TSTT’s Executive Vice President HR, IR and Corporate Support Services Carol David yesterday made a report to police after members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) showed up at her Savannah Drive home in Trincity, yesterday.

Graeme Suite, TSTT's senior manager, Brand, Public Relations and External Affairs, yesterday confirmed that a report was made to the police after some 20 CWU members showed up at David's home to protest.

A media release from TSTT claimed that the workers barricaded David in the "yard of her her private residence to conduct their nefarious activities".

'TSTT is taking very strong objection to members of the CWU executive for their reprehensible conduct this morning at the home of TSTT’s Executive Vice President HR, IR and Corporate Support Services Carol David. In their misguided attempt to provide responsible representation of their members, the CWU resorted to barricading Ms David in the yard."

The union, meanwhile, has denied this. Secretary General of the CWU, Clyde Elder, said the media release sent by TSTT was a ploy to divert attention from the real issue.

The release from TSTT stated that this action came after a meeting last Friday at their St Vincent Street office, in which the CWU verbally abused and threatened David, causing the meeting to come to a premature end.

TSTT said "a report has been made to the police and it is expected that the natural course of justice will ensue". The company said CWU’s action was even more objectionable in light of the fact that they had taken their grievance to the Industrial Court where the matter was being heard.

What the union says:

Meanwhile, Elder has called for a forensic audit of TSTT and the reinstatement of four TSTT employees who were fired on January 11.

Elder said around 6.30 am yesterday, approximately 20 TSTT workers approached David's house.

"We approached the house and David and her son were in the yard and we decided against it. It would be traumatic for a young boy so we turned around and she saw us," he said.

Elder said at that time David spotted the workers and took out pictures of them. He said president of the CWU, Joely Mohammed, also took photos of her and they left. "Nothing else happened," he added.

Prison officers fearing for their lives have started staying away from duty in the wake of the murder of their colleague Davendra Boodooram, who was killed after leaving work at the Port-of-Spain State Prison on Friday.

Others claim that their lives were being threatened.

In an interview yesterday, one of Boodooram’s colleagues said some officers were staying away from duty and even contemplating tendering their resignations.

“I spoke with him one hour before it happen. He said he going and take a lie down. It could have been me or anybody. They are scared to go to work and it have nothing to protect them. Right on Frederick Street a man get lick down. We come like targets, men not keen to come to work. We like sitting ducks. It not making sense getting killed for a few dollars,” the prison officer said.

Prisons Commissioner Gerard Wilson yesterday said, “All officers are at risk, myself included, but I am prepared to die for what is right.” Wilson said prison officers needed to be vigilant as he noted the threats made on social media.

“No officer is immune to what is happening, not even me and there are some who are not afraid and some who are concerned for their family, but some are being told to leave the job.”

Wilson said he did not get an official report, but learnt that five prison officers stayed away from duty on Saturday.

“The strength was okay, I do not want to divulge the numbers but the prison executive has been doing all within its power. There were certain officers being targeted and we liaised with the police and it was done.” he said.

He said he heard rumours of officers wanting to leave the service but did not receive any resignations.

Wilson said, however, he had confirmed reports of five officers whose lives are in direct threat. He also said there are many others who claimed that there lives are under threat, but they are yet to confirm those cases, especially the ones coming to his attention in the aftermath of Boodooram’s murder.

Not wanting to reveal much on the sensitive developments, Wilson said security measures are being put in place, some of which involves police officers implementing security measures.

Wilson said since he took up office as the Commissioner of Prisons, he has done things in a fair manner and in the best interest of both the prison officers and inmates, including Youth Training Centre and the Women’s Prison in Golden Grove.

“I do my work fairly and if the criminal element does not appreciate all I have done to make their lives better, then so be it…If people can’t wait for due process then what type of society do we want for our children?” Wilson asked.

He said he hoped that Boodooram’s death would not affect the new batch of recruits.

“It is a thankless job, who cares every time there is a heinous crime. There is a big outcry when they (officers) try to do their work. It is unfair to us. I treat them (prisoners) humanely and what hurts is that all you have is outcry,” he said.

Wilson said the Government was now looking at legislation to protect the officers but it will take time.

“We are looking at attacks on officers and national security and other members of the protective service and it will be dealt with harshly. Yes, I know it have rogue officers and it is not perfect,” he said.

NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER MEETS WITH PRISON OFFICERS TODAY

Prison Officers’ Association secretary Gerard Gordon said prison officers were the last vanguard and that strategies for them to operate must change.

“We are operating in a lawless place and they have to arrest this situation, we can’t continue like this. A man was killed because of something that happened on his job and he wasn’t involved,” Gordon said
“I want to encourage the police officers and support our commissioner and I want to applaud efforts by the commissioner, the Attorney General and the minister. This calls for unified action.”

Funeral arrangements are yet to be made for the slain officer, however an autopsy will be conducted today at the Forensic Science Centre.

Today the association meets with National Security Minister Edmund Dillon on the way forward.

On the heels of immigration officers signing a “no confidence” petition against acting Chief Immigration Officer (AgCIO) Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews, a cheque totalling $31,080 has surfaced. That hefty payment was made to a popular Hotel at Crown Point Tobago from the Immigration Department.

Senior immigration officers are calling on Gandhi-Andrews to clear the air on the purpose of the three alleged trips and stay at the Coco Reef Resort and Spa between June 2017 to September 2017.

