The gaming community is wealthy enough to afford tax measures since one casino rented a location for $450,000 monthly and kept it empty for “umpteen years” just to block competition, says Attorney General Faris Al- Rawi.

He spoke about the matter in Thursday budget debate in Parliament saying casino workers should not be exploited or threatened to come out and protest.

He said during last Wednesday’s protest by casino workers, a government worker passing through the protest, was told to sign a book or they wouldn’t be paid.

Al-Rawi, who said he once worked for people in the gaming community, added he found it conspicuous that casino owners aren’t coming forward and workers are being sent out to protest.

“I want to tell workers: don’t be used as a scapegoat . The gaming community is wealthy enough to afford the measures being effected. There’s room for adjustment and there’s no reason to threaten workers. Gaming sector workers are being exploited,” he added.

“Hold strong, Government is aware of your position. As the regulatory movement pushes out, the industry, it’ll settle itself,”

On recent Port dismissals, the AG said, “When you see public servants being sent on leave or dismissed, it’s not by mistake.”

But he said when Government sought to eliminate corruption the Opposition said the State was attacking public servants.

Al-Rawi also said former Defence Force members alleged to have robbed the Defence Force have admitted to guilt and the police were yet to charge them. He said his office had taken action in the issue of the former Defence Force members, froze their accounts and recovered their assets and “They admitted to guilt.”

His office is also probing the matter of a door which cost $76,900 . He said this was akin to matters in the Piarco Airport cost overrun issue when a door’ s value was given as $80,00.

Al-Rawi criticised UNC MPs for statements abut “400 nationals” joining Isis and T&T nationals found in Iraq. He said international partners pay attention to that and foreign media pick it up and T&T is later incorrectly dubbed the place with the highest number of Isis fighters.

He said Government has listed 341 people under anti- terrorism laws and listed one person from T&T based on United National evidence.

He said several major corruption matters are in the court. “But any ‘mark’ we have to buss, we bussing it in court,”he added.

President of the Amusement Gaming Association (AGA) Russel Bahadoorsingh is accusing Minister of Finance Colm Imbert of presenting misconceptions and misinformation during his winding up speech of the budget debate in the Parliament on Thursday.

Bahadoorsingh was the one referenced to as representing on September 5, 2017 at the Joint Select Committee on Gambling Control Bill (2016).

In that meeting, Bahadoorsingh said he gave testimony evidence about amusement games in T&T.

“It was pellucidly clear that Minister Imbert was not prepared to listen to our position but instead was stubbornly handcuffed to his preconceived incorrect ideas,” Bahadoorsingh said.

He added that from the allegations made by Imbert. the AGA questioned the basis for Imbert’s statement.

“For example where is the data to support there being 5000 bars in T&T as the budget statement indicated? The AGA challenges the minister to provide the facts on this issue,” he said.

Imbert said the Ministry of Finance should be collecting $60 million but the actual figures is around $8 million, Bahadoorsingh said.

“Therefore the problem is collection and enforcement of existing taxes not 100 per cent increase on the industry. Will those persons who are not presently paying the low tax rate now pay a higher tax? The incompetence of the collection and enforcement will not be solved with an increase in taxes,” he said.

Bahadoorsingh said bars are owned by the local small man, “What’s going to happen when all these local small businesses cannot afford to continue to function as a result of the increased in taxation. The increase in taxation will result in employee layoffs.”

He added that it should be noted that the way that bars are regulated under the liquor license they have to pay the gaming machine taxes before they get licenses.

“What is needed was proper enforcement of the existing taxes to those that are not compliant to meet the required tax amount,” Bahadoorsingh said.

“If the minister had meaningful discussions with the AGA we would have been able to enlighten him on the proper way to enforce the existing tax process instead of increasing taxes which we believe will only destroy the industry and lead to lower tax collection and force people to illegally operate their machines. However, we remain open to dialogue,” he said.

Vendors in downtown Port-of-Spain are complaining of the actions of the Port-of-Spain City Corporation in clamping down on them.

Hours after the vendors complained of the action during a T&T Police Service (TTPS) town meeting on the Brian Lara Promenade on Wednesday night, officers of the corporation’s independent police force held an exercise targeting illegal vending the next day.

In an interview, Bernadette Cornwall, a newspaper vendor, who has been operating at the corner of Henry Street and Independence Square for over 26 years, claimed she was unfairly targeted.

“I turn my back and they just pick up everything and throw everything in the back of the truck. If they had told me to move it, I would have,” Cornwall said.

Cornwall said because of the move she is not sure if she could continue selling over the weekend as she was now forced to pay a $1,150 in order to get back her stall, stool and unsold newspapers.

