A 27-year-old Morvant man who sought refuge in the serene hills of Maracas Valley, St Joseph was hounded and murdered early this morning.
According to police around 6.30 am residents of Waterfall Road heard rapid gun shots and later went out of their homes and found the body of Jason Thomas, originally of Second Caledonia Morvant, behind the steering wheel of a car.
Police said over 20 spent shells from high powered military weapon was found at scene.
Investigations are continuing.
Russel Thomas, the man who ran out of the San Fernando Magistrates Court yesterday after being sentenced to three years hard labour for armed robbery, has surrendered himself to the police.
The T&T Guardian understands that sometime this morning Thomas, 27, was held by officers of the Besson Street Police Station. He surrendered himself around 7.30am to the police.
He was expected to be charged with escaping lawful custody and served with warrants for the sentencing he ran out on and brought to the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court again this morning.
Thomas and his twin brother, Roston, appeared before Magistrate Margaret Alert in the Fourth Court yesterday for sentencing in a 2012 matter where they were both found guilty of armed robbery.
When the matter was called shortly after one pm yesterday and Alert handed down the sentence, both men began protesting loudly.
Court and Process officers moved in to place handcuffs and take the pair into custody and Roston began resisting.
While the officers’ attention was occupied, Russel ran out of the courtroom and out of the building.
Police are investigating the death of a five-year-old boy who drowned at sea while playing near his home on Monday.
Reports are that Tasari Mc Kenzie was at his Old Train Line, St Margaret’s home when around 1.30pm, his mother left him watching television while she went to the back of their house to wash clothes.
Around 3 pm, the woman returned inside and checked for the boy but he could not be found. While searching outside, someone later told her that he was playing with friends near the concrete seawall where he tripped and fell into the sea. His body was retrieved shortly after. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he died.
ASP Rohan Pardasie and officers from the St Margaret’s Police Station went to the scene and interviewed a number of people.
District Medical Officer Dr Bachan examined the body and ordered its removal to the San Fernando mortuary and it was transferred to the Forensic Science Centre, St James today.
Up to noon, police were awaiting the results of an autopsy.
An early morning rooftop pursuit between two bandits and police officers has led to the arrest of one of the thieves, a 27-year-old Prison Officer.
Around 1 am, a security guard attached to a furniture store located within Plaza Grande, Sangre Grande, heard strange noises coming from the two storey building’s rooftop.
The guard alerted officers attached to the area’s police station located in viewing distance of Plaza Grande.
Police officers surrounded the building and proceeded up to the roof where they caught the men in the act. The man, armed with a Milwaukee hammer drill, had already loosened several galvanise screws.
The men dashed off the Plaza’s rooftop and jumped onto the roofs of nearby buildings. The police gave chase.
The thieves crawled down to ground level where one escaped but the other, a prison officer who has four years’ service and is attached to the Port-of-Spain penitentiary, was not so fortunate.
The prison officer of Boys Town, Sangre Grande, is currently being questioned in relation to four successful rooftop burglaries last year, all in close proximity to Tuesday morning’s attempt.
Police say a second arrest for this latest incident is imminent as investigations continue.
The officers who responded to the call this morning included Insp Lutchman, PCs Khan, Samuel, Dandrade, Boochoon, and WPC Timothy of the Sangre Grande Police Station.
The installation of the Christopher John Williams-led board of Lake Asphalt (1978) Ltd (LATT) was greeted with hot protest by asphalt workers yesterday.
As the newly-installed chairman was outlining his plans for the company to the LATT executive, scores of noisy protesters evaded security, broke through a red caution tape and assembled outside of the administrative compound where the meeting was being held.
Ringing bells and chanting union songs, the protestors demanded the removal of its CEO Learie Hosein.
The protest did not evoke an immediate response but caught the attention of Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre, who earlier installed the board.
Contractors and General Workers Union (CGWU) branch president, Raeburn Noble, having secured Olivierre’s ear called for the firing of Hosein as well as health, safety and environment manager Ava Rajcoomar over a 14 per cent wage increase signed in September 2015.
Olivierre took the opportunity to introduce John Williams and his board to the workers as she mandated them to set up a human resource sub-committee to review the issue.
She cautioned that the board would not take any rash actions as a proper investigation had to be done. John Williams also addressed the workers and assured that the board’s first order would be to look after their concerns. However, he pleaded with them for time.
Hosein who also addressed the workers explained to them even if he resigned it would not change the outcome of the negotiations.
He explained the negotiations between the company and the union were already agreed upon but the Chief Personnel Officer had to put the final stamp of approval.
