The Prison Officers’ Association is calling on newly-appointed President Paula-Mae Weekes to bring some form of resolution to the ongoing saga of the 2015 jailbreak at the Port-of-Spain Prison.

The association is also calling for the reinstatement of the three prison officers who were suspended following that incident, the charges be dropped against them and a new commission to probe the matter be formed under the ambit of the Prison Service.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the POA headquarters in Arouca yesterday, president Ceron Richards said they had written to former president Anthony Carmona, the Joint Select Committee, Public Service Commission, Attorney General’s office and the Integrity Commission on this issue before with no resolution.

Richards said a letter will now be sent to Weekes for her first assignment to be the investigation of the jailbreak.

He said attorney Ricky Pandohee had filed a judicial review proceedings under the Freedom of Information Act for information on the probe into the matter and it was discovered by affidavit evidence that there was no accuser and no report made.

“The Prison Officers Association continues to report that there is no outcome to this investigation that revealed what happened on that day and what caused that incident to take place and who were the persons responsible,” he said, adding after three years there is still no outcome to questions raised after the jail break and the officers cannot come before their accuser/s to defend themselves.

“We still want to know who brought in the guns and the grenades? How did those items make their way into the system to be used in the jailbreak? Who was it that facilitated for those inmates to use equipment in this daring jail break? These questions remain unanswered.”

He said three prison officers have been on suspension since the incident and have charges pending before the PSC Tribunal and cannot be heard, noting their lives have been thrown into turmoil and nobody seems to care.

“They are pleading for disclosure that would support their defence. Something is terribly wrong here,” he said.

Richards said the prison officers were vilified, blamed for the jail break and are still away from duty.

“Who made these accusations? To date, all evidence shows there is no accuser and no report. How were they identified? What is the role of the commission (Public Service Commission)?” he asked.

Attempts for a response from the Office of President were unsuccessful yesterday.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, who was instructed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to get an interpretation on whether judges are entitled to sabbatical leaves, said yesterday that the matter may soon go before the court.

Last Thursday, Al-Rawi was instructed to take relevant steps to clarify whether there exists any such leave for members of the judiciary after Chief Justice Ivor Archie had applied for sabbatical leave before changing it to vacation leave after controversy stirred over whether he in fact qualified to take sabbatical.

Giving an update at a press conference yesterday, Al-Rawi said, “I can tell you that the papers are nearly finished in terms of settling.”

He said there were certain affidavits to go along with the interpretation.

“We expect to file in a couple of days. We were actually trying to meet today as a filing date, but the evidential background in terms of some of the anecdotal information…some of the public information that has to go on affidavit, that had to be settled.”

The AG said they expect any day now to be in a position “to file those proceedings at the High Court and then to press on with the matter.”

Asked how long would it take for such a matter to come before the court after it has been filed, Al-Rawi said they are asking the court for an interpretation.

“To settle an issue in which they are differing views, suffice it to say there are differing views. This runs to the heart of constitutionality.

“Obviously, you are talking about your judiciary, which is independent in the arrangement of our democracy and therefore you have to treat with this carefully.”

In terms of how long the matter can take, Al-Rawi said it can be a “fast product” depending on how the parties approach the matter.

“Obviously, the Attorney General is a party and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission is a reasonable party in these manoeuvres. Persons may wish to intervene in the matter we are yet to see,” he said.

“But if parties consent to treating with it on an expedited basis, it can certainly be expedited. What is required is clarity in relation to the law and certainly to our constitutional arrangements so that we get this right in moving forward.”

Al-Rawi also said Rowley made the perfect decision in taking the matter to the court for ventilation.

Domestic violence murder victim Anita Bahadur made her last complaint to the San Juan Police Station five days before she was killed, head of the T&T Police Service’s corporate communications, Ellen Lewis, confirmed yesterday.

According to Lewis, Bahadur, 27, told police the suspect went to her work place at Maloney Street, Petit Bourg, on March 15 and made threats against her life to her co-workers.

Bahadur was not at work at the time of the alleged threats.In Bahadur’s report, she provided a description of the suspect and a photograph but could not provide a fixed address.

She, however, notified police the suspect was known to frequent an empty lot of land just off Hollis Street, Petit Bourg.

On the same day of the report (March 16), the police went in search of the suspect but did not find him.

Details of her last report to police were also confirmed by one of Bahadur’s co-workers, who wished not to be named. The co-worker said the suspect came to their workplace last Thursday and again on Saturday and lurked around the building until Bahadur’s shift ended.

The co-worker said when she first realised that suspect was outside the bar and restaurant, Bahadur went out and spoke to him behind a locked gate, where she again begged him to leave her alone. It was then that the suspect threatened to kill her, the co-worker said.

“He had even tell the boss on one occasion that he would kill her. Anita, for years, lived in fear of this man and she went to the station last Friday and Monday this week to make a report against the man and begged the police to do something to protect her,” Bahadur’s co-worker said.

Bahadur’s eldest sister, who also wished not to be named or photographed, said her sister was the fourth of 11 children. She said for years her sister ran and hid for her safety from the suspect. Bahadur, a mother of four, was originally from Lyons Drive, Orange Field Road, Carapichaima.“From Princes Town to Arima to Felicity to Aranjuez… she was always on the run to get away from him. No matter how many reports she made to the police, the police always told her that is either they can’t find him or they can’t stay there and monitor her, although she would beg an cry to them to help her in any way that they can.