“Right now I’m stranded I have no money to buy papers in the morning,” she said.

She also claimed that in the past newspaper vendors were exempt from action taken against illegal vending.

Speaking at the meeting, president of the Downtown and Independence Square Vendors Association, O’Neil Benjamin questioned the release fee.

“They just seize our stuff and charge us this tax. It is not like they are locking us up and charging us for illegal vending,” Benjamin said.

Describing the fee as arbitrary, Benjamin said many times vendors refused to pay it as their items such as stands and coolers were not worth as much.

Head of the Port-of-Spain Division Senior Supt Floris Hodge-Griffith said she could not respond to the action and fee as it was within the purview of the corporation and its police force.

When contacted, Port-of-Spain Mayor Joel Martinez explained that the move was based on a decision by the corporation’s council to crack down on illegal vending.

“I don’t know what would have been the previous mayor’s position but vending in the city has gotten out of hand and we are trying to regulate it,” Martinez said.

He went on: “Order has to occur and we are trying to clean up the streets and make Port-of-Spain a better city. Yes we are going to tolerate some vending but at the same time, the vendors need to be mindful of that.”

Martinez stated that the Port-of-Spain Market had been renovated to accommodate additional vendors but many refused to relocate.

Responding to the fee for release of the vending apparatus, Martinez said it was another decision taken by the council.

“The fee is imposed by the corporation because there is a cost to the police in picking up the items and impounding the stuff. Just as with wrecking there is a fee, the council has imposed one for this,” he said.

Stop inviting Marlene McDonald for tea!

The warning was issued by Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis to Opposition members who she are accusing have been desperately trying to court the Port-of-Spain South MP to get her on the Opposition bench.

Delivering her budget contribution in Parliament on Thursday, Robinson-Regis, the Arouca Maloney MP ,said she just wanted to remind Opposition MPs that despite their various calls to McDonald “to have tea with them she is PNM, PNM, PNM, PNM. So don’t bother to call her to have tea.”

Robinson-Regis said she wanted the United National Congress MPs to know that the PNM has “tea, cocoa, juice, coffee and everything that is needed. We even have zebapique. So Madame Speaker she is safe on this side.”

Robsinson-Regis said McDonald is a PNM and will remain a die-hard PNM.

“Let me also say that the Member for Diego Martin West (Dr Keith Rowley) was also removed from a Cabinet, if some of you remember… and you see where he is now. Okay. So stop calling her for tea. She doesn’t need tea.”

In July, McDonald was fired for the second time from the Rowley’s led administration.

McDonald was sworn in on Friday, June 30, at President House, St Ann’s, but became the subject of controversy as she was accompanied to her swearing in ceremony by Cedric Burke, who was in 2011 arrested and charged under the anti-gang law.

Police seized four guns, over 500 rounds of assorted ammunition and 18 kilograms of marijuana during an exercise in the Central Division on Thursday.

During the exercise the officers searched an abandoned house near the home of a convicted killer and found two guns, an air rifle and a Sig-Sauer machine gun along with 610 rounds of assorted ammunition.

The lawmen also found the marijuana at the house. Since the house was abandoned, police said no one could be held criminally responsible for the contents of the home.

Police later searched an area on Milton Road and five men were arrested for possession of firearms and ammunition as well as possession marijuana.

The officers then went to another location in the California area where a quantity of cocaine was found buried in a barrel. The officers executed search warrants in the Couva district and arrested another man for possession of a revolver and six rounds of ammunition. In the Port-of-Spain Division, officers arrested 12 illegal immigrants and charged six people with illegal vending during an exercise that lasted from 2 pm to 6 pm Thursday.

Police also arrested one man on an outstanding warrant and another for obscene language.

The illegal immigrants arrested included three Venezuelans, a Cuban, Vincentian, Dominican, Colombian, Jamaican and four Guyanese. Six vending carts were seized and 30 vehicles were stripped of illegal tints.

The exercise, which began at 4 am and ended at 10 pm, was co-ordinated by Supt Belfon and Assistant Superintendents Pierre and Smith and led by Sgt Ali along with Cpl Baboolala and PC Balkissoon.

The National Lotteries Control Board spent $40,000 on Johnnie Walker Black whisky as gifts for NLCB Board members and also paid $1,000 for a taxi to transport a Tobago director to the Lara Stadium, UNC MP Roodal Moonilal has said.

Speaking during the budget debate in Parliament on Thursday, he said, “Even though they were told to tighten their belts, they squandered money as if they never see money—there was total mismanagement there!”

“They spent and overspent on trips abroad, lavish travels to Italy, Las Vegas, China, the Magdalena in Tobago. The Finance Minister stopped the travels, but did they return the money?”