The cheque No. P00515144, dated September 20, 2017, represents the amount paid for the three combined invoices. Thirteen people benefited from the trips.

The details of the Government issued-cheque stub included: “Invoice No. 2016205 HD22 02/007/01 vhf no. 4101-4103 IMMIGRATION.”

“Officers were taken to Coco Reef on three occasions, it seems…but up to now no one knows what they went for,” the senior immigration officer said.

T&T Guardian also received a record of Gandhi-Andrews’ travels out of the country from Piarco International Airport from August 2, 2007, to September 10, 2017, which numbered 122. However, it was unsure if all the trips were official or a mixture of both official and personal business.

Gandhi-Andrews read all questions sent to her via WhatsApp at 3.10 pm yesterday. However, up to late yesterday, she still did not respond to any of the questions sent to her over the weekend including the petition against her, the circumstances surrounding the cheque to Coco Reef Hotel and her departures from Trinidad.

“How can the acting CIO efficiently and effectively run the Immigration Division if she is always out of the country?” officers asked.

“Foreigners seeking asylum here in T&T are instead being locked up because maybe the acting CIO not doing what is supposed to be done, carrying out her duties accordingly.

Passports taking over three months to be issued. No new ideas are being brought to the table to better enhance the Immigration system and court rulings are flippantly disregarded,” a senior immigration officer said.

“We cannot even get uniforms and some of us have to resort to legal action to get our respective allowances that we are entitled to,” the officer added.

The vote of no-confidence document against the acting CIO bears 300 signatures and has been sent to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for their perusal and investigation.

A letter dated August 7, 2017, was also penned and sent to Majeed Ali, Auditor General. Its subject: “No confidence in acting Chief Immigration Officer, Charmaine Gandhi-Andrews.”

One of the candidates who was short-listed for the post of Commissioner Gary Griffith said he remains “optimistic that concerns being raised as it pertains to the selection process for the Commissioner of Police,” by the Police Service Commission (PSC) “can be rectified,” so that the person selected “does not commence duty with clouds hanging over his head, as this would greatly affect his productivity.”

Griffith says the PSC needs to tell the country whether the person selected came out of the assessment conducted by “KPMG based on the points acquired via the merit list as is required under the Constitution.”

He said in order to ensure that any clouds are removed, President Anthony Carmona needed to verify “if the PSC could have made a decision without a fifth member, hence not having a quorum, as stated by Professor Ramesh Deosaran.”

Deosaran is quoted in a weekend newspaper as saying “it appears that the Commission is not constitutionally constituted and if you only have four members, that does not give you the right to have a quorum. A quorum is a derivative of a full body of Commissioners which we don’t have. So, you can’t just say you have four and go ahead. You have to have five— a real Commission.”

Griffith said the PSC also needed to give the assurance “that at no time did any candidate who did not apply for the post of Commissioner of Police (CoP), was transferred to the CoP short -list.” It is alleged that Dulalchan only applied for the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police. The question of the job of Commissioner came up during the interview.

Griffith said this could not have been done as “there was different criteria, different evaluation and assessments,” for the post of Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner “so one cannot be short-listed if they did not participate in the rigorous process for the shortlisting of the COP.”

The PSC is mandated by law to use the merit list from the firm hired to conduct comprehensive analysis and assessments of the people who apply for the job of Commissioner of Police.

KPMG was retained to do the analysis of the candidates on the basis of a merit point system taking into consideration a number of things including a resume, psychometric testing, a mock media conference, operational report, and a medical evaluation.

He is now calling for the merit list with the points awarded by KPMG to be submitted to the President and that it be made public via the Parliament, so that “the public can be assured that the person selected is the best person for the job.”

The Police Complaints Authority recommended disciplinary action against Deodath Dulalchan—the top nominee for the post of Police Commissioner—but details of the letter have been sealed.

Dulalchan, the acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), has been named in at least two allegations since news of him being the top candidate was revealed last week.

Contacted by the T&T Guardian on the issue of the letter Director of the PCA, David West, said: “I have signed a confidentiality agreement with officers involved in the recruitment process for the selection of a Commissioner of Police and a Deputy Commissioner of Police and therefore I have no comment.”

But well-placed sources told the T&T Guardian that the letter from the head of the PCA to the PSC chairman Maria Gomes dated December 27, last year identified three issues involving Dulalchan, with a recommendation for immediate disciplinary action.

Gomes and Dulalchan could not be reached on their mobile phones for comment. Two PSC members contacted by the T&T Guardian referred questions on the matter to Gomes.

Dulalchan has been a police officer for 37 years and during his career, he worked in various divisions and has been acting as the Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of Operations for the past two years. He has been named as the Gold Commander for this year’s Carnival.

There are also claims that Dulalchan was somehow involved in the disbanding of a particular Driving Under the Influence Task Force in the TTPS after a relative was arrested and charged.

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.

It is alleged that Dulalchan 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.

Well-placed sources told the T&T Guardian that Gomes and another Commissioner Dinanath Ramkissoon voted in favour of Dulalchan for the job of top cop, two other Commissioners, attorney Martin George and retired Commodore Anthony Franklin did not support the recommendation and voted against. With only four members on the Commission, Gomes then used her casting vote as chair to break the deadlock.

Senior Counsel Martin Daly told the T&T Guardian that while the chairman does have an “original and a casting vote,” it would be “highly unusual” in his experience to “force a vote “over something like this, a matter involving the engagement of personnel.”