“I was there too with her many times and can point out officers who would say that or say that she and him will work things out, that they can’t get too much involved,” Bahadur’s sister said.

Brother-in-law: She was scarred for life from attacks

Anita Bahadur’s brother-in-law, Clifford Rollins Jr, expressed his anger over the situation.

“Where is Anita? She gone. She not coming back. She was looking for protection from the police and got none! What work out? From six feet under? That’s what the police was waiting for to actually do something now?”Rollins said Bahadur was beaten badly while in the relationship with the suspect, adding the licks was so bad she was left with lifetime marks and scars.

“We gave police photos of the suspect and also photos with the marks and scars she would get. They have everything. We made several reports at the Chaguanas, Tunapuna and San Juan Police Stations over the years. One time we even begged for her to be placed in a protection programme and was told by the police that it could not have been done just like that. Anita was willing too go too because she was fearful for her life,” Rollins said.

Rollins added that last Thursday the suspect came out of prison after serving about three months and even called her from within the prison walls and threatened her.

The suspect, according to Rollins, was arrested by officers of the Child’s Protection Unit, who had acted on reports made by Bahadur.

The unit is said to have three of Bahadur’s children in their care given the nature of Bahadur’s reports.

“My wife (Bahadur’s sister) was forced to call the Prisons Service and tell the officer in charge of the calls that Anita was getting from the suspect and still nothing was done,” Rollins said.Bahadur’s sister also cleared the air on monies owed to the suspect.

“He may have said that in public to make people around him feel that she owed him money and a gold chain but she did not. In fact, I have receipts to prove that I have been sending her money to pay her rent. He never gave her money because he never worked. She was the one always working and I would help out too.

“She only had a silver chain with a small silver heart pendant. She never had any kind of assets.”Bahadur’s sister said she will always remember her sister as a loving, caring and kind person.

“She loved her children and was a dedicated and hard-working mother. She leaves all her children now from three years to nine years old. So sad.”Bahadur was stabbed in the left side of the chest while at the Croisee in San Juan around 2.30 pm on Wednesday.

The suspect, who attempted to run away, was chased by onlookers, held and beaten. He was then handed over to officers of the San Juan Police Station.

Both acting Deputy Police Commissioners Harold Phillip and Deodat Dulalchan have called on officers from the San Juan station for a detailed report.

The situation which murder victim Anita Bahadur and the man who killed her were in was yesterday described as a “toxic” by the suspect’s own brother.

He called for his relative to face the full brunt of the law for his inexcusable action.

The man, who claimed to be an elder male brother of the suspect, posted a video message to social media yesterday, in which he also took blame and responsibility for not doing enough to prevent the situation from escalating to the point where Bahadur was killed.

Instead, he said, he begged the suspect on many occasions to “distance himself” from the woman.

“I have been working with him, toiling with him, speaking with him. For years I have been asking him to just distance himself from this situation because it is a toxic situation on both sides.

“For whatever it is, I do honestly feel a little bit responsible, because I feel like I did not try hard enough,” the suspect’s relative said.

“Yes, it is true he came out of prison last week. I took him, I spoke to him, I took him to work with me and asked him to just leave the situation alone, but for some reason he just did not listen and it is so unfortunate that this have to come and happen now.”

The relative, in his four minute, 33 second message, started off by apologising to T&T and Bahadur’s family for his relative’s action, adding he hoped he was penalised fully for his actions.

“Nothing could justify his actions, so I hope he is penalised in the way that he should be penalised…we tried to curb the situation. I honestly believe that nothing should warrant anybody to take such actions against anybody no matter how tough the situation,” he said.

Relatives of murder victim Dexter Hospedales, 33, of Arima, are claiming he was a victim of domestic violence for several years.

Hospedales was stabbed once in the left side of the chest while at his rented apartment at Boy Cato Road, Las Lomas, on Wednesday morning.

Hospedales was originally from Mootoo Lands, Arima, and was an animal and produce farmer for the past two years.

A police report initially stated that at about 10.30 am, Hospedales had an altercation with a close female relative and was subsequently stabbed by an unknown assailant who ran onto the compound a few minutes after the altercation started.

Yesterday, however, police said on Wednesday night they were told by Hospedales’ close female relative that she stabbed him in self defence.

But speaking with the T&T Guardian at the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, yesterday, Hospedales’ cousin, who wished not to give his name on record, said over a year ago Hospedales was stabbed in a domestic dispute with the same woman and was warded at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope.

He was at the time renting an apartment in Arima.

Hospedales’ cousin said he did not know what happened between the two when he was discharged from the hospital, but knew that his cousin was still with the woman after that.

He added that they knew Hospedales was allegedly constantly abused by the woman during their relationship, but said he did not know for sure if he would have made any official reports to the police.

While at the facility, the T&T Guardian was directed to the woman in question, but she walked off when approached.

A male relative of hers said they would not be commenting on the incident.

Hospedales’ relatives are calling for justice and are hoping the investigating officers carry out their investigations in a fair and unbiased manner.Investigations are continuing.

A Venezuelan national was killed by police during an alleged shootout in Diego Martin on Wednesday night.