He listed spending from an NLCB report

• Staff function at Hilton - Massy Stores vouchers totalling $100,000
• Johnnie Walker Black whisky as gifts for NLCB Board members - $40,000
• Board members cricket excursion -$687,000
• Taxi to take a Tobago director to Lara Stadium - $1,000
• Hyatt Retreat stationary cost - $18,000
•Awards ceremony -$800,00
• Children’s party - $250,000
•Decorations - 106,00, $60,000 sound system .
• Ten members long service awards - $108,000

Moonilal also noted $10,000 body guard costs and patrols for NLCB’s chairman and a “bomb sweep” at his office—though the chairman didn’t report a security threat to the police Moonilal urged the Government to remove tax on NLCB games like Play Whe to prevent illegal gambling.

He said Price Waterhouse Coopers was being used as the “FBI” as ex- Port CEO Chairman Lewis dismissal letter stated she was removed due to recent information from a PWC audit. He said Lewis’ dismissal reeked of victimisation, political influence and undermining of Parliament as she recently testified before the Joint Select committee probing ferry issues.

Moonilal also queried the hiring of Petrotrin consultants noted in an October 201 6 document. He said it would be feasible to have sensitive information like—seismic research and those regarding lease operations— trusted to people who lacked contracts.

If Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Minister Clarence Rambharat has his way, the $118 million allocated in the 2018 budget to pay staff and Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) would have been spent on highly trained, qualified and motivated workers to get the job done.

This was Rambharat’s response when asked on Thursday by Tabaquite MP Suruj Rambachan at a Finance Standing Committee if his ministry was getting value for money with this exorbitant wage bill.

“I would answer it in this way, given a completely free hand to re-organise how we spend that wage bill…how we utilise…I would not be doing it in this way. We ought to be spending it behind high, quality technical people, paid well, and highly motivated to do the job.”

It’s a flexibility Rambaharat said the ministry does not have.

“So it takes a lot longer to get certain changes done in the ministry.”

In his opening remarks in Parliament, Rambharat admitted that the ministry was impeded to a great degree as there were 404 vacancies which needed to be filled.

This figure comprises 20 per cent of vacancies that currently exist.

The ministry was allocated $771 million in the 2018 budget.

Rambachan asked Rambharat what goals he had set for the agriculture sector to increase food production and to justify the $118 million that will be paid in salaries and COLA to the ministry’s workers in the next fiscal year.

“So the target we have set is to effect the behavioural change in this country by putting production and produce closer to consumers …making it available and promoting the idea of supporting local production through changes in consumption patterns,” Rambharat said.

One way food production can increase was by improving the productivity of workers, Rambharat said.

“We have limitations in what we can do as ministers. The Permanent Secretary and directors at the ministry have a responsibility to ensure that people show up for work and they are productive.”

He said what was needed was getting the right skills and people to support the production of farmers, which would not happen overnight.

Rambharat said the ministry had commissioned a review of the ministry of which a final report was delivered in August with implementation taking place this fiscal year.

The report recommended in some areas of the ministry private/ public partnership.

He said the ministry has physical assets in Mora Valley, Aripo and Mongelo “placed in the hands completely or partially of the private sector that would reduce the burden on the ministry, but also provide the boost in food production that we need when it comes to livestock.”

Chief disaster coordinator of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) Rishi Siew said hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in south and central Trinidad over the past few days.

Siew said in Woodland, which is one of the most adversely hit areas and which is still under five feet of water in some areas, some 260 people have been rescued so far and taken to shelters

where they will remain until the floods subside.

Siew was among a high-power team of officials, including National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, Local Government and Rural Minister Kazim Hosein, Moruga MP and Minister Dr Lovell Francis who toured flood-stricken communities in south Trinidad yesterday.

Speaking from Barrackpore, Siew said, “Thousands of people are affected. Flood waters have not subsided just yet in some areas and the rains are back. People are still trapped in six, five, four feet of water.

We just came through Woodland where was five feet of water in people homes.”

He said about 60 people at Kanhai Road, Barrackpore and surrounding areas have also been evacuated.

“Farmalls and tractors, boats, canoes are all being used to rescue people from their homes and bring them to safety. Peoples have been evacuated from Madras Road, St Helena, Kelly Village, Las Lomas. Rescues took place there as well. There were also situations at the Chaguanas areas as well, Caparo, Flanagin, Mamoral.”

He said the ODPM was working with other agencies to bring as much relief to affected residents as possible.

Dillon assured that the army, Fire Services and other agencies were in flood-stricken areas rendering aid.

He will hosting a press conference at his ministry today to address the flood situation.

Francis said the water has receded in Moruga and clean-up operations has commenced. He said they were able to get food and drinking water to some families in Barrackpore who have been stranded for two days.

