CARACAS—Venezuela’s government energetically rejected US President Donald Trump’s talk of a potential “military option” to resolve the country’s political crisis yesterday, calling it the most egregious act of belligerence against Venezuela in a century and a threat to stability in the region.

The stinging rebuke came in a statement read by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza in a meeting with foreign diplomats, including Lee McClenny, the top diplomat at the US Embassy in Caracas.

Calling Trump the “boss of the empire,” Arreaza said Trump’s latest comments fit a pattern of aggression against Venezuelan sovereignty and constitute a violation of international law and the UN charter. He said they were particularly menacing given President Nicolas Maduro’s renewed call this week for closer ties and request for a meeting with Trump at the UN General Assembly next month.

The White House responded to that request by saying Trump would “gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that country.”

Speaking to reporters Friday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump bemoaned the South American nation’s growing humanitarian crisis and declared that all options remain on the table—including a potential military intervention.

In a statement, Colombia’s Foreign Ministry also condemned “military measures and the use of force” and said all efforts to resolve Venezuela’s crisis should be peaceful and respect its sovereignty.

The Trump administration has slapped a series of sanctions against Maduro and more than two-dozen current and former officials in response to a crackdown on opposition leaders and the recent election. (AP)

The Port Authority of T&T (PATT) is not considering any proposal to use the Ocean Flower II, despite counter proposals submitted by owner Bridgemans Services Group.

Responding via text message to questions from the Sunday Guardian yesterday, PATT chairman Allison Lewis made it clear that the authority was following the mandate of its line ministry in this matter and will be putting out a new tender for a vessel.

“The Port Authority has been mandated by the Ministry of Works and Transport to go back out to tender for a vessel to provide ferry service on the sea bridge.

“In light of this, the port authority is not considering any proposal outside of that process,” Lewis wrote.

On Friday, Andrew Purdey, vice president of the Canadian-based ferry service provider, objected to the termination of the Ocean Flower II’s one-year contract.

Purdey said his company was considering its options on how to move forward, including providing PATT with a short-term rental proposal for its consideration of the 21-year-old vessel, since it will be “ready for services if called upon in the coming days.”

He said Bridgemans was “willing to provide a workable solution that would be a win-win for all parties and is committed to delivering its contractual obligations in a professional and effective manner to ensure that PATT is served to the highest standard.”

Purdey said Bridgemans Services did not agree the cancellation of the Ocean Flower II deal was valid, despite its failure to reach T&T in the specified time and the number of deficiencies identified during evaluations of the vessel.

He said the Ocean Flower was delayed due to several unplanned events during its 9000 nautical miles journey from Korea, through the Bearing Sea along the North Specific Ocean and onto the Panama Canal.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has called a meeting with the main stakeholders affected by the failure to find a replacement passenger ferry to service the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago tomorrow in Tobago.

According to the release from the Office of the Prime Minister, the meeting will take place at the Magdalena Grand Hotel from 2 pm and will include representatives from the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, Tobago Truckers Association and the Tobago Unique Bread and Breakfast and Self-Catering Association.

The release said Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe and Tobago East MP the Ayanna Webster-Roy will also attend along with the Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan.

When the Sunday Guardian contacted Sinanan yesterday, he referred all questions to Lewis, adding that it was up to the port to respond to any developments.

While Tobago stakeholders will be present for the meeting, it is unclear whether a representative from the Port Authority, which is responsible for securing a new vessel, will be present.

When questioned on this, Lewis said she was not aware of any invitation to attend a meeting in Tobago.

On Friday, Rowley apologised to the people of Tobago over the PATT’s cancellation of the Ocean Flower 2 contract, saying the incident was of “great disappointment” to him.

Government had given approval to lease two vessels, the Cabo Star cargo ferry and Ocean Flower II, to service the sea bridge between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough at the end of June, but questions over the appropriateness of the latter was almost immediately highlighted in the media.

When PATT’s chief engineer Brendon Powder visited the vessel for a sea trial in Panama recently, he ruled that the Ocean Flower II may not have been suitable to service the sea bridge because of several mechanical issues and explosion risks.

Powder instead recommended that the vessel remain in Colon, Panama, to urgently attend to all repairs prior to it sailing to Trinidad.

According to the report summary, a sea trial of the vessel was conducted on August 5 but there was an hour delay in commencement due to bunkering and difficulty in getting all the engines operational.

The trial was eventually completed on August 6. It was noted that president of Bridgemans Services Group Limited, Brian Grange, witnessed the sea trial and the mechanical issues with the vessel.

In a letter dated August 7, 2017, to the PATT’s general manager, Charmaine Lewis, Powder also noted there was no maintenance history for the vessel’s machinery on board.

He said there was an issue with the engines which could lead to fire and explosion risk issues.

A 27-year-old La Romaine man remains warded in a serious condition at hospital after he was shot during a bar brawl yesterday morning.

According to police reports, around 12.10 am Jahdi Williams and his friend Rydel Ramoutar were liming at the Turning Peak Restaurant & Bar along La Plaisance Road, La Romaine, when the incident occurred.

Police said Ramoutar and three men he knew from the area got into an argument, when one of the men struck him on the face with a bottle.

When Williams attempted to intervene, one of the men whipped out a gun and shot him in his back. The suspect ran off and Williams was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital. No one was arrested up to yesterday.

In another incident, Moruga police are searching for three cutlass-wielding bandits who robbed three Princes Town crab catchers on Friday afternoon.

A report stated that Hendrick Rambharack, 60 and Raegan Lalchan, 45, both of Iere Village, Princes Town, along with Terrence Ali, 44, of Garth Road, Williamsville were hunting for crabs along L’Anse Mitan Beach, Moruga, when they were approached by three men armed with cutlasses.

