Couva mother Antoinette Diamond, who lost her nine-year-old son Tyler Edwards in an accident on Boxing night, has been discharged from the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.

However, her 14-year-old daughter Tamiya Edwards, who was also injured in the crash, is still hospitalized having suffering crannial injuries.

Her uncle Kevin Diamond in an interview yesterday said Tamiya remains critical.

Saying funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized, Diamond said his sister was grieving having lost her only son.

The family had been returning home from a relative's wedding at the Chaguanas Community Centre on Boxing Night when tragedy struck.

Police said around 7:30 pm, they were travelling in a Nissan Navarra driven by Antoinette’s friend, Oba Bruce, of Richard Lane, Enterprise Street, when he lost control of the van near the Caparo Bridge and collided with a Nissan Integra driven by a man of Connector Road, Chaguanas.

Tyler was thrown out of the vehicle and landed on the river bank. He died on the spot.

He was a Standard Three student of Carapichaima RC Primary School while his sister is a student of Miracle Ministries High School.

Tyler's death brought the road fatality figure to 112 for 2017.

A 31-year-old Diego Martin man has appeared in court charged with murdering transgender activist Keon Alister Patterson earlier this month.

Neil Anthony Byer, of La Puerta Avenue, Diego Martin, was charged when he reappeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John on charges of possession of the firearm and ammunition used to murder Patterson on December 5.

Byer was initially charged for possession of the illegal weapon on December 14 and was in custody.

The Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions advised investigators to charge him with Patterson’s murder last Friday.

Patterson, also known as Sasha Fierce, 28, of Pashley Street, Laventille, was standing near the Nelson Mandela Park in St Clair when he was ambushed by two men, one of whom shot him several times.

Byer was charged by PC Ashad Mohammed following investigations led by ASP Suzette Martin, Insp Arnold Lutchman and Sgt Lystra Bridgelal of the Region One Homicide Bureau.

Byer’s court appearance came days after Christopher “Kim” Alexander appeared in court charged with murdering his estranged lover, Keil Lempsey, who was also transgender.

On December 18, security guards at the National Energy Skills Centre in Debe found Lempsey’s body in a garbage bag dumped on the compound.

Lempsey had been stabbed several times.

Four months after it sailed into T&T waters, the Ocean Flower 2 left yesterday for an unknown destination.

Reports were that the vessel was heading to Curaçao but president of Bridgemans Services group Brian Grange would only say that the vessel left “to work on another route or to be sold.”

“It is going to a place where there is dependable law and order,” was all he would say when pressed for more details.

There were reports that the vessel experienced engine problems as it was departing but Grange said the vessel was performing perfectly in the rough weather “with the addition of the TFoils done by the local dockyard in Chaguaramas.”

Grange said Bridgemans spent several million dollars in capital upgrades on he vessel which arrived in this country on September 20, the same day the Port Authority of T&T (PATT) closed tenders for a passenger ferry for the seabridge. It was one of eleven vessels tendered but none was selected after months of evaluation by the PATT’s evaluation committee.

A four-man ministerial team headed by Finance Minister Colm Imbert is now leading the search for a passenger ferry with the help of NIDCO.

Grange said Bridgemans still had the option of legal recourse but “hopes to meet with the government bodies to complete this phase of the contract negotiations without the use of legal teams.”

Asked for clarity on what this meant, vice president of Bridgemans Andrew Purdey said there had been no communication.

“All we look for is a close out meeting,” he said.

In late June, the Ocean Flower 2 was contracted along with its sister ship the Cabo Star for the passenger and cargo service on the seabridge between Trinidad and Tobago. However, the Ocean Flower 2 failed to meet three separate arrival deadlines and its contract was cancelled in early August.

The cancellation coincided with a damning report compiled by PATT chief engineer Brendon Powder and then CEO of the Inter Island Transport Service Leon Grant which identified several shortcomings and problems with the vessel. Following their inspection of the vessel in Panama they deemed it unsafe for the seabridge pending recommended repairs.

