Former chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Emeritus Professor Ramesh Deosaran said yesterday it is now a relief that the country will get a permanent Police Commissioner.

He was responding to yesterday’s exclusive report by the T&T Guardian which said that the PSC has recommended acting Deputy Police Commissioner Deodath Dulalchan to be the country’s new top cop.

In an interview he said, “It is a great sigh of relief for the country to have this important appointment settled that is, if the Parliament now gives its approval.”

Deosaran, who chaired the Police Manpower Audit Committee, added that the population should never again be faced with such an “unnecessarily convoluted, complicated system.”

He added: “ It is unnecessarily too expensive, time-consuming and without the required efficiency, transparency and accountability. To avoid this, and as published, the Police Manpower Audit report recommended three options for selecting the commissioner and deputies with each option moving from low to high levels of transparency and accountability. A manageable system of directly electing a commissioner is the third option which puts direct democracy and the population’s faith in themselves to the test.”

The search to find a Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner cost taxpayers approximately $3.2 million (TT) to local consulting firm KPMG.

The exercise began with advertisements of the positions placed in local newspapers from September 4 to 29. That funding for the search came from the commission’s budgetary provision.

He said if the Government objects to one or more of the commissions’s recommended appointments, especially the commissioner’s,”its reasons will have to be quite convincing if only to avoid a repetition of the process. Assuming Dulalchan’s appointment is confirmed, this should serve the country’s crime-fighting objectives quite well.”

On Thursday, the PSC submitted the recommendations of two Deputy Police Commissioners and the Commissioner to the President.

Deosaran said as former chairman of the PSC and chairman of the Police Manpower Audit “I have enough information to recognise the good qualities of several police officers, Dulalchan being one.

He added, “Dulalchan has established himself to be fair to his juniors, very responsive to citizen’s concerns, with tight management skills and of suitable professional integrity. Once properly supported by his fellow officers – senior and junior – the country could look forward to sustainable improvements in the TTPS hence a close eye will be kept on him.

He said the competition has been quite tough in the Police Service as retired DCP Wayne Dick noted at this week’s JSC meeting. At Wednesday’s JSC, Dick said promotion in the Police Service was like a little devil.

Deosaran also said, “I have also personally known the good qualities of some of the competing applicants, notably Michael Seales, Glen Hackett, Harold Phillip, Anand Ramesar and Gary Griffith.

He said a new a commissioner in itself will not be sufficient. Deosaran said after the parliamentary process of approval, “the Government will do well to quickly furnish the new commissioner with the list of approved recommendations from the Police Manpower Audit Report.”

He said such recommendations with Government support would go a long way in equipping the new commissioner and his deputies to “hit the ground running as there is now no time to lose with the deadly crime challenges facing the country. And both Government and Opposition should jointly recognise this. “

A High Court judge has quashed a decision by the Immigration Division to deport an Islamic missionary and his wife who have three children who are T&T citizens.

In a 34-page judgement, Justice Vasheist Kokaram ruled that the Division acted illegally and irrationally when it placed Hafiz Mohammed Rashid and his wife Inayat Fatima on orders of supervision and instructed them to purchase tickets to return to their native India, in April last year.

Kokaram ruled that under immigration laws and regulations, the Division is required to institute a special inquiry to determine the couple’s immigration status and give them an opportunity to appeal the decision of the inquiry before moving to deport them.

“The Division has used the order of supervision as a vehicle of convenience to usher an immigrant who may no longer have standing under the Immigration Act to leave this country,” he said.

“However, the procedure prescribed in the Act does not provide for any such process whereby an immigrant can be coerced to leave without being the subject of deportation or rejection order or special inquiry.”

Rashid and his wife arrived in T&T in 2002 to lecture at the Caroni Jamaah’ah and to work with the Anjuman Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA). Their missionary permits expired in 2007 and they then applied for residency. However, their applications were rejected in 2009 and the then Minister of National Security indicated that they would be allowed to reapply.

They were given multiple extensions before they were served with the supervision order and told to leave the country last year. During their stay the couple had three children, now ages 12, nine and seven.

Kokaram ruled that the Immigration Division failed to consider the effect on their children who are T&T citizens.

“Without any mechanisms to care for the children if the couple is to legitimately deported, it prima facie violates the principle that administrative decisions are to be taken having regard to the best interest of the child,” he said.

As part of his judgement, Kokaram ordered that their passports be returned to them.

Hours after Penal residents staged a placard protest accusing the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) of discrimination, WASA has promised to deliver water to affected communities within 48 hours.

More than 4,000 residents from the communities of La Costena, Dabiedial Road, Sunrees Road, Clarke Road, Lachoos Road, Penal Rock Road, Satnarine Trace, Ramdeen Trace and Lowkie Trace have been complaining about water shortages saying they are forced to purchase truckloads of water from private contractors for $500 a tank even though WASA bills are up to date.

Early yesterday, the residents dragged debris across Penal Rock Road, blocking vehicular access but the barricades were quickly cleared up by police.

President of the La Costena Gardens Village Council Satnarine Ramcharan said residents who live in higher regions have not had water since November while those in low lying areas have not had water since January.

“We paying WASA but we are not getting water. More than 1,500 residents from Sou Sou Lands have not received water for more than six weeks,” Ramcharan said.

Another resident Prakash Nandlal said 11-year-old son Avinash Nandlal spent five days in the hospital and even after he was discharged yesterday there was no water to clean the house.

“The house dusty and we don’t have a drop of water to clean and my son sick. Where they expect us to get money to buy water? Most people are without jobs,” Nandlal shouted.

Shanti Gunness said she has been going by a relative’s home in Barrackpore to wash clothes. She said prior to the shortage they got water once a week and made this do but now there was not a drop of water in their pipes.

Indroutie Singh said many parents were finding it difficult to manage their households without water.

