The police’s detention of 15 people in connection with an alleged terror plot to disrupt the recently concluded Carnival celebrations has already begun to cost the State.

High Court Judge Frank Seepersad yesterday ordered the State to pay $6,100 in legal costs incurred by Alisha Thomas in filing a habeas corpus writ challenging her lengthy detention as part of the ongoing investigation.

Thomas and her husband Adil Mansano were among the initial group detained for questioning in relation to the alleged plot and were eventually released after almost a week in custody.

The couple’s writs were eventually withdrawn as they were charged with possession of a component of a firearm, in a gun cleaning kit, which was allegedly found at their San Juan home at the time of their arrest.

Mansano received half of his legal costs when his case was withdrawn on February 15, but Seepersad only considered his wife’s case yesterday.

In his oral decision, Seepersad ruled that investigators from the T&T Police Service’s Special Branch couldn’t justify why they failed to charge Thomas for the kit shortly after it was recovered. He also noted that police could not justify keeping Thomas for almost six days. While he acknowledged investigations into terrorism are complex and cannot be completed in a short period of time, he said detentions should be just and reasonable.

“The authorities are obligated to treat the information and intelligence received and conduct a thorough investigation... Ultimately, the rights of all citizens have to be protected,” Seepersad said as he noted that terrorism threats were not trivial.

Seepersad suggested that a 48-hour detention period was fair, but said additional time could be justified depending on the circumstances of each case.

The couple’s possession case is still pending and is due to come up for hearing on March 16. The T&T Guardian understands the couple and the other freed detainees are currently considering filing false imprisonment lawsuits against the State. However, they are in no rush as they have four years in which to do so under the Limitation of Certain Actions Act.

Thomas was represented by Mario Merritt and Kirby Joseph.

The Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (Doma) yesterday responded to various warnings and advisories about safety and security from diplomatic missions with a statement announcing that Port-of-Spain is open for business.

The group said the haziness of the warnings and advisories had left citizens in a state of doubt which is doing “untold and serious harm” to the country.

“Regionally and internationally we are gaining a reputation of being a nation in collapse based on warnings that are not supported by evidence or facts,” Doma said.

“The unfortunate incident in east Port-of-Spain on Monday February 19 has been added to the “mix” of previous advisories to create a new toxicity to the image of our country and its capital. We understand the high standard to which foreign missions are held regarding the safety and well-being of their citizens, but we also feel constrained to respectfully defend the image of our country.”

The group, which re-stated its support for agencies fighting against all forms of extremism, expressed concern that accountability has been absent from recent threat warning in T&T.

The statement continued: “We do not want to endanger the progress of sensitive investigations, but we also do not want to worsen the gloom that is engulfing the outlook of a majority of our people in all strata and in all classes in our country. This gloom about Trinidad and Tobago is spreading quickly among the investment community both local and foreign and is making itself felt in many areas of our economy.

“Asking us to “get real” about our inquiries concerning recent threat warnings can be respectfully answered by us asking various commentators to uphold our right to know and to decide for ourselves as to how to protect ourselves and our families and how to judge conditions in our country.”

In underscoring that the nation’s capital is open for business, Doma cited the example of Port-of-Spain Mayor Joel Martinez who led a clean up in person in the aftermath of the chaos of February 19.

“We are actively dealing with issues related to security, parking, homelessness and we are making progress, albeit in small steps but progress nonetheless,” Doma said.

Two men were shot and killed in Penal last evening, in what police believe was a drug deal gone sour.

One of the men was identified as Roger Harrikissoon, also known as Bongo, of Embacadere, San Fernando, who was released from prison around midday yesterday after securing bail.

Police said about a month ago, Harrikissoon was arrested by officers from the Southern Division Task Force and charged with drug trafficking. He also had several matters pending in court, police said.

The second person was only identified as Ronnie, also of Embacadere, who police believe could be related to Harrikissoon.

The men were shot several times as they sat in a gold-coloured Nissan Tiida at Bajnath Trace, off Lachoos Road, around 5 pm.

A man from Cunupia, who allegedly posed as a professional photographer in order to lure aspiring models to him before sexually assaulting them, has claimed he was beaten by police while in custody.

Attorney Nicholas Rampersadsingh made the claim as his client, Christopher Bernard, also known as Kyle Romiah, appeared in the Tunapuna Magistrate’s Court charged with indecent assault and grievous sexual assault.

Rampersadsingh told Senior Magistrate Indrani Cedeno that when he visited his client at the Chaguanas Police Station over the weekend, he noticed that he had bruises on his face and body. Bernard allegedly told Rampersadsingh that the wounds were inflicted by police during an interrogation session.

Bernard was not called upon to plead to the charges yesterday and was granted $300,000 bail with a cash alternative of $15,000. As a condition of his bail, Bernard was ordered to refrain from any communication with the victim and told to report to his nearest police station three times weekly.

Bernard was arrested last Thursday after an 18-year-old victim reported an attack to Chaguanas police. She claimed that last Monday she responded to an advertisement on Facebook for a paid photo-shoot with what she believed was an international modelling agency. The following day she met Bernard, who claimed to be an employee of the agency, and he took her to Caura River, Tunapuna, where he allegedly attacked her.

Following the report, police issued an open call for other women who may have fallen prey to similar scams on social media in the past. One woman came forward, but reportedly did not identify Bernard as her attacker.

Investigations were supervised by Senior Supt Inraj Balram, ASP Richard Smith, Insp Marlon Alexander and Cpl Curtis Pierre, all of the Central Division Major Crimes Unit.

Bernard will reappear in court on March 27.

A&V Oil and Gas has lost its final bid to block State-owned Petrotrin from taking steps to terminate its contract and withhold an $83.9 million payment based on allegations of inflated bills.