Grant was subsequently suspended.

Bridgemans still has the contract for the cargo ferry service and is hoping to have that one year contract extended.

Grange said the company was open to discussions but needed to have a commitment in place by the end of March 2018.

Procurement of the Ocean Flower 2 and the Cabo Star have been the focus of investigations by a Joint Select Committee of Parliament and businessman Christian Moutett.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has expressed concern that there was something crooked in the procurement of the vessels.

Former transport minister Devant Maharaj said he understood the Ocean Flower 2 was heading to Curaçao and “will be exchanged for another vessel and that new vessel would be brought back to Trinidad.”

Efforts to contact PATT chairman Alison Lewis for comment yesterday were futile.

A 25-year-old Enterprise man with ten pending matters, is being sought by Central Division Task Force officers in connection with the robbery at a mini-mart in St Helena on Thursday in which one of his accomplices was killed.

Police said the man and another accomplice, the getaway driver, were known to them and an arrest was expected soon.

On Thursday, police killed Gimmel “Boyo” Gordon, who along with the 25-year-old suspect robbed K&G Mini Mart at El Carmen, St Helena.

Gordon, 23, who had 21 matters pending before the courts for sexual offences, robbery and narcotics possession, accosted Kenny Harnarain, his son and a female employee, while the 25-year-old held up the mini mart and escaped with cash, cellphones and other valuables.

Gita Harnarain, 53, said she was at her store when the 25-year-old came in, shoved her to ground, gave her a bag and ordered that she hand over everything.

She said Gordon went to the back of the mini mart, entered her home and tied up her relatives.

He threatened to kidnap her son and a female employee.

Gordon was chased by residents and was cornered on a dead end street in Santa Monica where he was killed in a shoot-out with police.

The other two suspects escaped uninjured.

Heavy rainfall overnight has caused the shutdown of several water treatment plants in north Trinidad, due to turbid river conditions, clogged intake screens, power failures and other problems, the Water and Sewerage Authority said yesterday.

The facilities include Hollis, Tompire, Matura, Aripo, Quare, Guanapo, Luengo & Naranjo, Acono and Caura. Areas affected by these shut down include Toco, Rampanalgas, Salybia, Valencia, Santa Rosa Heights, Arima, Tunapuna, Tacarigua and Maracas St Joseph.

The treatment plants are expected to return to service when conditions normalise at these locations. WASA has advised customers to manage their water use efficiently, as it may take up to 24 hours after a restart of operations for the restoration of pipe-borne water supply.

WASA also assured that the water currently being supplied complies with the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality of the World Health Organisation and is safe for use.

For further information or assistance, contact WASA’s Customer Call Centre toll-free at 800-4420/26.

Residents in East, Central and South Trinidad fear that they may be forced to ring in the New Year in flooded homes as persistent inclement weather experienced over the past few days is forecast to continue today.

Up to press time, villagers at Caparo, in Central Trinidad, were removing their personal items, including appliances and furniture to higher grounds as they brace for floods.

The main rivers across the country have also reached their threshold with some overspilling their banks in some areas.

Speaking with the T&T Guardian, Amelia Maharaj, of Santa Phillipa, said that already some roads at Caparo and Mamoral have become impassable due to flooding.

“The Caparo River already broke its bank in some parts and as we speak, the main road in Caparo is already flooded, up to Mamoral Crossing is under water,” Maharaj said.

People residing along the Caroni River Basin were also on the alert last night at rising river threatened to overspill in some low lying areas.

Madras Road resident Shammie Kissoon said they cannot handle another “big flooding.”

“We lose so much this year and to go in the new year with this flood...it worrisome and stressful…I can’t take another hit, I lost too much already…I’m trying to organise some sandbags for now and move out what I could just in case.”

In South Trinidad, excessive rains and high winds caused havoc at Penal Rock Road, toppling a tree near the one-mile mark and causing part of the road near the 14-mile stretch to cave in.