Former president of the Penal/Debe Chamber of Industry and Commerce Shiva Roopnarine who also joined the protests said business owners were also suffering because of the water shortage. He said several calls were made to WASA and they were told that there were some problems with the Scotts Road water treatment plant.

But chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Dr Allen Sammy questioned how other areas on the East West corridor and other “big shot” areas were receiving 24- hour water supply while rural areas like Penal were continuing to be starved for water. Saying this was open discrimination, Sammy called on WASA to review its water distribution cycles. He also said that WASA had one truck operating to deliver water and although the corporation was willing to assist with water trucking, this proposal has been rejected. Sammy said Penal received water from four avenues- the Penal dam, Scotts Road Water treatment plant, the Desalination plant and the Caroni Water treatment plant.

WASA RESPONDS

WASA, in a statement, said the shortage of water in Penal was caused by the recent shut down at the Point Lisas Desalination Plant for planned maintenance work.

“The affected areas, which are at the extremities of the water distribution system, are expected to receive a supply over the next 48 hours. WASA said on Friday to Saturday areas including Penal Rock Road from SS Erin Road to La Costena Gardens including Debedial Road, Ramdeen Trace and La Costena Gardens will receive a supply while San Francique, Batchyia, Katwaroo, Lowkie Trace, Charlo Village, Alta Garcia Trace, Lily Trace, De Gannes Village and environs will receive water on Saturday and Sunday.

Saying water supply schedule will return to normal in the coming weeks, WASA also advised that customers in parts of lower Belmont will get water on Saturday as the Authority’s technical team completes investigative and corrective works along the water distribution system for the area.
These areas include Belmont Circular Road, Sandhurst Street, Pelham Street, Norfolk Street, Archer Street, Cadiz Road, Suffix Lane and environs.

Faced with impending retrenchment, staff and students of the University of T&T staged another round of protests ahead of a planned meeting with the Government and UTT’s executives to discuss an uncertain future.

Led by second vice president of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union Sati Gajadhar-Inniss, the protesters marched in a circle outside UTT’s Corinth campus in Ste Madeleine, chanting “Al Zubaidy Must Go!” Some of them held up placards which read, “Cut down 100 managers, 36 per cent total salary bill” and “Tamana Campus for Sale.”

Gajadhar-Inniss said the demonstrators came from the Corinth and San Fernando and were worried over impending plans to retrench 287 people without consultation with the OWTU.

Saying they were expected to have a meeting next Wednesday with Education Minister Anthony Garcia and UTT executives, Gajadhar-Inniss said the union will be reviewing the proposed retrenchment.

“A lot of discussions have to be held before any retrenchment takes place because so far we viewing the document and a lot of things have not been said to us,” Gajadhar-Inniss lamented.

Questioned further, Gajadhar-Inniss said, “How is UTT going to operate minus the 287 workers? They saying they want to save $70 million but what percentage of our workforce is going to be affected by that as they try to save $70 million. Certainly from all indications it seems they are going to retrench but if any cost cutting measures have to be done, it must be done in conjunction with the union.”

She said the Government must explain what courses are going to be changed and how job descriptions are going to be affected.”

She noted that on January 11, president of UTT Professor Sarim Al-Zubaidy sent a proposal to the union on its restructuring process. The proposal stated that 287 workers would have to be retrenched which would result in an estimated annual cost savings of $41.5 million. In the first phase of restructuring Al-Zubaidy said UTT saved $35.5 million having cut academic staffers. Further job cuts will save UTT $20 million, Al-Zubaidy added.

UTT recorded a deficit of $33 million in November 2017 while its reserves currently stand at $2 million. The University usually gets a monthly subvention of $16.7 million, however, for the past three months, they only received $10 million for each month.

Two months after he escaped from the Arima Magistrates’ Court murder accused Hamilton “Musa” Small was recaptured by officers of the North-Eastern Division Task Force.

Police said based on information they received they stopped a car in Santa Cruz on Thursday evening and arrested three men and a woman.

The two men held with Small are being questioned in relation to murders. All three men are being held at the Morvant Police Station while the woman is being held at the Barataria Police Station. Police said Small gave them a wrong name in an attempt to throw them off but they were informed of his whereabouts and knew who he was.

On November 28, Small after escaping went to visit the son he had never seen. According to police, the Rose Drive, Carapo man went to Congo Terrace, Arima, to visit the mother of his child hoping to see his three-year-old son, but left without seeing the child.

Police said around 9 am Small climbed a wall at the courthouse and escaped. He changed his clothing before mingling with the crowd gathered outside the courthouse before disappearing. He was charged for allegedly murdering 21-year-old Jason Granderson at his Carapo home in 2014.

There is a lackadaisical attitude towards work by a large segment of our population in that we generally do not like work and, if we can produce the minimal to get by, we will do so. This is the view of Angela Lee Loy, Keston Nancoo and Richard Young as they examined the issue of productivity in T&T.

"There is an absence of “hunger” to work. We do not understand that we should work for a minimum of eight hours a day. We do not understand that it is not proper to be paid for eight hours a day but work less."

They said there is a segment of people who believe the State must provide. "Government after government perpetuates the dependency culture. One just has to look at the “Job Vacancies” section to confirm this point."

Jeremy Francis, managing director/Principal Consultant Beyond Consulting Ltd, responded to the issue of poor work ethic and low productivity.

"This has been an area of personal interest to me for nearly 20 years. When I first entered the workforce in the year 2000, I was astounded by what I can only refer to as the inconsistent manner in which employees that I interacted with at the time employed themselves at their daily tasks—myself included.

"Secondly, in my years as a consultant, I am always confronted with this issue on an almost daily basis, as I conduct my work on behalf of my clients.

Employers blame the employees and the employees (and their representatives) blame the employer.

"One of the main points of the employer argument is the issue of absenteeism. This remains a serious factor in the current productivity debate. However, the problem of presenteeism—where employees do show up to work and put in a reduced effort, was not mentioned at all. When you link these two issues together, the productivity issue is a lot worse than people imagine. We can all give many examples of employees we know (hopefully not us), that can stretch a task that would typically take an hour to two days—for no other reason than they can. Added to this is the problem of a lack of adequate resources—the blame for which falls squarely with the employer."