On Monday, the United Kingdom-based Privy Council denied the company permission to appeal the decisions of two local courts to dismiss its application for an injunction against Petrotrin. The court ruled that the company had failed to raise an arguable case with a realistic prospect of success.

As a result of the decision, a temporary injunction granted by the Privy Council almost two weeks ago was automatically discharged. The company was challenging a decision by High Court Judge Avason Quinlan-Williams to dismiss its claim and refuse it an injunction, which would have preserved the legality of the contractual dispute between the parties being arbitrated.

Quinlan-Williams’ decision was then upheld by Appellate Judge Prakash Moosai.

However, the company requested that a full three-member Appeal Court panel reconsider the issue. Earlier this month, the panel comprising of Chief Justice Ivor Archie and Appellate Judges Andre Des Vignes and Charmaine Pemberton approved the two previous decisions.

In her decision, Quinlan-Williams had said that Petrotrin was justified in terminating the contract based on the findings of internal and external audit reports into its relationship with A&V.

She suggested that the company was also not entitled to the injunction as the contract contained a multi-tiered and explicit dispute resolution process which includes negotiation, mitigation and arbitration.

A&V was represented by Peter Knox, QC, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, Ronnie Bissessar, Vijaya Maharaj and Varin Gopaul-Gosine. Deborah Peake, SC, Ravi Heffes-Doon and Marcelle Ferdinand represented Petrotrin.

MORE INFO

In 2009, A&V was granted a 10-year licence from Petrotrin to operate its onshore oil fields in Catskill, Moruga.

The scandal involving the two companies was first raised in September, last year, by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who revealed that Petrotrin’s internal audit had shown that A&V inflated its crude oil production figures leading to overpayments.

She also questioned the link between the company’s owner Haniff Nizam Baksh and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

Rowley admitted to knowing Baksh and contacting him when the news broke but has denied any wrongdoing.

Baksh and his son-in-law Billy Ramsundar, who is a police corporal, have been charged with assaulting the T&T Guardian’s senior
photographer Kristian De Silva and destroying his camera valued at US$1,600.

The incident related to the criminal charges occurred on September 15, while De Silva was on taking photographs of the company’s headquarters at Nizam Avenue, San Francique.

The Galleons Passage has finally set off on its journey from the Far East, after a 17-day delay, and is now docked in a port in Hong Kong after arriving there at around 4.30 pm (local time) yesterday.

From there it will begin the 11,000 nautical mile journey, expected to take two months, to the Caribbean.

The seabridge has been dogged with problems for almost a year due to frequent breakdowns of the T&T Express, rough seas and insurance issues.

A second ferry, the T&T Spirit, is expected to be back in service by the time the Galleons Passage arrive.

At one point, just before Carnival, ferry passengers had to be accommodated for more than a week on Caribbean Airlines flights, at no additional cost, to get to Tobago.

The new passenger ferry was expected to leave on February 9, but preparations and celebrations of the Chinese New Year stalled the processing of the necessary paperwork for the granting of special permits.

The vessel had been built for a customer in Venezuela who cancelled the purchase due to social and economic circumstances in that country.

The vessel left the Nansha Port, according to Finance Minister Colm Imbert at 10.45 am Guangdong time (which was about 10.45 pm on Monday) for Hong Kong, from where it will begin the journey to T&T.

The Galleons Passage was purchased by the Government at a cost of US$17.4 million and according to international tracking sites, it sailed at a speed of 9.5 knots, on the estimated 100 nautical mile journey to Hong Kong. An additional US$800,000 will be spent to pay for the journey to T&T.

NIDCO last week said the vessel will overnight in Hong Kong to gather fuel and other supplies before sailing on to the second leg of the journey to Honolulu, Hawaii, in the Pacific Ocean.

Imbert said the vessel is capable of higher speeds than 22 knots which will allow a sprint to places of refuge in the event of a storm along the journey.

From Honolulu, the vessel will sail through the Panama Canal, before heading north to the Damex shipyard in Santiago, Cuba, for enhancements.

He said when the vessel arrives at the Damex shipyard it will “do some enhancements including additional canopies, and additional toilets for passengers on the upper sun deck and canopies for the vehicle deck.”

In addition, he said, one hundred of the seven hundred seats will be “upgraded.”

NIDCO said the vessel will remain 10 days in Santiago, Cuba for the alterations to be done which include a full canopy over sundeck; installation of canopies over-exposed sections of vehicle deck; and installation of washroom facilities at the sun-deck level, in accordance with details as agreed to with the buyer.”

There has been no indication from either NIDCO or Imbert as to the cost of the alterations.

The vessel is expected to arrive in T&T waters on April 28, according to NIDCO, “all good-weather permitting.”

Responding to critics that the vessel may not be suitable for the waters between Trinidad and Tobago, Imbert said the structure was assessed in accordance with the Lloyd’s Register Rules & Regulations for Special Service Craft with an operating wave height limitation of four metres or 13 feet in open waters and a maximum wave height of 6.6 metres or 22 feet, and near gale force winds.

He said with its bulbous bow it can easily make the journey between Port-of-Spain and Scarborough in comfort.

OPPOSITION LEADER: BIGGEST SCANDAL IN T&T

Speaking about the vessel at a political meeting in San Juan on Monday night, Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar described the purchase of the boat as “the biggest scandal to rock Trinidad and Tobago this year.”

She described as “mind-boggling,” the purchase of a vessel without a “roof or toilets, so you buy a boat to transport people from Trinidad to Tobago lasting several hours, four or more hours we don’t know and you don’t have toilets, no roof and you bought this boat. Four ministers of government, these people can’t be serious.”

She said the seats on the vessel were like those in “long time cinemas in pit.”

