wednesday that Welch purchased a half pack of cigarettes and a chubby softdrink. After he walked out, she heard several explosions but thought it was firecrackers.

About two minutes later, another resident walked into the shop and told her that a man was lying dead in the road.

“We ran out and saw him lying at the side of the road and when we were about to call the ambulance, we looked to see if he was breathing but he was already dead. It looked like he got shot in his head,” Abraham said.

Another neighbour said they heard the explosion but it didn’t sound like gunshot. 

Reid, who walked across to the scene yesterday with his youngest son, said he last saw Welch alive Wednesday morning when passed by his house and called out them. He said he was asleep that night when his wife woke him after hearing the gunshots.

“She came and told me she heard gunshots and that Dan got shot. I got up and came across but he was already dead. I am still trying to find out what happened because he was a quiet man. He was not any trouble maker, even the police know that. The only thing he used to do was take a little smoke,” Reid said.

He said he was troubled by the amount of murders taking place, saying that young people no longer wanted to resolve conflicts, instead they sought vengeance.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat says Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) workers who fall under his ministry will be utilised in defined areas to support the nation’s farmers.

Speaking to the GML Enterprise Desk on the role of his Ministry in light of the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on the state of the economy, Minister Rambharat said he was looking at “restarting the Mon Jaloux Grass Project, to grow grass for farmers across the country.”

He said where there was a particular need from farmers and CEPEP and URP workers can assist then he would utilise them but “it has to be a defined project, that would be the state’s contribution to support farmers.”

In addition he said CEPEP workers can be utilised productively along the 17 miles of coastline in Mayaro “which we have to clean on a daily basis.”

He said they can’t “simply take a CEPEP group and put them into agriculture. The people who will be recruited to work in agriculture are those with the capability to do the work required.”

In his address to the nation on Tuesday the Prime Minister said that CEPEP and URP cost the country $1b annually, but he said he would not cut the programmes, but would instead move to “eliminate corruption and make those programmes more efficient and effective.”

Rambharat said, “CEPEP functions in a limited scope they may do something on the road, but they can’t do minor road maintenance. We have to widen the scope and give them additional resources to do more on site.”

He told the GML Enterprise Desk that on Tuesday both he and Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon toured the Arawak Poultry Plant. The company has 1,600 employees but require more workers. He said the company pays between “$16 to $22 dollars an hour, and a lot of women are employed at the plant, but they need more workers.” 

There is, he said, employment outside of CEPEP.

In an effort to meet the demands of the agricultural sector, he said, his ministry plans to revamp Youth Apprenticeship Programme in Agriculture (YAPA) and Agriculture Now —the two programmes for young people to train them in a wide range of skills to make them employable on private farms. We see the opportunity for a two-year apprenticeship for them to learn skills to prepare them for jobs inside and outside the ministry,” he said.

As to the age old cry to “buy local” well Rambharat said “we are doing the research and my approach to it is to identify opportunities for import substitution and to develop some sectors.”

He said “we have to develop the local product not just to grow hot peppers, it has to be a lot more structured approach, timing, packaging, a wide range of issues.” Rambharat said he has put “this responsibility into the hands of the National Agricultural Marketing and Development Co (NAMDEVCO) which is now headed by Dennis Ramdeen.” He said “we have the farms to table concept moving the food from farm to table reducing the middlemen.”

But he has some ongoing concerns about the sector, these include the handling and labelling of food. Issues which he said he intends to address. He told us “in livestock we have food fraud, that is food which is imported in a way that it should not be. Chicken that comes into the country we don’t know how long it was frozen. In the US after 180 days the chicken must come off the shelf, we believe it is dumped in T&T.” He also believes imported pork which competes with the local pig farmers in Wallerfield and Carlsen Field “gets here in breach of conditions under which it is imported.”

He said “we have to level the playing field to make sure the local industry has the opportunity to compete fairly with imported food. We have taken a hard line especially on the imports, we have revisited import of duck meat from Suriname because we not satisfied with the production facilities in Suriname.”