In such a situation, Daly said: “You try to get consensus.” But what was also “even more irregular,” he said is the fact that “you were engaging someone for a high position for which the person did not apply.”

Daly said the country needs to know “what provoked that kind of dissension. This is major dissension. It is important to know what material was before them that provoked that dissension,” Daly said.

Gomes appointment as chairman of the Commission came to an end yesterday and Daly said: “I do not believe that the chairman should be re-appointed until there is a proper investigation into what went on. It has nothing to do with the transition period. I am not taken with the argument that an incoming President means that the incumbent must mash brakes, he or she must be cautious and it must depend on a case-by-case basis.”

But he said before Gomes is re-appointed “you need to know what provoked this kind of dissension. This is major dissension, we can’t have some kind of knee-jerk reappointment on allegations which are so far un-contradicted, ” he said.

Daly said the President should call in the Commissioners and determine “what went wrong.”

What transpired, he said, is an indication of just why it is so important for Commissions such as the PSC to be “fully staffed.” There is one vacancy on the PSC.

The T&T Guardian understands that the consultation process for the appointment of a chairman of the PSC has started. But sources could not say whether there is a recommendation to re-appoint Gomes.

Since February last year, the PSC has had only four members including the chairman.

As Sumattie Beharry went in search of her phone to inquire about her son Richard Beharry, she was plunged into disbelief as she glimpsed at the television and saw the car he was driving being fished out of the Usine Pond in Ste Madeleine.

Beharry, 24, a PH taxi driver of Ste Madeleine, who had a long criminal history of small crimes, was murdered under the circumstances that would be common in mafia movies.

According to reports, a Borde Narve couple who had set a fishing trap in the pond on Sunday, returned around 10.45 am yesterday to retrieve it.

As they walked near the water, the woman noticed the hood of a vehicle peaking out of the water.

Ste Madeleine police responded along with divers from the Mon Repos Fire Station. The white Nissan AD Wagon was pulled out the water to reveal Beharry slumped in the backseat with a gunshot wound to this head.

His hands and feet were bound with duct tape. Near the accelerator pedal was a concrete brick, which his killers used to drive the vehicle into the pond in the hope of concealing their crime. A motive for the killing was yet to be determined.

ASP Rohan Pardasie, ASP Peter Ramdeen, Insp Don Gajadhar, Insp Darryl Corrie, Insp Allister Jones and the Crime Scene Unit processed the scene and conducted interviews. Up to late yesterday, no one was arrested.

Police went in search of the registered owner of the car.

Sumattie said her son was working the taxi from someone, usually between the hours of 5 pm and 3 am.

At her Green Acres, San Fernando home, Sumattie said Beharry had been in and out of prison since he was a teenager. She said was only released from prison late last year after he was found guilty of drunk driving and using obscene language. She said that as a limer, he got into fights often.

“He came by me on Sunday and asked for some food so I gave him some chow mein, rice, and beef to eat. He asked me to wash some clothes for him and he gave me two jerseys and a pants. He left and that was the last time I saw him. I don’t know what happened...If someone threatened him, he would not tell me because he never wanted to bother me with those things,” Sumattie said.

Beharry’s murder has taken the number of people killed for this month to 57.

In awarding more than $225,000 in compensation to a mason who was charged under the now-lapsed Anti-Gang legislation, a judge found the police used the State of Emergency (SOE) as a cover to pin a false charge against him.

Delivering the ruling in favour of Mark Huggins in a malicious prosecution lawsuit yesterday in the San Fernando High Court, Justice Devindra Rampersad found the police officer acted with malice and illegally.

“I found it incredible that they would allege (Huggins) being a gang member was involved in robberies and not even a robbery could be identified. I found there was malice,” said Rampersad.

Huggins was one of the hundreds of people arrested under the 2011 SOE but released after the State discontinued proceedings against them.

Huggins was charged in August 2011 with being a gang member and remanded in prison until his release on September 29, that year. Police Constable Ashton Khadoo claimed he knew for three years and saw him several times with people known to be involved in criminal activities.

Khadoo said he received information Huggins was involved in robberies and the sale of narcotics in the Pleasantville area. However, Huggins, who was represented by attorney Kevin Ratiram, denied the officer’s allegations.

In his judgment, the judge found PC Khadoo’s actions and the manner in which he brought the charge against Huggins were indicative of an improper motive.

“That improper motive was obviously to hide under the blanket of the State of Emergency and the provisions of the then-recent Anti-Gang legislation to try to pin a charge on a person who was probably suspected of illicit activities, but against whom there was absolutely no evidence. It was an act which was oppressive and, in the court’s respectful view, illegal.”

Dismissing the allegations that Huggins was involved in robberies or illegal sale of narcotics, the judge said, “The knowledge, in my mind, is indicative of a deliberate abuse of the State of Emergency to oppress the claimant leading to a definite inference of malice which is quite apart from the inference which arose as a result of the failure to have any reasonable and probable cause to arrest and charge the claimant.”

Huggins was awarded $225,000 in general damages together with interest from September 2015, special damages of $1,000 together with interest from September 2011 and exemplary damages in the sum of $30,000. Additionally, the judge ordered the State to pay the legal costs in the sum of $48,162.66.

Legendary calypsonian Slinger “Mighty Sparrow” Francisco lost his legal battle with his niece over ownership of a lot of land in Diego Martin yesterday.

Delivering judgment at the end of a short trial in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday, Justice Frank Seepersad ruled that Fransico’s brother Vivian Herbert, now deceased, and Herbert’s daughter Sharon Toussaint had been in unopposed possession of the land at Bird Street, Union Road, Four Roads, Diego Martin for almost 30 years.