Hosein said he has been meeting with heads of regional corporations and councillors and together with the disaster management units have been distributing hampers, mattresses and water.

Responding to complaints that help was too slow, he said, “The water keeps coming back. Once the water subsides things will move a little faster.” However, he said boats, tractors and high vehicles were being used to reach those affected.

Policies determining where people can build and the types structures will have to be re-examined in the wake of the recent flooding in Central, South and East Trinidad over the last few days, acting Director of the Town and Country Planning Division Clyde Watche said yesterday.

Speaking at a Planning Ministry press conference, Watche said despite the fact that there was a national spatial development policy, some citizens ignored this and continued construction that did not meet the agency’s standards. He said building practices have changed in areas prone to flooding, adding that homes are now built off the ground and were better able to withstand floods.

Asked whether too many people were simply breaking the law and building without regard for their environment and issues such as drainage, Watche said the agency received many applications for approval which must also be filtered by agencies such the Environmental Management Authority (EMA).

Assistant Director Kerry Pariag, who also spoke, said the division was engaged in ongoing data collection to implement new policies as some were outdated. However, he said following the severity of the flooding there may be a new high water mark adding that the agency would have to map this and be guided accordingly regarding the granting of approvals and for what type of development.

Pariag also said incoming data could mean a return to zoning policies and possible retraction of some land use policies regarding permission for residential building.

“We may have to limit, bar, restrict or outright prohibit urban development in certain spaces,” he said.

Pariag said while the agency has regulations in place to control development, particularly on hillsides to curb the denudation of vegetation that contributes heavily to flooding, the legal process was time consuming.

Urging for the need for the relevant Government agencies to work in tandem, Pariag said new legislation to assist more sensible development was partially proclaimed through the Planning and Facilitation Development Act.

Although 11 out of 14 regional corporations were adversely affected by severe flooding in the last three days, deputy CEO of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management Dave Williams does not see this as a “big thing” and has put their poor response down to a breakdown in communication between the emergency agencies.

Williams also took responsibility for the lack of coordination among response agencies, which led to a delay in reaching flood-affected communities and motorists who remained trapped for over five hours in rising waters on the north and south-bound lanes of the Solomon Hochoy Highway after heavy showers.

On Thursday and up to yesterday, several areas in Trinidad remained under water as the rains showed no signs of letting up.

At a press conference yesterday, Williams admitted the ODPM’s response agencies had failed to reach out to people affected by the floods.

He said the ODPM, which is responsible for coordination of national resources before, during and after the impact of a catastrophic event, met yesterday with agencies of the national disaster response mechanism—Fire Service, Defence Force, Police Service, T&T Red Cross Society and Ministries of Local Rural Development and Local Government and Works and Transport - to examine how they can improve on communication with the public.

“What we experienced was that the communications did not happen the way we would have liked. And therefore the response agencies were becoming aware of the problems that members of the public were experiencing with flood waters after the waters had built up ... after people were caught in traffic on the highways.”

He said agencies “could not talk to each other at the time it should have, leading to people suffering from the absence of information.”

Asked if this was acceptable, Williams said sometimes the most perfect channel of communication breaks down.

“Is it unacceptable? I would say it is unfortunate that when you tried to call somebody (agencies) you can’t get through,” he said.

Williams said while the OPDM has agreed new protocols need to be followed to respond swifter to those affected, they were faced with a challenge of imparting information to the public at nights.

Asked if the ODPM’s basic functions had failed, Williams said, “I don’t see it that way. It didn’t fail. My communications was not fast as it should have been. The agencies weren’t out there early enough.”

He also did not agree that they functioned badly.

Also asked if its command centre in Mausica to deal with emergencies had been in use, he said, “You see this as a big thing. For us this is a small thing.”

But the media tore into Williams, telling him the OPDM had failed in their “small thing,”asking what if something more catastrophic and “bigger” had occurred.

Williams calmly responded by asking the media to define failure.

Also asked about the condemnation of their slow response, Williams said some of it was true and untrue. He said once the OPDM was notified of an area facing a deluge they would verify the information through people who support the OPDM’s system.

“Every corporation had flooding. However, of the 14 (corporations) we can say 11 had significant flooding.”

Williams said the public should not behave as if flooding is a strange phenomenon.

“Folks, we do flood. All the push back thus far is on the State,” he said, which was reasonable.

Asked who should be held accountable for the lack of communication, Williams blamed the disaster management system but said citizens have to pay closer attention to the weather reports.

“Preparedness requires everyone to take measures to be ready for these circumstances.”

Efforts to contact, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, under whose purview the ODPM falls, yesterday were unsuccessful.