We need to consider the following as well:

1. Poor job design. It must be understood that some jobs have been poorly constructed, which can lead to ineffective use of time and labour. Not to mention the fact that the job itself may be uninteresting, overly laborious, and just plain dull. I fully understand that some tasks will be monotonous, repetitive and may not require excessive mental engagement, but some people can excel in such roles and others will not. This brings me nicely to the next point.

2. Ineffective hiring practices. In many cases, an organisation’s hiring procedures are flawed. Apart from the fact that the job description may be outdated (if it does in fact exist), there is sometimes little or no link between that document and the job that the employee is being asked to do. More to the point, because the organisation does not focus on behavioural competencies when hiring, they may hire someone who is technically competent but has the wrong attitude or work ethic. Many a hiring manager leaves it up to ‘vibes’ when deciding whether an employee is a good fit when tools such as psychometric assessments were created many years ago to help with this problem. But for this to work, the employer has to know the type of employee that will excel in their particular environment. For this to work, they must understand their culture. And as with the previous point, this leads to the next area of concern.

3. Poor leadership. There is a saying that goes, ‘People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers'. Even worse, they may stay and work at their own pace (presenteeism). I cannot emphasise enough the impact that poor management styles have on how employees approach their tasks. And the obvious passive-aggressive response is both absenteeism and presenteeism. Some mention was made of this in the article, but it is a major cause of the culture of low productivity locally.

4. Inadequate performance management. This one is, unfortunately, the cream of the crop. There are too many examples of little to no performance standards in organisations—and even where they are, it is sometimes inequitably distributed and rewarded. We all know the story of Jane, who works twice as hard as Bob, but is paid less, and receives a smaller bonus (if any at all) every year. Apart from the rampant sexism contained in this example, there is also the issue that because Bob is boisterous, has a good relationship with the boss and has perfected the art of taking the credit for the work of others; he is seen by the decision makers to being more productive. Why should Jane work harder, if her efforts will not be recognised? Why should she speak up, if she will be labelled as a troublemaker? So she may get ‘sick’ a little more often, and withdraw the enthusiasm from her work. It happens.

When taken together, these issues highlight that the problem of productivity goes a lot deeper than ‘is part of we culture’. In fact, Trinbagonians are very productive around Carnival—in their feteing and masquerading activities. I have always maintained that if we could harness the energy and focus that our people show on Carnival Monday and Tuesday and unleash it in the workplace, we would be one of the most productive counties in the World.

Unsure of what to do or say when her son came out to her as gay, a woman called a gay bar in Gulfport, Mississippi, on January 19 and asked the bartender on duty there for advice.

Bartender Kara Coley took to Facebook to relay the surreal experience which has since been highlighted by various media outlets internationally.

In keeping with our ongoing series on the issues affecting this country's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA) community, the Sunday Guardian reached out to the Silver Lining Foundation (SLF) so parents or guardian placed in a similar situation would not have to resort to such an unorthodox means of getting help.

"We say to parents 'it’s not a phase nor a choice, and it’s not your fault, don’t be afraid, the only thing your child needs from you is the reassurance that you love them unconditionally'," SLF's administrative officer Kennedy Maraj stated.

"When your child 'comes-out', while it may be heartbreaking news to you, understand that this is also a difficult moment in your child’s life and he/she will need your love and support. Your love will help them to reach their fullest potential as they confront the bullies, discrimination and heartbreaks they may face in life," he stated.

Maraj said SLF also has trained counsellors attached to its “Stronger Families” project that are available for support.

SLF is a non-profit organisation that was formed in 2012 in response to the tragic suicide of a secondary school student in T&T who was an apparent victim of bullying because of his perceived sexuality.

"This tragedy sparked a burning desire from youths across the nation who became motivated to bring awareness and advocate for the prevention of bullying, suicide and discrimination that’s primarily geared towards LGBTQIA youths," Maraj stated.

SLF therefore set out on a mission "to create an environment conducive to respect and self-acceptance, and to provide a support system for marginalized youth regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, leading to a sustainable and functional life".

Since its inception parents and guardians and children have approached the organisation for assistance, Maraj stated.

"Parents and children have approached us on many issues detailing their personal struggles with incidents of bullying, threats, harassment and violence that stem from the rampant homophobia and discrimination against LGBTQ persons," Maraj stated.

"Kids have shared their fears of being 'outed' by their peers, concerns over family rejection and abandonment, forced into unwanted marriages and overall issues of personal safety. Parents have reported their struggles to accept their child’s sexuality, fearing rejection from extended family members, neighbours and religious leaders, or they have been overwhelmed by worry and concern for their child’s safety with respect to bullying, violence and discrimination."

Maraj said SLP ensures that they let young people who identify as LGBTQIA know that they are "perfect" just the way they are.

"We will tell anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA to 'never let anyone devalue your worth or existence and always remember that you are perfect just the way you are'," he stated.

"There are many persons, unknown to you right now, who are advocating for your rights and protection and who will love you for who are and not what society expects you to be. Stay strong, it does get better and you are not alone,” Maraj stated.

You can reach Silver Lining at 470-1967 or thesilverliningfoundation@gmail.com

'Calls for more equality, wider acceptance falls on deaf ears'

In this vein, SLP took issue with comments made by Pastor Phillip Lee of His Way Out Ministries in this newspaper last week where he stated that his church has “a mandate and calling to bring understanding to the confusing issue of homosexuality".

SLF's Executive Director Jeremy Steffan Edwards said Lee was promoting "conversion or reparative therapy".

"Research has shown that conversion therapy may lead to depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, self-hatred, substance abuse and suicide," Edwards sadi, hence it is being banned and outlawed in various countries.