Persad-Bissessar likened the purchase of the boat to a homeowner purchasing a house “with no roof or toilets. I mean which madman or mad woman will buy a boat for TT$130 million and it has no roof or toilets.” (See Pages A12 & A13)

Assembly of Southern Lawyers president Ramesh Deena yesterday complained about the long delays in criminal trials after two men were acquitted 15 years after they were charged.

Deena made the comment shortly after his client Paul Granger, 56, a gardener and Sherlan Bailey, 42, a PH driver, of Enterprise, were found not guilty by a San Fernando jury on marijuana possession and counterfeit charges.

Bailey was represented by attorney Jared Ali.

Both men claimed the police set them up. Deena recently expressed a similar concern after his other client, Ashton Kawal was acquitted on three counts of causing death by dangerous driving 15 years after the incident.

Deena said, “The difficulty that we have is matters like these take 15 years to come to trial, that in itself is an injustice and the difficulty that I am having, as well as other practitioners, is that while the elephants are fighting the ants are being trampled upon.”

Granger and Bailey went on trial earlier this month before Justice Maria Wilson in the San Fernando Third Assizes.

Back in 2003, Bailey used to sell clothes which were sent by his aunt in barrels from America. On the day they were arrested, Bailey testified that his regular driver was not available so he called Granger who rented a car. They went Couva, Point Fortin and Santa Flora to sell clothes. The State’s case is that in Santa Flora the police searched the car and found a black bag containing three grammes of marijuana and four forged $100 bill on the handbrake console between the two seats. The men denied the charges.

They said the bag was never in the car. They said they first saw the marijuana and the money at the police station and the magistrate’s court respectively. The jury deliberated for an hour.

Geologist Xavier Moonan does not believe the massive coastal erosion which occurred at Bamboo Village, Cedros, was related to the series of minor earthquakes and recent volcanic eruption experienced in T&T in the past few weeks.

Rather, Moonan, who lectures in Structural Geology and Advanced Petroleum Geology at the University of the West Indies, says climate change and rising sea levels have contributed to coastal erosion in the Caribbean.

However, he believes the erosion in Cedros is a natural process which could be stymied through the construction of artificial reefs and mangrove cultivation.

“There is no real stopping the sea from coming in. You can build walls, but some countries have made artificial reefs which can reduce the impact of the waves on the coastline and allow deposition of material rather than erosion. I don’t know if this will work for short term, but it is something worth looking at,” Moonan said yesterday.

He said the village sits on a silty and clay-rich area which is exposed along the bay and these areas are prone to erosion. He suggested the clay-rich areas below the main sand-rich zones, which is where houses are built, were eroded over time compromising the area.

Saying artificial reefs are not costly, Moonan added, “We can chain tyres together or put a breaker of wreckage that can stop the impact of the waves on the coastline. The key thing is to preserve the land and protect the coastline.”

Moonan said the Institute of Marine Affairs has been studying the dynamics of erosion in all parts of the country.

However, researcher Gideon Hanoomansingh, who has been studying erosion on the south western peninsular for 20 years, said the amount of land lost over the years has been astonishing.

“Right at the moment, as we speak, there is a house perched to fall into the ocean in Guayaguayare. Land is being lost at a terrific rate in Granville. When we talk to people we hear denials from coastal development officials saying their work has nothing to do with land loss, but people are measuring how the land has been lost since developments have been taking place,” Hanoomansingh said.

Cedros resident Latiff Mohammed said since the Atlantic LNG plant was built the wave dynamics had changed in the peninsula.

He said there was about half a mile of beach-front stretching in front of their homes, but over the past few years the sea has backed up right behind their homes.

A cheque has already been prepared to pay helicopter pilots attached to the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) Air Division, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said yesterday.

Speaking to the Guardian during a tour at Bamboo Village, Cedros, Dillon said arrangements have already been made to pay the pilots for the months of November, December and January.

Asked why the pilots had not been paid, Dillon said this matter was under investigation.

The pilots have been on a sick-out action over non-payment of salaries since November hampering the covert intelligence-gathering missions, according to national security sources.

“In terms of why they were not paid, the Permanent Secretary is doing an investigation into this and they will report to me as soon as possible,” Dillon said.

Asked to put a specific time-frame on when the pilots will receive their salaries, Dillon said, “I don’t want to put a time frame. Today we made arrangements to pay the outstanding salaries for November and December and we are also making arrangements to pay in January.”

Asked what impact this was having on State security apparatus, Dillon responded, “I don’t think this is impacting on the State at all. There is no serious impact because if there is an emergency, pilots will come out and do their jobs because that is the remit of National Security.”

He was responding to a Guardian Media report which stated the pilot’s action had the potential to affect the State’s ability to respond to a major national security. The pilots, who have been seconded from the National Helicopter Services, conduct border patrols, surveillance, respond to natural disasters and search and rescue missions.

Asked how the Ministry of National Security was able to obtain aerial surveillance in their absence, Dillon said, “We are getting aerial surveillance. I can assure you that we are because we have other helicopters that are under the charge of the Ministry of National Security so we can utilise them.” The AgustaWestland helicopters operated by the Air Guard are also down.

Dillon said the Ministry was acting speedily to deal with the problems facing pilots.

On Tuesday, the Guardian reported exclusively that the SSA Air Division pilots had engaged in sick-out action, grounding helicopters which provide support to the T&T Police Service and other areas of national security.

T&T is open for business for dirty money and anybody in the business of financing terrorism will make this country the conduit for the movement of illicit funds.Making T&T its source, according to Minister of Agriculture Senator Clarence Rambharat, is easy because there are no severe restrictions on the receipt of cash in the banking system as in many other countries where institutions must report receipts from certain places and people.

Rambharat said he believes there is a “low fence” in T&T.

“We have a low fence without regulations and reporting…then it is open for business and anybody in the business of terrorist financing will step over the fence.”

“Not necessarily to do damage here but to clean up and make Trinidad the source of their deposit that moves into another place…merely a conduit for the movement of terrorist funds and that is what it is,” he said.