Rambharat said both he and the Minister of Trade intend to meet with the Minister of Health to ensure that the Food and Drug Division enforces the law on importation of meat and other products. He said “it is illegal to import honey but yet all the supermarkets have foreign honey for sale.”

He also wants to meet with the Education Minister to discuss the school feeding programme, because “we have announced that we must approach 100 per cent local foods in the school feeding programme.” The local content in lunch boxes under the programme he said is currently “negligible, it is a lot of imported stuff.”

Local contractors are welcoming the decision by Prime Minister Keith Rowley to encourage private capital into the housing market to service a sector which forms the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) client base.

The initiative was announced by the Prime Minister in his address to the nation on Tuesday on the State of the Economy.

President of the Contractors Association Mikey Joseph told the GML Enterprise Desk that the Association had “hinted to the Prime Minister at our dinner earlier this year that the housing construction sector could be used to stimulate the industry.” 

He said “in constructing homes we tend to use much of the national resources, local paints, local blocks, local materials that assist in keeping the industry alive and we also utilise local financing.”

Joseph said they had long complained about the carte blanche use of foreign contractors in particular the Chinese whom he said “leak the foreign exchange because they have to repatriate the money to their homeland.”

He said while it had been late in coming, he still believed that the local industry would benefit.

“It will make a difference instead of people having to go out of business, retool and re-establish.”

In making the announcement on Tuesday Rowley admitted that because of the current situation there may be “some slowdown in economic activity.” 

He said the objective was to “stimulate economic growth by selecting what is available in the most innovative way.”

To this end, he said, the Government intended to “ramp up housing construction as a major driver of the economy, but there would be a comprehensive overhaul of the funding arrangements of the programme. There will be new initiatives which would encourage private capital to accelerate construction on private or state land for pre-arranged priced units which upon completion the state through the HDC will receive and direct these units quickly to mortgagees who will access and service facilities which will be readied at the T&T Mortgage Finance (TTMF) etc.”

The Prime Minister said the objective was to “quickly move private capital into the housing market to service a sector which forms the HDC client base without initial state cash outlay.”

Joseph said that is all well and good. But he believes that before the initiative can get off the ground “the banking act will need to be changed so that banks become a partner of the project, providing the finance.” 

Joseph explained that in the past the government financed such projects through Fincor but he said “there must be a level playing field all local banks and financial institutions should be able to provide finance.”

He said that the contractors would design and build and “the bank would go through the process, hold the mortgage and transfer to the government who would pay once they are in a position to do so.”

As to the cost of the units, he said: “I am also one who does not subscribe to subsidised housing for those who can help themselves.” 

Joseph said he told the Minister of Housing Marlene McDonald that there was “a need to provide facilitation in terms of a home guarantee, because a lot of middle class persons cannot access loans easily.” He said: “If there is a loan guarantee facility the TTMF can go around and finance the homes.”

But he had another concern—“building houses and roads is not enough.” He said the industry was bigger than that.

“Some of our guys doing civil works and roads, the government needs to have these people go out and work regionally and internationally to earn foreign exchange,” he said.

He said trade agreements should be looked at to “try and implement legislative changes to allow local contractors to go out and compete. It will not cut it if we just have buildings and road infrastructure. We need to go out.”

Another issue the Government needed to look at urgently, he said, was licensing of contractors.

He said it would be a waste of money if the houses were not built well. 

He said: “As it is now, it is a free for all. Any Joe who could buy a backhoe is now a contractor. There is urgent need for standards in the industry.”

Once the banking issues and the legislation governing contractors are in place he believes that the stage would be set for a successful partnership. 

He does not believe that getting things done the right way would delay the initiative announced by the Prime Minister. 

“We have been calling for it for years and we believe the time is right to get it done now,” he said.

Another contractor Winston Riley agreed that the initiative was a good one, but he was of the view that “it is crucial to get the procurement legislation in place, which is absolutely important to ensure there is transparency.”