Maraj said the main challenge facing SLF in achieving its mandate is that homophobia is being reinforced by religious doctrine and hyper masculinity.

He said a 2013, study by UNAIDS/CADRES on the attitudes towards homosexuals in T&T showed that 56% of the population were either “accepting” or “tolerant” of homosexuals and 78 per cent said that people should not be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation.

"So this clearly amplifies where the country stands on the issue however, religious doctrine, cultural accepted norms of hyper masculinity and legal precedents have reinforced homophobia and discrimination which curtail the level of public support from straight allies, and especially from public persons of authority and influence," Maraj stated.

"When we don’t have their visible support most of our calls for more equality, wider acceptance and greater diversity usually falls on deaf ears."

Maraj said despite the challenges SLF has persisted in its charge for greater equality through many of its initiatives.

"We have commissioned the first comprehensive baseline study on school based violence and bullying which will identify the institutionalized systems that reinforces a culture of violence, homophobia and discrimination. Further to this, we have launched the Caribbean’s first safe space psychosocial support group for LGBTQIA youths and have expanded this initiative to parents and guardians of LGBTQIA kids through our “Stronger Families” project. Both initiatives have greatly assisted many youths and parents through the difficult struggles when confronting issues relating to sexuality and gender expression," he said.

Four men believed to be associated with the Rasta City Gang have been arrested in connection with the murder of prison officer Devendra Boodooram. Police said the four men from the Basilon Street area were held on Friday however, by yesterday evening, two of them were released.

Police said they are receiving closed circuit television CCTV footage as they question the two men and look for others that may have been a part of the killing. Around 5 pm on Friday, Boodooram was killed while in traffic along Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain. His killing came after death threats were posted on social media after his colleagues were recorded kicking prisoners while the inmates were tied up. Police said a gunman walked up to his vehicle and shot him at least four times in the head and chest. The killer ran up Frederick Street and across Oxford Street, heading toward Charford Courts. Police said the killer came out of a vehicle that was seen near the prison moments before the murder took place.

Speaking with the media at Boodooram's Lopinot home yesterday, Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson said killing prison officers was not the solution to the ills facing the prisons system.

"But at the end of it, we have to do some introspection and we have to realize we have been going down a slippery slope and we are probably near the edge and killing officers, attacking officers, is not the solution. Something happen. Social media has its strength, but it has its weaknesses. And one of those weaknesses is that if only one side of a story is shown over and over it creates an emotion in people and they have a lot of naysayers and people making comments....and their information is ambiguous and that is my mantra. They are speculating and saying a lot of things without real foundations or truth in these comments," Wilson said.

He said he was not 100 per cent sure that the killing of Boodooram, who worked in the construction department, was directly linked to Tuesday's search which resulted in drugs being found in the locker of a prison officer who is currently on sick leave, $17, cigarettes, wrapping paper, cellphones and chargers and razor blades.

Wilson called on those who are rejoicing over the death of Boodooram to sit with his widow, who told Guardian Media on Friday that her husband boasted that if anything were to happen while he was at work, the inmates would take care of him. He said the duties of a prison officer is looked at with scorn but his officers work hard and even after losing a comrade, showed up to work yesterday.

"I hope that one day the public understands the value of a prison officer. I would like to commend my officers for being strong, and we have to continue. I will continue. This does not deter me from helping inmates because not all inmates are the same, there are good ones."

MINISTER MEETS WITH PRISONS OFFICERS ASSOCIATION TOMORROW

Tomorrow the Prisons Officers’ Association will meet with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon as their talks continue into how prison officers can be safeguarded both on and off duty. Boodooram is the third prison officer to be murdered in the past four months. On October 8, Richard Sandy was shot dead in a bar in south Trinidad. On October 26, Glenford Gardner was killed at Sea Trace, Bagatelle, Diego Martin.

Pan Trinbago President Keith Diaz says if he has to judge Panorama, every band coming down will win and everyone will get 100 points.

Diaz, who said he was speaking on behalf of the organization that he represented, appealed to citizens to come out in large numbers to support the culture on its 55th anniversary.

He said if Pan Trinbago was not doing something good, Panorama and steel pan would not have survived so long.

Fourteen steelbands in the medium bands category and 14 bands in the large categories will compete in today's semifinals and Savannah Party to be in the elite of the elite in the finals of the National Panorama.

The first three large bands in order of appearance are Fonclaire, Trinidad All Stars and Redemption Sound Setters.

The first three medium bands to face the judges are Katzenjammers, Sangre Grande Cordettes and Potential Symphony.

As a prelude to today's showdown in the Savannah, Pan Trinbago held the semifinal for 30 small bands yesterday, at Victoria Square North on Park Street. The first band to appear before the judges was Trinidad Valley Harps, followed by Antillean All Stars and Fascinators Pan Symphony.

Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says as he is the minister of the road and not Machel, pothole elimination on the road is a priority for Carnival.

He was speaking at the Ministry of Works official start of the road maintenance programme at the ministry's head office, corner of London and Richmond Streets, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

The Ministry of Works and Transport teamed up with the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, the Ministry of Public Utilities, their agencies, Port-of-Spain and Diego Martin Corporations and WASA to begin the pre-Carnival road patching programme, which is a part of the National Road Maintenance Initiative.

Sinanan said “The routes earmarked include Carnival routes. We want to ensure that on the Carnival routes we eliminate as much infringement as possible.

“This is why the programme is Port-of-Spain and Diego Martin, we move next to San Fernando and Pt Fortin.

“We want to look at major Carnival cities to try to get as much work done before Carnival, but it will continue after Carnival as we go along.”

When asked why the combined agencies were attacking potholes for Carnival, he said Carnival was on the road, he loved Carnival and played mas and that when someone's foot, vehicles or carts went down in one of these potholes, it was not too comfortable.

Sinanan said even Opposition held corporations with Carnival venues will be repaired providing funding was available.

Also present were Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein and Public Utilities Minister Robert Le Hunte.