“The increase was sent to the Minister of Energy and they sent it to the CPO. If I resign today, it will not change the outcome of the negotiations.
“We made recommendations for the 14 per cent but it is out of our hands. This was done since last September, but the economy has changed drastically since then,” Hosein said
LATT chairman Christopher John Williams expressing concern about LATT’s inability to generate sufficient revenue from the sale of its own products, said he intended to transform the company into a foreign exchange earner for the country.
Saying his research showed that 70 per cent of LATT’s revenue was derived from the sales of Petrotrin’s bitumen, he pointed out that the company was experiencing some challenges in renewing that contract.
With last year’s sales taking a hit due to decreasing exports to their biggest customer China, he said the company was forced to look at new markets.
Olivierre commended the members, saying they possessed the right mix of expertise and experience. “Today is a very important day in the future of LATT. Today is the day that you get your new board.
You have been operating for the last couple of months in a quasi, non governed manner and that ends from today,” she added.
She said in addition to John Williams’ experience, he is from the southwestern peninsula and fully understood the role the company played in the community.
“He will certainly support your efforts in seeing that Lake Asphalt continues to be the excellent force of unity that it has been in this community,” she said.
The board also comprises two defeated PNM candidates Marsha Bailey and Vidya Deokiesingh, Claire Gomez-Miller, Christopher Hagley, Ryan Mitchell and Wendell Seecharan.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said each consumer in T&T had the power to choose what they placed in their food baskets. He was responding to questions about the food items removed from the zero-rating list, which may cause the average citizen to pay more for food items.
Speaking to the media in Tobago yesterday, he said the food items that were removed were not essential and may very well foster a healthier nation.
“If you look at what has been removed from zero-rating, you would be hard to convince me or anybody that those are essential items in the diet of Trinidad and Tobago.
‘In fact if it is that there are difficulties with those items in the diet, then there might be a silver lining behind that cloud, that it may push us to a more proper diet involving the kinds of foods that made us who we are when we were strong.
“You do have some responsibility for what goes into your food basket and if you begin to exercise that responsibility, you would be surprised how this impossible price that can’t go down, finds its way down, and what the Government is going to try to do is encourage consumer power, consumer power is what is going to give us some assistance and some relief to some of the fears that you may have,” Rowley said.
In light of the perceived increase of grocery items in the country and impending impact on Tobagonians who pay higher prices for groceries, Rowley also commented on the issue of supermarket owners in Tobago who placed exorbitant mark-ups on their food items although Value Added Tax was reduced to 12.5 per cent.
He said: “We acknowledge that there are certain things that happen with respect to Tobago. Tobagonians who supply goods in Tobago, justified on the basis of the transportation issue, because the people in Point Fortin has the similar issue.
“They have over land transport, Tobago has sea transport but the sea transport is heavily subsidised and I think there is a certain level of double counting in Tobago and the fact that something goes on a boat, doesn’t mean that you have to double the mark-up, especially when the person who is buying it already has paid for the boat trip” he said.
Meanwhile, in response to the same issue Chief Secretary Orville London said he held an opposing view. He said the Tobago House of Assembly did a study years ago comparing transportation costs between the source market and various parts of T&T and prices were comparable to some establishments in Trinidad.
“I think if you check it out, in fact there are some of our supermarkets in Tobago, whose prices are better than many areas in Trinidad because of the relatively low cost of transportation and the fact that some of them are chains and they are able to buy in bulk and get the benefits from that,” London said.
Officers of the Professional Standards Bureau were up to late yesterday holding identification parades in connection with a spate of robberies in central Trinidad.
Six of these were police officers assigned to the North Eastern Division and alleged to have participated in two separate robberies in St Helena and Caroni districts.
Three of the lawmen — Special Reserve Police officers — were being questioned in connection with the robbery in St Helena.
Four of the officers, which included an acting sergeant, were held on Sunday and while the other two were arrested on Monday. Four police officers were identified while on identification parade and questioned.
Senior officers confirmed yesterday that the officers were assigned to the Morvant Police Station. Investigators said over $100,000 was stolen from several Chinese nationals and other citizens.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old constable remains in police custody after he stole a quantity of money from a woman.
Police said the officer, assigned to the Guard and Emergency Branch, advertised that he had an X-trail for sale for $65,000.
The officer reportedly took the money from the woman and agreed to meet with her at the Licensing Office on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain
While attempting to transfer the vehicle he said he had to go and “check something” and drove off. Up to late yesterday, the officer remained in police custody at a station in Port-of-Spain.
Alleyne: officers to be dealt with
Assistant Police Commissioner Carlton Alleyne said officers who were abusing their powers would be dealt with.