The men robbed them of mobile phones, a watch, $400 and a pair of Adidas sneakers.

CHARLOTTESVILLE—A car plowed into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally in a Virginia college town yesterday, killing one person, sending at least 26 others to hospitals and ratcheting up tension in an increasingly violent confrontation.

The chaos boiled over at what is believed to be the largest group of white nationalists to come together in a decade: the governor declared a state of emergency, police dressed in riot gear ordered people out and helicopters circled overhead. The group had gathered to protest plans to remove a statue of the Confederate Gen Robert E Lee, and others who arrived to protest the racism.

Matt Korbon, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student, said several hundred counter-protesters were marching when “suddenly there was just this tyre screeching sound.” A silver Dodge Challenger smashed into another car, then backed up, barrelling through “a sea of people.”

The impact hurled people into the air. Those left standing scattered, screaming and running for safety. The driver was later arrested. The turbulence began Friday night, when the white nationalists carried torches though the university campus in what they billed as a “pro-white” demonstration. It quickly spiralled into violence yesterday morning. Hundreds of people threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays. At least eight were injured and one arrested in connection.

President Donald Trump condemned “in the strongest possible terms” what he called an “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” after the clashes. He called for “a swift restoration of law and order and the protection of innocent lives.”

Trump said he spoke with the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, and “we agreed that the hate and the division must stop and must stop right now.”

But some of the white nationalists cited Trump’s victory as validation for their beliefs, and Trump’s critics pointed to the president’s racially tinged rhetoric as exploiting the nation’s festering racial tension. The Rev Jesse Jackson noted that Trump for years publicly questioned President Barack Obama’s citizenship.

“We are in a very dangerous place right now,” he said. Right-wing blogger Jason Kessler had called for what he termed a “pro-white” rally in Charlottesville. White nationalists and their opponents promoted the event for weeks.

Oren Segal, who directs the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said multiple white power groups gathered in Charlottesville, including members of neo-Nazi organisations, racist skinhead groups and Ku Klux Klan factions.

The white nationalist organisations Vanguard America and Identity Evropa; the Southern nationalist League of the South; the National Socialist Movement; the Traditionalist Workers Party; and the Fraternal Order of Alt Knights also were on hand, he said, along with several groups with a smaller presence.

On the other side, anti-fascist demonstrators also gathered in Charlottesville, but they generally aren’t organised like white nationalist factions, said Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The statue’s removal is part of a broader city effort to change the way Charlottesville’s history of race is told. For now, the Lee statue remains. A judge has agreed to temporarily block the city from removing the statue for six months. (AP)

United National Congress (UNC) PRO Anita Haynes yesterday described the Government as incapable of leading the country and criticised Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s decision to go on vacation at time when the latest sea bridge fiasco was troubling citizens.

The PM is on vacation in Barbados this weekend and returns tomorrow.

“The Prime Minister has left at a time when there are serious questions about his Government’s handling of the procurement of the vessels to service the sea bridge, instead of attempting to answer those questions, Dr Rowley apologised while still not accepting responsibility for the debacle,” Haynes said in a press release.

“In one of his first speeches after being sworn-in as Prime Minister, Rowley stated emphatically that the ‘buck’ stops with him, so we must hold him ultimately responsible for this port scandal, particularly because of his refusal to take decisive action.

“An apology before heading off on your seventh vacation and the second one in two weeks is unacceptable. It is clear that Rowley has no interest in representing the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Haynes said T&T had been at the mercy of what was described as an “incompetent Keith Rowley administration” for 23 months, during which time she said crime had escalated, the economy “is in shambles” and there have been significant job losses as well as cuts to education and health care.

She said the country could not identify a single thing the Government had achieved after two years of being in charge.

“No one is better off now, we have tightened our belts, we have adjusted our living expenses and still Rowley and his Cabinet are asking us, as a population, to do more while the Government vacations,” she said.

“The population will soon feel the effects of the cuts to GATE, as families will not be able to afford to send their children to school, and the Government has yet to adequately explain how the means test would be implemented.”

She said in the face of all these cuts and the Government’s apparent mishandling of procurement procedures, they were yet to articulate a single item for revenue generation beyond taxes.

A 35-year-old male relative of three-year-old Messi Gorkin is to be charged for the toddler’s death. The relative is to be charged with manslaughter, a release from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) said yesterday.

On July 17, Gorkin’s body washed ashore after he had gone missing during a family outing to Williams Bay, Chaguaramas, the day before.

When Messi went missing around 5 pm on July 16, his family members initially feared he had been kidnapped. In fact, according to police reports, a call was not made to the T&T Coast Guard for help until about 9.30 pm. Shortly after 6 am the following day, Messi’s body was found floating in the waters off Pier 1.

An autopsy conducted at the Forensic Sciences Complex, St James, revealed the toddler died from drowning. His lungs were filled with water.

Following the autopsy Messi’s parents, Atiba Gorkin and Patrice Gibbs, were too distraught and inconsolable to talk about the death of their only child together.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard yesterday gave instructions to charge the relative with manslaughter.

One month after being released from prison for an alleged attempt to assassinate former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Bryan “Soldier Barry” Barrington was bitten on his penis by a police dog during a search of his Oropouche home. He sued the State as a result of the injury caused by the bite.

However, High Court judge Margaret Mohammed has now dismissed Barrington’s case, stating he “caused his own injury” because of his behaviour. Barrington will have to pay costs to the State, Mohammed has also ruled.

On November 21, 2011, Barrington was detained in connection with an alleged plot to kill Persad-Bissessar, then attorney general Anand Ramlogan and two other members of the People’s Partnership cabinet. He was eventually released without charge on December 5, 2011.