Rambharat was speaking in the Senate yesterday during the debate on the Miscellaneous Provisions (Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, Process of Crime, Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT), Customs and Exchange Control) Bill, 2017.He said that he believes that T&T is not convinced that “terrorism affects us” and in seeking to bring about that conviction, Rambharat said the reports coming out of the Financial Intelligence Unit of T&T and other agencies suggests that there is evidence in the financial system of terrorism funds making its way through the country.

In giving an example of dirty money, Rambharat drew close reference to the opening of casinos on almost every street across T&T.

“I don’t have to tell you or anybody the fact that these casinos have sprung up in the world of money laundering and in the world of dirty money that is a red flag bigger than the flag we had in Macoya,” Rambharat said. “We are telling the world that we are open for dirty business. In the world of dirty money that is your biggest red flag because it is based on cash and it allows for the collection, for the deposit and for the movement of dirty money wherever it has to go,” he said. According to the 2017 FIU report, it received 121 requests from law enforcement agencies for financial intelligence and information. The six highest categories of suspected criminal conduct were drug trafficking (27) at 22 per cent, fraud (24) at 20 per cent, financing of terrorism (17) at 14 per cent, cash seizure (12) at 12 per cent, money laundering (8) at 7 per cent and corruption (6) at 5 per cent.

In addition, the FIU made 15 requests to law enforcement agencies and 26 to public authorities. There was a significant increase—108 per cent—in requests to public authorities.

The 2017 report, which covers the period October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017, highlighted large numbers of suspicious transactions—completed as well as attempted—using foreign currencies, including 307 involving US$3,081,814,113.56. Of this, 12 were attempted transactions with a monetary value of US$2,002,748,000.In the past year, the FIU has sent warning letters to 216 entities for breaches, including failure to register with the FIU and failure to rectify deficiencies observed during compliance audits.

Enforcement was instituted against 80 entities for failure to register with the FIU; 117 entities for anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism violations identified during compliance audits; 17 non-regulated financial institutions which failed to file quarterly terrorist property reports and two entities for failure to designate a compliance officer. The highest number of warning letters were sent to listed businesses in the real estate sector for failure to register—42 or 53 per cent out of a total of 80, the report stated.

Despite the trauma of seeing their neighbours’ houses swallowed by the sea due to ongoing coastal erosion, heartbroken Bamboo Village, Cedros residents yesterday refused to leave their properties against the advice of security personnel on hand to help them.

When the T&T Guardian visited the community, the shells of two houses owned by David Samuel and Leroy Joseph stood on the brink of a 1,000 feet cliff overlooking Columbus Bay, while three others belonging to Latiff Mohammed, Korisha Hosein and Amos Joseph remained occupied.

The ruins of a sixth house owned by Charmion Gunness stood at the bottom of the precipice after the worsening landslide swallowed it up on Monday.

With beams in the residents’ concrete houses splintering from the pressure and cracks appearing on the road, senior fire substation officer Keith Siberan pleaded with them to abandon their possessions and clear off from the site, saying “You have to leave. This is not a tourist site. This is a hazard zone and we are asking you to work with the police, fire officers and Disaster Management Unit to ensure everyone’s well-being.”

Siberan eventually imposed a 300-foot restriction on the area, adding, “We understand some people are not willing to leave their homes, but we have to protect you so we are going to increase the restriction as we see fit because the land is gradually being cut away from the back and for some of these structures, collapse is imminent.”

Around midday, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon, Office of Disaster Preparedness head Neville Wint and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein visited and promised to assist with immediate evacuation. However, residents said it was heartbreaking to leave everything they owned behind.

Zaimoon Mohammed was in tears.

“This is everything I have,” she whispered before being comforted by Hosein.

While a shower of rain poured, causing greater risks to properties, Samuel, 65 and his son Bradley Neemai hurriedly tried to stack their valuables at the side of a neighbour’s house.

The residents had to break through the windows to gain entry, however, as the front of the house had crumbled into the precipice. Two parrots - Big boy and Little Boy -, as well as a macaw slid into the hole along with 400 metres of the road and a cage filled with ducks. All of the animals were rescued and some villagers contemplated entering the sink-hole to retrieve laptop computers, jewellery and other valuables, but they were prevented by security officers.

Wint said, “At this point we are seeing visible signs of movement of the soil. The cause is yet to be determined but we are seeing the effect.”

He praised the response of the Fire Service, saying, “The more weight we put on the edge can cause the foundation to erode from underneath, so the action taken thus far is to preserve life and prevent any casualties of people who are curious to see. We must allow the corporation to relocate the families and those who are not directly impacted will have to evacuate their premises out of an abundance of caution.”

Siparia Regional Corporation chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh called for a technical study to be done on the coastline to determine the extent of the damage, while Minister Hosein said the Coastal Protection Unit had been alerted and all necessary assistance will be given to the affected families.

While this year has been riddled with protests over poor road conditions, many caused by slipping land, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan says the ministry is grappling with 850 landslips.

Noting the ministry’s goal is to fix 20 landslips per year based on a priority list, Sinanan yesterday said many citizens may have to withstand their cases for years.

Sinanan made the comment as he responded to concerns raised by protesting Lengua Road, Princes Town residents. He between Divali and Christmas 2017 alone there were 21 new landslips in just one area which was brought on by severe rain. They have been added to the ministry’s Bridges and Landslip Programme for repair.

He said the soil type between Princes Town and Moruga was loose and easily washed away, adding to their woes in the region.

Yesterday, engineers visited the site of the landslip where Khamraz Ali and his family had to flee their crumbling home in order to assess the damage.

Sinanan said temporary work was expected to begin today to ensure the road was passable, but there was no time given for the start of stabilisation work, which would be vital for Robin Singh’s home, which has begun to crack.