“One of the good things is that the PSB is taking action and the public can’t say they not making an effort against those who are committing these and abusing their powers.
“When you do wrong there will be an investigation and whatever the consequence and you will be deal with in a fair manner,” he said.
Director at Police Complaints Authority David West said the PCA recently completed its annual report. He did not want to divulge any information.
“We take all reports seriously and to the best of our ability once we complete the investigation we send the recommendation to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Attorney General for disciplinary action,” he added.
Jason Thomas, who fled to the hills of Maracas Valley, St Joseph, was hounded by those seeking to end his life yesterday morning and was killed.
The body of the 27-year-old man from Second Caledonia, Morvant, was found in bushes near his car. Police said Thomas was seeking refuge in the area and was living out of his car, a Hyundai accent.
According to police, around 2 am residents of Waterfall Road, Maracas Valley, St Joseph, heard a volley of gunshots but no one ventured outside.
Villagers on their way to work and school around 6.30 am yesterday found Thomas’ car off the roadway and his body in some nearby bushes. Police said over 20 spent shells from high powered military weapon were found at the scene.
Officers of the St Joseph Police Station, including Sgt Rene Katwaroo, visited the scene and conducted preliminary inquiries before officers of Homicide Bureau Region 11 took charge of the investigations.
Police are labelling the killing as gang related. Thomas’ murder is the 18th for the year while for the same period last year 12 people had been killed. Investigations are continuing.
Attorneys representing the commission of enquiry (COE) into the 1990 attempted coup yesterday began prosecuting Jamaat-al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr for refusing to answer its summons to testify before it.
During yesterday’s hearing in the Port-of-Spain Eight Magistrates’ Court, Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar heard evidence from the commission’s sole witness, Cpl Terrance Ramsepaul, who served Bakr with the summons which he is accused of ignoring.
Ramsepaul testified that on September 9, 2013, he visited Bakr’s home at Queen’s Park West, Port-of-Spain, and hand delivered the document requesting his attendance at a hearing scheduled for two weeks later.
Ayers-Caesar then adjourned the case to February 15, when Bakr’s lawyer, Criston J Williams, will be allowed to cross examine Ramsepaul before the COE closes its case.
Bakr will then be given an opportunity to call witnesses or to testify in his defence. The COE is being represented by Senior Counsel Israel Kahn and attorney Larry Lalla.
The COE’s secretary filed the private complaint against Bakr after he failed to attend.
Bakr had previously refused to appear before the commission on August 29, 2012, with his lawyers claiming his testimony had the potential to prejudice his then ongoing trial for sedition, which eventually ended in a hung jury and a retrial being ordered.
On the first occasion, the commission referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, who took the position that he would not lay charges against Bakr for failing to answer a summons.
Gaspard had advised that the commission file the complaint under Section 12 and 16 of the Commission of Enquiry Act, a suggestion which was accepted on the second occasion. If convicted of the complaint Bakr is liable to a $2,000 fine.
However, he can no longer be served with another summons as the Sir David Simmons-chaired commission has completed its evidential hearings and have since published its report.
On July 27, 1990, Bakr led 114 members of his organisation in a co-ordinated attacks on the Parliament and the Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) station in his attempt to overthrow the then ruling NAR administration during which 24 people were killed. Six days later Bakr and his insurgents surrendered.
They were tried for treason but the Court of Appeal upheld the amnesty offered to secure their surrender. The Privy Council later invalidated the amnesty but Bakr and his followers were not rearrested.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley says Marlene Mc Donald will not be fired as Housing Minister.
He made the comment yesterday as he defended the latest call from Fixin’ T&T to remove her from his Cabinet amid allegations by Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge that she allegedly used her office several years ago to help secure a Fidelis Heights townhouse for her husband.
Speaking at the Calder Hall Administrative Complex in Tobago during an official visit, Rowley said Mc Donald had taken personal responsibility for treating with the allegations made against her.
He also challenged the United National Congress to provide proof of the claims, saying until that was done Mc Donald remained in his Cabinet
“She was able to explain to the population, as she did yesterday, she did in fact enquire, and I think she enquired minister to minister,” Rowley said.
“She has denied enquiring minister to staff member as a member of the Cabinet. If a minster is going to be fired for enquiring from another minister I should be sitting here.
“I do that every day because when you represent the public, a member of my family might be a member of the public, when asked about something what do I tell them, that I can’t help you?
“Because I will tell you one thing, as a politician, I have been there for almost 30 years, I was instructed from day one never tell a member of the public that you can’t help them.”