On January 26, 2012, around 6.15 am police executed a search warrant of Barrington’s Partap Trace, Oropouche home. Ten officers from the San Fernando Police Station, including from the Canine Branch with two police dogs, entered his home in search of guns and ammunition.

In his lawsuit, Barrington claimed during the search the officers arrested him and handcuffed him behind his back. Barrington said he was only dressed in boxer shorts and one of the dogs named Tango was released and “allowed to roam freely throughout the house”.

“And while Tango was not restrained he bit (Barrington) on his penis. Therefore it took the police handler approximately three minutes to pry Tango’s jaw from (Barrington’s) penis and to restrain it,” Barrington’s lawsuit stated.

Barrington claimed the police dog handler was negligent. As a result of the bite Barrington said he suffered a laceration to his penis. He received treatment at the San Fernando General Hospital on the day of the incident and claimed that for approximately nine months afterwards he was unable to have sexual intercourse and had severe and continuous pain because the wounds reopened whenever his penis became erect. He claimed he was unable to manage his business, which he said made approximately $4,000 a day every weekend, then closed it down permanently six months after the bite.

The State denied Barrington’s claims of negligence and said his injuries were caused by his own negligence. Tango’s handler, PC Rasheed Mohammed, claimed he specifically warned Barrington and his wife Nadia Baboolal that Tango “had been trained to secure its handler” and that they should “not approach or make any aggressive or sudden actions toward him”, since Tango would view this as a sign of aggression and react.

As the search continued the officers allegedly found some marijuana inside the house and Barrington was handcuffed. The police then began a search of Barrington’s bedroom. Barrington continued acting in a “loud aggressive manner and hurled abuses” the State claimed. During the completion of the search by PC Mohammed and Tango, Barrington advanced toward the officer in an irate manner and Tango gripped him in the crotch. Mohammed immediately jerked on Tango’s correction collar and commanded him to let go, the State claimed. Tango released its grip of Barrington after approximately 30-40 seconds and he was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital for attention.

Justice Mohammed ruled that Barrington failed to take “reasonable care” and as such caused his own injury by failing to heed the warnings from PCs Mohammed and Faraz Kalloo.

This is not the first time Tango, a Belgian Malinois, has gotten himself in trouble. On March 11, 2011, Steve McDonald, 53, from Dow Village, California, lodged a complaint with the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) claiming he was severely bitten by Tango while handcuffed on the ground in police custody. McDonald said that incident occurred on March 9, 2011.

Earlier this year, the State was ordered to pay more than $172,000 to Barrington with respect to the alleged plot to kill Persad-Bissessar and members of her cabinet. He was awarded damages in the amount of $141,121.49 with interest from October 28, 2015, as a result of his lawful imprisonment for 13 days and $30,962 for costs in that matter.

Barrington was represented by attorneys Abdal Ashraph-Baksh and Zeik Ashraph, while Tamara Toolsie and Ronnelle Hinds instructed by Kadine Matthew represented the State.

President of the Inter-island Transport Committee’s Tobago Division Dianne Hadad says she is “absolutely disappointed” in Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, amid Government’s failure to secure a suitable passenger ferry to service the inter-island sea bridge.

Asked whether she agreed with growing calls for Sinanan and the Port Authority of T&T board to step down over the fiasco yesterday, Hadad said, “People need to let their conscience guide them...if they have one and I am supposing they do, do the right thing and if they don’t then leadership needs to do what leadership is put there to do. If people don’t perform it needs to be acted upon.”

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will meet with Tobago stakeholders next Monday to discuss the matter at the Magdalena Grand hotel at Lowlands, Tobago. Those expected to attend include the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, Tobago Truckers Association and the Tobago Unique Bread and Breakfast and Self-Catering Association.

The meeting came in wake of the public furore over PATT’s decision to cancel the contract with Vancouver-based Bridgemans Services Group LP (BSG) for the Ocean Flower II, in the wake of revelations the vessel had several major mechanical issues which may have led to its delayed arrival here to pick up its contract in the first place.

The Ocean Flower II was described as unfit in a report by PATT chief engineer Brendon Powder, who carried out a sea trial of the vessel in Panama. The report was received by the Port Authority two days before the cancellation of the contract. Bridgemans Services Group said on Friday it is “exploring its options,” as it believes the cancellation to be invalid.

On whether establishing an efficient ferry service should have been done much sooner, Hadad said, “Sooner does not matter now because the mess has already happened. We were calling for those things months ago and in calling for that we were ignored, sidelined and people supposedly in authority made their decision. Therefore, the business community and Tobago on a whole have paid the price and will continue to pay the price for the decision making.”

She said the issue should have been handled in a “preventative mode,” especially since the organisation approached Government to ensure the current fiasco was averted. She said discussions were held even when Fitzgerald Hinds was Works Minister and Christine Sahadeo was PATT chairman.

“A lot of people are forgetting the past. We had indicated to them there was no contract with the Super Fast Galicia and that these people were on a ‘month-to-month handshake’ because there was nothing signed.

“And we came to the table at that point indicating that this was heading towards a problematic situation. We have a document to show that Mr Hinds had assured us that he had a document in place up until October 2018. We then subsequently found out that was not true...meaning that whoever was authorised to sign off on the document... it never happened,” Hadad said.

She said also around that time, Hinds was removed along with Sahadeo and fresh talks began with Sinanan, who took over as minister.

“It is at that stage we brought everything to Mr Sinanan and we had a three-and-a-half hour meeting with him in April of this year and we pleaded with him and his supposed technical team to ensure that they followed through with what we were asking for to ensure this did not happen. So after all that was said and done, this is where we are today.”

But she said after that meeting in April the business sector in Tobago was “sidelined,” adding there was still “deafening silence” from the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). On establishing a way forward, Hadad said stakeholders had “no choice” but to meet with Rowley and his “supposed team.”