Trucks from Sangre Grande Regional Corporation were used to transport food, water and mattresses to marooned villagers at Le Mong Fishing Pond and Vega de Oropouche yesterday.

Sangre Grande Regional Corporation chairman Terry Rondon told T&T Guardian all agencies and employees of corporation and CEPEP workers were ready to go into the communities with backhoes and trucks yesterday, but the clean-up work was put on hold because the communities were still under water due to continuing rainfall. He said the rising waters also made it impossible to use any other vehicles besides trucks to transport relief items.

“We stand ready to assist the people of the flooded areas but await for the flood water to recede before any clean up work can begin,” Rondon said.

Rondon again accused unscrupulous land developers of being responsible for most of the flooding. He said it’s time to stop the talk and for action to take place, adding he wanted to know who is giving permission to these land developers and if the authorities make any follow-up visit to ensure they are complying with the building codes.

“This lawlessness of squatters and land developers must come to an end now,” he said.

He added, however, that most assessment of the damages had been done and this will be sent to the relevant authorities for processing.

Juteram said he felt sorry for those who spent days and weeks cleaning up in preparation for Divali only to be flooded out.

Today if the weather is fine, health officials will be visiting and clean-up work will begin from as early as 7 am.

RALPH BANWARIE

An entire village along the Blanchisseuse Road in Arima was last night left in total darkness after a major landslide brought down power lines in the area.

This was last night confirmed by Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julien, who said she returned to her office shortly after 8 pm after responding to the landslide.

“It occurred at the Five-Mile Mark by the WASA Station, leaving that entire area from Four Mile back without electricity. We have already contacted T&TEC and they are on standby to commence restoration works,” Morris-Julien said.

A crew from the Arima Borough Corporation is expected to go to the site today to clear the roadway of all debris. 

For the Ramjit family, flooding is a yearly occurrence, an unwanted Christmas of sorts.

Luckily for them, however, they usually get at least an hour head start before flood waters invade their Madras Road, St Helena home.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Setty and Rodney Ramjit said they are usually warned by Rodney’s sister who lives in El Carmen.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Setty said the drainage near their home is poor. She added that the nearby river needs to be dredged properly and regularly.

The couple recalled being stranded in their home on Thursday, anticipating breaking fast after celebrating Divali the day before. When the T&T Guardian visited yesterday the water had already subsided and Rodney said the flood, which was not the worst the family had seen over the years, only claimed the lives of three of their ducks.

At Madras Road, Chaguanas, one woman, trapped in her home as flood waters reached at least three feet high, placed a sign on her window that read “Government Sucks.” The woman, who did not want to be named, said the constant flooding was annoying, adding that Thursday’s flooding was the worse she had ever seen. She said she had her ailing mother in the house and questioned why flooding had to be a yearly occurrence. She answered herself by saying no one cares when the residents suffer yearly.

Benedict Doon said he moved into the area two months ago from Freeport and is now wondering how he will prevent future occurrences. As he spoke, other residents came forward and gave their experiences of yearly flooding, prompting Doon to suggest he may have to put his flat home on stilts.

Other residents like Leela Jattansing, Diawonti Reesal and Kenrick Boodhan all had the same concern, noting talks of compensation for lost appliances in the past never materialized.

Further east at Santa Monica Trace, St Helena, Winston Lutchman said the problem of flooding can be addressed if two flood gates are repaired. He said thanks to the debris and litter often dumped in the waterways, the flood gates don’t close properly and the water makes rivers out of roadways and turns vacant lands into ponds.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has admitted the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and other State agencies must improve their disaster relief response times.

His comment came in response to questions about complaints over the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management failure to spring into any real action until yesterday and the poor response of the emergency agencies to calls for help during the flooding which had devastated parts of Trinidad over the past few days.

“There is work to be done in terms of improving the rapidity with which the ODPM and civil agencies tend to respond when something happens. We are not entirely happy that we have this down in a smooth way,” Rowley said at his St Clair office.

“There are 14 local government bodies in T&T and all of them may at the same time be making a demand, or lines of communication may be blurred or ineffective. That is an area we need to improve on.”

Saying the flooding was concentrated in areas that were also affected by Tropical Storm Bret in July, Rowley said the ODPM and regional corporations needed to learn from previous mistakes.

“Every time we go through this exercise we ought to have lessons learned and try and improve so that the next time we are in a position to respond better. I am afraid that we have not seen that just yet, but that is something we have to review and strengthen our ability to respond,” Rowley said.

He also confessed that he understood why some citizens questioned the country’s ability to respond to major disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes based on previous experiences with less severe natural disasters.