There were also reports of flash flooding in several areas, including Cipero Road, Barrackpore and Moruga where some residents properties were inundated with flood waters.

A team from the Ministry of Works responded immediately and tried to patch up the road but by 3 pm, all the material had washed away.

Resident Tonia Nabby said the landslip affected between 300 to 400 people.

At the Cowen Hamilton Secondary School, flood waters also rose but did not damage any property.

“The water went down fast but all the rivers are filled so if the rain continues people will be affected,” Nabby said.

Another resident, Acklima Mohammed, said a tree fell down at the one-mile mark, cutting off vehicular access on one side of the road. She said the river at Suchit Trace was filled to capacity, adding that many residents were bracing for more floods. A resident of Jaipaulsingh Trace said her area was also flooded.

Less than two hours after Ministry of Works and Transport cleared a single lane leading in and out of Maracas, land slippage blocked the roads again, leaving residents stranded on either side.

Acting Works and Transport Minister and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein told the media as works crew cleared the slush, that the land which began slipping since Sunday, caved in again leaving residents stranded.

He said the residents were without electricity in the villages from Maracas to Blanchisseuse. Some residents complained that they were not receiving telephone connection on the bmobile network.

The T&T Guardian was informed that after 1 pm a path was cleared for motorists to get in and out of the area but soon after another landslide blocked the path. The workers from the Ministry of Works and Transport left the area after the single lane was cleared, residents said.

Resident James Jack, who lives in La Fillette, said he was stuck heading home just before the Maracas lookout. Shivering in the rain, a bare-backed Jack said it is time for a permanent solution to the recurring problem.

The incessant rain also caused flooding in parts of Port-of-Spain, and along the East/West corridor.

The East Dry River rose to at least four feet and police and fire officials had to rescue two homeless men living in the river course.

Eyewitnesses said the two men were pulled out of the water and left the area without seeking any medical help.

Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL)’s domestic service between T&T has been restored following two days of chaos at both Piarco and Crown Point airports.

In a press release issued yesterday, CAL stated that its operations on the T&T airbridge were returned to normal on Thursday night after it was forced to consolidate flights since Boxing Day.

“With the support of its Boeing 737 jet fleet, the airline transported all passengers holding confirmed tickets for travel, as well as 288 stand-by passengers for travel to/from T&T,” the release said.

It stated that the seating capacity was increased to 4,432 yesterday in preparation for the New Year’s long weekend.

“Over the Christmas holiday week from December 21 to 28, CAL transported 20,073 passengers on the domestic airbridge between T&T, of which 4,430 were stand-by passengers,” the release said. The issue left many standy-by passengers angry as many were forced to wait over four hours before the consolidated services were provided.

The $50 change ticket fee was introduced by CAL earlier this month to improve inefficiency caused by passengers missing their confirmed flights. The airline has advised travellers on the domestic airbridge that confirmed passengers will be given priority.

Four teenagers were arrested for the robbery of a maxi taxi and the assault of a 73-year-old female passenger in Port-of-Spain yesterday.

The four, aged between 17 and 19, from Sea Lots, were said to be among five people who robbed the red band maxi taxi around 8.45 am.

Apart from the 73-year-old woman, a 31-year-old man and the driver were also among the victims who were assaulted.

The assailants escaped on foot and police officers responded.

One of the assailants was arrested near the popular Kentucky Fried Chicken Independence Square in Port-of-Spain, two others were held further along the Brian Lara Promenade and another was captured on Nelson Street. The ordeal ended by 9.45 am.

The fifth remained at large up to late yesterday.

The situation also sparked rumours of a shoot-out in Port-of-Spain.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) yesterday had to issue a release dispelling those rumours.

"The ODPM is aware of a FALSE audio message being shared amongst networks indicating the Port of Spain area is unsafe. Please be advised the Fusion Centre of the Strategic Security Agency has confirmed this is FALSE. The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service were involved in apprehending three (3) men, but NO gunfire was exchanged. Please share this message to limit unnecessary panic being caused at this time," the ODPM's release stated.