He said when in Opposition, Rowley had said the legislation was a priority and he had also proposed to meet with the Joint Consultative Council, civil society groups and the private sector, but that had not yet happened.

The end of 2015 was a far cry from the beginning.

The year started with what remained of the People’s Partnership in government and ended with the Keith Rowley-led People’s National Movement.

It began with promises of a causeway to Chaguaramas, houses for everyone  and a bridge to Toco from Tobago.

It ended with promises to pay wages, implement taxes and to steer clear of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by dipping into the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund.

A year which started with promises of more, ended with revelations that the country was less sturdy economically than citizens could have imagined.

 Tobago suffered a natural disaster in August when the shorelines were invaded by the sargassum seaweed, which cost the island about $3 million to clean up.

While beachgoers there were held hostage by seaweeds, both islands were immobilised by a traffic nightmare on March 23, during the Police Service’s “day of total policing.”

Police denied that the day of policing was a response to delayed salary negotiations.

The action by officers saw thousands of commuters stuck in hours of traffic while police checked everything from vehicle tint to smooth tyres.

In March, Tobago East MP Vernella Alleyne-Toppin suggested Rowley was born as a result of rape and that these circumstances made him “aggressive” and “arrogant”. 

Alleyne-Toppin shocking statement came durin­g her debate on the Government’s no-confidence motion against Rowley.

The motion of no-confidence was passed and Rowley was suspended from the House of Representatives for the remainder of the parliamentary term.

Trinidad’s Soca Warriors also advanced to the second round of World Cup qualifiers after playing to a draw with USA on November 19.

T&T also ended up on two international lists, making both one of the happiest countries in the world and one of the most obese.

In December, T&T doctors successfully removed the world’s second largest tumour, weighing a total of eight pounds, from a patient in San Fernando.

Goodbyes and hellos

After facing criticism from several sectors of society regarding exorbitant legal fees being paid for by the state in 2014, former Attorney General Anand Ramlogan’s downfall came in February as a result of allegations of witness tampering from head of the Police Complaints Authority David West.

West reported Ramlogan to the police in January for alleged witness tampering. 

Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams immediately launched a probe.

Ramlogan denied the allegation that six days before West was appointed PCA director, Ramlogan asked him to withdraw his witness statement in a defamation lawsuit filed against Rowley relating to the failed extradition of Section 34 applicants Steve Ferguson and Ishwar Galbaransingh in exchange for him being selected for the job.    

West stated that his recollection of what had transpired was “diametrically opposed to the Hon Attorney General’s denial.”  

Ramlogan was replaced by Garvin Nicholas, a former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. 

Ramlogan wasn’t the only minister caught in the crossfire of that police investigation.

That same night, Persad-Bissessar also fired then National Security Minister Gary Griffith, and called for West’s resignation.

She also removed then Senate President Timothy Hamel-Smith, and Minister in the National Security Ministry Embau Moheni, and Justice Minister Emmanuel George. West did not resign.

While Griffith was speedily replaced by Retired Brigadier General Carl Alfonso, Hamel-Smith was replaced by Senator Raziah Ahmed and former national footballer Brent Sancho took up the post of Sport Minister.

NJAC's leader Kwasi Mutema was named a minister in the Works and Infrastructure Ministry.

In September, Persad-Bissessar was fired from office by voters which saw the PNM gaining 23 seats and the Opposition 18.

After a lengthy campaign marred by violence in constituencies and buoyed by a number of independent candidates, the country hired a new Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

With the change of government, the revocation of appointments continued when Jwala Rambarran as fired as Central Bank governor.

His appointment was revoked amid concern from the business community that he had breached confidentiality laws by revealing the names of major users of foreign exchange.

Rambarran has stated his intention to challenge the decision.

A new Central Bank Governor, Alvin Hilaire was appointed. 

The country is now bracing for more cases of the potentially deadly swine flu diseases, with four confirmed deaths, and over 40 reported cases.

High profile cases

The results of the 

general election, which Caricom and Commonwealth observers described as well-executed by the Election and Boundaries Commission was given a legal challenge by Persad-Bissessar in September.