A female Venezuelan national was also shot during the incident and was said to be warded in hospital. Up to late yesterday, the name of the dead man was not released.

According to a police report, at about 11.30 pm officers were responding to an all-points bulletin in which a black Yaris was seen evading a police roadblock exercise in the area.

The vehicle was intercepted near St Lucien Road and as the officers were approaching the vehicle they were shot at, forcing them to return fire.

The two occupants of the vehicle, the Venezuelan nationals were shot. They were both taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where the man succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.

Police said they recovered a loaded pistol and an undisclosed amount of US currency.Investigations are continuing.

A man who went missing earlier this month was found dead on Monday.His body was identified by relatives yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. His name was given as Christian Guillium, 26, of Pregnancy Lane, La Puerta, Diego Martin.

But in a bizarre turn of events for the family, Guillium’s relatives are questioning how a newspaper report could have carried an article on March 11 claiming that his decomposing body was found in a cemetery in Petit Valley. “We find this to be very strange and we are going to contact an attorney on this report,” Guillium’s relative said. The article was not a T&T Guardian article.

“We would like to know where this information came from and who they would have gotten the information from,” the relative added. The relative told the T&T Guardian that Guillium’s body was found down a precipice at Mamoral on Monday at about 3.15 pm.

She added that he went missing on March 1.She also added that they got a message from him that same day informing them who he was with and what he found to be suspicious.

“He called a family member and said that the person he was with was acting strange and was cold sweating. He said he just wanted us to know who he was with in case anything should happen to him. He was never seen or heard of since. We even reported him missing to the police,” the relative said.

She added that Guillium received several threats from people in the area and made several reports to the police at the Four Roads Police Station. “Well it look like the police did nothing because he went missing after receiving the numerous death threats.

After he went missing we kept getting calls that he was dead but only found out that his body was found in Mamoral on Monday,” the relative added.

An autopsy report revealed that Guillium died from multiple stab wounds to the back.

New land title laws will allow people who’ve been on State land uninterrupted and peacefully for 30 years to have potential claim for a vesting order to request the land be given to them, says Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi.

The process will be available via adjudication by a Land Tribunal under the package of land laws passed in the House of Representatives over recent days, Al-Rawi added. It will be debated in the Senate next week.

He said it’s a critical collection of laws to deal with certainty of land title. It involves a new system of registration of title to land via new system of land adjudication by a special tribunal.

“It will give people indefeasible title,” Al-Rawi added.

Therefore title to land will not be subject to being lost, annulled, or overturned.

“So people now have the benefit of a State-funded programme to determine the land entitlement,” he added.

Al-Rawi said the effort was part of PNM’s manifesto promise to settle land titles. He said Government has noted fraud, delay and uncertainty regarding land title— specially in Tobago— under an archaic system. As a result, people without land title cannot use the land for collateral or otherwise. Government will begin implementing the land laws in a exercise first in Tobago. He added declarations concerning land will be made and land surveyors will go out to map the lands in a demarcation exercise. Such land will be brought under compulsory registration.

Land adjudication processes also involved will apply to people who have been on State lands (for more than 30 years) or privately-owned land (for more than 16 years) seeking title, or to ascertain if they’re entitled to this.

But Al-Rawi said there would be no agreement to allow title for State lands which are environmentally sensitive, or protected, those being used for public purposes, forests or lands with acquifers. But titles wouldn’t be allowed for environmentally protected or sensitive areas, forests, lands with acquifers or lands used for public purposes.

The adjudication process can also resolve disputes between neighbours, he added. He said the exercise, funded by IDB loans, will take years to complete.

Two babies were among nine children and six adults who were rendered homeless yesterday after a fire gutted three homes in the railway line community in Ste Madeleine around noon yesterday.

The three houses where Doona Coombs-Smith and her family lived at Cipero Road were completely destroyed when the fire broke out around midday.

The fire also partially damaged a fourth house, owned by Irene Valentine, who received minor burns to her back, neck and arms as she was fleeing her home.

Coombs-Smith, 57, cried as she spoke about losing their homes, all their belongings, her lifestock - ducks and chickens - and her four puppies. The puppies’ mother Diamond, a black and white dog, was seen searching through the rubble as though she was looking for her babies.

Coombs-Smith and her daughter Tamika Charles, 38, lived in the same house which was separated into two sections.

Coombs-Smith lived alone, but Charles lived with her five daughters, ages 13, 12, 10 and twin three year olds, and her 17 year old son. Charles’ two older sons Russell Grant, 20 and Jemile Cooper, 21, lived in the other two houses, but they were at work when the fire started.

Grant’s common-law wife Aphia Alexander, 22, their two children - six days old and three years old - and Cooper’s wife Shantelle Mohammed, 25, and their one month old baby, were home. Coombs-Smith, 57, recalled she was about to cook a meal of bake and bhagi when she smelt something burning.

She said the smoke came from the backroom by her daughter. “We switch off all the breakers. It was still smoking. We make sure we call the fire brigade, neighbours calling the fire brigade and when they do reach here is because the main roof was caving in.” She cried, “Everything just went down in flames. All my duck, all my birds, ducklings, all my fowls everything just went down in flames..I have nothing if anybody could give a lil helping hand.”

Charles said she was not home when the fire began. She said just three years ago they rewired the house.