After the ODPM release was issued, the fourth assailant was held.

The four teens are being held at the Besson Street Police station with charges to be laid soon.

Cops arrest 4 for supermarket heist

In another situation, four suspects were also held in relation to a robbery of a supermarket in the California district yesterday.

According to reports, four men armed with a firearm entered a supermarket and robbed the owners of $250,000 cash.

Sgt Ken Ali, Cpl Dave Baboolal and Pc Mark of the Couva CID responded and conducted a search of the California area where the four suspects were held.

The money was recovered along with a Glock 17 and 13 rounds of ammunition.

Investigations are continuing.

Bracing for flood damage as the Oropouche River began swelling and flooded the low-lying villages within the Oropouche Basin, some residents of Penal, Upper Barrackpore and Woodland yesterday evacuated the area as the rain continued pouring.

Having suffered four floods for 2017, the residents took no chances with their valuables. At Pluck Road, Woodland, Angel Khan hurriedly packed valuables in boxes as the river broke its banks, covering the lagoon lands behind her home.

As she waited for a truck to pick up her fridge and stove, Khan said she was praying that the tide will remain low to allow the floods to run off. Her husband Larry Bansegopaul went through the swamp to check the river levels and when he saw the water gushing through, he alerted neighbours.

One neighbour Simon Baldeosingh, who lost everything in the October floods, began getting chest pains when he saw the floods gushing into his home. He was taken by ambulance to the San Fernando General Hospital while his two daughters, Simone and Amelia, evacuated.

At Barrackpore Road, cattle farmer Shabir Alladin was seen bringing in his herd of 70 cows from the pastures around 9 am. Alladin said he lost two cows in the last floods and he was not taking any chances.

"Lots of water will come down here in a bit from Moruga and Upper Barrackpore, so we are trying to secure the animals now," Alladin said.

'People suffering'

At Rochard Douglas Road, several areas including Cunjal Road, Gilbert Trace, Nanan Trace, North and South Oropouche River Road and Kanhai Road were inundated with water. Andy Ali, whose wife, Anita, fell ill had to be carried through the floods to get to the San Fernando General Hospital. Ali said the incomplete box drains had exacerbated the flooding.

"These drains made no sense. They built drains to go uphill and a lot of the channels are clogged up. This is why people are suffering," Ali added.

Councillor for Fifth Company Raffi Mohammed said representatives of the Disaster Management Unit of the Princes Town Regional Corporation have been touring flooded areas at St Mary's Road, Rochard Douglas Trace and Fifth Company. Mohamed said major watercourses in the area, including the Lengua, Jaipaulsingh and Oropouche Rivers, have not been cleaned by the Ministry of Works.

At Guaracara/Tabaquite Road, areas including Esmeralda and Flanagin Town also suffered floods. Resident Kamal Hosein said the floods brought in huge piles of dried bamboo which clogged up major watercourses.

In the Rio Claro/Mayaro district, villages in Navet, Poole Valley and Jairam Trace were flooded. MP Rushton Paray said a river running parallel to Bel Air Road was in need of de-silting. He said between 50 to 60 families were marooned for two hours after floods rose under their homes at Bel Air.

"There has been little maintenance of the water courses and that is why after two days of rain the place floods out. We need to have an aggressive programme to clean up the minor tributaries of the Mafeking and Ortoire Rivers.

Penal, Siparia Corporations get ready

Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Dr Allen Sammy said his disaster management team was on standby in case the flooding got worse. He said if rainy weather persisted and the high tides came up, then more families will be affected.

Chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation, Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said an emergency council meeting was carded for 10 am today. He also said if torrential rains continue, between 800-1,200 people will be affected. Saying the corporation's disaster management teams were already in disaster mode, Ramadharsingh called on corporate T&T to stand ready to assist the affected families.