Rowley said in his view Mc Donald did no wrong, adding he believes she is also capable of defending herself on the recent allegations levelled against her
“Every single member of the Government is responsible for his or her own conduct. However, when the allegations are made against all of us, as they will be made or have been made, the next step is whether the allegations are supported.
“I tell my colleagues in the Cabinet that allegations will be made and what you have to be sure about is that there is no support for the allegations in fact,” he said.
During a press conference on Monday, Mc Donald admitted that as community development minister in 2007, she made enquiries about the status of an application to purchase State housing on behalf of someone with whom she had a “personal relationship.”
However, she denied allegations by Sturge that she had any beneficial interest in the property which he alleged she acquired for her husband, who was identified as Michael Carew.
She said, however, that as Port-of-Spain South MP she often made enquiries to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to ascertain the status of applications with respect to many citizens.
But she also noted that she held no office in the housing ministry at the time.
“Accordingly, I did not, and could not, cause any house to be allocated to the particular citizen,” she said, adding that even after the enquiry she also “could not, and in fact did not do anything to promote, or accelerate the said application.”
On claims that a person alleging to be her adviser had issued correspondence which revealed evidence of an intention on her part to ensure that the particular citizen was issued with a house, McDonald said:
“In this regard, it is very important to note that the person identified as my adviser, by those who have made claims against me, was not in any way whatsoever an adviser of mine, nor was that person in any way associated with me.”
She said she had spoken to Rowley on the matter and was ready to co-operate with any Integrity Commission probe.
Alcohol valued at more than $400,000 have been discovered at the official residence of the Prime Minister, St Ann’s.
This was revealed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley during his contribution to the debate on the Finance Bill 2016, which was approved in the House of Representatives yesterday morning.
The debate on measures to remove items from the zero-rated list, reduce the 15 per cent rate of VAT to 12.5 per cent, increase the Business Levy and Green Fund and increase personal allowance from $60,000 to $72,000 were presented for debate by Finance Minister Colm Imbert shortly after 2 pm on Monday and the measure was approved by legislators at about 12.10 am yesterday.
Rowley moved into the official residence last month. He told legislators there were a series of functions, including one for children. He said there was an alcohol bar at each of those functions except the one for children.
He quickly added: “You’ll be surprised to know that all the alcohol for those functions... we didn’t buy a bottle. We used from the household.”
This prompted Government MPs to shout “wooooh”.
Rowley said: “When Christmas was over, we had a valuation done on what was left... $400,000 worth of liquor was on the compound there and that is what they left when they went.”
He repeated: “That is what they left and that should tell you what the priorities were for those who were there before the PNM. That should tell you where there priorities were.”
He said: “Right now in that compound up there is $400,000 in alcohol and the interesting thing about it is that in the records we can’t find how it was sourced.
“There is no paper trail towards its sourcing. So it leaves us to wonder how all that alcohol got into that compound but if I understand how they ran the country it might have even been paid for by XYZ or Mr ABC.”
Contacted for comment, Opposition Leader and former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said she was not aware of Rowley’s statement.
“I didn’t hear those comments from the Prime Minister but there is a staff that ran the Diplomatic Centre (located on the compound of the official residence) and they would be in a better position to indicate what was there or what was not,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said when she “took up residence there, at that time, there was also a lot of alcohol in the Diplomatic Centre as well as other items.”
Persad-Bissessar lived there after the Patrick Manning government was defeated in the May 2010 general election.
Persad-Bissessar said she knew that “when people checked, people running the place would have left an inventory of what was there. At no time did I order any such items. You would find no order coming from me with respect to those matters (alcohol). They were handled by staff at the place.”
In response to another question from the T&T Guardian, Persad-Bissessar said the new PNM Government “finds everything they can find to play the blame game to paint the past government in the worst light possible.”
She said it must be part of the politics of life.
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Rowley, in his contribution in Parliament, said if his administration was to follow the pattern of the former PP government the country would become bankrupt.
He said the Opposition was aware of the state of the economy. He said he was leading the PNM for one five-year term before the next election was called.
He said between "now and then I have a responsibility to you, your children and the country to ensure that this country does not become another IMF case. That is the commitment I give to you, once we could avoid it."
Rowley said while the Opposition MPs have criticised the measures contained in the bill, the PNM was committed to take the difficult decisions in the best interest of the entire nation.
The measures will cause certain food prices to increase.
He said: "If you think that is difficult it will be ten times more difficult if the IMF starts to call the shots in T&T. You are much better off calling your own shots."
He said the priority of his Government "under the current circumstances is to keep T&T out of the jaws of the IMF while making the best of a bad situation.”