“But I can guarantee you that would be a very frank and open meeting with us vetting all the issues that were there previously, that we brought to the table that were ignored and the issues as they stand now and we will expect that the supposed leaders will actually take the advice of the people who live it, feel it and sleep it everyday,” she said.

Tobago Truckers Association president Horace Ameade yesterday also agreed there remained more questions than answers, but said he would attended today’s meeting with Rowley with an open mind. On what he wanted to come out of the meeting, Ameade said a proper working fast ferry to ensure business could be conducted efficiently.

Asked if he felt Sinanan or the PATT board should resign over the debacle, Ameade said someone ought to take responsibility.

“Something is not above board. Somebody must be held accountable because it is taking a toll on the day to day business in Tobago.”

Tobago Chamber of Commerce president Demi John Cruickshank echoed Ameade’s sentiments about attending the meeting with an open mind.

“We hope that this would bring an end to the crisis and chaos that is afflicting Tobago. We are happy that the Prime Minister has indicated that he is going to lead the meeting,” Cruickshank said, adding he hoped solutions to enhance the sea bridge would also be implemented.

On whether Sinanan ought to resign, Cruickshank said coming out of the meeting the Chamber will issue a statement on whether the minister ought to go or be given a chance.

Contacted yesterday about calls for him step down, Sinanan said the Port Authority would “make whatever statement they feel to make” about the process that was used.

“I am not going to comment for the port on this matter. The port will have to explain their position,” Sinanan said.

Asked whether as minister he ought to be held ultimately responsible, Sinanan said the Port Authority fell under the Works Ministry, but added: “I can tell you that I am confident that whatever actions I would take and role it is within the mandate of the minister. I have nothing to worry about or I am concerned.

Former transport minister Devant Maharaj has labelled the August 21 meeting between Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Tobago stakeholders over the failure to acquire an inter-island ferry as a “public relations” gimmick.

Among those expected to attend are representatives from the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, Tobago Truckers Association, Tobago Unique Bread and Breakfast and Self-Catering Association. Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and Tobago MPs Shamfa Cudjoe and Ayanna Webster-Roy also are expected to attend, a release from the Office of the Prime Minister said over the weekend.

The meeting came in wake of the Port Authority of T&T’s decision to cancel the Ocean Flower 2 contract with the Vancouver-based Bridgemans Services Group LP (BSG), after a report suggested several mechanical issues may have been responsible for the delays it suffered on its way to Port-of-Spain.

The Ocean Flower was given an unfit rating by PATT chief engineer Brendon Powder, after he carried out a sea trial of the vessel in Panama and identified a number of mechanical defects. The report was received by the Port Authority two days before the cancellation of the contract.

In a release yesterday, Maharaj said conspicuously absent from the list for the meeting was the Port Authority representatives who are directly responsible for the sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago.

“The stakeholders will be denied an opportunity to find out what went wrong with the procurement process and who is responsible. Discussions on the shortcomings of the Bridgemans vessel Cabo Star and the botched and bungled Ocean Flower 2 will be incomplete with this absence.

“The critical issues that face the economy of Tobago and the people of Tobago have to wait once again. Why could not this meeting be held on Monday August 14, 2017, given the urgency that the situation demands?” Maharaj asked.

He said while Rowley has apologised for the ferry fiasco, neither the line minister nor the PATT board chairman have shown contrition.

Meanwhile, watchdog group FIXIN’ T&T yesterday reiterated its call for a police investigation of the matter to determine whether there was any criminal conduct by those involved. It also thanked the whistle blower who leaked the inspection report on the Ocean Flower.

saying this underscored the urgency for the effective implementation of meaningful legislation to protect whistle blowers who are vital to this country’s democracy and economy.

Two suspects in Friday’s $20,000 robbery of a Chinese businessman were caught hiding in a house in Claxton Bay hours after the crime.

Up to yesterday, the men remained in the custody of Couva police and are expected to be charged soon.

According to a report, the men stormed Sammy’s Bar along Mount Pleasant Road, Springvale, Claxton Bay and placed their guns to the head of the Chinese national who operates the roulette machines in the establishment. They ordered the operator to hand over the day’s earnings, following which they ran into an awaiting vehicle and escaped.

Residents contacted Couva police and Sgt Ali, PC Ramoutar, PC Balkissoon and PC Girwar responded but the suspects were long gone.

Based on their inquiries, the officers later went to a house in St Margaret’s Village where they found the suspects, ages 20 and 30. The officers also found a firearm and ammunition they believed were used in the robbery.

Couva police also arrested a man in Dow Village, California, after they caught him with a gun in his hand. Responding to reports, the officers went to Railway Road and saw the suspect walking along the roadside. He attempted to run off, but he was chased and caught.

Sgt Ali is continuing investigations.

Police are investigating the discovery of skeletal remains in the mangroves in Carli Bay, Couva, yesterday.

A report stated that around 8.30 am, a crab catcher was on his way to harvest in the mangroves off Carli Bay Road when he spotted the remains on the ground. He contacted police and officers from the Couva CID and Region III Homicide Bureau responded. However, there was no identification on the victim up to yesterday.

District Medical Officer Dr Birjah visited the scene and ordered the removal of the remains to the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

Police said the remains were believed to be that of a man. Investigators said they will check the police missing person’s database, but are asking anyone with information to contact the nearest police station.

A High Court judge has called on Parliament to revise immigration laws to more clearly define the powers of Immigration officials in handling illegal immigrants and refugees.

Justice Carol Gobin made the call last Friday as she ordered the immediate release of Nigerian Henry Ekwedike, who was unlawfully detained while applying for permanent residency through his Trinidadian wife after living in Trinidad for almost a decade.