Seepersad ruled that Toussaint’s claim to the land was buttressed by the fact that her father paid land and building taxes on the property since 1990 and she continued to do so after his death in 2001.

Francisco’s case appeared tenuous from the onset of the trial as he was not present to testify and be cross-examined.

Seepersad accepted a last-minute application from his attorneys, who claimed that Francisco’s doctors did not give permission to travel from New York for the trial due to ill health, to admit a sworn witness statement. But the judge said he was forced to place little weight on Francisco’s statement.

There were also questions raised over the partiality of Francisco’s main witness, Noble Williams, who lives on a property which adjoins the disputed parcel of land. Seepersad ruled that Williams could not be an independent witness as he admitted that he had an interest in the land as his son had an agreement with Francisco to purchase it, before the dispute arose.

As a result of the decision, Francisco was ordered to pay Toussaint’s legal costs, amounting to $14,000, she incurred for defending the lawsuit.

A private medical institution is seeking to have the surgeon, who operated on the husband of former finance minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira, pay a percentage of the $18 million medical negligence judgment over his death.

Lawyers representing Gulf View Medical Centre yesterday presented submissions in its appeal over the decision of High Court Judge Frank Seepersad to dismiss its case against urologist Dr Lester Goetz in November, last year.

Seepersad’s decision was based on the fact that Gulf View failed to raise Goetz’s alleged contributory negligence in Nunez-Tesheira’s substantive lawsuit and sought to do so after it had lost the case in 2015.

Insurance executive Russell Tesheira died at age 54 after undergoing a transurethral resectioning of the prostate operation at the Gulf View Medical Centre on April 13, 2004.

Goetz was removed as a defendant in the substantive case on September 21, 2012, after he came to a $2 million out-of-court settlement with Nunez-Tesheira.

British Queen’s Counsel Mary O’Rourke yesterday submitted that her client’s move was legitimate as it had two years from the date of the judgment to do so.

O’Rourke claimed her client was being held liable for Tesheria’s death when the medical centre merely provided the facilities for his operation in 2004.

Goetz’s lawyer, Christopher Hamel-Smith, SC, resisted the application as he agreed with Seepersad that it should have been raised at an earlier stage.

He also questioned why similar proceedings were not brought against anaesthesiologist, Dr Crisen Roopchand, who also operated on Tesheira and was listed as a defendant in the negligence claim.

O’Rourke opposed the argument as she pointed out that Roopchand was not removed from the lawsuit and judgment was delivered against both him and Gulf View.

After hearing the submissions, Appellate Judges Nolan Bereaux, Gregory Smith and Prakash Moosai, reserved their decision on whether to reinstitute the claim against Goetz.

During the hearing, the judges also granted Gulf View conditional leave to appeal the medical negligence judgment and the Court of Appeal’s subsequent decision to uphold it, before the United Kingdom-based Privy Council.

The judges deferred an application, to stay the enforcement of the judgment pending the appeal, to April.

Tobago-born arranger, Duvone Stewart, dominated the Panorama semifinal stage Sunday with bpTT Renegades and Pan Elders earning top honours in the large and medium band categories.

Stewart’s arrangement of Year for Love for bpTT Renegades earned the band first place on 282 points in the large band category while Pan Elders, with the 41-year-old arranger’s version of Limbo Break, scored 265 to remain lodged in top position among the medium-size bands.

Perennial large band favourites, Desperadoes, with a Carlton “Zanda” Alexander arrangement of Year for Love, stepped up their act from a low-key performance in the preliminaries to move from a tied fifth place to second spot at Sunday’s event.

The band was able to add 18 points to its preliminaries tally of 260 and help move second-ranked Skiffle down to fourth place— two points behind Phase II Pan Groove.

Like Stewart, Alexander will have double duty on finals night having also arranged for medium-size band Petrotrin Siparia Deltones which placed third in the semis. Alexander and this south band recently mourned the passing of South African jazz icon, Hugh Masekela, who spent time with them in 2013.

A jointly produced music album is due for release later this year.

The Skiffle demotion, meanwhile, earned sceptical cries from many in attendance, but the band was followed in the placings by 2017 champs Massy Trinidad All Stars (272), FC Supernovas (270), Nutrien Silver Stars (269), Republic Bank Exodus (268), Shell Invaders (267) and MHTL Starlift (263).

T&TEC Tropical Angel Harps (262), NLCB Fonclaire (261), RBC Redemption Sound Setters (259) and NGC La Brea Nightingales (253) did not qualify to play in the February 10 finals.

In the medium band category, Pan Elders actually dropped 14 points in maintaining its lead. They were followed, by a margin of eight points, by NLCB Buccooneers on 271 points and Petrotrin Siparia Deltones on 267.

The other bands earning qualification for the finals were Curepe Scherzando (266), Petrotrin Katzenjammers (265) tying with Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, Sangre Grande Cordettes (261), NLCB Valley Harps (260) with the last two qualifying bands, Potential Symphony and Arima Angel Harps tied on 259 points.

Carib Dixieland (258), NGC Couva Joylanders (257), Pamberi (256) and Power Stars (253.5) trailed the pack.

Interestingly, in the case of three tunes played by more than one band, the appearances came back-to-back - in the case of Hello, played consecutively by Skiffle and Phase II; Year for Love by Renegades and Desperadoes in succession and Sweet for Days, played three times in a row by Exodus, Tropical Angel Harps and FC Supernovas to close the show.