Immigration officers have taken a vote of no confidence in T&T’s acting Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews. At least 300 officers have signed a petition which was sent to the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The PSC has now launched an investigation into claims which suggest that immigration officers throughout T&T are dissatisfied with the manner in which Gandhi-Andrews carries out her duties.

The petition listed some concerns by officers, including issues with management, general indiscretions, court cases, facilities issues and internet, information technology and communications issues.

The petition, along with a letter—“No confidence in acting Chief Immigration Officer, Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews”—dated August 7, 2017, was sent to Auditor General Majeed Ali.

That letter, which was signed by President of the Public Services Association, Watson Duke, was also copied to The Chief Personnel Officer; Director of Personnel Administration; Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Security.

He added that the following information supported its call to put an end to the unsatisfactory performance of the acting CIO by having her removed.

One of the major issues highlighted in the letter is that there has been no solution implemented to alleviate the backlog created by the closure of the Moonan Building on Frederick Street, which houses the Permanent Residence and Citizenship (PR&C) section of the Immigration Division. It was closed with no alternative arrangements made for the services being offered there.

Duke stated in the letter that there are an estimated 4,000 outstanding Permanent Residence & Citizenship applications that are yet to be completed; PR&C reports sent for vetting by the acting CIO invariably remain in an office for months.

He added that there are about 400 requests to lift Deportation Orders with no strategy to reduce the amount.

When contacted on the issue, Duke said “It is all work related and the PSA was asked to send the letter on behalf of the workers. It is nothing to do with the acting CIO personally but with her duties,” Duke said.

“There are certain inconsistencies that they believe should not be displayed by someone holding such a position and this consequence is that it affects her ability to deliver.”

He expects that by the end of February, he should get a detailed report from the PSC on their findings and recommendations.

On October 10, 2017, in another letter sent to Sandra Jones, Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister, Duke noted that the PSA has established sufficient evidence to support a motion of no confidence in the acting CIO’s ability to manage the affairs of the Division.

He added that “accordingly, the Association does not recommend that the acting CIO Mrs Ghandhi-Andrews be appointed to the post of Chief Immigration Officer”.

On January 2, 2018, the Director Personnel Administration (Ag), Carla Bailey, acknowledged receipt of the letter.

“Please be informed that the Commission would consider where relevant,” the letter added.

Efforts to reach Ghandi-Andrews for comment proved futile as calls to her phone went unanswered and she did not reply to messages sent via whatsapp up to late yesterday.

More info

On November 12, 2017, officers were found in breach of the Immigration Act following the chaos caused that day by an apparent sick-out action at the Piarco International Airport.

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said a detailed report was prepared and submitted to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on the matter on November 13, 2017.

It was said that only two of the 15 immigration officers turned up for duty at Piarco, resulting in hundreds of passengers having to wait as long as four-and-a-half hours to be cleared after arriving on flights.

In a release issued by Dillon on November 13, 2017, Dillon said a report was submitted by the CIO and added that necessary actions will be taken against anyone found culpable.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley also noted that the disruption at the airport that day “disheartened him”. Rowley added that he was disappointed.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert also expressed concern over the situation.

It was said that the officers who failed to report for duty that day in question were either on casual leave or sick leave due to “red eye”.

However, Duke confirmed that any punitive action against the officers are yet to be taken and added that he could not comment further as the matter is currently before their attorneys.

Minority shareholder activist and Guardian Holdings Ltd (GHL) shareholder, Peter Permell is commending "the hard-working men and women of the TTSEC for their role in ensuring the recent disclosures by Jamaica’s NCB Financial Group (NCBFG)”.

These disclosures included the fact that the US$2.35 per share take-over bid launched via its wholly-owned subsidiary NCB Global Holdings Ltd (NCBGH), on December 8, 2017, to acquire GHL, is as a direct result of certain amendments in November 2017 to the original May 2016 lock-up agreement that secured the initial acquisition of the Lok Jack and Ahamad families 29.99 per cent stake in GHL for the previously undisclosed sum of US$3.24 per share.

He said “the important take away for GHL shareholders from these damning revelations is that subject to the Securities Industry (Take-Over) By-Laws, 2005, By-Law 13, it is illegal for NCBFG or any Offeror who makes or intends to make (as evidenced by the May 2016 Agreement) a take-over bid to enter into the any collateral agreement, commitment or understanding (as again evidenced by the May 2016 Agreement) with the Lok Jack and Ahamad families in their capacity as the beneficial owners of shares of GHL (the Offeree Issuer) that has the effect of providing to the Lok Jack and Ahamad families with a consideration of greater value (ie, US$3.24) than that offered to the other minority shareholders of GHL (ie, US$2.35).”

Permell said he was advised that By-Law 24 is very instructive in understanding the role and responsibility of the TTSEC in this regard as it states “(1) If the Commission considers that a person has not complied or is not complying with these By-Laws, the Commission may make an order:

(a) restraining the distribution of any record used or issued in connection with a take-over bid or issuer bid; (b) requiring an amendment to or variation of any record used or issued in connection with a take-over bid or issuer bid and requiring the distribution of any amended, varied or corrected record; and (c) directing the person to comply with these By-Laws or restraining that person from contravening these By-Laws and directing the directors and senior officers of such person to cause him to comply with or to cease contravening these By-Laws.”

He explained that “On January 5, we met with the TTSEC and subsequently filed a formal complaint on January 9. On January 12, the foregoing revelations were published by NCBFG in the media along with an extension of the Closing Date to February 2, 2018. On January 22, we again wrote to the TTSEC calling for an immediate halt to this illegal take-over bid pending the completion of their investigation. An approach that we are advised is not only standard protocol but moreover the prudent and responsible thing to do in the circumstances. Unfortunately, to date, we have not had the courtesy of an acknowledgement.”

Permell said that in the circumstances, the TTSEC must act now. He said given the closing date on Friday, if they do not hear from the TTSEC by tomorrow, "we will have no choice but to instruct our attorneys to commence the necessary legal proceedings to secure our interest as GHL minority shareholders in this matter".