Gobin said: “The challenges posed by increased illegal immigration, human trafficking and a phenomenon which we may well anticipate of growing numbers of refugee arrivals, make it imperative, in my humble view, that those who are charged with the power and responsibility to address defects in the legislation do so sooner rather than later.”

In her 19-page judgement delivered in the Port-of-Spain High Court during the Judiciary’s annual vacation, Gobin said the Immigration Division officers acted unlawfully when they issued Ekwedike rejection and supervision orders during a routine visit to their offices to follow up on his residency application on March 29.

Ekwedike was detained on April 12 as he returned to the office without a return ticket to Nigeria, as required under the orders, and because officials were suspicious of the fact that his wife had stopped attending the meetings with him since 2015.

Gobin ruled that the orders were illegal, as they were reserved for persons who are rejected admission into T&T on first entry and not those who were engaged in a residency application process.

“It would mean that such persons who are simply trying to observe our immigration laws and to comply with the directions of authorities would have to do so on pain of summary arrest and detention,” Gobin said.

“While such power may be obviously necessary for the effective discharge of their duties at ports of entry, it would hardly be reasonably required for processing extension applications for permitted entrants.”

As part of her ruling, Gobin ordered that the State pay Ekwedike’s legal costs for bringing the habeas corpus application to challenge his detention.

Ekwedike was represented by Fareed Scoon, Navindra Ramnanan, Wesley George, Ricky Pandohee and Nathifa Lowman.

According to the evidence in his case, Ekwedike entered T&T illegally through Moruga in early 2008 and married a Trinidadian woman in June that year. In 2009, he and his wife visited the Immigration Division’s offices to apply for residency for him through her nationality and were informed he had to leave Trinidad and re-enter through a legal port of entry to begin the process.

Ekwedike complied, went through Guyana and was granted entry at the Piarco International Airport. He submitted an application and was granted permission by the Ministry of National Security to stay and work in T&T without a work permit while it was being processed. In 2015, Ekwedike was ordered to pay a security bond as part of the process.

He sought and received several extensions and was seeking a fourth when he was issued the orders.

In their evidence in the case, immigration officers claimed they became suspicious of Ekwedike after they asked about his wife and he claimed that she had stopped attending as she had gotten a job on a cruise ship. Later checks revealed his wife had never been issued a passport.

In her judgement, Gobin did not analyse the status of Ekwedike’s marriage save and except to say that they no longer lived together but

were still legally married. Since being detained, Ekwedike had been housed at the Immigration Detention Centre in Aripo. The facility has come under criticism recently over alleged over-crowding and inhumane conditions.

“The clock has not disappeared,” San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello assured the city’s burgesses.

He was referring to public outrage over the feared removal of the landmark at Library Corner yesterday after several people contacted the T&T Guardian to express their dismay on discovering that the 51-year-old clock and the island separating Mucurapo Street and Coffee Street was gone. They also took to social media calling for the return of the clock.

The cube-shaped, four-sided clock atop a concrete pillar was gifted to the people of San Fernando by businessman Carlton K Mack to commemorate the fourth year of T&T’s independence on August 31, 1966. It was located across the road from the old San Fernando Library, another historical landmark, and was a constant timepiece for commuters using the La Romaine, Princes Town, Marabella and Couva taxi stands which surround it.

But Regrello yesterday told the T&T Guardian the clock is now stored at the San Fernando City Corporation building for safe keeping until it is relocated to an area not too far from its original spot. The corporation is scheduled to meet with stakeholders for an agreement on the new location for the clock today.

He explained that the island, which was built in 1956 and the clock, was removed to create an additional lane along Coffee Street to increase the flow of traffic. He said the work was part of the corporation’s transformation plan for San Fernando and they are currently working to ease the congestion road users face every day.

One of the reasons for traffic congestion, he said, is the location of six schools near Library Corner. With the removal of the island, he said, it now presents an option for vehicles to go directly from Point-a-Pierre Road to Mucurapo Street. This will free-up the traffic heading towards Presentation College and Grant Memorial Presbyterian Primary School.

“We are really expanding the city to accommodate more people, cars and businesses in that area. What our analysis has shown us is that a lot of vehicles deliver goods in that area and we need more space because it causes major congestion. Therefore, we have to find new ways to improve traffic flow and to do that, we have to think outside the box and come up with liberal ideas,” Regrello said.

“From when those structures were built we have had over 300 more houses, so many more cars and commuters. We removed the island and therefore the clock had to be removed. The island is no longer practical.

“Just as Independence Square in Port-of-Spain was transformed over the years, we need to do what is necessary to transform our city too. There are shops on either side of Library Corner and on mornings between 8 am and noon, there is an average of 22 delivery trucks offloading goods and 921 taxis moving in and out San Fernando,” Regrello said.

He promised that when the clock returns it will be aesthetically pleasing to the eyes and central to all who use it. He said he was appreciative of all the concerns that were raised.

The Special Reserve Police officer who was recently suspended from her job and was threatened with eviction from her apartment after suggestive photos of her in uniform surfaced on social media, has been offered a job with a matching salary by another employer.

The SRP was suspended last Tuesday pending an investigation into the photographs, which showed the officer lying on a couch in a suggestive position clad in her police uniform. The photographs went viral and an investigation was immediately launched by the Ministry of National Security.

The SRP, who was assigned to the Transit Unit, was suspended without pay and has sought legal advice from attorney Christopher Rodriquez over a media house’s decision to use the photo on its front page.

The Police Service Social and Welfare Association has called on acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to reconsider his decision with respect to the suspension of the officer.

In making its appeal, the body said the SRP was in her first trimester of pregnancy and a single mother and was also threatened with eviction from her current home by her landlord following the controversy which flared after the photos went viral on social media.