He criticised Opposition MP Prakash Ramadhar for trying to instill fear in the population about plans to resume collection of the Property Tax.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert, in his wind-up of the debate, dismissed a claim by Ramadhar that the Property Tax of a house valued at $1 million would be $30,000 a year.
Imbert said the rate for such a building that was being rented would be just about $1,500 a year.
The House was adjourned to January 20 at 1.30 pm.
Prisons officer Roger Miguel pleaded not guilty and was granted $250,000 bail yesterday when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Indrani Cendeno in the Arima First Court charged with the removal of a prohibited item from the Golden Grove Prison.
As an alternative, Miguel was given a cash payment of $10,000, either of which has to be approved by a clerk of the peace. The 39-year-old, who has 19 years service, was arrested last week in relation to the theft of $56,000 from the canteen at the Golden Grove Prison, Arouca, where he worked.
Two other people were key suspects in the case. One has agreed to become a state witness while the other, an inmate, is yet to be charged.
The money was discovered missing on January 4 and is believed to have been stolen between December 23 and January 4. After the money was discovered missing $19,000 was recovered. The matter was adjourned to February 16.
Property owners can breathe a sigh of relief as they would not have to worry about paying exorbitant taxes.
This assurance was given by the Minister of Finance Colm Imbert.
However, despite the minister’s assurance several property owners across the country expressed concerns over the re-introduction of the taxes while others welcome it openly, saying they see it as necessary and one of the major means to restore T&T’s economy.
The call for education forums on the topic was also made by some citizens, who described themselves as the layman and just wanted the privilege to attend a forum where they could have the return of the Property Tax explained to them in a way they could understand.
A resident from the Diego Martin West constituency, who only identified herself as Rachael, said she felt like people were being hit with tax after tax after tax.
“I think they should hold off on either one. They can’t hit us with bringing back items on the VAT list and now still on top of that want to bring back property tax.
“Right now it have no middle class. It’s either you rich or you poor and with all these taxes monsters are breeding. Ease up on the taxes,” the resident said.
Point Fortin resident Victor Sandy, 77, said: “I never went to school and I cannot read and write so I am left confused with all the talk about property tax.
“I need to know how it is going to affect me, good and bad. I need for someone to explain it to me in terms of how much of my pension money I have to take to pay the tax. I don’t want to hear one set of big words.”
Glencoe resident Bobby Adams, 58, said he didn’t see the return of the tax as bad.
He added: “There should be no beat up with the Property Tax because a small man like me will just have to pay a few hundred dollars in tax.”
Interviewed yesterday, Imbert said the Government would amend the Act favourably.
“We will amend the Act to ensure that payments of Property Tax, or land and building tax, in 2016, whatever you wish to call it, will be due and payable at the same amounts that these taxes were paid in 2009, on a property by property basis.
“In 2017 the percentages and method at which and by which the tax was applied will be adjusted to ensure that the tax is fair and reasonable,” he added.
Correcting what political leader of the Congress of the People (COP) Prakash Ramadhar said over the weekend, Imbert explained that by using the existing law, the tax on a $1 million property would be about $1,500 a year.
“Not $30,000 a year as incorrectly claimed by Opposition spokesmen. We intend to look at that $1,500 a year on a $1 million property to see if it reasonable and will adjust to suit, if need be,” he said.
Imbert pointed out a frequent mistake that people were making, which he said was that the Property Tax, as presently configured, was based on rental values not capital values.
“So a $1 million apartment or house, for example, would rent for about $4,500 per month, or $54,000 a year. The annual taxable value (ATV) is calculated by deducting ten per cent for voids, resulting in a taxable value of $48,600.
“The rate of three per cent for residential properties is then applied to this, resulting in an annual Property Tax of $1,458 and this is using the existing formula, which we intend to revisit.
“So all of this alarmist rhetoric from the other side is just wrong,” he added.
Oil and gas giants, BP T&T has announced that it will be making major cost adjustments as a result of the current economic climate, but has stopped short of stating that it will be dimissing staff.
BPTT issued a statement today making the announcement.
The following is the statement by BPTT:
"In line with the BP Group’s focus on improving efficiency and reducing costs, BP Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) announced plans to seek further cost efficiencies in our business in 2016. This plan will include a review of 3rd party costs, activity prioritisation, process simplification and organisational structure. As plans are still being reviewed the specific numbers have not yet been finalized. Throughout this exercise our first priority will remain the safety of our people and our operations."
As well, BHP Billiton has confirmed that it is sending home staff. The company issued a statement this afternoon confirming the cuts.