 The court granted the Opposition all clear to proceed with election promises to challenge the results in six marginal constituencies.

The Opposition based its challenge on the decision of EBC to extend the voting time in Trinidad by one hour due to inclement weather. 

Persad-Bissessar’s next victory would be her convincing win in the UNC internal elections in December.

Her one-time ally, now foe, Jack Warner also saw himself before the courts this year as the United States issued warrants for the arrest of several high profile FIFA officials, in an international football scandal.

 An extradition request made by the US Government was signed by Attorney General Faris Al Rawi in September, but Warner immediately appealed the decision.

High Court Justice James Aboud said will give his ruling on whether or not Warner, a former FIFA vice president, can challenge his extradition in the courts later this month.

The Judiciary made a unique, landmark ruling in a case of revenge porn. National cricketer Lendl Simmons was ordered to pay his former lover $150,000 in compensation for disseminating a series of photographs of them engaged in sexual acts.

Delivering a landmark ruling in the Port-of-Spain High Court Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that Simmons had breached the confidentiality of his relationship with 24-year-old mother of two, Therese Ho, by sending the photos to her friends after their relationship ended in 2013.

Seepersad admitted that local laws had not developed to address issue of revenge porn, the court had a duty to develop and interpret existing laws to protect citizens such as Ho from the pain and suffering which resulted from the unregulated practice popularised with the increased use of social media.

He also called on Parliament to seriously consider introducing legislation to address the issue and other forms of cyber harassment including racism in online posts, examples of which followed the general election in September. 

In July, the most high profile murder case of 2014 saw progress as 11 members of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate's Court charged with assassinating former Independent Senator Dana Seetahal, SC. 

Alleged gang leader Rajaee Ali, and 10 members of the Jamaat's Carapo outpost, appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.

Viral violence

On January 2, a viral video of Special Reserve Police (SRP) Officers abusing a wheelchair bound man in the middle of High Street, San Fernando, saw two SRPs facing criminal charges.

Though the incident happened days before, the actual arrest stemming from the publishing of the video would be a familiar theme throughout the year.

The incidents of violence, recorded and shared across social media for public’s consumption was prevalent throughout the year.

In April, police were again called to investigate violent video which depicted a woman, beating her 12-year-old daughter, in what many online viewers described as “excessive.”

The video of the beating, which took place over the long Easter weekend, went viral hours after it was posted on the popular social media website and had been shared over 10,000 times and generated hundreds of comments both in support of the mother and condemnation of her action. 

The child was beaten for posting photos of herself clad only in her underwear on her Facebook page.

The woman later said she was not sorry for what she did and was prepared to go to jail for her actions.

In July, a video of a dog being skinned by a man in a location suspected to be Carenage was published online.

Then health minister Fuad Khan was quick to place blame with the Chinese community and cautioned citizens that there may have been cases of dogs being served in “chinese restaurants.

He apologised later after condemnation from the Chinese community.

In October, a caregiver was recorded standing on an elderly man at a geriatric home in St James.

The woman was arrested by the police.

Police began investigating the case after a short video of the abuse was posted on social media, showing the woman standing on the belly of a frail man, said to be 89-years-old.

Three days later another video surfaced showing a man beating a toddler because she refused to drink from a bottle of milk.

The man and his wife were arrested after the video was shared hundreds of times on social media sites.

While all the attacks were gruesome, none received as much public condemnation as an incident in November when a man was video-taped kicking a woman and beating her with a metal pipe at a bar in Arima.

The incident led to public outrage and the man later he turned himself in to officers the following day.

The victim of the beating refused to cooperate with police and the man was charged with three summary offences and sent to remand while awaiting bail.

He was eventually released and petitioned the magistrate to be allowed to spend Christmas with the victim, whom he had been barred from seeing.

The petition was granted.

Police manhunts

A manhunt was launched by police officers in February for a wheelchair-bound man who was said to be the main suspect in the murder of 19-year-old Salma Chadee.