“What had happened there was that there was a WASA leak and that would have caused the landslip. WASA removed the pipe and put it above the road, so now the ministry is going to do temporary work and then we will have to add it to our Bridges and Landslip Programme for a permanent solution,” Sinanan said.

“We have to do a geo-technical study and we have to do a design and those things take some time to get done. In that part of the country we are having a challenge with the soil, but we have several projects going in that area. There is the Moruga Road Rehabilitation project and we have others that have not yet started.”

While agreeing it is the Government’s responsibility to maintain public infrastructure, Sinanan said people also need to obey the Town and Country Planning Act, which requires citizens to get approval before constructing buildings. In several areas along the Moruga Road, land cleared for houses have slipped in the past and Sinanan said basic construction requirements, like installing guttering and drains, were being ignored.

“Everyone wants a home and you can’t be upset with people, but we have to pay attention to the laws. We can’t allow people to build anywhere because you see what is happening.”

Embattled Chief Justice Ivor Archie’s keenly anticipated legal showdown with the Law Association of T&T, over its decision to investigate allegation of misconduct levelled against him, is set for Friday.

Archie’s lawyers kicked off the proceedings yesterday, after they filed a judicial review lawsuit challenging the LATT’s decision and an application seeking an injunction barring it from continuing its investigation.

The lawsuit was filed around 5 pm, with an emergency hearing being listed before Justice Nadia Kangaloo.

During the hearing, lead attorney for the association, Christopher Hamel-Smith, requested a short adjournment to give it time to analyse the case and prepare a response. While he admitted the case should be dealt with expeditiously, Hamel-Smith questioned Archie’s haste, as he pointed out that he (Archie) was aware of the course of action adopted by the association’s executive since November last year.

Archie’s lawyer, Ian Benjamin, disagreed, saying the lawsuit was only filed after the association announced on Monday that a special general meeting to discuss the investigation and what action, if any, should be taken had been set.

“This undermines the administration of justice and compromises it,” Benjamin said.

After brief discussions between the parties, they grudgingly came to a compromise to postpone the case to Friday morning.

Yesterday’s hearing began with Kangaloo questioning Archie’s absence, noting claimants are required to attend all hearings of their case unless given permission by a judge. His lawyers said he was on his way, but he only arrived shortly before the hearing was adjourned and sat by himself in a corner of the court.

In his pre-action protocol letter sent last Thursday, Archie questioned whether an investigation was within the association’s remit under the Legal Profession Act.

His lawyers also accused the association of being biased based on the no confidence motion it passed against him and members of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC), over their handling of the short-lived judicial appointment of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in June last year.

Archie is claiming that Section 137 of the Constitution provides the only avenue to investigate his conduct. Under the section, the President appoints a tribunal after misconduct allegations against a CJ are referred by the Prime Minister. The tribunal, which includes a chairman and at least two other members, all with judicial experience in Commonwealth jurisdictions, will then investigate and make recommendations.

In its response, the association said it is required to “represent and protect the interests of the legal profession” and it is entitled to investigate where allegations have been made concerning the conduct of the CJ, which can negatively impact on confidence in the administration of justice.

“As with all public officials, your client’s conduct is subject to public scrutiny. The CJ is no exception to this rule,” the association’s lawyers said in their response to Archie’s legal threat, sent last Friday.

The controversy surrounding Archie arose late last year following a series of media reports which accused him of using his office to request Housing Development Corporation housing for people he knew and that he discussed the issue of security for judges with someone who was not a judge. Archie has responded to the allegations once via press release, denying he discussed judges’ security with anyone but admitting to suggesting persons for HDC housing. However, he has repeatedly refused the association’s request to directly respond to the allegations.

The association is also being represented by Jason Mootoo, Rishi Dass and Robin Otway, while John Jeremie, SC, Kerwyn Garcia and Keith Scotland are appearing alongside Benjamin.

Former United National Congress senator Devant Maharaj has written to Integrity Commission chairman Justice Melville Baird requesting an immediate investigation into the Cabinet.

His request is related to the allocation of Housing Development Company (HDC) units to two Government MPs and a Government Senator last year.

Integrity commission registrar Jasmine Pascal, in a letter dated January 19, 2018, acknowledged receipt of Maharaj’s request. “This matter has been referred to the Integrity Commission for consideration,” Pascal wrote.

Nine days prior, on January 11, Maharaj wrote to Baird calling for the probe.

“Given that persons have been waiting for several years to acquire a similar housing unit from the HDC, it begs the question how did these three PNM political appointees obtain units before others?” Maharaj wrote.

Maharaj listed Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Ayana Webster-Roy and Senate Vice President Nigel De Freitas as the recipients of the units. He dedicated over three pages of his five-page letter to address issues with De Freitas in particular, noting that the position holder is neither entitled to a housing allowance or qualify for housing in lieu of a housing allowance under the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) regulation.

According to the 98th Report of the Salaries Review Commission, the holders of the offices of Senate vice president deputy speaker of the House of Representatives are entitled to allowances under the following categories:

(i) Entitlement to the cost of accommodation and meals in the event that the office holder is required to stay overnight as a result of late sittings of Parliament, provided that he/she resides beyond a radius of sixteen (16) kilometres from Port-of-Spain.

(ii) For travel to Tobago/Trinidad on official business, the cost of accommodation and meals, as necessary, to be met by the State.

(iii) Travel/accommodation expenses, including meals, incurred by the spouse of an office holder in Tobago/Trinidad when attending official functions in Trinidad/Tobago to be met by the State.

(iv) For travel abroad on official business, the provisions of Minister of Finance Circular No. 2 dated April 7, 2006 or other relevant Circular to apply.