The following is the statement from BHP Billiton.
"Today’s petroleum industry is facing extremely challenging market conditions, even by historical standards.
CNC
BHP Billiton is examining our current and future business needs to optimize both staffing and costs and make appropriate adjustments in its global Petroleum business. We remain committed to our ongoing operations while maintaining a platform for future growth opportunities.
We will achieve this goal through our productivity program which is already yielding significant savings, and organizational adjustments to meet the needs of our business. As a result, we will have a smaller, more focused organization and this has resulted in some employee reductions.
The result of this work is that within the Trinidad and Tobago operation, as in company locations globally, some positions will be impacted. Within our operations in Trinidad and Tobago, contrary to rumours, up to's business half a dozen positions will be eliminated – only two are offshore jobs. BHP Billiton will continue the process of reviewing its business to ensure optimal efficiency.
The company remains committed to safe and efficient operations."
As energy prices continue to plummet, the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) is appealing to employers to find alternatives to sending workers home. The statement follows confirmation from bhp Billiton yesterday that it has had to eliminate “half a dozen positions,” two of which are offshore jobs.
This follows the earlier announcement from the bp Group that it planned to cut some 4,000 jobs globally in exploration and production. Nationals are also likely to be among those affected.
The Australian outfit bhp, which is engaged in deepwater operations in T&T, said it was examining its current and future business needs to optimise both staffing and costs and make appropriate adjustments in its global petroleum business.
It also pledged commitment to its ongoing operations and maintaining a platform for future growth opportunities.
Reports first surfaced on Tuesday that bhp had sent home 60 of its workers as the price of oil dipped below US$30. The news met with condemnation from the OWTU and the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), the latter which posed the question: “Who’s next?”
OWTU’s education officer, Ozzi Warwick, said they were deeply disturbed by those reports because the company derived substantial benefits from T&T over the years and found it unacceptable that it would move so swiftly to send home workers in light of falling commodity prices.
Warwick said: “So you could imagine the kind of profits they made because between 2002-2012 gas production went up by some 174 per cent.
“We want to make it clear that no workers should be sent home at this point in time,” he said, recalling Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley assurance in his recent address to the nation there would be no job losses.
Noting the dismissal of some 200 Central Trinidad Steel Ltd (Centrin) workers on Monday, he urged companies not to use that as an excuse to send workers home. Responding to the global job cuts, bpTT said it would follow the bp Group’s focus to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
BHP’s statement
Today’s petroleum industry is facing extremely challenging market conditions, even by historical standards.
bhp Billiton is examining our current and future business needs to optimise both staffing and costs and make appropriate adjustments in its global petroleum business. We remain committed to our ongoing operations while maintaining a platform for future growth opportunities.
We will achieve this goal through our productivity programme, which is already yielding significant savings, and organisational adjustments to meet the needs of our business. As a result, we will have a smaller, more focused organisation and this has resulted in some employee reductions.
The result of this work is that within the T&T operation, as in company locations globally, some positions will be impacted. Within our operations in T&T, contrary to rumours, up to half a dozen positions will be eliminated, only two are offshore jobs.
bhp Billiton will continue the process of reviewing its business to ensure optimal efficiency.
The Opposition has initiated steps to prevent moves by the Government to appoint a Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar also said once the new list of items with a 12.5 per cent VAT rate is published in legal notice the Opposition would also seek to nullify it in Parliament. Persad-Bissessar said so during yesterday’s news conference at her office at Charles Street, Port-of-Spain. It was held following the PP’s parliamentary caucus at the same venue.
She said one of the reasons for the move against the orders was due to the unjust and undue delay in notifying the Speaker of the coming into effect of the orders before it was laid in the House. She said another reason was due to the apparent attempt by the Government to interfere in the work of the independent Police Service Commission in the process.
“We have filed motions to (have) negatived both of those orders,” she said. Persad-Bissessar said Government would have to set a date for debate on the motion, adding it should be held before January 25. She said the Government had committed breaches in the process and there was a provision in one of the orders to select and appoint a Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Communications Minister Maxie Cuffie announced the approval of the new legal notices relating to the qualification and selection criteria orders during a post- Cabinet news conference last month but the orders were only brought to the Parliament on Monday.
She said the orders were made on December 14, 2015 and published two days later but not brought to the Parliament until this month.