It was later revealed that the man was a suspect in the murder of another woman, Sherlene Mahangoo-Charles.

The body of a man believed to be the suspect was found after a week of police searches near the unfinished Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.

In July, three men shot their way out of the Port-of-Spain prison on Frederick Street in broad daylight resulting in the death of young policeman PC Sherman Maynard.

In the police efforts to recapture the trio, Allan “Scanny” Martin, one of the accused in the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder, was killed immediately following the escape.  

Apart from the guns the prisoners were armed with, police found a grenade outside the jail following the escape.

One day later, one of the escapees Hassan Atwell was found murdered by police in East Port-of-Spain.

The last escapee, Christopher “Monster” Selby, surrendered to police saying he feared for his life and is now back behind bars.

Economy

At the beginning of the year, on January 8, Persad-Bissessar addressed the nation with the following words;

“Today the economy is strong and in good shape.”

 At the time she said her government had used the past four years to “reverse economic decline, to bring stability, to restore confidence, and to return to a path of growth.”

She said government had delivered opportunities for the country to truly rise to its vast potential for real growth and advancement.

In September, five days before general elections, at a luncheon with business leaders, Persad-Bissessar again reiterated that the economy was stable.

In December 4, the Central Bank revealed the country was “officially in a recession” after it failed to post any economic growth for the third quarter of 2015.

Rambarran said the country was “facing austere economic circumstances.

“The economic priorities in 2016 must be aimed at supporting a firm enough recovery through appropriate monetary and fiscal policies, setting forth a medium-term framework which balances consuming, saving and investing energy wealth.”

During that same week, steel and mining company ArcelorMittal fired 600 workers.

Three days before the end of the year, Rowley told the nation tough times were ahead as the country faced a period of financial instability.

The year was filled with social media scandals, elections sour grapes and international corruption charges and revelations that the country was “running on fumes.” 

The sombre ending of 2015 was a far cry from the optimism being pushed into the atmosphere at the beginning of the year.

While Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has blamed the Government for T&T’s economic crisis, the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) says the People Partnership must take responsibility for the mismanagement of public funds and its failure to minimise the effects of falling oil and gas prices.

In their first media conference for 2016, MSJ leader David Abdulah yesterday focused on the rebuilding of the economy, saying that increased hydrocarbon production and diversification was needed if the country is to climb out of the recession.

Outlining three reasons for the economic decline, Abdulah said the decrease in oil and gas prices and lower production has rippled to affect the petrochemical industries, including the production and export of methanol, ammonia and Liquified National Gas (LNG).

This, he said, was compounded by a waste of public funds over the last five years when oil and gas prices soared, which should have provided the perfect opportunity to diversify the economy. However, he said failure to find alternative and sustainable revenue sources was not limited to the PP but successive past governments.

“During the last year, the (PP) government failed to acknowledge the fact that we had an economic storm developing and therefore they failed to put in place mechanisms that would begin to mitigate or minimise the fallout from lower prices. The last government has to be held responsible,” Abdulah said.

To Abdulah’s credit, he did predict T&T was headed for a recession back in January 2014, owing to low oil prices, plans by energy companies to cut staff and outstanding bills by the then government. 

Abdulah said the MSJ would continue to make suggestions on taking T&T forward as it seeks to make itself a formidable party in 2016. Among his suggestions was to maximise potential revenue from hydrocarbons by increasing oil and gas production while diversifying the energy sector. This includes the sales of energy services to other countries given T&T’s history as an energy producer. This, he said, can also fill shortfall in foreign exchange and create sustainable jobs for nationals.

He said agriculture also has to be given a major priority for export earnings, suggesting the Government tap into the niche market for local cocoa.

Tourism is another potential area and he proposed the redevelopment of East Port-of-Spain to a heritage city. He said on New Year’s Day tourists from a cruise ship were wandering around Port-of-Spain but there were no attractions for them to see.

With a heritage city in place, tourists would be able see how pans are tuned, enjoy Calypso shows and buy steelpans and CDs for top US dollars. He admitted this would require the control of crime in the city, which he said needs to be dealt with through education and jobs.