However, on December 15, 2017, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell, responding in writing to a question seeking information on what date Cabinet approved a housing facility for De Freitas, said: “Cabinet, by Minute no. 468 of March 16th, 2017, agreed that Senator Nigel De Freitas would be allocated one (1) two-bedroom unit at the Victoria Keys Housing Development, Diego Martin, from the respective date of occupancy to the respective date he ceases to hold office as Vice President of the Senate or otherwise determined by Government.”

Maharaj, in his letter, insisted that the Constitution does not contemplate that the Cabinet set terms and conditions for Members of Parliament or any other officer of state. He went on to state that the actions of the Cabinet in awarding the HDC unit to the Senate vice president may also be constituted as a material breach of the Constitution and the code of conduct of Sections 23, 24 and 27 respectively of the Integrity in Public in Life Act.

Maharaj ended his letter by urging the commission to take immediate steps to review the issue.

Kristy Ramnarine

Former Member of Parliament for St Ann’s East (2010-2015) Joanne Thomas escaped death yesterday, after a sudden landslide almost pushed her vehicle over the side of the Lady Young Road in Morvant.

However, although debris from the landslide, including trees, shrubs, dirt and boulders, partially covered her Q5 Audi SUV, Thomas managed to walk out the vehicle shaken but unhurt.

She, however, went into shock when she realised if wasn’t for the guard railing along the roadway she would have been pushed over the cliff, possibly to her death.

“Right now I am very shaken and in disbelief as to what I walked out off…but right now I am just thanking God for life,” an emotional Thomas told the T&T Guardian at her home hours after the traumatic event, which happened around 1.50 pm.

Thomas, who is the current general manager of Human Resources at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA), also thanked former Minister of Transport Devant Maharaj for running to her aid after the incident. Maharaj was the driver just behind her and witnessed the entire incident.

He also escaped injury and damage to his Prado SUV when the landslide came down the mountainside. In fact, Maharaj had to apply sudden brakes and immediately change the gear to reverse to escape the falling rubble.

When Maharaj went to Thomas’ aid, he had to put her in his vehicle in an attempt to calm her down. Neither even recognised each other as former MPs on different political sides.

“I must say thanks to Devant for what he did for me and for his efforts in keeping me calm and keeping me from crying, because the more I think of it now, I just want to cry,” Thomas said.

“He made sure he took me into his vehicle and kept talking to me. It was only when on the way to my sister’s house that he asked me where I worked and when I told him at HR, NCRHA, he said to me Joanne Thomas work there and that’s when I told him, I am Joanne Thomas.

“It was at that point that I too recognised Devant. I really want to thank him for helping me.”

Thomas said she had just left a meeting at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and was returning to her office at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, when the landslide came down the hill without warning.

“I saw a little rubble coming down onto the roadway but didn’t think anything of it. So I decide to wiggle my vehicle through it, then suddenly I saw nothing, a sudden cloud of dust covered me and I felt my vehicle being pushed. Then it stopped,” she recalled.

“When the dust cleared up I grabbed my bag and came out. I just couldn’t believe what had just happened and what could have happened to me.”

Maharaj also spoke of his experience.

“I was just a few metres behind Joanne and I saw the rubble falling onto the roadway and when I looked up I saw a pile of dirt moving slowly and then it picked up speed and came down on Joanne’s vehicle. I throw my car on reverse and tried to get away from being covered up myself,” he said.

“When I stopped I kept looking at the car and in the midst of the cloud of dust I saw a woman coming out of the vehicle and that’s when I just got out and ran to help her. She insisted in going back to the vehicle, but I told her no it wasn’t safe to come sit in mines.”

Thomas has vowed never again to venture along the Lady Young Road, but urged other motorists who will still utilise the road to exercise extreme caution at all times.

“It was dry…who would have thought the land would have slipped? It was not like it was wet and the hills water-logged. It was dry,” Thomas said.

“Please do not take things for granted when driving on these hills…I could have been dead today…be careful to whoever would still want to pass here, but not me ever again.”

Last night, Thomas was said to be undergoing a series of tests, including X-rays, at the EWMSC.

The Lady Young Road was reopened late last night, after crews worked tirelessly for hours to clear away debris left by yesterday’s landslide along the roadway.

Contacted just before 9 pm yesterday, Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan confirmed the road would be reopened shortly after crews washed down the minor dirt and rubble particles left after the major debris was removed. At the time, Sinanan was looking at that process.

Earlier, motorists had to endure hours of traffic gridlock after the landslide made the Lady Young Road impassable to vehicles.

As police directed motorists back in the directions from which they came, traffic backed up for miles around the Queen’s Park Savannah and other areas of Port-of-Spain. This situation was created as people unaware of what had occurred still tried to utilise the Lady Young Road via the Queen’s Park Savannah. It was the same on the other end of the landslide, where motorists had gone through Morvant seeking to get into either Belmont, St Ann’s or Port-of-Spain. This also created pile-ups on the other access routes out of and into Port-of-Spain, as it occurred just before the peak traffic period out of the capital.

The Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government declared the road impassable minutes after the landslide approximately half mile up from the Morvant Junction. The San Juan/Laventille Disaster Management Unit, Fire Service, T&T Electricity Commission and Police Service responded and worked in tandem to direct motorists away from the area and clear the debris.

Sinanan, who was on site to witness the damage earlier, eventually ordered the opening up of the Priority Bus Route to all vehicles and this helped bring some relief. The accommodation on the PBR was ended at 7 pm. The Belmont Valley Road and the Lady Young Road were also closed off to all vehicular traffic as crews worked to ensure the area was cleared and deemed safe again.

Sinanan said preliminary reports based on responding engineers suggest the land slipped because of the deterioration of the rocks and weight of the trees uphill. He, however, noted that he would not want to say more as he would await the final report from his experts, who were up to late last night assessing the area.

He said the ministry already has a plan with the Ministry of Agriculture to eliminate weighty trees.