“That is a question we have to ask ourselves and the Government needs to ask that question and go through some table top exercises to ensure we identify where there are weakness in organisations, personnel and resources, so that in the event that something worse happens we don’t find ourselves completely at sea,” Rowley said.

He noted that regional corporations had already assessed damage within their regions and that the Defence Force was deployed to the worst affected communities yesterday afternoon to assist those who were marooned by the floods.

Asked what long term engineering measures Government was considering for flooding, Rowley said it was almost inevitable during periods of unusually high rainfall such as over the past three days.

“Even as we do these engineering works, whether it is clearing, which we do; building up levees, which we may have to do more of; once you have a situation where you are in valley or catchment area and you have a downpour that provides more water than the channel can carry, the water must go somewhere, especially when you have tide problems which may prevent the river from draining quickly,” he said.

Asked about his failure to visit affected communities, Rowley said he had Budget commitments but noted Government was well represented in the field by the Ministers of Local Government, Works and Transport and National Security, who are all responsible for aspects disaster relief.

“I am glad they would like to see me, but we all have different responsibilities. There is a Government structure, parliament is in session for the National Budget... If it was feasible for me to go I would have, but it was not,” he said.

The T&T Registered Nurses Association (TTRNA) is blaming unfilled vacancies and the presence of only one registered nurse on any ward as the main reasons for the high death rate within the institution under the North Central Regional Health Authority’s purview.

As a result, the TTRNA is calling on the NCRHA to immediately fill “the over 200 hundred registered nurses/midwife/nursing assistants vacancies within the institution.”

In a strong worded memo to all nurses on October 17, the TTRNA called on nurses to desist from opening new wards/clinics until the appropriate safe staffing levels are reached. The memo was signed by TTRNA president Ida Stuart.

“With the recently reported hospital deaths coming to the attention of the TTRNA, most of which appear to be related to shortage of staff within EWMSC, TTRNA can no longer tolerate the unsafe practice of having one registered nurse manage a ward with 20 or more patients,” Stuart said in the memo.

One nurse, who wished to remain unidentified for fear of victimisation, said she lost a patient as a result of being the only one on the ward.

“I remember one day I was the only one there and two patients crashed at the same time. I had to resuscitate one of them but the other, I was forced to watch the patient die on me because I could not attend to both at the same time. I felt like I couldn’t live with myself after, but that’s the reality of the situation when we are forced to work alone on wards that have a lot of patients,” the nurse alleged.

It is alleged registered nurses are being forced to work alone on a ward without any help and if they refuse their superiors are victimising them.

As a result of this, the TTRNA advised all nurses working within the NCRHA, in particular the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EWMSC) and Mt Hope Women’s Hospital, to indicate they cannot function under such conditions if they realise they are alone on a ward.

“Request administration to provide an additional registered nurse to work with you on that shift, as you can be held accountable to the patients and the regulatory body for exceeding your scope of practice,” Stuart advised her colleagues.

Stuart warned that the TTRNA is also mandated to be the advocate of patients and as such will utilise all legal options at its disposal to fulfill its obligation.

The TTRNA also asked the NCRHA to convert all contract positions to permanent employment of all nursing personnel to provide security of tenure.

But in a release yesterday, NCRHA acting chief executive officer Davlin Thomas said over the past six months they had taken the strategic decision to improve the patient, staff and visitor experience at their facilities.

“This includes the authority’s decision to eradicate situations where a sole registered nurse is assigned to a ward. We have already implemented new measures to ensure that our nurses and enrolled nursing assistants are given the additional manpower, tools and resources they need to deliver quality healthcare to our citizens,” Thomas said.

He said the authority had already adopted several innovative approaches that are successfully addressing the shortage of nurses.

“More than 45 nurses have already been accepted to the pool, and more are being added daily to supplement the efforts of our nurses who are already permanently employed within the NCRHA,” Thomas said.

Thomas also said they had introduced of a monthly roster system that incorporates the additional people in the nursing pool to ensure a minimum of three nurses are assigned to each ward on every shift.

April Ravello, the pregnant woman who was rescued along with her husband and two children by Caparo villagers on Thursday, says she has “so much to be thankful for.” Saying she feared she would have lost her daughter that day, Ravello said she is “eternally grateful” to the men who braved the dirty, muddy flood waters to save her family.

A video of the rescue posted on social media has garnered widespread comment and commendation for the men involved.

Yesterday, Ravello said she and her family were driving from Rio Claro along the Caparo Road to get to Chaguanas where her husband had a basketball game scheduled for 3 pm. She said just after 2 pm flood waters started to inundate the car.

“It stalled and started going down. It was being pulled by the current from the nearby river,” she said.