Water from the Caroni River started overflowing into Caroni Village yesterday morning. Rudranath Indarsingh, resident of the area and Couva South MP, said three breaches of the river occured at points where the drainage canals from the community started backing up when the river rose to the level of the banks. He said at this point, the water started flowing from the river into the village. Indarsing said if something was not done, the villagers will be marooned and would be in need of assistance.

Indarsingh said he called Kazim Hosein, the acting Minister of Works, seeking assistance. He said Hosein notified him that the director of Drainage will be out in the field. However, Indarsingh said up to midday no one had come to do an assesment. Indarsingh said the solution will be to find pumps to get the water out of the community that has close to 400 residents. At Las Lomas, the flood waters continued to rise yesterday.

He said Balmati Gosyne, councillor for the area (in the Couva-Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation), said she was assisting residents late Friday night and hit the road again around 5 am yesterday . Gosyne said for the past two years, the Ministry of Works has not being doing its job to keep the water courses clear. She said at the level of the corporation, the regional body can only assist residents in clean-up operations and spraying but does not have the resources to clean the waterways that drain into the Guyamare River. Gosyne made a plea to the Minister of Works to visit the area and assist residents by giving a commitment to have the water courses cleared.

Flooding in Tobago, too

The Scarborough General Hospital's surgical ward was also flooded as a result of the torrential rainfall on the island, a release from the Office of the Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) stated yesterday.

Patients were relocated to the medical ward.

Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles and Deputy Chairman of the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) Ingrid Melville visited the hospital yesterday.

The hospital's visiting hours were closed off to ensure the safety at the institution.

Flooding also took place in the roadway outside of the Scarborough port as a result of the persistent rainfall.

Twelve hours after he disappeared following an argument with relatives, the body of Kamal Maharaj was fished out of a pond behind his Penal home yesterday.

Investigators believe Maharaj, 49, of Gopie Trace, died after slipping into the pond. His wife, Devika Maharaj, said he had a few alcoholic drinks on Friday night and began arguing with his youngest brother, Hardeo Maharaj.

"He was always quarrelling when he drink. He left the house around 11 pm. He accustomed going by the pond to chill out. When I didn't see him return around 3 am, we started to look for him," Devika said. She explained that a search party comprising his brothers, nephews, sisters and his son, Govinda, began searching the nearby bushes.

Around 11 am, their neighbour Krishendath Dindial took a long piece of pipe and began poking the bottom of the pond which is about 12 feet deep. Maharaj's body floated up. His fists were clenched and police believe he fought hard to free himself from the murky pond waters. Devika said Maharaj was the sole breadwinner and she did not know how the family will cope with his loss. She said Maharaj was looking forward to celebrating the new year with his family.

Hardeo, who assisted in retrieving the body, broke down in tears.

"I am the youngest and my brother always loved me. Don't mind he argued with me," he wept.

District Medical Officer Dr Maharaj visited the scene and ordered the body removed to the Forensic Science Centre. An autopsy is expected to be done on Tuesday. PC Basdeo is continuing investigations.

A mother and her son remains warded at the San Fernando General Hospital in stable condition after being stabbed and chopped by a male relative following an argument at their Penal home.

Police said around 9 pm, Shanti Roopchand, 45, of Pancham Trace, was at home when she got into an argument with a 55-year-old man. It is alleged that he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Hosein several times about the body. Her son Premchand Roopchand intervened and tried to grab the knife from the assailant, but the man picked up a cutlass and began chasing Premchand. He dealt him several chops. Neighbours who heard the commotion contacted the Barrackpore police who chased down the assailant and seized the knife and cutlass. He has since been arrested and is expected to be charged for malicious wounding and possession of a weapon with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Sgt Lewis is continuing investigations.

Police are searching for the culprit who stole $50,000 in cash and $10,000 worth of jewelry from a Ste Madeleine businesswoman.