The body says it is hoping they will be able to meet with Williams to address the suspension this week.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, secretary of the association, Insp Anand Ramesar, said they will be seeking to meet with Williams to get him to make a quick decision.

“He (Williams) indicated he has suspended her and engaged in an investigation to determine if the officer committed a misconduct in relation to those photos.

We are not resisting an investigation into the photographs. We don’t support the process where it was to suspend her,” he said.

Ramesar said there was also no policy for the usage of social media.

“We don’t have a social media policy so the dynamics in relation to the photo and circumstances, it is new grounds, so don’t make her a guinea pig,” he said.

He said the CoP should take the situation on board and try to understand what went on but manage it carefully, noting suspension was not the way. However, he said the SRP had received assistance and was offered employment by a member of the public.

“Somebody offered a job and a salary to match the salary,” he said.

Sports administrators are seeing T&T’s 4x400 metres relay team’s gold medal feat at yesterday’s World Athletics Championships in London as the impetus needed to rise above the country’s social and economic challenges.

With the usually dominant USA and British teams taking their marks at the London Stadium for the Games’ final day yesterday, commentators gave the T&T team of Jarrin Solomon, Jareem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon little chance at capturing gold. But by the end of the race the team had shocked the world, as they beat the Americans and the Brits into second and third respectively with the fastest time in the event this year of 2:58.12. Their feat also marked the first time in the country’s history a 4x400 team had earned a gold medal.

As the screams of victory erupted from almost every home and watering hole across T&T, Sports Minister Darryl Smith, who had a lime to cheer on the team, said the victory continues to show that T&T is experiencing its best year in sports.

The victory followed Richards’ bronze medal three days ago in the 200 metres final and para athlete Akeem Stewart’s two gold medals at the World Para Athletics Championships last month, among other accomplishments by local athletes this year.

“We are very proud and we’re just going to continue the success in track and field and all the other sports,” Smith said in an interview with the T&T Guardian.

“I know the people are very happy, the country really needed this. I hope we can use this as a catalyst to raise the spirit of the country, because when it comes to sports and supporting our athletes out there, crime and everything negative stops, especially when we are doing well.”

His view was supported by the National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) president, Ephraim Serrette, who said he hoped corporate T&T will see the unity sports brings and lend its support to promoting events that can help curb crime.

“We need to focus and get more young people involved in sports and culture because it is definitely something we can use to fight crime in this country,” Serrette said.

He said what was more exciting for him was that the team was able to overcome the USA, who normally dominates the event.

Like former Olympian Hasely Crawford, he said the local athletes weren’t even mentioned in the same sentences as winners until they crossed the finish line. He said he hoped that now that they had won, the “stay at home coaches and advisers” will now leave the management of the athletes to the trained personnel.

The team was also congratulated on behalf of the country by acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert. In a statement, Imbert said “their performance gave us yet another opportunity to hear our national anthem playing while the red, white and black was raised in victory for the world to see. All the athletes who represented Trinidad and Tobago would have undoubtedly exercised discipline, trained hard and sacrificed much to get to this point and must be commended.”

T&T Olympic Committee president Brian Lewis, who only returned from Rwanda yesterday, just in time to view the race on YouTube, described the performance as inspirational and one that showed tremendous guts and determination.

“You saw it on their faces and the way they ran. They were determined to win the gold and it was captured on the face of Lalonde Gordon as he sprinted towards the finish line,” Lewis said.

He said the difficult economic period the country was experiencing had affected the athletes and sporting organisations. He said it was a fact that the athletes who participated in the Games were not able to access the kind of financial support needed, yet they gave their heart to T&T. He was also in high praise for Richards, who recovered from a shaky start in the 200 metres men’s final to recover and capture the bronze medal.

“I will like us to start looking past the surface level of this victory because it shows a people who are resilient and can overcome anything.”

The T&T delegation will return home today aboard a British Airways flight from London at 3.55 pm. Smith said he and other ministry officials will welcome the athletes at the Piarco International Airport. He said a welcome event will be held for the athletes, but it will not be as elaborate as those held in years gone by because of limited funding. Smith said he will also meet with the Cabinet to discuss what can be done for the athletes going forward.

Officers from the Port-of-Spain CID have recovered some $28,000 in cell phones and other items which were stolen from Buzz Tech in Port-of-Spain on Friday. A 27-year-old San Juan man was also arrested the day after the robbery.

The robber was captured smashing a glass case with a hammer and taking away the items while dressed in a white coverall and with a mask over his face in CCTV footage.

The items were recovered after officers launched an investigation and executed a search warrant and discovered the phones at an apartment on Don Miguel Road, San Juan.

In a separate incident, officers were also able to recover a Kia Rio that was stolen at Erica Street in Port-of-Spain this past weekend. The officers launched an exercise and intercepted the stolen vehicle at Fort Chacon, Picton Road, Laventille. The thieves managed to escape in some nearby bushes.

Investigations are continuing.

In an unrelated incident, sea bathers were prevented from heading towards the beach after a tree fell across the North Coast Road yesterday morning in Maracas. Beach goers quickly posted a video on social media showing the tree blocking the road.

When contacted yesterday, members of the San Juan/Laventille Corporation said there was slippage with the ongoing rains and that the tree was quickly removed from the road.

The Government yesterday moved one step closer to winding up the operations of the Tourism Development Company (TDC), after the company issued its 111 workers with notices of retrenchment.

The workers received the letters following a staff meeting at TDC’s Maritime Centre, Barataria headquarters.

Addressing media after the distribution of the letters, Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) secretary general Clyde Elder said workers were given 45 days notice of their retrenchment, which ends on September 28.