In seeking to explain the reasons for the Opposition’s move she said the Standing Orders provide for “the statutory instruments, which is required to be laid in Parliament shall be submitted forthwith to the Clerk (of the House) for laying on the table simultaneously with its submission for publication.“
The former prime minister said that was necessary because such matters “which are subject to the negative resolution of the Parliament take effect on the date of publication, unless negatived. “ She said from the date the orders were approved “they became law and would remain so unless negatived within 40 days which are allowed for that purpose.” She said the public never saw those notices until this year.
A well-placd sourc has told the T&T Guardian that there is no trace of the accounts for the purchase of more than $400,000 worth of alcohol at the official residence of the Prime Minister and Diplomatic Centre, St Ann’s.
Prime Minister Keith Rowley spoke of the discovery in Parliament on Monday night. He said the alcohol was left by the former PP government, which was led by then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who resided there for some time following the September 7 general election.
Staff employed by State-owned special purpose company, Udecott, manages the Diplomatic Centre. The head of household resigned in November last year. The T&T Guardian was told “operations at the Prime Minister’s residence and Diplomatic Centre were conducted as a secret society as there were no trace of the source of funding for the alcohol.”
The T&T Guardian also understands that “there is a secret account known as Project 615 at the Prime Minister’s residence under the former regime.” The Udecott accounts were separate, the source claimed. The source also said under the PP government the residence was transformed from a place to live into a place of entertainment.
The T&T Guardian was told “$19 million was spent at the residence in 2014 alone when the PM was not living there.” Surveillance cameras at the premises were also removed from the premises, the source added.
But Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar told a news conference at he roffice at Charles Street, Port-of-Spain, yesterday the claim by Rowley was “a pure, unadulterated distraction.”
She said it was the responsibility of the staff at the Diplomatic Centre and the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister to approve such purchases. She insisted it had nothing to do with the Prime Minister.
And Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, who acted briefly as prime minister under the PP government said those “small issues” were part of a campaign by the new PNM Government to distract national attention from more important issues facing the citizens. Moonilal spoke at a separate news briefing earlier at the same venue.
“They have no plan, they have no policy, they have no programme (on how to run the country). It is all a way to distract,” he added. He said the Diplomatic Centre was a venue for hosting national and international events and foreign delegations regularly and on every holiday there was an event there.
Among the international leaders who visited the Diplomatic Centre during the term of the PP government were the Vice-President of the United States Joe Biden; Cuba’s President Raúl Castro; Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
Moonilal said at the shortest notice a Caricom delegation could be at the Diplomatic Centre for meetings. He said consequently the venue must be properly stocked at all times. Moonilal said those issues were handled by the Facilities Management Institution at the Diplomatic Centre.
Asked to comment on Rowley’s claim there was no information to determine the source of funding for the alcohol, the former housing and urban development minister said if the PM felt the law was broken then he had to take action.
Moonilal said there were people responsible for purchasing alcohol and other products. “A prime minister or a cabinet minister is not in charge,” he added.
A 26-year-old Chaguanas man surrendered to police Tuesday evening, four hours after he knocked a motorcyclist off his bike. The biker died two hours after he was struck.
According to police, the suspect, who was released pending further investigations, made a right turn from Jerningham Junction, Cunupia, onto the Southern Main Road when he collided with Simon Villafana. The 37-year-old was thrown from his motorbike. The incident happened around noon.
Police said Villafana was taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility and then transferred to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where he died about two hours after the accident. Police said the driver never stopped and only returned to the Cunupia Police Station around 6.30 pm.
After the accident several social network users shared the licence plate number of the car that knocked Villafana off his motorcycle.
In another hit-and-run accident, a 67-year-old woman died after she was knocked down while crossing the Priority Bus Route. Eyewitnesses also recorded the licence plate of the vehicle, a grey Mazda 3, and have already received information on the owner of the car.
Police said around 9.30 pm Tuesday Angela Gonzales was crossing the PBR near Broome Street, close to Bermudez factory outlet, when the car, heading west, knocked her down and never stopped. Gonzales is the sixth person to be killed for the year in road traffic accidents.
Fixin’ T&T leader and activist Kirk Waithe is describing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s position on allegations against Housing Minister Marlene Mc Donald as disrespectful and contemptuous to the people of T&T. On Tuesday, Waithe called for the removal of Mc Donald amid allegations of abuse of public office.
Mc Donald has been referred to the police and the Integrity Commission over questions of whether she used her position in 2008 as a minister to influence the allocation of a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) unit to her romantic partner.
Mc Donald has since denied specific claims that she requested a file for her partner Michael Carew and she had a beneficial interest in a Fidelis Heights home allocated to Carew. Rowley has said he would not remove Mc Donald, adding she had given an explanation to the population during a press conference at Parliament on Monday.