Investigators said around 9 am yesterday, Sanchar Ramsumair, 57, of Manahambre Road, secured her home and went downstairs to open her business place. When she returned upstairs around noon, she discovered a door on the northern side open. Her room was ransacked and a bag containing $50,000 worth of cash and a quantity of gold jewelry valued $10,000 were missing. Police believe the money and jewelry were stolen by someone Ramsumair knows. PC Phillip of the Ste Madeleine police station is continuing investigations.

Beach-goers avoid the North Coast Road today, the Ministry of Works and Transport has warned.

The North Coast Road in the vicinity of the Maracas lookout will be closed to all vehicular traffic until 9 am today, the ministry has stated.

The road was closed around 4 pm yesterday.

"This has become necessary in order to facilitate the completion of works conducted by the ministry to clear all the debris including fallen trees and rubble that have blocked the road due to consistent landslips in the area," a release from the ministry stated.

Members of the Police Service will also be present on site to ensure that motorists abide by the temporary restrictions.

"The ministry continues to urge motorists to avoid commute along the North Coast Road until further notice," the release stated.

Additional information regarding the re-opening of the North Coast Road will be provided as soon as it becomes available, the ministry said as it apologised for any inconvenience caused.

Several of the Water and Sewerage Authority's Water Treatment Plants will remain out of operation due to issues such as turbid river conditions, clogged intake screens and power failures caused by heavy rainfall over the past 48 hours.

The affected areas include Tacarigua, Toco, Santa Rosa Heights in Arima and Delaford in Tobago.

The impacted facilities will return to service based on the normalization of conditions at each location, WASA stated.

"In light of this, customers are advised to manage their water use efficiently, as it may take up to 24 hours after restart of operations for the restoration of their scheduled pipe borne water supply," WASA stated.

"The Authority wishes to assure customers that the water currently being supplied complies with the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality of the World Health Organisation and is safe for use," it stated.

For further information or assistance, customers are asked to contact WASA’s Customer Call Centre toll free at 800-4420/26.

A limited truck-borne water service will be available with priority given to special homes and health care institutions.

CHARLES KONG SOO

Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL)'s entire fleet of five ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft have been down for the last three days, forcing the airline to press into service its fleet of Boeing-737-800 jet aircraft to alleviate the backlog of stranded passengers.

This was revealed by an aviation source. Tempers flared at the Piarco International Airport on Thursday after scores of passengers were forced to wait hours for flights to Tobago which were cancelled and they joined Tobago House of Assembly Minority leader Watson Duke in a sit-in protest.

Passengers arriving on international flights within the next few days should brace for delays at the immigration hall. Friday evening, hundreds of arriving passengers said they waited as long as three hours to clear immigration. It was not the first time in recent months such a situation had occurred. However, a source within the Immigration Division said what occurred Friday night was roughly seven international flights arrived within minutes of each other between 9:30 pm and 10 pm. That translated into more than 800 passengers in the arrival hall waiting to be processed.

According to a CNC3 report, additional officers were dispatched to deal with the backlog, but the immigration official said even at full capacity there will be delays in such a situation. Because of the time difference between T&T and the US, several flight arrival times had changed. The lines were reportedly cleared by midnight.

Ironically, one day earlier in December 2016 passengers encountered the same fate with long delays with the same ATR type of aircraft as it was pulled from service due to a mechanical malfunction.

The insider said there were two other incidents earlier this year in July involving the ATR aircraft that were grounded as a result of technical problems.

He said “Pilots are not going to take aircraft into the skies if they're not working properly. Our planes have been giving trouble.

“Safety is our number one priority. Communication is important. I told my passengers after my aircraft broke that their safety was my number one concern.

"Sorry to have you waiting, we're not going anywhere right now, they're down for the last three days and it's not because we're taking industrial action.”

He said the 737s have been taking up the slack where they can between the other international flights and CAL had been doing everything it can to make up for the delays of flights that had not gone on the ATRs.

He said even foreign ATR aviation experts were brought in to examine the aircraft but the problems continued and were taken off the service and grounded because of “technical issues.”