This meant that the 14 semifinalists in the large band category played just seven songs. Inside the Festival was played twice, along with Lightning Flash.

It was more of a mixed bag with the medium size bands, with many choosing durable standards including Kitchener’s Pan in A Minor, Brigo’s Limbo Break, Government Boots by Gabby and Maestro’s Fiery.

Pan Trinbago field marshals were able to manage a relatively rapid flow of bands throughout the afternoon and evening during a 10-hour show affected by two audio “glitches” that delayed the performances of Tobago band Katzenjammers and slow-moving St Augustine-based Exodus.

But the show sharply contrasted with last year’s semi-final round which began at 9.00 a.m. and ended at 3.45 a.m. the following morning. This year, the small bands were made to compete on Saturday at Victoria Square in Port of Spain.

The Greens party, a parallel event organised by Pan Trinbago, did not bring out a large crowd and the party music was clearly audible on the Panorama stage. An energetic crowd turned out to pack the North Stand by the time the large bands hit the stage and the Grand Stand was close to 90 per cent occupancy at around the same time.

As is customary, crowd size in the Grand Stand changes in keeping with the bands on stage. The end of Renegade’s performance, which came 10th in line, saw a significant exodus. The large North Stand crowd however kept up the tempo to the end.

The finals for medium and large bands are set for February 10 at the Queen’s Park Savannah commencing at 7 pm. The draw for playing positions takes place on Thursday.

Fourteen small bands will compete for top honours in their group on February 8 from 7 pm at Skinner Park, San Fernando.

Laventille Serenaders leads the pack in this category, followed by Arima Golden Symphony and Golden Hands. Just one point separated each band from the other following a keen contest involving 30 bands last Saturda

FINALISTS

Following is the list of finalists in this year’s National Schools’ Junior Panorama competition scheduled for February 4 at the Queen’s Park Savannah.
PRIMARY CATEGORY
Tac. Pres. Treble Makers
St. Mary’s Government Primary School
St Margaret’s Boys’ Anglican School
Guaico Presbyterian Primary School
Malabar RC Steel Orchestra
Couva Anglican Primary School
St. Paul’s Boys’ Anglican Primary School
Bien Venue Presbyterian School
Rosary Boys’ RC School
Fifth Company Rising Stars
Caranage Boys’ Government Primary School
Point Fortin Anglican School
SECONDARY CATEGORY
St.Francois Girls’ College Steel Orchestra
NAPS Combined
BATCE Steel Orchestra
St. Josephs Convent “Lil Gems”
Trinity College Steel Orchestra
Providence/QRC Steel Orchestra
South East Secondary School
Goodwood Secondary School
East Mucurapo Secondary School Steel Orchestra

Arts and Culture Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said yesterday that the 55-year-old Kalypso Revue tent, which closed last week due to financial constraints, will be given an injection of $150,000 to keep their doors open for Carnival.

The minister made the announcement as she distributed cheques to representatives of unsponsored steel bands for Carnival 2018. The event was held at Nicholas Towers, Port-of-Spain.

Some 115 unsponsored bands received Government sponsorships totalling to $1.3 million to assist them with their operations.

In regard to Kalypso Revue she said, “We have been discussing to at least open their doors to keep them on the landscape and we are looking at what we are able to do and not what they wanted. We have to look at what we are able to do maybe a third more like $150,000,” she said.

But when contacted later, head of the tent, Michael “Sugar Aloes” Osouna, said he would still be in arrears despite the funds from the ministry.

At a press conference last week, Osouna said the tent would require $500,000 in Government funding in order to revive the show for the remainder of the Carnival season. Osouna also called for corporate sponsorship or anyone who would be able to assist financially.

At yesterday’s event, Gadsby-Dolly said she was pleased with Sunday’s Panorama competition.

The fate of this year’s National Stick Fighting Competition now hangs in the balance after boismen boycotted Friday’s preliminary round at the St Mary’s Basketball Court in Moruga as they demanded an increase in prize monies.

Michael Hernandez, manager of the Rio Claro Gayelle, said unless the National Carnival Commission (NCC) agrees to raise the prizes, there will be no stick fighting this year.

Boismen are demanding that the King of the Rock prize be increased from $20,000 to $60,000 while the Kings of the Gayelle move from $35,000 to $80,000.

Hernandez said they were being reasonable as they reduced their initial demand of a $80,000 and $100,000 for the top prizes in the respective competitions.

While most of the gayelles across the country showed up before a packed audience, only St Mary’s Gayelle A, St Mary’s Gayelle B, Longdenville Gayelle and Gran Couva Gayelle B registered for the competition.

Coordinators made several calls for registration and after 25 minutes without a response, an official told the audience that the cancellation of the preliminaries was out of their hands. The lights on the stage were shut off and the officials left.

The traditional throwing money in the pot for a fight took place but in no way was it enough to appease stick fight lovers who travelled to the country.

Hernandez said earlier this month, boismen were called to a meeting with the NCC, who failed to answer questions about the prize structure. He said they waited until this week to inform them that the prize structure had not changed.

“This has been ongoing for three years that we are fighting for more money. The Government gives NCC a certain amount of money to run the competition and they also have corporate sponsors. They were also left with a good purse from the previous year, so they must have money saved for this year. The bottom line is that we, the stick fighters, are fed up with how they are treating us.