While fireworks have become a tradition to ring in the new year, January 1, 2016 was a like a night of terror for a La Romaine family, who have now started an online petition calling on Government to regulate the use of the explosives.

For Josephine Aché, Old Year’s night into New Year’s Day for her family was like time in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Pakistan, where people living there cower from the frequent sound of bombing.

So terrible and rapid were the explosions, Aché claimed her mother almost suffered a heart attack and her head and nerves were pounding throughout the night. Her fears were shared by many members of her Facebook group page, titled “Regulating The Use of Fireworks in Trinidad & Tobago,” which she set up to lobby for her cause.

In a letter to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Aché made an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to ban the outright sale and use of fireworks by the general citizenry and have only organised fireworks displays that are conducted by authorised bodies. 

She said they should immediately move to enforce the laws which are there but are conveniently being ignored by the authorities.

Recalling the holiday horror, she said activity, including the use massive rocket launchers and scratch bombs— started in her Bel Air, La Romaine community on Old Year’s (December 31) at approximately 6 pm and went until 3 am New Year Day (January 1).

“My mother almost had a heart attack. My heart was jumping out of my skin every few minutes. 

“My head was pounding, my nerves were wrecked. No one should have to go through what we did, as did so many other citizens nationwide,” Aché said.

Although New Year’s Day was rainy, she said there were stories of children cowering under blankets and pets frantically trying to escape as a result of the terrifying noise. For many, it was difficult to distinguish the difference between fireworks and gunshots. Aché said the fireworks issue was a national matter and must be addressed in the soonest possible time frame.

Within the last few days, a three-month-old baby was burnt by a firecracker while wrapped in a blanket in his mother’s arms at City Gate, Port-of-Spain, while a six-year-old boy and a 68-year-old woman were also shot dead while observing fireworks at Beetham Gardens, Port-of-Spain. 

Referring to these cases on Saturday, Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General Stuart Young expressed concern about the increasing amount of incidents involving firecrackers. He said his personal view was that there needed to be a review the use of fireworks which may need to be legislated. 

He said he had received complaints from his constituents and had seen a video on social media with what appeared to be men shooting at each other with the use of fireworks.

Anyone interested in signing Aché’s petition can use the link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/242/291/009/

Housing Development Corporation (HDC) managing director Jearlean John is proceeding with a lawsuit against the Government in light of its decision to send her on three months administrative leave while an independent audit into the State agency takes place.

On December 17, the newly-installed board of directors took a decision to send John, along with six managers, on administrative leave until March, 2016. But John challenged the decision saying it was unfair and illegal and threatened action.

Also sent on leave were HDC’s chief legal officer Indira Mc Farlane-Lee; corporate secretary Ann Mahabir; chief construction engineer Aaron Chadee; division manager (estate management) Amalee Carter; manager (settlements) Renatta Jones and manager (corporate communications external) Rory Moses.

Contacted yesterday, John said she would be filing action in the High Court tomorrow. Expressing confidence that she would obtain justice John said she also intended to file for an emergency hearing.

On December 23, John, through attorney Avery Sinanan, sent a 14 page pre-action protocol letter to HDC board chairman Newman George noting that the decision to send her on administrative leave was illegal and must be declared null and void. The company had 48 hours to respond to the letter.

Yesterday, John said in the response to the letter the HDC requested more time, which was not granted.

“I would have written to the chairman of the HDC then I would have sent them the pre-action protocol letter and gave them 48 hours to respond,” John said.

“They duly responded on Christmas eve seeking to have an extension until January 22. I responded to my attorneys on the same day telling them that I could not have assisted them in their request for the 22 of January, so I will be filing action against them and calling on them to reinstate me.”

On how she had been coping with the situation, especially during the Christmas holidays, John said she has always led a full life as she was always a “busy woman.”