“All my daughters and son are in school. One of them writing SEA, but I don’t know how they going to school. We have lost everything, even our documents.

Everything gone. My grandchildren are saying by my brother but I am now looking for somewhere for my children to stay.”

Valentine recalled that she watching television when she heard the commotion. When she eventually looked out she saw her neighbours houses covered in smoke. As the fire spread to her home, Valentine said burning plastic from the ceiling fell on her.

Councillor Shawn Premanchan appealed to the public, not only government, to assist the families to support these families with relief items such as clothing, baby supplies, food, water and building supplies. He said the Disaster Management Unit has already visited the families and he will try to help them with grants and hampers from Self Help and the Social Development Ministry.

Former Congress of the People chairman Nicole Dyer-Griffith admitted yesterday that politicians are failing women, as she called on Government and the Opposition to look past party and partisan politics and put legislation in place to protect them from evil and savage killers stalking our land.

She made the comment at the forum titled “The Role of Young Women in Our Political System,” which featured speakers Mickela Panday, Dyer-Griffith and Alicia Hospedales, at the University of the West Indies’ St Augustine campus.

Dyer-Griffith said her pet peeve in T&T “is the number of women being killed in Trinidad and Tobago and we continue to act as though everything is normal. It is not normal when as of yesterday 14 women were murdered. We need to begin to implore politics and politicians to look past party politics…look past partisan politics and do something about it… do something about the scourge of domestic violence…do something about legislation to be put in place to address and support victims of domestic violence.”

She said there was more talk than action, adding she had even called on Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi to look at legislation to decriminalise pepper spray so at least women would be able to buy themselves ten seconds to get away from their attackers.

Hospedales said she too has been lobbying for electronic bracelets to be put on domestic violence offenders, saying this matter could be discussed at all levels and become a hot topic for parliamentarians to debate.

During a question and answer segment, Panday, an attorney, T&T Guardian columnist and former Oropouche West MP, was told that it has been said on social media that the only political crime she had committed was having being born a Panday.

In response, Panday said anyone who has a well-known surname name is judged more harshly than everyone else, which she has learnt to accept, pointing out she was proud of her father Basdeo Panday’s legacy.

Having served in public life, the three women were asked if female politicians today have been aspiring women in our country.

Dyer-Griffith said it was one thing for women to shatter the glass ceiling, “but it’s quite another for the shatter of glass to fall and cut everybody and cut every young woman at the bottom of that glass ceiling. When the ceiling is shattered are you making way for others? Are you doing things to ensure that policies are put in place so other young women can aspire to do the same thing?

“Or are you utilising that opportunity to create blocks so you would be seen and held as the glass shatterer and no one else should come behind me (you)?”

Panday held the view that politicians on the whole have been aspiring citizens.

“When you look at what is happening on both sides of the political spectrum in Trinidad and Tobago it is embarrassing. It is embarrassing, for example, to look at what is happening in the Parliament. They are setting no example for women, youth or anybody else.”

She said one of the problems we have in politics and society is that women do not support women.

“And let us not forget, especially for women, it is difficult to get into politics beyond your clothes, make-up and how you look. The first thing they want to put down is your personal life.”

The police are the first responders to domestic violence cases and they must take the matters seriously, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi made clear yesterday.

But everyone must also become their relatives’ keeper in T&T and if a family member is suffering domestic violence, “...You can’t say ‘that’s not my business’,”|Al-Rawi added.

Speaking at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, the AG advocated action and speaking out in order to help deal with the domestic violence problem.

On Wednesday, Anita Bahadur and Dexter Hospedales became the latest victims of domestic abuse when they were killed. Bahadur was the 14th woman killed for 2018 and eighth victim of a domestic violence-related matter.

Yesterday, Al-Rawi said a working group involving the Gender Affairs, National Security and his ministry, plus private sector stakeholders, had done much work to treat with the issue. This is documented in a study Cabinet examined yesterday. Among results so far is a 169-member police unit dedicated to dealing with domestic violence issues.

But Al-Rawi said when people find themselves at risk, they must step forward to police.

“You must consider if you want a protection order and obviously the police must take this situation seriously—they’re the first responders,” he said.

“They have the ability to summon social services workers and probation officers’ divisions. As we’ve seen in other areas, domestic violence incidents involve a knock on the door by a policeman —you see it on television.

“There’s no rational explanation why that doesn’t prevail here. In fact, that’s the obligation officers act in accordance with. Hence the Commissioner of Police has a role to play in ensuring police act upon reports—if you’re in a domestic violence situation or apprehend something’s happening, your first port of call is the police.”

He said people should no longer stay silent since they couldn’t get a protection order if they did.

Saying society has to band together on this and related issues, Al-Rawi noted that during debate on the Child Marriage Act, incidents of incest were discovered in a certain part of T&T. Al-Rawi said a proposed Sex Offenders Registry is now being discussed by his ministry.

Other approaches—legislative and otherwise—based on the ministry’s study will be aired shortly, he added.

Head of the Institute of Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies, Dr Gabrielle Hosein, is now calling for proper follow-up procedures to be put in place to protect domestic abuse victims.

Her call comes in the wake of the latest domestic abuse-related cases in which both a woman and man—Anita Bahadur and Dexter Hospedales—were killed at the hands of abusive partners on Wednesday.