“Stick men don’t have insurance, not even on the night just in case they get injured badly. You compete at your own risk. We talked about this already and they said they are not responsible. So when you go there and get lick up, you have nothing to get. But this is something that tourists from all over the world come to see around Carnival time,”Hernandez said.

NCC chairman Colin Lucas said the boismen waited for the competition night to ambush the commission. However, he said the commission would meet with the boismen this week to determine whether the competition could go on.

“We don’t respond to ambush. There must have been considerable disappointment by many people who showed up. We will have to do damage control. We are discussing money against a backdrop of lesser resources, but as far as we understand, the matter was put to rest when the last meeting was concluded. Ambush is never the way. That undermines a relationship. I am hoping that it is not beyond repair,” Lucas said.

Six-month-old Christopher Sahadeo appears normal—cooing, smiling and kissing his mother like any normal baby but beneath his skull, his brain is slowly bleeding and if left untreated he could die.

The baby was injured last October after his parents’ wooden home at Enid Village, Rio Claro collapsed after heavy rainfall.

The ceiling tiles dropped on his head, knocking him unconscious. His mother, Christine Sahadeo, 21, had to run to safety with her unconscious baby before the entire house came tumbling down.

Now four months after the incident, baby Christopher is battling with periodic seizures, vomiting, lethargy and occasional bouts of unconsciousness. He spent three months recuperating at the San Fernando General Hospital but was discharged in early January with the hope that his condition will improve.

In an interview at the family’s home, Sahadeo said they have to find money to do CT-scans and MRI scans on a regular basis to monitor the bleeding.

“It costs us about $3,000 to do a test and right now my husband is not working so it is really hard for us,” Christine said at her make-shift Rio Claro home yesterday.

Because Christopher is on a regimen of steroids, his appetite has increased and Sahadeo said he drinks three tins of baby milk every week.

A tin of milk costs over $100 and over 100 disposable diapers cost $250 a box.

Sahadeo said her neighbours, family and a few Good Samaritans helped them rebuild a house using some of the wood from their old house. However, Sahadeo said the new house is also in danger of collapse as water from the road continues to flow through their property undermining the structure.

The house does not have a stairway and to access the living room the occupants climb on a stack of bricks. Part of the house has no windows. Sahadeo said they get went when rain falls heavily. However, she said her main concern was not the house but her son’s medical care.

“The house is still unfinished but we are grateful for the help. Right now we are concerned about saving my son’s life. The hospital said if he needs to do brain surgery, it will be done but we have to make up money to do the preliminary tests,” Sahadeo said.

Anyone willing to assist the family can contact them at 266-2729.

In order to maintain their physical assets as landlords while at the same time providing a safe and secure environment for users, government has invested TT $7.6 million to rebuild the pool and pool deck at the Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre.

Commenting on the expense yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon explained, "The previous facility was 53-years-old and we had a responsibility to ensure the property was maintained and is up to a particular standard."

She added, "It is geared towards attracting persons wanting to experience a superior level of service and quality, so we had to ensure that was present in the finished product."

In a release yesterday, officials at the Ministry of Trade and Industry claimed the project was part of government's National Development Strategy - Vision 2030.

They claimed the upgrade would enable local and international visitors to enjoy an enhanced experience at the facility.

The release said, "The TT $7.6 million refurbishment project supports the Government’s National Development Strategy – Vision 2030’s aim of investing in strategic infrastructure to enhance growth and stimulate economic activity while also improving the environment."

During a tour of the new facility on Monday, Gopee-Scoon expressed satisfaction with the project which was completed on time and within budget.

She said “The work done has resulted in an aesthetically pleasing and welcoming space with technological systems employed to improve the user’s experience and safety."

"Given that the establishment is 53-years old, it is important that the Government reinvests to ensure the maintenance of international standards and increase the hotel’s value and marketability”.

Chairman, Evolving Tecknologies and Enterprise Development Company Limited (e TecK), Imtiaz Ahamad indicated the refurbishment was long overdue and was a welcomed change which would impact positively on the Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre.

Darlene McDonald, Director of Marketing of the Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre thanked the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the investment into the hotel’s upgraded amenity, adding that there were a number of other improvement projects in the pipeline.

The completed works included a raised Jacuzzi; an adult tanning ledge and a children’s pool, three cabanas, a water fountain with LED lights, upgraded mechanical, electrical and plumbing services and equipment, a new audio system; a salt water treatment system, and a new reinforced fibre concrete pool deck patterned in the form of a steel pan mural.

Gopee-Scoon said in addition to providing employment for 400 persons, the Hilton was the second largest facility of its kind in Trinidad - the likes of which was necessary in order to attract and maintain a varied clientele which would guarantee a return on government's investment in the long term.

Is an alternative means of transport on the Tobago airbridge over the horizon?

Well, if Raymond McMillan has his way then the answer is yes.

A trip to Tobago may cost twice as much as you pay now though.

McMillan is the chief executive officer of Sterling Tobago Airways Limited, trading as Tobago Airways, and he believes the national carrier Caribbean Airlines needed competition on the domestic airbridge.

McMillan is currently looking for investors to help fund this idea.

For investments of US$100,000 and over returns on investment are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

McMillan believes Tobago Airways’ estimated profit after five years will be around US$19.5 million.

The initial contract for a plane will be with Airline Solutions Ltd, a company registered in the UK.

Social media was abuzz yesterday when the front page of the Tobago Airways document seeking investors was shared.

“Something new and exciting is coming soon,” the document stated.