THE OFFER

On December 8, 2017, NCBFG launched through its wholly-owned subsidiary, NCB Global Holdings Limited, an offer and take-over bid to all shareholders of Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL), to acquire up to 74,230,750 ordinary shares in GHL for US$2.35 per GHL Share. Full acceptance of the Offer would result in a cash payment by NCBFG of the sum of up to approximately US$174,442,262.00 to the shareholders of GHL who accept the Offer. The Offer, if successful, would result in NCBFG acquiring a controlling interest in GHL. The original close date of the Offer was January 12, 2018, which was subsequently extended to February 2, 2018 in order to allow shareholders to assess additional disclosure information shared in an amended Offer Circular.

Between January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017, 2,190 people have been murdered. Of that number, 391 of those killings have been solved. In fact, the amount of murders that have been solved over that period is even less than the number of murders that took place in 2014, which had the lowest toll in the past five years, with 405 killings.

Last year 495 people were murdered. This situation is causing fear among the population.

Those are alarming figures and with the current murder toll of 53 in less than 30 days, the figure for this year is projected to reach well over last year’s figure if the current trend is left uninterrupted.

Despite the forecasted gloom, head of the Homicide Bureau, Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony James said with time, the right equipment, legislative backing and the public supporting them, the murder toll will be significantly reduced.

James, in a candid interview with the Sunday Guardian at the Police Administration Building last Friday, said the Homicide Bureau of Investigation (HBI) needs to “up their game”.

That, he said, will come with the proper training and equipment married with the laws that support law enforcement and, of course, time.

Currently there are over 200 police officers attached to the HBI which have offices in Port-of-Spain, Arouca, San Fernando and Tobago.

The bureau also includes officers from the sub unit of the Special Evidence Recovery Unit (SERU).

The ideal figure will be 400 officers, at least twice the current number. He said the bureau needed officers with the right skills set as the job requires viewing some of the most horrendous things human beings can do to each other.

He said the bureau needed “to attract the right individuals with the proper acumen” to treat with both witnesses and suspects, to be able to make suspects confess willingly and for witnesses to give evidence.

Not every officer, he said, is gifted with that interpersonal skill.

James said officers in the homicide unit needed to have dedication to the job, which requires long hours away from loved ones. This dedication is paramount with the frequency of murders now being committed.

There were over 100 murder between December and January 25, making it more than one killing per day.

Some witnesses using ‘extortion tactics’

The officers have been faced with many hurdles over the years as they try to solve murders—the major one being the unwillingness of witnesses to come forward and major gaps in the witness protection programme.

“Fear of giving evidence is a major hindrance. Family members are afraid to come forward to be witnesses for their own relatives. That is the main issue with most of the backlog cases. Even when people are charged and or detained the relatives are still afraid. What we can do is assure that the witness protection programme works.

“The other issue is that people love their freedom, the witness protection programme is a bit restrictive so some will not want to be so confined, even to the point of jeopardising their own safety,” James said.

The newest trend, James said, is where some witnesses have been using their testimony to advance themselves. He labelled it as “extortion tactics”, where some have been demanding that they be relocated to either the US or Canada if they are to give evidence. When Caribbean countries are suggested, the witnesses usually frown upon it. He called for some measure of patriotism from witnesses and appealed to them not to use their testimony as a bargaining chip. He said many cases in the past have collapsed as a result of witnesses who recanted their statements. James wants some sort of legislative support that compels or punishes witnesses who switch from their sworn statements.

James admitted that while the country is going at a snail’s pace to shift from eyewitnesses to science based policing, the necessary equipment and training are inching their way into the service.

He recalled that once upon a time police officers needed the permission of a home or business owner to retrieve their video footage, now it can be done with a warrant.

Police officers also need to learn new techniques and must be equipped with modern technology, James said. He said from his experience, it is better when an officer is sent abroad to learn from foreign investigator and get hands-on training on how to apply new techniques and use new technology.

This is far more beneficial than having lecturers visit the country and conduct workshops, he added.

Mental overload is an issue that needs to be addressed not just in his unit, he said, but throughout the service.

“Clearly we need to up the game.

We need the training, the technology, even if we shift away from eyewitness we need the scientific evidence and we need the equipment.

The technology is gradually coming in and as time progresses we will see better investigations and detection increased. We are optimistic that the crime wave will come down.

“My hope is that the public will join the fight with us because this vissue is not a police problem, but we need for all of us to come together” James said.

Why do the elite in Trinidad and Tobago refuse to subject themselves to our healthcare system? Why do our political decision-makers seek medical care outside our borders? Why is the number one concern of the people of T&T access to good healthcare? (MFO 2017).

I learned the answers to these questions in the worst way imaginable.

On January 3, 2017, my brother Daniel passed away in the ICU POSGH. He was 48, father of four and had never been seriously ill. He was hospitalized since November 18, and diagnosed on November 20 with infectious endocarditis. The postmortem report lists infectious endocarditis as a cause of my brother’s death but this is not even one quarter of the experience which has forever changed my life and that of

Daniel’s family, friends, colleagues and many more who were praying for his recovery. None of us has yet been able to grasp the fact that Daniel is truly gone. It is simply unbelievable.

Unbelievable, that although Daniel repeatedly sought medical attention from doctors in the private health system complaining of no appetite, difficulty breathing, a persistent cough, weakness and fatigue, serious weight loss and eventually swollen feet he was misdiagnosed and mistreated for over four months from July to November 18, 2017.

Unbelievable that, in a country boasting one of the highest GDP (PPP) in the Americas, we do not have the resources, expertise and capacity to perform open heart surgery within the public health system, and so we procure such services from private institutions and teams.

Unbelievable that, when Daniel suffered heart failure at the POSGH on November 23 and every breath was a struggle, his body wasting away and his systems shutting down, he was put through a “means test” to prove that he did not have the money to pay for open heart surgery.