Usually there are about 25 domestic violence-related murders annually in T&T. But since the start of 2018, eight women and one man have been due to domestic disputes.

There have been a total of 14 females killed, eight of whom were women in failed relationships. Of the eight murders, police were able to make arrests in most of the cases.

In an interview yesterday, Hosein called for the establishment of a functional help hotline for perpetrators of domestic violence. She also said there was need for a proper follow-up and referral system to monitor victims who lodged reports, as well as a system to deal with perpetrators who suffer from mental illness.

Calling for an integrated approach to tackle the problem, Hosein said she did not believe the Social Services department was properly staffed to deal with the problem.

“We could do better when it comes to follow-up of reports, because often the reports are made to police prior to women being killed. We need a better system to follow up to ensure that their lives are not being put at greater risk after they lodge reports,” Hosein said.

She recommended that the Victims and Witness Support Unit be empowered as a lead agency to help women after they lodge reports. Regarding the hotline, Hosein said organisations such as the Coalition Against Domestic Violence could be supported by Government to establish a hotline and support programme for perpetrators of domestic violence.

“This kind of support will give men an opportunity to reach out for help. Let them say what they are feeling and let them know they have somewhere to call if they are experiencing a crisis,” she said.

She noted that medical services can also be part of the integrated effort to provide counselling and care to all parties affected by domestic violence.

Meanwhile, in a Facebook post yesterday the group Powerful Ladies of T&T (Plott) called for action following the death of Bahadur, who was stabbed to death by an ex-lover in the Croisee, San Juan, on Wednesday. The group called on citizens to spread information on domestic violence by speaking out and to unite and align and maintain social responsibility.

“Stop condoning wrongdoing. Consider also the little things you do that are wrong but continue to justify, begin there. Saying “this is not okay” either mentally or out loud helps you reconnect with your sense of what’s right and wrong.

“Remind yourself that no matter how small the wrong doing, no matter how small the lie, it’s just not okay. This creates awareness of your actions and begins the process of you correcting what’s wrong,” Plott said.

Plott also urged victims and perpetrators of domestic violence to find someone with whom they could share their story and get the help.

The Superfast Galicia, which had been servicing the inter-island route since 2014 at a cost of US$7.4 million (TT$48.1m) annually, sailed out of T&T waters last April, after Government failed to agree to an 18-month contract extension requested by the agent. Government has since initiated legal action against the agent - Inter-Continental Shipping - for breach of contract.

The Superfast Galicia was 13 years old and transported up to 112 passengers, along with 110 trailers and 60 cars. Its departure left the seabridge in a lurch although stakeholders in Tobago had first raised red flags about its imminent departure since January 2017.

As the Galicia left the Atlantic Provider and the Trinity Transporter, a barge, were brought in to fill the gap to transport cargo to the island.

On April 19, 2017, then Port Authority chairman Alison Lewis said the Atlantic Provider (Provider) would cost US$14,500 (TT$94,250) a day while Trinity Transporter was US$18,000 (TT$117,000).

In September 2017, a Joint Select Committee investigating the procurement of the Cabo Star and Ocean Flower 2 was told the total cost of the Atlantic Provider for the period April 23-July 11, 2017 was TT$11.6m, while the Trinity Transporter cost TT$6.3m for the period April 23-July 16, 2017.

But the two vessels, which cost the country TT$17.9m, failed to meet the needs of Tobago. The barge was often covered in sea spray and took 15 hours to make the trip. The capacity for trucks on the ferry was extremely limited, as was the accommodation for truckers. In the ensuing months goods spoilt and truckers were forced to spend thousands due to the inconvenience caused in what they described as a “living nightmare.” They were never offered any compensation.

The situation would continue for four months before a cargo vessel, the Cabo Star, arrived on July 22. It was one of two vessels the Government contracted to deal with cargo and passenger transport on the seabridge.

The Cabo Star remains in operation at a cost of TT$4.725m a month. In the past ten months, the vessel cost the country TT$47.25m.

In that ten-month period, when the cost of the Cabo Star is added to that of the Trinity Transporter and Atlantic Provider, the country has spent TT$65.15m.

The Ocean Flower 2 the passenger ferry, which was leased at a cost of TT$5.565m a day, failed to meet three separate arrival dates and the contract was subsequently cancelled.

A report on the vessel compiled by chief engineer at the Port Authority, Brendon Powder and suspended CEO of the Inter-island Transport service, Leon Grant, identified major deficiencies on the vessel. Grant, who remains on suspension with full pay, has so far been paid over TT$300,000. Grant’s suspension is now being reviewed by human resource consultant Shafeeq Sultan Khan, who was retained by the former PATT Allison Lewis at just over $400,000.

The T&T Spirit, which went on dry-dock in June last year, cost just about US$10m (TT$65m) to repair but is yet to return to the seabridge because it requires further work. There is no indication on how much more money will be spent.

In the past year, PATT has spent close to US$1m (TT$6.5M) to repair and keep the T&T Express trudging along the seabridge because it was facing a virtual collapse of the seabridge. Over the Carnival period that fear became a reality and the seabridge collapsed when the T&T Express was pulled because of mechanical problems and high swells.

According to Works Minister Rohan Sinanan, it cost TT$500,000 to ferry passengers between the islands via Caribbean Airlines flights. The Cabo Star has accommodated the vehicles of passengers booked on the T&T Express as well as trucks transporting goods in the interim.