“With this occurring, we will have to enhance that plan to ensure that before the rainy season comes in, to look at all trees before it comes down and look at the stabilisation of the slopes,” Sinanan said.

Sinanan said they were also looking closely at areas with similar issues, including Maracas and the Saddle Road in Santa Cruz. He thanked God that there were no fatalities and/or serious injury during yesterday’s landslide.

Former People’s National Movement MP Joanne Thomas escaped injury when her SUV was almost pushed over the side of the Lady Young Road during the landslide.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley last night said his Government is willing to accept the two and a half year sunset clause put on the table by the Opposition for its support for the anti-gang legislation.

However, Rowley took Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to task for “rationing” the amount of time it is willing to give the T&T Police Service to deal with the gang problem. He accused Persad-Bissessar of playing politics with the legislation, saying she only changed her tune after voting it down because the opposition “found themselves in a political doghouse with the population.”

The PM made the comment at the Piarco International Airport last night after returning from a Caricom meeting in Haiti.

Rowley noted that the time proposed by the Opposition for the sunset clause would take the country smack into the next general election.

“The parliament will be dissolved, who will be there to extend it?” he asked.

However, he said if it’s all that’s on offer they will take it.

Rowley also knocked Persad-Bissessar for deeming the pre-Carnival security raids as a “charade.” As a former head of the National Security Council, he said she should know that information comes from various sources. He said instead of “undermining” the country and national security efforts and trying to create “ethnic tensions “ in the country, Persad-Bissessar should go back and look at the profiles of some of the persons arrested when her government instituted a state of emergency.

Some 15 people were arrested as police probed a threat to Carnival 2018 festivities but all of them were released after almost six days in detention.

The PM reiterated that citizens could not “bury their heads in the sand” about T&T citizens’ involvement with ISIS, since the reality was that some of our citizens had gone to “zones of conflict” and some had been detained either going or coming from those zones. But he said had this country not been working closely with its international partners, the travel advisories issued during the period “would have been far worse.”

At the just concluded meeting, Rowley said Caricom, recognising the threat of terrorism to countries dependent on the tourism product, adopted a counter-terrorism strategy which will include the sharing of information among states.

Heads also agreed that efforts would be made to implement anti-terrorism legislation before they meet in July in Jamaica to stave off threats from the EU and the global forum.

Caricom leaders also addressed the issue of West Indies cricket and accepted the advice of two senior counsels that “West Indies cricket is a public good.” He said while Caricom governments had no desire to manage West Indies cricket and had declined an offer to sit on the cricket board, there was need for “best practice governance rules” to protect the “legacy” of the game and to ensure that the glory days of the game were restored.

Two families whose homes were devastated by a landslide caused by ongoing coastal erosion on Monday have moved into the Cedros Community Centre, as heavy rains continued to erode parts of Bamboo Village in Cedros yesterday.

The rains caused chunks of land to fall away and cascade down the hillside, which now measures about 1,000 feet, but the shells of the houses remained on the brink of the collapse.

Resident Charmion Gunness, whose home was destroyed by the event, yesterday said since the calamity she has not slept.

“Every time I close my eyes I hear the crash of the house falling down,” Gunness said.

She added that volunteers have been providing hot meals in the community centre, but at nightfall she goes to a relative’s home to sleep.

“I can’t make to sleep in the community centre. This is so sad. I miss my home and I hope we can find a place to build back our home,” Gunness said.

Councillor Shankar Teelucksingh said some of the affected families yesterday spent most of the day in Point Fortin, waiting to fill out forms hoping to get temporary housing at the Housing Development Corporation Lake View settlement in Point Fortin. While a few have opted to move, others had to be convinced that the spot they once considered home would soon be lost to the sea.

Teelucksingh also called on the State Lands Department to speed up the process of providing lands so the residents could rebuild their lives.

On Monday, residents witnessed the horrific collapse of Gunness’ house and the partial collapse of another down the precipice. Luckily, no one was hurt.

Meanwhile, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management head Captain Neville Wint said security personnel continued to impose a 300-foot restriction in the disaster zone because of the soil instability. Asked whether remedial work could be done, Wint said this would be a costly exercise. He said geologists and technical planning teams from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Planning had already started a study on the coastal erosion.

“A multi-agency approach is needed and we have to get the experts in geological, marine and planning to address this. The various ministries have deployed teams and the assessment has started,” Wint said.

He added that artificial reefs and rock armour could be used to stem the erosion. Rock armour is rock or other material used to armour shorelines and prevent erosion. It also prevents the movement of beach material along the coast by long-shore drift and gradually allows the build-up of a beach, a natural defence against erosion.

Wint also urged people to refrain from visiting the area because of the coastal instability.

“We are experiencing the signs of climate change and global warming, so our understanding of the coastal hazards is critical,” Wint said.

Geologist Xavier Moonan said a team will be visiting the site today and a proper assessment will be made following the visit.

Since the landslip, residents have been rallying around the affected families. Volunteers have been providing clothing while the ODPM’s Trauma Unit has offered counselling.

One day after a legal battle was mounted by Chief Justice Ivor Archie questioning the remit of the Law Association of T&T to investigate him, British newspaper The Guardian yesterday ran a report highlighting some of the allegations levelled against the CJ.

In an article headlined “Questions over shooting of gay man with links to Trinidad judge,” journalist Robert Booth spoke to Dillian Johnson, the man who fled T&T for the UK recently claiming he feared for his life.

In the story, Booth describes Johnson as a “man who was shot in an ambush and is now seeking asylum in the UK,” and quotes Johnson as saying: “I fear being murdered for my sexuality if I go back.”

The article details the allegations in the public domain about the CJ, noting Johnson feared he would be a target because this was “highly publicised.” It also highlighted the incident in which Johnson was shot outside his Gasparillo home on December 3, 2017 and how he arrived in the UK within days on December 29. Johnson told Booth he was the victim of a targeted hit.