“It’s an unfortunate response,” Waithe said of Rowley’s response. He said that was particularly as the person in the allegations (Mc Donald) was the minister “overseeing the scene of the investigation.”
“What Rowley has done is tell the country we are ignoring the allegations, investigations and anything to do with this,” Waithe added. He said considering the five-year period before, the country deserved better and must insist on better.
“He has shown no interest in protecting the integrity of public office to the citizens of T&T, demonstrating blatant disregard for the allegations and the calls for an investigation,” he added.
Waithe said Rowley had essentially set himself up as judge, jury and in this case, pardoner.
“There is yet an opportunity for us to begin to demonstrate leadership committed to transforming governance in this country and yet another politician is failing to grab that opportunity,” he said.
Yesterday, chairman of Transparency International T&T, Deryck Murray, said the group had no set position as he was unsure of the extent of the information or the accuracy that appeared in the media. He said his group was seeking a meeting with Rowley but added that the allegations regarding Mc Donald was not a main issue to be discussed.
“We would be looking at the procedures being put into place, a general meeting to discuss where we as a country and the new government,” he said.
He said every issue which pertained to allegations of corruption was important but there was a need for facts and information.
“We are more interested in the governance procedures and what is being put in place to guard against corruption,” he added.
Sturge responds
In a release yesterday Opposition Senator Wayne Sturge said he was not in any way surprised by Rowley’s decision to retain Mc Donald as a member of his Cabinet.
“The public can now see for itself the true essence of the man” who claimed to be aware of bid-rigging and other forms of corruption at Udecott since 2003, corruption which "stank to the high heavens and which made what happened at Piarco look like child's play,” but who nonetheless was content to keep it hidden from public view until he was fired,” Sturge said.
He said for Rowley to refer to the issues regarding Mc Donald as a bare allegation, in the face of documentary evidence, showed the level of contempt he had for the populace.
“There are so many unanswered questions that he has skilfully chosen to avoid by the use of deflection and distraction,” he said.
The Book Industry Organisation of T&T (BIOTT) is seeking to meet with Finance Minister Colm Imbert to clarify the list and types of books and stationery which are to be subjected to Value Added Tax (VAT).
The body believes that those who will be hardest hit by the move are people in the lower income group who will now be facing increased costs at both the supermarket and bookstores, among others. President of BIOTT, Rico Charran, said a lot of changes would have to be made as he explained that workbooks/activity books appeared on both the VAT and non-VAT schedules.
Concerned over measures that would increase the cost of education, Charran said it would be difficult to assess immediately the impact of the changes in the VAT regime “because the language used to describe the books on the list is very ambiguous.”
Charran questioned the rationale behind placing all literary books on the VAT list as some were used in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exam (CAPE) curriculum.
Assuring that such issues would have to be determined, Charran speculated that the changes were rushed and made without widespread consultation with industry stakeholders. Referring to novels and cookbooks which were previously on the non-VAT list, Charran said they would now be subjected to VAT, along with such items as notebooks, exercise books and binder sheets.
Regarding the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) practice tests, he confirmed that the price of those books would increase now, as they had been placed on the VAT list. Charran said while parents would face higher costs when purchasing schoolbooks and stationery supplies after February 1, prices remained unchanged for the time being.
At another popular Port-of-Spain bookstore, officials lamented the fact that the reading population in T&T was already “small,” and such moves would adversely affect that category of people.
Teddy Mohammed, of Mohammed’s Bookstore, was more accepting of the measure as he said: “Government has to find ways of getting revenue because its main revenue earner is no more.”
However, he too admitted that the move would “affect those parents who don’t have the financial resources to get extra supplementary materials.”
Mohammed acknowledged that everything had been lumped under broad headings and needed clarification. He said while VAT was not be charged on educational workbooks; activity books and multiple choice books, which appeared on the VAT list, could be considered as such.
Mohammed added that colouring books and storybooks were essential in the development of pre-schoolers and that parents who were asked to provide such material to their child’s school library would now face additional costs.
Saying that former education minister Hazel Manning had removed VAT on certain notebooks and copy paper to ensure that each child had the necessary materials to attend school, Mohammed said: “If you put VAT back on these items, lower income families will feel it more.
“I am sure the minister will probably go back and tweak this to see what can really be put on the zero-rated list,” he said, as he calculated the new cost of a LadyBird storybook which was previously sold at $30 would now cost $35 with VAT.
Declaring T&T to be a land of “too much squandermania,” Mohammed said where education was concerned, there were certain items which should not be placed on the VAT list.
Mohammed added: “I really hope they can revisit the issue and see how best we can all work together to move forward.”