Government has since purchased a ferry, the Galleons Passage, for US17.4m (TT$113m). The vessel will cost an additional US$850,000 for the journey from China to Port-of-Spain and US$350,000 for upgrades in Cuba, for a total cost of just over US$18.5m.

With Easter almost here and the Galleons Passage way off in China and no boat on the seabridge, the Government leased an plane from Liat to add to CAL flights on the airbridge. That wet lease is costing taxpayers $4m.

But Government has given no indication of the cost to CAL over the past two weeks when it stepped in to fill the gap left when the T&T Express was taken out of service for dry docking.

In the past year, Tobago businesses have suffered over $750 million in losses and the country has spent millions of dollars to fix the seabridge problem. But as of today the crisis continues and now, businesses are saying without a Government bailout or some sort of assistance there is no hope of recovery.

Business owners in Tobago yesterday told the T&T Guardian they now face the opposite problem to what they did in the period May to July last year. Back then they had problems getting goods to stock their shelves and some shelves were empty, but today they say their shelves are stocked “but the customers are just not there.”

Supermarket owners said “goods are now expiring on our hands.” In addition, they say it now makes no sense stocking freezers with meats and other cold products and warehouses are stocked with goods that are not being sold.

Business owners said the estimated $750 million in losses excludes businesses forced to close their doors or repossessed by the banks.

Scores of workers have also been sent home and with a growing unemployment and crime on the island, business owners say the time has come for Government “to step up to the plate.”

Several business owners said they are hoping Government will come up with a “viable bailout plan and get us back our credit rating because they have destroyed our credit rating.” They are advocating “compensation for losses suffered,” because they claim the banks are not extending any facilities to the business community and people continue to get foreclosure notices. They added that their credit rating is gone, they are “no longer bankable,” they are now experiencing a credit crunch and things continue to “look bleak because the economy has totally contracted.”

Even the conglomerates are affected.

ANSA McAL Group of Companies deputy chairman Andrew Sabga told the group’s annual stockbrokers meeting on Thursday, “The big problem is demand has significantly curbed because people are having problems getting to and from Tobago.”

Sabga said a “large portion of the consumption is tourists and non-Tobagonian arrivals.”

But despite the losses suffered by the Tobago business community, Tobago East Member of Parliament Ayanna Webster-Roy insisted in Parliament that all was well.

However, bed and breakfast owners say their businesses have declined and Hotel and Tourism Association president Chris James says Tobago had suffered massively and he expects the low occupancy levels which have plagued the island’s hotel sector to continue.

Newly-appointed Tobago Chamber chairman Claude Benoit said he was saddened by the situation, noting it had destroyed the confidence of people in Tobago.

“There is no credibility, people are not even thinking of coming to Tobago because they don’t know how they will get back and vice versa. The question is how long will it take to build back confidence in the system that they have destroyed? That is the main issue,” Benoit said.

Benoit said restoring confidence in the Tobago economy is “what will start to spur the economy for things to start happening. It is very serious and when you listen to others who say there are no problems in Tobago I don’t know.”

He said the Chamber had agreed to set up a team with the Tobago House of Assembly to help address the problems faced by the business community on the island. A report presented by economist Vanus James, he said, recommended that “we work with the THA and talk to the Minister of Finance to come up with the necessary funding to help the businesses.”

With banks no longer assisting businesses, he admitted there is an “urgency to the situation.”

As to the T&T Spirit not returning to the seabridge as promised yesterday, Benoit said he found it “alarming.”

“We are just hoping that those who are responsible just do their work and do it well so it could save the island going further down. Because can you imagine this now being Easter, this is one of the biggest holidays for the island and we don’t have a ferry to bring people here? It’s a very sad situation.”

Owner of Penny Savers Supermarkets Lloyd Warner said as a citizen, what has happened in the last year with the seabridge is an “insult for every Tobagonian, that’s an insult as far as I am concerned, treating people like this.”

He said the pain of what has happened is “so severe” that it needs to be dealt with immediately, “because I personally cannot look further than what is happening right now. Because that is the main thing.”

Warner said the seabridge was the “lifeline for Tobago, it is like someone telling you they will block off your nose and tell you to breathe, it is the main thing that is life.”

Responding to Webster-Roy’s position that no one in Tobago is suffering, Warner said, “Because we don’t protest by burning tyres and saying enough is enough, that says we are not suffering?” 

“Nobody in Tobago is suffering - get that right!”

That was the angry message yesterday from People’s National Movement’s Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy to United National Congress MP Ramona Ramdial in Parliament.

Webster-Roy was backhanding Ramdial’s statements on issues plaguing Tobago and the seabridge woes in particular.

Visibly annoyed at Ramdial’s contentions, Webster-Roy delivered a rebuttal, causing shouts of amazement from UNC MPs.

Webster-Roy again insisted “nobody in Tobago” was suffering in the manner Ramdial suggested.

On a suggested food shortage, Webster-Roy said, “We have village harvests where food is freely given to thousands .... nobody in Tobago suffering for food.”

She said while the passenger ferry was out, the Cabo Star was operating and Caribbean Airlines was stepping up.