The T&T Guardian reached out to McMillan for information on the venture but he said he was having a board meeting at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort.

According to the Tobago Airways website “something new and exciting” is coming by March 1.

McMillan is looking for investors for what he deems a “necessary ‘shift’ in the airbridge between Trinidad and Tobago which has been a ‘sour point’ for over 30 years”.

In recent times issues surrounding the Tobago airbridge have come to the national fore, especially in light of difficulties experienced on the seabridge.

CAL recently issued a release showing that its performance on the Tobago airbridge has been 86 per cent above industry standards. The national airline also implemented a $50 change fee for passengers missing or changing their confirmed flights.

According to a recent Parliament Joint Select Committee, 52 per cent of CAL’s flights are operated on the domestic airbridge and approximately TT$41 million was allocated for CAL as the subsidy on the airbridge for 2017.

The subsidy does not cover the entire shortfall between the fare charged for flights along the airbridge, and the cost of running the air bridge, and therefore, the route is unprofitable. Return tickets on CAL for the Tobago air-bridge cost $300. Tobago Airways tickets are expected to cost around $600.

Air Guard and Coast Guard teams are continuing the search for commercial diver Chevonne Bartholemew who went missing at sea following an underwater expedition off Gasparee Island in Chaguaramas on Monday.

Bartholemew, 37, of Flamboyant Crescent, Valencia, was employed with Trindive Underwater Services which contracts commercial divers for companies involved in the oil and gas industry.

Police said Bartholemew went to do an underwater inspection of a boat anchored in about 60 feet deep water but he never resurfaced.

Bartholemew was wearing scuba diving gear and was taking still photos of a vessel’s hull, one diver said.

Several divers and search teams were combing the waters up to late yesterday but were affected by strong top currents and undercurrents.

His wife, Pete-Ann Bartholemew, said she was praying that he was still alive. The couple has two children, Zion, 11, who is writing the Secondary Entrance Assessment examinations this year and six-year-old Zoey.

Pete-Ann said Bartholemew left home at 4 am to go to Chaguaramas after getting a call on Sunday night.

She said usually air divers are connected by an umbilical cable and are in communication with someone above in the dive vessel.

“He had an air supply in a tank but I don’t know what kind of communication he had or if he was connected,” Pete-Ann said, recounting details from what other divers told her.

Pete-Ann said she was told that her husband got disconnected and he was not attached to the other diver. She said this was highly irregular.

“I am a praying person. I know that everyone is out there searching for him. Several divers and boats went out yesterday. Coast guard officers were there and the Air Guard helicopter was promised but that did not happen. We were in touch with someone from the National Operations Centre who agreed to send out a chopper. Subsequent to that they spoke about not having fuel but I am hopeful. We are a family of faith and we are believing that he is alive and waiting to be rescued,” Pete-Ann said.

The diver’s sister Candace Bartholemew said she was concerned that the helicopter was not immediately used in the search.

“No air support went up. I want to know the truth and if all the proper procedures were followed. We want honest information coming out about what happened to him,” she said.

Public Relations Officer of the T&T Coast Guard Lt Sherron Manswell confirmed that a search was on to find the missing diver. Asked why a helicopter was not immediately dispatched with the rescue teams, Manswell said Bartholemew had equipment on his back which could have weighed him down so it made more sense to dispatch divers to comb the sea for him. He said the currents posed a challenge and the search had to be abandoned but it resumed around 3 pm. He said aerial searches were scheduled to be done yesterday.

Grappling to deal with financial constraints, the University of T&T has now closed down its campus at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando.

Workers from Electro-sign Ltd were seen removing the UTT signs from the $350 million facility yesterday, built to develop and showcase indigenous cultural talent.

UTT president Sarim Al-Zubaidy did not respond to emails but board member Professor Clement Imbert confirmed the UTT SAPA campus was no more.

Saying it hurt his heart to lead the exercise, Imbert said UTT has to engage in cost-cutting measures or face a total closure. A source said the institution had a $6 million cut in its monthly subvention of $16.7 million and has been unable to meet its expenses.

“The reality is we are not getting the money that we got before, so some programmes will have to go,” Imbert said.

Two programmes Biomedical Engineering, Environmental Science and Management, Bioscience and Agriculture and Health Sciences have already been cut and Imbert said if UTT does not reduce its expenses and Government cuts its subvention, the institution will be closed down and everyone will lose their jobs.

“Unfortunately a lot of people have to go or else the whole of UTT will crash and everybody will have to go. Clearly, if we don’t get any money from Government we will close down so whatever money we get now we have to try to live within our means,” he said.

Imbert said it will be a travesty if the institution goes belly up.

“I don’t believe it is the intention of the Government or anybody else is to close down UTT. I don’t know how things will turn out,” Imbert said. He added that T&T was rich in talent and so far there is no plan to shut down the programme.

He noted that UTT has international accreditation on some programmes adding that it was imperative for UTT to manage its operating costs efficiently.

He noted that the closure of the SAPA campus will not affect students.

“Any centre that we have to close will not affect students because we are going to ensure that students are properly taken care of. We have not sent home staff because we are in discussions with the ministry and the union. However, we will have to send home a lot of staff if UTT is to survive with the money we are getting,” Imbert said.

He said UTT was overstaffed and executives believed the institution could function with 60 per cent of existing staff.

While UTT does not pay a rent at SAPA or NAPA, Imbert said electricity, water, security and maintenance costs were high.