Unbelievable that this process took so long that by the time Daniel did receive his surgery on December 5, his kidneys and liver, previously declared to be fine, had begun to fail.

Unbelievable that when 11 days after his surgery Daniel began to bleed there was no endoscopist at POSGH available to ascertain the source of bleeding and as his blood count dropped, there was no blood on-site to perform a transfusion.

Unbelievable that after another surgery on December 16, to stop internal bleeding, Daniel’s entire colon was removed, but bleeding persisted.

Unbelievable that when on December 18, an edoscopy was finally performed, it was ascertained that Daniel was bleeding from a stomach ulcer, resulting in another surgery.

Unbelievable that the ICU POSGH could not do some blood tests nor did they have magnesium, nor vitamins which my family eventually had to source privately.

Unbelievable that after all of this Daniel defied the prognoses of death, and continued to fight to live. From December 18 until Christmas day, Daniel improved so much that doctors planned to move him from ICU, indicating he was no longer critically ill.

Unfathomable that when Daniel took a turn for the worse and his blood count and platelets began to drop, we were informed that Daniel had contracted dengue in POSGH.

Suffice to say, I now understand why our financial and political elite mostly stay clear of the healthcare system here and I do not blame them.

Questions of access to high standards of healthcare in society are closely related to how that society views justice, equity and the protection of fundamental human rights. Public expenditure decision-making is an exercise in distributive justice and for too long, this important correlation in how we spend money has been either ignored or punctuated as a subsidiary issue. New dialogues and collaborative action on healthcare system justice, reform and innovation must be undertaken engaging not only stakeholders in institutional and business sectors but with the patients, their families, and the people whom the system is designed to serve.

Margaret Rose-Goddard is a lawyer and public procurement specialist. She is currently a doctoral researcher at the Institute of Policy Research, University of Bath, UK and is the founder of the U-Solve School of Empathic Leadership & Entrepreneurship. contact@u-solve.org

Margaret Rose

CHARLES KONG SOO

Lack of financial support is the main reason for the demise of four-time National Panorama champion Solo Harmonites and their non-placement at the Panorama semi-finals. So said the Morvant/Barataria steel band's captain Shellford Lawrence.

According to Lawrence, the band is now called Harmonites since it has been bereft of its long-time sponsor Solo Beverages which stopped financial support of the band in 2016.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian on Friday, Lawrence said “We held meetings with the company and expected them to come on board but that never happened. We actually started preparing for Panorama, we had the music, the pan racks were being painted, but players, tuners and arrangers cost money. 'Blending', tuning pans and transport are expensive and we would really like to get a help to fix up the pan yard."

He said the band had its “bomb tune” From D Hill arranged by Kenneth Brown and ready for Panorama.

Lawrence said they tried to keep that kind of standard the band was known for in the glory years, winning the Panorama championship in 1968, 1971, 1972 and 1974, giving the other bands a run for their money consistently placing in the top three.

He said, however, it was challenging with some of the people in the community who were very hard to deal with.

Lawrence said they were trying to get children from the area to come out to the pan yard, but not too late as they had to school.

He said they were also trying to rebuild band players as many of them left for a variety of reasons, he himself returned only last year.

Lawrence said he lived one street away from the Morvant junction pan yard, people from abroad were visiting the pan yard and asking members why they were not in Panorama.

Lawrence said they had a junior band practising for Junior Panorama on February 4.

He said despite the setbacks, the band will be on the road for Carnival playing for the people, supporters and members of the Morvant/Barataria community to enjoy themselves.

The Board and Management of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T&T (Costaatt) says despite the rough economic climate in the country, they have not discussed retrenching staff and will be hiring soon.

In a full-page advertisement published in the Sunday Guardian yesterday, Costaatt stated that reports of retrenchment, demise and closure in the media over the past week, have “no basis”.

It noted that since inception, the college has operated with a small full-time staff complement, relative to its student enrolment.

“The question of retrenchment therefore does not arise and in fact, the college will be hiring additional faculty and staff in the coming months,” Costaatt stated.

The institution also denied that it was in the process of contracting its operations which was on the verge of collapse. In fact, the institution stated that it was constantly reviewing and amending its programme offerings to meet the needs of an evolving society.

“We are therefore paying close attention to the key sectors identified for economic diversification and, as we have done in the past, we are reviewing programme offerings to cater for demand in these particular areas. In this context, the introduction of new programs and discontinuation of old programs is a normal phenomenon in academe and ought not to be interpreted as evidence of a crisis.”

Costaatt said it continues to infuse core principles of entrepreneurship throughout its curriculum and operations, which will help them to emerge stronger from the downturn of the economy.

More on Costaatt

In November 2017, Costaatt was awarded institutional re-accreditation by the Accreditation Council of T&T for the maximum period of seven years. This by itself, according to the institution, provided further evidence of the fundamental soundness and anticipated sustainability of the College’s operations.

On January 22, in a T&T Guardian article, Costaatt’s president Dr Gillian Paul said because of ‘funding challenges,” the organisation has had to put on hold plans to hire some critical staff and has to cut back in a number of areas, and is now running a “very, very tight cash flow management operation to sustain operations.”

Paul added that whilst Costaatt also has its own financial challenges, they face the problem of understaffing and had advertised a number of critical positions for hire in 2016.

She also disclosed that the organisation recorded an overall 10-12 per cent decline in enrolment as a direct result of changes to the GATE programme.

The crowd might have been smaller and so too the prize money, but for the 2018 Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) winners Nishard "Nishard M" Mayrhoo and Neval Chatelal, nothing beats the feeling of winning for the first time.

Mayrhoo, a five-time finalist and Chatelal, the débutante, brought the heat to Skinner Park on Saturday night to defeat 2017 monarch Omadath Maharaj and controversial Nermal "Massive" Gosein who finished second and third respectively.