Ramdial had appealed for Government to give embattled Tobago business people a bailout or assist with waiver of mortgage fees because they had lost out on a lot of income. She said Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe had little to show for her portfolio save a $59,000 phone “roaming “ fee, “... Playing a blame game and labelling Tobago businesses fake in her usual style of high handedness and arrogance.”

Ramdial said the PNM’s mantra was “stay out of Tobago business.”

“They feel Tobago is PNM country and they can abuse and ill-treat Tobagonians. But Tobago is ‘the’ national issue. They can’t stop us talking on behalf of Tobago. It’s unfair how Tobago is being taken for granted,” she said, noting the T&T Spirit is still off service.

Ramdial said Jamaica pulled 4.3 million visitors in 2017 and T&T the lowest number. Noting the popularity of bed and breakfast establishments, she queried the wisdom of T&T seeking hotels like Sandals when visitors prefer renting homes.

She also said despite a Parliamentary team’s recommendation for the Tobago Jazz Festival to be private-sector run event, it’s still helmed by Tobago House of Assembly, costing overall $11 million with Liat fees.

In the face of allegations of fraud and misconduct before a US Supreme Court against him, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon doesn’t believe he needs to step down although he values his integrity.Dillon yesterday admitted he is a party in a civil matter in the New York Supreme Court, in which he is accused of defrauding an elderly man, Neville Piper, of a valuable condominium in Manhattan. Piper was originally from La Brea before migrating to New York. The documents also point to several cash and bank transactions, including a US$5,000 cheque made out to Dillon’s name.

Addressing the media the Ministry of National Security, Port-of-Spain, Dillon, 62, said he knew Piper for over 45 years and he was “almost like an uncle.” He said their relationship grew stronger over the years to a point where he stayed at Piper’s apartment whenever he travelled to New York and also served as Piper’s “driver” when he came to Trinidad for vacation. He said he called Piper almost every day for friendly conversation, including to discuss T&T and US politics.Dillon said he was gifted with Piper’s apartment last year after he (referring to Piper) insisted that he accept.

“I accepted a gift of the remainder interest in an apartment after his death. The effectiveness is given to me through well-established attorneys of law in the United States in the presence of witnesses.”

But Dillon’s statement appears to contradict the information contained in the documents submitted to the US court, in which Piper claims not to have any recollection of having given such interest in his apartment to Dillon. In a general response regarding the allegations made against him, Dillon said there are two sides to the story and his side “will not be known until such time as required by law to do so.”“They are only allegations until proven otherwise and the matter is still pending before the court,” he said.Asked if he spoke to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley about the matter, Dillon said yes but did not go into the details. He did not say whether he was asked to step down or not, or whether he believes he should step aside while the matter is determined.

“I prefer not to go into details of the conversation. It is confidential,” Dillon said.

Asked if he did not see stepping down as a means of keeping his integrity intact, Dillon said, “I value my integrity at all costs and I would have to prove my integrity as the case stands right now.”Asked if he was aware Cabinet members contacted the Piper family to keep the matter quiet, Dillon said he was not.However, he reiterated that he did not take advantage of Piper.Piper’s niece, Esther Nicholls, has made an application for the appointment of a guardian for the property, in which it is alleged that based on a power of attorney, a transfer of an undivided 50 per cent interest in Piper’s condominium was made by Piper to Dillon on August 21, 2017, but that Piper lacked the capacity to make such transfer validity.

Further, it claimed the purported signature of Piper on the deed and transfer documents were not his and he denied any knowledge of the transaction. It adds that Piper also had no attorney and no guardian for said transaction, that there were several large transfers and withdrawals from Piper’s account, which is inconsistent, uncharacteristic and contrary to his history, practice and norm and that Piper may have been the victim of elder financial abuse, exploitation and fraud.”

The court evaluator’s report states that Piper, who is now at a home, does not recall any visits by his family members and would not know them if he had seen them.The court has ordered that until the proceedings are concluded, Dillon is prohibited and restrained from transferring any interest in the New York condominium, including any interest which Dillon may claim pursuant to the deed related to the property.

Opposition MPs in Parliament yesterday grilled National Security Minister Edmund Dillon about the US court matter in which he’s currently involved - but Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi firmly stood by Dillon.

Dillon has been attending a US court in recent months where allegations of “elder financial abuse, exploitation and fraud” have been levelled against him by the niece of Neville Piper, a T&T national resident in new York.

Yesterday, Dillon spoke earlier about the matter at a briefing prior to Parliament. He acknowledged it involved Dillon, but described him as a very good friend. But in Parliament, the Opposition pressed him on the court matter.

On MP Roodal Moonilal’s queries, Dillon said, “This is a vexatious civil matter in the New York courts which I expect to be knocked out by by April 4, 2018.”

On MP Rodney Charles’ query, Dillon said he’d been to the US twice on the matter.

Ganga Singh asked if given T&T’s crime situation, whether Dillon felt his office had been compromised by the issue.

Dillon replied,”No, my office hasn’t been compromised. Vexatious, frivolous allegations have been made.”

Prior to proceedings, Singh told reporters,”Based on alleged reports of this matter, it’s a damning situation. Whether he’s fit and proper to occupy the office of Minister of National Security has been called into question.

“Once the matter broke he ought to have used the Parliament to give a personal explanation. It may be an old family friend but based on the court documents’ allegations, there’s alleged abuse of an old family friend.