He noted that the downturn in the economy forced people to be more efficient.

CRITICAL MEETING TODAY

The issue of the retrenchment of 287 workers from the University of T&T (UTT) will be a top priority at a meeting carded for today at the Ministry of Education in Port-of-Spain.
Education Minister Anthony Garcia, UTT Board members led by its Chairman of the Board of Governors, Professor Kenneth Julien, along with UTT’s President, Professor Sarim Al-Zubaidy will meet with a team from the representing union, the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union’s (OWTU) team, led by president general Ancel Roget on the way forward.
The meeting is scheduled to commence at 9 am.
It is said that 287 members of staff, including academics, are expected to be retrenched. When this exercise is done it is expected to save UTT approximately $41.5 million.
Al-Zubaidy on January 15 sought to update staff on its restructuring via a signed letter.
In it, he stated that on January 11, the separation proposal was submitted to the OWTU, as well as the Ministry of Education. —Rhondor Dowlat

National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said yesterday that his ministry was examining the law to go after people who commit offences against members of the protective services.

Dillon made the comment in response to a question posed by Opposition Senator Saddam Hosein who enquired what steps Government had taken to safeguard the lives of prison officers during the sitting of the Senate.

Hosein’s question came on the heels of the murder of prison officer Davendra Boodooram who was shot dead last Friday after leaving work at the Port-of-Spain State Prison.

Dillon said his ministry continued to take measures to treat with attacks of prison officers.

He said on Monday he met with the Prison Association of T&T, the Commissioner of Prisons and acting Commissioner of Police “to explore additional initiatives. To date, we are looking at the legal framework to treat with people who commit offences against not only prison officers but members of the protective services as well.”

Dillon said counselling had been provided and will continue to be provided to the slain officer’s family and they will benefit from the $1m compensation for officers killed in the line of duty, in response to questions from Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen.

Dillon was also asked by Independent Senator Paul Richards if the signal jammers at the nation’s prisons were active and what level of success they had attained since some hits were being called from within prison walls by inmates.

The Minister said while the prisons had some successes, resulting in several illegal cellphones being confiscated “there is always room for improvements and we continue to work assiduously as far as possible to eradicate or remove all cell phones from the prison system.”

Boodooram’s funeral service will take place tomorrow and as a result, all visits to inmates at all the prisons will be suspended to allow officers to attend.

This was confirmed yesterday by Commissioner of Prisons, Gerard Wilson.Wilson assured, however, that inmates will properly be manned and extra security measures will be put in place at all prisons facilities.

He added that there will also be a full complement of law enforcement agencies at Boodooram’s funeral, which will take place at the Faith Assembly International church in Five Rivers, Arouca at 10 am.

Five-month-old Christopher Sahadeo who is bleeding from his brain, underwent a series of tests yesterday after Good Samaritans rallied around his impoverished family providing financial support.

Father Curtis Poonilal who spent months soliciting donations from businesspeople to pay his son’s medical bills, said he was overwhelmed by the love and support he received from numerous callers after the T&T Guardian highlighted Christopher’s story in Tuesday’s edition.

Poonilal said a stranger who read the article was moved to tears so he travelled from Chaguanas, met with them and then paid all the baby’s medical bills.

“I was amazed by the big-heartedness of this good man who took us to Victoria Nursing Home and paid for all our medical bills. I am so thankful,” Poonilal said.

At the private hospital, a team of doctors did TORCH panel tests—a group of blood tests used to screen newborns for certain infections. It includes tests for toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Herpes simplex virus, Poonilal said.

Doctors also did tests to determine whether Christopher has a bleeding disorder by analysing how long he bled before his blood began clotting.

Based on the results of these tests, the baby is also expected to undergo a CT scan and an MRI scan to determine the extent of the bleeding.

These are an additional cost but the parents said they were not worried as people have already offered to pay for the scans.

However, Poonilal said they did not have a bank account and was in the process of setting up one.

“Once we have the account set up, people have offered to assist with further medical costs,” Poonilal said.

The child’s mother, Christine Sahadeo, 21, said the outpouring of love shown to her son was heart-warming.

“I never believed we would get so much help,” she said. She added that another anonymous caller has offered to purchase windows for the family’s wooden home while another said they will build the steps.

The family’s house collapsed after heavy rainfall on October 4, while Christine was inside the house with Christopher, who was then three months old. The ceiling tiles fell on the baby’s head causing his skull to fracture.

Villagers used the wood from the old house and helped the family rebuild the structure but it remains rickety and is devoid of windows and a proper door.

The child spent three months in the San Fernando General Hospital and doctors later told the parents that Christopher may have to do brain surgery pending the outcome of the tests.

The surgery can be done in the hospital free of charge but basic screening and blood tests have to be done privately because these services are not available at the hospital.

The family has been struggling to meet their expenses.

Anyone wanting to assist them can call 380-3606 or 266-2729.

A 22-year-old police constable, with just over a year service, remained in custody last night for allegedly stealing police issued bullet-proof vests and attempting to sell them. Yesterday, investigators searched the Penal Rock Road, Moruga home of the officer and found three police issued firearm holsters marked Couva Police Station, where he was assigned.

He was handed over the Professional Standards Bureau yesterday. The officer’s 21-year-old relative and 54-year-old neighbour, were also held and remained in custody last night.

Police later intercepted a black pick up off the Rochard Douglas Road and caught the driver who attempted to flee with a bag containing two bullet-proof vests with POLICE marked on the front and back.