The University of T&T (UTT) recorded a deficit of $33 million last month while its reserves currently stand at $2 million. Meanwhile, $323,059,056 of the university’s “unspent funds” have been transferred to the UTT’s Signature Building Complex project at Tamana InTech Park.

UTT’s financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2016 (draft dated March 29, 2017–unaudited) stated:

“It should be noted that by letter dated 26 September 2016 from theMinistry of Education, the Ministry advised that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago approved the utilization of $323,059,056 from “unspent funds” to the University’s Signature Building Complex project at Tamana InTech Park.

In effect, this is a re-allocation of funds received as Recurrent Subventions to Capital Grant Funds.

“The University has in Year 2016 transferred $323,059,056 from its reserves, and concomitantly transferred these funds from Operating Funds to Capital Projects Funds.

With this reclassification, Year 2015 Comparatives have been adjusted accordingly.”

For the past several months, UTT has been seeing “hard times” including the cutting of staff—both managerial and academic, the discontinuation of programmes and the late delivery of salaries to staff. On November 1, UTT’s Chairman of the Board of Governors Prof Kenneth Julien announced that UTT will not be able to continue operations beyond January 2018. He also noted that effective November 10, there was expected to be job losses across the board.

Julien said this was as a result of severe financial constraints over the past year.

Julien further explained that the challenges worsened with the further 11 per cent decrease in UTT’s 2017/2018 recurrent allocation to TT$200 million.

Julien was the brainchild behind the InTech Park.

UTT usually gets a monthly subvention of $16.7 million, however for the months of October and November they only received $10 million for each month.

On December 12, UTT president, Prof Sarim Al-Zubaidy informed UTT’s student body that there will be no new intake of students at the university in the new academic year 2018/2019 in three of the university’s major programmes. The academic programmes/ areas were identified as: biomedical engineering, environmental science and management, bioscience and agriculture and health sciences.

Al-Zubaidy later invited all members of staff to a meeting on December 14 to discuss the present hardships faced by UTT.

The meeting titled “With you in Mind” was held at UTT’s Valsayn Campus.

The speakers included: Vice President Capital Projects, Facilities Management & Infrastructure, Dave Bhajan; Ag VP Human Resources, Leah Ramgattie; Ag VP Finance Feona Lue Ping Wa and chief executive officer PEAPSL Consultancy Limited, Neil Parsanlal, former PNM minister under the Patrick Manning regime.

The Valsayn meeting was one of four held at UTT’s locations throughout T&T.

At that meeting, Bhajan used the analogy of amputating to save a life to describe the current situation.

In a two-minute presentation, Lue Ping Wa reiterated that the university “cannot continue like this” and gave assurances that salaries will be paid on time.

For academic year 2016/17 UTT received $207 million and the following was spent on salaries: $175.6 million on academic staff and $135.3 million on administrative staff.

The Sunday Guardian was told that several members of staff walked out when Parsanlal began to speak. They said Parsanlal sought to inform them about his company’s role in providing support services to them at this crucial juncture.

Several members of staff raised issues about the current financial climate as well as the way in which the university handles various matters.

Members of staff said they were left more confused as none of the questions asked were directly answered and no assurances were forthcoming from the management team.

The situation is grim: UTT vice chairman

UTT Vice Chairman Prof Clement Imbert admitted that the financial status of the university is grim and added that the delay and reduction in the Government’s funds only added to the woes.

Imbert said, however, that he could not comment further as there are ongoing tripartite discussions with UTT, the Ministry of Education and the representing union, the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union.

The next meeting is scheduled for mid-January.

Karim: It is jeopardising the university Former tertiary education minister Fazal Karim questioned why there was “this compulsion to deplete the finances of the university and transfer it to a project which is incomplete and whose future remains uncertain”.

Karim said there have been no statements or plan with regards to the completion and utilisation of the Tamana Campus. “By transferring this huge sum of money, it has further jeopardised the sustainability of the university, its programmes and the strong potential for job losses.” Since UTT’s financial position was made public, Karim had been saying that “we left a healthy balance sheet at UTT” when we demitted office.