Mayrhoo and Chatelal delivered a hyped performance of their song, "Masala" that was reminiscent of a vintage Rikki Jai. Beginning with a fuse of chutney and calypso, the duo then exploded to deliver a combination of soca brass, chutney drums and crafty lyrics.

For Mayrhoo, it was a story of determination paying off, having made the finals before, but never copping the title. For Chatelal, paying attention to detail and proper planning was what led them to the crown and the $300,000 prize money.

The results didn't sit well with Massive Gosine, who performed, "Rowlee Mudda Count," which was well received by the crowd. However, there were those who stood still even as Gosine attempted humour in presenting Rowlee's family on stage.

He now plans to sing a song against the CSM promoter, George Singh.

"It was obvious that I was not going to be allowed to win fairly in CSM 2018. As you would have seen, the crowd was singing along. Based on the impact of the crowd, I was the crowd favourite," Gosein said.

"In all fairness, I would have won the competition. It was an original song with 100 per cent original lyrics, 100 per cent original melody and 100 per cent original music. How can you compare an original song against those who continue to thief melodies, lyrics and everything from other artistes from as far as India?

"The first place winners, it was stated, it was seen and it was glaring from the promoters that it was heading in that direction."

Earlier this month, CSM was cancelled after the National Lotteries Control Board withdrew its sponsorship. Within a few hours, Finance Minister Colm Imbert intervened and the show received $1 million. Singh told the Guardian that CSM 2018 was one of the best production in the history of the show. He said the production showed that chutney soca was "alive and well" and the competition will live on.

Acting deputy Police Commissioner Deodath Dulalchan says he will "just wait and see how things go" in the face of the allegations of irregularities in his appointment as the country's next substantive top cop.

On Thursday the Police Service Commission (PSC) submitted Dulalchan's name as its recommendation for the post of Police Commissioner.

However, newspaper reports stated that there were issues related to Dulalchan's appointment including a split in the PSC in recommending him.

The Sunday Guardian contacted Dulalchan to get his comments on the ongoing issues.

"At this point in time, I don't wish to say anything," Dulalchan said.

"I have just been reading things in the papers and I just want to leave it at that and just wait and see how things go."

Dulalchan has been a police officer for 37 years and during his career he worked in various divisions.

Dulalchan has been acting as the Trinidad and Tobago Police Services' Deputy Police Commissioner (Operations) for the past two years.

He has been named as the Gold commander for this year's Carnival.

Among the allegations levelled against Dulalchan he initially only applied for the position of Deputy Police Commissioner and it was during the interviewing process he was asked whether he would consider applying for the post of Police Commissioner.

Claims were made on social media that Dulalchan was somehow involved in the disbanding of a particular Task Force in the TTPS after a relative was arrested.

A document dated August 29, 2017, to the Commissioner of State Lands also reported Dulalchan, as senior superintendent and his alleged involvement in a matter involving a farmer who has occupied and cultivated plots for the past 15-16 years.

Petrotrin Katzenjammers of Tobago kicked off a 20-minute delayed start to Panorama semi-final action at the Queen's Park Savannah under overcast conditions and an already moderate early afternoon crowd.

National Carnival Commission chairman Colin Lucas was beaming, declaring success for the pan component of Carnival celebrations so far.

In an interview with T&T Guardian, he congratulated Pan Trinbago for what he described as "excellent organisation" of Panorama this year.

Lucas said the challenges, when they occurred, were almost all related to "the late availability of funds".

Declaring the event open, Pan Trinbago president Keith Diaz noted that the annual competition was now in its 55th year.

His brief remarks came as the crowds filed in at The Greens, the fast-filling North Stand and the Grand Stand.

The Greens deejays were for the most part able to manage noise levels from the nearby party venue, though when Pamberi took its cue the thumping of speakers from that direction could have been heard.

Thirteen medium bands were vying to dethrone champs Pan Elders, which delivered an energetic rendition of the late Brigo's Limbo Break.

In line were 14 large conventional bands, 13 of which trailed bp Renegades at the preliminary stage.

Reigning champs Massy Trinidad All Stars played second in the line-up with a Leon "Smooth" Edwards arrangement of Lightning Flash.

Pan Trinbago's decision to separate small steel bands from medium and large bands for this year's National Panorama Semi-Finals has been warmly received by pan enthusiasts at the Queen's Park Savannah.

Of the dozens of attendees who spoke to the T&T Guardian yesterday afternoon, only a handful objected to the change in format, which saw small bands competing on Saturday afternoon as opposed to Sunday with their larger counterparts.

The change in format noticeably improved the efficiency of the show with the 14 medium bands crossing the stage well before 6 pm.

"We come every year to hear the big bands. This is excellent because we were here since 2 pm and would not have to leave late," one patron from south Trinidad said.

"I think it is excellent. Pan Trinbago did good this year. The music is sweet and the bands moving fast," another said.

Bands also appeared to set up and disassemble quicker than in previous years, only allowing riddim sections very brief interludes in-between performances.

While the audience in the Grand Stand was sparse as expected, the turnout in the North Stand was significantly smaller than usual, barely filling to capacity by late afternoon.

"It is very quiet this year. It is usually packed by now," Vince Charles, of Clay J'Ouvert said in brief interview.

Notably absent from this year's semi-finals was former president George Maxwell Richards, who passed away earlier this month.

Richards was a fixture at the event, even occupying a segment of the stand annually throughout his decade-long tenure.

The Greens section of the event, which featured live performances from soca artistes, was also poorly attended. This year, the section was shifted even further away from the two stands in an attempt to prevent noise complaints from steel bands and pan enthusiasts. It clearly worked as there was little interference during performances.

There were minimal reports of pick-pocketing, while no fights were reported as scores of police officers were patrolling the facility and guarding check points.

In a brief interview, acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Sterling Hackshaw said he was pleased with this year's competition.

"Whenever I am off duty, like today, I am here. I love the people and the interaction with them," Hackshaw said.