Ravello’s two-year-old son Njisane was in a car seat and she quickly unlocked it, grabbed him and handed him to her husband, Nathyon Lewis. However, before she could get to her daughter, Angel, the car started to sink.

“My daughter went under the water and I tell my husband she gone,” she recalled.

Ravello said she never let go of her daughter’s jersey and by holding on to a bamboo tree managed to pull her out of the submerged vehicle. She said the children started screaming and crying and Angel kept asking if they were going to die. She said she prayed for someone to rescue them.

When a pickup passed near to where they were, Ravello called out to the occupants but believes they may not have seen them because of a bamboo patch.

She said: “We saw a man walking through the water. I don’t know where he was going or why he was in the water, but we started shouting for help and he answered.”

That man, Victor Dick, who had gone to Caparo to attend a funeral, immediately sprang into action and got the help of Neil Joseph and other villagers to rescue the family.

Ravello, who is four months pregnant, said her family did not get the chance to say a proper thank you to the men

“No words could explain what I am feeling. Thankful, extremely grateful ... there are just no words,” she said.

She said she has not spoken much about what happened, not even to her family, because it was too traumatic.

“I don’t like to think about it. I don’t know how I feel, I don’t even want to remember it. Every time I think about my daughter going under the water I start crying. I can’t help it the tears just keep flowing,” Ravello said.

Ravello believes God intervened and when Dick showed up “it was as if God sent him.” She estimated their ordeal lasted about four hours

“I want to go back to the area to meet them. I understand that one of them is not from the area, but the others who helped us are from there. The woman who took us into her home to shower, she took good care of us, she was very nice and gave us clothes, slippers. She gave us something to eat and washed our clothes,” she said.

As flood waters recede in many areas throughout T&T, there is the high possibility that animals such as snakes and caimans can find themselves into your homes.

Do not be alarmed and try not to injure or kill them, instead, you can call upon officials from the Wildlife and Environmental Protection of T&T (WEPTT) to assist in removing them.

In the past two days, the group has rescued three snakes, two caimans, one hawk and several birds from the Valsayn, St Augustine, St Helena, Lange Park, California and Marabella areas.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, one of the directors, Kristopher Rattansingh said their intention is “just to help the animals get back out if they become stuck or too disoriented to leave the area where they drifted off too.”

“One caiman was inside a flooded house and it was just panicked by all the people. Of course, we can't ask the people to leave their home so we just had to remove it from the house,” Rattansingh said.

“We are trying our best not to disturb the animals any more than they have been and only intervene if absolutely necessary," he said.

Rattansingh asked for members of the public to be understanding towards the animals as they mean no harm.

“They certainly do not intend on staying. Like many of us, their intention is to survive. They do not want to be there as much as we do not want them to be. They will leave on their own,” he said.

What to do

1) Leave it alone – Do not approach the animal because a cornered animal will defend itself. Take a picture if possible so we can identify the animal accurately.

2) Call WEPTT at 341-9983 so we can properly identify the animal and advise you what you can do or if expert assistance is required.

3) Do not try to move the animal or get close to it without first identifying the animal with an expert and finding out if it's possible and safe to do. They also guide and assist you in contacting officers of the Wildlife Section.

4) Most importantly, do not kill the animal. It does not want to be in your home as much as you do not want it to be there. Not only is killing the animal unnecessary, chances are, it is against the law since the animals are prudent to a sustainable bio-diverse environment that is already disturbed by the floods.

An Estonian engineer on the inter-island cargo vessel Cabo Star has been "removed" from the ship and sent home after complaining about safety issues on the vessel.

The T&T Guardian understands that Edurak Lasuk, who came with the vessel when it arrived in Trinidad in July, complained in a letter to Port officials about concerns which he had with the Cabo Star including issues which he thought posed a risk to those using the vessel.

But Vice President of Bridgemans Services Group Andrew Purdey in response to queries said that Lasuk was "a disgruntled employee," who had "baseless concerns."

Responding to emailed questions, Purdey said "we had the union and our ship managers attend the vessel and understand his concerns. The concerns are baseless and he has been removed from the ship."

Asked how Lasuk’s departure had affected maintenance of the Cabo Star, Purdey said operations “remain as always operating fully within class and all port safety requirements.”

Last weekend the Cabo Star was delayed in its normal sailing schedule because the starboard engine failed. Purdey assured "all issues," had been "resolved."

He said preventative maintenance spares which were required had been “held up at Customs. All spares are now in our control and maintenance is in hand.”

As a result, he said, “the Cabo Star remains ready and durable for ongoing service.”

But truckers told the T&T Guardian that the vessel had slowed down considerably.

One trucker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the vessel is now travelling at 13 knots.