Yesterday he said, “This is evident by the significant sums were left in the university’s account.

How did you get documents? I cannot comment until I meet with board Minister of Education Anthony Garcia, who asked how the Sunday Guardian got the documents in its possession, said that he could not comment until he held discussions with UTT’s
Board.

High tides added to flood water from incessant rains yesterday, leaving low lying communities in Woodland, Penal and Barrackpore in south Trinidad under water.

Some areas, including Mungal Trace No 1 and Rahamut Trace in Woodland, were inaccessible for several hours. At Pluck Road, floods prevented vehicular access as the Oropouche River near the Sudama Teerath site broke its banks, flooding the nearby lagoons and homes.}

Sieunarine Ghisawan, one of the residents marooned by the flood waters, complained: “I cannot leave my house because I fell down during the last floods and I cannot walk.

“Right now everything from downstairs destroyed because there is three feet of water in there. This is the fourth major flood for the year. The Trinidad River is clogged and the first Iron Bridge river also needs cleaning.”

Devika Singh, who waded through the floods to meet members of the Disaster Management Unit from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, said she was still recovering from the last floods.

“I am heartbroken. I have a 12-year-old disabled granddaughter to take care of and they stopped her disability grant. We now started to recover from the last floods and now this. We tried to save as much as we can by carrying stuff upstairs but right now if the floods continue to rise we will lose everything again,” she said.

Singh said residents of Mungal Trace did not get any grants from the Ministry of Social Development after floods devastate the area earlier in 2017.

“Now that this has happened we are hoping that the government will act swiftly and provide us with some assistance to get back what we lost,” she said.

Visham Mungal, who stayed in his house despite the rising floods, appealed for the Ministry of Works s to clear the watercourses.

His neighbour Balram Bansegopaul, whose family had to evacuate their house, said the Bhagmania River is in need of cleaning. He said there was two feet of water inside his house.

“We really need the government to do something for us because we cannot afford to leave our valuables and run every time it rains only to return to see everything lost in floods,” Bansegopaul said.

Many of the watercourses in Penal and Oropouche were filled with debris yesterday. In some places huge trees were growing in the centre of rivers. Residents say it has been more than seven years since the rivers were last cleaned.

At Suchit Trace Penal, residents refrained from cleaning slush from under their homes because they expected more rain. At Rochard Douglas Road the floods had subsided by midday.

PENAL/DEBE CHAIRMAN APPEALS FOR HELP

Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Dr Allen Sammy wants an arrangement to be made with contractors to clean water courses across the country. He said if Government could not pay them to do this, they could arrange staggered payments over a period of time.

Sammy said the Papourie River, which drains into the Oropouche River, and the Karamath River, which drains into the New Cut channel, are in need of dredging.

“I always remind people that in 1987, the then minister John Humphrey mobilized all contractors and paid them in a staggered way to clean the entire country. There was no flooding thereafter. Contractors can assist but they must have an assurance that they will be paid. You cannot expect contractors to keep giving especially where the State owes them millions of dollars,” he said.

Apart from the dredging of the rivers, Sammy said there must also be an end to dumping and prevention of illegal backfilling of low lying land.

A 25-year-old man from Morvant was killed in a drive-by shooting in Laventille yesterday afternoon.

According to reports, at around 12.30 pm Brandon “Monkey” Raymond, of Chinapoo, Morvant, was walking near to Mulrain Trace, Picton Road, Laventille, when a white Nissan B15 pulled alongside him. The front seat passenger shot Raymond several times without coming out of the vehicle, which sped off.

Raymond was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital by police officers who responded to reports of the shooting. He died while undergoing emergency surgery.

Homicide detectives had not established a motive for Raymond’s murder up to late yesterday, but said he was known to police.

Raymond’s killing raised the murder toll for 2017 to 494. There was a seven per cent increase in murders from 2016 when 462 murders were recorded.

Detectives of the Region One Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.