Elder said: “It means effectively that while they are not asked to report for work after today, they remain employees until September 28. During the notice period they will continue to enjoy all of the terms and conditions of employment that normally apply.”

He noted that the process complied with the Retrenchment and Severance Benefits Act and the decisions of the Industrial Court and Court of Appeal, which had both criticised the company over its move to retrench the workers without consulting the CWU earlier this year.

“During the period, the union and the company will engage in discussion with a view to either getting a better package or if we can’t get that at least we will get an assurance that people are going to be transferred into the new entity,” Elder said.

Asked whether the company had indicated the type of severance packages each worker would get, Elder said no.

“We don’t know. What we know is the act provides for two weeks pay for every year service for the first four years and three weeks pay for every year after four years,” Elder said.

While some of the workers bore melancholy expressions on their faces as they cleared their offices of personal belongings and said goodbye to their former co-workers, most were expressionless as they said they had prepared themselves for the eventuality based on Government’s position on the company’s future.

Asked about the workers’ previous concerns over non-payment of salaries for July, Elder said the issue was addressed yesterday following a meeting with Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young last Friday.

“We are confident that if the discussions continue under Young they would be fruitful,” Elder said, as he criticised Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe for her handling of the situation earlier this year.

“She (Cudjoe) met with us once, more or less as a token kind of something, but it was not with the intention of having anything settled. We had one meeting with Young and because of his approach we are able to have a way forward in this situation.”

In March, Cudjoe announced a Cabinet decision to close the TDC and replace it with two separate entities to deal with tourism in T&T. On May 4, however, the CWU applied for the injunction seeking to restrain the TDC from terminating the workers’ contracts until the determination of an industrial relations complaint filed in the Industrial Court over the failure to consult with the union over shutting down the company.

The union had claimed the workers were improperly approached by the company’s management with severance packages before it engaged in talks with the union. The injunction was eventually upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Stakeholders in Tobago are warning Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that they want no promises from him when he meets with them next week, but want concrete solutions as to how the Government intends to put an end to the dysfunctional sea bridge service which has left them with millions of dollars in losses. They also want to be part of any new process to find a vessel for the inter-island route.

President of the Tobago Chamber of Commerce Demi John Cruickshank yesterday told the T&T Guardian that the Chamber felt the PM’s intervention was “long overdue.” But he said they will attend with “an open mind, and hope we get some serious action from the people who can fix it.”

He said: “We are thankful that the Prime Minister called the meeting, it is something that he should have done a long time ago. He should have taken over the situation from the Port Authority and the Minister of Works and not allowed it to reach this crisis situation.”

He said they also hope the meeting will provide some much needed solutions.

“We don’t want promises. We want to see some serious action from the Government. We want to know are they doing to source another vessel or are they going to fix the T&T Spirit?”

Shortly before heading to Barbados on a private visit last weekend, the Prime Minister apologised to the people of Tobago for the sea bridge fiasco, after the Ocean Flower 2 contract was cancelled. He subsequently set an August 21 date to meet the stakeholders to discuss the problem.

Cruickshank is hoping that in the intervening week, Rowley will get to the bottom of the fiasco and provide some much needed answers.

“We want to know how they arrived at the vessel which they chose and the process by which it was selected,” he said.

Currently, the T&T Express is the lone passenger vessel on the sea bridge and Cruickshank said “we are fearful that if something happens, then we will be seriously cut off with no passenger ferry between Trinidad and Tobago.”

In the past four months since the Super Fast Galicia left he said Tobago’s economy had taken “an enormous beating.”

While the numbers are still to be quantified, Hotel and Tourism Association president Chris James said hoteliers had suffered over $25 million in losses for rooms alone. In the next week the stakeholders will be quantifying and putting numbers together to show the PM and his team just how badly the Tobago economy had been affected.

Cruickshank said the stakeholders will also make it clear to the PM and his team they had no input in the selection of a vessel for the sea bridge although they are the users.

He said, “We will let the Prime Minister know when we met with the board of the Port Authority they requested time to get it right. We let them do their jobs and unfortunately this is what came out of it. We will request from the Prime Minister that we be part of any team being set up to look for a new vessel.”

On the solution going forward, Cruickshank said “our best case is that there is another option other than the Ocean Flower 2, or that we secure parts to repair the T&T Spirit and that this be done within a very short space of time.”

The Spirit has been on dry dock and Cruickshank said while they had been told it would have been back in service sometime in July they had heard nothing more about the vessel. He said it was difficult to understand why if there are two vessels for the sea bridge “we spending US $26,000 a month to lease another vessel.”

Inter-Island Truckers and Trailers Association president Horace Amede is also optimistic a solution will be found once and for all.

“We hope after that meeting they can come to a decision to give us two proper ferries to run between Trinidad and Tobago.”

He said the T&T Express “is limping and taking five hours to make the journey and there are issues with the Cabo Star, we finding roaches and the toilets are not working. We hope all those things will be sorted out properly.”

Like other stakeholders, truckers are quantifying their losses, “which we expect will also run into millions, because when you cut us from 175 vehicles to forty for three months, a lot of guys did not even work because some of the people who they work for did not want to put their goods on the barge to come to Tobago.”

Amede said he did not want to pre-judge the meeting and what the PM will say.

“When we hear what he comes with we will make a definite statement,” he said.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is describing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s latest apology for the challenges in getting a replacement ferry for the inter-island sea bridge as “a pathetic attempt at distracting from his incompetence in handling this situation.”

She said more than the “too little, too late” apology, the Prime Minister “must accept responsibility for this debacle,” deal with his Minister of Works and Transport, as well as the chairman and members of the Port Authority of T&T board and 23 months after assuming the mantle of leadership he should call a fresh election. In a release on the issue, Persad-Bissessar said Rowley’s apology “did nothing to comfort the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Contending that the problems with the sea bridge started under his tenure, Persad-Bissessar said in the months that followed, “the Prime Minister issued a number of apologies but failed to take any action to correct the problems and bring about a resolution in the interest of the people of this country.”