Efforts to contact Booth were unsuccessful yesterday.

But in a statement to British authorities, British human rights activist Peter Tatchell, who is assisting Johnson with his asylum application, said based on the “evidence” which Johnson had shown him, he believes he has “a well-founded fear of persecution in Trinidad and Tobago, including the possibility of being murdered.” He said Johnson had told him he has “masses of evidence which he has copied to third parties, with instructions that it should be handed to the media and UK police, in the event that he is extradited, kidnapped or murdered.”

In his statement, Tatchell said since last year the T&T media had been investigating the matter involving the CJ and Johnson. He said Johnson is concerned that there may be an attempt to silence him.

Tatchell’s statement details reports which Johnson made to the police about the attack and indicated that Johnson said they “have never contacted him since he filed the initial report of the crime.” Johnson, he said, felt there had been no proper investigation of the gun attack and that attempts to apprehend his killer or killers “appears to have been stalled, possibly under pressure from powerful influential people.”

On January 11, Johnson’s attorney, Thalia Francis-Brooks, told the media Johnson had been granted political asylum in the United Kingdom (UK), but she failed to produce any evidence to prove this. One day later, the British High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Tim Stew, issued a brief statement saying: “The British High Commission in Port of Spain has seen claims made by attorney Thalia Francis-Brooks. It is unclear where this attorney is obtaining her information but it is obviously not from the UK authorities.”

The report in the British Guardian and the release of Tatchell’s statement came on the day after the CJ initiated legal action to stop the Law Association from investigating allegations of misconduct against him.

The matter will be heard in the High Court tomorrow before Justice Nadia Kangaloo.

State-owned Petrotrin moved in yesterday to seize the assets of one of its private lease operators, A&V Oil and Gas Ltd, two days after the private lease operator lost its legal battle to prevent the company from terminating its contract.

But even as Petrotrin employees were measuring the quantity of oil remaining in the tanks of A&V Oil & Gas Ltd’s facilities in the Catshill Field off Moruga, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) was called in to investigate the source of an oil spill at one of the wells.

Once a cash cow for A&V and its owner, Hanif Nazim Baksh, the facility was like a ghost town yesterday, with most of the pumping jacks dormant and the lease operator’s trucks lined up in the yard.

Following the lease operator’s unsuccessful bid before the Privy Council to block Petrotrin from terminating its contract and withhold an $83.9 million payment based on allegations of inflated bills, Petrotrin seized control of the facilities yesterday.

An EMA team spent hours searching for Well CO50 where there was a report of an oil spill. The EMA said it received a report of the oil spill on Tuesday evening and following protocol, it dispatched officers from its Emergency Response and Investigations team yesterday.

However, the EMA said it was too early to make any conclusions as to what would have caused the oil spill as well as to provide details of the investigations. Officers are expected to return to the site today to continue their probe.

There was no indication as to whether the oil spill had anything to do with the low volumes of crude oil found in most of the tanks. Using dipsticks, most of the tanks were almost dry, a sheer contrast to the booming production the lease operator reported in 2017. The exercise in the field located ten miles into the forest off St Mary’s Village was carried out with security officers armed with rifles. There was no official spokesperson for Petrotrin or the lease operator present.

On Monday, the Privy Council rejected A&V Oil & Gas Ltd’s appeal of the decisions of two local courts to dismiss its application for an injunction against Petrotrin. The court ruled that the company had failed to raise an arguable case with a realistic prospect of success. As a result of the decision, a temporary injunction granted by the Privy Council almost two weeks ago was automatically discharged, making way for Petrotrin to take over the field that was leased out back in 2009.

The union representing the oil workers yesterday demanded that Petrotrin cease all contracts with private lease operators.

Speaking outside the Beaumont Hill Centre, Pointe-a-Pierre yesterday, OWTU president general Ancel Roget said that farming out Petrotrin’s acreages to private companies was a way for those in authority to gain revenue through questionable means.

“Get rid of every last one of them and let Petrotrin produce its own oil,” Roget said.

He spoke just before the union met with Petrotrin’s management over their proposals for the planned restructuring of the failing oil company.

“We condemn that outright, totally. All Petrotrin’s assets with respect to exploration, production, wells and acreages must be handed back to Petrotrin so that Petrotrin can exploit that in the interest of the country.

It is sham; it is a way to give away the country’s assets,” he claimed.

While it would mean hundreds of workers would be out of a job, he said, Petrotrin had 860 vacancies that need to be filled.

But while the union’s demand was to scrap the programme, Roget said they were seeing an expansion, which he said raised questions about Petrotrin’s Board of Director’s mandate for the company.

He said even before the Board responded to their proposals, there was talk that a new president was being sourced from the Massy Group.

He said the mandate may well be to sink the company into further debt so that there would be enough reason to privatise the company.

NEW STRUCTURE AT COMPANY

Board of Directors announced yesterday a new structure to assume immediate responsibility for the company’s operations while the Board focuses on the reorganisation.

As a result, the employment of three vice presidents and a senior manager was terminated. No further information was provided on the identity of those affected.

In the new structure, board chairman Wilfred Espinet, deputy chairman Reynold Adjodhansingh, will assume oversight for the finance and administration while former vice president and current director Anthony Chan Tack will have responsibility for refining and marketing and consultant Robert Riley, a former bpTT CEO, will overlook the exploration and production departments as well as the emergency response units.

The new teams are expected to be in place between June and September while the Board completes its task, the statement said.

“The transition has to be completed as quickly as practical: we have a number of pressing deadlines and commitments to meet- a US$850 million bond payment that is due in August 2019 and a refinery whose survival is contingent on a further US$300 million investment for the completion of the Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel Plant by 2029. We can’t address these challenges unless we become competitive,” the statement added.