“I continue to do what I have to do. In light of the injustice...If it was not such an unjust act, maybe I might have been depressed, or maybe I am, because to think that people could be so brazen in this country...to do what these folks feel what they could have done and get away with it...it really goes beyond the pale,” John said.

She said she also thanked God that there were independent institutions in T&T to which her matter could now be heard. In the letter, John also challenged the board to provide the date and time when the decision was taken to commission an audit and the reasons for it. 

She is also seeking clarification on the manner in which that decision was made by the board and the documented recording of that decision. John is also asking that George clarify the date and time the decision was taken to send her on administrative leave and the basis for requesting all her electronic equipment. 

Finally, John is demanding financial compensation on the grounds that the manner in which she was sent on leave was a breach of her contract.

After being sent on leave, John publicly called on Government to pass the whistle-blower law enabling her to be the first person to speak about $9 billion disappearing from the HDC during the period 2006-2009, when a previous People’s National Movement (PNM) administration was in charge.

A woman has died at the Scarborough General Hospital after giving birth to a child by Caesarean Section. According to reports, Rose Gordon, 35, died after delivering her baby girl at 34 weeks and five days into her pregnancy on Old Year’s Day (January 31). She died on New Year’s Day.

The T&T Guardian was told that following the C Section, Gordon was taken back to the maternity ward but continued to bleed profusely and was rushed to the theatre for an emergency hysterectomy, but subsequently died. The baby girl, who has not yet been named, remains in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

Gordon, who has a teenage daughter, was principal of the Charlotteville Nursery School. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed today. The last time the Scarborough hospital recorded a maternal death was 2014. Although investigated, details of that incident are yet to be released.

In a press release on the death yesterday, the Tobago Regional Health Authority described Gordon as a “high risk patient,” but failed to give any additional details.

“The late mother, who was a high risk patient, passed away from complications after giving birth despite concerted efforts by her medical team to ensure the safety of both the mother and baby,” it said.

The release said the TRHA had met with members of Gordon’s family and plans are in place to assist them during their time of bereavement. Efforts to contact Secretary for Health and Social Services Claudia Groome Duke were unsuccessful yesterday.

The probe into the March 23 day of “total policing” by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), which was expected to be completed by the end of last year, is still not finished. Contacted yesterday, however, PCA director David West was unwilling to put a time frame as to when it would now be completed.

On that day last year, the entire nation came to a standstill for close to six hours as police, from all divisions, simultaneously conducted massive roadblock and stop-and-search exercises throughout T&T. Yesterday, West, who said the matter was ongoing, added, “We are waiting for information to come back. 

“So when we receive that information we can analyse it and see where we need to go again. And of course sometimes people don’t respond in a timely fashion.”

Asked whether the PCA was awaiting information from the Police Service, West said this was among other entities. But he maintained information from the service was forthcoming.

“As you get information other questions arise...you have to ask follow-up questions. But the probe is progressing well. I am satisfied how it is progressing. It is a comprehensive report that we will do,” West said.

On whether there have been any stumbling blocks in the compilation of the report, West said he preferred not to use that term but would rather say that further questions had to be asked.

“We had to ask those further questions because we did not get a complete answer so we had to go back and get clarification on the answers,” West said.

Acknowledging that the entire country was sorely affected by the event and was therefore demanding answers, West said this was the exact reason why he was taking his time with the report.

“Look...you either want something done properly or you want something done halfway. I like to do things properly. 

“We are doing a proper investigation. I can’t rush it, so when it is finished there would be questions about the report and when it is finished I am hoping that all questions would be answered.”

A Joint Select Committee, chaired by former Independent Senator Dr Rolph Balgobin, was held in Parliament last year on the day of “total policing” and a report was submitted to the Senate.

In its report, the committee had expressed the view that the Police Service Social and Welfare Association appeared to have a role to play in the events of March 23 and that role was masked by staged activities, such as walkouts of formal meetings, designed to give the impression that whatever was done subsequently did not have the association’s sanction.

The committee had also noted that acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams had said further action on the matter would be pursued after the PCA had completed its investigation and presented a report.