“Rowley keeps apologising to the nation for the ferry problems and instructing his Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan to fix it, not realising that his minister is the problem,” she said.

According to Persad-Bissessar, “not only did the Prime Minister fail to take action against the reports of possible corruption in the deal for the Ocean Flower 2; he continues to show contempt for citizens, with his latest “summons” to stakeholders to a meeting next week Monday, shortly before proceeding on yet another vacation. It is clear that Rowley does not care about the crisis created by his Government not only on the Tobago ferry, but in every aspect of governance.”

As a result of what she described as “his incompetence and lack of a plan to take the country forward,” Persad-Bissessar said “citizens are suffering. Criminal activity continues unabated, more persons are losing their jobs and only means of income, consumers are reeling from high food prices, and sick people cannot get the medication they need at the nation’s health institutions.”

The former prime minister said “Rowley is clearly not up for the job of Prime Minister, and he should heed the calls to seek a fresh mandate.” In so doing, she said he would give the people “the opportunity to choose a leader and a team with a vision and strategy to return the country to a path of growth and prosperity.”

Some members of the Port Authority of T&T (PATT) and its chairman Alison Lewis were locked in an emergency meeting at the Port of Port-of-Spain over the sea bridge fiasco up to late last night.

The meeting started at 11 am with a stern faced Lewis arriving at 12.10 pm at the administrative building, ducking the media as they asked questions.

It was unclear if all seven board directors attended the marathon meeting, and there was no information on whether Lewis or any of her directors had tendered their resignations or what was discussed behind closed doors.

Of the seven directors, Brandon Primus and Tommy Elias were seen leaving the port after midday yesterday. Elias was escorted out by port police and also evaded the media as his driver sped pass the security’s barrier. Up to 7.15 pm, Lewis’ car was still in the car park.

The meeting followed several calls from various quarters for the board and Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to resign or be fired following last Tuesday’s cancellation of the contract for the Ocean Flower II. PATT reason for the termination stemmed from Canadian-based ferry service provider Bridgemans Service Group’s failure to get the vessel here by July 17 and technical issues raised by PATT chief engineer Brendon Powder.

Powder had ruled that the Ocean Flower II may not have been suitable to service the sea bridge between T&T because of several mechanical issues and explosion risks identified during the sea trial he conducted in Panama. He instead recommended that the 21-year-old vessel should remain in Colon, Panama, to urgently attend to all repairs prior to it sailing to Trinidad. Powder and a team of PATT officials visited Panama to inspect the Ocean Flower II over the period July 30 to August 6.

Bridgemans vice president Andrew Purdey has objected to the cancellation, saying his company is considering its options going forward.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced he would meet with stakeholders in Tobago on August 21 to discuss the sea bridge debacle and the cancellation of the contract. They include the Tobago Chamber of Commerce, Tobago Hoteliers and Tourism Association, Tobago Truckers Association and Tobago Unique Bread and Breakfast and Self Catering. The release did not indicate if the PATT board was invited.

Lewis did not respond last night to a text message asking what the meeting was about or if anyone on her board, including herself, had resigned. Calls to Sinanan’s cellphone also went unanswered.

A High Court judge will decide today whether the Defence Force can continue to detain two soldiers who are being investigated in a $2 million payroll scam.

Justice Joan Charles reserved her decision on the habeas corpus application yesterday, after hearing submissions from attorneys for the organisation and the two soldiers, a Lance Corporal and Private, who have been detained at its Teteron Barracks, Chaguaramas for almost three weeks.

While the two soldiers were brought to court, dressed in their uniforms, by officers of the Defence Force’s Military Police yesterday on Charles’ request, they can not be identified as they are yet to be charged with any criminal offence.

Presenting submissions of the soldiers’ behalf, attorneys Mario Merritt and Stephen Wilson questioned the length of the investigation which began on July 27 as they described their clients’ continued detention as excessive and unreasonable.

“Any investigation into fraud is by definition shorter than for a violent crime because everything is based on documents that would be in front of you in your office,” Merritt submitted.

Merritt also alleged that his clients were denied their right to consult with their attorneys during the detention.

“I would not like to say how we are involved in the matter because someone would get into trouble,” Merritt said as he alleged that he was contacted by concerned colleagues of the two soldiers.

Merritt suggested that the two men should have been allowed to leave the barracks and could have been rearrested after the end of the investigation.

In response, attorney Ravi Rajcoomar claimed that their continued detention was necessary as the soldiers are required to appear before a Board of Inquiry, which is investigating the alleged fraud, later this week.

Rajcoomar also submitted that because they were soldiers they were subject to military law which allowed them to be detained at their base for an undefined period of time.

“This is an internal defence procedure that can be addressed by complaints,” Rajcoomar said as he noted that neither officer had initiated the complaint procedure afforded to members, who wished to challenge decisions.

Rajcoomar denied Merritt claims that his clients were under closed arrest — ie being confined to a holding cell — instead suggesting that they were under open arrest, where by they are allowed to move freely through the base under supervision.

He also claimed that the delay in the investigation arose because investigators had to consult with several commercial banks to gather evidence.

The two soldiers were detained after the alleged fraud was discovered last month. The T&T Guardian understands that the soldiers are accused of working with a civilian member of staff to receive inflated payments in their salaries between February and June.

When they were first confronted the officers reportedly admitted to seeing inflated sums in their accounts and withdrew the money without knowing its source.

The T&T Police Service is conducting a parallel investigation into the incident.