“T&T’s in an abyss of crime and culture of abuse, and now there’s a trend based on court allegations the National Security Minister is committing abuse - T&T becomes victim if he’s guilty of this.”

But Al-Rawi said there’s currently no finding in the US court against Dillon on a case of elderly financial abuse.

“I got a full report from Minister Dillon on the matter and spoke to US attorneys representing him,” Al-Rawi added.

“The matter is due in court on April 4 and the attorneys tell me they’re absolutely sure it will be knocked out. They say there’s conclusive evidence to throw it out - it’s a simple matter. Minister Dillon can rest easily in this. I personally am not concerned he’s in any difficulty.”

Al-Rawi added, “It involves a close relative - a friend much like an uncle to him - who insisted on gifting the remainder of his property after his death to Minister Dillon. He has no children. Dillon has been a close member of his family for many, many years, looking after his financial support. At the gentleman’s insistence the man went to his attorneys in the US and gave the remainder to Minister Dillon, done in accordance with US law.”

The AG said he understood a niece of the man had applied to be a guardian at law and the court made an interim order on guardianship.

“She also applied to have the (first) transaction set aside, so it appears to be a land grabbing issue - she’s pursuing the uncle’s property. She also made allegations against attorneys who acted for her uncle.”

Gregory Hannays, a senior tax partner at Ernst & Young yesterday appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate charged with wounding with intent.

Hannays appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Fifth Court. He is accused of wounding attorney Ravi Dolsingh on February 4 at Victoria Gardens, Diego Martin.

It is alleged that Dolsingh was struck in the face with a drinking glass, causing major blood loss due to injury to a major artery in his face. Dolsingh received 50 stitches.

Hannays, who surrendered to the Four Roads Police Station on Thursday, was granted $100,000 bail bond by a Justice of the Peace at the police station after the charge was laid

That bail was endorsed by the magistrate yesterday.

Hannays was not called upon to plead.

The court prosecutor submitted to the court that the prosecution, while they had no objection to Hannays being granted bail, the accused should be made to surrender his passport.

However, Hannays’ attorney Senior Counsel Gilbert Peterson objected to this application.

Peterson told the magistrate that because of the nature of his client’s job he is required to travel out of the country regularly.

The matter was adjourned to June 5.

Homicide investigators are expecting advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) today on whether to charge a 38-year-old Guapo mason for last week’s quadruple murder in La Brea.

Investigators confirmed that they were in possession of a file containing statements, excerpts and evidence against the suspect in the murder of his ex-lover, Abigail Jones-Chapman.

Jones-Chapman, 41, a Spanish teacher at the Southern Academy of the Seventh Day Adventists, La Romaine was beaten to death at her apartment at Khani Settlement, Sobo Village on March on March 6.

Her daughter, Olivia Chapman, 16, a student of the Point Fortin East Secondary School was beaten and stabbed, Olivia’s visiting classmate, Michaela Mason, 14 suffered a slit to her throat while Jones-Chapman’s landlord, Michael Scott, 69, a retired teacher, was bashed across the head.

The suspect’s attorney, Fareed Ali, said he met with his client at 10.30 pm on Thursday at the San Fernando Police Station where he was kept in custody for the past six days. Ali said when a preliminary file was submitted to Deputy DPP Joan Honore-Paul, she requested the pathologist’s report and associated documentation be included in the file before she makes a determination.

Ali said that in a conversation around noon yesterday, the investigators were still at work in providing the DPP’s office with the latter request.

“At this stage in the investigation, there is no confirmed position as to whether charges may be laid or not. It is now confirmed that the suspect was interviewed for three hours on Wednesday 21 March and through the course of that interview, he exercised his right to silence,” Ali said.

Ali said that his client exercised his right to remain silent throughout the investigation and confirmed that the CCTV footage was shown to him, placing him in La Brea. However, Ali said the video does not tie his client to the murders.

“The police probe has proven a great intrusion into the suspect’s liberty as officers have been attempting to embark on a formal interview given allegations of his involvement.”

Ali said he was disappointed that one media house carried in its article, that his client has confessed to the murder and made a request to attend the funeral of Jones-Chapman.

He said this was not true and believes the sensationalism of carrying press coverage of this nature does not add value to the police investigation

The three relatives who were arrested along with the suspect on suspicion of hiding him from the police have been released.

Members of T&T’s Law Enforcement Agencies, including the T&T Defence Force and the Police Service, are getting ready to undergo an intense training exercise on crisis response next month.

This was disclosed at a joint media briefing yesterday with Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon and the US Embassy Charge d’Affaires John McIntyre.

The briefing took place at Temple Court, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain. The Governments of T&T and the United States will be collaborating to host a bilateral crisis response training exercise titled Fused Response 2018 from April 16 to 26.

Exercise Fused Response is a simulation exercise designed to build capacity and strengthen capabilities in T&T.

The exercise should be able to put the country’s emergency response plans under much scrutiny, validate processes and identify any possible gaps.

Exercise Fused Response is an annual routine exercise that has been sponsored by the US Government via the US Southern Command since 2012.

Similar exercises have been hosted over the years in the region. T&T accepted an invitation offered by the US Government in 2017 for this country to host Exercise Fused Response 2018.

The exercise is being funded by the US Government, with minimal cost to T&T.