“We believe that there are engine problems and they don’t want anything to happen to the vessel. So they have slowed it down considerably.”

The T&T Guardian understands that there is a request that the sailing time of the vessel be brought up to midday, from the current departure time of 2 pm from Port-of-Spain. This is being resisted by truckers who said the proposed change in time will affect their trade.

Stakeholders in the Tobago business community also lodged their concerns about the proposed change in sailing time. They said the earlier sailing will not allow the truckers enough time to offload and get goods back on the vessel in time for the return sailing.

The issue of the change in departure time is expected to be discussed in detail at a meeting which has been called by the Port Authority with stakeholders this week.

Truckers also complained that there is limited cabin space on the Cabo Star. They say there are about six bunks in each cabin and some truckers are still sleeping on the ground.

Asked whether there are any plans to improve the cabin capacity of the Cabo Star, Purdey said that was up to officials of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT).

He said “currently all cabins are available to the PATT which operates this phase of the service. It will be their determination which cabins are delivered for service. Going forward we are working to increase passenger capacity but this is a few months out.”

The vessel has a one-year contract which costs taxpayers US$22,500 a day.

Purdey said he is hoping “to make the Cabo Star a long-term fixture in this route and anything we can do to improve service will be considered to secure future contracts.”

Meantime, Purdey confirmed that the Ocean Flower 2, the passenger ferry which has put in a bid for the passenger service on the seabridge is off drydock.

“I am considering inviting the media for a tour at a mutually acceptable date,” he said.

The Port Authority also confirmed that the evaluation of tenders for a passenger ferry for the seabridge has begun. Tenders closed in September but the evaluation of the bids only started last week.

Asked about the composition of the tenders committee the Port confirmed that evaluation had started but in an emailed response stated it could not provide any information on the committee.

Well-placed sources told the T&T Guardian that the Port had sought the assistance of the Coast Guard in evaluating the tenders.

The T&T Guardian understands that Tobago stakeholders decided against sitting on the evaluation committee following a request from Port Chairman Alison Lewis.

With heavy rains battering their home and a leaking water line eroding their property, a Pointe-a-Pierre family said their home is on the verge of crumbling down a hill.

John Mendoza and his family stood in the rain yesterday as they monitored a landslip between their home and the neighbour at Plaisance Park.

Mendoza told the T&T Guardian that the 15-inch Petrotrin water line which transfers water from Claxton Bay to the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery had sprung several leaks in the past two years. Despite several complaints to Petrotrin, he said nothing much was done.

He said children were playing in the yard when the earth started moving, taking with it coconut and fig trees. Inside his house, the tiles the living room had begun to crack and lines ran from ceiling to floor in their bedrooms.

“So far, all they did was to put a cap on the pipe and a little piece of thin sheet. The pipe is not leaking from one position, it’s five or six different leaks onto the ground. That patch up that they did, cannot do anything really.

“If anything is not done soon, the entire house will be gone. Just like the coconut tree, just like the fig tree, everything will be gone. The next step is to contact the EMA and our attorneys and see what legal advice we can get as to what to do about the situation.” Mendoza said.

Already a shed at the neighbour’s house has begun slipping and the landslip is just a few feet away from the exterior wall. Near their home, the water could be seen spraying from the pipe, causing several streams to run through both properties.

Mendoza’s wife, Lisa Cooper said when she got fed up of the situation on Friday; she reported the problem to Petrotrin police.

“I can’t remember the guy I spoke to but what he told me was not to let the media be aware of it and I don’t need to let the public be aware of it. He said they would visit the site on Friday evening or Saturday morning but up to now I have not seen them,” Cooper said.

Mendoza’s house is unfinished and he said the contractor stalled construction because of the leaks two years ago. He said all he wants is for Petrotrin to be fair. Either repair the line and the landslip or provide somewhere safe for his family.

Acting corporate communications manager at Petrotrin, George Comissiong said that he was unaware of the issue and will check on it today.

ROGERS: CONRAD age 82 died on 28th December, 2010 Husband of Amoy. Father David (Bunny), Sylvia (Junie) and Jacqueline (Jackie). Father- in-law of George and Pamela. Grand-father of Simone, Quincy, Karaine, Alyssa, Arnea, David and Damian Great grand-father of Ananyah, Alizza, Anizza, Nikolai, Makhai and Nathan. Brotherin- law of Akim, Carmen, Josephine and Eva (deceased). Grand-father-in-law of Natausha and Tanya. Dear Friend of Millions. Funeral service for the late Conrad Rogers takes place at the home on Thursday 30th and a private interment will take place on Friday 31st December, 2010 Enquiries Lee’s Funeral Directors, 50 EMR St. Augustine, Tel 663-1010.